“Customer Service? I don’t need to worry about that – I’m in Human Resources!” I overheard someone say this at a recent HR steering committee meeting I attended. The group was discussing customer service and how every employee from the ground up is an ambassador for the company. Happily offering up friendly and genuine customer service is important, especially in this critical time where competition is great and those companies that go above and beyond will rise. And isn’t that a constant truth we find weaved throughout our lives?

When you hear the term customer service, do you immediately think of the HR person at your company? Probably not. Maybe you think of the “face” people like the receptionist or sales force. Do this exercise the next time you handle a telephone call at work – conjure up a great big smile (even if you don’t feel like it) and then take the call, smiling the whole time. Then on another call, do not smile at all. Note differences in how the issues on the call were resolved and how you felt on the other end of the line each time. Chances are you had a better result when you smiled on the phone, and even though the other person cannot see your smile, they will certainly pick up on it in your inflection and tone.

Taking HR to a new, more positive direction is critical for your company. Your employees will talk positively about your organization if they feel they are being treated with kindness and respect. Research has shown that if a customer hears just one negative comment, it would take 10-12 positive comments to bring them back to ground zero, and then some to gain positive ground. Your employees are out there saying things about your company. What are they saying?

There are many things you can do to offer great customer service in the field of HR. First, you need to genuinely believe that everyone you deal with during the course of a day is your “client” and you are there to serve them as best you can. Employees get nervous when dealing with HR because of the negative reputation that HR has amassed over many years. Responding with a kind email to each employee as quickly as you can will assure them that the company cares. They see you as the company because typically you are the first one they see when the come in the door, the last face they see when they end their employment and everything in between.

And remember, a small shift in attitude can result in enormous benefit to you and your organization – and it’s free. What can you do today to offer great customer service?

One of the key steps to having impactful talent management and development solutions is to ensure that the talent within the organization is aware of what is being done to manage and develop them; as well, it is vital that company leaders are aware of the employee’s individual career aspirations. This can be accomplished through a Career Aspiration discussion. This should be a formal and focused conversation that occurs between a leader and an employee that centers on the employee’s career aspirations as well as the potential growth that is available for that employee within the organization.

In order to make this conversation most productive and impactful, there are some key questions that leaders should ask the employee as well as ask themselves. To prepare for the conversation, leaders should first pose the following questions to themselves and be prepared to share this information with the employee during the conversation.

1. What do I see as this individual’s ultimate potential?

The response should focus on the highest level that you, the leader, believes they can reach inside the company and the indicators (drive, willingness, performance) that you have seen which demonstrate that they can get there.

2. What do I think they need to do to get there?

This response should focus on the additional training (perhaps leadership training or specific skills training) or development (maybe an expanded leadership role or a role in a different function inside the company) that they will need to reach this ultimate potential.

3. What do I feel are their key strengths?

This answer should highlight the strengths that they bring to the table and should continue to leverage as they grow their career.

4. What do I know are their immediate key developmental needs?

This response is about the shorter-term development goals as opposed to what was referred to in question 2. This might be something like “needs additional senior level exposure” so others inside the company get to know this individual, or “needs presentation skills training”.

5. What do I see as this person’s next assignment?

The response here should focus on realistic next assignment and the timing with which it is likely to happen.

When sitting down with the employee to have the conversation, it should be time that is uninterrupted and set-aside specifically for that person. It is important for the conversation to be interactive so as leaders pose questions to their employees, they should refer to their own self-questions and interject their thoughts throughout the discussion to keep it interactive.

The following questions are recommended to ask employees during the discussion.

Questions for employee:

1. What are your short-term career aspirations? (I.e., next assignment: 2-5 years)

2. What are your longer-term career aspirations? (I.e., ultimate career goal – level of position)

3. Do you know what it takes to get there?

4. Are you willing to do what it takes to reach that position?

5. What do you feel are your key strengths?

6. What do your feel are your key development areas?

7. What steps and actions are you willing to take in the next 12 months to grow in these areas?

8. What would you like to do as a next assignment?

These conversations should be documented and conducted on an annual basis, at a minimum. Some organizations conduct them with employees every six months, which is also effective however, annually is the minimum recommendation. Conducting these discussions is a vital step in ensuring that organizations have impactful talent management and development practices in place. Career aspiration discussions not only let employees know where they stand but gives them a say in their development; as well, it ensures that leaders are differentiating their resources and appropriately developing the employees who have the strongest desire and potential to reach the most senior level positions in the company. It also enables the appropriate development of those who prefer not to excel to the highest levels but are the true technical subject matter experts. Developing the talent in a differentiated manner gives companies the best return on their dollar.

Next article topic: Key Steps to Conducting Effective Feedback Discussions.

There are many advantages to both supervisors and employees in having an effective performance planning and review process. The process should identify clearly what is expected of the employee, which in turn provides the opportunity to recognize good performance and identify areas that need corrective action or added training.

Four areas that must be identified in a performance plan are:

1. Job responsibility – what has to be done?

2. Performance measure – how will this be checked or measured?

3. Performance standard – how well must it be done?

4. Target date – when will it be checked?

When building a performance plan, you would obtain information in these areas from the job description and you would also look to the organization needs to clarify which duties have priority and the standard they must be performed to. An effective performance plan should outline results expected, performance measures, standards to be achieved and target dates for measurement.

Performance plans are usually prepared at the beginning of annual review period, or when an employee first starts their new job. Preparing for the initial planning meeting should be undertaken by both the supervisor and the employee. Both supervisor and employee should be reviewing the goals, objectives and needs of the work unit and looking at the current job description. The supervisor should list the things in the job that they intend to measure, and the standards you will measure to. The employee could write down the ways they think each of their tasks could be measured and how well each should be performed.

Performance objectives and results to be achieved should be focused on results and set in order of priority. Measures should be specific to each task, with clear standards which include dates and times when appropriate.

The next step in the process is providing regular feedback. The supervisor should be maintaining a log of performance facts, which will ensure that important issues are given the attention that is required and will help the formal review proceed in a more focused and potentially more positive way. The employee should also maintain a record of accomplishments and special achievements, or issues that need to be resolved. Discussion of these things during scheduled or spontaneous feedback sessions will allow resolution of problems in a timely manner.

Reviewing performance gives the supervisor and the employee the opportunity to look at results that have been achieved in relation to the original plan and standards of performance that were established. At this meeting, you should review all performance records and assess each task, discussing whether they met the standards of performance or not, and whether they exceed those standards. Review any outside factors that may have had an effect on performance. At this time, the supervisor should be identifying any areas where improvement may be necessary or performance could be enhanced. The employee should also have the opportunity to discuss areas where they could have used more help.

Another important aspect to completing this cycle is action planning. This is where the supervisor and employee would plan for any training that needs to occur, and could also be where you discuss career planning.

The completion of this cycle should illustrate to us that a positive atmosphere of working together is beneficial to both the work organization, the supervisor and the employee.

Barbara managed a small company of 30 employees, a company we had been working with and helping to grow by working with the Laws of Achievement. Though the company was healthy and the team was growing in their abilities, through no fault of Barbara or her team, the current and projected level of business could not support 30 people. Barbara was forced to conduct a significant layoff.

Though she handled the layoff process as well as could be expected and worked with each employee to deal with unemployment issues and/or find other work, still she and the team members that remained were paralyzed…until Barbara learned how to manage the people left behind.

Layoffs are hard. And they are supposed to be. If they weren’t, it might mean you don’t have heart. Nevertheless, layoffs can become necessary even in a healthy business.

There are two main categories of reasons for layoffs. If an employee is not performing adequately, a manager needs to take that person through due process of counseling, training, or discipline. If the employee still can’t perform adequately, he or she needs to be terminated.

Too often we see companies putting up with inadequacies or incompetence, usually in the name of good will toward the employee. But this kind of inappropriate tolerance affects the entire team. At the least it lessens their motivation and morale, at the most it gives silent permission to be inadequate too.

A business is a business and needs to be conducted as one. Though you want to take care of people, you are not running a hospital. Though you want to accept people and help them grow, you are not running a church. A high performing team expects contribution from the team members and never tolerates incompetence. No contribution – no job.

A second reason for layoffs can be if there is a strategic decision to downsize. Outsourcing a current in-house function, eliminating a regional presence or the economy not supporting the current number of employees – all can cause a manager to lay off staff. And this is particularly hard.

Often, when a strategic decision to downsize occurs there is a decision to eliminate good people. When happens the individuals terminated can ask, “Why me?” (…as compared to other employees who, in their estimation, deserve to be fired). Even those left behind can say, “Why them?”

In any case, when layoffs occur, the event typically perpetuates questions, confusion and often fear in those left behind. There are many issues that need to be addressed in the process of layoffs – from HR, to financial impact to job restructuring. However, one issue that is not often handled well is managing those left behind.

The first consideration for their well being is to handle the layoff in a quick, kind, and caring way. Afterwards, especially if the layoff is significant, hold a team meeting to give as much reason and context for the layoff as possible. Be encouraging but not apologetic. This is one of those meetings where leadership skills (as compared to management skills) are supremely important.

The first person to consider in “managing those left behind” after a layoff is actually yourself. Your perspective will dictate your attitude and behavior. If your perspective leads you to feel remorse, guilt or being protective about those terminated, your attitude and behavior will be affected and transparent to others.

Get support, however, not from your staff. Seek encouragement, support or realistic perspective from someone senior to you or outside the company, as in your counselor, pastor or friend. As a manager, you must learn to “care without carrying.”

Next, it’s others on your team. The path of what to do is clear, but the timing of it is what takes wisdom. In addition to the process of loss, which each individual experiences, there are three phases the team as a whole will go through. They are as follows:

1. Adjustment: The team will need to adjust to a variety of realities surrounding a layoff – from personal issues, such as losing friends, to work load adjustments. During this phase there can be a lot of questions, confusion and questions about further layoffs. During this phase it is important to be close to your team. Give them as much information and perspective on the company as possible. Be positive, but not defensive. Your personal confidence about the future and firm stand on the necessity of the layoff decision is critical.

Be prepared for irrational responses. Unless significant, try to fend them off. Individuals who criticize and speak openly about their concerns may need to vent. This should be temporary. Making a mountain out of a mole hill at this phase can amplify something that may simply evaporate with time.

2. Challenge: It is important to allow a period of time for the adjustment phase. However, don’t get stuck at the first phase. A well meaning manager may perpetuate the complaints, concerns and fears of the team by continuing to talk about the layoffs, defend the decision, or act as a “care taker” of those who remain.

How long should you wait to begin phase two? This is your judgment call. Your personal wisdom or wisdom that comes from fellow leaders can determine when to engage this phase. Too quick and you appear insensitive. Too long and you risk embedding negative responses seen in phase one.

What needs to happen here is to call a meeting and create a challenge. The team needs to stop looking backward and begin to look forward. The challenge can refer to the need for the company to grow with the obvious implication – to avoid more layoffs. Be specific about what the challenge is and what each person or department needs to do to meet the challenge.

At this phase you need to be a leader and a manager. Be motivational and clear on the tasks, tools and metrics for success.

3. Development and growth: Remember – growth sustains success. When you and your team have normalized after a layoff, it’s time to get back in the saddle and work on growth issues. Developing, training and growing your team will support the challenge in phase two. Additionally it will create a stronger work force to grow the business.

Returning to the development and growth of the business is important now too. Strategic plans, marketing efforts, getting more efficient – all are important activities towards growing your business and preventing further layoffs.

These three phases will strengthen the team and build your business. Phase one, Adjustment, allows the team to vent, decompress and find their footing. Phase two, Challenge, gets the team looking forward again. Phase three, Development and Growth, is focused on preventing further layoffs. Taking a team through these three phases is the best way to manage those left behind after a layoff.

An effective performance appraisal system is a cornerstone of successful business development. It is one of the best human resource solutions, which will help to align your team member’s activities with overall business goals and objectives. A formal appraisal system consisting of a position description listing key result areas and expected behaviour (critical competencies) will help managers to develop and get the best from team members.

A system which measures the same criteria mentioned in the position description, will help to provide a fair and equitable measurement method. The performance appraisal should include a self-appraisal, action plan and learning development plan. The following procedure will assist managers to confidently perform an effective performance review and help develop their employees and business.

1. Gather appraisal information
- Recall regular performance review outcomes
- Obtain job description
- Gather information from action/development plan
- Identify Key Result Areas and Competencies to measure
- Modify appraisal forms to include what is measured

2. Complete the forms
- Team member to complete all self appraisal forms
- Rate Key Result Areas and Critical Competencies
- Manager to complete all appraisal forms
- Manager to determine overall performance rating
- Complete action and development plan

3. Conduct appraisal interview
- Set date, time and venue with no interruptions
- Encourage open and honest discussion
- Have team member talk about their self appraisal
- Give specific feedback
- Discuss Key Result Area feedback with team member
- Discuss Critical Competencies with team member
- Discuss achievements/development opportunities
- Finalise, distribute and gain commitment
- Review job description for next periods appraisal

4. Follow up meeting
- Check outcomes since performance appraisal
- Check progress of learning and development plan
- Identify commitment of team member to improve
- Take appropriate action

Businesses that see performance appraisals as a strategic method to develop employees, benefit because the added competence further develops the organisations capability, competitiveness and sustainability.

Being well prepared will help ensure its success, remembering if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.