It’s the ultimate “bad news” message and the one we hope we will never have to give to someone. It is unlikely that you will go through your management career without ever having to dismiss someone and in today’s climate, the chances that you will are ever-increasing. So here are a few do’s and don’ts to help you approach this task with a little more confidence.

 Do’s

• Dismiss bullies – they are self-centred and will do all in their power to destroy your team members and you, if you let them
• Dismiss non-contributors. They “consume” your time, other people’s time and the organisation’s resources and give little in return.
• Have a robust process for selection in the event of multiple redundancies and make sure it focuses on the skills/ competencies needed for the future
• Expect emotional outbursts and get trained on how to deal with them
• Tell the person concerned in private. Obvious but you’d be surprised.
• Treat the person concerned with dignity and leave your personal feelings to one side. Very hard but empathy means staying emotionally detached.

 Don’ts

• Loose your “cool”. You are a manager – you are expected to behave professionally even if the other person doesn’t.
• Instantly dismiss. It sounds very macho but will usually cost your organisation a lot of money in the end. For gross misconduct, suspend and re-engage when you are in control.
• Do it on a Friday afternoon because you have been dreading it all week. It will ruin the weekend – for both of you.
• Use euphemisms like “downsizing”, “letting you go”, “organisational re-engineering”. They may make you feel better but they only confuse or make people angry when they translate the real meaning.
• Tell someone “I know exactly how you feel” unless you have been dismissed yourself.
• “Delegate” the task of telling the bad news to anyone else (including the HR department). For “delegation” read “abdication” – only reigning monarchs can get away with this and still survive!

If you are in doubt and need some professional support drop me a line at:

gerry@gem-associates.com or call me on (44) 1270 666541. This is one task you do need help with.

 Let’s be honest about it, making people redundant is never going to be anything but unpleasant for you and the people directly affected. There is no way it can ever be a “pleasant” experience. However it does not have to be nasty and there is a way that both you and the people concerned can come through the experience with some respect for each other. And the key elements are having a procedure which is thoroughly professional combined with good old-fashioned face-to-face communication.

 I want to start with the last issue first because there are some tasks which can only and should only be carried out by a face-to-face to face meeting and telling someone they are about to lose their job is one of them. “Bad news” should never be e-mailed or tweeted.

In fact what prompted me to write this article was receiving some bad news myself recently by e-mail. Briefly I was asked if I could deliver some training on Diversity and Equal Opportunities at very short notice. It meant some long hours of preparation over the weekend but I was happy to oblige. You can imagine my disappointment and yes anger to receive an e-mail two days later to tell me that the client was now seeking proposals from other sources and would contact me if they required my services. It wasn’t the message that irked me but the way it was delivered. No discussion, no exchange of views, no engagement.  A telephone call would have been nice.

 Now for some positive stuff, which demonstrates the benefits of face-to-face communication. I recently helped a client who had to make some staff redundant. They were natural entrepreneurs with an excellent product but had been caught by the economic down-turn. They had never been in this position before and were not looking forward to doing it but they were determined to do it correctly.   Here are some points they learned which you may find useful.

• Make sure you have a good business case and can back it up with some hard numbers.
• Call all staff together and tell them the situation.
• Ask them for co-operation and alternatives –they may surprise you!
• If redundancies are compulsory, have a rigorous selection process which identifies skills for the future and can be used to identify who will be redundant and why.
• Train line managers to use the process and how to deliver “bad news” face to face with empathy.
• Use your contacts to help them job-seek. Many people don’t know how.
• Look after the “survivors”. Many people feel survivor’s guilt even though they are glad they were not chosen.
• Where you have trade unions work with them but do not delegate the communication process. Managers manage, trade unions represent.

Giving “bad news” was never going to be pleasant. But during the exercise I heard several people tell the company managers that they were impressed at the professional, sincere and honest way the exercise was carried out. 

Need some help? Why not contact me on: (44) 1270 666541 or (44) 7801 272666 or e-mail me at: gerry@gem-associates.com

Most people hate meetings for several reasons. First, too many meetings don’t have agendas that are followed. Second, bad meetings stray off the agenda and chase rabbits. Third, bad meetings don’t result in any actions or decisions. And fourth, poorly run meetings are just plain unproductive and a huge waste of our precious time.

To make an immediate improvement, invite only those people who will get something out of the meeting. This goes for recurring meetings too. Only have people come if they are going to contribute and/or get something out of the meeting.

Encourage brevity. Ask people to circulate lengthy reports in advance by email. Let people give high-level summaries but don’t let status reports turn into lengthy monologues. Try to focus on the information that the meeting as a whole needs to know.

Some Tips
Have an agenda and stick to it.
Block half the time you usually do for meetings and keep strict time .
Don’t tolerate late starts.
Consider banning mobiles or laptops from meetings-especially short sessions-to prevent participants from zoning out.
Consider holding a stand-up meeting, which research shows may cut meeting length by as much as a third.
If there are follow-up or action items, make it crystal clear who should be doing what and who is accountable.

If a meeting needs to take place, and you have whittled it down only to the people who need to attend, it is time to make sure the meeting is focussed on what it needs to achieve. Make sure you have an agenda in place, and circulated to all participants, at least 24 hours before the meeting start time. And it’s no good having an agenda if you don’t stick to it. Sure, major issues could arise before the meeting, but anyone who vitally needs to discuss that now can speak to you before the meeting starts. Don’t let rambling diversions occur in the meeting itself.

Do whatever you can to start and end on time. If people arrive late, don’t pause to fill them in. A good strategy for keeping your meeting on schedule is to send the agenda out ahead of time, allowing attendees to review the items and come prepared for discussion.

  Virtually all workers in the UK really want to be successful, boost their careers and maximize their revenue. In these demanding times, it’s not enough any longer simply to do your job efficiently. You really need to acquire a broad selection of business skills that will amplify your value to the company. Here’s some information regarding business skills along with the training that likely will help you attain them.

Essential Business Skills

In most simple terms, business skills emphasise four basic concepts: decision making, organisation, delegation and negotiation. Without these skills and the capability to use them effectively, it’s practically impossible to improve your career. Business skills training helps you focus on these in addition to numerous important strategies and tactics that you’ll need to succeed.

Business Skills Training Methods

Some companies send workers to off-site training. Others provide training sessions within the workplace. One other technique that’s swiftly earning favour is internet training courses that are presented over the web on demand. Students can access the training when and anyplace it’s convenient for them and even are able to repeat parts of the tutorials if necessary. As a matter of fact, in some cases it’s possible to repeat the whole course. What might you anticipate from this type of course? Read further in order to discover more.

 Business Skills Training Topics

One critical talent needed by profitable personnel is sound and effective decision-making. Business knowledge training provides you with the tools needed to make the appropriate decision in a assortment of business circumstances. You will find out how to determine the measures important to make high quality decisions. A lot of employees have problems with disorganisation, which then may have a large influence on job performance, Good business skills training helps you identify and put into action tactics for getting as well as remaining organised, including routine tasks like organising your work location. You learn tested techniques for prioritising your workload and for handing out responsibility effectively. You’ll be trained to overcome any resistance you might have to delegating. Yet another important business ability is negotiation. Business skills training imparts the rules of negotiation, including how to recognise and correctly taking care of issues whilst considering the other individual’s perspective, desires and specifications. An additional factor of business ability training involves helping you to deal with issues from a neutral position that causes a win-win outcome.

 Other Essential Business Traits

Communication is a vitally important business skill that most training programs handle, along with business law, business analysis, finance, leadership skills, accounting, and team creation. Other crucial skills include task management, strategic planning, operations, marketing and knowledge management. Some programs also provide counsel on issues like customer satisfaction, administrative support, human resources, sales, management and personal growth. Lastly, the thought of a strategic review finishes off any successful set of business expertise. Strategic review consists of looking at future issues, including resources, policies, directions, trends and goals. Whilst frequently within the scope of upper managers, strategic review can help at other levels of the business, including operational management.

Business skills training inside the UK helps workers at all levels of a company perform more effectively.

Managing IT tasks requires a diversity of ability, both technological and trade. Numerous UK businesses decide on an incorporated method to IT project management by adopting a precise, phase-oriented strategy with a confirmed track record of accomplishment. To be sure that key employees subscribe to and realize the essential philosophy of IT project management, corporations are employing training businesses to provide extensive education on established project management theories and procedures. For the most versatility and cost effectiveness, these lessons are delivered by way of the Web, instead of sending workers to possibly on-site or off-site courses. These are some details concerning the information that is typically covered in a Web IT project management program.

 Lesson 1: Selection and Notions Phase

 In this phase, the IT venture is acknowledged along with prominent stakeholders in the industry. Stakeholder support is requested and solidified and financial alternatives are explored and instituted. The project team learns how to design an extensive IT business case and project charter.

 IT Project Management Training – Lesson 2: Requirements Period

A secure IT project management training course teaches team members methods by which to recognise and document patron demands and to make the significant difference between practical and technical specifications. The class also explores the various procedures for gathering and identifying demands. Finally, a undertaking conditions traceability methodology is explained.

 Lesson 3: Development Cycle

 To help~learners take care of this important cycle, an IT project management class will educate on how to scale the essential aspects of the project approach. After scoping, all work constituents are identified and implemented into a work breakdown structure. Consequently, this structure becomes the basis for the undertaking routine.

 IT Project Management Training – Lesson 4: Style Phase

 Aspects covered in this section of the training will need to include basic and actual design pursuits that will put in the picture the content of a technical plan document. Yet another factor involves identifying which design strategies will need to be utilised.

 Lesson 5: Creation Period

 Pursuits covered in this training include building a project group that constructs and delivers the product or service. Also produced is a excellent assurance team that generates a test strategy and acknowledges other related QA pursuits. Production of a risk response technique is a vital sector of this period.

 IT Project Management Training – Lesson 6: Delivery Stage

 IT project management training regarding this stage needs to cover main actions, conversion tactics plus the changeover from development to incorporation, i.e., “going live.” Here the project scope is verified and client acceptance tactics are developed.

 Learners will gain from this training course the capacity to use project management techniques, concepts and tools to fulfil the singular issues of supervising an industry IT infrastructure. By including factors such as systems amalgamation and human means, learners must obtain the expertise important for bringing complex IT projects in on time and on budget, particularly, building a dynamic, results-driven team of professionals and identifying, deducing and supervising the actual project needs. Other pertinent jobs, such as producing a targeted project plan and evaluating project expenses and schedules, furthermore are covered.

 IT project management training for UK IT professionals is an vital component of business computing solutions.

Everywhere you go, you discover small businesses that truly want to improve their stature. Small businesses offer a healthy boost to just about any economy and are a significant aspect of everyday living. Such organizations need to ensure that their workers are able to perform at optimum levels and to maximize workers’ skills. In order to achieve this, countless companies use small business training as a method of making their businesses better. The positive aspects of this type of training are plentiful and can mean the difference between a burgeoning, successful organization, and a company that cannot relate with consumers.

Small Business Training

 One of the main things a small business must do when it comes to enacting a training program is to identify specified goals that they aspire to achieve. If a company wants to concentrate on a particular aspect of their services, subsequently they will want employees to display enhanced skills in that individual area. It may also be the case that a number of employees may need training that enhances their effectiveness at a necessary skill. If this is a primary reason you might want to utilize training designed for your small business, then it’s critical that you are effectively able to determine which employees display whichever strengths you want to develop, or whichever weaknesses should be corrected. Organizations that elect to incorporate these programs should ensure that the individuals whose skills they look to develop will truly benefit from a specified kind of training. If this isn’t necessarily the case, this sort of training may not be the most beneficial method of achieving your objectives, and might turn out to be a cost deterrent. Thus be informed as to whether your personnel will get better because of the experience before applying a training program.

Small Business Training

 In other instances, establishments are trying to find ways to augment the way they present their products to clients. With numerous businesses going international as of late, no business really can afford to fall behind the times in regards to technological progress in the business world. Even small businesses understand that staying as fresh as possible is important to their prospects for success. Small business training should also aid in this attribute of company development.

Small Business Training

  There are a pair of ways many organizations attempt to administer the required training to employees. In some cases, companies may send workers to tutorials or various other training exercises someplace outside the company. This kind of training is given by people who are experts in the art of appropriate business training though they might not be as informed as people within the firm when it comes to the nuances of the specific organization. In other cases, companies choose to give on-the-job training to workers so that they can get a better sense of what the daily activities are like inside the company. In any event, advancement within these programs needs to be administered to verify the programs are having a favourable effect on trainees.

Regardless of which method you implement for your UK business, the positive aspects are ample for organizations that attempt to improve by way of small business training.

Corporate entertainment isn’t a reason to have a good party on the company budget ; it is an necessary tool for any business in today’s world. Done correctly, and with the right levels of attention to detail, it’s an opportunity to get involved with new clients, reward the faithfulness of current clients and forge relationships.

 When developing your budgets and techniques for company entertainment you should factor in the advantages that these opportunities will have to your bottom line. The value of networking cannot be underestimated. Spending some time with your clients, both new and old, will help to build trust and empathy. These qualities will further enhance your business dealings and relations.

Developing fidelity in your customer base is especially vital in the current economic climate. Possible clients wish to know that you are going to look after their interests and that your present base is both loyal and steady, it gives a brilliant impression. A cleverly designed corporate event will help communication and discussion between you and your customers in order to bring larger depth to your relations.

 Using a well established and respectable organisation to realize the ultimate event is also necessary. You want to hire a company that will deliver a seamless product so you do not want to spend some time worrying about the details. Instead, you are free to use the chance to your own advantage.

Corporate events are not for developing client relations, though . They can also be used to enhance the morale, loyalty and focus of your staff. Contented staff are productive staff and a smartly designed event can deliver superb results.

Overall, a solid corporate entertainment technique has the ability to phenomenally improve your bottom line. It is an investment in people, and what those folks can bring to your business.

Everyone can have the potential for becoming outstanding . Inside every one person there are unique qualities, characterisitics and abilities that give us the potential to become actually excellent . However, how many peopleactually realise this potential?

What is the secret to excellence ?

Are we born with genius or is it things that develops?

Which are the questions which have been asked for decades and have been of key argument between scientists and psychologists in the nature vs nurture debate .

It’s the case that everyone does have the potential for becoming excellent within us and through following the right course of development, we can unleash this potential to achieve the highest levels of becoming truly brilliant .

The first question to answer is what are the keys to being excellent ?

Have you ever looked at an brilliant instrumentalist acting the most complex music in a way that made it seem basic and wondered how lucky they were to be born so gifted? Or marvelled at the good performance of gold medal winners in the olympics? Or left speechless by a memory expert who can memorise the order of a whole pack of playing cards within only   several minutes?

Which are just some examples of actually good behaviour.

it’s not that that we might all become virtuoso violinists, or outstanding athletes at any age, because of course to train to this level it requires years of dedication and there are other things involved which make it imaginable. However, by following these secrets and keys that we could discuss, it is possible to become in truth brilliant .

It’s the Pareto principle that says that 80% of our results come from only 20% of our efforts. In reality, it is more like 90% of our success come from just 10% of our efforts. People who achieve good results in all areas do most decidedly work hard, and to get to a similar standard it does require consistent practice . However the steps are that it is far better to work Smart and not Hard. If you can find the 20% of the activities of amazing people that produce the core results, then you might cut out a huge amount of the additional activity.

So some of the principles for becoming really good results are:

1 Have a truly clear big picture – know your vision because knowing what you   wish in detail is the only way to get very brilliant results

2 Find a model of the outstanding results you   wish – it is a fact that if you try to achieve your outcome without knowing the best way to get it, you’ll take a long time to reach it! it is important to find a model of these good behaviours and find out how they did it – it may fast track your path to brilliant results

3 Take action – practice the good behaviours you modeled – it’s not just enough to read or watch them – you have to practice. With practice you can find yourself achieving the good vision you want more quickly than you could imagine.

NLP teaches all about modeling brilliant behaviour. By attending an NLP Training or seeing a hypnotherapist in London, you might find rapid ways to achieve excellent results.

If you are very lucky, you will go through your management career without ever having to tell one of you team that they are about to lose their job. Regretfully in today’s climate is has become a task that many managers are now having to carry out. Some managers will “delegate” the task to the Human Resources department. But what if you don’t have one – or the organisation has decided that you, the line manager, are the person who must deliver the ultimate “bad news” message?

This is probably the most difficult discussion a manager ever has to have with one of his/her people. Hopefully, this article will help you. But a word of caution – whilst you may gain more confidence and become more effective as a result, we will not pretend that this is a management skill you will ever enjoy. No one does. So here are some points/tips you may like to think about before the meeting.

1. The Emotional Minefield – Yours and Theirs

You are likely to be feeling tense, no doubt nervous about how the other person will respond and perhaps hoping that they will understand your situation. They will run through a gamut of emotions, ranging from;

• Disbelief            – “I can’t believe your telling me this.”
• Despair             – “What  am I going to do in the future?”
• Denial               – “No ….this can’t” be happening!”
• Anger                – “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
• Withdrawal      – “I can’t talk now…. I’m too shocked.”

So be realistic and be prepared. If this news has come like a bolt from the blue, they are more likely to respond emotionally rather than rationally. Allow for behaviour which may not be usual but excusable in the circumstances.

Rule 1: Understand their emotion reaction but do not copy it.

2. The Reason for the Dismissal

Be sure you understand the reason for the dismissal and can defend how and why the decision was reached. In the eyes of the law there are five “fair” reasons for an individual to be dismissed. They are;

• Capability
• Conduct
• Redundancy
• Breaking the Law
• Some other substantial reason – e.g. behaving in a manner which has a detrimental impact on the employer’s reputation

This is the test of “fairness” -there is also the test of “reasonableness”. In other words, was the decision to dismiss reasonable in the circumstances and did you reach the decision by following a recognised procedure which gave the individual the opportunity to put their case forward.

Rule 2: When in doubt –seek advice.

3. The Message You Deliver

Unfortunately this is where many managers go wrong. They are driven by two opposing dilemmas or styles;

• Being “sympathetic” and therefore talking around the subject or using language which clouds the issue in the hope that this will soften the blow

• Being “straight” which can easily be interpreted as blunt and lacking any warmth or understanding

Show some empathy. This means you are able to understand someone’s feelings but do not respond with the same behaviour and emotions they express to you. Sentiments like “I know just how you feel” (unless you too are losing your job) or “this is just as hard for me as it is for you” are unlikely to sound convincing. Phrases which include “de-layering”,”down-sizing” and “significant manpower reduction strategies” are used to try remove the emotional impact of the message. They probably have the opposite effect.

Your message needs to have;

• Clarity – use language that would be understood by a twelve year old child

• Brevity – make it short

• Empathy – put yourself in the other person’s shoes and listen to your own message.

Write the message down and practise delivering it to a colleague, ask for constructive advice and be prepared to take it.

Rule 3: Keep the message simple and listen to it yourself.

4. The Response – How to Cope With It.

Stay emotionally detached – not easy! Allow for an emotional response at the outset –some of it may even be directed at you. Remember they are angry with the decision but you are there in person and it is always easier to be angry with someone rather than at something. Like a pressure cooker, you need to let some steam blow out, not put a lid on it.

The more you can engage with them and get them thinking about the future the better. Many organisations exist to help people cope with job search and the financial advice they will need in the future. Have some suggestions available but do not try to give advice which only a specialist can properly give.

Rule 4: Stay in control – for your benefit and for the person in front of you.

5. Final Thoughts

This is not a task that will ever make you popular. However you will gain a lot of respect if you manage the encounter in a professional and positive manner. It’s what the organisation expects of you and you would expect of yourself – isn’t it?

Rule 5: Stay professional and stay positive

If you want to know more about staying positive just ask Eilidh Milnes –one of the most positive people I have ever met. Contact her on: http://eilidhmilnes.com –you won’t be disappointed.

Technorati Tags: People Development

Employee recruitment and retention is one of the primary challenges facing employers today.One common mistake small businesses make when recruiting new staff is to not follow a defined process. In doing so they are, in effect, ensuring their recruitment efforts are going to be haphazard at best.

Hiring the wrong employee is expensive and disruptive to your existing employees, as well as  time consuming. Hiring the right employee, on the other hand , pays you back in increased productivity, a successful employment relationship, and a positive impact on your total work environment. sound recruitment results in an organization hiring employees who are skilled, experienced, and good fits with your corporate culture.

This guide for hiring employees will help you systematize your process for recruiting, whether it’s your first employee or one of many employees you are hiring. Laying out a disciplined series of activities makes it simpler to follow the status of the hiring procedure throughout its diverse stages.

Preparation

Defining the need for a new employee (either a new position created or replacement of vacating staff). When does the position need to be filled? . Discuss the role with the function manager,key employees and (if you have this position) your HR representative. Develop and prioritize the key requirements needed from the position and the special qualifications, traits, characteristics, and experience you seek in a candidate. All this up front work will pay dividends when it comes to the selection process, and after all, it is that process that will deliver the desired result.

If it is a new position, research the market for a earnings range that is suitable.Add any benefits, bonuses, commissions etc that may be applicable. The benefits, bonuses and the like are useful whenit comes to negotiations on the salary package.

Develop The Job Description

Based on the defined business skills gap and functions you want performed, document the Job Description. This is an important document used both internally and when communicating with external recruitment agencies.

What are the functions the new hire is going to perform?Can you map out the functions to be performed by the new hire?

Has the skill set of the encumbent been defined and is it up to date – taking into account training.

What are their duties and which department are they working for?

Define the hours they will work and the important tasks and outcomes expected of them. Agree the selection criteria to be satisfied. This will be critical when assessing applications and candidates.

Choose The Interviewers

Determine the interview panel or individuals that will be creating the candidate interview questions and test activities. There may be one or many people involved in the interview process. Clear communication of responsibilities for the coordination of the interview process for the business and the candidates is critical. The interviewer you select will have a large impact on the quality and appropriateness of the candidates chosen for the position.

Decide-Internal Or External Hire?

Brainstorm potential ways to locate a well-qualified pool of candidates for each position.Work out whether this position is going to be filled by a qualified internal candidate. If so, distribute an email to notify staff that you are hiring employees. Otherwise you can:

• Use word-of-mouth to spread the information about the position availability in your business and to each employee’s network of friends and associates.
• Network and post jobs on online social media sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn.
• Ask your employees to publicize the position through their online social media networks.
• Place a classified advertisement in larger circulation newspapers.
• Post the position on jobs and newspaper-related websites – include the company website.
• Post the position on professional association websites.
• Contact several university career centres.
• Get in touch with Recruitment Agencies

Screen Candidates

• Screen resumes and/or applications against the prioritized qualifications and criteria established.
• For the candidates whose credentials look like a good fit with the position arrange a telephone interview as a first step.
• Schedule qualified candidates for a first interview.
• Tell the candidates the timeline you anticipate the interview process will take.
• Ask the candidate to fill out your job application form.
• Give the candidate a copy of the job description to review (if they haven’t already seen it).

Hold interviews.

Make sure each interviewer is clear about their role in the interview process. (Culture fit, technical qualifications, customer responsiveness and knowledge are several of the screening responsibilities you may allocate to individual interviewers.) Interviewers should follow a integrated approach and fill out the Job Candidate Evaluation Form post interview.The Recuitment Evaluation Form is to be filled out after the interview as a discipline in keeping the whole exercise structured.

Conduct interviews during which the candidate is assessed and has the opportunity to learn about your organization and your needs.

• Fill out the Job Candidate Evaluation Form for each candidate interviewed.
• The interview panel meets to determine which (if any) candidates to invite back for a second interview. They compare their notes and the criteria checklist.
• Determine the appropriate people to participate in the second round of interviews. This may include potential coworkers or even customers. Only include people who will impact the hiring decision.
• Schedule the next round of interviews.
• Candidates participate in any testing you may require for the position.
• Interviewers fill out the candidate rating form.

Select The New Employee

Reference and qualifications checks are conducted. It may be necessary to perform police checks (do they have a criminal record?). Through the entire interviewing process stay in touch with the most qualified candidates via phone and email. Assess feedback notes from interviewers as well as criteria scores in selecting the most suitable candidate.

• Agree a package to offer the candidate
• Prepare a written offer letter that offers the position, states the salary, reporting relationship, and any other benefits the candidate has negotiated or the company has agreed.
• Once the candidate signs the offer documentation to accept the job, schedule the start date.
• If there aren’t any suitable candidates start the process again.