New research has found some major disconnects between employees, managers and leaders on what makes an organisation an employer of choice.

All of the 2,043 employees, managers and executive leaders canvassed for the Leadership, Employment and Direction (L.E.A.D) survey ranked recognition and reward, and learning and development, as the two most important criteria for recognition as an ’employer of choice’.

However, the report finds the values of each group start to differ from there.

Employees ranked paying above average salaries and bonuses for excellent performance as their third-most-important factor, for example, while leaders ranked this least important, and managers ranked it at mid-level.

But employers should not be overly worried about the emphasis employees place on pay, CEO of Leadership Management Australasia, Andrew Henderson, told HR Daily.

“People who have less engagement in their workplace are always more susceptible to leaving – and leaving for a bigger salary is one big drawcard,” he says, highlighting the fact 70 per cent of employees would move to another employer for a salary increase.

“‘I’m going because I’m not getting paid enough’ is often a symptom of, ‘I don’t like it here anymore, because I don’t really know where I fit. I might as well find a reason to go and get more money elsewhere’.

“If HR was to take action to address an issue, it would be more [important] to ensure their supervisors and managers are adequately skilled, and are putting important time aside to sit down with their key people to talk to them and communicate with them.”

Employees in the dark about prospects

The survey also found 37 per cent of employees think they are being kept in the dark about their personal future with their employers.

“Thirty-seven per cent of employees feel ‘I am not adequately communicated to, I don’t understand where my personal future is going’ – there is a direct correlation with people looking for jobs,” Henderson warns.

“In my role, make sure I understand, how is the business doing and where is it going? How does my role contribute to that direction and our… business growth, and what is my future? But don’t tell me that once, but give regular feedback and insight so that I understand progressively how we’re doing.”

To address this, Henderson suggests managers should:

• talk openly and candidly about the outlook for the organisation, particularly if the future looks bright;
• connect with individual team members to understand their motivations; and
• understand that the ways in which leaders and managers think and talk about the organisation and its people have an enormous bearing on performance and productivity.

Operating ethically and fairly

One surprise finding from the survey was how little importance managers placed on the need for organisations to operate ethically and fairly in order to be an employer of choice. Managers placed this very last in their rankings, while it was the third-most-important criteria for leaders, and employees placed it mid-range.

“That statistic also shows miscommunication or lack of communication on what the values of the organisation are, and whether the business is living or operating by those values,” Henderson says.

“From an HR point of view, make sure there is a common understanding of how the organisation defines fairness and openness, other than of course the legal implications of those words. Then once there’s a common understanding, and that may be constituted by [the organisation’s] values, make sure that there’s regular communication of the values – make sure the strategy references the values.

“I would even go one step further: make sure that the performance review discussions include reference to not only performance, but performance against values.”

Henderson recommends emphasising to supervisors and managers about the importance of communication impacting engagement, productivity, retention and the day-to-day culture of the organisation.

“And maybe breaking it down to bite-sized chunks for managers and supervisors, because they themselves are often very busy and it’s an issue of ‘time’ at times,” he says.

Article originally published in the HR Daily newsletter, Tuesday 17 November 2015

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always a result of commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort.” – Paul J. Meyer

The level of both manager and employee productivity is the key to success for the business as a whole. Without everyone operating to the best of their ability the business cannot make as much profit.

You don’t want your workplace to be a place where employees just show up to get paid. You want your employees to show up to work ready to put in the best effort they can and to enjoy doing it. As a manager, it is your responsibility to find the best ways of getting the most out of your staff. A manager’s job doesn’t stop when they recruit a great person for the job, work needs to be put in in order to turn any employee into a great asset to the company – harness their motivation and turn it into success.

The predominant issue with productivity is motivation. If staff lack motivation to do their jobs, then their productivity will automatically be low. There are many factors that can affect the motivation of employees, so it is recommended that you identify what is killing the motivation of your staff and try to rectify any situations that are causing them to lack productivity.

Here is a list of motivation killers to look out for and how to address them:

• Lack of vision – your staff need to know exactly what you expect of them and when you expect it. By setting clear goals and providing feedback along the way you help them to identify what you expect of them and aid them in delivering it. Make staff accountable for their goals and follow up on their progress. Make sure you avoid micro managing however, they are humans after all, not machines.
• Lack of professional development – it is a great idea to provide options to your employees to further develop themselves professionally, whether it be through short courses, workshops or just the ability to take on more projects or learn new programs. You can view LMA’s principles of learning to help you establish a direction for learning in your organisation.
• Lack of appreciation – It is a natural inclination for people to want to hear they are doing a good job, as it tends to make them perform better if they know what they are doing is being well received. A recent study by Harvard Medical School, in which they divided university fund-raisers into two group, showed that the group that received a pep talk about how much their efforts were appreciated ended up raising 50% more funds than the group that did not. You need to communicate to your staff when they are working effectively. There is no need to encourage everything that they do, but a reminder that they are working well will work wonders for their motivation.
• Poor communication – If you and your staff can’t communicate with each other effectively then you are going to notice a drop in their productivity. Your employees need to know exactly what is expected of them and how to rectify any changes, so it is important for effective communication to start with their manager. Through you, they will learn the best way to handle situations and communicate well with their colleagues. Communication is extremely important in any organisation, so to learn the best ways to communicate with your staff, take a look at our effective communication checklist to see how well your team is doing.
• Autocratic management styles – an autocratic management style is one where the manager makes decisions without much regard for their employees. As a result, this can affect employee’s morale if they feel that their opinion is not wanted or needed. While this leadership style can be beneficial at times, it can also be problematic in many ways. People who abuse this management style can be viewed as bossy and controlling, which can lead to resentment from staff. Researchers have found that autocratic management styles often result in a lack of creative solutions to problems, which can ultimately hurt the performance of a team or the company as a whole. Both the manager and any team leaders need to be sure that they don’t come across this way to employees and co-workers.
• Abrasive personalities – these are the kind of people that are likely fantastic at their jobs, but show little respect for those around them and tend to leave a trail of hurt feelings in their rush to the top. As a manager, you have the power and the responsibility to redirect these people in the right way and make them more effective members of their team. You need to point out your concern to their approach and what their desired behaviour should be, as well as any consequences that will arise if the behaviour continues. Do not concern yourself with their initial reaction, most people react defensively when they receive corrective feedback, the key is to reiterate your perspective to them. You will likely see a change in their behaviour, even if they reacted defensively at first.
• Toxic people – based on research by Holloway & Kusy, a toxic person is defined as “anyone who demonstrates a pattern of counterproductive work behaviours that debilitate individuals, teams and even the whole organisation over the longer term”. It is common for these types of people to create drama when there is none and it is detrimental to any working environment. A 2005 study by the Integral Leadership Review showed that 50% of staff surveyed had experienced “toxic” behaviour from a co-worker and had lost time worrying about it, of this group 50% contemplated leaving their jobs. A solution is not to simply fire these people, but to work with them to change their behaviours. Make every effort to develop them and let them experience consequences for their negative behaviour.

By addressing these issues you will create both a harmonious environment, as well as a productive one. This benefits not only your company, but the happiness of your employees. Developing your people to be the best they can be is one of the keys of being a great manager.

The road to success takes your whole team, so make sure they are the best team they can be.

Effective teamwork is an important aspect of any organisation’s success. There are many benefits of teamwork, most notably, an increase in motivation from your employees. A recent study by Stanford University showed that when people are treated as partners or team members – even when physically apart – their motivation increases. Motivation from your employees means more success for your company.

Developing an effective team in your organisation can seem like a simple and straightforward task, however it can be difficult to execute and put into practice. Members of your organisation want to be able to believe in the process and realise the wonderful outcomes that come from working together as opposed to individually; so it is up to the manager to ensure that enthusiasm is garnered and nourished.

The most important building block to develop and effective team is communication, so it is imperative to develop the necessary skills to communicate effectively with each other.

You want your employees to feel like they can put forth their ideas and express their feelings in an open environment, but you also need them to be keen listeners who are prepared to listen to the views of others. It can be easy for a team to fall apart quickly if its members favour their own personal goals over that of the team.

To keep the teamwork fire going, you need to establish regular and open lines of communication and monitor how the group interacts. Learning to communicate effectively is not a simple one step process and requires work from all sides. It is a great idea to have weekly meetings in which the manager is present in order to see how the team interacts with each and offer feedback on their achievements, as well as how the team meetings are running.

An effective team is one that has cohesion, to do this your team members need to exhibit the following skills:

• Openness – Team members need to be willing to get to know each other and open up about themselves, so they realised that they all have diverse backgrounds and interests. This helps them to be more open to new ideas and differing viewpoints.
• Trust – Team members need to trust each other enough to be comfortable with sharing ideas and feelings. As this trust builds, team members learn to be honest and respectful in their approach to each other.
• Respect – It is important for the team not to focus on who to blame when something goes wrong, instead they need to work out how to fix it and how to learn from the mistake. Constructive feedback and mutual respect rather than blame will help a team achieve results much faster.

Do you think the teams in your organisation are working efficiently and cohesively? What could you do as a manager to help this process? You can check how effective the teams within your organisation are by using our DIY Teamwork Analysis. It will only take you about 4 minutes to complete. Simply answer the questions and click submit, and you will immediately receive your insightful teamwork analysis report via email.