Did you know that 80% of employees are not satisfied with their performance reviews and that 30% of the time reviews resulted in lower employee performance.

After your new employee completes orientation and starts training, the hiring manager's job is just starting.

Getting a new employee enthused and excited about doing a great job is often the easy part of achieving good performance.

It's not unusual for an employee to start out like a great ball of fire because of the excitement of the position and responsibilities. As time passes however, the employee often lose's enthusiasm for the job and productivity falls.

Building A Relationship - To keep the employee positive and prevent bad habits, the manager needs to maintain open and frank communications. This is where it is important that the supervisor and employee build an open relationship about expectations. The employee needs to understand what is expected in quantity, quality and teamwork.

When the employee is meeting goals, the performance review can a be very positive experience.

In cases where improvement is needed, all of the discussions should be confidential and involve only the employee and management. Initial discussions should include a copy of the job description where the employee again can see the written expectations. Since these are counseling sessions, it is a good idea to keep notes of what is discussed. (If you want a discussion planner template, just email me and it's yours.)

The supervisor needs at times to be a coach about how to do more and/or better, a cheer leader when expectations are met or exceeded, a trainer and more.

As a coach, it is important to maintain the employee's self esteem when it is clear that the employee is not doing things properly. Sometimes it is necessary as a coach to also be a trainer and make sure that things are done correctly.

In cases where the employee has performed the work satisfactorily in the past, training or retraining is usually not an issue. (More on this later.)

At times the supervisor may become frustrated with the new employee's progress. This is when the supervisor needs to remember that there were good qualities seen in the employee that justified the decision to make the job offer.

The supervisor should have documentation of earlier performance and the more recent, declining performance to discuss with the employee. Specifics are important because the employee may feel that there has been no change and may in fact feel performance has been improving.

If performance was previously acceptable or at least improving, the supervisor should discuss current numbers and the previous performance. The employee should be given the opportunity to explain anything that may have changed that would affect the performance numbers.

When a manager sets an effective goal for employees, it can be a powerful tool and result in improved employee performance and be a win/win for the company and the employee.

Managers should set goals that can be achieved but may be a stretch. If you set goals too low, often employees work at a pace they know will get them to their goal but the pace is not their full potential.

Obtainable goals that include a stretch are ideal. If goals are set to high, often the employee will give up and not really try because he knows it is an impossible goal to achieve.

Next we will talk more about measurement and the performance review form.

Pressure from employer groups and members of Congress, caused the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to delay the required posting that tells employees how to join a union and file an unfair labor charge against management. The new date of posting is 4/30.

Stay tuned for future updates on the NLRB and posters.

Before we get into this article, you should understand that I like parties as much as anyone and this article is not a lecture on do or don’t for the holidays.  Remember that part of my job as your adviser is to help you realize your exposure to legal action and mitigate possible damages.

As an employer there are several things to consider and being off the clock, off site with alcohol leaves several possible concerns. 

• Being off the clock may or may not be an issue and is probably the least of your concerns.  There should not be much of a concern about wage and hour issues:
• No discipline resulted or was expected because of attending or not attending
• Non-exempt employees were not assigned to do any work before, during or after the actual party as long as you did not require (directly or implied) attendance
  
• No business was conducted at the party
• Off site and alcohol should be a concern
  

Anytime alcohol is available at company functions, there can be problems of several types you need to be prepared for.  Often alcohol leads to traffic accidents after leaving the party.  Ways to reduce employer liability are:

• make sure the bar closes at least one or two hours before the end of the party
• hire a professional bartender from the venue.  Professionals are trained when to stop serving intoxicated party goers
• do not allow anyone to pour their own drinks
• do not have “one for the road”
• provide only 1 or 2 drink tickets so employees purchase additional drinks
• have designated drivers, require the use of taxi cabs, or hire a company that takes drinkers home or
• arrange to have a taxi or limo pick party goers up and take them home – at company expense

Another option is If the party is at a hotel, consider making arrangements for employees to spend the night – usually at company expense.  (This suggestion has possible negative consequences so give this a lot of thought.)

You know your employees and it may be a good idea to require a mandatory meeting before the party to hand out and go over company policies on sexual harassment, unacceptable conduct and alcohol consumption.

Also there is the possibility of an employee being injured and the question of “does workers compensation cover the injury”?  There may be a defense if the employee had been drinking as alcohol (or using controlled substances) can be considered as the cause of the injury.

Effective November 14, 2011 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) requires all employers, both union and non-union, to have a new poster in place for employees to read. The poster is to be displayed with other required information posters.

In addition, if your company posts information on the company web-site or electronic bulletin board, the new poster is to be there also.

The new poster informs employees:

• of their right to form, organize and join a union
• how to assist unions in signing up new members
• how to file an unfair labor practice charges against their employer
• provides examples of unfair labor practices
• how to contact the NLRB about questions and complaints

The poster explains only the union position and does not mention an employee's right to not join a union or have a union de-certified.

The poster needs to be in English and if 20% or more of your workforce is not fluent in the English language you must provide the poster in their language. (Only posters in English are available at this time.)

No company should feel safe from organizing at this time and the reasons are simple:

• Large employers such as GM, and Boeing, along with groups of employees like teachers and most telephone and utility workers are already organized
• With the loss of jobs over the past several years, the unions have taken a hit in the number of employees covered by contracts
• Less members means less dues coming in to the union coffers
• Unions have been targeting and winning elections at small companies, especially companies that do not have pro-active management and human resources

Another pro-union change is coming by the end of 2011 that will speed up organizing. This will be another problem for employers trying to stay non-union.

The change will permit unions to have recognition elections within 7 days of filing a petition and being certified as a bargaining unit representative by the NLRB. Currently elections are typically held 30+ days after certification.

The problem for employers with the 7 days until election is that most employers typically are not prepared and don't know what to do. It often takes a week or more to get prepared for an anti-union campaign.

When these processes are in place, your ability to communicate with your employees about the realities of unions will be drastically reduced.

Increased union organizing is expected as long as they have a friend in the White House.

Keep in mind that union organizing can be going on without your knowledge. It is not unusual for unions to have signed authorization cards before the company even suspects organizing is going on.

First and second line managers are important in staying non-union. If the working relationship with employees and managers is good, unions have a hard time winning elections.

To remain non-union, you do not have to be the highest paid or provide the best benefits. What is most important is that your management team treat employees with respect and are fair about enforcing company policies.

Employers need to begin preparing for these changes now. Companies should conduct an internal audit to determine weaknesses that could cause employees to consider union representation.

The audit should consider matters as wage and benefits compared to comparable businesses in the area and industry. Communications between management and employees is important in areas such as benefits, performance evaluations and discipline, along with the consistent and fair application of company policies.

Now is a good time to learn how to legally express your views about unions and collective bargaining. Unions can and do promise anything to get members, but you the employer, are limited in what you can say and do.

Be careful to not promise better pay, more holidays or other benefits if you learn of any organizing activities.

Be pro-active and at least learn the basics of staying legal during an organizing drive. When in doubt of what to do, call a certified H.R. adviser or get advice from a law firm that specializes in “Employment and Labor Law”.

(I have the poster so if you want a copy, email me and let me know if you want it on 8.5 X 17 or 8.5 X 11 format to print.)

In September 2010, this newsletter had an article about how NV OSHA had not been doing a satisfactory job. Part of the problem was the number of construction related accidents and deaths. Federal OSHA has been looking over the shoulder of NV OSHA and changes are coming for ALL Nevada businesses.

Federal OSHA recently directed the state to increase the number of OSHA inspectors and trainers to find and correct the number of serious violations.

One reason given for the increased staffing is because of the large number of construction related accidents, injuries and deaths in the recent past. Another major factor considered is that NV OSHA was only finding 22% of it's inspections to be serious, willful or repeat violations. The average for fed OSHA was 79%.

The ratio of inspectors to construction workers in the past was 3916 workers per inspector. With a decline in construction and the increase in staffing, the ratio is expected to be one inspector for 1,216 construction employees by the end of 2011.

While construction will take the initial brunt of the inspections, expect OSHA inspectors to expand their visits to all companies after they are confident they have construction violations under control.

At a minimum, you should review your facility exit diagram, make sure exits and electrical panels are not blocked and if you have over 25 employees that you have a safety committee.

Review your safety manual to make sure it is current and a management person has been designated to be in charge of safety. Employees need to be properly trained in the use and maintenance of personal protective equipment.

OSHA is serious about safety and remember, it's no longer “catch me if you can”. All companies need to be pro-active or it is going to affect your bottom line and possibly you as an individual.

In earlier newsletters, we discussed the training of a new manager and the emphasis was on the individual.

It is important that the company understand the importance of developing individuals into managers and leaders is also the company's responsibility. It is not unusual for an individual to be promoted to a manager's position and not be given any management development or training.

When this occurs, expect the new manager to struggle and fail, especially if promoted from within. In companies that do not have a training department, management should encourage the new manager to take classes at a local college or arrange for management development with an experienced human resource professional or trainer.

For a company to say they cannot afford to train a manager or that it does not have time to train a manager is very shortsighted. A company will spend hours or days training a new employee how to function in the job he was hired for. A new manager should not be treated any differently and should be provided adequate training and the tools to perform his job.

At times an experienced manager may resist additional training that could overcome a number of issues because they do not want to admit a weakness. The additional training may be required because of a variety of complaints that has arisen against the manager, such as an employee lawsuit, harassment charges or union organizing attempts.

When a company realizes that a manager needs more development, a possible solution would be offering or in some cases requiring a manager to take specific classes at a local college or university. In situations where the manager is considered to be a bully, lacks self-confidence or any other variety of personality flaws, it may be a good idea to encourage the manager to participate in an employee assistance program (EAP).

In small companies that do not have an employee assistance program, check with your benefits broker that provides health benefits. You may find that such a benefit is available at little or no cost by restructuring some of your health plans.*

Communication and training of managers should also include at least an understanding of different business areas. For example:

• company policy manual

• wage and hour laws

• equal employment opportunity laws

• workplace safety

• unemployment insurance costs and benefits

• workers compensation costs and benefits

• employee relations

• employee turn-over

Often top management of smaller companies believe that everyone knows and understands the business model and how the company makes money. While as a broad statement this may appear true, managers should understand not only the process of producing a product or delivering a service but other aspects of the business operations such as:

• elements of the supply chain

• markets served

• s.w.o.t. **

• economic cycles

• customer growth

• how to analyze and interpret financial statements

• company code of ethics

• mission statement (if the company has such documents)

(more in future newsletters . . . )

* Your contract with the health provider has an expiration date that is often the end of a calendar year. The expiration date simply means that the insurance company cannot raise your rates until after the expiration date. You can almost always cancel your policy with 30 days written notice. Check with your broker - you may be able to save money and/or improve benefits.

** Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (S.W.O.T.)

This article is more about tools and methods to make management development successful.

Selecting the right candidate is as important as the training.

A development program should be laid out in advance with certain objectives in mind aimed at accomplishing company goals.  The plan needs to be flexible enough to be adjusted as unforeseen opportunities and problems arise.

The relationship a manager builds with his employees can be challenging as each employee is an individual and often needs individual attention. Motivating employees, holding them accountable and productive is as much of a challenge as managing upper management. (more on this later.

Knowledge training and exposure to other departments and functions should not be skipped or their importance minimized as a way to save money. Individual managers have a better chance of being successful if there is an understanding of what other departments really do and what they need and expect from various departments in the company.

This is not to say that a production trainee should learn how to do accounting and payroll but he should at least become familiar with what is involved in accounting. Yes, accounting is a series of bookkeeping entries but it also includes the development of various reports for senior management.

As part of the development process, the trainee should be comfortable reading and explaining various accounting reports as there is more to a successful company than just his own department.

Part of the development training should include working with a variety of managers to learn different management styles as well as the importance of various departments.

Often it is said that employees don’t quit companies, they quit managers.

Good managers need to do more than achieve good numbers as his/her goal. Unfortunately most managers are viewed by their employees and often their own supervisors as bullies, stupid, control freaks, angry, mean, timid, cowardly and other assorted personality types. Few managers are actually seen as good managers on a production and people basis.

Most companies lack the tools for management and employee development. In addition, smaller companies generally do not dedicate adequate time and resources for training and development.

Often companies of all sizes feel that training and development is much more expensive than it actually is. This lack of foresight leaves companies stagnant in the sense of outside ideas and development. This is an example of the old mentality of
“if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”.

In Part I of this series I talked about both managing and leading.  Now it is time to differentiate between the two.

Looking at the role of a manager, it is different from that of a leader.  A manager is someone that manages a budget, an inventory or schedule.  Not all managers are leaders and not all leaders are managers.

A good example is in a work group, there is usually someone appointed to be a manager. The person that is given the title of “manager” may not be the leader. It is not unusual for there to be an “informal” leader that emerges from the group when it is realized that the manager is not capable of getting things done or is over burdened.

The informal leader may also be called the “go to guy” because he/she is recognized as someone that gets thing done, regardless of the title.

A leader is the individual that inspires others in the organization to accomplish things they would not ordinarily do.  There is a popular belief that there can only be one leader. This is not true as there are leaders at all levels and in all groups, again, regardless of title.

Good managers not only achieve the goals set by his superiors, but also motivate and manage employees to produce the desired results. While this may be an example of a good manager, it is also an example of a leader.

In addition, good managers have employees that like what they do and see a future for themselves as well as the company.

Another misconception is that “leaders are born”. With very few exceptions, this is not true and every company should have a goal of developing good leaders at all levels.

The leaders are the people that see something and can vision it better than it is. This can happen at work or in the community when a person takes the responsibility to make something positive happen.

A common term currently being used in management development is “engagement”. This means that if an employee feels “engaged”, he is involved in doing a good job and feels as if he is part of the department or company.

Not surprising, a recent study found that the way a manager gives employees feedback plays a big part in how the employee is motivated. Depending on the manager, the employee can feel positive or negative motivation.

Again, this is similar to the way a parent talks to a child. Even if the message is negative, if it is delivered in a positive manner, it can have a positive affect on the child or employee.

If the manager is negative, condescending or ignores employees, the employees are twice as likely to not be engaged and not productive.

This type of action from a manager is learned behavior. Senior managers and training professionals can work with the manager to realize this weakness and strive for improvement. If this does not happen, management needs to look at replacing the manager.

In my own experience, I have seen managers that realized they had problems managing and communicating with employees. These managers voluntarily stepped out of management and were still good employees.

On the other hand, if a manager is forced to step down, there tends to be a negative attitude and resentment. In this situation, over a period of time, I have watched as the former manager became more and more resentful and was separated from the company.

There will more on leadership and management in future issues.