Document Author: Rick Lynch, VMSystems
Snap Judgment Selection of Employees:
Supervisors often goof at the beginning. Poor worker selection may mean years of worker unhappiness and conflict with fellow workers and supervisors. If the supervisor does a poor job of sizing up the applicant, then a misfit is as likely as not to occur.
Letting the Job Grow Out of Control
Careless supervisors plus particularly ambitious or lazy workers can shape jobs carelessly. New duties are assigned to the worker who has the capability or the time to squeeze the work in. Lazy workers tend to shrug off unpleasant, demanding or boring duties. Ambitious workers sometimes gobble up all the duties in sight - without regard to whether they are wasting their high-level skills carrying a gold-brick. Good supervision requires good job design.
Failure to Make Assignments Clear
Vague instructions are bad. Supervisors should make specific, detailed assignments and then give subordinates the authority needed to accomplish them. A worker can't do a job without adequate authority. Divided responsibility results in misunderstanding conflict and low productivity
Being a Boss Rather than a Leader
"When I give an order around here, I want it obeyed!" Everybody knows the type. The easy way for a supervisor is to know it all and brook no interference. It's much easier to handle problems if one doesn't have to consider alternative solutions and possible disadvantages.
Indifference toward Discipline and Recognition
Nothing makes subordinates more indifferent toward discipline and achievement than the supervisor who couldn't care less. High morale and high productivity are engendered by the supervisor who demands good quality work and recognizes and regards achievement. The important thing is that recognition is given and more significant achievements are openly acknowledged.
Too Busy to Train
The supervisor who is too busy getting out production to take the time to train subordinates adequately isn't doing a good job. This kind of supervisor is the fellow who can never be away from their own job. More often than not, proper employee training would make it easier to reach production goals.
Playing Everything Close to the Chest
Perhaps worst of all is the supervisor who keeps to all to themselves. They neglect to pass the work. Nobody knows where they stand. Instructions from this person are curt and incomplete. Questions are frowned on or rejected. This kind of supervisor typically keeps their own bosses in the dark, too. Turnover, overloads, slowdowns, and other problems occur unexpectedly.
How do you fix these problems or prevent them from happening in the first place?
Train, Train, Train!! http://www.pwhrm.com/
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
7 Tips for Raising the Productivity of your Team
Top consultant Susan M. Heathfield, who serves as HR expert for the website About.com, suggests the following seven ways in which you can encourage positive, powerful self-expectations in the employees on your team.
1. Provide increasingly challenging assignments for your team members. (Make sure employees succeed at each level before moving forward.)
2. Enable each team member to participate in potentially successful projects that bring continuous improvement to the workplace.
3. Provide one-on-one coaching for your team members. (This coaching should emphasize improving what the employee does well rather than focusing on weaknesses.)
4. Provide developmental opportunities that reflect what the employee is interested in learning about.
5. Assign successful senior employees to play a developmental mentoring role with team members.
6. Hold frequent, positive verbal interactions with team members, and communicate consistently your firm belief in each employee's ability to perform the job. Keep feedback positive and developmental where possible.
7. Make sure team members receive consistent messages from other supervisory personnel. How you speak about employees to others powerfully molds their opinions.
Employee & Leadership Training, Employee Assessments, and Team Building Activities are all great tools for increasing the productivity of you team.
1. Provide increasingly challenging assignments for your team members. (Make sure employees succeed at each level before moving forward.)
2. Enable each team member to participate in potentially successful projects that bring continuous improvement to the workplace.
3. Provide one-on-one coaching for your team members. (This coaching should emphasize improving what the employee does well rather than focusing on weaknesses.)
4. Provide developmental opportunities that reflect what the employee is interested in learning about.
5. Assign successful senior employees to play a developmental mentoring role with team members.
6. Hold frequent, positive verbal interactions with team members, and communicate consistently your firm belief in each employee's ability to perform the job. Keep feedback positive and developmental where possible.
7. Make sure team members receive consistent messages from other supervisory personnel. How you speak about employees to others powerfully molds their opinions.
Employee & Leadership Training, Employee Assessments, and Team Building Activities are all great tools for increasing the productivity of you team.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Missouri Legislation E-Verify
E-Verify Legislation
On July 7, 2008, Governor Matt Blunt signed legislation (HB 1549) aimed at curbing illegal immigration in Missouri. Under the new law, employers that knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized aliens to perform work in Missouri could face civil liability in state courts and lose their business licenses. (Note: This provision of the new law goes into effect on January 1, 2009). Although this conduct has long been prohibited under federal law, the new state law will allow investigation and enforcement by the Missouri Attorney General and the filing of a civil lawsuit in Missouri state court. The law also requires the following entities to participate in a federal work authorization program (currently known as “E-Verify”):
Any business entity that applies for a contract or grant in excess of $5,000 with the state of Missouri or one of its political subdivisions or applies for a tax credit, tax abatement, or loan from the state of Missouri; and
All public employers.
Although private employers are not required to participate in E-Verify, the law encourages them to do so. Any employer that is enrolled in E-Verify will be afforded an “affirmative defense” to a charge that it has knowingly hired an unauthorized alien.
What is E-Verify?
DHS requires all employers to record new employee data on Form I-9. That involves getting official documents from the employee that prove two things: 1) Their identity...that they are who they say they are, and 2) Their employment eligibility...that they have the right to work in this country. Form I-9 became a requirement when the Immigration Reform and Control Act was passed in 1986. E-Verify is a system that allows employers to know right away that employee Social Security numbers and employment eligibility documents are authentic.
It’s the law: you must verify the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees through proper and timely Form I-9 completion. As illegal immigrant workplace issues heat up, you can bet that the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are aggressively checking that businesses are fully compliant.
The responsibility is on you. If you fail to properly complete, retain, or make I-9 Forms available for inspection, fines range from $275 to $11,000 per employee.
How we can help.
Our federally approved system combines paperless Form I-9 completion, storage, and verification using E-verify into one cost-effective solution. The system includes:
Current Employees
Full audit of existing I-9’s
Corrections to ensure legal compliance
Input of existing I-9’s to paperless solution – no more forms to store!
Automatic destruction in accordance to regulations
Tracking and management of document expirations
Secure online access to information and reports
New Hires
Electronic I-9 completion eliminates form errors
Instructions and signatures in English and Spanish ensures compliance
Automatic E-Verify submission upon form I-9 completion
People Wise handles all tentative and no-match notifications
We handle the entire process with you and your employee ensuring that every step is handled in compliance with the law!
Additional Features
Training for up to three administrators
Accessed via Internet – No software required!
No Monthly or Annual Fees!
Request a FREE Demo Today at http://www.pwhrm.com/
On July 7, 2008, Governor Matt Blunt signed legislation (HB 1549) aimed at curbing illegal immigration in Missouri. Under the new law, employers that knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized aliens to perform work in Missouri could face civil liability in state courts and lose their business licenses. (Note: This provision of the new law goes into effect on January 1, 2009). Although this conduct has long been prohibited under federal law, the new state law will allow investigation and enforcement by the Missouri Attorney General and the filing of a civil lawsuit in Missouri state court. The law also requires the following entities to participate in a federal work authorization program (currently known as “E-Verify”):
Any business entity that applies for a contract or grant in excess of $5,000 with the state of Missouri or one of its political subdivisions or applies for a tax credit, tax abatement, or loan from the state of Missouri; and
All public employers.
Although private employers are not required to participate in E-Verify, the law encourages them to do so. Any employer that is enrolled in E-Verify will be afforded an “affirmative defense” to a charge that it has knowingly hired an unauthorized alien.
What is E-Verify?
DHS requires all employers to record new employee data on Form I-9. That involves getting official documents from the employee that prove two things: 1) Their identity...that they are who they say they are, and 2) Their employment eligibility...that they have the right to work in this country. Form I-9 became a requirement when the Immigration Reform and Control Act was passed in 1986. E-Verify is a system that allows employers to know right away that employee Social Security numbers and employment eligibility documents are authentic.
It’s the law: you must verify the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees through proper and timely Form I-9 completion. As illegal immigrant workplace issues heat up, you can bet that the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are aggressively checking that businesses are fully compliant.
The responsibility is on you. If you fail to properly complete, retain, or make I-9 Forms available for inspection, fines range from $275 to $11,000 per employee.
How we can help.
Our federally approved system combines paperless Form I-9 completion, storage, and verification using E-verify into one cost-effective solution. The system includes:
Current Employees
Full audit of existing I-9’s
Corrections to ensure legal compliance
Input of existing I-9’s to paperless solution – no more forms to store!
Automatic destruction in accordance to regulations
Tracking and management of document expirations
Secure online access to information and reports
New Hires
Electronic I-9 completion eliminates form errors
Instructions and signatures in English and Spanish ensures compliance
Automatic E-Verify submission upon form I-9 completion
People Wise handles all tentative and no-match notifications
We handle the entire process with you and your employee ensuring that every step is handled in compliance with the law!
Additional Features
Training for up to three administrators
Accessed via Internet – No software required!
No Monthly or Annual Fees!
Request a FREE Demo Today at http://www.pwhrm.com/
Thursday, July 3, 2008
What 8 things do employees want?
Hint, money is not on the list...
This article was origianally printed in BLR's weekly newsletter.
Is money the key to retention and productivity? It helps, says the Christian Science Monitor's Marilyn Gardner, but it's not enough. Beyond pay and benefits lie eight key factors that influence "happiness" at work-factors that motivate workers and keep them at your organization. Here's our distillation of Gardner's eight factors, as found on the website, communityinvestmentnetwork.org.
1. Appreciation
Praise heads the list for many workers, and it doesn't cost the employer anything to provide it, says Gardner. A sincere thank you or a short note can mean a great deal.
2. Respect
Again there is no cost and a big payback. Respect plays out in letting people know that their work is appreciated, in treating them like adults, and in being fair in your dealings with them.
3. Trust
Trust is the action side of respect. People need guidance, but they need to know that their boss trusts them to be able to get a job done on their own.
4. Individual Growth
Today's workers-especially the Gen Y group-want training, want to take on new challenges, and want to advance based on their new abilities. Giving a raise without increasing responsibilities could actually backfire, notes Gardner. As one expert says, if you give more money to an unhappy employee, you end up with a wealthier unhappy employee.
5. Good Boss
It's the old saw: People don't leave companies, they leave bosses. In a recent Robert Half survey, Gardner notes that 1,000 Gen Y workers ranked "working with a manager I can respect and learn from" as the most important aspect of their work environment.
6. Compatible Co-workers
Working with people you enjoy is also very important, says Gardner. Spending the day-every day-with people you don't like does not make for a productive workplace.
7. Compatible Culture
Employees want a work environment that fits their needs. That could mean hard-driving, high paying, or it could mean high flexibility and significant attention to work/life balance.
8. A Sense of Purpose
People want to know that they are contributing to something worthwhile. They need to know what the organization's core purpose is and what it is trying to achieve. And then they need to know how their particular job fits into the whole.
One of the interesting things that Gardner discovered about employee "happiness" is that there is a disconnect between what managers think and what employees think about happiness at work.
Managers tend to think that salary and benefits are the main motivators, while workers consistently respond that factors such as those mentioned above are what's important. Successful organizations will find a good balance to retain their best people.
Employee Training, Employee Assessments, and Team Building Activities are all great tools to use to improve employee engagement.
This article was origianally printed in BLR's weekly newsletter.
Is money the key to retention and productivity? It helps, says the Christian Science Monitor's Marilyn Gardner, but it's not enough. Beyond pay and benefits lie eight key factors that influence "happiness" at work-factors that motivate workers and keep them at your organization. Here's our distillation of Gardner's eight factors, as found on the website, communityinvestmentnetwork.org.
1. Appreciation
Praise heads the list for many workers, and it doesn't cost the employer anything to provide it, says Gardner. A sincere thank you or a short note can mean a great deal.
2. Respect
Again there is no cost and a big payback. Respect plays out in letting people know that their work is appreciated, in treating them like adults, and in being fair in your dealings with them.
3. Trust
Trust is the action side of respect. People need guidance, but they need to know that their boss trusts them to be able to get a job done on their own.
4. Individual Growth
Today's workers-especially the Gen Y group-want training, want to take on new challenges, and want to advance based on their new abilities. Giving a raise without increasing responsibilities could actually backfire, notes Gardner. As one expert says, if you give more money to an unhappy employee, you end up with a wealthier unhappy employee.
5. Good Boss
It's the old saw: People don't leave companies, they leave bosses. In a recent Robert Half survey, Gardner notes that 1,000 Gen Y workers ranked "working with a manager I can respect and learn from" as the most important aspect of their work environment.
6. Compatible Co-workers
Working with people you enjoy is also very important, says Gardner. Spending the day-every day-with people you don't like does not make for a productive workplace.
7. Compatible Culture
Employees want a work environment that fits their needs. That could mean hard-driving, high paying, or it could mean high flexibility and significant attention to work/life balance.
8. A Sense of Purpose
People want to know that they are contributing to something worthwhile. They need to know what the organization's core purpose is and what it is trying to achieve. And then they need to know how their particular job fits into the whole.
One of the interesting things that Gardner discovered about employee "happiness" is that there is a disconnect between what managers think and what employees think about happiness at work.
Managers tend to think that salary and benefits are the main motivators, while workers consistently respond that factors such as those mentioned above are what's important. Successful organizations will find a good balance to retain their best people.
Employee Training, Employee Assessments, and Team Building Activities are all great tools to use to improve employee engagement.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Boomers Hit 62 in June!
We have been anticipating for years the tidal wave of Baby Boomers who will be hitting the retirement age all at once. That time is here, the first wave of Boomers have just qualified for Social Security. This could be really bad news, however, according to a recent study conducted by the AARP, most of them are not planning on retiring, not completely anyway. They found that most Baby Boomers expect to work at least part-time in their retirement.
According to Charles Wonderlic of the famed employment management and testing firm, Wonderlic, Inc., this is really good news for business. His research shows that you may get the most dedication and retention from senior workers. Here's what he's found:
Dedication. Senior workers are dedicated to the concept of doing a good job. It's an old-fashioned value often not found in younger workers, says Wonderlic.
Motivation. Senior workers actually want to work! Some, of course, simply are after supplementary income, but they also want to get out of the house, to interact with people, and to do something useful.
Satisfaction. Seniors aren't trying to advance up the ladder. They're not gaining experience just to move on to another employer. They're not competing with their co-workers. They are satisfied where they are.
Experience. Seniors can handle a lot. Tough boss? Lazy boss? Annoying aspects to the job? They've seen and heard it all. Whatever it is, they just take it in stride.
Work ethic. Studies show that seniors come to work on time, don't complain, and do their jobs with enthusiasm.
Some people call this collection of characteristics the "Silver Collar." Whatever you call it, you're going to have a good experience with your older workers, says Wonderlic. Of course, you'll have to modify some policies to make allowances for the flexibility that older workers require. Well, just add that to the list of policies that need upgrading, right?
Need help updating your company policies? PeopleWise can help! Call 816-858-7300 today!
According to Charles Wonderlic of the famed employment management and testing firm, Wonderlic, Inc., this is really good news for business. His research shows that you may get the most dedication and retention from senior workers. Here's what he's found:
Dedication. Senior workers are dedicated to the concept of doing a good job. It's an old-fashioned value often not found in younger workers, says Wonderlic.
Motivation. Senior workers actually want to work! Some, of course, simply are after supplementary income, but they also want to get out of the house, to interact with people, and to do something useful.
Satisfaction. Seniors aren't trying to advance up the ladder. They're not gaining experience just to move on to another employer. They're not competing with their co-workers. They are satisfied where they are.
Experience. Seniors can handle a lot. Tough boss? Lazy boss? Annoying aspects to the job? They've seen and heard it all. Whatever it is, they just take it in stride.
Work ethic. Studies show that seniors come to work on time, don't complain, and do their jobs with enthusiasm.
Some people call this collection of characteristics the "Silver Collar." Whatever you call it, you're going to have a good experience with your older workers, says Wonderlic. Of course, you'll have to modify some policies to make allowances for the flexibility that older workers require. Well, just add that to the list of policies that need upgrading, right?
Need help updating your company policies? PeopleWise can help! Call 816-858-7300 today!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
