02May/14

Increasing Job Quality and Productivity

May 2, 2014BlogEmployee, Management, Problem Solving, TrainingVictoria

Krispy Kreme Donuts by Neil T ©

Part of a manager’s job is to get excellent quality and high productivity from the team. What’s important to understand is that this is a universal truth whether you are making widgets or analyzing data. The end goal doesn’t change. So how does that happen? If you keep these three concepts in the forefront, things will be much smoother in the long run.

Training is paramount

We all know that training is important but there’s a problem. The training budget is usually the first thing that goes when things are tough because the suits don’t (or won’t) understand that everything that happens in an organization is based on the quality of the training. Why? Because training is the tie into increased quality and production. Think about what training is. It is “the effort to increase the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) of employees and managers so that they can better do their present jobs”. By investing time and resources to train staff in the correct way to run the business, organizations can save themselves a lot of headache cleaning up behind them. Additionally, the ability to cross-train employees not only enhances employee worth but makes routine jobs more interesting.

Don’t let the word “training” scare you. Think about the definition and look for opportunities all around you. Your opportunities don’t have to be expensive; they just have to be relevant. You don’t have to hire someone to develop an in-depth program that results in a certificate and a photo op. In fact, that type of training can often be looked at as a box to check off for the sake of getting it done. Look around and see how you can use whatever is happening in your workplace as a true training experience. Here’s an example: I once supervised the dispatchers for an Animal Control Shelter. To help them understand how their performance directly affected the field officer’s ability to do the job, I started sending them out with an officer for a day. This did a few things: (1) the dispatcher was able to actually see how the officers used the information they gave out; (2) They could hear how their peers sounded on the air and give constructive feedback while taking note of their own on-air performance; (3) It was a great morale booster because it gave each of them an entire day off of the phones and out of the office. I then used staff meetings to discuss the rides-along and in time, the group began to “train itself” in terms of best practices and problem solving.

Performance measurement

Another way to affect quality and productivity is to develop performance standards that clearly define expectations. Employees can be held accountable when they are given goals that align with quality and productivity expectations. Yes, your company may have a set standard for performance appraisals but the truth is that they are mostly designed to ensure the company is adhering to policy. If you must use the company standard appraisal, fine. That doesn’t mean you can’t elaborate and use it to spell out your expectations. In fact, if done correctly, your process should make it that much easier to fill out the “official” form. Use the appraisal as a tool to influence performance. Notice I said influence – not dictate. Meet with your employee regularly to “check in” with each other and make mid-course corrections. A weekly one-on-one can be done in five minutes. A well designed appraisal system can “serve to identify performance weaknesses for which training or counseling would be beneficial”. As long as the supervisor employs a system designed to nurture the employee, the appraisal can be a powerful tool to help achieve organizational goals.

Effective Job Analysis

In order for employees to be able to perform well, the job has to be properly defined. Are your employees doing what they were hired to do? If not, maybe it’s time to rewrite the job description. Make sure the description spells out what the employee is supposed to be doing in terms of duties and responsibilities. If not done correctly, the possibility exists that you could wind up with redundant duties across classifications and/or lack of clarity about who is supposed to do what. Additionally, a poor job description could mean missed training opportunities to improve procedures and processes, both of which could affect the productivity and quality of an organization’s output.

Bottom Line

Make sure your people know what is expected of them (job description), seek out training opportunities using all available resources (think outside of the box), and hold employees accountable (properly designed performance appraisals). Do these things consistently and I guarantee that you will see improvement in quality and productivity.

References:

Berman, E. M., Bowman, J. S., West, J. P., & Van Wart, M. (2001). Human resource management in public service: Paradoxes, processes and problems. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Foster, M. R. (2005). Effective job analysis methods. In S.E. Condrey (Ed.), Handbook of human resource management in government (2nd ed., pp. 528-555). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

08Apr/14

Purses and Managers

April 8, 2014BlogLeadership, Management, Policy, QuestionVictoria

My wife loves purses. In fact she loves them so much that she has them displayed on a wall in our home. Personally, I don’t get it but it makes her happy. So image our surprise when we went to our local outlet mall and we’re stopped at the door of a designer purse shop because we had to wait in line to get in. There was no sale, no specials, just a routine day at the mall. As far as I could tell, there were about a dozen people actually in the store and four people queuing up waiting for four of those lucky insiders to leave. Curious, I asked the young lady at the door why. Her answer? They didn’t want the store to be too crowded. We went to another store.

The practice of having people stand in line just to get into a store angers me on several levels. It reeks of poor management and lousy leadership from the view of the patron, the employee and the manager.

I looked at the patron’s view. As a potential customer I felt unwelcome. The young lady standing outside of the store at the door became a physical and psychological barrier that let me know that the store did not welcome my presence or my business ‐whether they needed it or not.

I thought about it from the employee’s view. “Great another day of standing outside doing traffic control and getting snarky remarks from people when I could be selling that cute little blue number in the window. Tomorrow, I’ll see if the store across the street has any openings where I can actually sell something.

I thought about the manager who follows this policy in June when there are not masses pushing and shoving to get to the cute little blue number in the window. The whole thing is absolutely ridiculous. It may make sense the day after Thanksgiving but not on a Saturday in April even if some people do consider baseball opening day to be a national holiday.

So why do it in the first place? My first thought was loss prevention. If shoplifting is that big of a problem hire a security guard. Is it too expensive? If that’s the case, the employee standing outside the door is nothing more than cheap, unskilled labor. Is she trained to stop a shoplifter? Is she even trained to spot one and if so, how can she if she’s outside watching people stand in line? Unless her job is to keep potential thieves from entering the store in the first place, the loss prevention angle isn’t looking good.

Next, I considered the possibility that the store wanted to create an atmosphere of wealth and exclusivity. You know, like those clubs where you stand in line all night to pay a huge cover charge you don’t have to be in the same room (albeit miles away) with some celebrity you don’t – and will probably never – know. None of that matters because you can say that you were there. Well, if that’s the reason for the line I’m thinking an outlet mall is the wrong place. People are there looking for deep discounts on perfume and shoes, not celebrities and expensive drinks. The concept is pretentious and hopefully, people are smart enough to see through it.

So if it’s not loss prevention or posturing, what is it? It’s a memo from corporate and this is where managers need to stand up and manage. This is when they must be brave enough to tell corporate that what works on 5th Avenue won’t necessarily work in anytown USA. Listen up managers ‐ this is your call to action. Your job is to make your company successful. It is not part of your job; it is your only job. How do you do that? Simple – don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you are afraid that you will be fired for asking questions, turn in your resignation – you are not ready to manage anyone let alone lead them . Question any policy that lowers team morale and drives away customers. Question any policy that not only allows but instructs you to give your patrons and your staff less than the very best you have to offer. Yes, the head office will dictate policy from above because it seems best for the entire company but they will never know that a blanket approach won’t always work ‐ unless someone tells them. If you don’t tell them, the person replacing you will.

21Mar/14

Problem Employee? Help is on the Way

March 21, 2014BlogBehavior, Coach, EAP, Managerial Courage, Policy and Procedures, Problem EmployeeVictoria

Frustrated Brown skinned woman in black sweater with both hands on top of her head

Congratulations, you’ve just inherited your first problem employee! His attitude has become negative over the last couple of months and it’s starting to affect the rest of your staff. People are complaining and you finally decide that it’s time to do something. Where do you start?

There’s a saying that 90% of a manager’s time will be required by only 10% of his/her staff. What that really means is that you will spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with the dreaded “problem employee” like the one above. Why? Is it because this is someone who requires your constant personal attention just to get the basic work done? Or is it because you lack the tools and skills necessary to deal with the problem effectively? Maybe, but the problem employee is a problem you (or someone before you) created and now you have to clean up the mess. It’s your fault because you failed to address the issue the minute you recognized it.

WHY SMALL PROBLEMS MUSHROOM

Oftentimes, managers don’t address the little things until they become elephant in the room. Whether it’s because of lack of tools and skills, lack of managerial courage or the need to be politically correct doesn’t matter. Once the problem surfaces, everyone is in reactive mode and that makes it harder fix.

THE KEY

So how do you handle it? Before you sit down with the employee, get prepared. Analyze the situation from your own point of view. Make notes about what you’ve experienced in dealing with the employee and include any information you’ve received from others that validate your observations (no names). Think about how the behavior affects the organization and note the changes you expect to see and when you expect to see them. Then think about the consequences you are willing to offer if no change is seen. Write it all down – work with it until it makes sense. Consult your HR team for guidance on policy and procedures. After you’ve done all that, then you can have the conversation.

THE CONVERSATION

Before you start talking about the things on your list, ask the employee this one question: “IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?” Neither your concern nor the employee’s answer excuses the behavior but it does start the conversation off on the right foot. This is about the employee and how to get them back to being productive. If there is something personal affecting the work, there may be resources (i.e. Employee Assistance Program (EAP), leave of absence, etc.) to help. If there are no outside influences, start addressing the issues. Once the issues are out in the open, it’s time to set a course of action.

State the issues clearly and make sure they’re understood “You yelled at your office mate yesterday. That’s the second time this week”
Let the employee know your expectations – and use the word, don’t tell them what you would “like”, tell them what you “expect”. “Your actions are not acceptable and it is my expectation that it won’t happen again”
Do not include a timeframe (i.e. in no improvement in __ days, then). Improvement must be “immediate and sustained” – again use the exact words. You want them to know that you expect them to do the job correctly from the time your conversation ends until they are no longer employed by the organization. Leave no room for interpretation.
State the consequences if they fail (verbal warning, written warning, termination). Write it down. Basic documentation isn’t difficult. Send a confirming email to the employee acknowledging the conversation and bullet the highlights. That way the next step whether termination or promotion is easy to justify. (Note: develop the habit of using confirming emails with all of your employees on anything important)
Let the employee know that you will routinely monitor and coach to help them succeed – then do it.

The Follow-up

Now it’s time to become the coach. Work with your employee on a regular basis noting progress (or setbacks) and making corrections along the way. Teach, correct, encourage, and reward. Don’t wait for a small problem to mushroom into a big one. Use the above steps the moment you notice the potential for problems. Your staff will thank you for it.