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Employee Relations: March 2010 Archives
I haven't done a scientific study, but results over the years have indicated to me that people who are introduced and assimilated into a work culture immediately upon hire stay longer, are more productive, and more successful longterm.
From my experience and those of my management peers, employees who spend time with their direct supervisor, co-workers and key players in the organization within the first day or week of employment tend to stay with the organization and be more productive.
One place I worked, my new boss took me to lunch on my first day; another, it was the first week. Every place I have worked has involved this type of indocrinization.
How can this be applied elsewhere? Whether its your students, your employees, or your social group, going out of your way to make sure the new kid on the block feels like they know their role and how they will interact with others is the right thing to do.
Take time out with every new person, and you will spend less time out recruiting to replace them later on.
I had some friends who used to say they worked for "A manager - he manages to do nothing at all." Unfortunately, in many work situations, that seems to be the perception about management.
Having an effective MBWA (Management By Walking Around) strategy can enable you to look busy, stay on top of your staff, and keep others from thinking you are "managing to do nothing". While management needs to focus on the days sales, productivity, or other immediate goals while also balancing long-term success, managers who show employees that they know how to do their jobs (or the stresses involved in those jobs) are the ones who are the most credible.
Managers can sometimes be manager in name only, and unfortunately in the case of the manager who manages to do nothing at all, that perception may never go away, especially with those who are perennial malcontents or wish they had the title of manager. However, it nonetheless is important to walk the talk, spend time each day with every employee, even if it is just a minute or two talking about the days activities, and you will find that you are among the very best at what you do.
Are your rewards systems and pay systems designed to reward innovation and inclusion, or single-mindedness and seclusion?
These are issues companies face every day. In an environment that awards singular effort, there may be others who contribute as much (if not more) than others. If the team is recognized, the morale increases, and similar projects succeed.
However, if one team member consistently takes credit for the hard work, and is rewarded for that work, this can lead to long-term morale decreases amongst those whose efforts are not recognized.
Next time you consider recognizing a member of your staff for their efforts, first look at everyone who was involved, and publicly thank and recognize all of those who may have been a part of the effort.
It's important to maintain consistency amongst management team members in terms of the message being sent to staff or team members reporting to you.
However, where consistency can sometimes rear its ugly head is when certain members of the team choose to follow too closely to the rules and regulations as to be obstinate or unopen to change.
An example is attendance policy. If someone is consistently late, rather than immediately rushing to fire the person, a better approach would be to see if their commute is affected by the time they are scheduled. There may be some extraneous details that are causing this person to be late all the time.
Another example is an open door policy. Some people may claim to have an open door policy, but then refuse to meet with people after meetings or at times when an appointment is not possible. There needs to be a balance of flexibility and with rigidness; certainly a pop-in appointment shouldn't be the norm, but it also shouldn't be frowned upon.
Be careful when following rules to strictly (especially rules you have come up with on your own that are not company policy.)
Q: I have a boss who always seems to jump to conclusions without looking in detail at work I've done, and then send me "nastygrams" via email complaining about some policy issue or infraction. If he would actually read my attachment thoroughly, he then would realize that what I have done is correct. In the end, what usually happens is I get frustrated, he gets frustrated, and if he had just read what I sent more clearly there would never be misunderstanding. Help!
A: Email communications can be the downfall of many a relationship or create massive unproductive spells. Where possible, avoid email altogether.
Sounds to me that you need to provide more detail explaining what you are sending along, so that way there aren't a flurry of emails back and forth, and that way the message explains itself.
Better yet, consider showing your boss your work prior to sending it, and that way any questions are answered at the draft stage.
Regardless of the sender, it's important to critique your criticism before you deliver it, because you may find that when you do criticize, you will be taken more seriously. The more accurate and detailed your initial analysis is, the less you are likely to criticize others by rushing to judgement.
A question that comes up often in conversations with people is whether or not companies should grant unpaid time off for workers who don't have enough vacation time earned. My answer to this most of the time is yes.
Many companies don't grant time off to employees until they have worked six months with a company. Often, employees have events like weddings, family trips, and college commitments that require additional time off outside the norm. By granting employees unpaid time off during these times, you can save your company a few dollars, allow your employee to feel like their time is valued, and create a commitment to your company that may currently be lacking.
In a world where spare time is sparse, granting an employee a half day off unpaid or even a couple hours off in the middle of the day can really show the difference between a loss of productivity and a loss of a long-term asset to the company. The short-term loss of having that employee available for a single day is completely offset by the value you have given in balancing that employee's personal commitments from time to time.
Q: I work in an office with 4 other people. My boss rarely has us meet, and usually when we do meet it is about every 6 months and it usually has something to do with what we are doing wrong. How often should we meet as a team and as individuals?
A: Sounds like a tough spot you are in; good teams have regular dialogue every day, so the need for a sit-down meeting may not be very necessary. However, since it sounds like when you do have a meeting it is to point out flaws, perhaps you may want to suggest to your boss that your team should meet more regularly so it doesn't feel that way.
Very often, meetings are ineffective because they have no agenda or because they focus on the negative. Look at the reasons why you want to meet more often with everyone, and see if there is something you can do to get together without the boss, and then share the meeting results with him.
Every company needs a protocol to ensure communication across all levels of management is consistent. Once in a while, someone may go too far up or down the ladder of management to communicate information, or may not communicate properly at all.
An open door policy is most effective when proper protocols are put in place so it is used efficiently. Having a company email address and phone number that people can reach you at to set up an appointment is best. Some people aren't comfortable spilling details over email, but at least using email and the phone to book the time can prevent a lot of inefficiency.
Over the past two years, I've seen the level of dialogue I've had with people become more effective because people use email and the phone to address issues before making an in-person visit.
As managers, the open door should be open for the open door policy to be effective, but that doesn't mean the open door has to be walked through; just as effectively, a well-crafted email and phone policy can make you seem more open to feedback than you are now.
A couple companies I do work with recently had going away parties for retiring employees. In one case, a new employee had already been hired to fill this person's position. It made me think that perhaps the going away party is only effective if we also celebrate the arrival of someone new to that role.
So much effort is put into recognizing someone who is leaving a company; if the same effort could be put in to welcome a new member of the organization, imagine how much more welcome they would feel to be on board.
Certainly, the extravagance that may go into recognizing someone who has given years of their life to the organizations will dwarf what is done for their replacement, but a welcoming party where the entire staff is invited can certainly provide an appropriate way for the replacement to come in and feel welcome as well.
I visited Florida this past weekend, and reconnected with several former colleagues and business associates. It was such an invigorating experience to sit down for a cup of coffee with Cristina, a former cast member of mine at Disney now working in sales at a downtown Orlando property. I also took my friend Joe (who recruited me 13 years ago) to a basketball game. As well I had dinner with James, a former coworker from 15 years ago, and spoke to his class at UCF.
Rekindling relationships with those who worked with you can help you reconnect with some of your past successes, explore new opportunities to work together, or just to reminisce and catch up on what has been going on over the past few years.
Being able to combine a business trip with some time with family helped me yet again realize just how much our personal and business lives intersect. Its important not only to connect to people online, but to regularly "break bread" with those who helped you along the way and have been part of your life at so many key moments.
I'm planning another trip in late April/early May to again reconnect with some former colleagues and business associates. This trip meant so much to me; to see the difference that we have made in each other's lives (and how the relationships I have built with them over such a long period) makes the effort to get there so worth it.
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