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.

Supervisor Training: Death in the Workplace and Grief on the Job

If you are a new supervisor, here's a small piece of advice: Learn now how to respond to a death of an employee on the job, at home, or suddenly without warning (automobile accident, etc.) Your employees will react with fright and confusion and they glance your direction as a leader to take cues on what they should do and how they should react.

This is the natural response to death of a coworker in the workplace. You will notice that some employees handle such an incident amazingly well, and others will struggle much more, particularly if they have other personal problems in their lives, and most especially if the death or event coincides with loss in their personal lives in some other respect, no matter how unrelated. The issue of loss and grief is at the heart of response.

Don't think that you can shove everyone back on to the tread mill as if they must be on a productivity routine that is more important that processing, talking out, and helping the family members of the deceased employees. In large measure, you will have to let things play out.

Your employees have experienced a dramatizing event and now must address the crisis of sudden loss and all the ramifications that go along with it. All employees want to return to their normal routines, family, and work-life as quickly as possible, but providing assistance to help them do this may be necessary, prudent, and wise. Denial of the emotional impacts of such an event can be compounded by an employer's unwillingness (often because of their own denial) to provide an opportunity to "process" or "talk out" the event.

Some employees may be reluctant to discuss the event and others are more willing. Much depends on an individual's past coping skills. Although you shouldn't force the issue, allowing time for employees to consider the event, their role in it, and feelings will speed their emotional recovery quicker. Set an example as a supervisor by being a role model for openness and willingness to talk about what happened. And pay attention to protracted responses that might indicate one of your employees could use additional counseling or assistance. To not respond invites stress claims, time off work, absenteeism, depression, and even increased likelihood of an accident due to problems concentration.

Empoyee Performance and Employee Documentation

Are you a supervisor who keeps struggling with employee documentation of employee performance? When an employee is slow, appears tired, and acts sad, do you call this “depressed”? It seems more to the point and descriptive doesn't it. It just feels right, right?

Well, unfortunately you are wrong. It's not right. It's trouble! Your documentation, at best, will be criticized, and at worst will jeopardize your employer if you make these kinds of notations. Not using labels is difficult, I know, but let's discuss it and then send you on your way.

You don't learn documentation overnight. There is a little bit of an art to it. Documentation can be tricky because you must convey what you see and hear but omit what you feel and conclude. This takes practice because it is tempting to focus on other factors that are subjective and emotional. The key is to avoid drawing conclusions about personal problems, stating how you feel about the employee’s behavior, conveying diagnostic impressions, or filling your documentation with drama. These things sabotage the usefulness of your documentation for administrative purposes. To improve your documentation, consider whether it describes what is measurable or observable. Depression (a medical term to avoid using in documentation) can’t be “seen” but slow talking, days missed, lack of work progress, crying, and sad looks are observable.

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.

Ten Excuses in Reasonable Suspicion Confrontation

There are ten commonly heard excuses employees give when confronted with a request to take a drug test based upon reasonable suspicion of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Let's go through these "David Letterman" style.

#10: “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”?

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. If your employee has a substance abuse problem, it’s far more likely that he’s been engaging in binge drinking. Having 10 or more drinks in one sitting is not unheard of.

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.

Manager Skills: Giving Feedback to Employees Is Hard for Me

Is it difficult for you to give feedback to employees about their work performance? Perhaps you think that they will take it personally? Maybe you are afraid of their defensiveness or perhaps ignore you and leave you in the difficult position of confronting them again or deciding to forget the whole matter.

Well, you're not alone in your concern about giving feedback. To make manager skills easier, try what is known as the "sandwiching technique." You won't find too manager supervisor training course modules that teach it.

This technique of providing constructive feedback or correction of an employee's performance allows the message your sending to be received more easily by "sandwiching" the unfavorable comments between favorable comments. For example, say: "Nancy, I've been pleased with the way you've stepped up the speed of assembling the monthly reports. You've made real improvement there. I am concerned, however, about the quality. There are frequently mistakes in the charts that need to be corrected. I hope you'll work to improve the quality as well as speed. I feel good about your attitude toward the schedule we are trying to keep, so I know you'll do fine." Notice how the message you wanted to communicate was placed between two true but positive statements. This technique reduces defensiveness and makes your feedback more acceptable, particularly with employees who are more sensitive toward constructive criticism. This manager skill will serve you well and reduce your stress

Granting or Zapping the "I-Want-A-Raise" Question

You know how it is. Your employee comes to you and wants a raise. You say no, and the employee goes away mad. Your relationship is tarnished and both of you lose. You know there is no way for the employee to get a raise, but the employee is not seeing it your way.

Let's help the employee be a bit more effective and mature in their request, even if there is no chance of getting a raise. Then you can address the request in writing and call it a day.

No employee should be verbally requesting a raise. This is simply inappropriate. A raise is money. Nowhere do we ask for more money on this planet without putting it in writing and giving to the person who then decides whether to give it to us. Somehow along the way, many employees decided that this is a function of an oral request. So, ask the employee to do the following.

I guarantee that if the raise is not warranted, the employee will figure it out as they write up the request. A certain number of employees will never do it. And others will be much more likely to accept your rejection of the request. The bottom line is that you are going to reduce your stress and unwarranted requests by 85% with this approach.

In the end, you will get a better relationship.

Tell the employees, "There is no promise that I can get you a raise, but it is appropriate for such a request to be in writing. Here is the proper outline. Please submit it to me and I will review it:

1) Provide a statement of original duties and responsibilities for the position;

2) And than a statement of your present duties and responsibilities for the position;

and

3) identify each new duty and how it demonstrates increased responsibility, not workload. Responsibility means in this instance "liable for accountability to the work organization". Give this example to your employee orally,

"Imagine if your boss is director of the Sharpened Pencils Unit of the company and assigns you the task of sharpening 500 pencils. He or she is directing your work but is responsible for delivering the 500 pencils. The accountability for the work goal is the supervisor to the organization. You are the sharpener.

If your boss asks you to sharpen 600 pencils this is more work, but it does not increase your responsibility in the corporate sense anymore than being asked stay a half hour longer after work increases your responsibility for the work you accomplish during that half hour. Understand?"

Please provide me with this document whenever you like.

Note how your employee producing this document and giving it to you will permit a more logical discussion and make your life easier, teach the employee a valuable lesson, and more likely help you preserve an effective relationship. The employee may still be mad, but he or she will know down inside that you are teaching a lesson and managing his or her request fairly. Find a supervisor training course that gives you helpful and practical tips like this at www.supervisortools.com