Within the majority of my articles, I discuss how important the relationship is between employer and employee, and nothing is further from the truth. Sometimes, however, it can be easy for managers to be slightly alienated from their teams, due to not wanting to seem too familiar or to ensure the managerial role is respected. In larger companies, the divide between the roles can be even bigger and can often lead to problems in an organisation and its ability to execute strategies productively.

Gone are the days when a company could simply have one or two staff events a year for employees at every level to mingle. Instead, for businesses to benefit from effective leadership, they need to work towards a more inclusive approach, valuing all levels of contributions from staff members, irrespective of their role in the company.

Ultimately, ensuring the divide is being lessened comes down to the manager and how they work with their team to engage them in business strategies that affect customers and client interaction. The majority of manager training focuses on compliance and safety, as well as HR policies and procedures, however it is important for companies to ensure managers have training in leadership skills to ensure all teams are managed correctly.

No matter which industry one is in, a concept known as the “Service-Profit Chain” proves that managers who drive employee engagement make a positive impact on company growth and profitability.

So how does a manager break down the “them and us” attitude?

There are a number of factors involved in narrowing the gap; however managers need to understand the following three things before approaching the other factors:

1. Managers have to understand their role in the company, which more often than not is about ensuring their team meet their targets and deliver results.
   
2. Managers must inspire their team to work to their full potential whilst ensuring the employees understand the corporate vision and their role in the company.
   
3. Managers have to communicate with their team members, ensuring that team spirit and joint accountability is at the forefront of any task presented to them.

Communication is Key

There are two types of leadership when addressing communication: visible and communicative.

Visible leadership occurs when employees have the opportunity to speak to managers face to face, allowing both parties to form an attachment whilst reassuring team members that senior management are interested in their opinions.

Communicative leadership allows for employees to be a part of company strategies and be aware of high level decisions that may affect them in their job. Two way communication can be achieved through one to one meetings, team meetings, focus groups and employee forums where staff members can engage with each other, as well as senior management on innovative ideas, thoughts and concerns they may have.

Get Involved

Managers should attempt to spend time in different parts of the business throughout the year to gain an understanding of potential business issues from the perspective of their team. Employees are much more willing to work harder if management get involved in completing projects or hitting targets for the good of the team. Leading by example ensures that employees know the manager isn’t asking them to do something they wouldn’t be willing to do themselves.

Reward and Recognise Success

A lot of research has been done into positive reinforcement and the benefit it has for motivating and improving skills. Managers need to be aware of recognising and acknowledging individual team members success when it is deserved and offering constructive criticism instead of negative reinforcement which could lead to resentment.

Do Not Micromanage

Putting team members in a position where they have to make their own decisions and deal with the consequences leads to a stronger and more versatile work environment. Through management allowing their team to solve problems, staff members will gain confidence and be more likely to work independently in future tasks. If management don’t allow this to happen and constantly micromanage, employees will feel they are unable to do the job thy have been hired for and will constantly seek reassurance.

Encourage Offsite Activities

There are numerous team building days across Ireland that specialise in allowing all employees at every level in the company to share one space without potentially feeling intimidated by someone’s job title. Managers should engage in such activities once or twice a year to ensure all employees realise that the company has their best interests at heart whilst motivating and inspiring them outside the work place.

Be on First Name Terms

This may seem either obvious or rather old fashioned but there are still some companies who insist upper management are addressed by their surname. Unfortunately this leads to a level of intimidation from junior staff members. Addressing everyone by their first name removes any sense of hierarchy and brings openness and approachability between every employee in the company.

Trust is a Two Way Street

Last but definitely not least, trust and respect is the foundation of building a successful employee-manager relationship. Whilst managers find it important to trust their team members to do their job, employees also have to trust that their manager has their best interests at heart. Trust can come in the form of managers being open and honest about future plans or concerns, representing their team to employees high up the chain as well as protecting them from potential negative influences.

Managers hold the key to unlocking employee talent, keeping clients happy and ultimately driving growth within the company. Therefore it’s of utmost importance that companies give managers the tools and vision to help their teams succeed!



The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.

Most companies have yearly performance reviews in December/January or mid-year and unfortunately a lot of businesses only start pulling information on employees a few days in advance. Managers hate it and staff members get uptight about what they will hear, which often leads to stress leading up to the meeting and a feeling of disappointment or dissatisfaction afterwards.

If you Google ‘performance review’, a few thousand results will be returned on advice for how employees should prepare for their review, however it’s vital for employers to do their preparation as well.

No matter what industry or type of business, staff members want to have a formal review so they know if they are doing their job to the employer’s satisfaction. The majority of employees can see when managers have put an effort into reviewing their performance and shown an interest in their career development.

This week I want to highlight the not so nice side of employee performance reviews and how managers can start considering how this year’s review will be different than the years preceding it.


Why is the ‘normal’ employee performance review so wrong?

A common misconception about performance reviews is that they are focused on the employee’s performance within the last six months to a year. This shouldn’t be the case. Staff reviews should give employers a chance to evaluate how they run their business, by letting employees voice their opinions, grow and hopefully become better team members.

Reviews are often held once or twice a year and often by a member of the management team who doesn’t necessarily work with or closely to the employee on a daily basis. The infrequency of the reviews by someone who doesn’t usually liaise with the employee leads to the feeling of ‘obligation’ rather than it being a normal part of the job.

Quite often in bigger companies, the scoring system is generalised across multiple departments. This causes an issue as every staff member is being judged in the same manner, regardless of their working differences and job responsibilities.

Whilst it’s understandable that recent happenings in one’s mind stand out the most, it’s one of the biggest downfalls of performance reviews. The ‘Recency Effect’ causes managers to focus on a recent event, positive or negative, and use this as a marker of an employee’s performance instead of reviewing their performance over the entire period. Employees who know this often ensure they are the best they can be in the run up to a review.

In smaller companies, feedback might only be based on one person’s perspective. If there is only one Director and a team of five employees, it can be hard for the MD to not be biased. Without collaboration, the feedback can be subjective and not offer a full picture of employee performance.

Employee performance reviews are more often than not closely linked to salary and potential pay rises. This leads to stress for the employee who focuses on the outcome as well as the employer who may not be offering a pay rise. In turn, this devalues the process of the review, giving feedback and improving performance.

With those points in mind, I’ve included some tips below for employers and managers to help them prepare for conducting a successful performance review.


What changes should be made to the current employee performance review?

Apart from changes to the annual or twice yearly review, it’s imperative for employers to give feedback as situations occur, rather than wait until review time. Everyone responds more positively to immediate feedback, and in doing so, employees can work on their performance each day instead of being loaded with information once or twice a year.

With regards to the performance review, the process should go as follows:

Job Description

I’ve mentioned before about how important it is for employers to refer back to individual job descriptions and here is no different. The document should provide information on the employee’s duties of their role and standards they are expected to achieve. As this should have been issued when the employee first started working at the company, both the employer and staff member should have a copy and refer to it during the review.

Before the Performance Review

Each employee should be given a self-appraisal form to fill out before their individual review. This enables the employer to receive information on how the employee rates their performance within the company and any issues they may like to be addressed. Employers should these out at least three to four weeks before the review and should be returned no later than a week before. This gives the employee plenty of time to prepare for the review and the employer a sufficient period to prepare comments and areas for discussion.

Questions could include:

• What have been your main accomplishments over the last six months/year?
  
• Which actions concern you most or disappoint you?
  
• Do you feel you have developed any skills or overcome weaknesses in the last six months/year?
  
• Do you feel you and your manager communicate well? What changes would you like to see moving forward?
  
• What are your top three priories for the next six months?
  
• Is there anything about the company you would like to see improved or do you have any ideas on how you could see certain aspects of the business working differently?
  

Environment

Employers should focus on where the review will take place and the time allocated to it. All meetings should be in a private location where there will be no interruptions, such as phone calls or other work related distractions and a positive atmosphere will more than likely create a positive communication. More than enough time needs to be considered so employees don’t feel they are being rushed through the review or feeling undervalued as a team member.

The Review

Many employers go down ‘the sandwich review’ route which means they give positive feedback to start, then negative feedback, and finish on positive feedback. This doesn’t work, as the initial positive feedback will feel insincere and the employee won’t listen to the follow up positives as they will be focusing on the negative feedback.

Instead, employers should focus on the positives to begin with. Anything the employee has achieved or is doing well in should be mentioned. Praise needs to be offered where it is due and if the employee has been in the company for a few years, then they should be told how they have improved since their last review.

Negatives, although they are not nice, need to be addressed. If the employee is lacking in certain areas or hasn’t achieved goals that had been previously set out, the employer needs to inform them of this. It’s imperative to be specific and mention exact goals and instances where the employee has underperformed so it doesn’t seem like a generalisation or make the employee feel they are underachieving in their role overall.

Get Feedback and Set Goals

Employees should be offered the chance to voice their opinion and give feedback. Employers need to ask the staff member how they might improve on their own performance and ask what they can do to help them achieve it. This will give the employer better insight into whether the employee needs more training or possibly alter their role somehow.

Setting new goals and sticking to them is an important part of performance reviews, otherwise they are a waste of time. Employees need to commit to improving on their weaknesses and progressing even more in the following months. Goals should be written down and signed by both the employer and employee as the document will be used at the following review.

Finish on a Positive Note

Every appraisal for each employee will be different, however it’s important to always end on a positive note, whether the review was good or poor. Employers need to ensure the employee knows they will do what they can to help them meet objectives in the months following the meeting.

Always Follow Up

The most important step of the review process is to follow up on the commitments made to the employee. If an employer has stated they will help an under-performer, they need to speak to a supervisor and ensure steps are being taken to aid them in their role.

This isn’t just for the employee’s benefit, but also to protect the employer. If a business has to terminate employment, there must be evidence that the employer has given the employee an opportunity to improve their performance. If this is not apparent, the company could be left open to a claim of unfair dismissal.

When a performance review is well prepared for and properly conducted, it assists an employer in seeing which of its staff members are making the most valuable contribution and which are letting the side down – useful information to have in today’s tough business climate, where every euro must count.



The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.

Last week I discussed the importance of managing paid time off and the significance of having an annual leave policy in place. However, it’s imperative that employers know staff entitlements to time off and ensure that clear guidelines are established in the policy.

In this article, I’m going to answer some of the common questions related to annual leave entitlements.


What exactly does “paid time off” include?

Under Irish legislation paid time off consists of various privileges to leave from work. These include:

Annual Leave – a minimum set number of days per year to take as the employee’s wishes.
Public Holidays – including bank holidays, this totals to nine days off in the year and includes days such as Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and certain days over Easter when most businesses close. Employers should offer a paid day off on the public holiday, an additional day of annual leave, an additional day’s pay or a paid day off within a month of the public holiday.
Maternity Leave – as discussed in a previous article, this leave is for expectant and new mothers who are entitled to 26 weeks state paid leave plus an additional 16 weeks unpaid leave. An employee may qualify for maternity benefit from the Department of Social Protection, and in some cases, a company will offer full pay minus the amount of maternity benefit payable.
Adoptive Leave – this leave is for the adoptive mother who is entitled to 24 weeks state paid leave plus an additional 16 weeks unpaid leave. As with maternity leave, it is at the employer’s discretion if they wish to pay a supplementary salary to the employee.
Jury Service – employees who are called to jury service are entitled to be paid for the time they are absent from work and therefore should not lose any employment entitlements, including annual leave entitlement.


How many days of annual leave is a staff member entitled to?

The basic entitlement of annual leave is 20 days per full time staff member, however there are actually three different methods of calculating employee entitlement:

• Whilst the leave year runs from April to March, a number of businesses use the calendar year of January to December to calculate leave. Any staff member who has worked a minimum of 1365 hours in the annual leave year is eligible for the full annual leave allowance of 4 weeks.
  
• Employees who work at least 117 hours in the month can be offered 1/3 of a working week off for each calendar month.
  
• 8% of the hours worked by an employee in the leave year, however there is still a maximum allowance of 4 working weeks. This option is most popular for companies who employ part time workers.
  

An employer should ensure that all entitlement includes hours worked even when employees are on alternative types of leave, such as maternity, parental, force majeure and adoptive leave. It is also necessary to remember that any employee who has worked for at least 8 months within the one company is entitled to a period of two weeks unbroken annual leave.


How much pay is an employee entitled to when on annual leave?

When an employee is paid a standard monthly salary, they are entitled to be paid at this rate when on leave. However if a staff member’s pay varies due to commission or bonuses, employers must take the average wage from the 13 weeks previous to the annual leave and pay this rate to their employees for the time they are off work.


Can employees take annual leave when they want?

Generally it is up to the employer when their staff can take leave. This is to ensure employees are not out of the office at the same time and negatively affecting productivity. Although the final decision is made by the employer, there are a number of considerations to take into account, such as the employee’s family responsibilities and need for rest. After all, there’s no point having an employee working when they have their mind on other things or are burnt out. Employers should always discuss potential dates for employees to take leave at least one month before it is to be taken.


Can annual leave be carried over or ‘paid out’?

Employers should always try to ensure any staff leave is taken within the appropriate leave year, however if circumstances prevent this from happening then it could be proposed that an employee take their leave within six months of the following leave year. It is always the responsibility of an employer to ensure their staff takes their full statutory entitlement to leave in the appropriate period, and that conversations and discussions take place with an employee well ahead of time if there is potential for the leave not to take place in the year it should.

Paying employees an allowance as a substitute to annual leave entitlement is illegal and therefore should not be offered or agreed to with an employee.


Should employers offer public holiday pay when the employee is on annual leave?

Generally speaking, employers should either offer pay or a day in lieu if a public holiday occurs when an employee is on annual leave. For example, if a member of staff takes 23rd-27th December off and the 25th and 26th December are public holidays, then they are only technically taking two days annual leave.


Can the same be said for sick pay?

There are two elements to annual leave and sick pay:

• If an employee is sick when on annual leave, they are responsible for obtaining a medical certificate from their GP and giving it to their employer when they return to work. This proves they were indeed sick when they were off and are therefore entitled to additional annual leave days at a later date. If an employee does not get a medical certificate, it is at the discretion of the employer whether to offer additional days leave.
  
• An employer can’t order an employee to take annual leave as an alternative to a period of illness. However, employee illness does affect the amount of leave they are entitled to, as staff members cannot accumulate annual leave when they are on sick leave from work.
  

Are employees whose contract is terminated entitled to any untaken annual leave pay?

If an employee is leaving the company an employer is responsible for compensating the employee for any outstanding annual leave or public holiday entitlements.

All entitlements I have included above relate to Irish legislation and may differ in the UK or other countries. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to comment below!



The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.

It’s 2nd July and I’m sure employers will start to hear, if they’ve not already, “How much annual leave do I have?” or “Do I have enough days leave to take time off in a couple of weeks?” Paid Time Off is a topic that raises its head every now and again, apart from at Christmas and during summer when balancing staff’s annual leave becomes something of a minefield to employers and HR departments.

Therefore this week’s article focuses on the importance of companies having a clear and concise annual leave policy in place, which will allow businesses to better budget and plan employee absences, as well as cut costs associated with unplanned leave. Having guidelines in place will result in a more involved, loyal and productive workforce.

Kronos, a workforce management company based in UK and USA, released a study last year about the Total Financial Impact of Employee Absences and the lasting effects that employee absences have on an organisation and its staff. Outcomes included how they affect fellow workers and supervisor productivity; the use of stand-in employees and overtime to cover absences; as well as direct and indirect costs of paid time off.

Results proved that the main reason of workplace stress is insufficient staffing, which leads to a loss in productivity, unfulfilled employees and higher turnover. Employee absence seems to affect colleagues the most with the following stats being reported:

-       69% of respondents stated unplanned absences add to workload
-       61% say it increases stress
-       59% believe it disrupts the work of others
-       48% state it harms employee morale

All staff members need to take time off for a variety of reasons, whether it is to go on holiday, take time to recover from sickness or even to just deal with unplanned emergencies. However, as the stats show, the impact this has on co-workers is high and should not be overlooked when approaching the issue of absenteeism.

So what are the factors to consider when planning an effective annual leave policy?

Be Generous

Paid leave should be substantial enough for any circumstances that may arise, as it is an employment benefit which can easily drive trust and engagement from employees. It’s important that staff can speak to managers about work-life balance whilst feeling that the company cares about them and their lives outside work. This in turn leads to a more willing and more engaged employee.

Be Flexible

Depending on the industry, businesses should consider offering flexible work schedules, job-sharing and remote working options that give employees the chance to work responsibly without having to take paid leave. It’s important, however, to ensure that the industry the company is in, in particular healthcare and finance, supports certain work arrangements, or it could be leaving itself open to legal risks.

When discussing time off with staff members, communication is vital in working out how to develop a consistent and fair annual leave policy. This can only be done through staff interviews and feedback to find out what their priorities are.

Be Fair

Ensuring a time off policy is fair goes a long way when navigating complicated matters with managing staff absences and cutting costs. Staff members always notice co-workers who just happen to be absent Mondays or Fridays and often become disgruntled that they have to pick up the slack because certain employees aren’t pulling their weight. Whilst the issue is generally unavoidable to some extent, it’s important for companies to tackle the impact on co-workers by making sure policies are applied fairly.

Even with a generous annual leave policy, there may be instances where businesses have to deal with the under-performing employee and let them go, to prove to other staff that the attendance issues were unacceptable and won’t be tolerated in the workplace.

Ensure it is Automated and Measurable 

Many businesses lack using a time off tracking system efficiently, which means that leave isn’t measured accurately and can be hard to manage. Companies need to allocate a specific number of days to employees for both planned and unplanned absences, including sick time, holiday time, bereavement time, potential jury duty and potential floating holidays, which will make budgeting simpler in the long run. Although, this won’t account for loss of productivity, impact on co-workers or missing project deadlines, it at least provides a base for estimating the overall cost and enables businesses to plan for them.

The impact to the business can be substantial, making it imperative that organizations have a strategy to successfully monitor the costs associated with staff absence.

Next week’s article will focus on annual leave entitlements and what companies need to know about employee rights when it comes to paid time off.


The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.