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Last week’s post focused on developing a compelling story and best practice initiatives for small business to appeal to the hearts and minds of talented candidates. There are many ways a small business can create a workplace that attracts qualified candidates. A recent survey of 568 Canadian small business owners with two to 100 employees asked: What kinds of benefits, options and perks do small business owners highlight when trying to lure top employees to their company? (American Express Small Business Monitor and Angus Reid Public Opinion via Globe and Mail) and the results  were interesting.  I’ve included my comments from an HR perspective for each method. 

Ten Ways Small Business Attracts Talent

1. Flexible work hours - 70%: People value flexibility. Rigid policies such as concrete start and end times, go against the grain in creative and entrepreneurial environments. Some positions (i.e. receptionist) have no flexibility with start and end times but other positions have more flexibility. Make sure your policies are written and reflect the culture of your organization, yet maintain compliance.
2. Independence – 63%: Small business owners often have trouble “letting go.” When you start to grow your organization you need to hire talent and then give them the autonomy and independence to do what they do best. This means giving up some control.
3. Work from home options – 41%: Productivity and the end results are what are important. A performance management framework will help recognize and manage productivity and performance no matter where the work is being completed.
4. Career development opportunities – 31%: If you invest in your people, you will invest in success. Development can take place through formal training programs, on-the-job-training, coaching, and mentoring. When the opportunity arises, qualifed candidates within your organization are ready and able to take on the challenge.
5. Higher pay than offered by other small businesses – 27%: A total compensation strategy will help you understand if you are paying people right.  Total compensation consists of base pay, indirect pay (i.e. benefits, vacation), short term variable pay (i.e. bonus), long term variable pay (i.e. profit sharing), and recognition and celebration. I call it the “basket of apples” approach.
6. Opportunities for advancement 27%: This doesn’t necessarily mean climbing the “corporate ladder.” Small organizations are flat so there will be less opportunity for advancement up a “corporate ladder.” In small organizations, there is a “lattice” where people can learn and take on challenging projects that provide a broad depth of knowledge. People add skills and knowledge to career porfolios. There will be more opportunities to advance as the company grows.
7. Dynamic business culture – 25%: Small organizations can offer an exciting family-like work environment that offers meaningful and challenging work. This provides a great base for story-telling and highlighting the benefits of working in a small organization.
8. Profit-sharing – 17%: This is part of your total compensation strategy (long term variable pay) and is part of the “basket of apples” approach to compensation.
9. Higher pay than offered by large businesses – 13%: Part of your compensation strategy again. Are you paying above, at, or below market rates? Do you know if you are competitive? Other HR initiatives that are valuable to candidates like vacation time, flex-time, and working from home, reduce the need to pay higher salaries as long as the salary is competitive and fair.
10. Comprehensive benefits – 11%: Benefit plans vary and need to be flexible and targeted to the demographics of your organization. Teeth whitening might appeal to a certain group and bridges and caps might appeal to another group.

Just like customers, candidates are sold on emotion, not only the facts and data. Best practice HR initiatives and a compelling story will engage both the mind and the heart of the candidate. When that happens there will be less emphasis on compensation.

Give us a call if you would like to develop a compelling story and best practice HR initiatives that will attract talented candidates. We can also develop a recruiting system and tools focussed on your business and industry, and educate your staff on how to use them effectively. We’ll teach you how to fish and attract talented candidates to your organization.

Best regards, Joanne

Joanne Royce, Royce & Associates – Human Resources & Training Solutions -Creating Happy, Healthy, & Productive Workplaces.

Small business owners sometimes have more trouble attracting talented candidates because of the perception they have less to offer than larger organizations. But a small organization can present great opportunities for candidates that might not be available in a big company.

In a larger organization a candidate is a “small fish in a big pond” and it may be harder to stand out. In a smaller company, a candidate is a “big fish in a small pond” and can have an immediate impact.  And like the old “Cheers” television series, in a small company “Everyone knows your name” and probably the name of your family members, cat or dog too!” 

When working on recruiting projects and training I ask questions like:

• Why would a candidate choose to work for your organization over another?
• What is your compelling story that says, “This is a great place to work?” 

Often I get hesitation or a confused look. If the person recruiting can’t articulate why a candidate would want to work for the organization, that message will come through loud and clear. Small organizations can brand themselves as a great place to work and offer compelling stories that illustrate why candidates should work for them. They can create a values based attraction and retention strategy sometimes more easily than a larger organization.

Are you having trouble attracting qualified candidates? Do you have an attraction strategy in place? What’s your story? Best practice HR initiatives and a compelling story will engage talented candidates.

Give us a call if you would like to develop a compelling story and best practice HR initiatives that will attract talented candidates. We can also develop a recruiting system and tools focussed on your business and industry, and educate your staff on how to use them effectively. We’ll teach you how to fish and attract talented candidates to your organization.

Stay tuned for next week’s post when you will discover the top ten ways small business attract talent.

Best regards, Joanne

Joanne Royce, Royce & Associates, Human Resources & Training Solutions, Creating Happy, Healthy, & Productive Workplaces.

This is Part 3, the final post on “What do you do about Charlie?”  In Part 1, you reviewed the “winning” steps needed to take care of an employee like Charlie Sheen who has performance issues. In Part 2, you reviewed the signs of substance abuse so you could recognize them in the workplace and in Part 3, you’ll review in greater detail how to prepare for and hold a meeting with an employee like Charlie. You’ll have a clearer understanding of what to do about Charlie. Let’s recap what might be a typical situation in your workplace. 

Charlie’s been a great employee and he’s been with the company for 10 years. He’s creative, has made the company money, and has been rewarded for his achievements. He’s very confident and he is a great negotiator and while he doesn’t get along with a couple of the executive members, his co-workers, customers, and suppliers speak highly of him. You, as Charlie’s manager, actually enjoy his direct style and larger than life personality and he’s always performed on the job. But something has changed lately. Charlie has started coming in late, and he’s been off “sick” more often. He doesn’t look well and often has bloodshot eyes. And one time he showed up dressed in a t-shirt and pyjama bottoms, looking like he hadn’t shaved or showered in a few days. He’s been very hyper, yet he’s forgotten key deadlines. Normally he’s a great listener, but recently he’s interrupting people in mid-sentence and loudly stating that he’s right (WINNING) even though he doesn’t make sense. Other people mentioned to you that lately he’s easily provoked and has trouble controlling his anger. In fact, some of the employees have told you they are scared of him.

You recognize that these could be signs of substance abuse, his behaviour poses a risk to others, and you need to take action. You would like to help Charlie, but you also know you aren’t a counsellor.  You want to prepare and plan for the meeting.  Here are some tips to get you started. 

Consult with HR – Review the policies and procedures and seek assistance from HR. HR professionals know more about legislation, the company Employee Assistance Program, and external resources that might help. This is a complex and tricky situation that requires caution as taking the wrong action may result in further harm to the employee and increased risk to the company.

Proceed with Caution – A pattern of incidents and changes in behaviour, or a high-risk situation indicates action should be taken. When you do take action make sure to proceed with caution as follows:

• Gather Information – You are not expected to diagnose the problem, but you can objectively observe and record the facts such as missed deadlines, errors, poor quality work, tardiness, physical appearance (bloodshot eyes), poor grooming, and inappropriate office attire. Keep all discussions and records confidential. Don’t jump to a conclusion even though you suspect what the issue might be.
• Tell it like it is – Proactively schedule a private meeting, and have another person in the room to witness the conversation and take notes. Share facts and don’t accuse the person of substance abuse. You are discussing performance concerns. Remain calm and non-judgemental and leave your assumptions at the door. In fact accusing the employee of substance abuse, could prompt Human Rights complaints later.
• Ask for feedback - Give the employee a chance to explain his behaviour. Listen without judging and accusing. It might be something else that is impacting work performance like inadequate training, poor supervision, health or personal issues. Use empathy and active listening skills.
• Lead the discussion -  Ask open ended questions to help the employee understand the impact of his behaviour. Substance abuse can skew decision making so he may not recognize the consequences of his actions. Rather than getting into trying to “fix the problem,” leave the counselling to the experts who have the qualifications to help. Instead, provide encouragement and information about the company Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and other community agencies that can help. Finally, agree on an action plan
• Keep at it - Document the agreement and follow-up at a particular time. Keep at it until the issues are resolved.  This might mean removing the employee from the workplace if he is unfit for work and safety is an issue. In this case, you will need to make arrangements so he gets home safely.

Seek legal advice when necessary -  As detailed in Part 1, legal advice is recommended especially if a substance abuse problem is confirmed.

In order for you to remember the steps to proactively handle a meeting with your employee use the acronym T.A.L.K. to prompt you:

• Tell it like it is
• Ask for feedback
• Lead the discussion
• Keep at it

All best practice organizations have HR policies and procedures that maintain the health and wellness of its employees.   Best practice organizations have substance abuse policies and procedures to reduce the risk to the company and the employee who needs help. Managers should be trained to know the signs of substance abuse. An Employee Assistance Program should be created.  HR and legal assistance should be accessed for these situations. If you need help developing policies and procedures or an EAP for your company, contact us now.

What are the best ways to handle difficult conversations like this? Please share your thoughts by commenting below.

Best regards, Joanne

Joanne Royce, Royce & Associates, Human Resources & Training Solutions, Creating Happy, Healthy, and Productive Workplaces

Last week in Part 1, I reviewed what you could do if you had an employee like Charlie Sheen. In Part 2, I’ll review some of the signs that might indicate an employee has a substance abuse issue.

Signs of Substance Abuse

It’s hard to determine why the performance of a good employee declines. There may be many reasons for the change including mental health and other performance issues such as lack of training, resources, motivation, or supervision. However, you may discover the signs of substance abuse in the workplace by being aware of the following changes:  

• Attitude or Mood - Is he hyper-talkative, very quiet, depressed, overly-tired, overly-energized, or irritable especially after breaks or after the weekend? 
• Quality of Work - Is he missing deadlines, making errors, appearing unfocussed, arriving late, taking more sick days, or arguing with the boss?
• Decision Making - Are decisions made that put the company at risk? Has spending increased without proper receipts? Has decision making slowed down or stopped all together?
• Relationships – Is he uncooperative and involved in more conflict with co-workers, suppliers, and customers? Does he stop listening, interrupt often, and try to argue his point of view beyond reason? Or does he withdraw himself from others? 
• Grooming– Does he come in to work with blood-shot eyes, poor hygiene, inappropriately dressed, have alcohol-breath, or have the “shakes?”

What do you do if you discover these signs?

Review the steps in Part 1 and Part 3 of this series and remember that the employee may not be capable of seeing that he has a problem or that he needs help. Best practice organizations have winning programs in place to help advocate for the health and wellness of its people.  If you need help developing policies and procedures or an EAP for your company, contact us now.

What other signs might indicate an employee has a substance abuse problem?  Please share them in the comments section below.

Best regards, Joanne

Joanne Royce, Royce & Associates, Human Resources & Training Solutions, Creating Happy, Healthy, and Productive Workplaces

What’s up with Charlie? We’ve seen the headlines. We’ve read the news reports. We’ve heard the interviews. It’s discouraging to see some people laughing and joking about Charlie. While I don’t know definitively what’s up with Charlie Sheen, let’s look at this as if an employee named Charlie worked for you. Would you know what to do about Charlie?

Let’s say that Charlie is a very talented employee who’s worked for the company for a decade and suddenly (or slowly) starts to have performance issues. While there may be many reasons for the issues, the following will help you recognize and deal with the signs of substance abuse:  

1. Recognize the Problem – Substance abuse problems can overlap with mental health and other performance issues, however, you can look for changes in: Attitude or Mood, Quality of Work, Decision Making, Relationships, and Grooming (More on this in Part 2).
2. Consult with HR - If you have an employee like Charlie at work, any action taken without guidance from HR can increase the risk to the company and to the employee.  HR can help with interpreting policies and procedures and legislation, explaining the Employee Assistance Program, accessing external resources, and coaching you so you can handle this difficult and complex situation. 
3. Proceed with Caution – A pattern of incidents and changes in behaviour, or a high-risk situation indicates action should be taken. When you do take action do so with caution by gathering data, setting up a meeting, sticking to the facts, asking for feedback, leading the discussion to create an action plan, and keeping at it by following up until the issue is resolved. (More on this in Part 3)
4. Seek legal advice -  In Canada, if an employee tells you he has a substance abuse problem you need to proceed carefully as the company has a duty to accommodate under the Human Rights Code.  Addiction is considered a disability and it’s against the law to discriminate against someone with a disability. You can’t fire someone for just cause for having an addiction, however, you can set expectations that a certain standard of performance be met.  Legal advice is recommended especially if a substance abuse problem is confirmed.

What do you do about Charlie?

It is human nature to think – “Charlie needs to do something himself. He needs to have the will power to do it himself.”  And it appears that Charlie might also think he has the will power to fix himself.  But does he? You and I might have no idea what’s up with Charlie, but it’s important to realize as Dr. Warren Shepell, EAP Specialist Inc., tweeted recently about mental illness in general:

“Many people think mental illness is a problem that can be cured with willpower – especially those that have never experienced it. Not true!” 

The same could be said about “substance abuse.”  While we might think otherwise, studies show that those in the grip of it can’t think and make best decisions let alone have the willpower to seek help. They need an advocate to guide them to get help.

What policies and procedures do you have in place to help?

Do you have an Employee Assistance Program?

Do you know what you need to do?

Hopefully you won’t manage the situation by trying to ignore or joke about someone who appears to need help and isn’t getting it.  Best practice organizations have programs in place to help advocate for the health and wellness of its people. If you need help developing policies and procedures or an EAP for your company, contact us now.

What do you think is the best way to handle an issue like this? Please share your thoughts by commenting below.

Best regards, Joanne   (Stay tuned for Part 2 and Part 3!)

Joanne Royce, Royce & Associates, Human Resources & Training Solutions, Creating Happy, Healthy, and Productive Workplaces