1. Effective People Management: A Presentation to OCSAA
“We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do.”
- Ephesians 4:15
Doreen Harvey, Human Resources Consultant
Adrian Miedema, Partner, Dentons Canada LLP
February 10, 2014
February 10, 2014
© 2014

2. Today’s Webinar
Effective hiring practices (Getting the right people on the bus)
Effective management (Keeping the right people on the bus)
Communications
Clarifying expectations
Managing problem employees
Performance issues
Persons with disabilities/chronic sick leaves
Terminations
February 10, 2014
© 2014

3. Effective Hiring
“People are not your most important asset, the RIGHT people are.”
– J. Collins; Hire slowly, fire quickly
Hire people:
Who ‘get’ your culture & values
Who don’t have to be tightly managed (vs. guiding and teaching); hire self leaders
With passion for the role
Define the process & implement
See:
February 10, 2014
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4. Common Pitfalls in Effective People Management
Lack of a clear vision
Expectations not clear for employee
Hiring the wrong people
Little or no communication or feedback
Poor delegation
Managers not coaching and developing their staff
Problems ignored or not resolved early enough
February 10, 2014
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5. The Performance Management Cycle
Performance Planning
Clarifying expectations
Getting the ‘final exam’
Performance Coaching
On-going feedback &
communications;
Working towards an ‘A’
Employee Development
Creating a Development Plan
Rolling out the plan
Performance Evaluation
Regular Reviews – informal and formal
Rewards & recognition
Marion to do next few slides
February 10, 2014
© 2014

6. Good to Great Fly-wheel concept:
Aligns people by clarifying the vision
Consecutive ‘pushes’ in the same direction
No single, defining event, no ‘killer concept’ or program but big and small ‘pushes’
Adds up to sustained and spectacular results
How many of you are familiar with ‘Good to Great’ by Jim Collins?
Looked at what universal distinguishing characteristics cause a company to go from good to great?
Using benchmarks, Collins and a team of researchers identified a set of elite companies that made the leap to great results. The results included generating cumulative stock returns that beat the general stock market by an average of seven times I fifteen years, better than twice the results delivered by a composite index of the world’s greatest companies.
The team looked closely at these companies to determine what was different and after 5 years they discovered the key determinants of greatness – why some organizations make the leap and others don’t.
One of these principles is the “flywheel concept.”
February 10, 2014
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7. Communications
February 10, 2014
© 2014

8. What is Critical Feedback?
Honest communications
Telling people how their behaviour affects us/others.
Delivering a difficult message
Speaking the truth in love
Searching for the truth and confronting it
The application of Matthew 18
One of the biggest challenges we face as managers and employees is how to give critical feedback to people in positions of authority.
I am seeing this more and more as a fatal flaw in leaders.
February 10, 2014
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9. Critical Conversations - Premise
Be supportive and motivating
Demonstrate integrity, truth, kindness and respect
Foster learning: powerful
Be aware of developing a link with person, not cutting off communications
Seek the truth in the situation
February 10, 2014
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10. Critical Conversations
Identify the issue
Have a specific example(s) to illustrates the behaviour or situation that needs to change.
Describe your emotions about the issue.*
Clarify what’s at stake.*
Identify your contribution to this problem.
Indicate your wish to resolve the issue.
Invite the person to respond.
* Fierce Conversations: Susan Scott, 2002
Let’s try an example:
I have an employee who is very difficult to work with, in fact, toxic. She ‘bites the head off’ people who ask her questions, and she works in Customer Service. She feels that she’s always ‘putting out’ for others and that she’s not appreciated. The trouble is, people won’t work with her, so customer issues go unresolved, or they find other ways around her. Here’s the conversation I could have with her:
Jane, I want to talk to you about how others feel about working with you. They are afraid of you. I’ve been told by 2 individuals that they avoid asking you a question about an order because you often ‘bite their heads off.’ Your response makes them feel frustrated and hurt. They also can’t get their work done because you have the answers. If we can’t resolve this, ultimately the customer will not get the service they expect and longer term it will affect our business. I should have mentioned this to you before when I first noticed this. However, I thought it would blow over. I’m sorry I didn’t confront you earlier because I think the problem wouldn’t have become so big. I want to resolve this issue and work with you to help you appreciate your colleague’s perspective. You are an important member of the team, have lots of great experience that others can benefit from.
What are your thoughts on this? How do you think we can proceed?
February 10, 2014
© 2014

11. Discipline What is discipline?
“Disciple” means “to teach”; therefore it is teaching in a way that modifies behaviour
Ensuring the person clearly understands what is expected
Determining if the person knew what was expected but chose to do otherwise
February 10, 2014
© 2014

12. How to Discipline Effectively
Investigate the situation
Meet in private
Be brief/specific & consistent
Address issues as soon as you can
Give a clear warning, if a warning is necessary
Create a “Performance Improvement Plan” if this makes sense
February 10, 2014
© 2014

13. How to Discipline (cont’d)
Progressive:
Verbal warning
Written warning
Suspension
Dismissal
Outline future corrective action
Fully document
February 10, 2014
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14. Performance Improvement Programs
Try to uncover the reason for the decline in performance
Create a plan!
Catch it early
Identify performance issue, its causes and a way forward
Identify how the organization may have contributed to the problem
Set out expectations
February 10, 2014
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15. Performance Improvement Programs (cont’d)
Create plan with timeline for deliverables/outcomes and dates for follow up meetings
Review your leadership style and discuss with employee as this may change in the course of the PIP
Give staff member the opportunity to turn things around
Document
February 10, 2014
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16. Managing Problem Employees
Performance Issues
“Harassment” allegations resulting from performance management
February 10, 2014
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17. Managing Problem Employees
Chronic absenteeism / sickness
Human Rights Code: disability discrimination / duty to accommodate
February 10, 2014
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18. Terminations Employment Standards Act obligations “Common law” notice
Exceptions:
Employment contract
Resignation
Just cause
February 10, 2014
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19. Terminations
Contractual restrictions on termination: check your contracts and policies
Special considerations for teachers
Human rights considerations
February 10, 2014
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20. What Works... Hiring the right people
Effective communications & feedback
Clear expectations
A commitment to people development
A culture that supports and fosters staff engagement
Addressing issues early and with grace, honesty
Trust & respect
Servant leadership
February 10, 2014
© 2014