It’s not only from employees either – there are just as many business owners and managers out there who don’t seem to have a good word to say about them – one Shrewsbury business owner actually said to me with a deep sigh: “Oh no, not appraisal time again … I’d rather walk on burning coals!”

Yet, what’s wrong with taking time out to review progress, recognise successes, identify training and development needs and look for better ways of doing things?

I think the problem lies in TWO places: the WHAT and the HOW of performance appraisals.

The WHAT – a 12 page performance appraisal form and accompanying explanation booklet, the size of War and Peace, will frighten off the bravest manager and employee.

The HOW – a one-off annual performance appraisal with no other interim meetings, exchanges or management feedback, is rarely of value to employee, manager or organisation.

How to do a Performance Appraisal … well!

I challenge you to try this 6 Point Plan on How to do a Performance Appraisal … well! and see what a difference it makes!

1) For starters, KEEP IT SIMPLE – anything more than a couple of sheets of paper and you’re setting yourself up to fail before you begin.  A concise prompt form (see below) – ideally a page long is all you need.

2) Focus on 2-3 WORK OBJECTIVES – anything more is a waste of time (in my opinion!) – yes, it does help if they can be specific, measureable, achievable and timed!

3) Include a couple of STRETCH OBJECTIVES – something that will excite, challenge, stretch or develop your member of staff, not frighten them to death.

4) Be radical and APPRAISE more often – a shorter more regular appraisal meeting can be far more motivating than a once a year, three hour epic conversation.  They should also be supplemented with ongoing, good ‘ol face-to-face, two-way communications.

5) Give ALL-ROUND FEEDBACK a go (360 degree feedback sounds too much like geometry!) – managers really should know what their staff think of them and employees should know what their peers think too – a simple anonymous list of strengths and areas for improvement can be extremely valuable.

6) TRY IT! – a process can always be changed and improved, but the challenge is to make Performance Appraisals an important part of the business process, not an irksome add-on – that only comes with practice.

Still not sure, well add a comment below or pop a note on my contact form and I’ll send you my FREE one sheet Performance Appraisal Prompt Sheet to get you started. No excuses!

Look forward to hearing how it goes.

Kay

Some thought provoking questions for the modern Family Business.

As we approach the start of another new financial year, now is a good time to do a bit of  reflection to check that your ‘family’ and your ‘business’ are in alignment, for the health and prosperity of all those involved!

Take this 5 minute FAMILY BUSINESS HEALTH CHECK CHALLENGE and see where it leads:

A. Emotional Commitment

1. Do involved family members have strong emotional ties with the business? YES/NO

B. Ownership and Inclusion

2. Are relevant family members involved in decision making? YES/NO

3. Do family members gain a sense of achievement working in the business? YES/NO

C. Youngsters

4. Are younger members encouraged to be involved in the business? YES/NO

5. Are younger members helped to gain relevant skills for the business? YES/NO

D. Emotional Attachment

6. Are family members involved in the business because they want to be? YES/NO

7.  Do family members actively promote the business even when they are off duty? YES/NO

E. Entrepreneurial Spirit

8. Are new ideas from family members encouraged and embraced? YES/NO

F. Career Enrichment

9. Are family members given opportunities to develop? YES/NO

10. Are family members given a career path within the business? YES/NO

G. Future Proof

11.Is there an exit strategy/succession plan for the current business leaders? YES/NO

12. Are future business ideas and plans shared with family members? YES/NO

NB: Not all these questions will be relevant – but that’s OK – they are there to help you clarify what is relevant for your own particular family business and to explore if there are better ways of doing things.

If you have 9-12 YES’s, Well Done – you clearly have excellent communication channels between family members and are in good shape to take positive and united steps forward for the benefit of the business and the family. Please do share your top tips in the space below.

If you have 5-8 YES’s, Good – you are well on your way to have a cohesive family-centric business strategy, but do look carefully at your methods of communication, checking that it is a two-way process and actively seek the input of family members – you might be missing some great suggestions! Let me know if you’d like a few ideas to re-energise those communications.

If you have 0-4 YES’s Use this as an opportunity to look at things a little differently, question your methods, listen and seek feedback from other family members and perhaps even  share a bit of the business burden with some of them? Let me know if you’d like help facilitating these discussions.

For other Family Business Articles and Free Resources that might interest you, just click on the links below:

Family Business Fairy Tale (HR Video)

Keeping it in the Family

Family Business Charter

Fluttering Rights – an HR Story (FREE e-book)

I’m always happy to answer HR questions – just give me a call on 05600 434 727 or email me: kay@kayhealdhr.co.uk

For dealing with staffing issues big and small

There has been a lot of talk recently about employment legislation: will the government be cutting employment red tape, what will the tribunal reforms actually do, will the extension of rights to claim unfair dismissal make a difference to employment?  The list goes on …

Firstly, I urge all employers to pause, take a step back and remember what employment legislation was originally introduced for!  Sometimes it is hard to believe, but the legislation was quite rightly introduced to protect workers from unscrupulous employers and business owners!  In subsequent years, EU influences and successive UK governments have over complicated the whole employment arena and introduced a baffling array of legal obstacles that can penalise the very businesses the original laws hoped to encourage and promote!

Despite these obstacles, I strongly believe that all you small business employers and family businesses out there should not despair. For you have a very powerful weapon at your disposal – YOUR COMMON SENSE!

From my experience, it is the companies that nurture good relations with their staff, promote transparent people systems and encourage open communication channels who run into far fewer employment problems.  When occasional problems do occur in these organisations, they have straightforward processes to follow that help them resolve most issues efficiently and effectively, in a calm and reasonable way.  There are no dark HR arts or alchemy at play, just a bit of forward planning and common sense.

To help Shropshire businesses get off to a flying start in 2012, I would like to share with you the KHHR Employer’s Common Sense Toolkit for dealing with staffing issues big and small (irrespective of legislative changes):

1. Set the Ground Rules – make sure you agree (and communicate) what people are expected to do and what systems they must follow, to reduce uncertainties
2. Write it Down – it may sound obvious, but whether you employ one or twenty people, don’t leave things to misinterpretation.  Ensure you provide all staff with their terms and conditions in writing and get into the habit of noting down conversations about performance or behaviour, to avoid doubt or confusion.
3. Keep it Private – even if you have a small business with few processes, make sure you keep any staffing issues private and confidential
4. Stay Calm – staffing issues and problems can easily become fraught and emotional, but it is important to remain calm and act with integrity
5. Nip it in the Bud – always deal with problems quickly, fairly and consistently (seek professional HR expertise where necessary – the earlier the better)
6. Know Your People – find out how and what makes your employees ‘tick’  so that you can find the most appropriate way of tackling difficult subjects with your people
7. Walk in Their Shoes – remember what it was like being an employee and be prepared to listen to all sides – this can help guide the approach you take with a specific employment matter (have a peek at my earlier article: First Impressions for some further ideas when taking on new staff)

Make a note of these 7 steps, give them a try and let me know how you get on!

If you’re new to my website, I recommend the following HR articles for more tips, ideas and practical advice, try:

Employee Engagement

Aren’t you Retiring Yet

and

Keeping it in the Family

I’m always happy to answer niggling HR questions – just give me a call on 05600 434 727 or email me: kay@kayhealdhr.co.uk

Yes, to start with I did feel a bit intimidated, but during my conversations with the other attendees I was reminded of Seth Godin’s excellent blog entitled ‘Small is the New Big’.  It wasn’t until that evening had I really understood how many advantages I had as a small business, over my larger competitors.

Building quality relationships with my clients was so much easier for me than it was for many of them!

Loads of examples kept popping into my head, but here are my favourite ones, which I know will apply to lots of other small enterprises:

Attentive – I listen to my clients and work hard to understand what challenges and emotional issues affect them, so that I can find the very best practical HR solutions

Flexible – I address my widely differing clients’ needs (and their budgets), from the micro businesses employing their first member of staff to the multi-generational business preparing to hand over the reins to a younger family member

Caring – I take time to learn about my clients and look for ways to make their lives a little easier and less stressful, from translating legal employment jargon into practical responses, to helping them build and develop better communications with their staff

Responsive to Change – I find practical ways to use best practice and technological changes to assist my clients, from helping them invest in their people, to embracing relevant social media to help them with their recruitment

Decisive – I can make decisions quickly, so that an escalating staffing issue can be dealt with in a professional and timely way

I may not have come away from Birmingham with a trophy this time (I came 4th!), but I have been blown away by the amazing local support I received during and after the awards, not only for my work, but my attempts in taking on the bigger professional service firms!

As my Mum always told me: ‘the best things come in small packages’

If you have any other advantages to add to this list, please do put them in the comments section below.

Seeing your business through the eyes of a new member of staff can be a very levelling, as well as an extremely valuable, experience.

Here’s a short story to illustrate:

Sidney the Snail started working for Flutterby two months ago.  Flutterby are a long-established family firm of butterflies, providing flights to non-winged insects and Sidney is their first non-family employee. (If you’ve not read about his recruitment, I hope you will make a short detour to look at Fluttering Rights).

This is what Sidney wrote down about his first impressions of Flutterby:

Well, it is rather different, that’s for sure – they all seem to know what’s going on, but never stay still long enough for me to ask more than one question at a time!  Frankly, I’m used to a much slower pace. Nothing is written down and everyone is far too busy to explain anything.  However, they did make me feel welcome by finding a cool, dark, damp corner to work in and I’m also allowed to help myself to their lettuces at lunch time!

I haven’t even met all my work colleagues yet!  Although I have spent a little bit of time with Petal (who used to do my job), she’s desperate to start flying again with her other brothers and sisters – so I feel I’m a nuisance.  I do think she feels a bit guilty for leaving things in such a pickle!

It’s certainly going to be a challenge – what is frustrating is that I know I can help them and even save them lots of money.  I’m worried that they won’t like some of my proposed changes, that is if they stay still long enough for me to explain anything to them!

Flutterby meant well, but they didn’t think about how they would help Sidney settle in their Company, other than where he would sit and what he would eat! Sidney was recruited because he had the very skills and experience that the Company lacked, but they did not take time to prepare for his arrival or consider his different working requirements.  Preparing a short induction programme would have helped Sidney:

• Learn about the Company, its aims and objectives

• Understand the Company’s way of working

• Meet all his fellow colleagues

• Understand how best to communicate with others

• Understand how his role fitted into the Company

• Discuss the job role in more detail

• Contribute to the Company much more quickly

The next time you take on a new member of staff, make sure you plan for their arrival and don’t be afraid to ask them for their first impressions.  Finally, always remember to seek feedback on your induction methods and how the process could be further developed and improved.

Please feel free to share any ‘new employee’ stories or experiences in the space below.

For practical ideas, checklists and help with induction programmes, just drop a quick email to: kay@kayhealdhr.co.uk

Look out for Sidney’s Solution early next year: Sidney finds out how to introduce his new systems to Flutterby, with a bit of professional HR help!

When would you like to leave?

Strange as it may sound, planning for the day you depart your own business can be a very valuable exercise. Retirement ages might not be that relevant to you and your family business, but ensuring there is an open dialogue about your preferred retirement options, has never been more important.

Understanding both your own long term aims and that of your business enables future staffing needs to be aligned with business strategy, ensures continuity of leadership and business stability.

You may decide to: partly or fully retire, handover the reins to a family or non-family member or even sell up. If you’re going to be replaced (at some point!), consider using a SUCCESSION PLAN to help ensure a smooth and organised transition, with minimum business disruption and emotional upheaval.

A good succession plan should provide answers to the following TEN key questions:

1. What type of succession will it be? eg complete removal or partial removal
2. Who will succeed you? eg a family member already in the business, a family member not involved with the business, a non-family employee or an external candidate
3. What is your timeframe for departure?
4. Will the succession create other job vacancies in the business?
5. What will the new organisation chart look like?
6. Will the chosen successor require specific training, development or coaching?
7. What legal changes will need to be made to the business?
8. What risks could be associated with the transition? eg impact of change on customers, clients, suppliers, other family members etc
9. What communication methods will be used to let all stakeholders know about the changes?
10. What are the financial implications of the transition? eg recruitment costs, training/development/coaching costs, remuneration and benefits packages etc

Setting timetables and milestones to review the plan will help keep it relevant and realistic.  It will also be useful in the event you need or want to leave earlier or later than anticipated.  Finally, without wanting to sound too pessimistic, don’t forget to think about a contingency plan – just in case your replacement doesn’t quite work out!

If you’d like help in drawing up your Succession Plan, or would just like to talk through some of these ideas in more detail, give me a call on: 05600 343 727 or email me: kay@kayhealdhr.co.uk.

For a more entertaining approach to succession planning, have a look at: Family Business Fairytale – A Royal Succession

If you’d like to see more material related to Family Businesses, try: Keeping it in the Family; Family Business Charter and Fluttering Rights