BSBWOR401AESTABLISH EFFECTIVE WORKPLACE RELATIONSHIPS

PRESENTATION 4

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

At the end of this presentation you will be able to:

• Manage difficulties into positive outcomes

• Manage poor work performance

• Manage conflict constructively

MANAGE DIFFICULTIES INTO POSITIVE OUTCOMES

Identify and analyse difficulties/Guide and support colleagues

Managers or staff members may adopt an attitude of ignorance when

it comes to situations that create or cause difficulties.

Some of the reasons why these situations are ignored

include: Lack of confidence from management in resolving situations

Lack of training for staff members on how to handle difficult situations

Some managers do not like confrontation

Managers or staff members may be too busy to address a situation

Managers may feel the situation is not that serious and resolution can wait

Some managers may be worried that confronting the problem could make it worse

If managers or staff members are concerned about addressing situations for any of the above reasons, then it is likely that further training is required in these areas.

MANAGE DIFFICULTIES INTO POSITIVE OUTCOMES

Further training could be provided to help staff members to

further develop their skills in resolving or addressing

situations:

Conflict resolution Leadership skills

Supervisory skills Managing conflict in the workplace

Handling difficult people Assertiveness and coaching skills

Any negative conflicts or situations need to be managed immediately and appropriately - they can often increase in severity quite quickly.

MANAGE DIFFICULTIES INTO POSITIVE OUTCOMES

Where there are high levels of conflict in a workplace, it is likely the

workplace itself is not functioning in an effective or productive

manner. Some situations which could be considered difficult

and could create conflict include:

Conflict between staff members that is not addressed immediately

New technology implementation and staff members are not fully training in

how to use it

Under staffing creating the need for some staff members to work long hours

Bullying or harassment in the workplace that is not addressed immediately

Unclear goals and direction

Personality issues

Budget restraints

Resource availability

MANAGE DIFFICULTIES INTO POSITIVE OUTCOMES

As a direct result of the above mentioned situations, the following can

occur:

• Customer complaints may rise

• The organisation may lose customers

• Staff turnover may increase

• Staff will be less motivated to work

• Staff will no longer feel loyalty towards the organisation

• Staff will begin to operate in less ethical ways

• There will be increased conflict between other staff members and

management

• Inconsistency in job role and job function definitions

• Staff members will not be working in alignment with mission and vision

statements

MANAGE DIFFICULTIES INTO POSITIVE OUTCOMES

Managers must learn to deal with conflict or difficult situations in an

appropriate and fair manner to everyone involved. People may

have conflict with others for a variety of reasons, and some of

these reasons are:

• When we meet someone, they may have been having a bad day

which sets the scene for how we react to them in future

• We may be reminded of someone we dislike already

• We have a gut feeling and just don’t trust them

• We perceive them as unfriendly

MANAGE DIFFICULTIES INTO POSITIVE OUTCOMES

An effective manager needs to ensure that they guide their staff

members to help resolve any conflict or difficult situation as soon as

is feasible to do so. Some of the ways in which they can do this

include:

• Providing coaching to staff

• Encourage staff member to act as mentors to other staff

• Further training

• Providing sessions on conflict resolution

• Offer relevant training on legislation

• Provide regular meetings to encourage staff to communicate

REGULARLY REVIEW AND IMPROVE WORKPLACE

Workplace outcomes relate directly to productivity and output of

work produced by staff members. Benchmarking and providing

standards are a good way to measure whether or not work goals are

being achieved and results are as expected. Once a manager has a

benchmark with which to set the standards, they can compare

outputs based on:

• Quality of work produced

• Cost to produce the work

• How many units have been produced or what service is being

offered

• The time it has taken to produce the units/ service that is being

provided

REGULARLY REVIEW AND IMPROVE WORKPLACE

Managers can develop -> Performance Management Plan (good

way to check for consistency in the job function)

Þ Check on work output and quality

Þ Referred to Performance Review and Performance Appraisals

Most PMP programs will give the staff a considerable amount of

input whereby they can rate themselves first and their manager

will then agree or disagree, based on their performance (can

incorporate development objectives)=> Reviews.

These reviews are an effective way for managers to be able to give

staff members’ feedback. When a review is done properly, it can be a

very powerful tool to help motivate staff.

REGULARLY REVIEW AND IMPROVE WORKPLACE

Within any organisation there are procedures relating to how

employees are monitored in terms of work performance, Performance

Management Plans or Reviews will be one of these.

Continuous improvement practices that can be implemented =>

Increase staff productivity and encourage staff development

An effective continuous improvement process is one where everyone

in the organisation gets involved. By involving all staff, they are given

an opportunity to take ownership and responsibility for the

continual improvement within the organisation.

Open and honest communication by way of transparency in

dealings with staff is a good way to get feedback on the

process itself.

REGULARLY REVIEW AND IMPROVE WORKPLACE

Staff members need to be aware of the processes, changes to

procedures and any other changes that can impact their jobs or

job roles, and can be advised by any of the following means:

- Company face-to-face meetings

- Emails

- Blogs

- Newsletters

- Regular conferences

- Tele-conference or video conference

REGULARLY REVIEW AND IMPROVE WORKPLACE

Feedback needs to be sourced from relevant staff to ensure that

performance is monitored and the information collected and collated

is utilised to the best advantage of the organisation.

Feedback can be obtained in any of the following ways:

- Questionnaires

- Surveys

- Anonymous staff surveys

- General feedback forms

- Suggestion boxes

- Brainstorming sessions

- Meetings

MANAGE POOR WORK PERFORMANCE

When employees are not working to the standards expected by the

company, it could be for a number of reasons:

- Lack of job knowledge

- Lack of confidence in their ability to perform the job

- Personal issue at home/in the workplace

- Conflict with other staff members/with management

- Financial problems

- Drug and alcohol or gambling problems

- Divorce or illness

- Inability to cope with job stress

MANAGE POOR WORK PERFORMANCE AND CONFLICT CONSTRUCTIVELY

When any of issues are present in the workplace or with an

employee, a manager needs to take action.

If it is a personal issue out of the control of the manager, perhaps

the employee can be given some time off work, leave without pay,

take some annual leave, or be referred to a counselling service

or another specialist service that can help.

Organisations offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) where

employees can utilise free counselling if required.

If the issue is work related, the manager needs to take immediate

action to attempt to rectify the problem to prevent it from escalating

out of control.

MANAGE POOR WORK PERFORMANCE AND CONFLICT CONSTRUCTIVELY

Managers have a responsibility to their staff to make sure that:

Issues that need resolution can be resolved in a confidential and appropriate manner

Support services are available if and when required

They offer performance counselling to their staff when appropriate

They detect any issues and stop or control them before they get out of hand

They are fair when dealing with situations related to their staff

They agree on future actions with staff members

Some of the ways in which a manager can offer performance counselling to staff include:

- Maintaining confidentiality at all times

- Performance manage the staff member

- Document meeting discussions

- Follow-up on all conversations and meetings

For more details, please refer to the eBook.

PRESENTATION SUMMARY

Now that you have completed this presentation you will know about:

• Managing difficulties into positive outcomes

• Managing poor work performance

• Managing conflict constructively