This week we talked about performance appraisals and dealing with problem employees.
I don't think anyone really looks forward to performance appraisals, but I do think they are important. Like the lectures mentioned, they give employees a good idea of how they are doing and which areas they can or should improve in. Like a report card, or a measuring stick. Performance appraisals can be conducted monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.
I, personally, think performance appraisals should be conducted more often than just an annual appraisal. An annual appraisal just doesn't seem like it would be as effective, because it would be harder to see improvement and to follow up.
We also talked about dealing with problem employees. In a leadership position, things will come up and you will have to deal problem employees.
One thing that was mentioned from the lecture that I thought was interesting was the idea that discipline is not a bad thing. Discipline is correcting an inappropriate behavior. And it's true, but too often we think of discipline as being a negative thing.
For our team activities this week, we had several discussions.
For the first discussion, we had to determine who the greatest leader of all time was. It was quite difficult, and not my favorite assignment we have done. Like one of my team members mentioned, it's so hard to choose one person as the "greatest leader of all time" because so many leaders are great leaders, but it's their differences that make them great. George Washington and Alexander the Great were both great leaders, but they had many different qualities and accomplished different things.
Our next discussion was about performance appraisals. Our assignment was to develop the criteria/benchmark for each of the five grading levels (Poor, Below Average, Average, Above Average, Exceptional) used to evaluate the staff of your organization. This is what you will measure ALL your employees against. (this is not to be copied form another organization(s).
I also found this assignment to be difficult. It was hard to come up with specific criteria for evaluating performance when we weren't completely sure what the job description was. Also, I've never had an actual performance appraisal, so I was basically just guessing. But I think our group did okay. It's not too difficult to determine what a "good" or a "poor" employee would be doing, but it's still difficult to evaluate when you don't know what you are supposed to be evaluating.
Our third and final discussion was about disciplining problem employees. We were given this information:
XXXXX
I don't think anyone really looks forward to performance appraisals, but I do think they are important. Like the lectures mentioned, they give employees a good idea of how they are doing and which areas they can or should improve in. Like a report card, or a measuring stick. Performance appraisals can be conducted monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.
I, personally, think performance appraisals should be conducted more often than just an annual appraisal. An annual appraisal just doesn't seem like it would be as effective, because it would be harder to see improvement and to follow up.
We also talked about dealing with problem employees. In a leadership position, things will come up and you will have to deal problem employees.
One thing that was mentioned from the lecture that I thought was interesting was the idea that discipline is not a bad thing. Discipline is correcting an inappropriate behavior. And it's true, but too often we think of discipline as being a negative thing.
For our team activities this week, we had several discussions.
For the first discussion, we had to determine who the greatest leader of all time was. It was quite difficult, and not my favorite assignment we have done. Like one of my team members mentioned, it's so hard to choose one person as the "greatest leader of all time" because so many leaders are great leaders, but it's their differences that make them great. George Washington and Alexander the Great were both great leaders, but they had many different qualities and accomplished different things.
Our next discussion was about performance appraisals. Our assignment was to develop the criteria/benchmark for each of the five grading levels (Poor, Below Average, Average, Above Average, Exceptional) used to evaluate the staff of your organization. This is what you will measure ALL your employees against. (this is not to be copied form another organization(s).
I also found this assignment to be difficult. It was hard to come up with specific criteria for evaluating performance when we weren't completely sure what the job description was. Also, I've never had an actual performance appraisal, so I was basically just guessing. But I think our group did okay. It's not too difficult to determine what a "good" or a "poor" employee would be doing, but it's still difficult to evaluate when you don't know what you are supposed to be evaluating.
Our third and final discussion was about disciplining problem employees. We were given this information:
You are the nurse leader of your unit. Your supervisor has come to you about a problem employee who she wants you to take care of.
The employee has worked in your emergency room for 15 years. She charges approximately 50% of the shifts she works. She is a single mother of six (6). Her spouse died of cancer three (3) years ago. She only works her two (2) scheduled shifts every week.
The issue is that she will not pick up any of the unit's extra needs shifts.
What will be the discipline the employee will receive and what is the rational for this action?
Our team came to the unanimous decision that we could not, in good faith, discipline this employee. We felt that we weren't given enough information about the situation. For example, does the job require the nurse to take extra call shifts? If not, it doesn't appear that she is slacking or not fulfilling her job requirements. We would also want to know what, if any, disciplinary action had already been taken.
I think it's important to have the full story before you take disciplinary action. As a leader, you want to be consistent and as "fair" as possible. You should listen to both sides of the story. Why is this employee unable or unwilling to take extra shifts? Is there something we/she could do to enable her to take extra shifts? What action has the nurse leader taken? Do we need to think about hiring another employee for a PRN position?
Overall, I think this was a good week. I know that disciplining employees is something that intimidates me, but I really liked the thought that discipline isn't a negative thing. It's more like constructive criticism. You want to present it in a way that shows you are trying to help someone improve. Criticism isn't a bad thing; neither is discipline.
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