How to Manage People Fast, Effective Management Skills that Really Get Results (Creating Success), 5th Edition (Michael Armstrong) (Z-Library)

138 Handling People Problems and Issues Jon had a word with Frank, who was slightly aggrieved that Mary had not gone to him first but agreed that Jon should speak to Jenny Stopford, the head of HR, to get her advice, and asked to be kept in the loop. Question What advice should Jenny Stopford give? Key points ● If you manage people you have to manage people problems. They are bound to happen and you are the person on the spot who has to handle them. The basic approach you should use in tackling people problems is to: ● ● get the facts ●● weigh and decide ● ● take action ● ● check results.

19 Dealing with disciplinary problems The most difficult disciplinary problems you are likely to face as a manager are considering whether or not an employee should be dismissed and then taking action if the decision is to dismiss. Employees can be dismissed because they are not capable of doing the work or for misconduct. It is normal to go through a formal disciplinary procedure containing staged warnings but instant dis- missal can be justified for gross misconduct (e.g. serious theft), which should preferably be defined in the company’s disciplinary procedure or employee handbook. But anyone in the UK with two years’ service or more can claim unfair dismissal if their employer cannot show that one of these reasons applied, if the dismissal was not reasonable in the circumstances, if a constructive dismissal has taken place (i.e. someone has felt they had to resign because of the way they have been treated), or if there has been a breach of a cus- tomary or agreed redundancy procedure and there are no valid reasons for departing from that procedure. In the UK, even if the employer can prove to an employment tribunal that there was good reason to dismiss the employee, the tribunal will still have to decide whether or not the employer acted in a reasonable way at the time of dismissal. The principles defining ‘reasonable’ behaviour are in line with the principles of natural justice and are as follows:

140 Handling People Problems and Issues ● the employee should be informed of the nature of the complaint; ● the employee should be given the chance to explain; ● the employee should be given the opportunity to improve, except in particularly gross cases of incapability or misconduct; ● the employee should be warned of the consequences in the shape of dismissal if specified improvements do not take place; ● the employer’s decision to dismiss should be based on sufficient evidence; ● the employer should take any mitigating circumstances into account; ● the offence or misbehaviour should merit the penalty of dismissal rather than some lesser penalty; ● the employee should have the right to appeal. Taking disciplinary action Your organization may have a disciplinary procedure. You need to know what that procedure is and the part you are expected to play in implementing it. Whether or not there is a formal procedure, if you believe that disciplinary action is necessary you need you take the following steps when planning and conducting a disciplinary interview: 1 Get all the facts in advance, including statements from people involved. 2 Invite the employee to the meeting in writing, explaining why it is being held and that they have the right to have someone present at the meeting on their behalf. 3 Ensure that the employee has reasonable notice (ideally at least two days). 4 Plan how you will conduct the meeting.

Dealing With Disciplinary Problems 141 5 Line up another member of management to attend the meeting with you to take notes (they can be important if there is an appeal) and generally provide support. 6 Start the interview by stating the complaint to the employee and referring to the evidence. 7 Give the employee plenty of time to respond and state their case. 8 Take a break as required to consider the points raised and to relieve any pressure taking place in the meeting. 9 Consider what action is appropriate, if any. Actions should be staged, starting with a verbal warning, which should preferably be recorded, followed, if the problem continues, by a first written warning, then a final written warning and lastly, if the earlier stages have been exhausted, disciplinary action, which would be dismissal in serious cases. 10 Deliver the decision, explaining why it has been taken and confirm it in writing. Dismissing an employee If all the stages in the disciplinary procedure have been completed and the employee has to be dismissed, or where immediate dismissal can be justified on the grounds of gross misconduct, you may have to carry out the unpleasant duty of dismissing the employee. Again, you should have a colleague or someone from HR with you when you do this. You should: 1 If possible, meet when the office is quiet, preferably on a Friday. 2 Keep the meeting formal and organized. 3 Write down what you are going to say in advance, giving the reason and getting your facts, dates and figures right. 4 Be polite but firm – read out what you have written down and make it clear that it is not open for discussion.

Exercise 19.1 Disciplinary problems Outline the action that might be taken in each of the following cases. Case Action Someone has been heard by several people making racist remarks, in spite of having been given a formal warning to desist after a previous occurrence Two employees have been caught fighting on the premises It is suspected that an employee who is supposed to be working from home has not been doing so

Dealing With Disciplinary Problems 143 5 Ensure that the employee clears their desk and has no opportunity to take away confidential material or use their computer. 6 See the employee off the premises – some companies use security guards as escorts but this is rather heavy handed (although it might be useful to have someone on call in case of difficulties). Key point ● To deal with a discipline problem: (1) get all the facts; (2) present the evidence to the employee: (3) give the employee plenty of time to respond and state their case; (4) consider what action is appropriate; (5) deliver the decision, explaining why it has been taken and confirm it in writing.

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20 Managing under- performers You may possibly have someone in your team who is under- performing. If so, what can you do about it? Essentially, you have to spot that there is a problem, understand the cause of the problem, decide on a remedy and make the remedy work. Poor performance can be the fault of the individual but it could arise because of bad leadership or problems in the system of work. In the case of an individual the reason may be that they: ● could not do it – ability; ● did not know how to do it – skill; ● would not do it – attitude; ● did not fully understand what was expected of them. Inadequate leadership from managers can be the cause of poor performance from individuals. It is the manager’s responsibility to specify the results expected and the levels of skill and competence required. As likely as not, when people do not understand what they have to do it is their manager who is to blame. Performance can also be affected by the system of work. If this is badly planned and organized or does not function well, individuals cannot be blamed for the poor performance that results. This is the fault of management and they must put it right. If inadequate individual performance cannot be attributed to poor leadership or the system of work, these are the 10 steps you can take to deal with under-performers:

146 Handling People Problems and Issues A 10-step approach to managing under- performance 1 Identify the areas of under-performance – be specific. 2 Establish the causes of poor performance. 3 Agree on the action required. 4 Ensure that the necessary support (coaching, training, extra resources, etc) is provided to ensure the action is successful. 5 Monitor progress and provide feedback. 6 Provide additional guidance as required. 7 If under-performance persists, spell out precisely what improvements are required and issue an informal warning that if they are not achieved by a certain date disciplinary action may be taken. 8 If there is no improvement consider an alternative job. 9 If there is no alternative and there is still no improvement, issue a written warning that action in the shape of dismissal may be taken if the unacceptable level of performance continues. 10 If there is still no improvement, take the action required to dismiss the employee.

Exercise 20.1 Managing under-performers The following scenarios are examples of under-performance. What can be done about these problems? Scenario What can be done about these problems? Jack is a CNC (computer numerical control) drill operator in a manufacturer of ‘white’ kitchen products. His drill uses G-code to move its spindle, to cut metal in various locations and depths. It follows the machining code rigidly and all usually goes well. Jack has simply to ensure that the right code is used and the machine does the work while he looks on. But he has to be particularly alert to the possibility of a ‘crash’. This can happen even in a CNC machine when, for some reason, it functions outside the physical bounds of its drive mechanism, resulting in a collision with itself or damage to the mechanism. It is Jack’s responsibility to spot that this is about to happen and prevent it by shutting down and then resetting the drill. Jack is experienced and has been regarded as a good and conscientious operator who has never made a bad mistake and is an asset to the department. However, unfortunately, last week he failed to spot that something was going wrong. The result was damage to the machine and a serious interruption to the production flow. He was reprimanded by his supervisor.

Scenario What can be done about these problems? James is a technical author in a firm manufacturing and marketing television sets and DVD players. His job is to produce documents that explain in user-friendly language how to install and operate the equipment. James has been doing this job well for three years but he appears to have lost interest. His output is patchy and he no longer seems to want to get on well with his technical colleagues – a key relationship. His document on the firm’s latest product is not as good as his previous efforts. He has not produced operating guidelines that are as clear as his previous efforts were. Terry was recently promoted to fill the position of team leader, which became vacant quite suddenly, in the maintenance department of a large manufacturing company. He had been a very effective maintenance engineer but had no experience in management. Unfortunately, the urgency with which the job had to be filled meant that while Terry was briefed on his duties, he received no specific training in management and leadership. His job is to lead a team that is responsible for ensuring that all mechanical equipment is maintained to the required standards of quality and availability and thus minimize downtime. The problem is that targets for downtime are not being met, which is seriously affecting the achievement of production plans. Members of his team have complained that there is little sense of direction and they are no longer clear about what they are expected to do.

Managing Under-Performers 149 Key point ● Poor performance can be the fault of the individual but it could arise because of bad leadership or problems in the system of work. The main steps required to deal with under- performance are: (1) identify cause; (2) agree action; (3) provide support; (4) monitor progress and give feedback; (5) take further action as necessary.

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21 Dealing with negative behaviour You may well come across negative behaviour from time to time on the part of one of the members of your team. This may take the form of lack of interest in the work, unwillingness to cooperate with you or other people, complaining without any justification about the work or working conditions, grumbling at being asked to carry out a perfectly reasonable task, objecting strongly to being asked to do something extra (or even refusing to do it) – ‘it’s not in my job description’, or, in extreme cases, insolence. People exhibit- ing negative behaviour may be quietly resentful rather than openly disruptive. They mutter away in the background at meetings and lack enthusiasm. As a manager you can tolerate a certain amount of negative behaviour as long as the individual works reasonably well and does not upset other team members. You have simply to say to yourself ‘It takes all sorts...’ and put up with it, although you might quietly say during a review meeting ‘You’re doing a good job but...’. If, however, you do take this line you have to be specific. You must cite actual instances. It is no good making generalized accusations, which will either be openly refuted or internalized by the receiver, making them even more resentful. If the negative behaviour means that the individual’s contribution is not acceptable and is disruptive then you must take action. Negative people can be quiet but they are usually angry about

152 Handling People Problems and Issues something; their negative behaviour is an easy way of expressing their anger. To deal with the problem it is necessary to find out what has made the person angry. Causes of negative behaviour There are many possible causes of negative behaviour, which could include one or more of the following: ● a real or imagined slight from you or a colleague; ● a feeling of being put upon; ● a belief that the contribution made by the person is neither appreciated nor rewarded properly in terms of pay or promotion; ● resentment at what was perceived to be unfair criticism from you or a colleague; ● anger directed at the company or you because what was considered to be a reasonable request was turned down, e.g. for leave or a transfer, or because of an unfair accusation. Dealing with the problem It is because there can be such a variety of real or imagined causes of negative behaviour that dealing with it becomes one of the most difficult tasks you have to undertake. If the action taken is crude or insensitive the negative behaviour will only be intensified. You might end up by having to invoke the disciplinary procedure, which should be your last resort. In one sense, it is easier to deal with an actual example of negative behaviour. This can be handled on the spot. If the problem is one of general attitude rather than specific actions it is more difficult to cope with. Hard evidence may not be sufficiently avail- able. When individuals are accused of being, for example, generally unenthusiastic or uncooperative, they can simply go into denial,

Dealing With Negative Behaviour 153 and accuse you of being prejudiced. Their negative behaviour may be reinforced. If you have to deal with this sort of problem it is best to handle it as it is happening rather than waiting for a formal performance review. The discussion should have three clear objectives: 1 To discuss the situation with individuals, the aim being if possible to get them to recognize for themselves that they are behaving negatively. If this cannot be achieved, then the object is to bring to the attention of individuals your belief that their behaviour is unacceptable in certain ways. 2 To establish the reasons for the individuals’ negative behaviour so far as this is feasible. 3 To discuss and agree any actions individuals could take to behave more positively, or what you or the organization could do to remove the causes of the behaviour. Discussing the problem Start by asking generally how individuals feel about their work. Do they have any problems in carrying it out? Are they happy with the support they get from you or their colleagues? Are they satisfied that they are pulling their weight to the best of their ability? You may find that this generalized start provides the basis for the next two stages – identifying the causes and remedies. It is best if individuals are encouraged to identify for themselves that there is a problem. But in many, if not the majority of, cases this is unlikely to happen. Individuals may not recognize that they are behaving negatively or will not be prepared to admit it. You will then have to discuss the problem. You could say truthfully that you are concerned because they seem to be unhappy and you wish to know if they feel that you or the organization is treating them unfairly – you want to try and put things right. Give them time to say their piece and then provide a rational response,

154 Handling People Problems and Issues dealing with specific grievances. If they are not satisfied with your explanation, you can say that they will be given the opportunity to discuss the problem with a more senior manager, thus indicating that you recognize that your judgement is not final. If the response you get to these initial points does not bring out into the open the problem as you see it, you have to explain how the individual’s behaviour gives the impression of being negative. Be as specific as possible about the behaviour, bringing up actual instances. For example, a discussion could be based on the fol­ lowing questions: ‘Do you recall yesterday’s team meeting?’, ‘How did you think it went?’, ‘How helpful do you think you were in dealing with the problem?’, ‘Do you remember saying...?’, ‘How helpful do you think that remark was?’, ‘Would it surprise you to learn that I felt you had not been particularly helpful in the following ways...?’ Of course, even if this careful approach is adopted, there will be occasions when individuals refuse to admit that there is anything wrong with their behaviour. If you reach this impasse, then you have no alternative but to spell out to them your perceptions of where they have gone wrong. But do this in a positive way: ‘Then I think that it is only fair for me to point out to you that your contribution (to the meeting) would have been more helpful if you had...’ Establishing causes If the negative behaviour is because of a real or imagined grievance about what you or colleagues or the organization have done, then you have to get individuals to spell this out as precisely as possible. At this point, your job is to listen, not to judge. People can be just as angry about imaginary as real slights. You have to find out how they perceive the problem before you can deal with it. It may emerge during the discussion that the problem has nothing to do with you or the company. It may be family troubles

Dealing With Negative Behaviour 155 or worries about health or finance. If this is the case you can be sympathetic and may be able to suggest remedies in the form of counselling or practical advice from within or outside the organization. If the perceived problem is you, colleagues or the organization, try to get chapter and verse on what it is so that you are in a position to take remedial action or to explain the real facts of the case. Taking remedial action If the problem rests with the individual, the objective is, of course, to get them to recognize for themselves that corrective action is necessary and what they need to do about it – with your help as necessary. In this situation you might suggest counselling or recommend a source of advice. But be careful, you don’t want to imply that there is something wrong with them. You should go no further than suggesting that individuals may find this helpful – they don’t need it but they could benefit from it. You should be careful about offering counselling advice yourself. This is better done by professional counsellors. If there is anything specific that the parties involved in the situation can do, then the line to take is that we can tackle this problem together: ‘This is what I will do’,‘This is what the company will do’, ‘What do you think you should do?’ If there is no response to the last question, then this is the point where you have to spell out the action you think they need to take. Be as specific as possible and try to express your wishes as suggestions, not commands. A joint problem-solving approach is always best.

156 Handling People Problems and Issues Ten approaches to managing negative behaviour 1 Define the type of negative behaviour that is being exhibited. Make notes of examples. 2 Discuss the behaviour with the individual as soon as possible, aiming to get agreement about what it is and the impact it makes. 3 If agreement is not obtained, give actual examples of behaviour and explain why you believe them to be negative. 4 Discuss and so far as possible agree reasons for the negative behaviour, including those attributed to the individual, yourself and the organization. 5 Discuss and agree possible remedies – actions on the part of the individual, yourself or the organization. 6 Monitor the actions taken and the results obtained. 7 If improvement is not achieved and the negative behaviour is significantly affecting the performance of the individual and the team, then invoke the disciplinary procedure. 8 Start with a verbal warning, indicating the ways in which behaviour must improve, and give a timescale and offers of further support and help as required. 9 If there is no improvement, issue a formal warning, setting out as specifically as possible what must be achieved over a defined period of time, indicating the disciplinary action that could be taken. 10 If the negative behaviour persists and continues seriously to affect performance, take the disciplinary action.

Dealing With Negative Behaviour 157 Exercise 21.1 Negative behaviour Here’s what one of the managers interviewed by Dilys Robinson told her about how he dealt with negative behaviour: So I will make sure that I say hello to them if they’re by the coffee machine and have a bit of a chat with them, and try and break down that barrier, so they don’t see me as the enemy, they don’t see me as the manager who’s always asking for more, and because I’ve found that normally the more difficult ones are also the more vocal ones who are more influential within the team, so if you can get them on your side, you can also then turn the performance of the team or the view of the team. And in one case, that actually meant me reorganizing the office so that person ended up sitting next to me, so then he engaged with me across the desk, he felt like he was more involved in what was going on, and he’s no longer a difficult employee, well, relatively. What do you think of his approach? What can you learn from it? Key points ● Negative behaviour has multiple causes, which makes it difficult to deal with. ● Deal with it when it happens and not at a formal review. ● To deal with it, discuss the situation, establish the reasons for the individuals’ negative behaviour so far as this is feasible and agree any actions individuals could take to behave more positively, or what you or the organization could do to remove the causes of the behaviour.

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22 Dealing with absenteeism and timekeeping issues Dealing with absenteeism and timekeeping issues is a perpetual problem for many managers. It can take a lot of time and trouble to resolve an issue but the attempt should be made and guidelines on how to do this are set out below. Absenteeism You will come across both short-term and long-term absenteeism, and the approach to dealing with them differs in a number of respects. Recurrent short-term absence Dealing with people who are repeatedly absent for short periods can be difficult to handle. This is because it may be hard to determine when occasional absence becomes a problem or whether it is justifiable, perhaps on medical grounds. So what do you do about it? Many organizations provide guidelines to managers on the ‘trigger points’ for action (the

160 Handling People Problems and Issues amount of absence that needs to be investigated), perhaps based on analyses of the incidence of short-term absence and the level at which it is regarded as acceptable (software may exist to generate analyses and data, which can be made available direct to managers through a self-service system). If there are no guidelines you can seek advice from an HR specialist, if one is available. In the absence of either of these sources of help and in particularly difficult cases, it may be advisable to recommend to higher management that advice is obtained from an employment law expert. But this sort of guidance may not be obtainable and you may have to make up your own mind on when to do something and what to do. A day off every other month may not be too serious, although if it happens regularly on a Monday (after weekends in Prague, Barcelona, etc) or a Friday (before such weekends) you may feel like having a word with the individual, not as a warning but just to let them know that you are aware of what is going on. There may be a medical or other acceptable explanation. Return- to-work interviews can provide valuable information. You see the individual and find out why the time was taken off, giving them ample opportunity to explain the absence. In persistent cases of absenteeism you can hold an absence review meeting. Although this would be more comprehensive than a return-to-work interview it should not at this stage be presented as part of a disciplinary process. The meeting should be positive and constructive. If absence results from a health problem you can find out what the employee is doing about it and if necessary suggest that their doctor should be consulted. Or absences may be caused by problems facing a parent or a carer. In such cases you should be sympathetic but you can reasonably discuss with the individual what steps can be taken to reduce the problem or you might be able to agree on flexible working if that can be arranged. The aim is to get the employee to discuss as openly as possible any factors affecting their attendance and to agree any constructive steps.

Dealing with Absenteeism and Timekeeping Issues 161 If, after holding an attendance review meeting and, it is to be hoped, agreeing the steps necessary to reduce absenteeism, short- term absence persists without a satisfactory explanation, then another meeting can be held, which emphasizes the employee’s responsibility for attending work. Depending on the circumstances (each case should be dealt with on its merits), at this meeting you can link any positive support with an indication that following the provision of support you expect absence levels to improve over a defined timescale (an improvement period). If this does not happen, the individual can expect more formal disciplinary action. Dealing with long-term absence Dealing with long-term absence can be even more difficult. The aim should be to facilitate the employee’s return to work at the earliest reasonable point while recognizing that in extreme cases the person may not be able to come back. In that case they can fairly be dismissed for lack of capability as long as: 1 the employee has been consulted at all stages; 2 contact has been maintained with the employee – this is something you can usefully do as long as you do not appear to be pressing them to return to work before they are ready; 3 appropriate medical advice has been sought from the employee’s own doctor, but the employee’s consent is needed and employees have the right to see the report and it may be desirable to obtain a second opinion; 4 all reasonable options for alternative employment have been reviewed as well any other means of facilitating a return to work. The decision to dismiss should only be taken if these conditions are satisfied. It is a tricky one and you should seek advice before taking it, from HR, if available, or from an employment law expert.

162 Handling People Problems and Issues Handling poor timekeeping If you are faced with persistent lateness you should try to find out if there is a good reason, e.g. problems at home. If there is, you need to be understanding but it is still necessary to point out that it is up to the employee to do their best to come to work on time and there is a limit to which the organization can allow personal problems to affect how people do their work, or in a timekeeping case, how people do not do their work. If there is no acceptable reason for the poor timekeeping or if the individual’s personal situation means that it persists too long, it is necessary to give an informal warning that improvement is expected to occur. But if an informal warning has little effect, it may be necessary to invoke the disciplinary procedure. If time­ keeping does not improve this could go through the successive stages of a recorded oral warning, a written warning and a final written warning. If the final warning does not work, disciplinary action would have to be taken; in serious cases this would mean dismissal. Note that this raises the difficult question of time limits when you give a final warning that timekeeping must improve by a certain date – the improvement period. If it does improve by that date, and the slate is wiped clean, it might be assumed that the disciplinary procedure starts again from scratch if timekeeping deteriorates again. But it is in the nature of things that some people cannot sustain efforts to get to work on time for long, and deteri­ oration often occurs. In these circumstances, do you have to keep on going through the warning cycles time after time? The answer ought to be no, and the best approach is to avoid stating an end date to a final warning period, which implies a ‘wipe the slate clean’ approach. Instead, the warning should simply say that timekeeping performance will be reviewed on a stated date. If it has not improved, disciplinary action can be taken. If it has, no action will be taken, but the employee is warned that further deterioration will make them liable to disciplinary action, which may well speed

Dealing with Absenteeism and Timekeeping Issues 163 up the normal procedure, perhaps by only using the final warning stage and by reducing the elapsed time between the warning and the review date. There will come a time if poor timekeeping persists when you can say ‘enough is enough’ and initiate disciplinary action. Exercise 22.1 Case study: Timekeeping The case Tony Lufton joined the Thames Building Society seven years ago as an administrative assistant in the head office mortgage department. He was promoted after three years to the post of mortgage administrator and has been in this job ever since. During this time his service has been satisfactory – he was reasonably good at his job – but undistinguished. He has never shown any inclination or ambition for larger responsibility. Three years ago, he was absent for a number of self- certificated days because of a recurrence of asthma. The same pattern continued into the next year although when he was in the office he worked diligently. His manager noted that Lufton’s absences frequently lasted one day and that other reasons, e.g. travel difficulties or domestic problems, were emerging in addition to the excuse of sickness. The disciplinary procedure of the Thames Building Society was as follows: 1 Informal warning. A verbal or informal warning is given to the employee in the first instance or instances of minor offences. The warning is administered by the employee’s immediate manager or team leader. 2 Formal warning. A written formal warning is given to the employee in the first instance of more serious offences or after repeated instances of minor offences. The warning is

164 Handling People Problems and Issues administered by the employee’s immediate manager or team leader. It states the exact nature of the offence and indicates any future disciplinary action that will be taken against the employee if the offence is repeated within a specified time limit. 3 Further disciplinary action. If, despite previous warnings, an employee still fails to reach the required standards in a reasonable period of time, it may become necessary to consider further disciplinary action. The action taken may be up to three days’ suspension without pay, or dismissal. In either case the departmental manager should discuss the matter with the HR manager before taking action. In April 2019 Amy Robarts took over as mortgage manager. She had been warned by her predecessor, Jim Sowerby, about the Tony Lufton problem – it had by then assumed significant proportions, although his work was still satisfactory when he was in the office. Amy decided for the moment to see how things worked out, but on looking up Tony’s records she noted that Jim Sowerby had not awarded Tony a merit increase in 2018 and that his annual report included such phrases as ‘poor attendance – frequently absent and often late’. Tony’s absence record showed that he was absent for 16 days in 2018 and six days so far in May 2019. Ten of these absences last year were for single days, usually on a Monday or Friday, and Tony had taken three single days off (all on a Monday) by May 2019. There was no evidence on record that any warning had been given to Tony but Amy understood from Jim that he had spoken twice to Tony about his poor attendance although no sort of warning had been given. Amy therefore decided to see Tony and spoke to him severely about his absence record, confirming in writing that this was a formal warning. In mid-2019 a staff reduction programme was initiated, leaving Tony and one other doing the work formerly carried out by three people. This seemed to have a stimulating effect on Tony and his attendance improved. In the 2019 September pay review, Amy

Dealing with Absenteeism and Timekeeping Issues 165 gave Tony a modest merit increase and told him she was pleased with the way in which he had played his part in keeping the office going with reduced staff. However, the following month the old pattern re-asserted itself and by mid-December he had accumulated eight days absence (four single days and four continuous self-certificated days). This was having a disruptive effect on the rest of the office and Amy decided that with the reduced numbers of staff she could no longer afford a part-time Tony Lufton. She was fed up that the warning had been ineffective. She discussed the situation with the head of HR, who was concerned that the full disciplinary procedure did not seem to have been followed. But Amy, a strong character, overruled him, insisting that Tony had to go – enough was enough. It was agreed that he should be dismissed when he returned after the Christmas break. Amy would be on holiday then, so her assistant manager was told to dismiss Tony, which he duly did at 10.00 am on the day Tony came back to work. The letter signed by Amy that was handed to Tony stated that he was being dismissed because, in spite of repeated warnings, he had failed to improve his attendance record. He was informed that he would be paid for the current month and receive a further month’s salary in lieu of notice. He was told to collect his possessions and leave the office. Question Comment on the procedure followed, the actions taken and the lessons to be learnt.

166 Handling People Problems and Issues Key points ● In a case of persistent absenteeism, start with a review meeting to discuss the causes and agree on what needs to be done to improve absenteeism. Indicate that you expect absence levels to improve over a defined timescale (an improvement period). If this does not happen, the individual can expect more formal disciplinary action. ● If you are faced with persistent lateness and your informal warnings to the individual concerned seem to have little effect, you may be forced to invoke the disciplinary procedure. If timekeeping does not improve this could go through the successive stages of a recorded oral warning, a written warning and a final written warning. If the final warning does not work disciplinary action would have to be taken; in serious cases this would mean dismissal.

23 Handling challenging conversations Many managers find it difficult to have conversations or hold meetings with individuals about performance issues. In advance these can look difficult and in practice they can be challenging if the manager wants to achieve desired changes or improvements in performance. They can be even more challenging in prospect if it is feared that unpleasantness can occur in the shape of lack of cooperation or outright hostility. The following is a 12-point guide to handling challenging conversations. 1 Don’t wait until a formal review meeting. Have a quiet word at the first sign that something is going wrong. 2 Get the facts in advance – what happened, when and why? 3 Plan the meeting on the basis of the facts and what is known about the individual. Define what is to be achieved. 4 Set the right tone from the start of the meeting – adopt a calm, measured, deliberate but friendly approach. 5 Begin the conversation by explaining the purpose of the meeting, indicating to the individual what the issue is and giving specific examples. 6 Focus on the issue and not the person.

168 Handling People Problems and Issues 7 Ask for an explanation. Ask unloaded questions to clarify the issues and explore them together. 8 Allow people to have their say, and listen to them. 9 Keep an open mind and don’t jump to conclusions. 10 Acknowledge the individual’s position and any mitigating circumstances. 11 Ask the individual for proposals to resolve the situation, discuss the options and if possible agree on action by the individual, the manager or jointly. 12 If agreement cannot be reached, managers may have to define the way forward, with reasons – they are in charge! Exercise 23.1 Handling challenging conversations: what would you do? The timekeeping of an individual member of your team has deteriorated badly over the last three weeks and is much worse than that of anyone else in your team. Here are some typical things you have to do to deal with in this situation. Select your preferred approach but note any other one that you think would be better than those listed below. You want to speak to You say: an individual about 1. In my office – now! the problem. 2. I have something I’d like to discuss with you that I think will help us work together more effectively. 3. We need to talk about your time- keeping problem. Please come to see me at 4 pm. 4. I would like a talk with you about your timekeeping. Let’s grab a cup of coffee at 11 this morning to chat.

Handling Challenging Conversations 169 You are starting the You say: meeting. 1. Is there any reason why your The individual has timekeeping hasn’t been as good as it agreed that there is used to be? a problem but gives 2. I have got your timekeeping record what you think is an here and it’s pretty poor. What are you inadequate going to do about it? explanation for it. 3. As I told you earlier today, I would like to discuss your timekeeping with you. On being challenged How do you think you compare with…? by the time record 4. Thank you for coming. As you know, and the this meeting is about your unacceptability of timekeeping. Can we start by looking the explanation, the at your timekeeping records together? individual relapses into a sullen silence. You say: 1. I am not sure that I really understand the problem. Could you tell me more about it? 2. I think I appreciate the situation you’re in but we must put our heads together and see what can be done about it. 3. I cannot accept that as an adequate explanation. It’s no excuse. 4. I can understand your problem but how are you going to deal with it? The present situation cannot continue. You say: 1. It’s really no good behaving like this. We’ve got to move on. 2. I don’t know why you are not responding. What’s the problem? 3. We seem to have reached an impasse. I would like to reiterate the problem as I see it and I would be grateful if you would respond. 4. I am not entirely happy with your explanation. Could you go through it again?

170 Handling People Problems and Issues The individual goes You say: into denial saying 1. The facts speak for themselves. that he works very 2. Are you telling me that you are hard and often stays on, so why bother specially privileged and that you can about being late now start and finish any time you like? and again? 3. I appreciate that you work hard and conscientiously but do you think it would be possible for me to run this department if everyone turned up when they liked? 4. Can we focus on the facts. You, like everyone else, are expected to turn up to work on time. Can you give me a really good reason for you being the exception? The individual gets You say: angry and starts 1. I cannot tolerate this behaviour. We’ll shouting. meet again when you are in a better mood. 2. Calm down, dear! 3. It seems to me that we need a cooling-off period. Let’s both think about today’s meeting and reconvene tomorrow to discuss the situation. 4. I appreciate that you are concerned about this situation but there is a problem and we need to discuss calmly how we can best deal with it. Key point ● Many managers find it difficult to have conversations or hold meetings with individuals about performance issues. In advance these can look difficult and in practice they can be challenging if the manager wants to achieve desired changes or improvements in performance. A 12-point plan for holding such conversations is set out in this chapter.

24 Giving bad news You will undoubtedly sometimes have to give bad news to a member of your team or the team as a whole. For example, it could be: ● telling someone that they are to be made redundant; ● dismissing someone for misconduct; ● informing an individual that they will not receive the bonus they were expecting; ● telling someone they will not get the promotion they were hoping for; ● informing your team that it is to be partially disbanded. This is how some managers give bad news, as reported to Dilys Robinson (2013): The key thing is to be good at articulating why, at understanding how people will feel. He is adept at this. He will walk away for a while, then come back and tackle questions. As privately as possible... he took her away from the team, prepared for her to be literally upset, took some tissues, took her to a quiet area, and then suggested that she went for a walk afterwards... He took a fairly direct approach. He spoke privately to people to broach the subject... he explained why. He empathized, but made it clear that we still had to get on. He’s very straightforward. He doesn’t hide anything. My understanding of what he does is he goes and understands the issue at hand, so he knows it intimately,

172 Handling People Problems and Issues and then he communicates that to his team and explains the consequences of it, and how we’re going to work our way through the issue. So, there are consequences, but this is what we’re going to do and this is how we’re going to do it. So, he does explain it in very good detail. I think he’s very honest about it and he is always explaining the wider picture. His approach is straightforward; he communicates the facts clearly. He answers the questions he can, refers if he can’t. He doesn’t try to soften things or pander to people’s questions. How to give bad news The quotations above say it all. The key points in giving bad news as suggested by Dilys Robinson are given below. Giving bad news – key points ● Think hard and carefully before breaking bad news. ● Don’t put off doing it. ● Explain the business context clearly, so that people can understand the rationale. ● Try to understand how the news might be received by different people. ● Be as honest and open as you can. ● Give people time for the news to sink in. ● Listen to people’s reactions and respond appropriately. ● Be supportive and caring to those adversely affected.

Giving Bad News 173 Exercise 24.1 Giving bad news Think of an occasion when you either had to give bad news or were at the receiving end: ● How did it go? ● What was good about the way it was done? ● Could the approach used have been better? ● If so, what should have been done?

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25 Managing bias Bias can be deliberate or, insidiously, unconscious. What is known as cognitive bias happens when someone makes an irrational judgement. People create their own ‘subjective reality’ from their perception of the input. An individual’s construction of reality, not the objective input, may dictate their behaviour. If you’re biased towards something, then you lean favourably towards it; you tend to think positively of it. But if you’re biased against something, then you lean negatively against it; you tend to think poorly of it. Biases make it difficult for people to exchange accurate information or make objective decisions. A cognitive bias distorts our critical thinking, leading to misconceptions or mis­ information that can be damaging to others. While people like to believe that they are rational and logical, the fact is that they are continually under the influence of cognitive biases. Sometimes these biases are fairly obvious, and you might find that you recog- nize these tendencies in yourself or others. In some cases, the biases are so subtle that they are almost impossible to notice. Why do they happen? Attention is a limited resource. This means we can’t possibly evaluate every possible detail and event when forming thoughts and opinions. Because of this, we often rely on mental shortcuts that speed up our ability to make judgements, but some- times lead to bias. Bias can detrimentally affect the well-being of individuals or groups. It also has four practical drawbacks: ● It can have a negative effect on the morale of people if they perceive that a colleague is being treated favourably or unfavourably.

176 Handling People Problems and Issues ● Bias aimed at a person or a category of people can lead to unfair decisions. ● If the outcome is an inappropriate promotion or someone being given extra responsibility that they do not deserve it can adversely affect the performance of the department or group. ● It can lead to recruitment decisions that may result in an unsuitable person being appointed to a job. Bias needs to be minimized at both organizational and individual levels. Minimizing bias in organizations Biased behaviour in organizations can occur in any situation where decisions or judgements are made by people about people, for example in recruitment, when reviewing performance, deciding on promotion, providing people with opportunities for career develop­ ment and handling disciplinary problems. Biased behaviour may be conscious and conspicuous and anyone behaving in this way can be brought to account although it helps if a culture is developed in which it is made clear that such behaviour is not acceptable. This culture should characterize the behaviour of top managers and line managers, team leaders and specialists at all levels. But biased behaviour will often be unconscious and this is more difficult to deal with. An approach often adopted by organizations is to train managers to understand and avoid unconscious bias. Training courses may use the Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT) to measure attitudes and beliefs that people may not be aware of or are unwilling to recognize. But research has shown that the training can be unsuccessful, perhaps because too often it does not go into sufficient depth. However, something needs to be done about it by at least making people aware of the problems and how to avoid them and taking some specific steps to deal with

Managing Bias 177 recruitment bias (the most pervasive variety). The types of bias, the reasons for bias and what can be done about it need to be covered in depth in induction (onboarding) and leadership development courses. Minimizing bias at the individual level The best way to prevent bias from influencing the way you think or make decisions is by being aware that it exists in the first place. If you appreciate how you might be biased in any of the nine areas set out in the table below, you can take steps to avoid or at least minimize biased judgements and decisions, particularly when recruiting, promoting or assessing the performance of people. Exercise 25.1 Managing bias You are a senior manager in a large insurance company with about 3,000 staff, of which about 300 are in various types of managerial or supervisory positions. The HR director is concerned about the incidence of bias in making recruiting decisions and a number of other examples of biased behaviour they have come across. They have suggested to the CEO that a senior manager should be asked to investigate and make recommendations. You are that senior manager and your investigation has confirmed that bias is rife. It even exists in the HR department, especially those involved in recruitment and selection. The company has a well-established and resourced learning and development department and a comprehensive talent- management programme. What sort of recommendations might you make?

Table 25.1  Different types of bias and how to deal with them Bias definition Possible action Anchoring bias – using an initial Try to compare every aspect of a person, e.g. a candidate, and never rely on one piece of piece of information to unduly information as a deciding (anchoring) factor. influence subsequent judgements. Affinity bias – favouring someone The basic way of dealing with this problem is simply to be aware that it exists. You can who has similar characteristics to then resist the temptation to select, promote or reward a person just because they are oneself. like you. You must always strive to make objective decisions about people and not allow yourself to be influenced by subjective factors. Beware of placing too much emphasis on ‘culture fit’ when appointing someone to a job in your department, i.e. striving to identify people who will fit in well with the way in which your department functions and with its other members. However, the term ‘culture fit’ is vague, and it can mean different things to different people. The halo effect – drawing The first thing to do is to recognize that we all have a tendency to be influenced by the conclusions about a person on the halo effect. Try to consider people ‘in the round’, i.e. from all points of view. Look for their basis of one or two good points good points but recognize that they may have weaknesses that you should take into and ignoring negative account. When reviewing applications or considering a person for promotion, you may be characteristics. looking for something unique that makes someone stand out from the rest. But you should also take care to look at other candidates or people who have the experience, knowledge and skills to do the job, and consider their suitability.

Bias definition Possible action Attribution bias – attributing This type of bias can be difficult to recognize and therefore hard to deal with. What you someone else’s behaviour to their can do is to examine your judgements of other people to identify the possibility that you particular characteristics (‘it’s are falling into attribution error, i.e. that you have been too ready to underestimate or their fault’) while believing that blame them. You need to explore the reasons behind individuals’ backgrounds and your own similar behaviour is a accomplishments, as opposed to jumping to conclusions. In the workplace, this means result of external factors (‘it was objectively analysing an employee’s role performance by reference to factual evidence of beyond my control’). If we do how well or not so well they have done. something well, we tend to think it’s down to our own merit and personality. When we do something badly, we tend to believe that our failing is due to external factors, like other people that adversely affect us and prevent us from doing our best. Gender bias – preferring one Conduct blind screenings of applications that exclude aspects of a candidate that may gender over another. reveal their assumed gender, such as name and interests. Compare candidates by reference to their relative accomplishments and suitability for the job rather than traits that can cloud your judgement of them. Your organization should set diversity recruitment goals and ensure they are achieved.

Table 25.1  continued Possible action Bias definition Age bias – favouring one age over Don’t make assumptions based on age. Don’t automatically presume that older workers another. are unable to use technology or aren’t open to learning new skills. There is plenty of research evidence that they can learn and use different skills if they are given the opportunity and training. Racial bias – expressing prejudice, Subject yourself to an intense and searching examination of your attitudes and beliefs discrimination or antagonism about race. You may not be consciously prejudiced but you have to make sure that you against a person or people on the are not unconsciously biased. basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group. Appearance bias – favourably Omit pictures from CVs. Focus on an applicant’s qualifications and experience when treating individuals who are screening CVs. Before scheduling an interview, consider doing a short telephone considered to be more attractive. interview to get to know the applicant better without being influenced by their appearance. Name bias – preferring people with Omit names of candidates when screening. To do this, you can simply redact by hand the certain types of names; typically names of candidates from applications: your company can obtain blind hiring software to names that are of Anglo-Saxon block out candidates’ personal details on CVs. origin.

Managing Bias 181 Key points ● Bias can be deliberate or, insidiously, unconscious. ● While people like to believe that they are rational and logical, the fact is that they are continually under the influence of cognitive biases. ● Biased behaviour in organizations can occur in any situation where decisions or judgements are made by people about people. ● The best way to prevent bias from influencing the way you think or make decisions is by being aware that it exists in the first place.

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26 Dealing with bullying and harassment Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threats to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate people. The terms bullying and harassment are often used interchangeably but specifically, harassment means unwanted and offensive behaviour that people find intimidating. The most common form of harass- ment is sexual harassment. Harassment and bullying can occur both face to face and online. Bullying and harassment are serious problems. A survey by the Andrea Adams Trust and Personnel Today (1992) found that 22 per cent of respondents reported that they had been bullied in their present job and 52 per cent in a previous job. The bullying was carried out by the immediate superior of respondents in 57 per cent of the cases and by other managers or other colleagues in 29 per cent and 15 per cent of the cases respectively. What the organization can do Organizations should have an anti-bullying policy that states that bullying will not be tolerated and that those who persist in it be subject to disciplinary action, which could be severe in particularly bad cases. The policy should make it clear that individuals who are being bullied have the right to discuss the problem with another

184 Handling People Problems and Issues person, a representative or a member of the HR function, and to make a complaint. The policy should emphasize that if a complaint is received it will be thoroughly investigated. A sexual harassment policy should state that: 1 Sexual harassment will not be tolerated. 2 Employees subjected to sexual harassment will be given advice, support and counselling as required. 3 Every attempt will be made to resolve the problem informally with the person complained against. 4 Assistance will be given to the employee to complain formally if informal discussions fail. 5 A special process will be available for hearing complaints about sexual harassment. This will provide for employees to bring their complaint to someone of their own sex if they so wish. 6 Complaints will be handled sensitively and with due respect for the rights of both the complainant and the accused. Guidelines should be made available to managers, reinforced by training. The guidelines should emphasize that bullying and harassment are serious matters, and it is up to managers to control and deal with them if they arise, by treating complaints seriously, conducting thorough investigations to get the facts and, when necessary, taking disciplinary action against offenders. What actually happens The problem is that while organizations may have bullying and sexual harassment policies they depend on their line managers to implement them. And as Professor John Purcell and his colleagues (2003) in Bath University wrote: ‘Line managers bring HR policies to life.’ Or don’t, as the case may be. Two other academics, Chris Woodrow and David Guest (2014) of King’s College London, investigated how anti-bullying policies were implemented in a large London hospital. They found that many line managers were

Dealing With Bullying and Harassment 185 neither willing nor able to manage challenging staff issues and especially to deal with difficult, often barely visible forms of conflict such as bullying. Here are some comments made by staff in the hospital about how they were treated: I felt like I couldn’t approach my line manager to talk to her, because I tried to do that… and she basically put a stop to me straightaway… I became withdrawn, I kept quiet, and I thought that I couldn’t speak up because she’d knock me down. I feel that a lot of the supervisors in our place, especially the administrators… I’m sure they might have gone for training, but they don’t really practise what they’ve learnt. They put personal friends before professional standards. My colleagues told me they made so many complaints about her to her manager, but she’s just not willing to do anything because for her it’s a hassle. What you can do about it First, you have to recognize that bullying and sexual harassment are real problems and that if they are not dealt with they can seriously affect the mental health of people and therefore their well-being and engagement with their work. Most bullying in the workplace is carried out by line managers, so you should be prepared to examine your own conduct, frankly admit to yourself any tendency to bully or harass that exists and make plans to change your behaviour. Next you should familiarize yourself with your organization’s bullying and harassment policy, if one exists, to make yourself aware of what you should do to minimize it in your department and how you should deal with it when it occurs, including how you should respond to complaints from staff affected by it. If there is no policy you should press your management to produce one (they can get advice from Acas). If that gets you nowhere, you should

186 Handling People Problems and Issues simply do your best to apply the guidelines outlined earlier in this chapter if you become aware that bullying and harassment takes place (keep your eyes open) or if someone comes to you with a problem. You should then investigate and get the facts from the parties involved. If bullying or harassment has been proved you should initiate action against the offender in the shape of warnings, and if these are ignored, disciplinary action. Exercise 26.1 Dealing with a bullying complaint If one of your staff complains to you that they are being bullied by another member of your department, what do you do about it? Key points ● Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing, or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate people. ● Harassment means unwanted and offensive behaviour that people find intimidating. ● Organizations should have anti-bullying and harassment policies. ● Managers should be aware of the policies and be prepared to implement them. ● If there are no company policies, managers should deal with bullying and harassment in accordance with the guidelines set out in this chapter.

APPENDIX Notes on exercises Exercise 1.1 Qualities required by managers If you score more than 75 you can reckon that you are a fully effective manager; between 50 and 75 you are a reasonably effective manager; below 50 means that there is room for improvement. Exercise 1.2 Effective managers If your analysis suggests that there are aspects of managing people that you could improve, make a note of them and look up the relevant chapter of this book to find out how you could do so. Exercise 1.3 The manager’s role When you have completed the exercise consider the implications for your own job. Answer questions such as: ‘Am I spending too much time on any activity?’, ‘Should I spend less time on any activity?’, ‘Could I use my time more productively?’