A Bit of a Pointer Relative to Employee Evaluation Forms
February 13th, 2010
The current state of the economy requires that profit can most effectively be enhanced by cutting outgoings, rather than by increase of income. With this in mind, let’s turn to the many benefits of performance management software.
It is common knowledge that an efficient company will adapt its routines to the abilities of each member of staff to get the best from them. Learning about and tracking this information is often where things can become challenging, though.
We suggest you review this #1 website for writing performance reviews information
Simply keeping track of staff evaluation and identifying development in their performance rapidly becomes a huge amount of work. First of all, you implement employee evaluation techniques to evaluate and track work carried out by each member of staff. If you are employing traditional methods, the next move is to analyze all the raw data you will have obtained just to be able to study further development and define goals. With performance appraisal software, you can just examine the different analyses to determine what these goals should be and then chart the employee’s development. In this way you remove a significant demand on your time while probably receiving more useful information into the bargain. There is the possibility to scrutinize all of the data yourself using the system just to collate and track everything.
Not only that, but improving the efficiency of your workers is merely one thing you can do using performance appraisal software. Both clients and suppliers can be analyzed using such software, granting access to even more performance appraisal tools. You’ll have a clear record that will point out which suppliers carry products with the best quality, for the best prices as well as identify those with high rates of loss or slow delivery times.
When it comes to your retailers this kind of software can still offer a clearer picture there, too, showing you exactly who sells the most of your products, any loss percentage and similar fallout, and providing a reminder of outstanding payments. This information is useful in minimizing expenses and boosting profits. Who wouldn’t take advantage of that? In addition to this, it’ll be simpler to plan marketing campaigns due to your deeper insight into your market and the location of your best target audience. Analyzing both market and suppliers is effortless with performance management software. It also streamlines the employee performance review and assists you in setting realistic targets for your staff dramatically. It almost seems as if there’s no upper limit with performance management software backing you up!
So You’re Looking for Some Tips Concerning Manual Handling, Eh?
October 13th, 2009
It’s thought in a lot of companies that, by providing employees with some training in health & safety, they are well prepared for a disaster. The truth is though, an education in safety legislation and risk asessment simply is not enough. You must provide your employees with a capable supervisor, not to mention equip them adequately and give them the opportunity to practice. All teams must have an effective supervisor to keep an eye on staff performance, but this person also needs to take another function in the business. The supervisor you pick out should be enthusiastic and additionally consider training important. In addition to ensuring conformity with health & safety regulations, the task of a supervisor includes checking up on employee performance as well. Naturally it isn’t easy to accomplish all this at once. The supervisor needs to possess a broad knowledge of the industry and manufacturing operations in addition to a high level of comprehension of current regulations regarding safety, risk appraisal and first aid.
Supplying basic training in health & safety really isn’t enough for your workers. To positively find a risk to their safety they need practise. Employees in addition need insights into the steps necessary to remedy the situation not to mention understanding what to do if anything unforeseen happens. Not until these processes become second nature are staff properly protected. Safety equipment is equally as essential to the your workers’ well being as training. If they do not possess the right apparatus or if workers see that items are not working properly in an emergency, even the most advanced instruction can not help them. It’s a good idea to check regularly to ensure you possess all the essential gear and to ensure it’s functioning correctly as well. If you have a problem with your supplies, make sure it is mended or call out a maintenance engineer as a matter of urgency. Your employees must get the right health and safety training, but in addition they must have the proper equipment, the opportunity to practise, and a knowledgeable supervisor who gets the workforce charged up about working safely. And then observing the various safety regulations soon become a part of everyone’s working habits instead of something that staff have to make an effort to think about all the time.
A Messsage ForTo You Apropos of Job Performance Review
September 29th, 2009
The state of the economy is such that it is most effective to boost profits by examining costs, rather than by generating more income. One asset often forgotten, however, is employee performance appraisal software and the various benefits it offers. It’s common knowledge that getting the most out of your company necessitates knowing where each of your employees work best, and knowing how to adjust your procedures to match that. While this knowledge is important, it isn’t too easy to obtain.
Simply tracking employee evaluation and determining progress in that performance rapidly becomes a huge amount of work. First, you set up employee appraisal systems to evaluate and track all work done by each employee. And if you’re using conventional methods, you now need to study all of this data manually in order to define objectives, and track further progress.
When using performance management software you’ll find that this analysis is done for you and you need only look at the various metrics and factors to find what the right goals for this employee would be. It also makes following the employee’s advancement much easier. This eliminates the demands on your time and may even be far more precise. Should you wish to you can instead carry out your own analysis, merely employing the software to create and update a record to work from.
Performance management software doesn’t only help employees. You can also use it to examine your clients as well as your suppliers. Knowing the suppliers that carry the higher grade and lowest priced products can be a great help.
When it comes to affilates performance management software can still provide a sharper picture there telling you exactly who your best seller is, any loss percentage and similar negatives, and acting as a reminder of any payment issues. With this information at hand you are able to adjust your system of orders and supplies to maximize profits and reduce costs. This information will allow you to identify your best target audience. With this demographic in mind advertising is free to become more effective and simpler to plan. Performance management software lets you track your suppliers to save money and scrutinze your market to tailor your plans and increase your profits. In addition it streamlines the process of managing employee performance and assists you in setting realistic targets for your staff. To summarize, the potential benefits of this system are endless and will depend purely on your own ability to use what you learn…
One Super Approach You Definitely Should Look into — Legislation Safety
August 29th, 2009
Visit and go to this tremendous resource for health safety risk assessment clues
Nowadays numerous managers believe that, since all of their staff have adequate health & safety training, they are suitably equipped for a crisis. The truth is however, an education in health & safety regulatory affairs just isn’t adequate. You need to supply your staff with an enthusiastic supervisor, not to mention equip them properly and give them the opportunity to practice. Every team must have a capable supervisor to watch staff performance, however this person must also fulfill a much larger role. Whomever you employ as the supervisor is required to understand the importance of health & safety instruction and be able to get everyone excited about it. On top of ensuring conformity with health & safety legislation, a supervisor’s job includes supervising employee performance levels as well. This is a challenging task. The supervisor needs to have in depth understanding of both the business and manufacturing operations not to mention an in depth knowledge of up-to-date regulations regarding safety, risk assessment and emergency assistance techniques. Just having health & safety training isn’t enough for your employees. To positively spot a safety risk they need practise. Staff need to know the best method of dealing with hazards and how best to react if disaster strikes. Your staff are only properly protected when their training and procedures have become a habit. Education is by all accounts ineffective without safety gear. When they do not have the correct equipment or should workers find that equipment is not functioning properly in a crisis, then all the education they have undergone will have been wasted. Maintaining your equipment on a regular basis is a necessity. If you find something is not in good working order, be certain to have it rectified as promptly as possible and put it back in the proper location.
Your staff have to get proper health and safety education, however they need the correct equipment, regular practise drills, and a supervisor who can motivate your staff. When you take this advice you should find the various safety regulations be ingrained in the culture of your business and no longer an inconvenience everyone has to attempt to remember.
Efficient People Management
August 8th, 2009
A thriving business depends on efficient people management skills. With a little effort you may learn and improve these skills. Having a natural skill for communicating with people is an advantage, nevertheless you can do many things that will make this procedure easy.
Build relationships: Begin by remembering staff’s names. Speak to staff; get eye contact when you are speaking. Show respect, also listen to the other person’s thoughts, irrespective of whether you are in agreement or not. Listening to everything staff have to say is one of the most crucial people management skills in your arsenal. Exhibit interest in what everyone can offer the business organization. Keep your promises: Keeping your word is key. When a promise is not kept, it will destroy trust, and if they can’t trust you your staff will not offer their best. Everytime you make a commitment or give a promise, ensure you can follow through or it would really be more sensible not to give your word at all. The truth is, when you can’t be counted on, you can be certain they will behave in a similar way. Feedback is important: Feedback must be a two way process. Talent management skills mean being open to all feedback. If you are able to show accessibility and openness, you establish that other people’s thoughts count, and they should appreciate yours. Frank discussion in addition promotes new ideas, new methods of accomplishing the mission of the team, and improves the team dynamic. By giving the staff an input, every team member takes ownership of the results.
Promote all sorts of communication: Communication is the key to managing employees with skill. Be accessible, utilize listening techniques, remember to welcome all sorts of feedback, and encourage each of your team to express themselves. Staff must be inspired to speak to one another not just with you. The exchange of thoughts is essential in the creative process, when the team members communicate efficiently, it becomes simple to find issues before they become problems, and corrective measures may be implemented before things get out of hand. This will require some effort, nonetheless the dividends achieved far outbalance the work. By promoting a good team dynamic and demonstrating effective listening skills, you can easily accomplish a successful business.
Resolutions like “I will not smoke” are expressed in negative language - they’re describing what you don’t want. But this only gives you a mental image of what you’re trying to get away from - in this case, smoking.
Your brain unconsciously filters your perceptions of the world around you. Given the huge amount of sensory data available to you every single second, you have to ignore most of it - there just wouldn’t be time to take it all in. So, without even thinking about it, you choose to notice what you are interested in and ignore the rest.
Some of the filters are instinctive, designed to help us survive by noticing events that are likely to affect us - if somebody yells in your ear or starts taking off their clothes in front of you, they will probably attract your attention!
Some filters are learned - for a fashion-conscious person, someone with the latest handbag or top will stand out from a crowd of thousands.
The rest of the filters are the ones you install yourself, through your goals. Once your goal is set, your unconscious mind will be scanning the information coming in from your surroundings for anything relevant to achieving the goal.
You will notice opportunities, resources and people that can help you to get closer to your goal. It will seem like you are ‘attracting’ these helpful opportunities and people. If you had not set the goal, on the other hand, you probably would not even have noticed them, because they would not be relevant to you. It
So since we tend to attract what we are thinking about, telling yourself “I will not smoke” will just keep your attention on your cravings.
Other examples: “I wish I wasn’t in this job/relationship/flat” - if you think this way, without clarifying for yourself what you do want, your next job/relationship/flat may not be any better.
“Away-from” motivation can be great for giving you the kick you need to get going - but it’s undirected (”away” can be any direction) and it runs out quickly, as soon as you get far enough away from what you’re escaping. It’s also stressful, because you are carrying around your mental image of what you want to get away from.
So: think about what you want, rather than what you don’t want.
Bonus tip: if it’s not easy at first to focus on what you want, start with what you don’t want and ask yourself: ‘What do you want instead of this?’

Andy Smith is an Emotional Intelligence consultant and NLP Trainer based in the UK. You can email him at andy@practicaleq.com. His website, at http://www.createthelifeyouwant.co.uk, contains many free articles and downloads. Sign up for Andy’s “Create The Life You Want” newsletter and get a useful free report on goal-setting by sending a blank email to:
andy18-159754@autocontactor.com
Show the World Your Wares Easily and Inexpensively
May 27th, 2008
You’ve spent a lot of time preparing your PowerPoint
presentations and now you’re ready to show the world all your
company has to offer. You set up some appointments for sales
presentations with a few members of the local Chamber of
Commerce. On the appointed day, you lug your laptop and your
presentation to your prospective client’s office and start your
show. They’re impressed with what they see and you get the job.
And that’s the way things are supposed to work.
But what happens when you’re ready to start finding clients
outside a 30-mile radius? For one thing, your costs for getting
new work will soar. Not only will your travel expenses increase,
but the time spent traveling will keep you from working on other
tasks that need to get done.
It’s hard when you’re trying to grow your business solo and
you’re the one wearing all the hats. You can multi-task to a
certain extent, but still, when you work alone, there’s just so
much you can accomplish in one day. Sure you can hire help, but
that means adding payroll and other employee management tasks to
your already overburdened schedule.
What if there was a way you could show your PowerPoint
presentations to anyone in the world, at any time of the day,
without going broke? Do you think you could nail new business? Is
this the thing that you’ve been wishing for night after night,
while you lay there wide awake trying desperately to fall asleep?
Well for one low annual fee, which works out to be about $50 per
month, you can show your PowerPoint presentations as many times
as you want, to anyone, anywhere in the world. No, you’re not
dreaming! The technology exists right now.
When you want someone to view your PowerPoint presentation, you
send that person an invitation by email. The invitation provides
a link and an access code. Your guest simply clicks on the link,
enters the code, then sits back and enjoys the show!
Because your guests view the presentation from a standard web
browser, they won’t need any special software to see your
presentation. And even though you’re not physically present, you
can still control the show.
There are no limits to the number of presentations that you can
store in your private account. You can jump around from slide to
slide and select the slides you want your audience to see. You
can also switch between different presentations while your
viewers are still logged in. And best of all, you can read right
from your notes without anyone else noticing.
Up to ten viewers can logon and view your presentation
simultaneously. You can show your presentations to an unlimited
number of viewers, but there is an additional cost for this.
Anyone who has a PDA can view your presentation, too, as long as
Flash is built into the PDA.
So if you’re ready to show the world your new product
demonstration, or you need to conduct a meeting with different
people who are located in different offices, or you are in the
training business and you’re setting up virtual classrooms, or
even if you need to train others on the use of a particular
product, you need OnlinePRESENTER.
OnlinePRESENTER requires Windows 98, 2000, XP or NT and
PowerPoint 2000, XP, or 2003.
This cutting-edge way to show off your PowerPoint presentations
is well worth the price of admission. Without leaving the comfort
of your home office, you can be showing your wares to prospects
living in New York or New Delhi! So sit back and let the show
begin.
Copyright © 2004 Cavyl Stewart. Get the most out of the software you use everyday. Check out the add-in software directory for more information on OnlinePRESENTER and other great time saving PowerPoint add-in tools. Visit: http://www.find-small-business-software.com/powerpoint-addins.html - Also, be sure to check out my Exclusive, 100% free, 100% original content ecourses.
Getting Every Penny on the Table
May 20th, 2008
In my younger days I was a member of the Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce). Membership at the time was limited to young men 21-35. In Tacoma, our largest fundraiser was the yearly fireworks stand.
Near the end of June we would sign a contract for an order of fireworks based on the previous year’s sales. The fireworks company would deliver the modular panels of the fireworks stand to its location (the same street corner each year), and we would screw and wire it together.
The fireworks chairman would schedule husbands and wives for their shifts and we would all do our duty. It wasn’t hard work. Actually, it was fun. We talked and joked with each other as we waited for customers, just like most businesses. We cleaned up our messes and sometimes like little children we would set off a few fireworks from time to time to alleviate boredom. The last crew would generally close up and then cross the street to the Mountain Tavern for a beer or two and a game of pool.
In selling fireworks we would see single adult males, parents, grandparents and children . . . lots of children. The fireworks were labeled “safe and sane” so we could legally sell fireworks to any age. Most of us had grown up playing with fireworks both legal and illegal.
It didn’t take me long to develop my sales attitude. Having worked at my parents’ motel from the seventh grade up to college, I knew about selling to the public. And as the son of small business owners I knew how important each sale was. For the Jaycees this was the fundraiser that allowed us to run many of our projects during the year, and we had a whole bunch of community projects.
When kids came up to the stand they would usually take all of their money out of their pockets. With money in hand they would make their purchasing decisions. Since I could easily see what they had to work with, I could put together special packages for them that magically took every single penny from their eager little paws. They were thrilled. I was thrilled.
When the parents and grandparents came I would listen and watch the interaction of the adults to the children and judge my packages accordingly. I would fine-tune my pitch when it was time to give them their change. My goal was always to take every penny . . . sometimes that meant selling a single punk. I always tried.
This is the same mentality it takes in negotiation. I hate to leave money on the table, unless I figure it’s seed-money that I can get later. Now, don’t get the idea that I take unfair advantage of people. I give value for value. It’s just that I want those pennies and if I know they’re there, I try to get them. Isn’t that what sales and negotiation is about? Getting every penny should always be our goal.
Author Don Doman: Don is a published author of books for small business, corporate video producer, and owner of Ideas and Training (http://www.ideasandtraining.com), which provides business training products. Don also owns Human Resources Radio (http://www.humanresourcesradio.com), which provides business training programs and previews 24-hours a day.
Storytelling For High Concept And High Touch
May 12th, 2008
After hearing Daniel Pink speak about his new book A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age for the fourth time, I finally read it cover to cover (less than a day). I finally got what he’s talking about when he says jobs that are high touch are here to stay. That is, jobs that builds relationships between business and client whether it’s B2B or B2C. To that end, he advocates that we incorporate more storytelling into our relationships, that we make a point with a story, not just facts which everyone knows they need but still find boring. The reason is that stories are easier to remember. He goes on to list some of our contemporary characteristics distinguishing stories from facts:
Facts illuminate……….Stories amuse
Facts reveal…………..Stories divert
Facts are for real……..Stories are for cover
With the easy access to facts however, facts have become ubiquitous, available at the speed of light because of the internet and search engines like Google. So each fact becomes less valuable. What becomes more valuable is the ability to place these facts in context and deliver them with emotional impact. Stories exist where high concept and high touch intersect. This need is spawning the nascent movement called organizational storytelling at World Bank, NASA, even Xerox. It is even being used in branding advertisement on TV.
And as Mark Turner says in his book The Literary Mind, “Most of our experience, our knowledge and our thinking are organized as stories”.
Why am I telling you? Here’s Daniel Pink’s answer: “Story is having another important impact on business. Like design, it is becoming a key way for individuals and entrepreneurs to distinguish their goods and services in a crowded marketplace.”
So I wanted to share with you a story I heard last week. I like this story for three reasons: 1. it’s a story out of Wal-Mart’s success. 2. we can each apply it as a mini-self-assessment. 3. it’s inspirational. I hope you like it too.
At Wal-Mart, in the beginning, everyone would start as a bagger, bagging the customer’s purchases. Employees were monitored on a number of criteria. They were assessed on their attitude toward the job, attitude toward the customers, when they arrived for work, when the left, their enthusiasm for the job, contribution to the company and the company mission, etc. Sam Walton came up with a system for ranking all baggers. You were a 1 bagger, a 2 bagger or a 3 bagger.
The way Wal-Mart stores are designed; being a bagger is a key entry level job. The job of a bagger is to bag purchases for customers on two registers. A bagger is supposed to be able to keep up with two lines. However, there are some baggers who can only keep up with one register line, some who handle two lines and some who can handle three or maybe more lines.
One Baggers arrive at work on time, do the job to the best of their ability and leave on time, no matter what. They can only handle one register line. They don’t see what needs to be done beyond their assigned tasks and don’t concern themselves with anything else.
Two Baggers are very similar. They arrive on time, leave on time, and do the job of bagging for two register lines very competently. While on the job, they do what needs to be done very thoroughly. In time, they can rise into supervisory and middle management roles.
Now Three Baggers are a whole different animal - hard to tame, harder to contain.
Three Baggers come in early, leave late, look for extra work that needs to be done, put the job first even at quitting time. They make sure that all the lines have baggers and will stay late until the replacement shows up. They pitch in, in a pinch or a crisis, without being asked. They love their job and the company. They are your cheerleaders, your enthusiasts. These stars are going someplace. Don’t hold them back. If you can, use those star qualities to advance your business.
After reading those three job descriptions: are you a One-bagger, a Two-bagger or a Three-bagger? And working for you, do you have One-baggers, Two- baggers or Three-baggers? And who do you want in those positions?
Now isn’t it easier to remember the distinctions between these skill sets/character sets from a story than antiquated job descriptions? Try using stories and metaphors to make your point this week.
From Basics to Mastery
For all of us, emotional intelligence encompasses five basic areas of mastery. They are:
* Knowing your feelings and using them to make life decisions you can live with.
* Being able to manage your emotional life without being hijacked by it — not being paralyzed by depression or worry, or swept away by anger.
* Persisting in the face of setbacks and channeling your impulses in order to pursue your goals.
* Empathy — reading other people’s emotions without their having to tell you what they are feeling.
* Handling feelings in relationships with skill and harmony — being able to articulate the unspoken pulse of a group, for example.
The scope of these skills means there is indeed room for all of us to learn, grow, and improve. There is a lot to learn here. Learning about emotional intelligence, learning about the tools for energy efficiency; that’s only the beginning. It’s like reading all the books on sailing and small boat sailing. You then have the theory mastered, but you have no hands-on practice. It’s only with practice that we gain mastery of anything. That’s true of our feelings and emotions too!
The scope of these skills means there is indeed room for all of us to learn, grow, and improve. There is a lot to learn here. Learning about emotional intelligence, learning about the tools for energy efficiency; that’s only the beginning. It’s like reading all the books on sailing and small boat sailing. You then have the theory mastered, but you have no hands-on practice. It’s only with practice that we gain mastery of anything. That’s true of our feelings and emotions too!
How do you address so many broad areas?
- Assessment tools are a great way to learn to identify your emotions
- Energy efficiency tools are invaluable in helping you tap into inner wisdom and resources to manage your emotions and understand what the best choices are when you are making life decisions.
- Persistence can be learned. In fact, providing challenges and hardships to children, to give them an opportunity to develop persistence and stick-to-itiveness, is intrinsic in many cultures. Goal-setting and the 6 Most- Important-Things List are just two tools you can apply immediately.
- Developing empathy is powerful in critical business situations like a sales call, a closing, your management style, etc. Using your energy efficiency tools will allow you to pay attention to your instincts in this area instead of second-guessing yourself.
- Once you learn to be the manager of your feelings, it becomes an easy habit to apply in any business or personal relationship.
Mastery of all the basics does not occur overnight. But with practice it comes very quickly - just like learning to ride a bicycle. Once you experience how it’s ’supposed to work’, how energy efficiency is ’supposed to feel’, it’s easier and easier to reestablish in a variety of circumstances. That’s where mastery is achieved. That’s where you and everyone in your business benefit from your mastery.
Kerri Salls, MBA runs a virtual business school to train, consult and coach small business CEO’s and entrepreneurs in 10 key strategies to make more profit in less time. Learn more at www.breakthrough-business-school.com/products.html or sign up for a free weekly newsletter at www.breakthrough-business-school.com/newsletter.shtml
Accountability
May 2nd, 2008
One of my worst moments in a new job, the one
where I realized I wasn’t in Kansas anymore, came after my
first business trip to the other coast. The admin who had
made my travel arrangements asked which hotel I wanted to
stay in. Of the two choices, one was 2 blocks from the site,
the other was across town. Blithely, I chose the closer hotel.
Later that month, my manager hand delivered my expense
reimbursement check, and a stern warning. I’d significantly
exceeded the hotel per diem, and wasn’t to do it again.
When I started to question her, the response was “You
should have known it was above the range.”
We both lost that day. I’m sure she had been called on the
carpet for my lack of “accountability.” I felt like I’d been set
up.
The underlying problem is what I often hear labeled as a
communication problem. When I probe, I hear some version
of “everyone knows that” from managers, and
employees complain they never know when the axe is going
to fall.
Holding staff accountable is a crucial part of a
manager’s responsibility. But, any person, including
you and me, can be held accountable only when:
As a manager, it’s up to you to spell out the expectations.
You need to let employees know, very explicitly, and in a way
they can hear, what your expectations are.
Build on where they are right now. Don’t start at the
skill level or level of understanding you think anyone in that
position SHOULD have, but what they DO have.
If you have any question that they may not be getting what
you are saying, go back, and check for understanding.
Then go for commitment. Just because they understand
doesn’t mean they agree to do it.
Understand is, “I know what’s expected.” Agree is “Yes, I
will do it.”
Make sure the agreement is explicit.
Only then will you have both conditions for accountability.
It goes without saying you have the responsibility of being
accountable yourself. At the management level, there are
higher standards of accountability. No longer can you say I
didn’t know, or I didn’t understand.
It’s your watch. You’re accountable for what’s happening.
Which means, of course, that you need to hold your people
accountable. There will come a day someone doesn’t follow
through, meet expectations, or deliver on a commitment.
Remember Rule #1: Behaviors that are rewarded are
apt to be repeated.
And the Corollary for Rule #1: The best reward for “bad
behavior” is to do nothing.
If you don’t hold people accountable they’ll quickly learn a
lesson you don’t want to teach: You don’t really mean what
you say. They can do what they want, or think necessary.
Accountability
One of my worst moments in a new job, the one where I
realized I wasn’t in Kansas anymore, came after my first
business trip to the other coast. The admin who had made
my travel arrangements asked which hotel I wanted to stay
in. Of the two choices, one was 2 blocks from the site, the
other was across town. Blithely, I chose the closer hotel.
Later that month, my manager hand delivered my expense
reimbursement check, and a stern warning. I’d significantly
exceeded the hotel per diem, and wasn’t to do it again.
When I started to question her, the response was “You
should have known it was above the range.”
We both lost that day. I’m sure she had been called on the
carpet for my lack of “accountability.” I felt like I’d been set
up.
The underlying problem is what I often hear labeled as a
communication problem. When I probe, I hear some
version of “everyone knows that” from managers, and
employees complain they never know when the axe is going
to fall.
Holding staff accountable is a crucial part of a manager’s
responsibility. But, any person, including you and me, can
be held accountable only when:
As a manager, it’s up to you to spell out the expectations.
You need to let employees know, very explicitly, and in a way
they can hear, what your expectations are.
Build on where they are right now. Don’t start at the skill
level or level of understanding you think anyone in that
position SHOULD have, but what they DO have.
If you have any question that they may not be getting what
you are saying, go back, and check for understanding.
Then go for commitment. Just because they understand
doesn’t mean they agree to do it.
Understand is, “I know what’s expected.” Agree is “Yes, I
will do it.”
Make sure the agreement is explicit.
Only then will you have both conditions for accountability.
It goes without saying you have the responsibility of being
accountable yourself. At the management level, there are
higher standards of accountability. No longer can you say I
didn’t know, or I didn’t understand.
It’s your watch. You’re accountable for what’s happening.
Which means, of course, that you need to hold your people
accountable. There will come a day someone doesn’t follow
through, meet expectations, or deliver on a commitment.
Remember Rule #1: Behaviors that are rewarded are
apt to be repeated.
And the Corollary for Rule #1: The best reward for “bad
behavior” is to do nothing.
If you don’t hold people accountable they’ll quickly learn a
lesson you don’t want to teach: You don’t really mean what
you say. They can do what they want, or think necessary.
Patricia Wiklund Ph.D. works with managers who are
challenged with a difficult employee or colleague, and
organizations that need to get back on track to effectiveness
and productivity. Start increasing your management and
leadership skills with her new audio coaching program on
Emotional Intelligence: The Leadership Edge. Just click
here: http://www.PatWiklund.com/eiaudiocoaching.shtml
Contact Pat at Pat@patwiklund.com