If you are suddenly focused on workplace violence prevention training for your supervisors or employees, let me give you a few tips that will maximize your loss prevention goals and increase the likelihood that your training will actually stop a worker from shooting up the place. Sorry to be so blunt, but this may be the most important and helpful blog note that I have ever made. I want more employers to stop missing the boat on this subject.
Most workplace violence prevention training provides adequate information to employees about signs and symptoms of workplace violence - what to look for, what to do, what not to do, how to escape, and more. Great stuff. Gotta have it. No arguments. However, here is where the "model" break down: A lack of education, training, and awareness about prevention, stopping, or intervening with behaviors on the job that provoke violence.
There are many things to discuss in this regard, but let me name only a few. In future posts, I will dive into workplace violence prevention training specifics so you can more clearly see my points.
The following workplace violence prevention and education training topics can reduce risk, increase morale, and help employees avoid conflict.
1. Training and Education in Maintaining a Respectful Workplace
2. Training and Education in Avoiding Workplace Harassment
3. Training and Education in Valuing Diversity in the Workplace
4. Training and Education in Resolving Coworker Conflicts
5. Training and Education in Improving Assertiveness Skills
I bet after reading the above, you see where I am heading. These topics relate to preventing workplace violence at many levels and they should be included in your workplace violence prevention training objectives. Remember, I will be back soon to discuss each one.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Good Faith and Fair Dealing
Supervisors are vulnerable to becoming "wrapped up" in their contentious relationships with employees. Are you so prone? If so, someday you may take actions against your employee nemisis in a moment or two of lost awareness only to find yourself and your employer sued in part because your failure to participate in good faith and fair dealing with your employee. What is this doctrine of relationship management?
The "good faith and fair dealing obligation" of employers is an important concept to understand in preventing actions by employees that can lead to expensive lawsuits.
It is an obscure principle, but this obligation on the part of employers has a very wide range of interpretations. And it has become a more common foundation or element upon which employee lawsuits have been based.
Its underlying principles should be understood by supervisors, because they can be easy to violate, even unintentionally. Management activity that can elicit action from employees based on the good faith and fair dealing exception include:
Distorting, falsifying, altering, or destroying performance appraisal records.
Malicious supervision including harassment, abusive behavior, and inadequate training.
Arbitrary and capricious demotion or creation of excessive assignments in an attempt to provoke resignation.
Retalitory termination.
Any other malicious conduct on the part of the employer that tends to unnecessarily create an adverse effect upon the worker's right to reasonable employment conditions.
Now you have a clear rationale for staying on the "rational" side of the contest you have with your employee. Have a supervisor, HR, or management confidant to keep you unemotional and on the straight and narrow when managing a troubled employee or chronically unproductive worker.
The "good faith and fair dealing obligation" of employers is an important concept to understand in preventing actions by employees that can lead to expensive lawsuits.
It is an obscure principle, but this obligation on the part of employers has a very wide range of interpretations. And it has become a more common foundation or element upon which employee lawsuits have been based.
Its underlying principles should be understood by supervisors, because they can be easy to violate, even unintentionally. Management activity that can elicit action from employees based on the good faith and fair dealing exception include:
Distorting, falsifying, altering, or destroying performance appraisal records.
Malicious supervision including harassment, abusive behavior, and inadequate training.
Arbitrary and capricious demotion or creation of excessive assignments in an attempt to provoke resignation.
Retalitory termination.
Any other malicious conduct on the part of the employer that tends to unnecessarily create an adverse effect upon the worker's right to reasonable employment conditions.
Now you have a clear rationale for staying on the "rational" side of the contest you have with your employee. Have a supervisor, HR, or management confidant to keep you unemotional and on the straight and narrow when managing a troubled employee or chronically unproductive worker.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Program Evaluation--Not Rocket Science, but Rocket Fuel
Doing program evaluation to spot a specific positive outcome that results from your EAP activities can be a impressive way to keep managment focused on the value of your program. Doing simple program evalution so you can lay claim to the positive financial impact is not so complicated that you can't do it yourself. It's not rocket science, but it is rocket fuel if you can get yourself focused on it.
The simplest type of research that you might want to try is the "Before and After" Study. This is a legitimate area of program evaluation and it is a good type for EAPs to consider because of the intervention factor. One can measure the values of specific concerns before an intervention and then after the intervention, continue with the same measurement in an attempt to demonstrate, validate, and measure impact.
Here are some of the workplace areas where before and after studies can be applied. You may want to keep a list of these things, tally them with the help of your organization, and then consider which ones you might be able to positively influence with the EAP.
The simplest type of research that you might want to try is the "Before and After" Study. This is a legitimate area of program evaluation and it is a good type for EAPs to consider because of the intervention factor. One can measure the values of specific concerns before an intervention and then after the intervention, continue with the same measurement in an attempt to demonstrate, validate, and measure impact.
Here are some of the workplace areas where before and after studies can be applied. You may want to keep a list of these things, tally them with the help of your organization, and then consider which ones you might be able to positively influence with the EAP.
- Absent Days Without Leave
- Sick Days Recorded
- Number of Employee Grievances
- Turnover Rate
- Number of Accidents on Job
- Injuries Resulting in Lost Work Time
- Amount of Workers' Compensation Claims Paid
- Total Number of Disciplinary Actions Executed
- Complaints From Female (Male) Staff About Sexual Harassment
- Number of Terminations for Cause (Fired Employees)
- Total Number of Employees Testing Positive for Drug Use
- Attorney Bills for Consultations AboutTroubled Employees
Total Number of Wage Garnishments
- Earlier Return to Work for Employees with Work Injurie
When You're Friends with Your Employee
Let me ask if you are personal friends with your employee? Do you socialize on weekends and in off hours? If so, you are participating in what is commonly called a "dual relationship." This is hazardous territory, despite what you think is your unique ability to "handle it." If you are a new supervisor, you might want to consider now how to minimize the intimacy of the relationships you have with with those you must now supervise.
A personal relationship will always subordinate itself to the employment relationship when the "stuff" hits the fan. You'll give up that friendship before you let management snuff you for not taking action against a problematic employee. But there are many more problems associated with dual relationship. Employees know if you have a different type of relationship with one of their coworkers that looks more favorable. They'll smell it a mile away. This knowledge interferes with their belief that you are completely objective, and this will interfere with your ability to influence their productivity. What should you do about this conflict of interest? Wise supervisors who have answered this question the hard way say, "Avoid dual relationships!" Get your friendship needs met somewhere else. Getting your social needs met outside the work organization will reduce severe stress associated with the difficult decisions you must make with your employee when their performance goes south.
A personal relationship will always subordinate itself to the employment relationship when the "stuff" hits the fan. You'll give up that friendship before you let management snuff you for not taking action against a problematic employee. But there are many more problems associated with dual relationship. Employees know if you have a different type of relationship with one of their coworkers that looks more favorable. They'll smell it a mile away. This knowledge interferes with their belief that you are completely objective, and this will interfere with your ability to influence their productivity. What should you do about this conflict of interest? Wise supervisors who have answered this question the hard way say, "Avoid dual relationships!" Get your friendship needs met somewhere else. Getting your social needs met outside the work organization will reduce severe stress associated with the difficult decisions you must make with your employee when their performance goes south.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)