Practical HR Strategies  

Employees eating cupcakes during a meetingAre your staff at work just for the free cupcakes?

Is your team just ‘showing up’? Are you disappointed that you have team members who watch the clock, don’t show any initiative or who spend just enough time working to believe they are ‘flying under the radar’? As a Manager, it’s part of your role to have staff that are engaged, thriving and working as hard as possible to achieve the shared goals and vision of the organisation so if they aren’t, you might need some strategies to support and engage them so they can strive to be the best they can for the organisation – and that’s where I can help you out. Here’s three steps to connect with your staff and turn them into inspired team members – and one tip on what to do if they don’t still make the grade.

Step 1 – Communicate

How well do you know your staff? Do you show an interest in them?
  • Get to know your staff by just talking to them so you can relate to them and know what drives them.
  • Do your staff know how their role fits into the organisation? Do they know their purpose? Every role in your business helps make the business a success but sometimes people can be disconnected and not understand their value. It is critical to help people understand their worth for them to feel valued and to get the best out of them.
  • You should also communicate your expectations so people understand this is important and what to expect if they don’t meet these expectations.
 

Step 2 – Motivate

  • If you have spent time communicating with staff, you should know a little bit more about what makes them tick and how you might influence them to be more engaged and potentially more productive.
  • You are now able to motivate individuals and your team.
  • Get them involved. What would motivate them to perform better?
  • Team building exercises are a great way to get your staff to work together and to understand how the team fits into organisation and helps make it successful.
  • Not everyone has to like each other but as a manager you can expect your staff to behave respectfully and professionally toward each other and to expect consequences if they aren’t.
 

Step 3 – Manage

If you have spent time communicating with your staff as individuals and as a team, it is important to now continue to manage their work and their behaviour so the work remains at an acceptable level and doesn’t slide back. Some staff won’t be able to change and you need to decide if you can continue to manage that or if you need to move to a Performance Improvement Plan. This gives a person the chance to improve their performance over a particular time period, twelve is reasonable, to meet the particular requirements of the position. Seek advice from your HR Department about how this can be achieved in your organisation, or contact me for advice if you’re still unsure.

If none of these work – Terminate

  • If you have decided that you have provided enough communication, motivation and you are managing your staff well and you haven’t seen any improvements you may decide to terminate.
  • If you have provided a fair process – that is
    • enough opportunity for the person to improve
    • the process has been documented
    • they have had been involved with the process; AND
    • it isn’t a surprise you can justifiably terminate someone’s employment.
  • This doesn’t mean that some people still won’t consider themselves unfairly dismissed and take action against you. However, if you can show that you have taken all the steps above and your action is justified, then you can be satisfied your process will hold up to any scrutiny.
Remember, everyone may not perform like a rock star but you can certainly get the most from your staff by communicating and managing them. It starts with you. Good luck! rockstar Let me know your stories about turning your staff into rock stars!]]>