Not every employee who earns a promotion will be successful at the new job. While you certainly want to do everything possible to allow the employee to thrive in the new assignment, you’ve also got to be practical. When you conduct those initial performance reviews, consider the possibility that the employee will ultimately fail. Here’s how to encourage success, but plan for potential failure:
Here’s a problem you may not see coming: A group of employees comes forward and complains about a supervisor’s management skills. You decide to take action and demote the supervisor. Before you act, check for potential bias if the supervisor is of a different ethnicity, race or other protected classification than the subordinates.
The two biggest comp and benefits myths about Generation Y employees—your youngest workers—are that they don’t care about money … and that they care only about money. They want more than that. In fact, they want way more. Use their demands as a negotiating tool, and watch the productivity of these young, tech-savvy go-getters soar in response.
There’s no escaping difficult, dastardly or downright nasty people at work. There’s always at least one of them floating around. While you can’t control someone’s horrible personality, you can decide how you’re going to respond. That means polishing your EMS— enemy management skills. By killing your enemies with kindness, or at least identifying their M.O. and mitigating their effects on your workplace, you can rise above their noxious influence.
An important—but often overlooked—step in performance appraisals is to ask employees to grade themselves. But don't just give them the same appraisal form used by supervisors. Instead, use a separate form that allows them to recap their achievements, identify shortcomings and initiate discussions regarding their development. A good self-evaluation form asks these three core questions ...
Question: “I’m a new manager, and one of my employees has a lot more experience than I do. I feel that I should be working for him. He says that he didn’t want the management job, but he seems to resent my having it. This is becoming very uncomfortable for me. How should I handle it?” — New Supervisor
When an employee sues over an alleged discriminatory firing, courts typically make a beeline for one piece of evidence: the employee’s performance evaluation. The problem: Supervisors are notorious for giving overly kind evaluations, even to poor performers. That’s why it’s wise to get another opinion: the employee’s own ...
Demonstrating best-practices leadership means finding new ways to reinvigorate your team and boost their performance. Here are four techniques for boosting your team management skills and maximizing your team’s performance.
When it comes to discharging an employee, the best policy may be to bide your time and carefully document her deficiencies. Unless there is a compelling reason to act immediately, be patient and build your case with solid, verifiable criticism ...
By all means, supervisors and managers should build a strong case for discharging a poorly performing employee before issuing a pink slip. However, they must make sure their motivations for compiling a record of poor performance are legitimate—not just fishing expeditions designed to look for excuses to fire ...
Suzanne Conti joined American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) of Detroit in 1997 and experienced rapid career growth. As a salaried executive-in-training, she earned $90,000 plus bonuses ...
When an employee sues for an alleged discriminatory firing, the court will want to see the employee’s evaluation. A sterling evaluation and high praise quickly cast doubt on a termination supposedly based on poor performance. How, then, can you encourage honest evaluations?Have employees identify their own weaknesses and address those in their performance evaluations ...
You know you should document problems and violations before disciplining an employee who previously performed well. You create a paper trail showing warnings, counseling and efforts to get the employee back on track. But if the employee you disciplined can show that others with the same shortcomings got off, that paper trail may come back to haunt you ...
Q. When making demotion decisions—especially those involving employees in protected classes—what factors should an employer take into consideration to avoid legal backlash? ...
A recent survey found that potent scents ranked #4 on the list of employees’ workplace pet peeves. Yet for some who suffer from multiple chemical sensitivity, strong odors aren’t just an annoyance—they’re a real health concern. Is it serious enough to warrant ADA accommodation?
Do you have an employee who doesn’t seem to be getting along with anyone? Has he complained about discrimination or some other supposed wrongdoing? If so, document the problems. If you don’t, you create legal risks ...
As work/life benefits have become mainstream, organizations have shifted their administration from stand-alone work/life departments to their employee benefits specialists. The good news is that the same management skills that contribute to an outstanding comp or benefits program also make for the best work/life programs ...
Question: I have two concerns and
I'm hoping for some advice on either how you've handled it or what you
think I ought to do in these situations: Situation 1 The
receptionist at the company where I am executive assistant, although
relatively friendly and engaging with co-workers, is rather cold and
unprofessional on the phone. Instead of saying “May I ask you to hold
while I transfer you?” she says either “Hold on a moment” or “Just a
moment.”
I once said in a somewhat jovial manner: “You sure
sound happy about answering the phone!” She jovially replied that I
should go back to my desk and handle my job and let her handle hers.
I'm not her supervisor, although typically, I should/would be. Instead,
HR supervises her.
The HR administrator and I have gotten into
small, uncomfortable situations because the boss will tell me to handle
something, and HR will have a cow thinking it’s their project or should
be their responsibility.
That department shows a severe lack
of respect for the boss’s wishes. The boss can ask for a roster of
folks attending a seminar, and I can ask for it twice in the following
three weeks and still, the day of the seminar, there is no roster. HR
indicated that it was waiting on two VP’s. But, when VP’s were asked,
they indicated that HR was handling it, not them.
HR has
translated this sort of behavior to the receptionist, so that when I
ask her, for instance, if someone shipped a personal expense on the
company DHL account, I’m told: “Don’t worry about it; it’s not your
department, and I’m not going to take it up with them.”
Situation
2 I signed off on a work order with the A/C maintenance company, and
the repairs took a day longer than they promised and our server room
temperatures rose dangerously high.
I talked to the manager at
the A/C company and suggested in the future that he at least call to
let us know that the repairs would be delayed. He then contacted the
receptionist, who comes to me saying she didn’t know why I was going
off on him when it wasn’t my place to worry about it, But I SIGNED OFF
ON IT. It was my responsibility to see that it was done.
The
general attitude from HR/the receptionist is “Stay out of it,” even
though the boss has directed me specifically to take responsibility for
such things. I happen to know that the receptionist is close to losing
her job because of the way she handles the phone and also visitors,
whom she handles in much the same manner.
I’m
at a loss as to
how to handle it. If I go to the boss, he’ll tell me to talk to HR and
her and “get her straightened up or shipped out.” If I deal with HR,
I'll get a tossed head and rolled eyes and a mutter about people
staying out of HR’s business. The receptionist will get yelled at, but
nothing will be accomplished because HR simply scolds and doesn’t
deliver a change or even a direction to change. If I talk to the
receptionist, she'll dismiss what I say and tell me to go back to my
desk.
How
do I handle these situations? I'm normally a people pleaser, but also
am very disciplined in what I believe is expected from someone in a
professional position ... especially one as high-profile as a
receptionist (first impression of the company).
I can’t stand
it when people don’t do their jobs right or take pride in even trying.
Yet, I do like the receptionist and view her as a “work friend.” I beg for advice of you wise people! Thank you! -- Anonymous
Question: I work in the office management/HR department. My manager recently told me
that the VP of sales wants me to be part of the sales department to
make outreach calls (while still being part of the OM/HR department). I
appreciate that he sees what I am capable of doing and I would normally
be excited about the opportunity, but here is the situation:
A couple of months ago, I was asked to join the sales department as
a rep for South America and the Caribbean. I decided to take the move
into the sales department and was excited about using my Spanish skills
and learning the other side of the company. I tried it and I learned a
lot, but realized that it wasn’t for me.
During that time, I was supposed to receive a performance review
after three months. Instead, I received a write-up (but not really).
The write-up stemmed from an incident with a co-worker. I did not take
it any further than that incident itself, and it was obvious that the
co-worker discussed it with the manager and the manager took her side
without even discussing the situation with me.
I was furious, but being the person that I am, I kept my mouth shut and decided that I should go elsewhere.
Am I wrong in thinking that the move from administrative assistant
to sales rep should come with an increase? I know for a fact that if
someone were to be hired from the outside, he or she would make a lot
more than I would and that I would never receive such a jump in my
salary because it's an inside move.
Anyway, I was changed from being a rep for South America and the
Caribbean to a rep for the East Coast. Even though the manager knew I
was not ready for such a fast-paced region, she decided to throw me
into the water because she had to take on another role and would not be
in the office for support. It did not work out.
During my job search, an opportunity came up to return to my previous position in the OM/HR department, and here I am.
My current manager understands that I am not comfortable with going
back to sales and why. There is an obvious lack in management skills
and I didn’t receive the raise that I was offered when I took the
position, among other issues. The problem is that she said I should be
a team player and that, traditionally, when one is asked to help, one
shouldn’t say "No."
My current position already requires me to be a team player all the
time and go above and beyond my title to complete the jobs of two
co-workers who are not efficient workers. I told my manager that I
would not take the position without an increase. I'm trying to stand my
ground, but it seems like the VP is making this a mandatory change.
What do I do now?
When a medical supply company reorganized its sales force, it rated existing employees on a "matrix" of skills. Although Deborah Goosby had won several sales awards, she was put in ...
