Manage a small team

Employing staff for the first time?, go to;

http://agencysearch.australia.gov.au/s/search.html?collection=agencies&profile=business-gov&query=employing%20staff%20for%20the%20first%20time

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Manage a small team

Managing employees

NSW Industrial Relations runs interactive workshops that provide employers/managers with the practical knowledge and skills to more confidently manage their employees.

http://www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au/oirwww/Employment_info/Managing_employees.page

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Manage a small team

Communication is the key Being able to communicate with employees is the key to managing people well! Many employment situations often involve sensitive and difficult to handle matters which can include:

• personal hygiene

• dress or professional image

• personal relationships including sexual behaviour in the workplace

• medical and mental health issues, alcohol or drug related issues

• bullying or harassment, inappropriate language and attitude.

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Manage a small team

The key to successful people management is to address this sometimes delicate and even offensive behaviour by staff with honesty and openness ensuring that the employee understands how the particular behaviour is affecting their performance in the workplace.

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Manage a small team

Six ways to improve communication between a manager and employees: • Identify which communication methods are ineffective and

unproductive and try something different.

• Take personal communication styles into account and any personal difficulties that parties may be experiencing eg. is their personality that of an extrovert or introvert.

• Break the issue down in to smaller parts and specifically clarify what are the 'real' issues at hand, focusing on the important issues.

• Remain focused and clear, and ensure privacy so that that you can establish trust.

• Have a willingness to explore options.

• It is important to provide realistic outcomes to parties who may be holding onto perceived best outcome scenarios.

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Manage a small team

Why do staff under perform? There can be many reasons why an employee may be performing badly and this can be personal or work-related. It may be surprising to realise that sometimes these reasons concern factors related to the design of an employee's job and the tasks they are required to perform.

The Fair Work Online website [Fair Work Ombudsman] has a Best Practice Guide to managing underperformance. There can be significant benefits to managing employees and implementing best practice in a workplace is the key to this.

http://www.fairwork.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/2213/09-Managing-underperformance.pdf.aspx?Embed=Y

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Manage a small team

How to conduct an effective counselling session

A less formal way of dealing with a performance issue is to undertake an informal counselling session. This is generally in the form of listening and sharing ideas between the manager/employer and the employee and the manager/employer giving advice direction and counsel.

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Manage a small team Some suggestions to follow when counselling employees: • Advise the employee the specifics of the behaviour and how the

behaviour is affecting their work. • Be specific and compare current performance to expected

performance or behaviour. Give examples. • Avoid comparing the employee with other employees. • Show empathy – explain your understanding of the situation. • Be a positive listener – let the employee know your understanding

of the situation. • Establish how and when to follow up on commitments for

improvement. There should also be a date set to review. • Close on a friendly note ensuring that anything raised in the

discussion will be kept confidential. • Encourage the employee to keep open lines of communication for

future discussion.

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Manage a small team

What if counselling doesn't solve the problem?

An employee may not achieve the desired improved standard immediately after the counselling session. It may require a period of adjustment and time to steadily improve.

If the employer or manager is facing a situation where an employee may be dismissed, it is essential that they document and substantiate their actions.

The decision for the employer/manager to make is at what stage the benefit of counselling has been exhausted and when formal disciplinary proceedings should commence.

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Manage a small team

Disciplinary Procedure

A disciplinary procedure is a more formal method of dealing with performance issues at the end of which the employee may be terminated.

Employers are obligated to go through a process which is considered fair and reasonable. Employers and employees can check out what is considered as harsh, unjust or unreasonable on the Fair Work Online website [Fair Work Ombudsman]

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Manage a small team

How many warnings should an employee be given before disciplinary action occurs?

There is no hard and fast rule. The supervisor should give the employee a number of chances to improve their behaviour or conduct. But do not issue a large number of warnings as this could give the impression that his or her conduct is not really serious and will not merit dismissal.

In general, three warnings would be considered adequate. It is suggested the supervisor makes sure that their employee realises the number of warnings to be given will not be open-ended.

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Manage a small team

Workplace policies It is a good idea for employers whether small, medium or large, to have clear policies or a Code of Conduct when it comes to managing difficult employees. These policies help provide direction to staff on what can be expected if they are being counselled or disciplined over their performance at work. Fair Work Commission, when hearing unfair dismissal cases, have highlighted the importance of having clearly expressed policies that include allowing the employee the opportunity to respond to issues raised as well as allowing a support person to be present. When terminating an employee, a small business employer can utilise the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code [Fair Work Ombudsman].

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Manage a small team

Small Business Fair Dismissal Code Fair Dismissal Code applies to small business employers in the national workplace relations system. A small business is defined as any business with fewer than 15 employees. This is calculated on a simple headcount of all employees who are employed on a regular and systematic basis. There is a simple Fair Dismissal Code checklist (available below) for small business employers to follow to ensure that they do not unfairly dismiss an employee. If an employer has strictly followed the checklist then the dismissal will be deemed to be fair. Under the Fair Dismissal Code, employees of small businesses cannot make a claim for unfair dismissal in the first 12 months after being hired. Employees of larger businesses are able to make a claim for unfair dismissal at 6 months.

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Manage a small team

To find out more about the Fair Dismissal Code go to ;

https://www.fwc.gov.au/about-us/legislation-regulations/small-business-fair-dismissal-code

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Manage a small team

Legislative requirement

Fair Work Commission

https://www.fwc.gov.au/cases-decisions-and-orders/legislation-regulations/small-business-fair-dismissal-code

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Manage a small team WorkCover NSW http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx Assistance and support To assist businesses, industry and workers prepare for the new laws, WorkCover is conducting free safety events. Businesses can attend workshops, participate in online live webinars or have a free advisory visit from a business advisory officer or inspector to provide practical assistance and help build safety skills for you and your staff. Small businesses who have a free advisory visit or attend one of these eligible safety events, may qualify for up to $500 rebate towards the purchase and installation of safety equipment.

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Manage a small team

Work health and safety legislation ( WH&S) • New work health and safety (WHS) laws commenced in NSW

on 1 January 2012. The WHS laws replaced the occupational health and safety (OHS) laws in NSW. The WHS laws were developed using the model WHS laws

developed by Safe Work Australia.

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Manage a small team

WH&S cont’d..

• From 1 January 2012, WorkCover administers and provides advice on the:

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act)

• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (WHS Regulation).

• The WHS Act sets out the legal obligations that must be complied with to provide for the health and safety of workers. The Guide to the model Work Health and Safety Act provides an overview of the WHS Act. It is designed to help people generally understand their health and safety duties, rights and responsibilities at work. It is not intended to be read in place of the WHS Act.

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Manage a small team

The personnel plan

The importance of personnel management is related to its relevance in the organization of an effective workforce. A personnel management department of any organization is responsible for human resources and human capital related issues, such as the identification of the manpower needs in the organization, the recruitment of the necessary employees to fill the identified manpower requirements, and exercises aimed at fitting the selected manpower into positions that match their capabilities. The importance of personnel management can also be seen in its efforts toward the improvement of the human capital.

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Manage a small team

The personnel plan

When it comes to personnel planning, the importance of personnel management includes carrying out an analysis of the present and future manpower requirements of the company. A knowledge of the specific manpower needs will help the personnel department know the exact number of employees needed to fill open vacancies and also to make projections regarding the possible future manpower requirement of the company. This knowledge is also necessary for planning the different types of orientation and training for the different types of employees.

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Manage a small team

The personnel plan

Another role of personnel management is the recruitment of the needed manpower utilizing the information gained during the process of manpower planning. The process of recruiting employees may be from within or external, which involves the use of employment agencies to supply both temporary and permanent employees as well as other forms of employee recruitment drives.

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Manage a small team

The personnel plan

After the selection of the appropriate employees through interviews and various tests, the personnel department will proceed to conduct orientations for the new employees. This also includes an investment in the human capital of the employees through training and further personal development programs aimed at improving the performance of the various individuals. As such, another importance of personnel management is the increase in productivity and output of the workforce through training.

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