1 Stop HR

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Stressed out Employees?

If you haven’t signed up for our newsletter – you are missing out!  Each month we deliver two quick HR related articles – one geared toward management and the other toward job seekers or employees.  Here is a sample of this month’s article geared to managers:

Having problems with your employees saying that they are stressed out?

Unfortunately this is much too common these days with employers looking to do more with less people in order to save money.  The impact on our people is great.  So what is it that you can do as a manager to positively impact your team?

Here are some thoughts:

Encourage time off.  Everyone needs and deserves time away from work.  There are many studies that point to increased productivity to those that truly get away.  They come back refreshed, reenergized and more focused.  Whether this is time during the work day to take a break outside of the office, or whether this is time off.  Ensure your people take this very valuable time.

Maintain a positive attitude.  Smile.  Your employees will see this and appreciate it.  A smile and positive attitude is contagious!  And…it doesn’t cost anything!

Listen to your people.  What are they saying?  Are there things you can do to improve the work environment?  Are you responding?

Celebrate!  Celebrate team accomplishments!  Whether it is a cake, a fruit tray, a pat on the back, gift certificates etc., ensure to notice and celebrate these milestones.  It will allow employees to look back on their hard work and know it was all worth it.

Have fun!  What can you do to encourage some fun and some laughter?  Team building, a bulletin board with comics and funny stories, a fun column added to the employee newsletter…think outside of the box.

Flex time – do you offer it?  Look at establishing core hours and creating some flex time in and around these times as long as the hours of work are put in in a day.

Stress management workshops.  Consider offering a workshop to your employees to provide them with some additional tools to assist with coping mechanisms.

Workload.  Have you looked at the workload?  Is it too much?  Can it be spread out?  Can you hire more people?  Is there anything that can be done to minimize a consistently very heavy workload?

Burnout is very common and employers lose many employees due to prolonged exposure to stress in the workplace.  Keep “in tune” with your people, talk about stress, discuss solutions and act on them.  When employees see action, and understand that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it will help carry them through these periods.

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How Do I Ask for a Raise?

I have been asked this question a few times lately, so I thought I would jot down a few comments.  This is probably one of the more difficult things to face as an employee.  If we are feeling underpaid and undervalued and have not had a salary review in over a year, we start to think about planning for THAT discussion.  Even if there is a scheduled review, we still have to plan and be preprepared.  There was a key word in that sentence – “Prepared”.  That is what you must be when you are about to sit down at the bargaining table.  So what do you do to prepare.  Here are some tips:

Jot down notes of your major accomplishments and “wow” factors since your last raise – have back up info if you need to.
Search for jobs in your local area and print off reports where there are salaries noted that are within the range you believe you need to be at.
Do some salary review searches – some of the popular job search engines have these for free. Print off your findings for this and the previous point’s findings of current jobs with the salary you are looking for.
Think about what it is that your boss/manager will say to you – be prepared with answers to help you substantiate your case.
Be prepared that there may be some additional actions on your part like:  courses, certifications, etc that you may be able to take to move you to that next level – have these as back pocket items.
Once you are “armed” with all of this information, you will be much more prepared for the discussion.  Stay positive, take the word “feel” out of your sentences when talking about the fact that you are looking for a raise,

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I am not IN Customer Service??!

Ahhh but I beg to differ! Even if your job title doesn’t specifically say “Customer Service” I would argue that customer service is still important in your job!

I was recently at an important medical appointment. One I had been anticipating and waiting for for quite a while. My husband came with me to the appointment. This specialist was a well educated and tenured individual. My husband and I were completely shocked at the experience we had over the 45 minute appointment. This professional was rude, unprofessional, cut me off, made me feel insignificant, and at one point even started physically pulling her hair out with both hands as if to suggest how frustrated she was. I almost walked out of the room and my husband, so shocked, stopped her and told her that the way she was conducting herself was completely unprofessional. Never EVER had we experienced anything like this in our lives. This person was very detailed as to what information she was looking for in her questions, but without knowing what was in her head, she became frustrated when she didn’t hear what she was looking for. I could go on and on here but truly without sitting in the room, it is hard to actually describe the experience. It is one I will never forget.

So, do you think that a medical specialist should provide good customer service – Absolutely! Do you think I would ever give her a recommendation? As a matter of fact, what do you think was the first thing I did when I got home? Yup…I made a call to my doctor’s office to request a new specialist and told them of my experience. I would imagine that they will think twice about referring patients her way.

How about a librarian? What about a letter carrier? What about a pooper scooper? Absolutely everyone is involved in customer service. Your “customer” may not be someone at a cash register, it may be an internal customer like another team or individual that you hand work to…We all make an impression – the goal is to make a lasting POSITIVE impression that brings in repeat business.

Have you thought about your customer service lately? How is it? Can you improve? What would your “customers” say about you?

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Happiness

I thought I would write a little bit of a different post today…  It has been a long cold winter here in Ontario Canada and at times, this can get people down and longing to see the sunshine and feel the warmth!  Besides weather, life can just get us down!  The news seems to be filled with bad news, as we get older we have more aches and pains and see more health problems with those around us, our jobs can overwhelm us and the list continues.  The intent is not to make this a “downer” blog, but to point out that so many people go through this same “stuff” so why is it that they don’t get down and always seem to be happy?  The truth is, they probably do get down as well, however they are able to rise above and look to see the positives.

For those of you that know me well, you know my father faced a number of life threatening illnesses throughout his 67 years of life.  He was an inspiration to many.  He fought to continue to practice medicine and fought to survive every day.  With so many obstacles in his way, many would ask…”how do you keep going?”  He would say, “because there is always someone out there worse off than me.”  And it is so true.  Many times we can get so caught up in our daily lives and feel sorry for ourselves, when really, what we are going through, is nothing compared to someone else.

Life throws us curve balls, it tests us, it can make things difficult, but we have a gift and that gift is life.  What we do with it and how we choose to respond to these challenges is up to us.  We CAN choose happiness.

I found an article that helps to answer what some people do to keep “happy”.  I hope it provides you with some inspiration to get through the tough times and enjoy life to its fullest!  No job is worth unhappiness,

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/7-things-remarkably-happy-people-do-more.html

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Core Duty of Managers

As I have been sitting here putting the final touches on a full day workshop for a management group, I am swimming with all kinds of thoughts in my head around the core duties of a manager. We can absolutely talk about what makes an effective manager, we can talk about the importance of feedback, conflict management, and so many other components that make a manager great, however I find myself continually going back to one main trait.

Can you guess what it is?

Think about when you have been an employee and the major complaints that you had….

Ok, here it is…listening.  Everything seems to stem from this imperative skill.  If a manager isn’t listening to his or her team, listening to the comments, complaints, concerns, that come forward, they can’t effectively manage, improve and enhance the team.  If a manager doesn’t truly show the team that they are listening and ACTIVELY listening, they will lose the respect of their team. Confidence in their abilities will diminish and the downward spiral begins.

I consider Active Listening to be among the most important management functions, from here there are so many other things that all come into play to strengthen the management relationship and effectiveness.

Are you a great listener?  What makes you a great listener? What could you improve upon?

Learn More About US

1 STOP HR was founded by Christie Ferguson, CHRP CHRL Christie is a certified Human Resources Professional & Leader with many years of hands on HR expertise.

Contact US

Tel: 226-750-3160
Email: info@1stophrconsulting.com

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