Key Point New Employees need to Know

Recruiting and selecting high potential employees does not guarantee that they will perform effectively.  People who do not know what to do or how to do it cannot perform even if they want to.  To ensure that new employees know what to do and how to do it, you have to orient them.  Orientation is a planned introduction for new employees to their jobs, colleagues and the organization. 

Here are a few suggestions to make orientation effective:

New employees must feel that they belong and are important to the organization.  The supervisor and the HR Department should be prepared to give them this perception.  Colleagues should be prepared for the new employee’s arrival. 

Use colleagues or peers to serve as buddies or mentors during orientation.  Involve experienced high performers who can serve as role models fo5r new employees. 

Use checklist of what new employees need to know.  Many employers require that new employees sign the checklist to verify that they have been told about the pertinent rules and procedures. 

Provide information of policies, benefits and company rules; these include absenteeism, hospitalization, parking, safety rules, sick leave, tardiness, vacations, etc.  The supervisor should describe the routine followed during the course of a normal working day. 

Determine the most appropriate ways to resent information.  Employees will retain more o the orientation information if presented in manner that encourages them to learn. 

New employees presented with too many facts may ignore important details or inaccurately recall much of the information. 
Conduct follow up interviews and questions with new employees a few weeks or months after the orientation. 

Consulting Venture for an Organization

Consultants are generally viewed as doctors who are supposed to diagnose your organisation’s ailments and suggest relevant remedies.  Depending on the ailment, the remedies can range from revisiting oranisational strategic priorities and making necessary modifications to tweaking the business model employed. 
In effect, a consultant’s job is to bring significant business change within short time frames.  Thus the flexibility to attack a multitude of problems is imperative for the success of any consulting intervention.

Within the current fast paced, dynamic and unpredictable economic environment two ingredients are necessary for any consulting venture to be successful:

This involves the consultant’s ability to implement new insights and pertinent best practices from the industry.  Additionally, an easy decision making process while quickly taking stock of difficult situations (both internal and external) are essential components of any probable effective solution, which is ready to be implemented. 

World over companies are laying off employees and slashing budgets to deal with the current economic situation.  Gone are the days when a consultant would stay for months using his or set 6 steps or 15 topic modules.  Today consultants need to conduct effective needs analysis to ensure that they hit the bull’s eye and customize the methodology to quickly turn around the organizational condition.

Of course, expecting consulting to come with a magic wand to make your company the rising star in this age of halted growth is not a pragmatic view either.  It is therefore critical for consultants to help the client set realistic expectations and explain exactly what value would their advisory services bring;  helping the organisation differentiate mere wishes from what should e the ideal goal in quantitative terms. 

This type of collaboration based on a greater degree of trust and a common goal of improving the organisation is necessary to enable the company to survive during these tough times and perhaps even lure customers from a dying competitor.

Evaluating Short Term Employees

Performance evaluation for permanent employers is a balancing act which often becomes the focus of criticism and leads to lengthy debates.  The task is even more challenging when evaluating short term employees.   Here are a few tips on how a HR department can ensure that the process goes smoothly. 

Employees must be made to understand from day one their functional role   and the constraints attached to it.

It all parties begin work with the outcome clearly in mind; there will be no surprises at the end.  Scope, evaluation criteria, rewards and required resources should be clearly spelt out. 

At evaluation time, open communication without fear should be encouraged to appreciate achievements and develop areas of improvements. 

Pay for performance is preferred, however, in cases where the employees are on third party payroll, financial rewards should be clarified at the beginning of the year to avoid any disappointments. 

If the services of the employees are extended, the role and expectations must be reviewed again in all respects, preferably with some role enlargement to provide motivation.

Having invested time, training, expertise, etc, it would be unwise to lose an experienced person especially to a competitor, and the HR department to give due attention to such evaluations. 

Remember that all employees (permanent and short term) should be treated alike, not  only to ensure fairness but also to promote the organisation as the employer of choice if and when the employee goes back t the job market. 

Fish Practices...Workplace Ideas

The Fish Philosophy is based on four principles which when adopted can lead to higher employee morale and consequently better operational results.  Here is a closer look at the first two principles:

Everyone can benefit from a little lightening up during the day.  We now know that the primary antidote to stress is fun, laughter and engaging our sense of humour.  Endorphins, which override stress hormones and produce a sense of calm, are released by the brain every time we laugh or engage in a fun activity. 

People who find ways to incorporate play into their daily lives approach their work, responsibilities and challenges with energy and enthusiasm.  They display a contagious optimism towards work and the people they work with.  They are forever cheerful and energetic and display a beneficial and constructive sense of humor.

In fact, play brings out the child deep inside each one of us, the person who never hesitated to ask why? Or How come? Bringing forth the person who looks at the world creatively and openly.  Some of the best innovations in the world are a result of playing with ideas. 

The practice of make their day could be as simple as holding open a door for someone, asking about a person’s family, showing gratitude and saying thank you.  It goes beyond merely being civil and pleasant; it is taking that extra step you did not have to take.  And that makes all the difference. 

Whether it is spontaneous or planned, when you make the effort to brighten someone’s day, not because you expect a rewards, but because that’s the person you want to be, you experience fulfillment and you are a pleasure to be around ad positivity is contagious. 

Free Advice is Worth what you Pay for It

A recent edition of Fortune Magazine featured a host of successful people including Bill Gates, Tiger Woods, General Colin Powell sharing the in a section entitle The best Advice I ever Got.  Here are some that have helped me along the way.

From Anthony Robbins:  There is no such thing as success or failure; there are only outcomes.  This is very similar to Shakespeare’s There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so.  How we label the outcome also determines our approach to dealing with it.

Also from Mr.  Robbins: When preparation meets opportunities, luck happens.  Too often we are waiting for life to happen to us instead of the other way around.  I don’t know the source of this one but it is really good:  You have got to be in it to win it. 
There is also a story of a blonde who kept praying to win the lottery until finally one day, God said to her:  Could you at least buy a ticket?  I hope this is not the story of your life.  Another one of my favorites is from Eleanor Roosevelt, who said:  No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.  Unless we draw our boundaries, people will step al over us.  Learn to stand up for what you think is right but do it respectfully and without ego.  Last, but not least, this one is from a previous boss:  Free advice is worth what you pay for it.  There you go. 

Saving power at Work Place

In these trying economic times, many companies are facing eroding profits and budges deficits, with the end result that the focus is increasingly on cutting overheads and expenses, with electricity consumption singled out as one of the most practical ways to save some money.

Here is how:

Turn off your CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor every time you leave your desk.  These monitors consume 150 watts of power per hour and keeping them off for just an hour during the day can save enough electricity to power a bulb for 10 hours or enough to light up a small household in any village. 

Set the thermostat of all air conditioners at no less than 22 to 24 degree each degree increased saves two to four percent worth of power.  If the workplace consists of a large hall, turn off one of two ACs and use the remaining in conjunction with pedestal fans to circulate the cool air, air conditioners account for 60 to 70 % of the total summer bill.

Turn off all air conditioners during the lunch break.  The room will absorb heat and this process will stop once the warm air completely replaces the cold air. Then when the air conditioners are turned on after lunch, all the heat will be removed in one go.

Install reflecting film on your glass windows.  Not only do they reflect 40 to 60 % of the heat, they also let in the sunlight giving you a nice bright office and cutting down on lighting needs.  According to the California Energy Commission, 30% of any area’s cooling needs are derived from solar energy entering through glass.
Unplug electrical items such as microwaves and tea makers; about 75% of the electricity used to power such electronics is consumed while they are in standby mode. 

Clean the filters of the hand dryers in the office washrooms at least once a week.  This will help reduce the power it consumed while they are in standby mode.

Clean the filters of the hand dryers in the office washrooms at least once a week.  This will help reduce the power it consumes.

Unplug mobile phone chargers immediately after charging.

Replace incandescent bulb or tubes with energy savers.  These last 10 times longer and cut down on electricity consumption by up to 75% with out compromising on the lighting quality.

Motivating Employees

While organizations invest a substantial amount of money on buying and maintaining machinery, keeping employees motivated is often overlooked.  However, since human beings are decidedly different from machines, they need to be motivated and at times even pampered. 

Here are some guidelines on how to keep employees motivated:

Make your employees feel wanted and secure to keep them committed t the organization. 

Pay your employees more than what the market offers.  Review their benefits package on a yearly basis.  Make sure that your employees are aware of the benefits that are being given to them. 

Ensure that the objectives chalked out for each individual are clear and can be easily understand. 

Maintain open channels of communication and keep team members updated on the organization’s progress.

Institute a system of training to enhance employee skills.  This will result in individual and organizational development.

Make sure that you are accessible to your team members at all times.  Ensure that team members are accessible to each other as well. 

Maintain a friendly work environment so that your employees feel like coming to work and can enjoy their jobs. 

Initiate a fair system of rewards.

Arrange get together like annual dinners, picnics, social events etc. so that the team turns into a family.  Make it a point to remember employees special occasions such as birthdays, weddings etc.  When employees are faced with crisis, take care of them. 

Minimising Mistakes at Work Place

Very often insufficient emphasis is given to avoiding mistakes which not only affect productivity but also the working environment.  The truth is that mangers do make mistakes which at times not only affect the performance of their departments but the morale of the employees as well.  The key for a good manger is to ensure that his personal mistakes are kept to a minimum.  Here is how:

Keep abreast of developments in your field.  Subscribe to industry journals, obtain further education and network with people from your field who work for other organizations. 

Always welcome tough assignments and increased responsibilities; not only will you enhance your confidence, you will also develop professionally. 

Do everything to make sure the right decision is made.  Ask yourself questions related to the problems, whatever you have the required information to make a decision and what the consequences of inaction will be. 

Once you have made a decision carry it out without about the outcome.  Remember that although it might feel good to be liked by your employees, it is far more important to be respected by them. 

Ask employees for their ideas and opinions.  This lets them know that what they think matters and as a result they will work harder when they feel they are contributing to the organization success. 

If you need to be critical, suggest specific steps to prevent a mistake from reoccurring.  Constructive criticism can result I peak production, performance and profits.  Learn to share responsibility for the mistake and listen to the other side of the story, too.  Above all, forgive and forget. 

Most personnel problem comes from employees not having enough information about what management has done and why or what is expected of them.  Keep employees updated and let them know exactly what you want them to do.