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Giving
the Boss a Job Review
Allowing your employees to tell you how you are doing Many progressive businesses will have an established procedure for the evaluation of their staff members as well as a time line for salary reviews. In many businesses, it will go something like this. A new hire is given an initial pay rate. They are told that salary reviews are given every six or twelve months. There is a job description that details their responsibilities, and in many cases they are also given a job specification list that details how to perform certain tasks. Many of these businesses also utilize a policy and procedure manual, which outlines many items such as vacation, proper attire, correct usage of the various company forms for sales and returns, and other areas of concern to all staff members. The next bit of information is what few businesses have. And that is a written explanation of how the next salary review will be graded. It is a piece of paper that gives a logical listing of the areas in which a staff member is reviewed. The list could be as simple as being the key points of the job description. The idea is to help a staff member to understand how you see their work ethics and accomplishments. No matter how many areas you would detail, if you grade on a one to ten scale, and tell the staff member what the "passing grade" is, there can be no question as to whether or not the staff member is entitled to his next pay raise. Truly, these are ideas that the progressive business has in place, and these are usually the shops that have staff members that are demonstrating the highest skills and are most qualified to take care of your customers. So, we have covered one of the areas of concern for most readers of this column, right? And the lines of communication between the employer and staff member are well established, right? Not quite. Communication is a two way street, and so far we have clearly defined what we anticipate from our staff members. What if you asked your staff members how they felt you were performing as an owner or manager? How many of them would give you an honest answer? This is not to suggest that we are going to turn the control of your shop to your staff. But they are just like everyone else. They feel better if they know that their opinions matter. And if they feel better, you and your customers will not only feel better, but you will receive profit from your actions. Just like the job scenario we described with the review of your staff, a similar situation can be created with your job. During one of your staff meetings, hand each of your employees a sheet of paper that is titled, "The job description for ... (the job formerly known as 'boss'). Ask them to fill in the blank, and then numbering the left side of the page from one to ten, have them write down what they believe are the ten most important things that you do or should do. You will probably have to provide them with a list that details jobs such as creating the financial sheets, payroll, open to buys, long range planning, scheduling, and all of the other behind the scene tasks that you perform. You will also need to tell your staff why these tasks are important and what amount of time is necessary to complete them. This is also helpful in getting staff members to understand that you are not just sitting in your office waiting to answer their every request. As your staff completes their review forms, if you feel they will be uncomfortable about giving this list to you, consider allowing them to give them without providing you with their name. As you compile this list, you will most likely see a pattern of what your staff feels is important to them. Should their list of important items be your list of important items? To some degree, no. But as to the appearance that you have before your staff members, the answer will be a resounding yes! To demonstrate that you are serious about having a job evaluation from your staff, tabulate these initial inputs and create a score sheet. Post the results so that everyone can see the results of their joint efforts. Then sit down with your key people, and using all of the score sheets, create a job description for yourself. You will probably even get a new job title from this meeting. As they will not be seeing certain aspects of your job, such as the financial concerns, you will probably decide to not have this be a part of your regular job review. Now, you will have a job description just like everyone else in your business. And with the same frequency as you review your staff, ask each of them to rate your performance using the same ten point scale for yourself as you do for them. If you have a manager, allow them to tabulate the score from your job evaluations. Then, sit with your manager or upper management to review your performance. If you have not ever heard from your staff directly, this is a non-confrontational method of developing a solid line of communication. As they provide you with the results of the review, ask for further information on areas where your efforts are in need of improvement. One way to make sure that this event occurs in a positive manner is to require that any criticism given must be followed by a definitive suggestion for improvement of that particular concern. Does this idea work? Absolutely! And be prepared to enjoy a camaraderie and working atmosphere that you had never thought possible. *
Job descriptions, polices & procedures are an important management
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This article is copyrighted by Tom Shay and Profits+Plus Seminars, who can be reached at: PO Box 1577, St. Petersburg, Fl. 33731. Phone 727-464-2182. It may be printed for an individual to read, but not duplicated or distributed without expressed written consent of the copyright owner.
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