How do I deal with an employee who is under performing during their probationary period?
Where an employee is failing to perform during their probationary period there is an onus on the employer to provide training to support the person. If the person proves not to be capable of meeting the requirements they may be dismissed. You must still so this fairly.
How do I motivate someone I am making redundant?
When you make someone redundant, you are breaching the psychological contract that exists between the firm and the employee. One of the key assumptions that an employee has (particularly when on a permanent contract) is that the employment will continue. And that assumption’s just been smashed.
About leadership
Leadership is where one person, the leader, persuades another person, the follower, to accept the leader’s point of view. There are three elements. Leaders must have a point of view that they’d like their followers to accept. For leadership, that point of view should tap intrinsic or extrinsic employee needs. There must be an existing relationship between leader and follower that also has future meaning. And the leader must focus on practical action that he or she can take that will do that persuading.
Are there really only four personality types?
The business of predicting how, from their personality profile, humans will behave has both fascinated and annoyed managers. Northwestern University published results of research suggesting four personality types. Data from145,000 respondents was analysed using ‘big-data’ computer analysis methods using clustering algorithms. This research is easily misinterpreted and does not offer a robust or useful simplification.
Managing to avoid insolvency
The Web is full of articles about what went wrong with Thomas Cook. It had debt and no cash. Ignoring the fact that Thomas Cook experienced changing markets, just how should managers work to avoid becoming an insolvency casualty? Many firms run with low reserves and high debt. This is a dangerous operating point. Here we discuss options and give examples of business strategy for safer operation.
On remuneration: a practical pay model
Pay is a complex business. Pay is not the only reason why folk leave one firm and move to another but often it is high in prominence in the overall decision. This blog sets out the primary criteria in deciding how much to pay an employee for doing a job and then describes a pay model that allows these criteria to be met.