Keeping a Performance Diary: Pros and Cons

Quoted from:  GNEIL LIBRARY

How can managers best gather information for performance reviews? Some HR trainers recommend that they keep a diary. Should you, an HR manager, pitch the practice to those in your company? Here are some points to weigh.

A Diary Is Good, Because…
A diary helps supervisors rate performance over the entire work period. Without it, bosses usually base their judgment on employees’ recent performance because it’s uppermost in their minds. For their part, workers may try to cash in on the halo effect by performing at their peak during the last few weeks before their review to sway the boss’s judgment in their favor.

A diary also helps managers accumulate important information in one location. Without it, they may find themselves sifting through a hodgepodge of notes, memos, and production reports in a last-minute scramble to round up the facts they need to justify a rating.

Termination Checklist

An Employment Termination

Basic Checklist

Notify Human Resources                                   

• _____ Notify HR: As soon as you are aware of and/or receive a letter from an employee that notifies you of the employee's intention to terminate employment, notify your Human Resources office.
• _____ Official Notice: If an employee tells you of their intention to leave your employment, ask them to write a resignation letter that states they are leaving and their termination date. (Companies request a minimum of two weeks notice, when possible and desirable.)

Permissions Termination

• _____Notify Your Network Administrator: As soon as you know that an employee is leaving, notify your Network Administrator or other appropriate staff person of the date and time on which to terminate the employee's access to computer and telephone systems. Make arrangements for how these accounts will be routed to ascertain that your organization will not lose contact with clients and customers. Additionally, disable the employee's building entry alarm code, if applicable.

Return of Property

• _____ Return of company property: Exiting employees are required to turn in all company books and materials, keys, ID badges, computers, cell phones and any other company-owned items.
• _____ Passwords: Employees should provide their supervisors with passwords and other information pertaining to accessing computer files and telephone messages. (You may want to keep email and phone accounts active for awhile to field customer contacts.)

Accounting Software for your Business

Choosing Accounting Software for Your Business

How to Criticize Constructively

Quoted From:  http://www.cpa2biz.com

Offering helpful critique can be challenging: If delivered well, criticism will affect change without upsetting the work environment or damaging relationships. However, if handled poorly, it can result in unhappy employees who may eventually leave the company in frustration. Following are some points that will help you deliver critique in a constructive and positive manner:

Gather all the facts. Avoid jumping to conclusions or making assumptions about a missed deadline or poor-quality work. Instead, determine what went wrong and why, and then identify what the employee should do differently in the future.

Do it in private. No one wants to be reprimanded in front of their coworkers. You are much more likely to have a positive, effective discussion of an issue with a staff member if you ask him or her into your office and broach the subject diplomatically.

Criticize the work, not the person. Often, how you critique someone is just as important as what you say. For example, it’s better to say, “The report you prepared was not up to the firm’s standards” than “I’ve never seen anyone as careless about details as you are.”

Be specific. If you don’t clearly define the issue, an employee isn’t going to change his or her behavior. Avoid making broad, vague statements about productivity or performance. Instead, focus on what is wrong by saying something such as, “Because the report you submitted was a week late, it affected the entire team’s ability to meet the project’s deadline.”

Let the employee respond. After you’ve described the problem, allow the individual to explain or defend his or her actions. You may learn that he or she was asked by a senior executive to produce an additional report at the same time one was due to you. Or perhaps the individual is simply overwhelmed with projects. Whatever the case, it’s important to let the person give his or her side of the story.

Don’t ignore chronic problems. If an individual’s performance or behavior doesn’t change after your constructive criticism, it may be necessary to take action. Staff morale suffers when you keep someone on who doesn’t contribute to the team equally or produce quality work.

Managing Effectively

Quoted from:  http://www.cpa2biz.com

As a manager, you have a direct impact on the well-being of your employees. While maintaining an open-door policy and listening to the concerns of those you supervise are important acts that help establish a positive working relationship with staff members, there are additional steps you can take to motivate and inspire your employees. Following are some tips:

Know their career goals. Determine each person’s career aspirations, then work with your staff members to identify ways to help them achieve their objectives. Perhaps you can pair a new employee with a more experienced colleague to help the new person learn a company-specific software program. Or you may consider offering a worker who is interested in pursuing continuing education the flexibility to attend courses at a local college. Be sure to touch base regularly and let staff members know you’re personally invested in their success and professional growth.

Offer personalized praise. When staff members excel on projects, let them know - and cater your kudos accordingly. One employee may enjoy public praise while another might appreciate a handwritten thank-you note. Your staff will appreciate that you’ve paid attention to their preferences.

Be sensitive to stress levels. After a sustained period of heavy workloads, intense pressure and tight deadlines, your employees may feel burned out. Signs of burnout include missed deadlines, increased absenteeism and changes in behavior or personality. When you notice employees are nearing their limits, consider bringing in interim workers to help ease the strain.

Be fair. While this may seem to be an obvious point, not all managers follow this maxim. You can’t expect your employees to remain loyal if they think you’re playing favorites or inconsistently enforcing rules and policies. You may have to closely examine your behavior toward each team member to determine whether you treat everyone equally. For example, are you more lenient with one employee when she delivers a project late?  Do you spend a considerable amount of time asking a certain staff member about his weekend plans?  While these differences may appear subtle from your perspective, they could be very noticeable to your staff and lower morale.