“It’s really a matter of determining how much it bothers you,” said Pam Wyess, outlining a five-step process for those attending Human Resource Development’s course on “The Choice Is Yours: An Introduction to Attitudes in the Workplace.”

• Determine your involvement. Is this person important to you? Has this attitude been demonstrated before? Does it bother you? Are you willing to invest time to try for a change? “If you answer ‘no’ to any of these questions, remove yourself from the situation,” Wyess said. “If you answer ‘yes,’ go on to step two.”
• Seek to understand the other person. Try to determine what caused the behavior. Seek that person’s thoughts on the matter and confirm your understanding of them by restating them. Then determine if you want a change in that person’s attitude and behavior. If ‘yes,’ go on to the next step.
• Try to influence the individual’s attitude by acknowledging the behavior that bothers you and discussing it with the person.
• Resolve the problem through mutually defined solutions. “The more the other person contributes to the solutions, the more the likelihood of success,” Wyess noted.
• Recover from the experience. Regain your positive attitude, follow through with commitments you’ve made to the other person, and then be sure to acknowledge changes in that person.

One of our biggest learnings is that the the success or failure of such meetings is hugely dependent on the language that is used. This may appear obvious but in practice it can be a challenge!

• I often wonder how much time goes into thinking about the impact of our words. Do we seek advice, sleep on it, research and understand the situation to its full extent?
• Are our words destuctive or constuctive and bring about a positive change?
• Are we honest and direct in our approach or do we tend to candy coat the situation because we are  afraid of the consequences? What is the outcome in the long run anyway?
• Do we consider the desired outcome or do we act on emotional impulses and create a whirl wind?
• Do we create an environment of fear through our words and stifle growth and creativity or encourage the voice of employees to flow with constuctive confidence?
• Are our words about ourselves and personal gain or are we outward focused considering the other side?

In closing I would like to share the language used by Bill Hybels, author of Powerful Leadership Proverbs during performance feedback sessions:

“For instance, if a serious problem exists with an underperforming staff member - especially if that person has been confronted by others before my meeting with them - I might look at them and say, “This is your 911 call. What we’re dealing with here carries with it the top level of urgency and importance. If this behaviour does not change - immediately - you will be asked to leave our staff. This is what I want you to remember when you walk out of the room today. Nine-one-one…are we clear?” We usually are.”

No mincing of words, clear, concise and it calls for action!

Performance discussions are often totally avoided or are handled very badly. The reason being is that they can be the bearers of bad news and perceived as being highly confrontational. Many organisations struggle to follow through on their performance management systems because of this, leading to passivity, lack of accountability and poor performance standards. These three tips are very useful to use in a performance discussion.

1. Identify the most important issue - Identify the “one big thing” the employee needs to work on. People can only work on one or two issues at a time, so even if there are several areas for development select the highest payoff issue. Ask yourself, “if the employee improved upon this aspect of performance would it increase overall effectiveness?” If the answer is a resounding yes, then you have uncovered the “one thing”. If the answer is “no”, or “well, maybe”, then keep looking.
Managers often give blanket statements, indicating that everything about the individual is not working. They struggle to get specific.

2. Craft the message - Create a statement describing what you want the employee to develop by describing the opposite of the area for performance improvement. In Steve’s case the message might sound something like this, “Given that you’re interested in a sales engineering role there’s one aspect of your performance that you’ll need some coaching on. In a customer facing role, particularly during the pre-sales period, it’s key to project a down to business formal persona. Would you be open to some coaching in this area?”

3. Manage the discussion - There is a better chance that the employee will be open to hearing what you have to say when the discussion is approached in a helpful “here’s what I’d like to see you develop” manner as opposed to a “here is the problem with you and all of the examples that prove the problem”. Demonstrate your support on the developmental areas while making it clear that the employee is ultimately responsible for reaching performance objectives. Conclude performance discussions by assessing and confirming the employee’s willingness to take responsibility for the area of development.

For further assistance with Performance Management call 0861HRadvice!

]]> http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-training-development/tips-for-effective-performance-discussions/feed/ http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-remuneration/market-related-salary/ http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-remuneration/market-related-salary/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:43:55 +0000 Rob Oakley http://www.hradvice.co.za/?p=280 Lately when doing market benchmarking I’ve sometimes heard the comment “I can get an X (Accountant/ Project Manager, etc) for less than the market package benchmarks you are showing me here”. It’s worth commenting on this.

The statement is of course true: there are always individuals whose services can be obtained for less than the “going rate”. The reasons are almost endless, and include:

· Those who are unemployed and urgently seeking employment;

· Those who are unaware of their true market worth;

· Those who are attracted by the reputation/image of the company or its proximity to their home;

· Those who are relatively independent financially and do not need a high package from their employer; etc.

However the purpose of market benchmarking is to establish the middle of the market (and the spread on either side of this midpoint) to obtain the most balanced view of an individual’s package relative to market.

In effect organisations need to pay their employees the packages for which those employees are prepared to work; this is a separate issue from market benchmarking. And often this “deal” (the accord struck between employer and employee regarding the package for which the employee is prepared to offer their services) works, sometimes for a long time. Just remember that eventually people do come to understand their true market worth and can end up leaving for greener pastures.

In essence it’s a risk management issue: the more you pay someone below their market worth, the more you are exposing yourself to the risk of the employee leaving for package reasons. Assessment of the degree of risk of losing specific individuals is key to this whole risk management process: some people create a bigger void on leaving the company than others.

This appears to be a very real and common problem in the workplace. Some of the observations that have been made are:

• Employees struggle to prioritise the important tasks and then just tackle anything and everything that lands on their desks
• Employees may not have a clear idea of what their Key Performance Areas (KPA’s) are so they assume these, possibly resulting in the wrong focus areas
• Employees are just genuinely overworked and just do not get to everything
• Employees are bored in their role and get distracted by the wrong things for example, Facebook, telephone calls, perpetually reading e-mails, having extended breaks and general unnecessary chit chat
• Some employees are absolute perfectionists and over analyse and scrutinise their work. This may take up unnecessary time and focus. They struggle to look at the big picture
• Employees avoid certain tasks because they are too difficult and appear unachievable. This could be because they do not have the right skill set or they fear failure
• The employee’s work ethic does not match the needs of the organisation. This is often an attitudinal problem where employees may not have respect for the manager’s or company’s deadlines and levels of expectations on deadlines

What can be done to avoid these problems?

• Ensure a strong job skill fit. The employee needs to have the skills for the job they have been employed to carry out. Be thorough in your recruitment process
• From the outset an employee needs clearly defined KPA’s. They have to be in agreement with these KPA’s. Review the KPA’s regularly. This process should identify why the employee is not getting to everything and prompt solutions
• Have regular feedback sessions with your employees and tackle concerns and problems immediately. A healthy forum leads to constructive guidance and employees begin to feel they can also ask for assistance where necessary
• Hold employees accountable for boundaries that have been set by the company. For example: if there is a limit on internet and telephone access and the employee exceeds it, then have a conversation with the employee, explain your dissatisfaction, get their response and if necessary, deduct the excess cost. Many employers leave these issues until they are so frustrated they want to fire the employee
• As Managers build confidence and develop a skill set to deal with conflict. Letting problems blow over normally results in dirt in someone’s eye!!

]]> http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-training-development/busy-with/feed/ http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-training-development/do-you-delegate-key-responsibilties-to-your-staff/ http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-training-development/do-you-delegate-key-responsibilties-to-your-staff/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:25:41 +0000 Diana Rankin http://www.hradvice.co.za/?p=278 Too often we observe that managers are over worked and stressed and when we dig deeper we see that they are struggling with the ‘art’ of delegating.

Delegation is often met with trepidation. There are many reasons why management don’t readily delegate:

• They are worried that the person won’t do the job as well as they could themselves
• The manager thinks that the person is not able or willing to do a good job. Perhaps there have been times when the person produced poor results - sloppy, late, incomplete, or just wrong. Perhaps the manager had to step in and take back the assignment.
• Managers may hesitate because they think that the other person lacks the required skills or because they think that the person lacks interest or motivation to do the job right
• Managers fear that by delegating, they are working themselves out of a job
• Sometimes managers simply don’t know HOW to delegate

Consider, though, that at least part of the problem may be the manner in which you, as a manager, are delegating. You may be having specific problems, for example:

• Projects are being completed past the deadline date
• Your instructions and advice may seem to be treated lightly, even ignored
• You are continually interrupted and requested to explain the process again
• Staff complain about lack of co-operation from others in completing the task
• Individuals decide to go off on a tangent, doing it their own way
• Projects are delayed until the last minute, forcing a rushed, unsatisfactory finish
• You have way too much on your plate

What are the benefits in delegating successfully?

• As a manager you need to get work accomplished through others. Delegating helps you get more done, and allows you to apply the strengths of your team members
• You will save time and deal with your core responsibilities. You will have time for new and interesting assignments
• Your overall work standards will improve
• You will not reach burnout stage, and instead are both pleasant to be around and a good motivator and mentor
• You are offering others an opportunity to learn, grow and be recognised for good work. You need skilled, effective staff that can get the job done
• You may be surprised by the positive way in which some staff take on the additional responsibility
• You and other staff are more likely to be promoted if you have groomed someone to take your place
• Things get done!

To master the ‘art’ of delegating you first have to acknowledge that there could be a problem. Ask your boss and colleagues whether there are any areas that they believe you can improve on. A Behavioural Assessment commonly known as the Personal Profile Analysis is a powerful tool used in identifying the delegating styles of managers in a business.

If the answer to this is NO, then read no further! For those who aren’t so sure I’d suggest its time for a self audit. One of the requirements of labour law is fairness - some speak of a two way street - I prefer, Do unto others as you would want done unto you.

So the real questions I have for you are:

Do you meet your own deadlines? Are you late for meetings? Do you regard your calls as more important than the issue of the person meeting with you? How much effort do you make in having the correct information and your thoughts in order when going into a meeting? Who are you sharing confidential matters with? If you have an open-plan office, to what extent do you take confidential calls in closed boardrooms, or away from the office?

I often see major disparities in the way management handle themselves, yet expect a different set of rules to apply to their staff.

Management need to set the example, be accountable, look to constantly “up their game”, improve their own standards, so that others want to follow them.

Do you provide the example others want to follow?

For some, one of the major lessons that managers have learnt during the tough times has been the need to retrench staff. This process requires tough, straight talk about serious matters. With retrenchment, consultation is necessary i.e. providing opportunities to consider alternatives to losing jobs, perhaps conducting business differently to reduce costs and work more efficiently.

May I suggest that consultation isn’t something reserved for bad times. Your staff normally understand their own jobs best, they certainly should know how the business runs, and many heads are better than a few. They can offer useful input on many things, if managers provide the correct forums and opportunities for them to do so.

Apart from chats around the tea trolley, consider more structured time with staff on a face to face basis, and collectively, departmentally and as a company as a whole.

Just as when adversity strikes, it’s necessary to be honest and open; to explain the situation and your resolve in finding solutions - together, - so do the same with the challenges and opportunities that 2010 will bring…and do it in direct, crisp, assertive language. Look staff in the eye and speak positively, explaining clearly what is needed and ensuring they all understand. Don’t beat around the bush, prepare, then talk with confidence, assurance and the facts! - staff need strong leaders.

Have a policy of inclusion, rather than exclusion - ask yourself if there is any reason why certain people shouldn’t hear the information you want to share. The more who hear it first-hand, the less chance for corridor talk, gossip and the grapevine.

When everyone understands the problems - and what they can do to help - they feel empowered to pitch in, contribute and grow.

We have a saying, people fire themselves…but managers MUST manage.

First questions we ask are:

- When did you last discipline or performance counsel the person?

- What formal records do you have of these meetings?

- What did the employee have to say about it?

- Have you clarified what you expect from the employee?

Unfortunately in most of the cases, the responses are along these lines…well, we had a few serious chats about this, and he knows how I feel. We didn’t actually put it in writing but it’s clear.

Well, clear to who? Based on what? …and if we were to talk to the employee, there’s generally a very different story, or total amnesia has set in.

If this is the response you’d be giving right now, then you’d actually be facing the FIRST step towards addressing the matter, certainly not the final one!

In other cases, the employer puts the first steps in place, with a comment that should it happen again, further action will be taken, but that action isn’t taken and so the months go by. By leaving the situation the employer is actually condoning the behaviour and the message is that it’s not that serious or important enough to take action.

Our legal system requires that we follow systematic steps i.e. procedural requirements in both performance and disciplinary matters. Be systematic in your approach, document ALL meetings and retain the emails and other correspondence; and follow up timeously when things aren’t at the required standard.

• “It’s ok , but I do not really have a choice, I have to earn a living to support my family”
• “I just do what I am asked to do”
• “I don’t really know, I have not really thought about it”
• “I love what I do and would not change it for the world!”

So what would your answer be?

Based on these different responses the commitment, degree of accountability and growth in the position would vary, BUT ultimately any employer would like to hear “I love what I do and would not change it for the world”.

The truth is that not many employees really spend enough time and effort on identifying where they are going with their careers. Being in a comfort zone; and fear of change are two major inhibitors. This is even more pertinent when companies are going through streamlining, re-structuring and retrenching due to the economic crunch. The learning should be that there are no guarantees in life and YOU are responsible for your career!

Having passion for your position shows in the following ways:

• your attitude is positive
• your performance is strong
• your growth in skill and knowledge in your position

Employees who show passion, confidence and accountability are the ones that a company will take steps to retain and develop!