One of the unpleasant duties every manager must carry out is employee termination. Having to make this decision means periodic performance reviews have shown the affected employee is not a great fit for your company. You have sufficient documentation to back your decision but breaking the news to the person involved is an entirely different matter. It becomes more delicate when the person has not done anything unethical or criminal. He or she is simply not just meeting up with expectations. How then do you handle the process respectfully and compassionately?

1. Set the right tone: Immediately you invite the person into your office for a talk, set the right tone for the conversation by going straight to the point. Let them know you have bad news. Don’t start chatting about irrelevant topics. You are only making the process clumsier.
2. Don’t trade blames: This is not the time to start recalling every challenge the employee had on the job. Just tell him or her the reason for the termination. Your main point is that the person is not a fit for your organization. Show empathy for his situation.
3. Answer questions: At this time, the employee is in shock and may demand an explanation. Calmly respond to questions even if they are thrown at you in an outburst. Resist the urge to strike back with a list of their perceived grievances.
4. Outline the next steps: Take them through the disengagement process; what severance pay would receive, benefits, company documents or property that should be returned, references etc.
5. End graciously: Thank them for their services to the company. No matter how small, everyone makes a contribution to his organization. Offer to be there for them as they work through the process. This could mean some phone calls or an occasional lunch to see how he or she is pulling through.
6. Share the news: This is a good time to address your team concerning the termination and put the rumour mill to rest. It is unnecessary to reveal details of the termination and even more insensitive to badmouth a former employee.

Your team only need know their colleague is no longer with the company except you plan on using the incident as a stern warning to others. You might also want to allay their fears of job security.

If handled correctly, the employee can continue to have positive relationships with his employer and manager for years to come.


http://www.iwfionline.org/a-six-step-guide-to-firing-your-employee-nicely/

Too often it is taken for granted that any worker offered a job in an establishment should be grateful.
In societies with a high rate of unemployment and too few jobs, prospective employees are only too eager to accept what comes their way. Sometimes this includes putting up with obnoxious behavior from their employers in the process.
However for a select few, they have chosen to deviate from the norm, preferring to turn down job offers because of a negative perception about their prospective employer.
For example, Claire who changed her mind about working for publishing company on the day of her interview. She said, “There were about five persons including myself waiting to be called in for the interview. While I waited, I read a newspaper. The HR manager walked past, stopped in his tracks and came to me. To my shock, he berated me for reading a newspaper; asking it if it was the appropriate time for such.
“To say I was taken aback is just putting it mildly. After I got over the shock, I gave him a piece of my mind. I expressed my disappointment at the company’s corporate culture and told him I had no interest whatsoever in working for such an employer. He was taken aback; he did not expect such a response.
“In my opinion, the job was not worth the hassle. When I was done with him, I left without going through the interview process. Till date, I sometimes wonder the fate of the ‘lucky’ candidates who eventually got to work for that company.”
As human resource policies change and evolve so also are the expectations of the modern workforce; most especially the talented and skilled. Beyond the size of the paycheck, they also look out for other benefits such as
Professional Development: Are there opportunities for profes• sional development and career growth? Company sponsored workshops, trainings and seminars? Some even pay for professional examinations for their employees. No talented worker wants a stagnated career. If your company does not allow for professional development, chances are your star employees won’t be staying long.
• Flexible work hours: The amount of time spent in traffic commuting to and from work is of big concern to prospective employees. Offering them a day or two when they can work from home is a great incentive. It shows the employer is not just interested in workers clocking in and out but in actual results.
• Corporate Culture: What sort of corporate culture does the company have? Is professional respectful, encouraging and nurturing? Or is it intrusive, divisive, vindictive and derogatory? Talented workers thrive and grow in environments where organizations encourage self-expression and healthy communication. A contrary corporate culture will stifle all forms of genuine communication but will instead promote the growth of yes-men.

The day you anticipated so much is finally here. A culmination of years of hard work, late nights and weekends at the office, a non-existing social life, tons of professional courses and that extra work load you took to qualify.
Unfortunately, things did not turn out quite the way you expected. The promotion you craved so much went to another colleague and you are wondering if you have a future in the company at all. Worse, you feel betrayed by a boss who failed to recommend you for the job.
It hurts to lose a promotion and it is okay to be feel upset but you don’t have to feel bad forever. Keeping things in perspective is important for two reasons;

Important decisions are never made in a moment of passion. Your employers don’t think that way, neither should you.
Your work life always affects your family life, whether positively or negatively. An unchecked reaction can cause you to be an unpleasant person to be around with, thereby straining your relationship with your family. Research from Relate and Relationships Scotland, has shown work-life balance to be the third biggest strain on couple relationships in the United Kingdom.

There are a few ways to handle the disappointment of losing a promotion

Read More http://www.iwfionline.org/so-you-didnt-get-that-promotion-what-next/

Although employee engagement is not solely about increasing productivity, research has shown that companies with a high level of engagement often experience a productivity rise of about 22% (Gallup).

Engagement here is not about some hastily designed human resource policy on salary increment, a revamped gym and cafeteria to cater to staff welfare. It is and should be a way of life for every organization. Employee engagement is an employee’s emotional commitment to the organization and how passionate they feel about their jobs.

An employee who is emotionally invested would give 110 per cent to his job, without overtime payment and his employer asking. This means they are not just looking to what they can get out of the organization but are focused on achieving organizational goals.

This is quite different from employee satisfaction which is just a measure of how happy your employees are. It does not address motivation or emotional commitment to the organization. Indeed one can be happy and not engaged. There are employees who are just happy with putting in the minimum and collecting their paycheck as at when due.

Two major factors drive this process; engagement with the organization and engagement with managers.

Engagement with the organization involves the organization’s culture of engagement;

Does it respect, motivate and empower employees? Or is it demeaning and condescending?
Do your employees understand your goals? Can they see the picture? Do they know how they can help you achieve them? Or are they periodically hammered to simply improve the bottom line?
What is their perception of the senior management? Is it one of a master-servant relationship or a nurturing one grounded in genuine interest and concern for their employees?
Engagement with managers concerns employees’ relationship with their direct supervisor; one based on mutual respect.

Do the managers build cohesive teams while developing strong relationships?
Do they encourage professional development?
Are expectations clearly defined and employees being held accountable?
Are systems of rewards clearly spelt out and measured? Or is it shrouded in some culture of secrecy?
When these two factors are used positively, organizations will experience the following

Low rate of staff turnover: Talented, motivated employees will leave if their employers give them no compelling reason to stay. However when engaged, they are motivated to give their very best and most importantly, the organization is saved the cost of hiring and training new hands which doesn’t come cheap.
Improves the quality of work and health: This includes fewer work-related accidents and quality assurance mishaps, both of which convert to a higher quality of service
Higher profits: With higher quality of service, comes increased customer satisfaction which eventually translates to higher profits.


For more articles on work-life balance, go to http://www.iwfionline.org/are-you-engaged-or-just-satisfied/

Hollywood was shocked last Thursday after American actress, Ashley Judd, accused film producer and Co-founder of Miramax, Harvey Weinstein, of sexual harassment.
As expected, there have been widespread condemnation even from the board of the Weinstein Company movie studio, from which Harvey has been fired.
However what is curious from the accounts of the victims is that all through the years Harvey preyed sexually on women, he was actively aided by associates and employees. A senior company executive, Irwin Reiter, admitted that the mistreatment of women was a serial problem at the Weinstein Company.
It is not uncommon for companies without a sexual harassment policy to have a thriving culture of complicity where employees not only look the other way but are also enlisted in subterfuge against the victim.
Sexual harassment especially by a senior executive is a problem many corporate organisations fail to address. This is because employers have refused to provide the most effective weapon against it which is prevention.
The first step in preventing workplace sexual harassment is by having a sexual harassment policy which is known to all employees and executives of the company. The policy details what languages and behaviours constitute sexual harassment. That way no employee can claim his or her actions are a ‘harmless prank’.
When an executive knows he could lose his job by indulging in sexual harassment, is it not likely that he would restrain from such?
Unfortunately, many workplaces have no such policies. As if that were not bad enough, there is no reporting mechanism in place to educate employees on how to handle workplace sexual harassment.
So what happens if your workplace has no sexual harassment policy and you find yourself in your boss’s crosshairs? There are a few steps you can take to protect yourself.
• Discuss with the person, in writing: Let the aggressor know you are not comfortable with their behavior. It is best to have this discussion by e-mail for three reasons. First, a record has been established of the harassment. Two, the mail could serve as evidence in the event you want to pursue legal action. Lastly, having the boldness to broach the subject might throw your aggressor off balance and cause him to stop.
• Get witnesses: If the situation persists, find a senior colleague you would be comfortable with, speaking about your situation. This person should also be someone in a position of authority to either speak to your aggressor or take action.
• Cover your end: Once a third party is involved, the situation is often more complex. Your colleagues could turn hostile simply because you voiced your complaints which is often the case. If the situation persists, it is best to start looking around for another job. It is most likely that your aggressor most especially when it is your boss, is already looking for ways to get you fired.
Every worker in an organization has a duty not to encourage or aid workplace harassment either by shaming the victim or setting them up with their aggressor. There is every possibility that such a person can be joined in a lawsuit with the aggressor.

Being a manager is not all that rosy no matter how powerful the position may seem. A manager has to bring out the best in his team, ensure they achieve a set goal, deal with underperforming employees, respond to a crisis, manage team crisis, terminating an employee's contract and so on. Very often, managers are given ridiculous excuses by their employees when they fail a task or commit some infraction.
Below are some of the excuses managers have received from their employees for not coming to work. They vary depending on the society or country.
1. Illness (the employee, their spouse, parents)
2. Their vicinity is flooded
3. Was robbed
4. Car developed some fault
5. Forced eviction by house owner
Oftentimes these excuses are not real. It is just the employee needing some personal time off to attend to issues he feels might not get management approval. Giving fake excuses are a tricky business; your manager might just decide to take a step further and investigate. When found out for missing work based on flimsy excuses, employees have been penalized. It is always best to be honest with your manager what you want the time off for. You don’t have to go into details, just say the truth.

The Executive Masters Class 22, of the Lagos Business School had interesting answers to this question. Follow the link below and watch the video.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbQJQgPw_Hg

1. Give credit to whom credit is due: We are all told the best way to rise at work is to make our bosses look good, always. However, it doesn’t help if that boss is always going to hug the limelight and never give you credit for your contribution. Worse, he takes delight in criticizing you.

2. He could be more of a manager than a boss: Reeling out instructions without pausing for a minute to hear differing opinions does nothing for your morale. You would also like to take the initiative sometimes and not always have to run to him for approval for everything.

3. Divide and Rule don’t cut it: Office politics is not going away anytime soon but it doesn’t need to be unhealthy. Constantly pitching his subordinates against each other just so your boss can keep a hold on his power, makes you resent him more than you respect him.

4. Keep a lid on it: There is nothing edifying about a boss who gossips about his subordinates; their mistakes and their struggles. You would like to confide in him for once and not overhear the same discussion between other colleagues.

5. Being human is okay: You realise he is human and must make mistakes. You don’t expect him to apologise to his team for them but there is something wrong about refusing to take responsibility.

Read More http://www.iwfionline.org/five-things-you-wish-your-boss-knew/

Correction noted @ Stylz69

The Nigerian banking space is fiercely competitive; only the fittest survive. Maintaining the minimum capital base means adopting aggressive marketing techniques and a cutting edge corporate culture. The pressure this goal places on bank workers makes banking one of the least enviable professions in Nigeria today. Below are some of things that Nigerian bankers hate about their jobs...

1. Perennial late closing hours
2. Being engaged on a contract basis and earning far less than other permanent staff
3. Having to work 50 hours and above every week including weekends
4. Non-existent study leave
5. Unrealistic job target
6. Job insecurity and loss over the smallest infractions
7. Abusive language
8. Heavy workloads
9. Poor or non-existent severance packages


Photo source: Reports Afrique

However great your relationship is, it is not unusual to wonder if it will be forever. Will he change; become less caring and attentive? Will she become less attractive and fun? Here a few ways to know your marriage is destined for eternity
1. You are best friends: Your partner is your first call whether you have got good or bad news. It shows you trust each other implicitly
2. You enjoy each other’s company: This is not just about sex. You could be playing games or watching TV. You just enjoy doing things together.
3. You have got each other’s backs: You know your spouse would go to any length to protect and defend you.
4. You are honest with each other: You are comfortable talking about your feelings when things aren’t working for you. with your spouse because you feel safe. You can be vulnerable because you feel safe with your spouse.
5. Your relationship is easy: It does not require all your time and energy to make it work. In addition, conflicts are resolved very easily.
6. You always want the best for each other: You encourage each other to take advantage of opportunities because you know it will make your spouse happy to do so.
7. You are still attracted to each other and think your spouse is the cutest person in the room.
If you can answer yes to most of these signs, you are in a good marriage.

Source: iffd