Bull in a China Shop

What are the implications in the business world for ignoring “Team Orders?”

The Formula One “World” is agog at how Vettel blatantly ignored Team Orders to win the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday. Opinion seems to be split as whether he did the right thing or not – after all he is a racing driver and his prime reason for being is to win races… or is it?

This approach raises the questions as to when does the need of one individual supersede the needs of the group – in this case the Red Bull Team. It is obvious that Vettel wanted the 25 points towards his World Championship not the 18 points he would have achieved by coming second. Red Bull wanted to secure 43 points towards the Constructor Championship – which they still got – however, that result was in serious danger due to the way that Vettel was driving in order to achieve his self-motivated goal. The Constructors Championship is more important to business as it generates the revenue!

So in this case does the end justify the means? From my perspective and probably Mark Webber’s the answer must be a resounding NO as not only did Vettel fail to follow a direct order (which can be classed as Gross Misconduct) he also took unnecessary risk which could have had disastrous consequences – as it did for Red Bull in the Turkish Gran Prix in 2010 when the same two drivers crashed when trying to win that race. Obviously they haven’t learnt from that costly mistake.

So what would happen in the workplace if an employee blatantly put their own interests before that of their employer and failed to follow a direct order? The starting process would be an investigation which could lead to a disciplinary meeting which could ultimately result in dismissal of the employee on the grounds of Gross Misconduct. Some people may feel that result could be a little harsh & I accept that you would need to take into account a number of potentially mitigating circumstances, however, this is not a first offence and dismissal is within the Band of Reasonable Responses that is open to a reasonable employer.

Vettel has already apologised for what he has done; however, I think it may take more than an apology for this to blow over – especially with his track record!

It’s a white out!

Amazingly the weatherman (or woman!) has actually got it right this time and many of us having woken to a white winter wonderland scene that is almost perfect.

Perfect that is unless you need to get to work or manage the impact of your staff not getting to work! Call me old fashioned (or just old, as I can hear many people saying) did we always find any excuse not to at least make the effort to overcome some of natures “little challenges” and go to work?

So what happens if your staff don’t make it to work today what can you actually do? Well a lot depends on what policies & procedures you have in place. I would recommend having a Business Disruption Policy supported by an Absence Policy plus a Disciplinary Policy. Hopefully you won’t need to use the latter one, however, having one means that you have all the bases covered…. & anyway you are meant to have a Disciplinary Policy regardless of the weather!

If you would like a free Business Disruption Policy please request one via the Contact Us box on http://www.noblehr.co.uk. Whilst you are there you might also want to request a copy of our free e-book “The thirteen pitfalls of people management & how to avoid them!”

In the meantime you might just need to get your shovel out!

Are you putting enough time & effort into your recruitment process?

The dangers of putting insufficient time and effort into the recruitment process

I have found that the first mistake that many business owners/managers make in relation to staff is not putting sufficient time and effort into the recruitment process. Many business owners/managers have a vague concept of the ideal skills and experience required, however, they often do not document or critique these thoughts.

For speed many people simply replicate what they already have without starting from scratch and redefining what the business really requires at this time. It is important not only should to consider the content of the job but also whether the job is actually required. Do you actually need a replacement member of staff or could the work be split amongst the existing workforce?

I am often asked why it is important to spend time and money on recruitment – for me it is covered by the old saying – “rubbish in, rubbish out.” If you don’t make the effort at this stage to make sure the role and the successful person meets the needs of the business including fitting into the culture that individual.

The first step in a successful recruitment process is to consider the actual job itself – it is an opportunity to consider whether you need to make any changes – such as whether you actually need the position, can the work be done by someone else, what needs to be done and where it fits into the organisational structure.

This will then enable you to create a relevant job description and a person specification i.e. what activities the employee will be undertaking plus what knowledge, skills, experience, ability and attitude are required. You also need to decide which of the knowledge, skills, experience, ability and attitude are essential to be able to complete the role and which are only desirable – remembering to make sure that none of your criteria are discriminatory on the basis of race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, disability, appearance, age or marital status. You have to be able to justify all criteria used, so you need to steer away from using phrases like “x years’ experience or degree in x” – as they are potentially forms of age discrimination

With essential criteria – they need to be just that i.e. it would be impossible to do that role without that particular skills, experience or ability. For most roles there will be only a small number of essential criteria, the majority will only be desirable, albeit highly desirable!

You also need to consider how you are going to assess whether an applicant meets the specification – can it be done from a C.V./application form, will it be assessed at interview or with some form of test? If possible essential criteria should be something that can be identified on a C.V./application form; as this reduces the number of possible interviews. This all needs to be done before you start advertising as it will influence the advert and selection process.

When it comes to writing adverts I am a believer in “screening out” as opposed to “screening in” approach – that is writing the advert in such a way as people deselect themselves as they do not meet the essential criteria – after all why would you want to spend your time on applicants that don’t have the knowledge, skills, experience that are required to do the role.

Many people are confused by this approach as they feel that the advert is not doing its job properly if it doesn’t result in hundreds of applicants – whereas, I prefer quality to quantity and believe the advert has done its job well if I only get a small number of applicants that closely match my criteria. The next stage of the selection process is about choosing the applicant with the right attitude – which brings me nicely to the second mistake – being blinded by applicant’s skills and qualification

Remember, think about the role, think about the person, keep to facts, and avoid any personal biases that could be deemed discriminatory

Shark Practice

We all know that wrestling a shark is a dangerous practice; however, little did Paul Marshallsea know when he did that in order to save a toddler he was endangering his job!
On returning from his holiday, both he and his wife found letters from their employer dismissing them as apparently their employer did not know how Paul was able to wrestle a shark when he was unfit for work.
This approach will probably have a mixed response as there will be people who believe that if an employee is off sick then they are incapable of doing anything & should just sit at home until they are fit enough to return to work and there will be others who will think that if you saw a child in danger any human being, no matter how ill, would do everything in their power to help them.
So the question is what is the right approach?
It all starts with having an up to date sickness absence policy that covers the process for requesting and authorising holidays during a period of sickness absence, plus guidelines on what activities should be avoided to enable a speedy return to work.
You then need to look at the medical evidence relating to the individual case. If an employee is suffering from stress it is not uncommon for a period of leave to be recommended by a GP. However, they would not be expected to participate in any hazardous activities that might delay their return to work e.g. paragliding, skiing or bungee jumping. I am not sure that you could include rescuing a child from a shark – as whilst that is hazardous it is not done for pleasure!
You also need a return to work process plus a disciplinary policy for dealing with any alleged breach of the sickness absence policy. If you went down the disciplinary route then the question would arise as to whether dismissal is within the band of reasonable responses and that definitely has to be considered on a case by case basis!
The other question that needs addressing is why Mrs Marshallsea was also dismissed, as there is no report of her tackling the shark – I think I will save that one for another blog possibly titled “The fin edge of the wedge!”
Whilst taking this approach may appear a little onerous it is there to protect both the employee and the employer as the last thing that any employer wants is for a case like this to “bite them on the bum!”

Why are there no hooks in this house?

Historically when people have told me how much they hate moving house I have laughed as I have always loved it – until this time which I have hated with a passion!

I don’t know whether it is because we have moved to a much smaller house which is a move I didn’t expect to make for another 20 years or whether it has happened so fast. Either way it has been quite a traumatic experience – so I would like to apologise to all the people I scoffed at when they complained about moving house – as I have now joined that exclusive club.

One of the things that have bugged me the most, apart from the fact that my husband has still not ordered the new shed that we desperately need, is the fact that there are no hooks in this house. “That is not a big issue” I can hear you all cry – however, it is not the hook per say, it is what the hook means to me & that is the ability to tidy things away and return to a sense of normality. (I am a bit of a tidy freak – I believe that “there is a place for everything & everything should be in its place.”)

That got me to thinking what is the hook for each employee when their organisation is going through change and what can we do to help minimise the impact of them no longer having the hook they crave?

All the text books and consultants will advise the need to plan and communicate and whilst I agree whole heartedly with that I also believe, following my house move, there is something more fundamental than that – I think that we need to really understand the emotional and sometimes irrational attachment that we can attach to routine and “sameness.”

Given the time that I had, I planned this move – we had organised the removal men, what would be going into storage, what would be going in each room, re-directing the post etc. We communicated until the cows came home, however, we never discussed the lack of hooks in the new house as firstly, I never knew I was so obsessed with them & they are such a small item we didn’t even look for them in the new house as they weren’t important to me until they weren’t there! 

So how do we identify these small yet important items? That seems to be the million dollar question and whilst I am writing this blog I am still trying to figure that out! I have lots of suggestions on how to rate the importance of vastly different items once you have identified them – however, that doesn’t help with identifying them in the first place!

I think I need to consult the all-seeing oracle that is “Google!” In the meantime if you have any suggestions I would love to hear from you!

Attitude, what attitude?

As I wrote another Job Advert the other day I started thinking about how people go about attracting the perfect candidate, I like everyone else has used all the old clichés, “the ability to think on your feet”, “must be a Team player”, “Must be able to communicate at all levels” and then the best “have a can do attitude”!
What is a “can do attitude”? I know plenty of people who have a “can do attitude” however I know a lot more who have a “can do but can’t be bothered attitude”
So that got me thinking what if I changed it to “will do attitude”, already I hear you thinking it sounds much more like the kind of person you would recruit, so in the next few weeks I am going to try it out , hopefully I will have many “will do “ applicants to talk to!

Going the Extra Mile is FAB

Fab.Com

FAB.com have certainly lived up to their name in the way that they dealt with my recent request for a refund.

I had ordered a number of items from them as Christmas presents, however, as one of the items was unavailable I had to buy an emergency alternative gift – not that I leave everything to the last minute!

On 15th January I received an email from FAB.com to say that the item had now been despatched. I replied my return explaining the situation and asking them to cancel the order & credit my account.

Within hours I received a lovely reply which included a very genuinely worded apology plus an explanation as to how they would action my refund. They finished their email with “We hope to better earn your trust in the future.” I thought that this was fantastic.

I have every faith that with that level of customer service and communication skills that they will do just that. It is reassuring to discover companies that want to earn their customer’s trust in this day & age. I will definitely be revisiting FAB.com soon and in the meantime I will continue recommending them to friends & family.