How Do I Keep My Employees from Thinking I am Mountain Troll with A Club?

Did you saw that Harry Potter movie with the mountain troll busting up the bathroom with a spiked club while chasing after Harry and his friends? Many supervisors are successful at making themselves into a monster--some almost this grotesque--and more feared than respected.

Although no one can promise that you won't be seen as a supervisor who wants to throw subordinates into a gingerbread oven, I will give you a few hot tips. Be sure to forward this Web URL to your friends. Some may need the help.

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Probably the most important thing you can do as supervisor or manager do is to establish communication habits that you use daily with employees that help you improve your interactions and grow your reputation with them. You must use self-awareness and have a goal in mind to be seen in a certain light.

Are you "simply trying to be liked?" Yes. Nothing wrong with that although people do throw that in our faces over the years. Being liked and trying to be liked is smart. It doesn't mean you aren't using common sense in your relationship with managing employees and their performance.

When approaching an employee for any reason, lead with something positive so they do not learn to associate your presence with correcting performance, a negative interaction, or other painful exchange.

Ask employees for their solutions to problems, and treat them like pros, regardless of the position they hold. Intentionally interact with your employees when things are going well—get out of your office so you aren’t seen as a one-person fire department only interacting when problems arise or things go badly.

Participate in small talk; use these moments to learn about your employees’ needs. Praise and be in awe of their past achievements, not just the ones you witness on the job. Finally, look for roadblocks to their success. Pay attention to what is impeding performance, and find small ways to make their lives more comfortable.

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Managing Medically Influenced Behavioral Problems on the Job

Major depression affects 15-20 percent of the population. A research report from Stony Brook University in November received widespread attention because its author supported further investigation into the possibility that major depression could be the result of “some parasitic, bacterial, or viral infection” not yet identified. Infectious was mischaracterized as contagious in other media. The two do not necessarily equate. Not long ago, stomach ulcers were determined to be caused by H. pylori bacteria, not stress. The idea is similar. With regard to the workplace, many studies have shown that employee morale can be affected by the attitudes and behaviors of coworkers. In this sense, depression’s effects can be “contagious” if behavioral issues of those affected by it influence others and negatively impact morale or productivity. Rely on a contracted EAP professional or if you are smart enough to have an EAP firm on retainer, use them, when you are concerned about an employee’s behavior. Do not attempt to decide whether an employee is or is not depressed. It will lead to a discussion. That discussion will lead to "assurances" from your employee everything is just fine. That will lead to a temporary cure as a result of increased effort to control symptoms, and that will lead to relapse...or worse. There is such a thing as behavioral-medical problems that affect performance. 12% of employees are affected by such problems, but you have no ability to manage this "strata" of employee behavior. You must rely upon pros. To see our supervisor courses go to http://workexcel.com

Supervisors "Quick Anti-Bullying Pitch"

When it comes to training managers and training supervisors, these folks need a “pitch” they can use when addressing the issue of bullying in the workplace (get a handout). Here’s one to consider: "Hey folks, if you work in an environment where people belittle each other, it’s easy to fall in with the crowd and sink to their level. The “go along syndrome” can happen to any employee--this is the “by-stander” effect. But it’s better to stand out by demonstrating civility. Bullying thrives in workplaces where a few strong, negative personalities dominate. Otherwise reasonable people may keep quiet, adopting a “don’t make waves” mentality. Tolerating—and even quietly encouraging—such behavior may seem like the most painless way to get through your workday. But eventually you’ll be on the receiving end of such ridicule and then it won’t seem quite as harmless. Fight bullying by speaking in positive, non-threatening terms. Avoid profanity at all times. And stick up for co-workers under attack. If all this proves hard, think of the Golden Rule. Treat people the way you’d like to be treated and you will blaze path for others to follow.

Training Supervisors: Risk and Supervisors Ignoring Performance Evaluations

Supervisor skills include understanding performance reviews and performance evaluations. If you have been ignoring performance evaluations year to year and your organization does not have a procedure for conducting performance evaluations of employees and making sure they happen, you risk a host of major problems beyond a irritated employee who may complain quietly to friends that they haven had a performance evaluation in years. Here's the point: If you do not conduct performance evaluations, you have only one thing to control the productivity of the worker -- your relationship. This model is fraught with issues and problems, and it can lead to conduct that can even culminate in workplace violence or homicide at work. Don't snicker. It's time to get supervisors evaluating performance again. Stay tuned for a complete course for $695 that you can upload to your internal website or show in a powerpoint presentation, and you'll train supervisors in 20 minutes. Back in a few days.

Supervisory Skills If Your Company Has Been Sucker Punched by Your Managed Care Company

Important supervisory skills training include knowing how to use your company's employee assistance program to tackle job performance problems of employees you supervise. You may at one time in the past had a traditional and much more effective employee assistance program, but your company may have been suckered into giving it up in favor of an 800# associated with the managed care company. These programs are mostly...hmmm...best word is "terrible" for helping troubled employees. Managed care companies do a lousy job of educating supervisors about these employee assistance programs and how they can, should be, and always were supposed to be used as management tools to help you correct the job performance, attendance, and conduct issues troubled employees you supervise. There in a nutshell lies the risk. You can still save a life if you know about that little phone number found on the back of your insurance card that tells you to call "this number" for mental health and substance abuse treatment benefits. This is where you EAP may lie. When you have a troubled employee whose performance is not turning around, sit down, have a corrective interview and if you have reached your wits end ready to fire and terminate--hold off and do this as a last resort: "Tell the employee, what job action you are initiating and there is only one way to prevent it, and that is if the employee thinks he or she has a personal problem contributing to the job performance issues and is willing to phone the EAP (phone number on back of insurance card will lead you to it) and follow through with its recommendations and sign a release so you can verify attendance. Say you are willing to accommodate the employees in this regard, otherwise you will initiate the job action now." Nearly all employees will accept the offer of help, and if a release is signed (part of the bargain) and that communication flows to you about the participation (no personal information), then your employee stands a good chance of getting well. Supervisor training and supervisor skills like these can save lives. This is called "Performance-based Intervention". Follow up is key. We teach these skills in Supervisor Tips and Skills Newsletter. Get a free copy.

Reasonable Suspicion Trap #1: "I haven't had a drink since last night!"

In the heat of the moment, this excuse can seem quite reasonable, especially for those of us who have had a few late nights ourselves. Here's something you probably won't consider in the heat of the moment--just how long ago was "last night"? And, quite frankly, its irrelevant. Is the smell there? But, let's play along for a minute.

Depending on when your employee stopped drinking, it can be as few as 3-4 of hours.

Knocking off at 4am and catching a couple hours of sleep before work may fool your employee into thinking it's a new day, but he can't fool his body. Sleeping doesn't metabolize alcohol and sober you up any faster than if you were awake.

But isn't even 4 hours long enough to sober up? Not necessarily. Don't make the mistake of projecting your own consumption habits onto your employee. He may have consumed an amount that far exceeds your own capacity. An alcoholic with a high tolerance who drinks 12 beers, and then quits at midnight will still be drunk the next day at 8 a.m., and especially if there are any sort liver problems. And they're probably are.

Employees who have a high tolerance to alcohol could have their last drink late at night and still be under the influence well after sunrise. They don't have to drink just before coming to work or first thing in the morning to be under the influence. Don't let this statement convince you that a test is unnecessary.

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Reduce Supervisor Stress: Max Out on Using Your Organization's EAP

Many of you looking to improve your supervisory skills have employee assistance programs available to you for consultation through your company. The problem is that I am the first one to tell you this.

It is likely that you have therefore not had an orientation with a representative from the managed care company that runs you organization's employee assistance program, correct? This is par for the course these days, but it did not used be this way. Decades ago, supervisor training was a must, and it paid off. If you had one of these orientations, the professional counselor would give you instructions about how to refer an employee who was having job problems. So, let me give you a few helpful hints righ now. Although there are many different styles of confronting employees and recommending use of the employee assistance program, some methods work better than others. One technique that reportedly works very well is reserving a prearranged appointment time for your employee when you initially consult with the EAP about the pending referral. If your company's employee assistance program does not have a provision that includes consulting with supervisors, it is flat out, a bogus program not worth a dang. Continuing on, when you meet with your employee and conduct your corrective interview, offer the prearranged appointment to the employee if he or she is willing to visit the EAP. Do not, however, require or strong-arm your employee into accepting the appointment time. Accept your employee's desire to make his or her own appointment if the prearranged appointment is refused. Your offer of the prearranged appointment should only be a convenience to facilitate follow-through in visiting the EAP upon your recommendation. (The sooner the appointment follows your corrective interview, the better.) Definitely always ask your employee to sign a release so you can verify attendance. Don't say that signing one is required unless you have "held in abeyance" the employee's termination in lieu of his or her choice to completely cooperate with the EAP. Most employees will sign a release. Then you will be able to communicate with the EAP, but not about details. Only verification of attendance and cooperation with the program's recommendation.

Good documentation. Bad Documentation

Okay, test your skills. Yes or no? The following is an example of useful and correctly written documentation: "Tom S. arrived twenty minutes late to work today and was witnessed, by several employees, damaging another vehicle while trying to park his car. He was heard yelling obscenities from within car. When I met with him immediately after the incident, I could smell alcohol on his breath." .... Yes. This is an example of documentation that is specific and clear. There are no subjective or opinionated comments or conclusions about the employee's condition. It is written in a factual, unemotional way, with attention to that which can be sensed--in this case what can be seen, heard, and smelled.

Okay, try this one: "Tom Smith arrived at work late with reports by others of being drunk. He scraped a car in the parking lot and when confronted by me, after the incident, became defensive and acted immature showing that he had something to hide and to get others to "back off". He denied he was drunk, but admitted he had been drinking before midnight, which is when he stated his last drink occurred."

This documentation lacks specific details and instead appears to be conjecture; it would be difficult to defend. It would not support a disciplinary action or a reasonable-suspicion drug test.

To really get a grip on performance documentation, have your supervisors able to quickly access instructions on this document by using your companies internal web site or a special section for supervisors where supervisory skills can be found and learned quickly. This is very easy to do with a product such as the 14 Vital Skll for Supervisors Training Online Flash course. The author lets you view it completely free.

Be Gingerly with Returning Troops from Overseas? - NO WAY!

I had a supervisor ask me recently about the mental state of his employees who had returned from overseas and who had also been in action. He pondered about how lenient he should be with these employees. Oh, my! he asked, don’t they deserve a break because of their stress and more leniency from us supervisors when performance problems arise?

Folks, ask any returning troops this question, and they will freak out. Do think the doh boys of WWII got treated with kit gloves. Hell no. They came home and raised five kids and ran boy scout troops. Let's stop treating Vets like every one of them is about to shoot up the Post Office. Sure, absolutely, some have PTSD, but let them tell you that they need accommondations first. Listen, it's natural to weigh the circumstances of your employees and want to be lenient as a way of accommodating them. However, unless a specific request is made for a reasonable accommodation, it is generally better to treat employees equally and all as fully capable. Do not assume these employees require different standards for how their performance should be judged. Many employees experience performance problems attributable to traumas and personal issues. Although the stress of war and its toll on the psyche is extraordinary, your employees will benefit most by being held to the same performance evaluation standards and work rules as other employees. Most soldiers returning from overs as will tell you they want to be treated no differently than their peers. Remember not to make assumptions or diagnostic conclusions about your employees.

Supervisors, Employees, and Privacy Rights, Oh My!

Avoid legal problems associated with privacy rights involving employee files and other paperwork. If you did not get new supervisor training on this subject, this post will help. Paperwork management related to employee files is an important area of concern that should not be ignored. You may wonder from time to time if you are in trouble with the way you are handling employee records. Right? Not right? Well, you should keep this issue in mind but don't panic. A few precautions, in addition to listening to your legal advisers, will keep you on the straight and narrow path avoiding 99% of litigation threats associated with the mishandling of privacy information. So, here are few tips for you. One time bomb for many companies is the potential for employment claims related to "negligent maintenance," or "failure to use due care" when it comes to handling file records. When employees file lawsuits for these employment practices problems, they generally fall into several categories. These include providing employment reference information which was untrue or damaging; improperly disclosing personal information about the employee; placing false information in a file; providing false information to others from a file; failing to keep accurate records or keeping inconsistent records among employees; and improperly disclosing information to those who do not have a right to know. So, these supervisor skills are critical. Good luck in your paper management, and if new supervisor training is in your future, be sure to get clarification on managing paperwork.

Reducing Tension During Verbal Warning Interviews

As a new supervisor, when you meet with employees to do verbal warnings corrective interview, you are going to be tense, lose track of your points sometimes, or simply become overwhelmed with the fear associated with confrontation depending on its nature. It happens. You are not alone. Very few people in supervisory positions would say they look forward to such meetings. And what supervisory training for new supervisors ever includes such skill development? Indeed, these meetings go with the territory when it comes to the supervisor's role. Try these steps to make approaching such a task easier:

1. Plan your meeting with the employee ahead of time, if possible.

2. Write out a list of the concerns that you will address and review them in advance with your supervisor. Get your supervisor's support and input prior to your meeting.

3. Meet with the employee in your office (on your turf). Discuss the listed concerns and allow the employee to respond.

4. Do not argue with your employee. Try to remain emotionally detached by seeing the goal of your meeting as helping the employee understand the relationship between unacceptable behavior and its possible consequences.

5. If the employee remains argumentative or will not listen, end your meeting with plans to meet again soon.

6. Contract with the employee for desired changes.

Reducing the Risk of Violence with Better Relational Skills with Your Employees

In the workplace drug and alcohol use is the primary cause of violence, from fistfights to rape. About 15 people are murdered on the job each week. Surprised? They aren't all as sensational as Fort Hood, but hundreds of murders occur in the workplace each year.

Only exceptional cases make it to the national news, and certainly every one makes the local press. As a supervisor or manager, you want to ensure that you do not become famous in this particular way, so here are a few tips with regard to the relationship that you have with your employees. The most important is to listen, detect, and pay attention to their complaints.

Come down hard on employees who bully others, tease an employee for the behavior, ethnic background, funny looks, or odd poorly-formed social skills. Listen more to employees who are airing complaints. Give positive comments to employees and deal with any personal issues you have that interfere with your ability to demonstrate warmth and positive regard to employees.

Follow up more after an employee is terminated. Of course, this is usually a human resource function, and even HR may have a hard time doing.

Resistance to dealing with the employee's anguish makes this a tough assignment, but you must figure out how to insert support into the larger picture and not simply decide that the employee needs to lump it. Well, you can, but there are certain profiles of employee that present extraordinary risk if you decide to go this route.

The bells should go off if your employees is male, an historically poor performer or loner, has any fascination with guns, has previously threatened to act violently, has been working for the company for about five years, or is an ostracized, socially awkward, or bullied employee.

You know right now which employees in your organization are picked on, teased, held up to ridicule, or otherwise abused. These are ticking time-bombs.

So what if you terminate an employee along with HR helping you do it. Phoning the employee ain't likely. After all, the employee may hate your guts. So what's the answer.

Use your company's employee assistance program or EAP, and DO NOT involve them in the terminations, less they become "contaminated". They will not be able to provide support in the form of a listening ear later if you force the EAP into doing this. It is also arguable, inappropriate and unethical to surprise an employee with the EAP sitting in the termination interview. (Why? It violates the doctrine of client self-determination of asking for help, and not have the helper go to the employee. This doctrine applies to all helping professions. This is why psychologist don't knock on your front door or phone you to ask whether you need services.)

Long before ever having to terminate employee, make liberal use of the program as a referral source for dealing with troubled employees. That includes the following: Those with poor performance, victims of accidents or incidents, recipients of disciplinary actions, coworkers in conflict, employees with garnished wages or who come to your attention by way of media incidents, legal problems, or other behaviors, employees who tell you first about a personal problem affecting the lives or performance.

A newsletter to help your supervisor develop better relational skills with subordinates is FrontLine Supervisor. You can get a free trial subscription here. There is lower rate for any company with fewer than 100 employees. Ask about it. Or you can learn all about this publication here.

How to Turn Away, Not Turn Off A Troubled Employee

You don't want troubled employees lining up at your door to discuss all the personal problems they experience in their lives. Unfortunately, I have seen things get almost this bad with some supervisors play an almost mother hen role with subordinates.

The trick is getting your employee, who may be incline to process personal problems until the cows come home, to turn to other resources available to them that are more effective than you. (I hope that didn't sound insulting, but only like a rat tail snap in the butt!)

If you are good listener, you have a double-edged sword working for and against you. It's difficult to turn away an employee who approaches you to discuss a personal problem. However, if your employees do come to share, it may be difficult to ask them to go somewhere else.

Appearing as though you are disinterested or too busy to care may be your biggest concern. Still, a counselor, doctor, mental health pro, or EAP is the better choice. To make your referral task easier, while minimizing the likelihood that your employee will feel rejected and stomp off, try the following:

1. Appear interested and listen to the problem presented by your employee. (No problem with that.)
2. Demonstrate empathy by acknowledging your employee's stress or anxiety. This helps the employee feel accepted and increases motivation for further problem solving.
3. Tell the employee that you are glad he or she feels comfortable approaching you with an important personal problem.
4. State that although you are concerned, you believe a better source of help would be_______. Hopefully your company has provided service or recommended statement to use when employees bring personal problems. Even if a company does not have an EAP, there should be some policy that essentially offers an officially sanctioned statement of referral to some community resource.
5. Assist the employee in making contact with the recognized source of help by providing the phone number or inviting the employee to call from your office for an appointment. (Very effective.)

Using Your Company's EAP as a Management Tool

The best kept secret in the world is the art and science of managers making use of the company Employee Assistance Program to help employees improve performance, reduce absenteeism, and resolve personal problems that may lead to extraordinary behavioral risk, including risk of violence.

In 1969 a revolution took place in the America with the advent of "Employee Assistance Programs" (EAPs) and the establishment of a new profession entitled the "Employee Assistance Professional".

EAPs flurished and solved an age only problem for managers wresting with problem employees. EAPs gave them a third alternative or avenue of management that was completely new. Beyond the role of tolerating an employee problems until they were eventually fired or badgering employees until they had some crisis, there were not alternatives to fire or ignore. Along came employee assistance programming.

EAPs are all about salvaging employees and getting them back to work healthier, more happy, and more productive than they were before.

I will offer effective tips to help supervisors manage people better. And we will be spending a lot of time together helping you acquire skills to reduce stress and help managers be all they can be.