Rudeness on the rise! How to banish bad attitudes in the workplace

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Stressed out is one thing. Downright nasty is another.

Though some employees are able to keep a cool head when tensions mount, others are cracking under the pressure and taking it out on their coworkers. As a result, “workplace incivility” is on the rise, according to researchers at a recent American Psychological Association conference. And what, exactly, is “workplace incivility”? Basically, it’s disrespectful behavior in the form of rudeness, insults and generally crummy manners.

With researchers suggesting that 75 to 80 percent of workers have experienced ugly behavior while on the job, clearly workplace incivility is more than a few, isolated incidents. What about your workplace? If your employees’ stress levels are through the roof, chances are it’s showing in their actions and attitudes. Here’s what you can do to reduce some of that tension, while also encouraging more respectful, responsible behavior:

Confront the irritable individuals. In some cases, the problem may be specific to one or two “Sour Sallies” or “Cranky Carls.” Like with any other behavioral or performance issue, it’s up to the manager or supervisor to point out the problem and set expectations for change. If the employee is normally pleasant and productive, take a more sympathetic stance and try to get to the bottom of the matter. What can’t be tolerated, however, is if the employee is mistreating others to the point of harassment. This type of conduct needs to be addressed swiftly and thoroughly.

Allow telecommuting and other flexible options. Loosening the reins on a rigid work structure can make a big dent in employee attitudes. Consider letting employees telecommute, work a compressed workweek or leave early one day a week (if they’re meeting their obligations otherwise). Not only will most employees appreciate having to spend less money in gas every week, but they’ll also feel more productive and less burned out.

Extend more “thank yous” and compliments. When raises and other perks aren’t possible due to tough economic times, it is imperative that leaders and managers ramp up their recognition efforts. Heartfelt words of praise and encouragement have a way of immediately lifting spirits. Look for ways to call out a job well done, whether it’s submitting an error-free report, staying on task with a high-profile project or working well with others on a team initiative.  And remember: Though it’s great to recognize the “big wins,” it’s also important to call attention to the smaller, everyday achievements. Tune into the “quieter” contributions that still make a difference in the business.

Roll out an employee wellness program.It’s widely recognized that regular exercise improves health and reduces stress. Even better, healthier employees make fewer trips to the doctor, reducing medical costs and insurance rates. Some idea to get employees moving: Organize a weekly walking program, offer mid-day yoga or meditation in a large meeting room, or arrange a deal with a local gym for discounted employee memberships.

Foster a more positive work environment. Is your corporate culture tired and draining, or vibrant and energizing? It starts with your leaders and managers and trickles down from there. What messages are they sending regarding the business and the role employees play in the company’s ongoing success? Especially during trying times, employees need to be kept informed and to know that “we’re all in this together.”

For other ways to boost corporate culture, display inspirational and motivational posters throughout the building, introduce team-building or motivational games as a part of staff meetings, and provide occasional social events on company time to strengthen camaraderie among employees and management.

Rudeness on the rise! How to banish bad attitudes in the workplace

7 ways to rev up employee reviews

When it comes to managing employee performance, many companies miss the mark. And here’s why: Performance management means more than conducting reviews with employees once or twice a year.

If you only provide feedback at review time – sitting across a desk and going point by point through a rigid appraisal form – you’re overlooking many valuable opportunities to mentor, support and guide your employees.

For more relevant, results-driven performance management, you should:

1) Provide regular and immediate feedback year-round. To help employees learn from their mistakes and overcome their challenges, you need to share feedback that’s specific and timely. If you’re plugged into what your employees are doing day to day, and have worked to maintain an “open door” policy with them, confronting them with constructive criticism will be easier.

2) Set the right foundation at the beginning of the year. Create some structure around your expectations for the position and what a positive, productive year should look like. With the employee’s input, take the time to determine a handful of objective, measurable goals. Strive for goals that are challenging, but at the same time attainable.

3) Keep track of daily performance. A performance log lets you jot down notes about an employee’s good or bad behavior, as you observe it or hear about it. This information can be a handy reference for weekly or monthly discussions and certainly, a much more reliable resource at review time than your memory!

=> => OK, you’re keeping the lines of communication open with your employees and providing thoughtful feedback on a regular basis. But like most companies, you also need to complete a written appraisal and conduct a formal, one-on-one review. Here’s how to make the most of it:

4) Be prepared. This should be obvious, but make sure you’ve thought through what you’re going to say, and how you’re going to say it, before sitting down with the employee. Whether you use a standard performance appraisal form or some other written format for rating key performance factors, you still need to talk through the contents and fill in additional details.

5) Lead with the positive. Performance reviews can be as anxiety-inducing for the employee as they are for the manager or supervisor. Reinforce the employee’s strengths (with specific examples, of course) at the beginning of the review to set a positive tone and help put the employee at ease.

6) Make it a two-way conversation. An effective performance review is not a one-sided monologue by a manager. Rather, it should be an open exchange that allows employees to voice their concerns and offer new ideas. Creating this dynamic will help employees feel you value their opinions, which goes a long way toward increasing employee engagement and morale.

7) Focus on what matters to the employee. Job satisfaction plays a huge role in an employee’s attitude and performance. Just as no two employees are exactly alike, there’s no such thing as a “one size fits all” approach to reviews. An effective review should explore the issues that matter most to the employee, whether that means accepting new challenges, working on teams, taking on more responsibility or receiving additional training. If you know what makes an employee “tick”, you can tie more of those motivators into his or her goals and objectives.

7 ways to rev up employee reviews

How engaged are your employees?

The better question might be, "Do you know how to measure employee engagement?" Too many business owners and managers try to gauge employee engagement by walking the halls and making judgments about what they see. But monitoring water cooler activity or the number of cars in the parking lot after 5 p.m. or how long employees are taking for lunch doesn’t always cut it.

I think the answer is part psychology, part productivity. First, you must understand what makes your employees tick and the type of work environment that keeps their head in the game.

What does “everyone humming along, feeling like their work matters” employee engagement look like? The Gallup Organization’s Q12, a 12-question survey that identifies strong feelings of employee engagement, can help you peel back the layers.

Consider how your direct reports, your team, your department might answer these questions:

• Do you know what is expected of you at work?
• Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?
• At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?
• In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?
• Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?
• Is there someone at work who encourages your development?
• At work, do your opinions seem to count?
• Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?
• Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?
• Do you have a best friend at work?
• In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?
• In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

A negative response to any of these questions could reveal gaps – and of course, opportunities for improvement - in the areas of training and development, performance management and motivation and recognition. What deserves more attention from your managers and leaders to turn these negatives into positives?

After psychology, there’s the matter of productivity. Assuming employee engagement means more is getting done, you need a way to measure that output. Businesses small and large are well-served by systems that allow them to evaluate real-time productivity and key business performance analytics. This type of information can provide a much clearer snapshot of employee engagement and performance than laps through the building to see who has his nose to the grindstone and who is lingering too long at the coffee machine.

Again, having the ability to review division, department and employee performance data helps HR managers and company leaders identify areas of strength and weakness. Top performers are easier to identify (and ideally, be recognized and rewarded) and weaker employees can be given a chance to improve.

How engaged are your employees?

Pay-for-performance programs more popular in tough economic times

More companies are paying closer attention to their pay-for-performance programs than the traditional “automatic raise” systems, according to a recent study by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp).

i4cp polled over 500 companies, revealing that 78% of companies tie pay to performance, with most of the focus directly on solid performers. In large companies with 10,000 or more employees, 84% tie pay to performance.

More than half of the companies surveyed (54%) don’t offer merit raises of any kind to low performing employees. However, merit raises for average and high performing employees varied only slightly. Average performers generally received raises between 3% and 4%, while high performers received between 4% and 5%.

The survey also found that companies are keeping a close eye on the accuracy of their pay-for-performance programs. The majority of companies (71%) said senior management is holding managers accountable for their rating accuracy. To ensure that accuracy, 73% of companies offer training for managers and supervisors who determine employee performance rates.

"Companies are becoming more willing to withhold merit raises for poor performers, but in general they are still not truly distinguishing the top performers from the average," says i4cp research analyst David Wentworth. "This could be due to a fear of creating a perception of unfairness when they are trying to find the fine line between the good and the very good. In this economy, where reductions in force are the norm, companies are really focused on how they treat the surviving employees."

Performance rewards most often come in the form of cash, with 69% of respondents providing a salary increase (74% of large organizations). Another 64% of companies (72% of large companies) offer a one-time cash bonus as a performance reward.

A smaller number of large companies (24%) and only 14% of all companies use stock options. The least popular rewards come in the form of non-monetary perks, with just 14% of companies using non-cash rewards.

The recession has forced pay-for-performance systems to the top of priority lists for many companies. The study found that 44% of companies cite the economy as the main reason for giving their merit-based programs higher priority.

Read more about the i4cp study. Visit the Performance Management section of the HR Library for more information on evaluating and rewarding employee performance.

Pay-for-performance programs more popular in tough economic times

Achieve more with small goals?

The recession has been creating adverse effects across the business world, from a severe drop in sales to stressed-out employees. Right now, everyone seems to be feeling the pain.

Research shows that financial stress has a direct impact on employee performance and morale, landing many businesses in a state of immobility. Whether it’s from shock or stress, it’s difficult to get moving.

Companies across the country are searching for a stimulus that will cure the paralysis that has been plaguing employees and motivate them to move forward. Instead of overwhelming yourself and looking at it as one giant task, some experts suggest that baby steps are the best way to go.

Setting smaller goals is the secret to improving employee performance during tough times, as Dan Heath and Chip Heath explain in their Fast Company article, Set Smaller Goals: Get Bigger Results.

Dan and Chip believe that during times when we feel empowered, stretch goals are a great way to spark motivation. However, when we're feeling overwhelmed, stretch goals can cause immobility.

They recommend setting "whisker" goals, with targets that fall just slightly lower than average.

From the Fast Company article:

We need these more modest steps because they help us get past the "startup costs" -- the apprehension and fear -- that deter us from doing the tasks we hate.

Adversity calls for change, and change doesn't arrive via a miracle: It arrives via a kick start.

For most organizations, now is not the time to make major changes. Many are focused on working through the adversity in order to land safely on the other side.

Whisker goals could be the solution to kick starting any team that is stuck in a rut. It takes small steps to get the ball rolling.

Start a movement in your organization with small goals and keep that movement going with small recognition. By focusing on the small stuff, you may find that the big problems just don't seem so big anymore.

Do you think it’s possible to achieve more at work with small goals? How does your organization work to get employees motivated during difficult times?

For more information on goal setting and employee recognition, take a look at a few of these posts and HR Library articles:

• How to beat stress in the workplace
• Remodeling morale at Home Depot
• Build employee morale during good times and bad
• 7 low- to no-cost employee incentive ideas
• Raise the bar with effective performance management

Achieve more with small goals?

It's Not Me, It's You

Have you ever talked to your employee about performance issues and they decided it was a personal attack?

"My boss just hates me. Joe makes mistakes and he never gets in trouble."

It never crosses their mind that there is an actual problem with their work or their attendance or their attitude. "She just doesn't like me" is the only plausible explanation for why they've been written up. Heaven forbid it may be that they actually made mistakes, broke rules or caused problems.

And somehow, they also know any discipline or lack of discipline that everyone else in the company has had. "Sally screws up all the time but she hasn't gotten any warnings." Our victim must have special supernatural powers - the ability to know everything that goes on in your files, your office and your mind. Pretty impressive. I bet if you knew they had that power, you wouldn't have bothered telling them to stop coming in an hour late and leaving fifteen minutes early. Especially since you let Sally and Joe do it all the time!

Accountability...there are just some employees that just don't have any idea what that is or desire to take it on. The ones that take accountability for their mistakes actually stand a chance. As for the ones that don't, if fear isn't a driver that puts them back on track, then it's only a matter of time before they're gone...or you'll wish they were.

I'm sure there are a few horror stories out there...anybody want to share?

It's Not Me, It's You

Confronting Poor Performers

Bob, your accounting manager, comes rushing into your office to tell you he's got to fire Joe, the accounts receivable clerk, immediately. Apparently, Joe can't get anything right and if something isn't done, the whole company is going to go down the drain.

UGH!! Sound familiar?

After presenting Bob with the Oscar for "Best Actor in a Workplace Drama," you ask him if he's written up Joe for any specific incidences, or if he's shared Joe's performance issues in his last annual review. Bob gives you a blank stare and tells you he's got too much paperwork to handle as it is. Translation: No. And when you pull Joe's previous performance appraisals from your files, you get every indication that Joe's work has been nothing short of glowing.

Can you terminate Joe? Yes. Should you terminate Joe? Maybe. Is it a good idea to terminate Joe today? A resounding NO.

I've seen it time and time again — managers who are afraid they won't be liked if they give any negative feedback. But if you don't tell employees what's wrong, how can they do anything to improve? I've found that most employees would rather get honest feedback — for the benefit of their own career development — than be left in the dark. Plus, you want to inform them of the next steps should they not improve, so they're not in complete shock if/when you escort them out the door.

Here's more inspiration for you: This could save your company from a lawsuit if Joe decides to sue for discrimination. Although most states let you fire employees "at-will" with no reason or paperwork, it's not a smart move. Joe may claim Bob discriminated against him — even if he knows it's not true. And without the proper paperwork (counseling or warning forms and/or performance reviews with specific expectations), your company may not have any proof to defend itself in court.

My suggestion? Do yourself, your company AND your employees a big favor and deal with the performance issues as they occur — and document, document, document. It shows you are a great manager who not only cares about your company, but also your employees.

- Maurice Rosenberg, Human Resources Manager

Confronting Poor Performers