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Category Archives: Performance

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Is your Internal Brand on track for 2021?

Posted on November 16, 2020 - 12:16 pm by

Hi Guys

Wow, 2020 has been a year, and give yourselves a huge pat on the back, you have survived, so let’s look to 2021 and how we can thrive.

But, before we get into that don’t forget, if you are planning to do a shutdown this Christmas you need to give your team 14 days notice, and here is a link to the template letter to announce the shut-down

Free Webinar – A time to Breathe, Take Stock and Reconnect with your Biggest Business Advantage

On the 10th December I will be teaming up Rosina Webb of Energise to give you some tips on how to maximise your Brand, and ensure that your Internal Brand is reflecting your External brand.  Register here

Is your Internal Brand on track?

So, apart from that sounding like a lot of marketing speak, what is Internal Brand?  Simply put, your people are the face of your Business, and if they are not portraying the image that you want, then no amount of pretty logos and fancy websites are going to get your brand message across.

For example, you may want to portray a brand of friendly and approachable, but if your team are grumpy and unhelpful then your internal brand is not on track.

During the webinar, you will learn about:

  • Understanding the key building blocks of a successful business brand.
  • Leveraging your brand for competitive advantage and growth.
  • Setting the company standards to maximise alignment between your brand and your people.
  • Identifying inconsistencies between your people and your brand, and how best to address those.

So you can:

  • Create or refresh your own business brand with supporting templates and guides.
  • Engage your team to be brand champions.
  • Understand the tools available to ensure you have the right people, in the right jobs, presenting the right image for your business.

Sign up now
So let’s get sorted for a stellar 2021, and sign up now for this free webinar

HR is easy!
Sign up now for only $349+ GST for 12 months access to all the tools you need to ensure you have the right people, in the right jobs, being managed effectively…. And being the most awesome Brand Ambassadors.

And if you have any questions feel free to call me on 021 741 544

Cheers

Lisa Mackay
Founder HRtoolkit

5 Steps in the disciplinary Process

Posted on November 18, 2020 - 12:41 pm by

Hi Guys

Just before we get into the next steps in escalating into the disciplinary process, don’t forget, if you are planning to do a shutdown this Christmas you need to give your team 14 days notice, and here is a link to the template letter to announce the shut-down

The 5 steps in the disciplinary process
Last time we talked about the 7 steps to improving staff performance, sadly, despite your best efforts, sometimes people just can’t or won’t get it, and you need to escalate into the disciplinary process.

Attitude V’s Aptitude
If you have gone through the steps of explaining what needs doing, giving appropriate (re) training (see previous blogs on this) then you will generally have ruled out aptitude (ability to do the tasks required of them), and the main core problem will be more to do with their attitude (desire to actually be bothered to do the job).  As such, the disciplinary process will often be strongly centred around attitudinal issues (NB check out the Assessment criteria Matrix to help define these softer attitudinal skills).

The disciplinary process
The disciplinary process is actually pretty straight forward:

  1. Invite them to attend a meeting – do this in writing, and lay out the reasons for the meeting clearly in writing – Invitation to the disciplinary meeting
  2. Give them the right to have a support person present
  3. Listen to what they have to say
  4. Decide on the outcome
  5. Confirm the outcome in writing – First or second warning with a Performance Improvement plan

Read the quick guide to the disciplinary process for more details

Possible outcomes
Just because you have had a disciplinary meeting does not mean there is necessarily a disciplinary outcome.  Things may come out in the meeting which make you re-evaluate.  But disciplinary outcomes may include:

  1. First level warning with a performance improvement plan – most common outcome
  2. Second level warning with a performance improvement plan – you may go straight to 2nd level if you have either previously given a formal warning, and/or the attitude is so strongly “I’m not going to do anything to change” that they are running the risk of breaching good faith in the employment relationship.
  3. Final warning or dismissal – usually these would only occur if you have previously issued warnings and are escalating through the process

A case study where no warning was given after a disciplinary process

I had a disciplinary process with a gentleman who’s performance was dropping off, he was consistently turning up late, and had a pattern of “Monday-it is”.  When we went into the disciplinary process he revealed that he was on dialysis, awaiting a kidney transplant, but hadn’t told anyone at work because it was the only place where he wasn’t being treated as “the patient”.

Obviously, we didn’t want to give a disciplinary outcome in this case, but his erratic work pattern did mean that his absence had an impact on other staff members.  As such we agreed on a change in the role so that he could work from home the majority of the time, on a project job which meant that his work (or inability to work) didn’t impact others, but he could continue to keep his private life, private.

“Verbal warning” is a misnomer
NB for a warning to be legally compliant you must have followed the process and confirmed it in writing.  Just telling them verbally that they have been given a warning is not actually a legally compliant warning.

Why the performance improvement plan?
I always recommend, if you are going into the disciplinary process as a result of performance issues, that you make it a condition of the warning that they participate in a performance improvement plan.  This plan is, basically, a performance appraisal on acid, with:

  1. Very clearly defined areas of concern
  2. Weekly or fortnightly meetings for feedback on progress against the areas of concern

By following this process people will either pull up their socks, or exit voluntarily quite quickly because they don’t like the pressure

You’re Bullying Me!
Sadly, this is a common catch cry from employees who are being subject to performance management and the disciplinary process.  You absolutely, as an employer need to check that your behaviour is NOT bullying.  However, Worksafe NZ specifically states the following as examples of what is NOT bullying:

  • Setting High-performance Standards
  • Constructive feedback and legitimate advice or peer review
  • A manager requiring reasonable verbal or written work instructions to be carried out
  • Warning or disciplining workers in line with the business or undertakings code of conduct
  • Reasonable management actions delivered in a reasonable way

https://worksafe.govt.nz/topic-and-industry/bullying/bullying-at-work-advice-for-small-businesses/
As a manager, it is often frustrating to deal these issues, so:

  1. Keep calm
  2. Be specific
  3. Deal in facts

And if the tempers are getting frayed, take a break and call me on 021 741 544
In the next newsletter I will be talking managing sick leave issues.  And in the meantime sign-up for HRtoolkit, or give me a call on 021 741 544 if you need pointing in the right direction

Cheers

Lisa Mackay
Founder HRtoolkit

Yippee, its bonus time

Posted on March 22, 2021 - 10:48 am by

We all love a bonus, so they are a fantastic motivational tool.  Often giving a far greater return on effort than is necessarily commensurate with the actual monetary value involved.  I’ve seen people fight tooth and nail (not literally!) to win the prized Chocolate Fish 😊.  However, they also drive the behaviour which will reap the rewards and that can create inadvertent issues.  You also need to ensure that the rules of giving bonuses ensure that they aren’t paid out when they really can’t/shouldn’t be.

The HRtoolkit Bonus scheme template can be found at this link

Some key things to think about when creating your bonus scheme are:

Balanced bonus schemes

If you reward people based on “turnover generated” then you run the risk that they will discount the sales in order to achieve the bonus, but the net result is you don’t have any profit.  Equally, if you just bonus on “profit” then you run the risk that they go past a high yield, but low profit margin job, because it is not giving enough profit for their bonus.   So, for these scenarios, a bonus scheme would generally need to have achievement against profitability and turnover.

On a very somber note, bonus schemes can inadvertently have horrendous consequences.  Pike river Mine is an example of this where, 4 months before the disaster, workers where offered at $13,000 bonus if they achieved production by a certain date, and this bonus value would reduce by each week they missed the target date.

Rewarding what creates the results you need

Turnover and profitability are obvious things that bonuses are paid on because they are easily measurable.  However, you can bonus people on pretty much anything and at HRtoolkit we have an Assessment Criteria Matrix help you measure even soft competencies such as customer service.  What you need to consider in your business is what will create the biggest impact on your business, and what might the ‘counter’ be for a balanced bonus  e.g.:

  1. Fantastic customer service creates loyalty… but if you spend so much time with one customer that you are actually using up all the profit margin in time then you may need to balance this against the number of customers dealt with in a day.
  2. Work taking longer than planned may be an issue for your business, so getting work completed within the allocated time may be bonused.  But you also need to balance this against work being rushed, so the balance is “on time” and “without rework”

Bonus schemes change over time

Bonus schemes should be reviewed regularly to ensure they are providing the results you need.  And, they should also evolve with the age and stage of the business.  For example, a hungry start up business may just want to build their client base quickly (at the expense of high profit margins), but an established business is more likely to be picky about wanting high profit margin and sustainable clients.

Bonus rules

Bonus schemes also need to include “rules” around payment, for example:

  1. No bonus payable if company profit is less than X%
  2. No bonus payable if you achieve less than X in any aspect of the overall bonus scheme
  3. You need to be employed at the time the bonus is due for payment – NB if you make people redundant then waiving of this type of clause is often a point of negotiation if they are going to miss out on long-term bonus due to timing of payments

The Lehman Brothers collapse is often cited as one of the catalysts for the GFC, yet, post collapse they paid out tens of millions of dollars in bonuses … maybe they forgot to include the “no bonus if profit less than X%” clause?

HR is easy…

The HRtoolkit document library includes a bonus scheme template which can be found at this link.

You just need the right tools and documentation, so sign up for HRtoolkit for only $349 + GST per annum for all the tools and documentation you need, and access to the expert when you are not sure exactly what to do

Free Webinar Programme

 I will be hosting monthly webinars on a range of topics, and the plan for the next 5 months is:

  1. March 25th 10am – Managing sick leave – being prepared for the proposed increase in sick leave to 10 days
  2. April 29th 10am – Bonus Schemes – how to ensure they drive the right behaviour
  3. May 27th 10am – Recruitment – how to significantly increase your chances of finding the right person for the job
  4. June 24th 10am – Types of employment engagement – Casuals, Contractors, low-guaranteed hours agreements – what the risks are, and how to ensure you have the right agreement in place
  5. July 29th 10am – Induction – getting the first impression right and ensuring that new employee is up to speed ASAP.

Looking forward to seeing you at the next webinar

Cheers

Lisa Mackay

Does the Face Fit?

Posted on September 27, 2022 - 1:42 pm by

This month’s Webinar is about Assessing cultural fit within an organisation, but what is “cultural fit”?

We spend a lot of our waking lives with the people we work with, and if personalities clash that can become an issue, and, in extreme cases, exceedingly destructive to a company.

What cultures and personalities do you need in your business?
When we think of “company culture” we often think of teamwork, good collegial relationships etc.  And, as humans, we choose to spend time with people who have a similar mindset to us (our friends).  However, in a business you often need people to work together who wouldn’t actually choose to socialise with outside work.  For example, I hate paperwork and admin, and pedantic i-dotters/t-crossers can drive me rather batty, however, I need those people in my business to keep me on track and organised.  So, you need to be very wary of recruiting a lot of people who are too similar i.e. same strengths, but also the same weaknesses.

So, step 1 is to define what you actually need in terms of not only the skill set but also personality traits.  Then used Competency Based Interviewing to identify these traits during the interview process.

Acknowledge and respect the differences
Google is a company with a reputation for being a “Young Hip, Happening culture” (and yes I am probably showing my age even using that phrase ) but they will also have the straight-laced, serious people to help balance that creativity out.

The key to how to make this work is to accept that (for example) not everyone will want to go out for Friday night drinks, not everyone will be “best mates” but as long as they get on together amicably and professionally that is actually OK.

So, Step 2 – remember that people are there to do a job, if they have a laugh and joke along the way, sweet (it makes the day go faster), and if they are just head down, bum up, actually that is fantastic for you as the business owner

The gap is too vast
Sometimes the personality difference is too much and causes problems.  Often, in these situations, both parties will have an equally valid stance – I don’t like X because they always nag me to get on with work v’s I don’t like Y because they are always mucking around at work.

So, you actually need to get to the bottom of what is actually being done “wrong”.  X may be valid to request work to be done but may be coming across badly in the way they make their complaints.  And equally, Y may not be working as hard as they should, so they do need to be pulled up on that.

Once we start to identify solvable issues (e.g. style coaching for X and productivity coaching for Y) we can start to address the clash.  The key is to actually understand the root cause and address that.

Free Webinar
Join me for this month’s Webinar on Assessing Cultural Fit on Friday 30th at 10am.
And, for the rest of the year we still have:

  1. Exit Interviews – 28th October 10am
  2. Managing The festive season – 25th November 10am

HR is easy
With the right support, HR issues needn’t give you sleepless nights, so do give me a call on 021 741 544 if you have any issues you want to talk over

Cheers

Lisa Mackay
Managing Director
021 741 544

Keeping up Morale

Posted on November 23, 2023 - 11:32 am by

Looking back at my end-of-year newsletters for the last few years it seems I have been wishing for a better “next year” every year… let’s hope 2024 will deliver!

Increased mental health issues
This year I have seen a marked increase in discussion about mental health issues.  I suspect there is an element of increased awareness so people are more willing to talk about it, and sadly there are some who are definitely using it as an “excuse”.  However, it is also a very real issue, and not really surprising with all the stressors that keep being put on all of us over the last few years.  But there are also positives we can all find, and keeping up morale is all about focusing on the positives and dealing with those things that we can influence.

Keeping up your team Morale
Whether December marks a shutdown for your business or the busiest time of year it is important that you keep up the team morale, and here are some quick and easy suggestions about how to do that:

  1. Celebrate the wins – however big or small, share them with your team, and encourage them to also share their wins
  2. Engage your team about how they want to celebrate – this doesn’t necessarily need to be the big expensive party, it can be as simple as a “decorate your desk” competition.  Some things to consider when deciding how to celebrate the end of the year:
    1. Do something that engages everyone (or as many as possible) – you won’t be able to please everyone, but try to please the majority.  For example, a big boozy party may suit some, but probably not so appealing for those who have to get home for childcare commitments.
    2. Only spend what you can afford – the big expensive party may sound great, but definitely not so great if you end up having to make people redundant in January because your cash flow is stuffed up
    3. How do you engage a virtual team? – During lockdown, I saw many creative “virtual parties”, online Pictionary on the Zoom whiteboard was very entertaining!
    4.  Make it voluntary not compulsory – people have many reasons to not want to attend Christmas parties.  As an HR person, I avoid ever drinking in front of staff or being seen being too “pally” with anyone as you never know when you may have to have a “formal” meeting with them.  So, I personally avoided staff Christmas parties! (and anyone who knows me, knows I am definitely not one to avoid a party )
  3. Give a “gift” –  obviously you can give Bottles of wine, gift vouchers etc but you could also think a little outside the box, for example, giving everyone an extra day of leave to use to do their Christmas shopping, or attend their kid’s prize giving, or simply go to the beach to recharge.  Often those with busy out-of-work lives will ask for (and often be given) more flexibility at this time of year.  But sometimes those who aren’t asking get overlooked, and, even worse, made to do extra to cover for those who “need” more flexibility.  So, be equitable
  4. Watch out for burnout, and proactively manage it – If this is a busy time of year for you many staff will be willing to do extra hours (to earn the extra pay), but there are only so many hours that you can work before you start to burn out.  So:
    1. monitor the demands on team members – make sure they have at least 1 day a week off (NB this is also a H&S issue)
    2. Share the workload evenly
    3. Think about staggering shifts – don’t have everyone starting at 9am and then working until close (which could be 9pm/10 pm), have some starting later and others finishing earlier
    4. And if you aren’t staffed up for the Christmas rush already, get onto it yesterday!

End-of-year webinar
Sign up for this month’s webinar, “Keeping up Morale” on Friday 24th November at 10am by clicking here.

Here to help
We are here to help with any staff queries, so feel free to call me on 021 741 544 or 0800 HRtoolkit (0800 47 8665).  Or sign up for our DIY document library for only $399 + GST per annum, or our DIY expert package which gives you access to the document library and unlimited phone and e-mail support for only $129 + GST per month (minimum 12 month term)

Cheers, and all the best for a FABULOUS 2024!

Lisa Mackay
Founder
HRtoolkit

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