This article was originally written and delivered at a legal professional convention. It has been modified as it applies to all professional and businesses.

4 STEPS TO AVOID BEING TAKEN HOSTAGE BY YOUR EMPLOYEES
By
C. J. Leone
CEO, Catalyst Group, Inc.

Without a doubt, the larges number of inquiries we get from professional practice owners and business owners is when they feel held hostage by employees who demand raises along with the threat of quitting if they don't get the raise. The fear of losing a valuable employee causes the owner to give the raise. This is not the solution!

Unhappy employees who demand a raise are looking for positive feedback they are doing a good job. Unhappy employees are unproductive employees. Unproductive employees affect the profit of the practice or business.

Negativity in a work place will stop a practice or business from growing. It causes stress on both the employer and the employee. When Catalyst comes into a practice or business to address working relationship issues, we have found common similarities that indicate that negativity exists::

• Work is seldom praised or recognized
• Job security is lacking
• Conflicts exist between individuals
• There is poor supervision
• There is no opportunity for growth or advancement
• There is no trust between the employer and the employee
• Fear of change is high
• There is a me versus us atmosphere
• Ample resources are lacking
• Working conditions are poor

Negativity in a practice or business has serious consequences. It results in decreased work production, high employee turnover, loss of loyalty, and loss of creativity from the people on the front line. It also causes client or customer complaints. It makes for an unhappy work environment.

Employees are looking to you to give them leadership. Leadership is not telling people what to do. Leadership is providing the right atmosphere that allows employees to grow and prosper within a practice or business so that the practice or business as a whole is better. Managing employees in a positive work culture boils down to four key elements: Expectations - Tools - Feedback - Accountability. These four key elements in employee management are the basis for a good practice or business manual and a practice or business without an employee manual is doomed to fail internally whether you have one employee or one hundred employees.

Expectations written down make employees effective and productive. Unless you are up front with your expectations, no employee can be a success for your practice or business. Every employee has the right to know three things:

• What is the work culture within your practice
• What is the job that is expected to be done
• What are the core values of the practice or business

Work Culture is the conditions under which you will expect your employees to conduct themselves. If you expect employees to treat each other respectfully, be client or customer friendly, deliver error free work, be on time, etc. you must spell it out. Do not assume employees think as you do.

Job descriptions are critical to employees. There is no gray area when it comes to what you want them to do and what the position offers. A good job description will give the person a title and their authority level and who their supervisor will be. It will show the qualifications required to hold the position. The description will set out specifically what the job entails. It shows the bottom line or accountability factor for the job.

The values by which the practice or business conducts its business is the third part of expectations. Employers seldom take time to think about what their own personal value system. If a employer believes total honesty is a value in the practice or business then you would never have an employee tell a client you are not in the office when you are. Be up front about your bottom line value system and then put it in writing and require every employee to follow same. If you do hire someone who is in conflict with your values they will never last and they will destroy your practice or business. Simply put: you practice what you preach and make others do the same.

Tools are the means for an employee to accomplish his or her job. You cannot ask someone to do something and then not give them what they need to handle the job. We are both amazed and amused when we go into a practice or business and see the employer with the fastest computer in the office, and the staff working on the slowest machines. Since they have to get the work done, give them the fastest machine.

Tools are more than just good equipment and work space. Tools also include the procedures and processes necessary to handle a case, training and education of your staff, adequate supplies, and resources to accomplish the task. When staff sees you provide the tools they need the more respect they have for you as a leader. You are trying to make them the best of the best and that is just as important to them as raise. Perhaps the most important investment you will make is to provide good training (High Performance Training) to your employees. Even a simple class on effective communication skills raises the level of performance.

Feedback is a two way street. You must provide feedback (both positive and negative) so your staff can see whether or not they are meeting your expectations. You cannot complain about an employee's performance unless you have told them what is wrong. You cannot expect an employee to be a high producer for you if you do not tell them they are doing a good job.

Employees want to know when they are not meeting your expectations. When we come into a practice or business we talk to employees in confidence. Repeatedly employees tell us they have no idea what is expected of them. They try to figure it out based upon your reaction on any given day.

Employees know when praise is sincere. Unfortunately, when you are busy it is hard to remember to give someone a pat on the back. Some people just are not good at it. One employer we worked with simply could not verbally acknowledge his employees even though he wanted to. We bought him four stamps with positive remarks on them and he would stamp them on their work product. His staff cherished the stamped remarks because he gave them only when well deserved.

Written evaluations are one of the smartest forms of feedback anyone can provide an employee. Catalyst believes annual evaluations should never be tied to a raise. Give raises based on merit and performance when deserved and NEVER to satisfy an unhappy or unproductive employee. Longevity is not a reason for a raise. Don't reward mediocracy!

Evaluations should have a rating system. There are many good evaluation forms available. Evaluations should explain where improvement is needed and why. They should also contain high praise where deserved. It should set out goals for the employee to meet over a period that allows them to grow and advance within the practice or business. Ask employees for input on how to make the practice or business better. Give them ownership in the work culture. Feedback is a two way street. Maintain a free and open atmosphere for discussion. Changes will occur when the employee feels their ideas have value. Be prepared to act upon good ideas.

If there is a serious situation where a problem is affecting the employee's performance, act immediately. Do not allow a situation to deteriorate. When you ignore a problem, it gets worse. The employee would rather resolve the issue and you need to do it for your own piece of mind.

Never confront an employee when angry. If something has occurred or something needs changing simply step back and write it down on a piece of paper. Write down your solution. Set aside a good time for the employee to meet with you. Do not blindside them. Tell the employee what you see as the problem and ask them for a solution. Create an open atmosphere where you listen and they get to be involved. When done and the two of you have arrived at an agreed solution, again write it down. Make it clear what will occur if the problem is not resolved. Most importantly, do follow up and be prepared to take action.

Accountability is an employer's stock in trade. After all, isn't that what employers do - hold others accountable for their actions. Yet, when it comes to employees they do not want to do what they do best. Without accountability, there is no truly successful employee management. If there is any truth in anything we have learned, it is that employees will know if you will follow through with all of the above or you do not. We have yet to go into one practice or business that employees have not told us they want boundaries, rules and want to know the consequences. This is because to live in a state of fear of not knowing is worse than knowing.

If employees know the boundaries, the rules and the consequences positive things occur. The employee no longer lives in fear of being wrong. They quit worrying about displeasing someone. It promotes fairness because everyone follows the rule and everyone is held accountable. There is no favoritism in a positive work culture.

We will tell you that accountability is tricky. Don't set a bottom line rule you can't follow. Pick and choose your battles wisely remembering it is possible to win the battle and lose the war.

Don't under estimate your employees. They know what works. Once you implement these four simple rules, the employees will implement their own in order to fall within these four rules. Insist any supervisor (employer or management) hold the line.

Employers, as a rule, want happy employees; however, they have failed to realize that their job is not to make people happy but rather to create and foster an environment that allows the practice or business to be successful and when the practice or business is successful, the employees are successful. Consistency coupled with fairness wins every time.

Most employers, in general, enjoy close relationships with their staff and it is hard to separate the boundary line between being personally close to an employee and being able to hold them at arms- length in order to achieve good employee production. Believe this - employees would rather have your respect than your friendship. The ability to do this translates into a good practice that is profitable and generates money for you. Good employees create other good employees. Get rid of the bad apple no matter how valuable you think they are. One bad apple will spoil the batch.

Employees today are among the best and the brightest we have seen in our many years of management. They work hard to get ahead and they have an unswerving loyalty to good employers. They will never leave you over money but they will leave you over unacceptable working conditions. They are balancing career with quality of life and those that have a passion for what they do never see their job as work. Egos have no place in a positive work culture and if it occurs in your practice or business no matter who it is, get rid of them!. Team play is the name of the game in today's practice or business.

Employers must understand that good employee management is the key to a profitable practice or business. By starting today with an employee makeover you will find your employees will respond in kind. You will discover you have bright and loyal employees who are willing to give you 110%, who will be the cornerstone of your practice, and create a practice or business that makes you can take pride in and one who allows you to be the employer that you have always wanted to be.

05/28/04