Small Business Employment Policies

Attendance Policy Checklist for Small Businesses


Do your employees know what to do when they need time off work or even if such time off is allowed? Instead of relying on word of mouth, craft a detailed attendance policy that keeps every supervisor and worker on the same page. Avoid confusion, conflicts and court battles by drafting a document with each of the sections below.

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The Essential New Hire Paperwork Checklist

New Hire Paperwork Checklist

When you don’t have the benefit of a full-time human resources department, hiring even one extra employee can topple your already overflowing plate. At the same time, without the proper federal, state and company-specific paperwork, you may be setting up your business for fines, lawsuits and mass confusion.

The next time you add someone to your team, use this new hire paperwork checklist to spend more time on mission-critical work and less time on paper.

Federal forms: [click to continue…]

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Tips On Managing Employee Performance

Tips on Managing Employee Performance

Are you stuck with a problem child working on your team? Instead of avoiding the issue or filling out the pink slip, use these tips to get better results from your employees.

1. Set clear expectations and consequences early. Even though you understand the company’s mission, your employees may not. Make sure that your expectations are relevant, realistic, and treated consistently throughout the organization. All employees should know what to expect when they succeed and when they screw up.

2. Encourage participation in the employee performance process. Ask workers to link their daily tasks to team, department, and company objectives. Create an action plan with specific goals.

3. Promote self-discipline. You ultimately want employees to self-regulate their actions instead of relying on you to reward or reject every behavior. [click to continue…]

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The 8 Warning Signs of an Unhappy Employee

Transcript of HR Podcast #28: The 8 Warning Signs of an Unhappy Employee

Listen to the audio (7 mins, 39 secs)

 

This article focuses on 8 clues that you want to pay attention to to be aware whether your employees are unhappy.

These are 8 workplace behaviors that signify that employees may be disengaged or just not motivated and what you can do about it. Being aware of changes in behavior or performance is key as a manager if you want to stay abreast of issues and have a highly functioning team.

Some of the telltale signs include: 

  1. Submitting work late.
  2. Frequently complaining no matter how small an issue may be.
  3. Seeming to be overly sensitive when approached with a question or comment.
  4. Inappropriate use of office time or resources or spending a lot of time on non work-related websites or texting or talking on the phone.
  5. Often misses meetings or arrives late to meetings.
  6.  When at meetings they are not participating where they seem agitated or disengaged with the process.
  7. The employee may show signs of lack of productivity or the quality of their work decreases. Maybe they do not get work done in a timely fashion.
  8. Using an inordinate amount of sick or personal time.

Now it is easy to take the approach that employees who display some or all of these behaviors are not worth the investment or just maybe a bad apple but taking this approach can be a little shortsighted especially in situations where you’re dealing with a high performing employee who suddenly displays more negative behaviors.

This is where managing can be difficult because it’s your charge as a manager to not only determine what the issue may be but to take steps when it makes sense to help your employees work through the issue. Work with your employees to identify the root cause of their frustration or the root cause of the issue. It could just be that there has been an increase in workload with no relief in sight for them or maybe there’s an issue with workflow or another employee could be the root cause of a particular employee’s problem.

As much as we’d like to think that our employees are at the very minimum respecting us as managers it could be also that your management style is an issue.  In addition to an employee performance appraisal do some self assessment as part of this process. Are you a micro manager with employees who are quite capable of working well without someone looking over their shoulder? Or do your employees want some sense of direction or guidance from you so that they can perform the work that they need to do?

Both are opposite ends of the spectrum but for certain work styles when dealing with employees being a micro manager or not offering enough input could cause issues for your employees.

A big part of managing staff includes understanding how your approach impacts staff. Whether that approach encourages them to excel or leaves your employees feeling that they are being taken for granted or unappreciated.

Another thing to think about: Maybe your employees are having problems at home. And as much as we expect our staff to leave their problems at the front door when they come to work it’s not that black and white.

Not many small businesses have in-house employee assistance programs but if you do offer your employees health insurance for example. Encourage employees who are having issues outside of work to take advantage of the services provided through their health insurance.

Now it’s easy to get caught up in the meetings and the paper works that comes part and parcel with being a supervisor but don’t let that part of the job of being a manager deter you from your other responsibility which is supporting, encouraging, and motivating your staff.

Get more tips on interviewing, hiring, managing and engaging your employees. Dianne Shaddock is the President of Easy Small Business HR, Employee Hiring and Managing Tips and the author of the eGuide, “How To Supervise:  What Your Boss Never Told You Before You Took the Job“, A Step-By-Step Guide For New and Seasoned Managers.

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