Leadership | AllMyHR

A Safer Workplace is Within Your Reach

Posted on June 7, 2022June 6, 2022 by AllMyHR

We all want what’s best for our businesses and employees. That’s why most employers understand the importance of focusing on health and safety. Sure, safety training and resources cost both time and money. But the longer-term savings of mitigating risks are worth it. Safer employers generally have lower insurance costs. They have fewer time loss injuries that can drain productivity. They have fewer lower risk of reputation and morale damage. However, for many small and medium sized businesses, the realities of time and financial costs can make this math more elusive.

But it doesn’t matter what kind of industry you’re in. Ensuring the health and safety of your staff is a core part of every employer’s duty. Every industry, from retail to construction, and every class of worker from office personnel to landscapers, bear risk. Those risks can act like fires. Left unattended, they can spread and cause catastrophic losses. Also, unless you have the right tools, even small fires can weigh down your business over the long term.

Safety Doesn’t Happen by Accident

As with HR, managing workplace safety hazards and complying with safety regulations can be confusing and time consuming. Many managers and owners just don’t have the time to navigate those complex rules all on their own. Nor do they have the budget to spend on stand-alone safety resources and consulting.

So that leaves small businesses with a few options. They can bite the bullet and pay for expensive resources awkwardly scaled outside their niche. Or, they can cross their fingers and hope nothing bad happens and face the financial, productivity, and human costs of inaction. Fortunately, there is a third option.

With Employee Health and Safety from AllMyHR, you can offer safety training and resources right-sized for your small business. These resources are integrated with HR compliance tools, alongside personalized advice and guidance from HR, legal, and safety experts.

Employee Health & Safety from AllMyHR includes:

Personalized advice from a certified safety experts on workplace safety standards
Access to a library of safety plans and policies to ensure a safe workplace
Training to educate employees about safe work procedures and more, including microlearning training courses, 5-minute toolbox talks and classroom training presentations
Customizable and downloadable safety manual template to help reduce premiums and workplace accidents

20 Core Safety Topics Include:

Accident Investigation & Reporting
Back Safety
Bloodborne Pathogens
COVID-19
Defensive Driving
Distracted Driving
Driver Preparedness
Emergency Preparedness
Ergonomics
Fall Protection
Fire Extinguisher
Fire Safety and Prevention
Hazard Communication
Infectious Disease (e.g., COVID-19)
Injury / Illness Reporting
Ladder Safety
Office Safety
OSHA 300 Recordkeeping

If you operate in a high-risk industry like construction, manufacturing, or utility work, we have you covered. You can choose from one of two add-on packages with expanded coverage for up to 70 specialty topics:

Basic Client Package (30 Topics)

Aerial Lift Operation
Asbestos Awareness
Cal IIPP – Injury and Illness Prevention
Cold Stress
Compressed Gases
Confined Space Entry
Contractor Safety
CPR
Electric Pallet Jacks
Electrical Safety (General)
Emergency Eyewash / Shower
Ergonomics
Eye / Face Protection
First Aid Responder
Flammable Liquids
Hand / Skin Protection
Hand And Power Tools
Head Protection
Hearing Conservation
Heat Stress/Stroke
Job Safety Analysis
Liquefied Petroleum Gas Safety
Loading Dock Safety
Lockout Tagout (Affected)
Lockout Tagout (Authorized)
Machine Guarding
Office Safety
Powered Industrial Truck
Respiratory Fit Test
Respiratory Protection

Premium Client Package (70 Topics)

Accident Investigation & Reporting
Aerial Lift Operation
Arc Flash (Electrical)
Asbestos Awareness
Back Safety
Behavior Based Safety
Benzene
Bloodborne Pathogens
Cal – Proposition 65
Cal IIPP – Injury and Illness Prevention
Chemical Process Safety
Cold Stress
Commercial Motor Vehicles
Compressed Gases
Confined Space Entry
Contractor Safety
COVID-19
CPR
Defensive Driving
Distracted Driving
DOT Placarding /Storage
Driver Preparedness
Electric Pallet Jacks
Electrical Safety (General)
Emergency Eyewash / Shower
Emergency Preparedness
Ergonomics
Eye / Face Protection
Fire Extinguisher
Fire Safety and Prevention
First Aid Responder
Flammable Liquids
Food Safety
Hand / Skin Protection
Hand and Power Tools
Hazard Communication
HAZWOPER
Head Protection
Hearing Conservation
Heat Stress / Stroke
Hot Work (Welding and Cutting)
Hydrogen Sulfide
Infectious Disease (e.g., COVID-19)
Injury / Illness Reporting
Job Safety Analysis
Lab Safety
Ladder Safety
Lead Awareness
Liquefied Petroleum Gas Safety
Loading Dock Safety
Lockout Tagout (Affected)
Lockout Tagout (Authorized)
Machine Guarding
Material Handling and Storage
Mechanical Power Presses
Mold Awareness
Office Safety
OSHA 300 Recordkeeping
Overhead Cranes & Hoists
Personal Protective Equipment
Powered Industrial Truck
Respiratory Fit Test
Respiratory Protection
Scaffolding
Silica
Slips, Trips, and Falls
Trenches
Workplace Violence

Get Started with Employee Health and Safety Today

Like we said, safety doesn’t happen by accident. If you are ready to start making a difference in your workplace safety culture, talk to your broker or partner, or contact us today to learn more about Employee Health & Safety from AllMyHR.

Four Ways to Make Terminations Less Stressful 

Posted on May 17, 2022 by AllMyHR

Nothing you can do will make terminations entirely stress free. But terminations are often far more challenging than they need to be. Good preparation and the right attitude will make a big difference. Here are four general practices we recommend.

In the 2009 movie Up in the Air, George Clooney and Anna Kendrick play corporate downsizers—HR consultants that companies across the country hire to terminate employees for them. The practice wasn’t exactly common at the time, and fortunately never took off, but it was believable.

Terminations are nerve-wracking. You’re doing something that’s going to cause another person incredible stress and financial hardship. It’s not easy to do, even when it’s deserved.

Nothing you can do will make terminations entirely stress free. But terminations are often far more challenging than they need to be. No, we don’t recommend flying in Anna Kendrick and George Clooney to conduct your terminations, as tempting as that may be. But good preparation and the right attitude will make a big difference. Here are four general practices we do recommend.

Know Your Compliance Obligations Ahead of Time

Look up applicable laws regarding termination procedures and paperwork, accrued paid leave, severance pay, COBRA, and final paychecks before conducting a termination meeting. If you’re laying off a number of employees, you may have specific notice obligations under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) or a similar state law. You don’t want to miss any steps or deadlines. If the employee works in a different state, refer to that state’s laws.

You should also understand how antidiscrimination laws work in practice and take steps to reduce the likelihood that the terminated employee will file a discrimination claim. While at-will employment allows either the employer or the employee to terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without notice and with or without cause, it does not permit you to terminate employment based on the employee belonging to a protected class (e.g., race, sex, religion, national origin).

Along similar lines, screen the termination to make sure it’s not based on a protected activity. Myriad state and federal laws protect employees from being discharged for certain reasons. For example, Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act entitles employees to talk about their wages or complain about working conditions with each other. A handful of states prohibit employers from terminating employees for engaging in lawful activities outside of work. Reporting unsafe working conditions is protected. And don’t forget about the many leave laws that vary from state to state: from sick leave to military leave to school-involvement leave and more, you may be surprised by the types of absences that are protected.

There’s even some risk when the termination is for cause. A terminated employee could claim your reasoning is just for show, and they were actually terminated for an illegal reason. That risk grows exponentially when you don’t provide the employee with a sensible reason for the termination or when you’ve been inconsistent in applying your discipline policies.

Consequently, the safest way to terminate employees is to communicate performance issues to them, give them a chance to improve, and have documentation that justifies the legitimate business reasons behind the termination. This documentation would include policy violations, instances of poor performance, and any disciplinary or corrective action taken. The documentation should indicate that the company communicated the issues to the employee. The more you can do to show you had a legitimate business reason and gave them an opportunity to improve, the harder it will be for an employee to fill in the blank with their own illegal reason for termination. The termination will be less risky, and you’ll feel better about the decision because you treated the employee fairly.

Approach Terminations with a Positive Mindset

Painful as they are, terminations can be a good thing. Yes, even for the terminated employee. Let’s say you have an employee who’s continually struggled to meet your performance expectations. Guidance and training haven’t proven fruitful. No amount of coaching has or would enable them to do the job better. There’s no other job in your organization they could do. So now you have a choice. You can keep them on, tolerating subpar performance and accepting its consequences for your organization, or you can let them go. In this case, letting them go is probably the better option for both parties.

You’re not doing this struggling employee any favors by keeping them in a position where they can’t be successful. You’re also setting them up for failure in future roles. Months or years of experience listed on their resume may help them land a future job, but if it’s a job they actually can’t do, their future employer will have the same choice you’re facing. And the employee will be no better off.

This employee has their own hard choices to face. They may need to develop skills beyond what you can provide, rethink what kind of work they’re suited to do, or make better choices about their future. Whatever the case, if you allow them to coast along, they’ll never thrive. Termination is in the employee’s best interest in these types of situations. We wouldn’t recommend telling the employee this, but it’s something to keep in mind when making this difficult decision.

In the case of layoffs, where the employee is not at fault, figure out a few ways you can help them land on their feet. Provide a severance if that’s an option. Remind them that they can apply for unemployment. Help them update their resume. Inform them of any opportunities you know about and facilitate networking connections if you can. In short, make the layoff meeting a productive discussion about their future. That’s going to be a hard discussion, no doubt, and it’s possible the employee won’t want to hear it. You can honor that too.

Be prepared for strong emotions like sadness and anger to surface during the termination meeting so that you can respond with confidence. While there’s a fine line between allowing space for initial processing and unnecessarily prolonging the meeting, you can acknowledge and validate the employee’s feelings without changing the end result. Although escalations into violence are rare, review your company’s procedures ahead of time for dealing with such situations.

Don’t Let Terminations Be a Surprise

Have you ever gotten an email from a boss saying something cryptic like “We need to talk”? You may immediately begin to worry. Are you in trouble? Are you getting fired? Until you have that talk, you can’t breathe a sigh of relief.

Why would your mind go there? It might be because you’re not clear on what could get you into trouble at work and you don’t feel safe. Vague out-of-the-blue messages are seldom a good idea. They’re a terrible practice when people believe that they could realistically lose their job for reasons unknown to them. That belief puts people on edge, inclining them to assume the worst when their manager reaches out without any context. Surprise terminations encourage everyone to adopt that belief and incentivize a culture of fear.

Terminations should never be a complete surprise. Yes, at-will employment allows you to terminate employment for any reason or no reason at all (as long as it’s not an illegal reason), but please don’t fire someone for any reason or no reason at all.

Clear rules and consistent practices are your friends here. Inform employees what’s expected of them and what could result in their dismissal—the employee handbook is a good place to do this. Enforce your rules consistently, not willy-nilly. If you let employees get away with policy violations, but then suddenly switch to strict enforcement, you’ll only create confusion and fear. You don’t need to follow the same process for every kind of offense—some behaviors may warrant immediate termination, for example. But don’t bend the rules for some employees and not others.

A coaching culture can also be your friend, especially with employees who are struggling to perform to expectations. If managers regularly work with employees on improving their performance and enhancing their skills, they’re in a good position to spot signs early on that a struggling employee may be more successful and happier doing something else. In some cases, good coaching means guiding an employee out of the organization. A loss is a loss, but guiding employees toward more suitable work elsewhere is usually much smoother and less disruptive than an involuntary termination. Plus, they leave with goodwill towards you. In situations where termination is the right call, if managers have had conversations with employees ahead of time about the consequences for failing to improve, they’ll have softened the blow when it eventually comes.

Lastly, don’t hide bad financials from employees. If business is slow and a layoff is possible, employees need to know so they can make informed financial decisions and contingency plans. They’ll be extra angry if they feel they’ve been lied to or misled. In an age where companies go viral on the internet for poorly conducting layoffs, it’s in your interest to be transparent and honest.

Stay Organized

Develop a checklist ahead of time of things that need to be covered. This list might include specific equipment and keys that need to be returned, passwords and access cards that will need to be disabled, coverage of the employee’s workload until a replacement is hired, notification to coworkers, vendors, and customers, COBRA information, a current address for W-2s, and what you’re going to say during the termination meeting.

Checking off boxes may feel impersonal, but the day of a termination is at the very least challenging for all involved, and at the worst chaotic, especially if you’re disorganized. Keeping the process smooth and orderly is both kind and professional.

Whether you’re facing a challenging termination or that new key recruit, you need to do it right! AllMyHR provides the tools and support you need to make sure your decisions are safe and best practices. You cannot be too careful… Contact us to schedule a free consultation and quick tour of our system to see how our HR solutions can create a compliant and stress-free environment for your organization | 540-373-2121 | AllMyHR.com

In a Strong Safety Culture, Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility

Posted on May 5, 2022May 6, 2022 by AllMyHR

Safety cultures aren’t something you can create by just writing a check. They take dedication, time, and commitment.
In fact, a successful safety culture also depends on having the right systems, processes, and tools.
But the rewards for a strong safety culture abound. Lower risks. Higher productivity. Greater collective sense of ownership.

There’s a lot of talk these days about safety culture. It’s a popular buzzword, and it’s easy to see why. The term culture implies that ownership for safety is shared broadly. It shifts the onus from leadership to membership. It also wraps up a lot of complex elements into one easy term. This lends to the idea that a safety culture is something you can create overnight.

But safety culture isn’t something you can switch on and off. Nor is it a state of being you can achieve. Think about the word culture and what it means. As a noun, culture refers to a collection of practices, thoughts, and routines that are shared within a group. As a verb, to culture something means to provide resources and maintenance to encourage growth. Both of those uses are very apt when talking about a safety culture.

Cultures must be fed to thrive. There are critical elements that go into a successful safety culture. Some of these things cost money, others need time. What they all require, though, is commitment. Here’s a rundown of the critical resources you need for a strong Safety Culture.

Critical Safety Culture Resources

Employee Engagement

Your employees must have to be engaged if your safety culture is going to thrive. In a highly engaged team, the entire org is looking out for their well-being and the well-being of their team. Their eyes, hands, and brainpower make a huge difference.

A study conducted by the American Society of Safety Professionals found that highly engaged workers were far more likely to follow safety procedures and use the right PPE. In fact, they are even more likely to confront colleagues engaging in unsafe behaviors.

Of all the resources we’re listing here, this may be the most difficult to deliver. Employee engagement is a sort of capital for which you can’t just write a check. It comes from good management, excellent HR practices, and a strong sense of duty to the well-being of your staff. If you don’t demonstrate through actions that safety is important—why should an employee take it any more seriously?

The irony is that stronger engagement could very well save a disengaged employee from injury. Engaged employees are more likely to follow every safety rule. They’re more likely to take wearing PPE seriously. They understand the perils that come with performing tasks that they’ve done many times. They know that just because a task is routine, doesn’t mean they can take their own safety for granted.

But employees are people. And people are often victims of the Optimism Bias, which lends us to think that because nothing bad has happened in the past, nothing bad is likely to happen in the future. This is the same cognitive bias that often leads people to undertake risky behaviors. It’s a leader’s job, in fact it is everyone’s job, to remind our colleagues that safety isn’t something we can just assume.

Time

One of the most key elements of any safety program is time. Your Safety Committee and leadership teams need the time to fulfill their mandates. Also, think about all the steps necessary for them to fulfill their mission. Your teams will have to meet regularly to:

Identify new and existing hazards around your workplace
Find reasonable ways to mitigate or eliminate those hazards
Develop safe work practices and procedures, training, and guidance
Monitor the outcomes and push for continual improvement

At minimum, you need to apportion the time for your Safety Committee to meet regularly. Then, unless you have a team member dedicated to safety, they will need time to make the fixes they suggest. That might not be very much time at all—but it is time that must be set aside by the business.

Information

It’d be hard to form a robust safety culture without providing the info your team needs. This information could include:

Safety training that is related to every aspect of a role. This could include chemical, power tool, kitchen/food, forklifts, and proper lifting safety. Training should be delivered regularly to everyone, not just the Safety Committee. It can be handled through an online system, DVDs, or through training delivered by a visiting or in-house expert.

Trends in industry safety. You’ll want to share news about newly identified hazards and trends in safety. Trends from the past have included ergonomics, silica dust, and even mold awareness. These can be worked into incident reviews and meetings.

Safety work instructions. Whether your team is lifting with a forklift, a pallet jack, or their own back, there is a right way to do it and a way to hurt themselves. Be sure clearly written best practices are saved in a spot where they can be referenced later if needed. A good place to put them is in the work area where employees will see them daily.

Equipment: You probably already have a good bit of PPE and other safety equipment. This is your cue to see where you could invest in additional tools and equipment to make your workplace safer. Some examples include lighting, anti-fatigue mats, lift
equipment, new carts, storage/racking supplies, safer forklifts, insulated tools, stand-up desks, etc. It’s also a good idea to examine your equipment and facilities to identify anything that is worn or unsafe. Common things you will want to look for include:

Gloves with holes and excessive wear
Dulled box cutter blades
Broken chairs and stools
Dirty drinking fountains and restrooms
Vehicle issues such as worn tire tread, poorly conditioned brakes, or compromised restraints
Misplaced or expired fire extinguishers
Slippery floors, loose handrails, and other trip and fall hazards
Deteriorating plumbing, HVAC, and electrical infrastructure

Systems

When we say systems, we don’t (necessarily) mean software. You simply need to have administrative mechanisms in place that facilitate a strong safety culture. Whether you use a binder, a spreadsheet, a program, or a whiteboard, a strong system will ensure your safety programs are effective. These are the types of outcomes you could systematize:

Employee suggestions
Hazard reporting
Safety corrective and preventive action tracking
Equipment inspections (fire extinguishers, eyewash stations, exit signs, emergency lights, etc.)
Safety discussions in team meetings
Work procedures: Include how to do each step safely (is PPE required, do you need to unplug equipment first, are there guards or barriers that need to be in place, do you need tools or safety equipment on hand? Like with best practices, these are codified methods for handling things like leaks/spills, injuries, car accidents, or damaged equipment.)
SDS updates – Have a system in place to maintain your chemical safety sheets. It could be software, or it could be a binder with paper.
Workplace assessments – Check your worksites routinely. Look for hazards, improvements, maintenance standards, and double check locks on supplies.
Tracking for near misses and hazards – Just because something didn’t get broken, and no one was hurt doesn’t mean that a safety incident isn’t worth tracking. Keeping an eye on near misses and other hazards is a great way of preventing an injury or incident. You might notice that, for example, there are always puddles in one specific area when it rains. In response, you can put a larger walk-off mat, put up wet floor signs when it rains, or add additional awnings to the entrance.

Management Investment in Your Safety Culture

As with employee buy-in, commitment from managers and owners can be a tricky commodity. The human and business tolls for workplace injuries are immense. They increase employee turnover and worsen skilled labor shortages and supply chain issues. They increase the risk of lawsuits and workers’ comp claims. So you’d think it was a no brainer that leadership would be all-in on ensuring that every workplace is safe.

But running a business isn’t easy. Safety is another moving part. It’s another chance to fall victim to the Optimism Bias, too. So sometimes owners, managers, supervisors, and other leaders need a reminder about why they need to stay invested in safety.

You can view safety, of course, as a duty set by outside regulators like OSHA. Workplace injuries are potentially costly from a legal point of view. But this is also about showing your team that you are personally, professionally, and financially invested in their well-being. It’s about using actions, not just words, to encourage good behavior, safer outcomes, and better success for you, your team, and your business.

Summing Up

Buzzword or not, a strong safety culture is an excellent barometer for organizational health. It’s a demonstration of your business’s commitment to the safety of its employees and customers. A vital safety culture shows through action, resources, information, and accountability just how highly you value safety and organizational health.

At AllMyHR, we are committed to helping your company develop a culture of safety. With well over 125 safety courses, our training specialists can help you structure a training program, customized for your industry and Staff. Enjoyable, effective, and easy to administer, your training system will be on autopilot! We do all if the heavy lifting for you Just give us a call (540-373-2121) to discuss or schedule a short demonstration of our capabilities.

The Top 4 Ways to Develop a Great Manager

Posted on April 19, 2022April 19, 2022 by AllMyHR

Think about your favorite manager. Now think about what made them your favorite. Was it the success you earned while working with them? Your employer may have evaluated them based on metrics like team productivity or turnover rates. Great managers are usually good at leading productive, low-turnover teams, but those aren’t the things their employees remember.

So what about them left such an indelible mark on you? Perhaps this manager was easily approachable and worthy of your trust. Perhaps they effectively led your team through a major change and had your back the whole way. Perhaps they were always laser focused on developing their team—on developing you.

In our view, the success of a manager is defined by the success of the people they lead. We rate a manager’s performance based largely on how their team is doing.

Bad Management Practices Are Rampant, But That Can Change

Unfortunately, the terrible manager remains a popular character in our collective consciousness—and for good reason. There’s no shortage of managers unwisely promoted into the role or given insufficient training to manage people well.

You’ve got the micromanager, the bully, the leader who plays favorites, and the boss who emails subordinates in the middle of the night only to not be available for clarification or responses during the workday. You’ve likely met or heard about the manager who frequently blows off meetings, neglects to give needed details on a project, or takes credit for the work of others. Horror stories abound in review sites, online communities, and conversations across the land.

With bad management practices so rampant, it’s easy for people to forget that there are lots of managers who do their job well. Many do it exceptionally well. That’s why we want to look at the characteristics of the best managers and what businesses can do to hire, promote, and develop these leaders.

Qualities of the Best Managers

The best managers work hard to improve the work lives of their team members. A big part of that is setting and communicating clear expectations. Good managers focus on performance, so their people get better at what they do. This includes empowering employees to identify development areas that matter the most to them. Another big part is facilitating cooperation so that their reports work better together and better with other teams. The best managers also recognize and advocate for their people. They listen carefully to know what their people need to be successful, and they aim to deliver it.

These managers are empathetic, understanding, and supportive. They listen to their people and have a keen understanding of what motivates and inspires them. They’re available to troubleshoot problems, brainstorm ideas, and provide guidance on projects. They communicate effectively and correct mistakes in ways that build people up rather than tear them down. They teach what they know and always seek to learn. They have an eye for equity.

Developing the Best Managers

If your managers—or the people you intend to promote into management—don’t have all of these qualities, don’t worry. These traits and behaviors can be taught and nurtured. Managers also need to be managed. Here are some ways you can build more effective managers and nurture the traits that make managers great.

1. Train New Managers After You’ve Promoted Them

When you promote a stellar employee into a managerial role, you also must give them the tools to successfully manage people. They may feel ready to lead a team, but it’s up to the employer to be certain they know the responsibilities involved, and how your organization wants them to execute those responsibilities. Also consider managers that are building a new team. Do they have the resources to successfully interview candidates? Perform tasks in your applicant tracking software? Communicate with HR or recruiting about the process? Your newer or less experienced leaders may have ideas about the way they want to manage based on their experience as employees—but that’s not enough.

To build truly successful managers, leadership may need to go back to the basics and provide not only base-level training, but clear avenues for answers, guidance, and support. Should new managers go to their own managers first or to HR with questions or problems? These are things that should be spelled out and communicated, even if you think they might be obvious or rudimentary.

It also doesn’t hurt to prepare new managers for the role before you hire or promote them into it. Talk with them about what the job will be like, especially if they haven’t managed before. Go over what’s needed and what’s nice to have. Be open about the struggles and the stress the new manager can expect to experience. Make sure they have the desire to manage.

2. Practice Presence

Most managers don’t want to or have the time to micromanage. They hope their reports have the skills and knowledge to do the job they were hired to do, and so they take a hands-off approach and let their reports get to it. Or they’re too busy with their own projects to do anything more than basic managerial duties. But that’s a sure way to see projects or tasks go off-track, especially if managers don’t make themselves available for troubleshooting, or provide clarity on instructions.

Remind your managers to treat silence from their reports as an opportunity to check in, offer an ear, problem solve, or simply cheerlead. Check-ins don’t have to be formal, overwhelming, or take more time than necessary. Software programs that allow employees to note what they’re working on or bring up obstacles and share these with their manager can be a great tool and don’t have to take anyone more than a few minutes at a time. Less formal but still as productive, a scheduled check in call (at an agreed-upon frequency) gives managers insight into projects and helps employees feel heard and celebrated.

3. Guide the Guiders

Good managers don’t necessarily have all the answers—but they know where to get them. Company leadership should aim to provide managers at all levels with the resources and training they need to do their best for their reports. Do your people leaders have access to mentors either inside the company or with partners or resource groups, and do you encourage these relationships? Mentorship programs, “day-in-the-life-of” presentations, or even informal programs that connect managers from different departments can provide managers with inspiration and support.

Newer managers might not know immediately how to handle a situation where an employee has a health crisis or family issue that suddenly takes them away from work. Do your managers know where to turn? Is there an online repository for information and guidance for situations managers may be presented with (and do all managers know about it)? Or would you rather they immediately bring the issue to HR?

Programs can be robust, such as mandatory manager trainings scheduled throughout the year, or as simple as setting up an internal messaging process (e.g., Slack, Skype, text messaging) or smaller interdepartmental groups of managers that can provide informal support to one another. Whether your company has the budget for a formal training program or not, connections can and should be made to support managers.

If you’re not sure where your managers could use guidance or development, ask them. They’re more likely to be engaged in their development if they have a say in what they’re learning.

4. Promote Teamwork Among Managers

Are your managers operating as a team? Each of your managers has a distinct personality and approach to management that affects their leadership style. One may be highly self-driven while another needs deadlines to motivate action. One may focus on building their team’s strengths, another on correcting their team’s weaknesses. One may communicate a lot, another only a little.

These differences can work, but they can also cause confusion and inequality, whether real or imagined. For instance, employees who report to or work with more than one manager may not know what is expected of them. Or they may find themselves overworked if managers don’t coordinate workloads. Cross-team efforts may be delayed or even ruined due to misunderstandings or failures to communicate. The company may be guided by several conflicting personalities instead of a single, unified company culture. In extreme cases, inconsistent management practices may lead to discrimination claims.

To bring managers together, you need something to unite them around. This is your company culture—the personality of the organization, its mission and values, working environment, policies, and practices. Ensure your managers are following consistent management practices, making decisions aligned with the values of the company, and regularly communicating with one another about their needs, obstacles, and workforce changes.

Neither good managers nor bad managers exist in a vacuum. They either have the support or the inattention of company leadership—the latter to dangerous consequences. A culture of poor management can lead to employee dissatisfaction, burnout, and increased turnover, all of which can be costly. An investment in selecting with intention and training your managers is not just an investment in them, but an investment in the company.

Tag: Leadership