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Are you and your team hitting your half year goals?

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Well we are coming up to half year, how are you and your team doing with your objectives?   What should you do, well don’t wait until the end of the year.  If you aren’t having regular catch ups then it’s time to put in their diaries a half year catch up…. it gives them a chance to start looking at their objectives.

So just like a full appraisal you need to do the following

Before the meeting

  1. Take notes well in advance of the meeting

Preparation for the meeting in advance can go a long way as being able to recall notes from the first part of the year is very helpful when commenting on overall performance throughout the year.

  1. Give employees adequate notice of appraisal meetings.

At least two weeks and remind them after a week, as they need time to prepare.

  1. Give your employee an appraisal form

To be reviewed before the meeting to help them think through what they have done so far, what they see as barriers to effective performance; their plans for the second part of the year and their development and training needs.

  1. Plan and structure the meeting

Every appraisal will look different, but having a clear structure to the meeting will help everyone stay on track.

During the meeting

  1. Encourage your employee to do most of the talking

Ask questions that draw out the employee’s reactions and ideas. Leading questions or questions which only require a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response should be avoided.

  1. Make sure your employee feels at ease

Begin the meeting with fairly casual, routine remarks. Start with your employees’ strong points and place emphasis on good work already done.

  1. Discuss things that they are proud of and areas they would like to improve

If there are areas of performance that need to be improved then this need to be discussed openly, try to let the employee lead and acknowledge these areas.

  1. Talk about development opportunities

Give suggestions on steps forward and agree on these together.

  1. DON’T bring an concerns not previously discussed

There should be no surprises during the appraisal. If you have had any concerns about an incident or performance during the year this should have been raised at the time.

  1. Review objectives

i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-based.

Their role may have changed and so their objectives will have too.  You don’t want to get to their full appraisal and you document nothing has been achieved.

After the meeting

  1. Summarise everything

Hopefully you’ve been taking notes during the meeting? Your employee needs to own the objectives and goals you’ve set together so make sure they’re clear

  1. Provide a written copy

Whether on old fashioned paper or electrically, let your employee see your notes and be able to take them away.

How to close an investigation properly

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If find following the investigation that there is no need to go to a disciplinary hearing you need to ensure that the following actions are taken.

The employee that has been investigated

A meeting should be arranged for anyone who has been investigated to discuss the outcome and answer any questions or concerns they may have.  The will want to know the impact this investigation has had on their career or how they face their colleagues when they return to work.  Who knows why it happened and who can they discuss it with.  You must be prepared for all these answers.

A letter should be sent to them with the outcome to ensure they know that it has not damaged their career.

The person that raised the concern

Again a meeting should be held to explain to them your feedback.  Remember you cannot disclose anything confidential about the other employee, but again you need to be prepared to answer any questions.

What can the company learn from this?

Recommendations can be made by you to ensure this does not happen again.  You could recommend training, mentoring or introducing a process.

 

If you need help with an investigation please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Dealing with alcohol related problems

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At some point, an employee may arrive at work feeling jaded after a night of excess but what should SMEs do if they suspect that an employee has a problem with alcohol?
If it’s affecting an employee’s performance at work or causing absenteeism, then address it soon as possible. There is now a distinct shift away from dealing with alcohol related work problems immediately as a disciplinary issue, and towards a more supportive one where the problem is treated as an illness.
This approach, strongly advocated by ACAS, involves interviewing the employee in private and pointing out areas of concern, be it poor performance, absenteeism or otherwise and sharing with the employee any evidence available. For example, this might be sickness absence records. The employee should be given an opportunity to explain and encouraged to be frank and open about any personal problems that may be the cause of poor work performance. If the employee does not raise the issue of alcohol and you still suspect that this might be the problem, they should be asked tactfully about this, and if the company has a policy on alcohol this should be pointed out.
If the employee accepts that there is an alcohol problem, support should be offered in the first instance. This could take the form of a referral to Occupational Health, counselling services or guidance on support groups, such as Alcohol Concern. But a clear timeline should be set within which the employee would be expected to take steps to address the issue and for a change in his performance or absence record. Make it clear to the employee that if they do not co-operate and if there is no change then disciplinary action is likely which could ultimately lead to dismissal.
Preventing alcohol issues in the workplace.

Bottle picture
Most SMEs without HR support will not relish the prospect of having these sensitive conversations with employees and so the best way to avoid having to do so is prevention. A clear policy on alcohol is a good starting point and this can also help on cases where performance isn’t being affected but you suspect someone is drinking on the job.
Any such policy should identify what is or is not acceptable – are employees allowed to drink alcohol during lunch breaks, when entertaining clients, or on special occasions? Also, providing information to staff about alcohol and health may promote sensible drinking, or encourage any staff with a drink problem to approach the employer first, making the employer’s job that bit easier.
No employer wants to be a spoil sport but alcohol related absenteeism and the effects of drinking on productivity and safety can have a significant impact on a business, not forgetting the potential disciplinary headaches it could cause. The key is to maintain a balance between having motivated and happy employees and an efficient business so if you think a staff member may have a problem, don’t leave it. Confront it with care.
If you need assistance please do not hesitate to contact us through www.HRBusCons.co.uk

Do you pass on praise from colleagues and customers?

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Did you know career opportunities and recognition are constant top engagement drivers for employees, everyone loves a pat on the back for their work.

So when you receive an email or a call from a client what do you do with it? Pass it onto the employee or just file it for their appraisal? What you should be doing is circulating it so that everyone can pass on their praise to their colleague and enjoy the praise the company receives. Companies who use peer-to-peer recognition have seen a 41% increased customer satisfaction. If you receive this email then bring you can file it but ensure you bring it to your appraisal.

Praise

So next time you receive a call about how well your company and employees have done, use it don’t file it away, tell everyone about it. If you want to know how to do this using an online system, then contact us through our website www.HRBusCons.co.uk.

Five reasons why taking annual leave is good for the business

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  1. Maintaining performance

Even machines need down-time for maintenance. If you want your car to work well for you for many years you take it for a service now and again. So what about your staff? You can’t expect them to work at peak performance all year round without a break. So if you want them to perform well they must take some time off.

  1. Breaking thought habits

We all get into habits. Those habits are not only about how we do stuff, they are also how we think about things. We all need a change of thought now and again. It is not unusual for people come back from holiday with bright ideas about new ways of doing things. Just getting out of the office is important to make people think differently – to get them out of the thought habits of everyday life.

Happy Holiday

  1. Creativity from play and new experiences

People need experiences in order to be able to grow as human beings. If you want real, dynamic human beings working for you they must have new opportunities. They also need to relax and take their foot off the accelerator for a little while, then they will return re-energised and ready to do more good things. Creativity is like a child. If you want creative people in your organisation you have to give them time to play. If your employees’ whole lives are driven and stressful then their creativity will wither and die.

  1. Maintaining relationships

Families are important too, and they need time investment. If employees are working all the time they can’t give enough time to their families to retain those relationships. Relationship breakups cause people to become hugely distracted and can often cause the onset of depression. Once something like that happens it can take months if not years before they really function at their peak again. So it is far better for them to take time off occasionally to maintain those relationships.

  1. Find out what they do at work

If you have ever wondered what a member of staff does all day the best way to find out is to have them go on holiday for two weeks. One week is often not enough, but when someone is away for two weeks or more others will have to step in and do their job. Then you will get an insight into how they work and what they do. You will have to delve into their working methods and answer queries that they would normally deal with. It is a perfect opportunity to find out how they deal with their job first hand. By the time they come back you will have a clear idea if they are truly good at their job and work in a structured, organised way, or whether they are bouncing from one chaotic mess to another.

So next time someone asks for time off – give it to them with pleasure!

 

Should you conduct an exit interview?

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It’s Monday morning and one of your employees has just handed in their notice.

Depending on the particular employee, this news will cause you to react somewhere on the spectrum between total devastation and relief bordering on elation. You might be losing a valued employee or finally getting rid of a disruptive influence. In truth most likely you’ll feel somewhere in between. Either way you’ve just got another big job on your to-do list, along with an extra cost, to hire and train their replacement.

As part of the conversation about their notice you will probably ask them why they are leaving and you will get told a sanitised version of one aspect of the truth. But whatever their reasons really are, they will only tell you the least controversial part it.

If they’re leaving because of endless frustration with another employee it may become “I want to develop my career”.

Annoyance at your management style might come out as “I have found somewhere that will pay me more and I really need the extra money”.

The reason they give will all be true to an extent but it may not necessarily be the biggest factor in their decision. Most people who leave a company do so because of a build-up of multiple frustrations along with an opportunity to do something else. In most cases people are naturally set in their ways and therefore inclined to stay where they are if all their concerns were satisfied.

If you don’t get to the bottom of their reasons for leaving there is always the danger that the same frustrations will drive others away. So it is important to find out the real reasons which may be complex and involve some personal as well as business influences. Then you can at least be aware of the problems and take steps to solve the ones under your control.

Goldfish

Either in the week they resign or in their last week, when they have nothing to lose, get someone else in the company or even someone from outside to conduct an exit interview. But one way or another get out of them as much of the real truth as possible. Ask searching questions about specific areas of their job and give plenty of space for them to say or write their own opinions. Then bury your pride and hear the message, knowing that however annoying it might be there will be some truth in their opinion.

Then act on it! There is no point listening to them and then not doing anything about it. This can increase staff retention not to mention saving you on recruitment costs.

If you need any help with your exit interviews please contact us on www.HRBusCons.co.uk


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