Creating an Environment of Engagement

by

Sherrie Suski, Environment of Engagement

With the first quarter of 2017 only visible in the rear-view mirror, as unbelievable as that seems, it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate what we want to accomplish in our organizations by the end of this year.

Employee engagement continues to be the buzz word of the decade. Constituents quote the statistics that engaged employees are more than 3 times as productive than the unengaged or 10x as productive as the actively disengaged.

Creating an environment of engagement and learning

To understand this concept, we need to understand the true meaning of the word empathy.  Empathy, as defined by the dictionary, is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.   Borrowing a term from Big Data, it means focusing on the user experience or UX.  It will require designing work for the employee through the lens of user experience (UX) with the goal being able to help the employees feel good about the work they are doing and have a solid understanding of the connection to the greater organizational goals.

It has little to do with nerf guns, skateboards and other “tools” used to sell an environment of engagement and much more to do with spending the time to understand what is important to the individual actually performing the job.  Maybe it’s ergonomic, like a chair with better back support, maybe it’s auditory, like a pair of headphones to tune out the chatter around them, maybe it’s offering a rotation of job duties to stave of boredom and the repetitive nature of the job.

Adopting a Management Style that supports engagement

Equally important to creating the right environment is fostering the right management style to support a team environment. A team is a group of talented people who work together to accomplish something beyond their individual best. In order to work together they need to be supported by managers who allows them to thrive. This style is built by leaders who understand how to communicate the vision of the company in a way that engages and encourages everyone to work towards that goal.

Leaders who are effective communicators, develop a sense of community, and show authentic transparency and concern for others will be able to build high performing and engaged teams of talented people.”

Creating jobs that support engagement

Go beyond traditional training classes that support skills based on-the-job training and look for peer-to-peer opportunities.  investigate ways to allow employees to “try out” another position for a day or even a few hours.   This has multiple advantages.  Not only does it build a more well-rounded and cross trained workforce, but it circles back to our definition of empathy, to understand and share the feelings of another.  A workforce who has had the opportunity to “stand in another’s shoes” is a workforce that is better equipped to understand the full business cycle.

How to Properly Terminate an Employee

by

sherrie-suski-parting-waysYou may have done everything right.  You may have given verbal warnings, written warnings, worked through an honest Performance Improvement Plan and coached and counseled, but there comes time when it becomes obvious that your employee is either unwilling to or incapable of performing the essential job functions.  

It’s a hard decision to come to as all of would like to see our subordinates succeed and when one fails, it is a failure, of sorts, for you and your whole team. There are a few steps you can take, though to make it easiest on yourself and the employee you are separating.

 

No Surprises

If you have done everything right, it will not come as a surprise to your employee that the time has come for them to move on.  They may be sad, but they will not stare at you with a look of incredulousness.  If you believe your employee will be surprised, revisit your process, because you have not done all you should have.

Focus on Behavior, not the Person

This really does make a difference.  It is not the person you cannot tolerate (or if it is the person, then pretend that it is not) it is the behavior.  Acknowledge that not everyone is good at everything and that there may be positions where this person would be much better suited.

Be unapologetically Truthful

Be matter of fact when discussing their shortcomings.  Outline the reasons you have come to the decision to terminate their employment.  You don’t need to be sorry about it or apologize for your decision.  Although it may seem kind to leave the door open for them to appeal your decision, it really is not.

Offer to Help

Not that someone being terminated will usually take you up on this, but it’s a nice gesture.  You can offer to review a resume, assure them that only dates of employment and title of last position will be released.  Assure them that you will not contest unemployment, assuming you will not.

Don’t give References

Resist the urge to offer or agree to give them a reference.  Although it sounds odd, I have had more people than not ask for references, verbal or written, after hearing they will be terminated.  I usually tell them that they would not want the reference I would give.
Carried out correctly, although never pleasant, a termination does not have to be unduly uncomfortable.  I have gotten plenty of hugs and even a few Christmas cards from employees I have had to terminate.  It can be done with dignity and respect.

Delivering an Effective Performance Appraisal

by

Sherrie Suski performance appraisalsSo, what you may have thought was the hard part of a Performance Appraisal and Merit Increase process is behind you.  You have written the appraisal for each of your employees and thoroughly thought about and distributed the merit increase amounts and any warranted market adjustments and promotions.  As much as you may want to just ignore this next step or to send your subordinate an appraisal by e-mail, resist that urge.  This is actually the MOST important part of the process. Below are some guidelines to help you deliver the most effective performance appraisals:

  • DO include examples and specific information under each assessment category
    • This will make it easier to stay on track and discuss all the pertinent points
  • DON’T use the canned verbiage- even if it is easy
    • It won’t effectively deliver your points and your subordinates will know that you did not take the time necessary to really think about them and their accomplishments
  • DO take the time necessary to do a thoughtful job on each appraisal
  • DO review each subordinates’ accomplishments
    • not just those that have occurred in the last quarter, but throughout the year.
  • Don’t rate everyone a 5 or even a 3 ( on a 1-5 rating scale).
    • It’s always easier to deliver good news than bad, but take your responsibility as a manager seriously and rate your employees realistically.
    • If you do need to rate someone a 1 or a 2- have specific examples ready to point to as the reason why you feel they are not performing adequately.
  • DO provide a copy to your subordinate and let them review it prior to meeting to discuss
    • This allows them time to digest and process your comments
  • DO leave time for questions and open discussion.
  • DO schedule uninterrupted time, usually an hour, for the discussion with your subordinate.
  • DO provide a summary at the end of the review that pulls all of the components together
  • Do talk about growth opportunities for next year and what you would like your subordinate to achieve, as well as goals they may have for themselves.

Done correctly, the performance appraisal discussion can open the door for better year round communication between you and your team!

 

Writing a Performance Appraisal

by

 

sherrie suski_performance appraisalWhether they are anniversary review dates or focal review dates, many managers dread sitting down to write their subordinates’ Performance Appraisals.  They aren’t sure what to say, how to say it and don’t want to disappoint or to give undeserved praise.  Below are some tips for writing effective appraisals.

Think- Spend some time thinking about what message you want to deliver.  What were some of their major accomplishments during the last year?  How do they compare to others on your team or to others in the organization?  What would you like to see them improve on?

Use specifics– where you can, give specific examples to support your ratings.  All ratings that are above or below a 3 on 1-5 rating scale should have comments.  State specifically what the positive impact of a project was or the negative consequences of continuously missed deadlines.  Employees need examples that they can relate to before you know that understanding has taken place.

Don’t use generic verbiage– Many software programs today will allow you to pick your comments from a drop down menu.  Resist the urge to do this.  It sends the wrong message to your subordinates, that you didn’t take the time to think of something unique to say about them.  It doesn’t have to be eloquent.  It does have to be honest and professional.

Keep it Professional– This is a document that will live in the employee’s file.  It says as much about you, the manager, as it does about the employee.  Do not use inappropriate language and do not use words like “lazy” or “doesn’t care”.  Those are judgements and do little to help the employee know what to improve upon.

Give honest ratings– not everyone is a 5 on a 1-5 scale, nor is everyone a 5 in all categories.  As a rule of thumb, about 10% of your team could be rated 5’s.  If you have performance issues, now is the right time to address these.  Do not give someone a 4 on a performance appraisal and expect to terminate them for performance the next month.

Be confident– When writing your assessment, be confidant in the thoughts you want to express and the words you use to express them.  You are the manager and your team is looking to you for guidance.  

Offer growth- no one wants to be in a stagnant position.  Everyone deserves the right to have the opportunity to grow either within their position or within the Company.  Let them know what areas you see that they could improve in, or that you could offer to get them involved in, in order to broaden their skill set.

Spend the time to write an honest and thoughtful performance appraisal and you will be rewarded with a staff that is continually improving!

TAH Human Resources 101: Establishing Your Core Competencies

by

sherrie suski business meeting

In our last article we discussed determining what the real purpose of your organization is, often referred to as your Mission Statement.  We emphasized how important it is for you and your employees to understand why your organization exists, what it does, who it does it for and how it does it.  This is the first stepping stone to building employee engagement and a productive workforce!

Once you have clearly defined and communicated your mission, your next stepping stone is figuring out a way to drive employee behavior in support of your mission.  One of the ways you can successfully do this is to create core competencies as a part of your overall Performance Management system.  Core competencies are particular behaviors that you want to encourage and measure in each individual in your organization.  You will want to think about 4-5 core competencies that are shared by all your employees.  These should be directly driven from your mission statement and the work you will do to support your mission statement.  

It is important to have shared core competencies to ensure that each of the employees are moving in the same direction and the same behavioral attributes are being rewarded across the organization.  Examples of these core competencies might be “Results Management” or “Critical Thinking”.  Competencies that are important for everyone in your organization to excel in.   You might also think about whether core competencies by function are important.  An example of a core competency by function might include “Attention to Detail” for your Accounting team, while an example of a core competency for your marketing team might be “Creativity and Innovation”.  If you are going to create these by function, try to limit it to another 4-5 so that you end up with no more than 10 total.

Another decision point is whether you want to level these core competencies to account for the differences in expectations between, for instance, an AP Clerk and a Dir., of Accounting.  In general, I feel it is important to use leveling as our expectations of one position are different than of the other.

There are many excellent Performance Management systems that exist on the market today.  Many will give you a list of core competencies to choose from, as well as letting you create more custom varieties for your own individual organizational needs.

Think about engaging your workforce to help choose the core competencies, especially those by function.  This will encourage both buy-in to your Performance Management process, as well as drive employee engagement.

Next time we’ll talk about developing goals which you will incorporate into your Performance Management system.

TAH Human Resources 101: Consciously Created Culture

by

 

sherrie suski brainstorming image

What is culture?  Culture is casually defined as the beliefs, customs, behaviors, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time.  So, just like each society has its own culture, each Company has its own culture as well.  In each company a culture exists – whether or not it is consciously created.  It is created by the way management treats the employees, by the way employees treat each other, and by the way the organization treats its customers.  It is created by the behaviors and attitudes that are rewarded and those that are penalized.  So, if you want to instill a particular culture within your organization, you need to consciously create it, and the sooner you do so, the better.  If you are so fortunate to have come into a blank slate, it is much easier to create a culture from scratch rather than to try and change what already exists.

 

To a large degree, this is the fortunate position we have found ourselves in.  We are hiring a large group of people over a short period of time and have the opportunity to instill our culture from the ground up, at least in the corporate office.  To quote a popular and excellent author, Simon Sinek, we started with WHY.  Why does our company exist?  There are many versions of this; some call it a vision or mission statement, which some use interchangeably although they are different.  Others call it Go-To statement, but it is, basically, all driving toward the same outcome.  How do we all align toward a common goal at the highest level.  Once the common purpose is hammered out and disseminated throughout the organization, which is an article in and of itself, it becomes time to figure out how you will put that purpose in place.  This is a good time to involve the rest of the organization, especially if you are working toward a more collaborative culture.  Create cross functional focus groups, brainstorm ideas on whiteboards or through interactive AV technology.  Work with them until they feel right, like they echo the essence of what you are trying to achieve.  There may be as few as five or as many as a dozen.  From there the real work starts because now each organization has to grapple with what they need to do in order to bring this cultural initiative to light.  These will become the performance metrics used to drive not only your culture, but the performance of your organization.

As a side note, culture can and should be drive by initiatives, performance metrics, goals and other measures, but culture also needs to be driven by the less tangible, kindness, compassion and empathy.  Cultures are driven by the words used and the deeds carried out every day.  They are driven by doing what is right for your employees as human beings.  By bringing in flowers on Mother’s Day, by handing out Good Gotcha’s, by taking the time to listen and to genuinely care.

Next time we’ll talk more about tying Performance Management in an organization to the cultural initiatives and then about metrics and measurements tied to the performance management core competencies and goals.