SHUTTERSTOCK ILLUSTRATION |
your candidate pool , you increase your probability of getting bad hires . Plus , it is illegal to restrict your candidate pool based on characteristics such as age .
• Who screens candidates and conducts interviews ? Getting those people ( including yourself ) some training can make a huge difference . Hiring is a skill , and like all skills , you can learn how to do it well .
• Are your salaries at market rates ? If you ’ re not paying as much or more than your competitors , you ’ ll naturally have the worst applicants . And paying an under-market rate doesn ’ t save you money in the long run — it increases your turnover , and turnover is expensive .
Fix your management skills
You shouldn ’ t need to fire a bunch of people for cause . Terminating should be rare . If you repeatedly terminate people , you ( and your management team ) can improve .
• Be honest in all you do . Employees that lie and steal may believe that behavior is okay because they see managers doing it . If it ’ s your business , you may think nothing of taking office supplies home , using petty cash to buy your own lunch or giving products away to your friends . But your employees can see this as stealing and figure that it ’ s okay to do it if the boss does it .
• Give immediate feedback . Do you let bad behavior go on until you can ’ t stand it anymore and then fire the person ? Or do you correct as soon as the bad behavior starts ? Fixing minor problems can prevent big problems .
• Praise the positive . If you want more good behavior , praise it often and openly .
• Are your rules necessary ? You didn ’ t say what your business was , but it matters when you ’ re talking about being on time . If you run a dentist ’ s office , then for sure , people need to be on time — patients are waiting . But if you are a public relations firm , it ’ s only important that people make their meetings on time . It doesn ’ t matter if
|
they come in at 8:00 a . m . or 10:30 a . m . if they get their work done and don ’ t leave clients hanging .
• Provide training . People who feel lost in what they need to do can blurt out lies to cover for their mistakes . This isn ’ t to excuse lying , which is unacceptable . But providing proper training can go a long way toward creating a culture of honesty .
• Get formal management training for you and your management team . Just as hiring doesn ’ t come naturally , managing doesn ’ t come naturally for many people . Companies tend to promote people based on how well they do the job , not on their innate management skills . But don ’ t worry — you can learn management skills too . Pay for training . You ’ ll find when you are a better manager , your employees magically perform better .
A note about unemployment payments
In California , terminated employees can collect unemployment benefits as long as they didn ’ t engage in misconduct , which is defined as a gross neglect of duty or willful violation of a known employer rule , especially if the negligence recurred after warnings or reprimands . You may believe your reasons for firing your employees fall under that umbrella . But here ’ s a secret : You have one goal when you fire someone — to
|
get that person to go away and never bother you again . That ’ s it ! That ’ s all you want . And the easiest way to get that to happen is to help the employee move on .
When you attempt to block an employee from receiving unemployment benefits , you stop them from emotionally moving on . You ’ re more likely to be sued or receive repeated contact from a disgruntled former employee . Your default should be to not fight unemployment . If you follow the tips above , you ’ ll find yourself with fewer unemployment claims to worry about , anyway .
Suzanne Lucas spent 10 years in corporate human resources , where she hired , fired and managed the numbers and doublechecked with the lawyers . On Twitter @ RealEvilHRLady . Send questions to evilhrlady @ gmail . com .
Have you ever had an employee sue for unemployment benefits ?
TWEET US @ COMSTOCKSMAG
|
July 2022 | comstocksmag . com 29 |