Get Rid Of Those Time Vampires

In my time management seminar, "How To Manage Your Time When You Wear Too Many Hats" I talk about your biggest time wasters and those time vampires--people or things that suck the productivity out of you. Try running a contest to get rid of them. Make it a short contest, over just a few days, so the contest in itself does not become a time waster. Ask your employees for suggestions on which are the worst time vampires, such as wasted meetings, useless training, senseless time wasting reports, stupid needless systems, dumb processes, etc. Ask them specifically why and how it wastes time, and how the policy, process, or system needs to be changed to make people more productive, and in effect, happier. Then have people vote on which was the best suggestion. Pay a reward for the best suggestion, and then make the specific changes. Let everyone know the change came as a result of their input. You not only have helped people to be more productive, you have also shown them their opinion is important and that their opinion counts.

You Never Told Me

Did you ever stop to think of how many times you have had informal conversations with employees where you gave them quick, corrective feedback? How many of these situations do you document? You observe an employee doing something that you must correct on-the-spot, you tell them, and move on. You need to rethink those situations. Documentation can be crucial in a lawsuit, even if it is a very brief encounter. Simply create a quick memo and give it to the employee, keeping a copy for their file. Of course, you can do it by e-mail, but they can say they never got it. Cover yourself! You will never have to worry about an employee saying that it was just informal conversation of no consequence, or just a chat between friends.

What To Do With The Runner-Up?

Sometimes we have a difficult decision when making a choice between two good people on who gets promoted. If you have two people who expect the promotion, the one who doesn't get it is going to end up with hurt feelings, be de-motivated, and possibly quit. What do you do? You must sit down face to face with the employee not chosen and given them the reason for not being picked. Assure them that there are chances for advancement in the future. Suggest the types of training that will give them the knowledge and skills to move up the ladder. Create a career plan, setting some goals, so they can get to the next levels. Let them know of other future opportunities that will come up. If you show that you are genuinely interested in their future, the chances of them leaving are greatly diminished.

Fear of Empowerment

In my seminars, people often mix-up delegation and empowerment. Delegation is giving your people tasks, projects to do that you don't have the time, interest, or know-how to do. Empowerment, on the other hand, is giving people the authority and responsibility to make suggestions, but also to take action on their own when no supervisor or manager is there. For both, you need training and communication. If your people are truly empowered to make a decision, they should not have to find someone above them to get permission for that decision. Many managers who are control freaks are afraid to empower people. They feel they must be in on every decision. Stop controlling and start empowering.

If you want to empower people, then take away fear, especially the fear of making mistakes. If you come down hard on people for making mistakes, they won't want to make any decisions on their own again. They will wait for you to make them all. That does not mean we accept mistakes. We make mistakes a teachable moment, a time for training and retraining. Bad judgment is discussed in detail, so the employee can handle the situation in a better manner the next time. If you treat your people right and with respect, they will bounce back and do it right the next time.

Mentoring Squared

Here is a great idea for getting new employees up and running. Give every new employee two mentors. One should be a person who has been on board a long time and really knows the ropes. This person gives them the overall view of the company, company mission, service philosophy, management philosophy, etc. The other mentor is someone who has been with the company no more than three years, and can take the person under their wing and give them the lowdown on everyday stuff. The important thing is to get new people to understand quickly how things get done, so they can rapidly fit into the culture. Companies that we have implemented this technique with say that they saw turnover drop by at least 30%, and found that new employees were more productive and happier.

Ain't Nobody's Business But My Own--Or Is It?

How far can you go in regulating your employees' off-duty behavior without being sued? This question came up in my recent seminar on “Turning Around Turnover.” Be aware that 28 states and D.C. all have laws prohibiting you from preventing employees from engaging in lawful activities, such as drinking and smoking. Here’s the acid test: Does your employee’s behavior threaten your company in any way financially or legally? Does your employee’s behavior compromise proprietary material? If not, you may have a hard time trying to defend yourself in a lawsuit.

Make your determination on how their out-of-work behavior affects their performance while at work. If they are convicted of drunken driving or theft, then it may be a different story, especially if they drive for you or handle money. Check your state’s laws and discuss the situation with legal counsel before taking action.

Things You Need To Know About Firing People

One of the hardest problems for managers, supervisors, and business owners is firing someone. Here are some important things to help make it easier and protect you and your company. When firing someone, make sure to have a witness present. After the conversation is over, type up a memo for the witness to sign. In some cases lawsuits are unavoidable, but here are some things that may lessen your chances of a lawsuit (I am not giving legal advice): First maintain your composure. These situations can become heated, even violent. Your anger will not help the situation. Above all, don’t fire anyone in front of others (except the witness), and don’t denigrate the employee in any way.

The firing should not come as a surprise. If the employee violated a company policy or broke laws, they should have been aware of these policies through handbooks and training. If the firing is a result of behavior over a period of time, they should have been warned, verbally and in writing. They should have received regular feedback and performance reviews with suggestions for how to improve. Use probation and suspension whenever possible before firing.

Watch your wording. Sometimes people feel bad for the person being fired so they soften it by telling them about the good aspects of their performance. This should have been done during performance reviews, not during the firing. If you sugar coat it too much, they may remember what you said and,use it as a basis for wrongful termination.

Finally, don’t discuss the firing with other employees. This is between you and the departing employee. If you discuss it, the word often gets back to the fired person. You leave yourself open to a defamation or slander lawsuit.