Ten Questions Commonly Asked About Managing Employees

1
Ten Questions Commonly Asked About Managing
Employees

• Jeffrey S. Hornsby PhD, SPHR
• Professor of Management
• Department of Marketing and Management
• Ball State University
• 765.285.5306
• jhornsby_at_bsu.edu

2
10. Is there not loyalty anymore?

• Pay issues
• equity
• Generation X
• 3 times more likely to change jobs
• Leadership by competence
• Result of the 90s mentality that if you breath
  you can have a job

3
Why doesnt anyone want to
work around here?

• The motivation equation
• SV TI TS X Autonomy X Feedback
  Motivating 3 Potential Score
• SV Skill Variety
• TI Task Identity
• TS Task Significance

4
Why do my supervisors and managers make so many
mistakes

• Because they are thrown to the wolves
• Interpersonal skills such as teambuilding,
  communication, decision-making etc. can be
  developed!
• Managers/supervisors are often promoted because
  of their technical competency and not their
  interpersonal competence but yet their
  effectiveness as a manager relies mainly on the
  interpersonal skills.

5
Why are there so many laws regulating how
employees are treated?

• FLSA, NLRA, CRA (1964), ADEA, EEO, PDA, ADA,
  FMLA, HIPPA, etc.
• Laws are generally part of the job-as-property
  doctrine and attempt to protect work as much as
  possible
• Be careful not to alter the employment-at-will
  concept.
• In the U.S., the Federal Government has
  historically been proactive when it comes to
  employee rights.

6
Why dont my discipline policies hold up in
unemployment hearings?

• An inconsistent policy is not policy. This is
  perhaps one of the most difficulty problems for
  managers.
• An undocumented or poorly documented issue is not
  an issue.
• Employees need to be educated on what the
  policies are.

7
Why is your gut the wrong instinct when hiring
people?

• The fallibility of the interview
• It is a search for negative information.
• Positive but irrelevant information carries equal
  weight to relevant information.
• The similar to me affect.

8
Why isnt there any respect for authority?

• Position power versus expert and respect
  (referent) power.
• Generation X and Y.

9
How can I keep my insurance costs downlegally?

• Modifiable claims.
• Wellness programs.

10
What does a human resource manager do all day?

• The role of the HR professional is changing!

11
1. What can be done to enhance the strategic
value of the HR function?

• Become an internal consulting service
• Find out what goals senior management have and
  help them achieve them
• Senior HR professional must sit at the top
  management table

12
Some Tools of the Trade

• Job Analysis Questionnaire
• Job Description
• Performance Appraisal
• Handbook/Policy Manual

13
Questions??????????????
14
Discipline...

• Discipline should be viewed as a condition within
  an organization whereby employees know what is
  expected of them in terms of the organizations
  rules, standards, and policies and what the
  consequences are of infractions.

15
Discipline...

• The basic purpose of discipline should be to
  teach about expected behaviors in a constructive
  manner.

16
How does a supervisor maintain good discipline?

• The supervisor has the responsibility of
  informing employees of the organizations rules,
  regulations and standards.
• The supervisor must also ensure that employees
  understand the purpose of the rules, regulations
  and standards.
• The supervisor should remind employees in a
  friendly manner when their adherence to the rules
  has become lax.

17
How does a supervisor maintain good discipline?

• Whenever possible, counseling should precede the
  use of disciplinary reprimands or stricter
  penalties.
• Counseling helps develops an environment of
  openness, understanding and trust.
• This should help encourage self-discipline.
• Supervisors must always follow the rules that
  employees are expected to follow.
• Supervisors must be consistent!

18
Frequent Reasons for Using Discipline...

• Absenteeism, Tardiness Loafing, Leaving early,
  Sleeping on job, Assault or fighting, Horseplay,
  Insubordination, Threat or assault on management,
  Abusive language, Falsifying company records,
  Theft, Conflict of interest, Moonlighting,
  Negligence....

19
Frequent Reasons for Using Discipline...

• Damage to machinery or property, Incompetence,
  Refusal of job assignment, Participation in a
  prohibited strike, Use of drugs or alcohol,
  Obscene conduct, gambling, Abusing conduct,
  Violation of health and safety codes, Poor
  performance, Sexual harassment, etc..

20
Applying the Discipline Procedure...

• Predisciplinary Recommendation
• Each supervisor should become familiar with the
  law and company practices/policies as they affect
  disciplinary decisions.
• The supervisor should consult with upper
  management or Human Resources when in doubt.
• Take a Partner

21
Applying the Discipline Procedure...

• Predisciplinary Recommendation
• Accurate records must be maintained.
• The supervisor bears the burden of proof in
  discipline situations!
• The supervisor should investigate before
  disciplining.
• Do not assume the obvious!
• Consider the employees past work record,
  statements by witnesses and any other evidence.

22
Applying the Discipline Procedure...

• Administering Formal Discipline
• Discipline should be progressive and corrective.
  Initial corrective stages should involve
  counseling and oral warnings while the final
  stages involve written warnings, probation,
  suspension and termination.

23
The Hot-Stove Rule...

• Employee discipline is analogous to burning your
  hand on a hot stove where...
• The hot stove burns immediately. Disciplinary
  policies should be administered quickly. There
  should be no question of cause and effect.
• The hot stove gives a warning and so should
  discipline.

24
The Hot-Stove Rule...

• The hot stove consistently burns everyone who
  touches it. Discipline should be consistent.
• The hot stove burns everyone in the same manner
  regardless of who they are. Discipline must be
  impartial. People are disciplined for what they
  have done and not because of who they are.

25
Supervisor Checklist for Effectively Applying
Discipline...

• Be familiar with the law and past practices of
  the company as they affect disciplinary
  decisions.
• Maintain adequate records.
• Investigate rule infractions and mitigating
  circumstances.
• Administer discipline as soon as possible.
• Precede formal discipline with a warning.

26
Supervisor Checklist for Effectively Applying
Discipline...

• Be consistent among employees.
• Relate the penalty to the offense rather than the
  person.
• Administer discipline in private.
• Warn the employee of the results of a future
  violation.
• Spell out discipline expectations and
  consequences for infractions in company handbook.

27
Benefits of Confronting the Employee...

• Maintains group standards. Performance standards
  in the work group are maintained.
• Reduces fear. Employees may not know how to cope
  with a problem. An effective supervisor may be
  able to reduce anxiety by listening and providing
  information about assistance.

28
Benefits of Confronting the Employee...

• Improves relationships. Through open
  communication, employees and supervisors overcome
  feelings of uncertainty. The employee knows
  where he or she stands.
• Reduces costs. An employee who is offered
  assistance is less likely to leave or exhibit
  withdrawal behaviors.
• Provides guidance. Supervisors may be able to
  provide insights based on an organizational
  perspective that the employee may be unaware of.

29
Planning the Counseling Interview

• Arrange the Time and Place
• Ensure enough time and protect privacy.
• Avoid emotional situations
• Review Documentation
• Collect performance appraisals, time cards and
  other documentation.

30
Planning the Counseling Interview...

• Choose a Counseling Interview FormatNondirective
  -- Utilized for problem solving regarding
  nonserious performance issues.Directive--Utilized
  for serious issues such as drug or alcohol abuse
  or insubordination.

31
Conducting the Counseling Interview

• Describe the problem as observed and documented.
• Ask for an explanation.
• Explain consequences.
• Get an agreement to a solution or needed changes.

32
Conducting the Counseling Interview...

• Get a commitment to change.
• Summarize the meeting.
• Follow up through continued support and
  observation.

33
Legal Issues to Consider...

• Employment discrimination
• Employment-at-will
• Employment contracts-Intentional and
  Unintentional
• Consistent application of policies
• Documentation
• Investigations and Searches

34
Any Questions????
35
Thank you for your attention!!!!