Volume 5, Issue 10            
October 2005             

EDITOR'S COLUMN
SHOW YOUR WORKERS THAT YOU CARE!

Everyone reading this article has the potential to adopt a “villain’s mentality” when criticism feels unfair to them, especially if they think that the other person “doesn’t care.”

The problem is that common sense left us and we let our emotions rationalize our conduct: “Because my son didn’t clean up his room, he didn’t care about me. Because my subordinate didn’t hand the project in on time, she didn’t care about me. So I’ll show them! And, I don’t care if it hurts them, because they didn’t care if they hurt me!

My question is this: Can you give a few recent examples of how you’ve shown your workers that you care? Assuming that they know you care because you view yourself as a good person isn’t good enough! Failing to show your concern will justify such negative workplace behaviors as employees dragging their feet on productivity, litigation, or sabotage — even theft.

To show your employees that, even though you might criticize their behavior you still care about them, follow these basic steps.

  • Smile. This simple act can be incredibly powerful. As the saying goes, “A smile is the shortest distance between two people.”
  • Send thank-you notes. They’re inexpensive, easy to implement, and highly effective. Where’s your box of them?
  • Be present for only five minutes. In my workshops, I take groups through a five-minute exercise that shows people just how powerful total presence can be when given for only five minutes. Don’t allow distractions, be judgmental, or offer advice — just be there and listen!
  • Praise publicly. The impact of praise is magnified dramatically when you offer it in a group setting. Be specific about the conduct that you’re praising: Instead of saying “Mary is a good person,” say, “Mary was able to get this project in on time, overcoming adverse circumstances.”
  • Acknowledge the entire person. Your employees have lives, too. For example, don’t praise parents for putting in 50+ hour workweeks. One can only imagine the impact of these long hours on their family. Seek balance in your environment.
Because we’re all running so hard, it’s often hard to stop and show that we care. Quite possibly, no one has shown that they care for you lately. Although it’s difficult to give what you don’t receive, your role as a leader is to show that you care first. This will not only reduce workplace friction (and litigation), but also increase productivity and make you feel better about yourself!

 

 

TEAM BUILDING: AN EIGHT-STEP APPROACH

Here are eight timeless principles that apply to building teams in the workplace:

  1. Make sure that the team comes first. Just ask the New England Patriots. We’ve all seen sports teams loaded with superstars that don’t win the big games because they’re more focused on individual performance than the collective effort. A partner or worker with a “me first “attitude can work elsewhere. This team stuff isn’t easy and it’s not for everyone!
  2. Engage in win/win thinking. Whether good or bad, right or wrong, Americans are so competitive by nature that winning at all cost seems perfectly acceptable. Sucking energy from others so that you can succeed simply won’t work in a team environment. In The Case Against Competition, Alfred Cohen stresses that the goal of a team must be cooperation, rather than competition; we can compete with those outside the team, but not within it.
  3. Be clear about team commitments up front. Assuming that all team members will play by the same rules that you do is guaranteed to produce failure and resentment. Define mutual rules, commitments, values, or understandings through dialogue, and consensus; then put them in writing.
  4. Treat all team members with equal respect. In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink, graduate students were able to define with 90% accuracy the success of a marriage by watching a couple during conflict for less than three minutes. The key: Whether one party was condescending toward the other, or treated them as an equal who simply disagreed. Although you’d never treat a sibling or friend as lesser than you because they have a lower title or earn less, this is too often the case in business environments.
  5. Be sure that your team is clear about its direction. All team members must be on the same page. For example, when consulting with an insurance agency, we asked each staff member to define the most important thing they did and got a wide variety of answers. However, when I asked the owner, he replied: “The most important thing I do every day is make other people feel good about themselves — by finding the good in them. The point is, when they feel this way, they’ll buy from you or work hard for you. Once all the agency employees learned to follow this principle, they became a team going in the same direction.
  6. Remember the Rule of Seven. Anthropological studies of groups, from hunter-gatherers to military organizations, have shown that it’s very difficult to create a cohesive team with more than seven members. According to Tom Peters, no division of an organization should have more than 50 people broken down into seven groups of seven. This tracks with the fundamentals of memory and retention. Decades ago, Ma Bell created seven-digit phone numbers because the human mind finds it hard to manage more than seven inputs at a time.
  7. Minimize or eliminate dysfunction and drama on teams. Begin by addressing fears and concerns up front. For example, if existing team members are concerned that the new folks won’t play by the same set of rules, reduce any propensity to do so by identifying the rules and asking them if they have any concerns about them. At the same time, these new people might fear that the reluctance of existing team members to change might lead them to ignore the best practices that new members have developed. Eliminate these fears by agreeing that best practices, not the existing way of doing things, will govern.
  8. Finally, reinforce and reward team conduct. If the team is hitting home runs, make sure to celebrate them. If there are challenges, make it safe for people to come forward with them by inviting them to do so and then thanking them for their input. The last thing that you want is for a team member to sit in what I call a “culture of silence” because they fear speaking up for themselves.

Follow these eight steps and you can build powerful teams.

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS:
FROM AWARENESS TO CHANGE

“Issues” and “challenges” are fancy politically correct words for problems. We’re quick to identify management problems or challenges — you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see what’s not working.

What should, or can, you do to change the situation?

Start with asking what motivates your employees. Most people want to be heard more than anything. They want to know that their contribution matters. They care less about money and material things and more about knowing that they make a difference with the effort that they make on your behalf. Ask them what they’d like to receive in return for a job exceptionally done. Use their help to set objective goals. Set up a committee of peers from each department to measure progress.

Start by calling a staff meeting next Monday morning. Keep the phones off for half an hour. Tell your employees that you need their help by having each of them answer these four questions:

  • What’s present
  • What’s missing
  • How they contribute
  • What they see as possible for the business

Then ask them what they’d like to see different. Give away one of those giant candy bars for anyone who offers any feedback. It’s a start that, if you follow through, will yield great rewards for both you and your employees.

 

OCTOBER TELECLASS

HR That Works users, mark your calendars for October 17th at 2:00 p.m. EST. Our guest will be Don Phin, President of HR That Works. The topic will be Managing Your Career 101. More info to follow in a separate e-mail. To listen to September’s teleclass on People-Based Safety: The Human Dynamics of Injury Prevention, click here and download the mp3 file.

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity”

George S. Patton, Jr., 1885-1945
Soldier

This issue discusses:

We’ve also provided hyperlinks to the Form of the Month.

WHEN WORKERS CAN’T, OR WON’T, WORK

A variety of laws govern extended employee absences. Many states have equivalent legislation. These federal and state laws share a common theme: The workers needs come first, but you still have the right to run your business.

The best-known statutes applying to absent workers are the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and state Workers Compensation laws. Workers Comp legislation applies to almost every employer, the ADA to those employing 15 or more, and the FMLA to businesses with more than 50 employees. Many companies are also subject to similar state laws.

The ADA applies to employees with physical or mental limitations that affect their ability to perform essential job functions. To assist such an employee, an employer must modify their work schedule or duties, allow them to use accrued paid or unpaid leave, and/or implement any reasonable suggestion they might offer — unless this accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer.

FMLA allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for infants, children, spouses, and parents with a serious health condition (such as hospitalization, incapacity requiring absence for three consecutive days, pregnancy, or medical treatment). Workers can usually take FMLA leave intermittently. The employer is obliged to restore the employee’s former job unless the position has been eliminated.

Under Workers Comp, employees can take a paid leave of absence during the period that they can’t work. However, they can be required to work in a limited or “light duty” capacity while recovering from their injury. As with the FMLA, the employer has an obligation to return the employee to their job if it’s still available.

Terminating an employee for invoking any of these acts can lead to a claim for wrongful discharge, violation of public policy, or retaliation. Be sure to consider the impact of your own policies and procedures. Failure to apply your leave policies consistently will leave you vulnerable to charges of discrimination or retaliation.

For more information, go to www.dol.gov and visit the Web sites of state employment regulatory agencies.

A final note: When dealing with your employees, go beyond the letter of the law. There’s no better way to retain loyal workers than to show that you care about their personal and family lives.

FORM OF THE MONTH:

CHECKLIST FOR FIRST IMPRESSIONS

(PDF ) ( WORD) (RTF)

Time and time again employers rely on surface impressions when hiring personnel. This checklist will give you a general idea of what to look for.

 

The information presented here is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. Due to local and state laws and ordinances, an individual article might not apply in every jurisdiction.

For more information on the contents of this newsletter, please e-mail or give us a call.

© Employer Advisors Network, Inc. 2006