Staff Management

Most wise employers will provide an induction program for their new employees. This is different to job training. Induction can be defined as: “the guided adjustment of a new employee to the organisation and its work environment”. The aim is to assist new employees to integrate into the workplace so that they can reach an acceptable level of productivity. The induction process might include provision of training videos, tours of the workplace and external training; a precursor to on-the-job instruction.

An induction program will provide the employee with:

  • A employment contract that outlines the terms, conditions and responsibilities of employment (job description)
  • An organisational structure chart that clearly identifies their immediate supervisor (the person they are to report to)
  • Equal opportunity policy
  • An introduction to the company; a run down on its history and future development plans
  • A tour of the building; location of toilets, kitchen facilities, canteen etc.
  • Information regarding lunch, tea breaks times and duration
  • Staff welfare structure – first aid facilities, health and safety equipment, social club, staff discounts etc. 
  • An introduction to management, staff and co-workers; an outline of the job requirements and standards expected.
  • Information on work appraisals.
     

Managing Performance
Performance management is a systematic and cyclic process to ensure that the pre-determined goals and objectives of an organisation are consistently achieved in an efficient and effective manner.

  • Performance management focuses on ways of maximising the performance:

  • Of an individual
  • Of a team
  • Of a department
  • Job processes
  • Production processes
  • Delivery of services
  • The entire organisation

It is also a process which identifies and deals with underperforming individuals, teams, departments, services etc.

The key objectives of a performance management plan are to:

  • Create clear directives regarding roles, responsibilities and performance expectations for employees to help them improve performance, and to ensure that their work output reflects the goals of the business. 
  • Identify changes to existing job descriptions.
  • Identify training and development requirements to meet individual performance, individual professional aspirations and long term company needs.
  • Provide constructive communication between employees, managers and supervisors on organisational developments, operational plans and to ensure that work plans meet future needs. 
  • Create a process for performance appraisal in order to recognise and reward achievements; to identify and manage performance improvement issues.

Elements to consider:

  • Have measurable goals that reflect the corporate strategy of the business
  • Ensure that employees understand and support the corporate goals of the business
  • Have measurable goals and make sure that they are the same as the corporate goals 
  • Ensure that employees know how they are performing in relation to the these goals
  • Employees should be flexible enough to modify their approach as business goals change
  • Employee performance should be reflected in the rewards they receive; in order to do this accurately mangers must have detailed performance information on which to base their decisions

 

 

 

Staff Appraisals
If a business is to meet its goals and objectives and grow in the future it must manage performance. One way to achieve this is through the process of staff appraisals during which management and staff share information about job performance and the potential for improvement.

  • The main staff appraisals are usually conducted on a yearly basis 
  • The employee should be given prior warning so they can prepare for the discussion
  • Staff appraisals should not be seen to replace regular staff / management feedback.

The aim of staff appraisals is to:

  • Review an employees career and determine future development
  • To enable planning in relation to an individual’s job activities for the following period
  • To identify problems that require action
  • To identify training needs – and the funding required
  • To determine rewards – ie. wage increases. bonuses or other incentives
  • To improve communication between staff and managers 
  • To inform staff of future corporate goals, objectives and expectations
  • To encourage staff motivation – informed staff are better motivated
  • To identify an employees capabilities

During the (staff appraisal) discussion:

  • The employee should be given the opportunity to respond to and discuss the feedback
  • Information should be delivered in a positive, assertive way
  • Be specific when giving negative feedback
  • Feedback must be clearly understood by the employee
  • For the employee to change or accept the feedback it must be meaningful 
  • Agree on specific future objectives; this must be manageable for the employee and the employer and will encourage the employee to rectify past problems

 

Labour Wastage
The analysis of labour wastage indicates how many workers must be taken on for a given job in order to ensure that the required number will always be available.

Also labour wastage details show how many people have vacated the job over a given period, when they left, and their reasons for leaving. By the use of statistical analysis the data can be broken down to indicate the percentages of male to female leavers, variations in age, health, etc. One of the main reasons for the research is to find out why people are leaving, what their dissatisfaction with the job is and what can be done to improve the position.

When considering the respective jobs we must differentiate between:

  • Occupations which give contractual security to those employed.
  • Occupations where there is no contractual security, where the employee can given notice to leave if he/she is dissatisfied or alternatively he/she can be readily dismissed.

In the latter condition, it will become obvious that if the employees only stay for a short time, then there is something wrong. The conditions of employment may be such that the majority of entrants are not prepared to put up with them, or it may be possible that the people in authority are not sufficiently experienced to select the right staff.

Thus there occurs a problem of labour turnover, or labour wastage.

It is not desirable to have a perfectly static staff. If there were no new employment after the death of an existing member, then the organisation would tend to lose some of its vitality. On the other hand, if turnover is too high the organisation will tend to become unstable.

In order to check on labour wastage, it is necessary to build up a data bank. This has been done in the past by use of cards giving all details of the employees. Nowadays the trend is toward computerisation of the records and more and more firms are adopting this approach.

The data which should be entered either on the cards or the computer is:
(a) The date of entry into the organisation.
(b) The date of leaving the organisation.
(c) The department or branch of the firm where employed.
(d) Age and sex.
(e) Conduct during service.
(f) Any disciplinary action taken.
(g) Reason for leaving.

There are two main reasons for leaving which can be classified as:
1. Dismissal
2. Resignation

These reasons depend upon the person's point of view because a resignation may hide an impending dismissal.

The reasons for dismissal include - slackness of trade, unsuitability for the work, insubordination and unauthorised absence.

The employee's reasons for leaving include - general or specific objections to the work or the working conditions, removal of family to a different area, obtaining a better job, in the case of women marriage and childbirth.

Age Profiling
Age profiling is a tool used by business to measure age diversity and as a means to compare age groups within its workforce. It is also useful as a marketing tool to determine the age of potential customers and is used well by government when determining resourcing issues. To control costs age profiling data can be collected at the same time as other employee information and kept along with it for analysis.

In a business, age profiling is a valuable tool which can be used to:

  • Help select staff to promote age diversity – profiling helps to identify gaps - this way upon retirement older employees can be replaced with younger people from within the organisation or the same department; this also prevents staff shortages should it be found that a department is weighted in a certain way ie. with older staff (retirement); with people that have family responsibilities (need for extra sick leave); with only young people (lack of maturity and experience).
  • Help to determine whether your business is promoting equal opportunity – if only certain age groups are applying for jobs advertised you can address this by changing the advertising to be more inclusive.
  • Help to ensure that the your customers empathise with your staff 
  • Determine appropriate staff development – age profiling may detect that certain age groups are not participating in staff development programs; measures can then be taken to ensure that the training is age appropriate.
  • Provide mentors to younger employees
  • Determine whether certain age groups are more likely to take sick leave; ie more prone to accidents; harassed etc.
  • Determine which age groups are more likely to resign and the reasons behind their resignation.

 

Staff Training
Staff training and development is vital to the productivity of every organisation. Trained workers are able to do their job more efficiently – with fewer accidents, less wastage, and better finished products.

Training employees makes good sense for many reasons:

  • It reduces the time for new employees to reach an acceptable level of performance;
  • It saves money, minimises waste, increases safety, reduces misuse of equipment and resources.
  • It develops a feeling of confidence and well being that will enhance employees’ attitudes to the work and business;
  • It gives the new and established employees a greater sense of security, which helps in the overall development of motivation and successful production.

Skills can be developed in staff by use of a variety of different methods. These are just some of them:

  • Job instruction
  • Job assignments
  • Role playing
  • Problem solving groups
  • Simulation equipment
  • Programmed learning
  • On-the-job training
  • Consulting with skilled personnel
  • Lectures and demonstrations

 

Assessing Training Needs
Educationists, trainers, teachers etc. often assume what people need to (or want to) learn. It is common to base such assumptions on their own learning experiences. This approach may work in situations that you are thoroughly familiar with. If you have taught similar classes in the past, and have been involved in the industry or subject area for a long time, you may succeed in putting together a relevant and effective training program.

If you are dealing in an area which you are not as familiar with, however, or working with a group who is not familiar to you (perhaps a younger or older group), you would be advised to take a more formal/structured approach to assessing the needs of participants (students) in a proposed training program. It is also advisable to assess needs regularly in order to keep in touch with changing perspectives and needs. What might have suited most staff six years ago might no longer be important to new or older staff, as workplace changes and changing expectations create new needs and make others less important.

For instance, stress management training might not have been considered important ten years ago, but as we become more aware of the enormous costs of stress to us as individuals and to businesses, stress management training seems much more valuable and desirable. Also, just ten years ago, many workers managed very well without knowledge of computers. However, now that lack of knowledge can seriously affect a person’s ability to function effectively in new areas within an organisation or to adapt to changes in the future. In an increasingly impermanent, variable and changing job market, computer skills can give a person a deeper sense of security and faith in their ability to deal with change.

Determining needs is important for several reasons:

  • Developing a checklist will help evaluate assumptions about the needs and wants of potential students.
  • Information gathered helps plan content of a program.
  • Participants will be encouraged to work harder and better if training focuses more on their needs and wants.
  • Targeting training to a particular group (ie. people who are more likely to participate) is enhanced if the training program is better focussed on their needs.
     

 

Sources of Information For a Needs Assessment
Information about what learners need can be gathered from a variety of sources, including:

A. Potential or given learners 
You might find out what they prefer to learn. You might offer a choice of learning programs to see which they would find more relevant. You might also find out whether they would be interested in participating in training, if given the opportunity, and if not, why not. Even when the training is compulsory, you might try to discover what barriers exist in people’s thinking or expectations that make them reluctant to undertake training. For instance, you might find that lack of confidence in one’s ability to learn quickly is a worry, or that some older staff is concerned about looking foolish in front of younger staff, or vice versa. These concerns identify otherwise hidden needs, such as the need to feel confident and safe during training.

B. Associated people with the relevant skills & knowledge
Business people, managers, supervisors and others can identify capabilities or skills that are lacking in the community or workplace, and in need of being developed. They can help you identify what skills need to be taught. They can also help you determine standards that need to be met in the workplace (ie. the level of skill that needs to be accomplished.