Temporary Staff – Managing them well
Temporary staff can be needed for a variety of reasons. Peak season? Staff member on Maternity Leave? Sometimes a temporary staff member is necessary to ease the load of your current staff complement or to fill a gap during an extended leave of a permanent employee. It may be a short-lived arrangement but it’s important to treat them well. We’ve put together a list of key points to ensure that once you’ve parted ways, it leaves their (and your) experience a good one. KNOW WHAT IT IS YOU REQUIRE What do you require from a temporary staff member? Make a list of duties they will need to Make it clear whether you have any intention of having them fill a permanent role at a later stage. Set clear guidelines and expectations. It will ensure that there is no uncertainty from either side. COMMUNICATE YOUR INTENTION OF RECRUITMENT TO EXISTING STAFF If you will be taking on the temporary staff permanently, let your current staff know. Ensure that the team the temp will be a part of, understands your reasons and assign someone senior to guide them through the processes. A surprise temp may not be as well received. As much as the temp employee is there to help, your staff may feel that you think them incapable of meeting the requirements in their department. TREAT THEM AS PART OF THE TEAM Their stay may not be a lengthy one but ensure that you treat them the same as you would your permanent staff. For as long as they are there, celebrate their achievements and encourage them as you would the rest of your staff. KEEP RECORDS Keep a record of the timekeeping, enthusiasm and competency of your temporary employee. If a position becomes available within your organisation, you will have a “pre-qualified” candidate. One who has had practical experience in a trial run, and may be ready to fill the slot quickly. To find staff – be sure to link through here or follow up on our social platforms.
Do you have Substance Abuse Policies in place?
The matter of Mthembu and 2 others v NCT Durban Wood Chips (September 2018), showed us that employers and the CCMA have zero tolerance when it comes to substance abuse, and that policies are required to be in place. The facts were laid out like this as to why the CCMA agreed that the 3 employees were fairly dismissed: The employers business has dangerous and large machinery moving in and around their premises on a daily basis, such as a clipper that rotates at 5000RPM, and as these employees jobs were directly related to these machines, there was the danger of them causing harm to themselves and others, never mind damage to the machinery Their jobs were of a log deck assistance, a knife sharpener and a weigh-bridge operator, which further impacted that their ability to perform these roles could be impacted by being under the influence of cannabis They had received the substance abuse policy and they had regular discussions around the matter within their groups, so there was no excuse for claiming to not understand the rules If you don’t have the correct policies, practices and procedures in place, you may be opening up your company to legal claims, and of course the possibility of health and safety issues. While the private cultivation and use of cannabis have been passed, it does not allow for use when it impacts on the health and safety of others, especially in a work environment. Download the Substance Abuse Policy should you not have this in place yet. West Coast Personnel are always finding ways to assist employers so that they stay on the straight on narrow. If you have any queries on what you need in place, please reach out today. To find staff – be sure to link through here or follow up on our social platforms.
Job Shadowing – Take our tips and do it like a boss
Job shadowing can be daunting. You are there to observe and learn, and most times you can feel like you are in the way. Job Shadowing like a boss UNDERSTAND THE JOB PARAMETERS BEFORE YOU ARRIVE Do some research beforehand. Sure, you are there to learn, but knowing a bit about the position will help you feel less nervous and also look more efficient and proactive. HAVE A SET OF QUESTIONS READY TO ASK What you don’t understand is best covered by asking. Don’t be too overzealous with the questions though – you don’t want to irritate – remember whomever you are shadowing has to actually do their job whilst you are there. Keep the questions to a minimum and make them count. ASK HOW YOU CAN MAKE THEIR DAY EASIER Job shadowing is also about assisting, as this is the best way to learn. So, ask them upfront, before you start, how you can help them make their day easier. They will appreciate your presence more if you are taking a load off their plate too. KEEP A NOTEPAD AND PEN HANDY You are not expected to remember everything you are shown, so be sure to write it down. It would be super irritating if you kept asking the same questions, and if you are there to eventually take over that position, you don’t want to be bugging others about what to do. BE INTERACTIVE WITH OTHERS Besides the person you are job shadowing, speak to the other employees. Ask them how they enjoy working there, how long have they been there, and what they do exactly. Remember, you will be working with these people going forward. Make nice now. PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY Sitting on your phone, taking calls, or scrolling through Facebook is not going to help you. And, it will look really bad to the boss and to the others who are actually working. Slip that phone into your bag or pocket and forget about it. When you are given a break, then you can walk away to a private area and do your thing. BE POSITIVE AND FRIENDLY Put a smile on your dial and make the most of your time there. You never know where a job shadow will lead you, so be the best you can be at the moment in time. And … good luck! Be sure to follow us on Facebook!
WHAT KIND OF LEADER ARE YOU?
A leader comes in many shapes and sizes. Knowing which one you are can help you lead better. There are commonly 8 leadership styles – we explore these: 8 LEADERSHIP STYLES 1. Transformational Leader Innovation and change is a big part of this leadership style. These leaders want to encourage growth and ideas within their followers. 2. Democratic Leader This leader wants to bring in their sheep to participate. They are open to “the more the merrier” and believe that strength and growth come in numbers. They are very team led. 3. Bureaucratic Leader ‘By the book’ is a phrase that resonates with this type of leader. They want to follow a set of rules and do it right. They are not very forgiving when the rules are bent or broken. They believe that everything and everyone belongs in a box and that this is what works best. 4. Transactional Leader With this leader, they will give but they do expect something in return. There will always be a transaction or trade taking place here. 5. Servant Leader Some may get confused whether this person is a leader at all, as they always seem to be doing things themselves. But, their belief is that if they serve, the rest will follow in likeness. 6. Autocratic Leader The opposite of the democratic leader – they want it all to go their way. The term, ‘my way or the highway’ comes to mind here. 7. Hands-off Leader With an attitude that people are more capable when they are left to do things their way, this leader is very much a hands-off type of person. They give their followers the tools and then oversee that all is going according to plan. 8. Charismatic Leader You know this type well and their qualities are often resident in most styles of leadership. But, this character leads by magnetism. People just want to do whatever they say because they are that charismatic. You will know where you fit in and for some styles, there is always some improvement needed. Get in touch at https://westcoastpersonnel.co.za/find-staff/. Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date.
HAPPY YOU – HAPPY WORK – MAKE THE MOST OF WORK LIFE
No way around it – you have to work, and for a good part of your life, and mostly this will be for someone else. So, you may as well make the most of it, and be happy! Easier said than done, especially if you are not working in a job that you like, if what you’re doing is not your passion, and if the conditions are not good. But, it really does come down to attitude and perception. What do we mean? The way that you look at something and the way you perceive it can change your mind about it 100%. Finding the meaning and value in every task, every action and every moment, can release you from the chains of negativity and unhappiness. This doesn’t only apply to work but in life in general. But, let’s start with work, as you will be spending most of your adult life here. First, ask yourself why you are there. It could be a means to an end i.e. pay the bills, ensure your family doesn’t suffer, or you’re studying and need a job. Or maybe its a stepping stone in your career path. Those reasons, whatever they may be, should be a motivation for you to move through your workday with easier steps. Then look at each and every task you take on. What meaning can you find in the task itself? Sure, it may not add value to you directly, at that moment, but the task is a stepping stone in a bigger pond. The business you work for needs that task to be done and to be done well in order to complete a puzzle. Your input is part of that puzzle building, and in the end, fulfilling an integral need the business has. You are an important element in that project. Getting that will help you on your way to happy. You need to look at the job at hand, and even if someone else could do that job, you have to do it so well, that you know no one could have done it better. In that way, you have put yourself at the top of the food chain. You have become indispensable to the company when you offer value, even if it is through a mundane and boring task. Your input can also have positive repercussions that will affect other people in the business. Most activities are part of a team effort even if you never deal with the other people. There is rarely an activity that requires only one single input. Writing an order needs to then go to the person that will place the order, then to the one that will pick the order, check it and on to delivery. Mundane as it may be, you are all cogs in a working machine. Are you going to be the happy part of this process? Attending a meeting where you feel inadequate and useless could be because you are not adding value. Before the meeting, think about how you can add value. What can you bring to the table? How can you leave the room afterwards having them wonder where that came from and when will they see more? You can be your own worst enemy and making a difference is always up to you. There is always a bigger picture. Find that bigger picture and know that all the smaller paint swipes are just to build up to the finished artwork. Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with news.
SLOW RECRUITMENT PROCESSES LOSE HOT PROSPECTS
I just had a client request a meeting with a star candidate I recommended to them four weeks ago and low and behold I had to let them know that the candidate had started work with an opposition company a week ago. WHY? Slow recruitment processes! This is not a once off. It occurs at least twice a week. I am sure that all HR and Recruitment Consultants who hunt top talent have experienced this. I understand that big companies often have more red tape and recruitment processes to follow. I also understand that it is difficult to get panels together and difficult to get signatures of authorisation for interviewing candidates, but at what price? There is a war for talent and if you don’t re-look your selection process you will not get the top 5% of candidates in your industry, but rather candidates who are available and definitely not the best for the business. Top talent has at least 3 offers or interviews in recruitment processes. They are being hunted daily and when they make the decision to move companies, they do have options. It is no longer a market where candidates are desperate and will wait 3-4 weeks for an interview. Skill shortages is not just a South African issue, it’s global and yes, we are losing the war. The root of unemployment is not only a lack of jobs, but a key underlying issue is also the inadequately educated workforce. Companies who understand that top talent do not stay looking for work for long, have a distinct advantage. Those companies who have tailored their recruitment processes to see top talent quickly, are those companies who are beating you to the candidates. Many firms now go the first step and track some variation of the “time-to-fill” metric. But despite that metric, not only are firms still almost universally guilty of painfully slow hiring but to compound the problem, few recruiting leaders truly understand the many negative recruitment processes that impact and result from slow hiring process timeline. I estimate that the impact at most corporations exceeds tens of millions of rand’s each year and the rand loss from this factor may be as much as 10 times higher than losses resulting from low recruiting efficiency related to the more popular “cost-per-hire” metric. It’s not enough to be conscious and aware of slow hiring. Identify and then quantify in rands each of the negative impacts of slow hiring, so that everyone from the CEO down will support the streamlining of the recruitment process. A big misconception that needs to be addressed is the old-fashioned way of thinking is that a slow recruitment process improves the quality of those you hire. You will lose most of the candidates who are in high demand during the late stages of your recruitment process. You also will lose significant revenue and productivity because vacant positions are open for too many days and essentially you end up paying new hires more in salary because they will be bid on by opposition. Your image of being slow decision-makers will cause you to lose many top prospects. Recruiting is a lot like acquiring a Grade 12 dance date. If you wait 40 days to make a selective decision, you must realize how relatively “ugly” your new hire is likely to be! Connect with us should you need help in moving swifter in your recruitment process.
CAREER ISSUES – DON’T KNOW WHAT CAREER YOU WANT YET?
Don’t worry – most still don’t know what career they want. There has always been pressure on the youth to know and find that perfect career. Yes, some are lucky enough to step right into a job that they see through for their entire lives. Is it the job of their dreams? Maybe not, but they make a good run of it and it serves them well. Others just never find that one thing … ever! And, it can be painful to watch. But, what if some people were not meant to do one thing? What if there was benefit in having mini-careers? The Millennials seem to have hit the nail on the head there – moving around from one job to another, exploring options and seeing what works best for them. Is there merit in this sort of focus? Is it focus at all? Well, if you look at the billionaires of the world, they have mostly touched on various careers in their lives. Sure, there was one that was like gold and made them who they are today, but many of them will tell you they had no idea what they wanted to be for the longest time. If you’re there and you just can’t seem to pick one – don’t! We are not saying flitter around from one profession to another, but consider what different angles you can go to with what you love and enjoy doing. Some tips: Think about what you love to do – is there a gap to turn it into a career? Look at what others are doing which you aspire to – see whether you can ask them to be your mentor and become their apprentice Take a skills assessment – see what you are actually good at Research those areas where you feel an affinity to and see how you can better yourself within those avenues Find a mentor or life coach and explore opportunities and ideas – they are there to guide you and sometimes that is all that is needed
ARE SA MILLENNIALS RUINING THEIR CHANCES OF FINDING WORK?
While millennials are still looked at as the now generation and we expect great things from them, they are, most of them at least, finding it tough to find jobs.
SOCIAL MEDIA – THE ADDICTION VS THE BENEFIT
Every business should utilize social media in some capacity, but where do you draw the line? We’re all guilty of loving our phones or computers a little too much, right? I feel a constant compulsion to check my email, text messages and social media feeds throughout the day. I use FB, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram to recruit and head hunt good people and personally find it difficult to always be disciplined and stick to recruiting when on these platforms. Keeping in touch with prospects on social platforms is no easy task. I could be having up to 40 conversations at any given time across several platforms. The main advantage of social media is connectivity. People from anywhere can connect with anyone, regardless of their location. Now that we’re connected wherever we go, we don’t have to rely on our landlines, answering machines or snail mail, to contact someone. You can share your issues with the community to get help and guidelines. Just like it can tarnish the reputation of any business, it can also improve business sales and reputation. Being able to post and share things on social media gives us a feeling of purpose and a means to feel connected with those around us. Having a LinkedIn profile and social presence can connect you to employers and business contacts in every field. However, I do feel that there needs to be a line drawn between social media for personal use and social media for business use. If it’s not utilised for business, social media should be restricted to during breaks and after hours. Between 60 and 80 percent of people admit that they don’t go online for anything necessary, but rather to kill time or to be entertained. This is taking time away from valuable working hours. One of the disadvantages is the possibility of the company network being exposed to malware. Allowing employees to access social media platforms at work makes your organisation more vulnerable to potential breaches in confidentiality, or the possibility of a tarnished image. With so many people currently on social media; tweeting links, posting selfies and sharing YouTube videos, it sure can get quite noisy. Becoming overwhelmed by too many Facebook friends to keep up with or Instagram photos to browse through, isn’t all that uncommon. Over time, we tend to rack up a lot of friends and followers, which can lead to a lot of bloated news feeds with too much content that we’re not all that interested in. Since social networking is all done on some sort of computer or mobile device, it can sometimes promote too much sitting down in one spot for too long. Likewise, staring into the artificial light from a computer or phone screen at night can negatively affect your ability to get a proper nights’ sleep. If you find that social media negatively impacts aspects of your life, like work, it’s a problem.
TEAM COLLABORATION – HOW TO GET THE RIGHT MIX
Building a team is much like building a marriage, well a marriage of a few people, that is. Team collaboration is key! While we are not condoning polygamy marriages or dissuading them, it makes one think that to make that work, there has to be great teamwork. Everyone has a part to play, and everyone has to see the other person’s part as just as important as theirs. How can you ensure your team works as one unit? CHEMISTRY There has to be a certain element of chemistry between all the parties, otherwise the collaboration will be a flat and lifeless entity. Sure, there is a game plan in place, each has a job to do, each knows the ideal outcome, but we are all human, and working together isn’t always easy. We are so different. But, if there is a something that connects us, drives us and a chemistry that links us, then you have a great team. Ensure you put a team together that has chemistry. You need to sit back and analyse whether they do. It takes time and experience, but its possible to see. COMPANY VALUES It should always come back to what your company values are. If there is a team member that doesn’t fit well into your mix of values and culture, then they shouldn’t be there. This should be made clear from the onset. GET OUT Putting people into situations that are generally outside of their comfort zone can help you to assess what their real and true self is. Organise an outside activity that involves a team aspect. Get them interacting with each other and solving problems. Observe. Don’t get involved, just observe. Then ask them questions as to how they found the experience. Dependent on their answers and what you see, you should be able to ascertain whether this collaboration fit together or not. CHECK IN There may not be a 100% perfect team out there, and sometimes it can take a little time, with a little effort, for a few people to get on and work together. You have to be able to see the potential in each and as a whole. Keep checking in. Keep testing them, asking questions, and taking a vested interest in what their concerns may be. If its a creative collaboration team, you will find a lot of passion, which is typical of creatives. So, when they are all together, it can become quite a heightened and electric situation, but in saying that, this can be what makes them a great team too. See that. Nurture that and help them work towards the greater good.