RISK MANAGEMENT IN EMPLOYMENT

DANYELLE WILLIAMS ACKALL, SPHR

AGENDA

• You can Dilute the Risk by…• Practice safe railroad crossings

• Do the laundry (list of Expectations

• Never throw a surprise party

• Buy a filing cabinet - Documentation

• Be Lady Justice (Fair treatment)

• Provide accurate report cards - Performance Evaluations

• Channel Aretha Franklin - Respect

• Keep it in the bedroom - Privacy

WHAT IS MORE LIKELY?

You’ll be in a car accident OR You’ll be bitten by a zombie

WHAT IS MORE LIKELY?

You’ll adopt a dog OR You’ll be a Cowboys’ Cheerleader

WHAT IS MORE LIKELY?

You’ll receive a compliant against you at work OR

You’ll have to defend your actions in court

HR

WHAT IS MORE LIKELY?

You’ll witness someone left out or pushed out at workOR

You’ll receive an EEOC Complaint for discrimination

WHAT IS MORE LIKELY?

HR

PRACTICE SAFE RAILROAD CROSSINGS

• Warnings

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

PRACTICE SAFE RAILROAD CROSSINGS

• Performance/Behavior Warnings:

• Make them CRYSTAL clear

• Avoid sandwiching the bad news

• Be sure the information is timely

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

PRACTICE SAFE RAILROAD CROSSINGS - CLARITY

• Think about the objective

• “This is a verbal warning”

• Descriptions of behavior and expectation

• Examples!

• Plan what you want to say and how you will say it

• Keep it simple

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

PRACTICE SAFE RAILROAD CROSSINGS – NO SANDWICH

• Don’t sugar coat the coaching/counseling

• It is far kinder to tell someone about poor performance

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

PRACTICE SAFE RAILROAD CROSSINGS - TIMELY

• Address issues quickly

• Avoid avoidance (finding another route)

• Handle it yourself

• Plan the conversation and provide examples

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

DO THE LAUNDRY

• A laundry list of expectations:

• Job duties

• Deadlines

• Attitude/Willingness to volunteer

• Team approach

• General work ethic

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

EXAMPLES – THEY SHOULD KNOW

• Always have something to write on

• Rise above office politics

• Be respectful of other people’s time

• Don’t talk money

• No surprises

• Be willing

• No helicopters

• Say thank you when given a compliment

EXAMPLES – THEY SHOULD KNOW

• Ditch the gum

• Don’t trash your employer

• Do NOT answer the cell phone in the restroom

• Never underestimate the power of the administrative assistant

• Take responsibility for your mistakes

• Handshake, hairstyle, and attire matter

• 8:01 am is late; 4:59 pm is early

• You are not too good to: make coffee, make copies, take minutes

NEVER THROW A SURPRISE PARTY

• Written warnings should never be a surprise

• Terminations should never be a surprise

• Poor performance reviews should never be a surprise!

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

NEVER THROW A SURPRISE PARTY

• Coaching

• Verbal Warning

• Written Warning

• Suspension/Performance Improvement Plan

• Termination of Employment

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

BUY A FILING CABINET

• Document, document, document

• Supervisor’s notebook

• Email

• Memo to file

• Memo with employee signature

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

BE LADY JUSTICE

• Treat all employees fairly and equally

• Don’t single anyone out

• Most don’t know the law

• Be consistent

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

PROVIDE ACCURATE REPORT CARDS

• Performance Reviews should accurately reflect performance

• Stop trying to be “nice”

• Fosters resentment in team

• Sets up employee to fail

• Don’t say one thing and do another

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

CHANNEL ARETHA FRANKLIN

• R-E-S-P-E-C-T

• “Am I treating this employee the way I would want to be treated?”

• Acknowledge experience and knowledge

• Communicate when you can to build trust

• The walk of shame

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

KEEP IT IN THE BEDROOM

• Privacy matters

• Confidentiality is key

• Emails always make it to the former employee

• Work distribution announcements get twisted

Agenda

• Practice Safe Railroad Crossings

• Do The Laundry

• Never Throw A Surprise Party

• Buy A Filing Cabinet

• Be Lady Justice

• Provide Accurate Report Cards

• Channel Aretha Franklin

• Keep It In The Bedroom

MANAGE THE RISK