It’s no secret that harassment in the workplace is on everyone’s mind. Many organizations have been proactive in developing policies and procedures, updating employee handbooks, and making sure information is posted for employees to learn what their rights in the workplace are. However, many organizations fail to address one of the most critical links in the chain to prevent and address harassment…training supervisors on harassment prevention. Supervisors are the people who will most likely hear about possible harassment first…and they need to know what to do to protect employees, your organization, and themselves. Our comprehensive workshop on harassment prevention, Diversity, Inclusion, and Sensitivity Training, provides all the information supervisors need to spot and help address harassment allegations. We cover: Diversity Inclusion Bias Sensitivity and awareness Harassment prevention Our program is tailored to your organization and utilizes the work you have already done…in addition to our content we leverage your handbook, policies, and internal practices to reinforce all these elements in a seamless fashion. The workshops are informative, engaging, and fun. Learn more about our harassment prevention tools here and all of our training workshops on our website. If you need assistance with other HR projects and want to learn more about our human resources consulting, contact us and check out our blog for more...
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The beginning of the new year is well behind us and we are in the thick of the first quarter. By now, your finance team has done most of the work determining your financial results for 2017, and many companies are getting ready to launch their annual performance review process. While there has been an ongoing debate about whether to do annual reviews, or replace it with a continuous feedback approach, many organizations still follow the annual review process. There are many reasons for this: the organization already has the tools in place, managers understand the current process, and employees have come to expect it. We’re not saying the traditional process is perfect…but it can nonetheless add value if done correctly. Here are some tips to make the process go smoothly and more importantly, have meaning. Focus the review period: instead of requiring reviews be done on the employee’s anniversary, schedule the reviews to occur at one time of the year. This has many benefits: it makes financial planning for increases easier, ensures better compliance because the organization is focused on doing them, and avoids that feeling managers have that they are ‘always doing reviews’. Make it simple: if you’re a manager with ten reviews to conduct, you don’t need a process that will take hours and hours to complete. Don’t overwhelm them with dozens of factors to rate. And speaking of ratings, limit the number of ratings that can be given so that the distinctions in performance are meaningfully shown. We recommend three- or five-point rating scales. Add some constraints: some managers can barely write two sentences about someone, others can write a novel. Don’t make them use a format that requires them to write essays. And if you are using ratings, you should use a tool like MS Excel so that you can not only control the inputs but make the tabulation of the ratings easier. Collect, review, and use the data: after all the effort of conducting reviews, don’t let them disappear into a personnel file never to be seen again. Take the time to aggregate and review the ratings, both overall and by rated dimension. This can give you insight into your bench strength and...
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Interpersonal skills are also known as “people skills”. By forming interpersonal relationships with customers and employees, you are able to acknowledge the feelings of others and convey respect. You can also focus on the positive outcomes of varied viewpoints, while nurturing professional growth. Your ability to realize optimum performance from employees is greatly enhanced by “just being nice”. Communicating appropriately is an essential factor. Seeing yourself as others see you is the first step to improving your interpersonal communication skills. Here are some other ways to improve your interpersonal communication skills. Be more approachable – implement an open door policy; determine if you are perceived as unapproachable and work to resolve; become more involved in your employees’ daily functions. Build rapport – take an interest in your customers and employees; engage in periodic, casual conversations; discuss mutual non-business interests; share your personal interests. Strive to make others comfortable with you – refrain from being overly serious; control your intensity; smile frequently while speaking; use appropriate humor; monitor sarcasm. Develop your ability to make “small talk” – prepare opening statements about current events; discuss the weather; listen for “free” information while others speak; ask questions about the “free” information you heard. Treat others fairly – offer recognition to everyone as appropriate; monitor and avoid favoritism; remain neutral in workplace disputes; explain the rationale behind decisions you or the organization makes. Become more social – widen your group of acquaintances; speak up in group situations; network whenever possible. Be sure to request feedback from a trusted source to determine if you have any areas of opportunity. Do you need help developing your manager’s communication skills or other training and development needs? Contact us and check out our blog for more helpful resources....
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Several challenging communication issues exist in today’s business environment. A clear understanding of these issues will enable you to overcome these challenges and communicate more effectively. The words you choose can mean the difference between retaining or losing an employee or a valued customer. You must be sensitive to the feelings and perceptions of others. As diversity in the workplace increases, you must avoid words that might stereotype, insult, or intimidate another person. Intercultural communication also presents a big challenge. It becomes challenging when communicating with people from another culture because the same words may have different meanings between cultures. There are three specific barriers associated with intercultural communication are tone differences, word connotation, and perceptions. Tone differences in formal and informal languages generate a message of indifference if used in an inappropriate setting. Word connotations create issues when the same word has a different meaning in another culture. Both speakers are challenged if they do not understand the meaning held by the other person in the conversation. Perceptions are held by people who speak different languages or come from varying backgrounds within the same language. Any given situation can be viewed differently, based on the language used or the cultural background. As a manager, it is your responsibility to be aware of any other possible barriers that inhibit communication between you and your employees. Do you need help developing your manager’s communication skills or other training and development needs? Contact us and check out our blog for more helpful...
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It is very important when deciding what type of training session will be prepared or the media that will be used. Here we present a few simple ideas that can enhance the training experience and increase retention levels. Although structured training is customarily developed on the organization level, it is up to you to determine what specific training needs are present in your department. Once determined, you can decide which training method will be most effective. Depending on the type of training you may be responsible for conducting, you may wish to use one or more of these methods to liven up your presentation: Music – creates an atmosphere of fun Games – keeps attendees energized Brainstorming sessions – brings a wide variety of ideas to the table Role plays – provides opportunities to practice Analogies – illustrates the relevance of the material Activities – keeps attendees engaged Color in visuals – maintains attendee interest Table toys – entertains during breaks Prizes – rewards attendees for contributing or winning contests Aside from the physical components of a fun training session, the trainer must be fun as well! Be as animated as possible, integrate your own sense of humor, and above all, be yourself! Based on the training needs that exist for your employees, your organization may have individual and group training programs and materials available to fit your training needs. Samples of possible individual training materials include training videos on various topics, workbooks to support the training videos, reference materials to help develop specific skills, and role playing materials/activities. Examples for group training could include department or company-wide training meetings or special project classroom training. To provide cost-effective employee training, consider which method is most appropriate to current training needs. As a manager, you may tailor training to satisfy your exact needs. Do you have questions on other training and development topics? Contact us and check out our blog for more helpful...
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There are several methods that may be used to effectively train employees. These diverse methods include off-the-job training, on-the-job training, formal training, and informal training. Off-the-job training – usually conducted in the form of classroom training in a remote location. It may be a seminar, internet training, satellite-transmitted training, or group training with role playing and case studies. Off-site training is least disruptive to daily business, but is expensive and can cause short-staffing situations while employees are away from their locations. On-the-job training – may be conducted in the form of responsibility rotations, apprenticeships, special assignments, or mentoring. On-the-job training is “real world”, and may be disruptive to daily business; however, it is very cost-effective. Formal training – has a structured format and is usually planned in advance. Due to the inflexibility of the presentation, formal training is somewhat less popular, due to the related scheduling challenges. Informal training – unplanned, unstructured, and can be tailored to the attendees. Informal training frequently involved employees working with one another. Information and work-related issues are openly discussed. Informal training, including role playing and coaching, has the advantage of flexibility. It can be done whenever time permits and is very cost-effective. Make yourself aware of any training tools your organization may have available for their employees, such as online training modules, video-based training, or training booklets/manuals. These can be great tools to incorporate into the various training methods to ensure employees are receiving the training method they learn best from. Do you have questions on other training and development topics? Contact us and check out our blog for more helpful...
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