HEADSTART! FOR ADMINISTRATORS

1. HEADSTART!FORADMINISTRATORS Office of State Examiner Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service

2. What is today’s prospective employee looking for in a job? • What is in it for me? • Will the job be fun and exciting for a few years? • Can I use this job as a stepping stone to a “real” job? • Will the work environment be geared to my comfort level?

3. What are we looking for in employees? • People who are intelligent, hard workers. • People we can keep until they retire. • People who respect our authority. • People who don’t “rock the boat.” • People who are dependable. • People who get along with others and recognize that we are geniuses.

4. How do you recruit and retain today’s workers? • Learn how to “sell” or market the department. • Compare your department to the local job market and make necessary adjustments. • Provide for employee development. • Make changes that will not compromise the integrity of your mission.

5. What “attitude”adjustments will today’s workers need to make? • Fire and police departments cannot operate without a command structure and respect for authority. • Thinking about what the job offers you is fine, as long as you work at taking care of your job. • Working for the fire or police department is not a right -- but a commitment, a responsibility, and a privilege.

6. What is the administrator’s key to supervision? • Establish performance expectations. • Convey those expectations to your employees.

7. How do you establish performance expectations? • Look at all of the jobs to be performed in your department – assign duties to positions. • Decide how you want your department to run from a “procedures” standpoint. • Decide how you want your employees to treat each other and the public.

8. How do you convey your expectations to your employees? • Written policies and directives. • Supervisory guidance through performance review planning. • Department or division meetings. Expectations should not be conveyed through disciplinary actions. Let your employees know up front what you expect from them.

9. Once performance expectations have been developed, they form the basis for a job-related performance appraisal system. • Decide what criteria are important to accomplishing your mission. • Job areas to be evaluated should include job performance of assigned tasks, as well as areas such as the ability to get along with others, cooperation and dependability. These areas are called “dimensions.” • Continue developing dimensions until the scope of the job has been covered.

10. To develop rating scales: • Take each rating area or dimension, and develop examples of good, average, or poor performance in each area. These behavior examples are called benchmarks. • It is better to have at least 3 possible ratings in each dimension. Some experts advocate four ratings to avoid a tendency for raters to always go for the middle or average rating.

11. To develop an overall rating: • Assign a point value for each possible rating. • Add the total of all points, then divide by the number of dimensions.

12. Performance Appraisal for an Ice Cream Vendor: • How well did the employee maintain the ice cream prior to sale? Poor: It was often melted and soft. (1) Average: It was usually frozen, but occasionally soft at the end of the day.(2) Good: It was always fresh, and at the correct consistency.(3)

13. Ice Cream Vendor Performance Appraisal (continued) • What kind of customer service did the vendor provide? Poor: He was often surly and confrontational with customers.(1) Average: He was polite and attentive.(2) Good: He went out of his way to assist customers and be friendly.(3)

14. Evaluation of Ice Cream Vendor T-Boy Hebert: • Dimension 1 (maintenance of ice cream) Average rating or 2 points. • Dimension 2 (customer service) Good rating or 3 points. • Overall rating = 2 + 3 = 5, Divide by 2 (number of dimensions), for an overall rating of 2.5 (which rounds up to 3 for an overall good rating).

15. Six tests to apply to each rule or policy to determine if it is necessary: • Is the rule necessary to operate the department in an efficient and cost effective manner? • Is the rule necessary to avoid violating someone’s rights? • Is the rule necessary to provide for the safety of employees or the public?

16. Six rule “tests” (continued) • Is the rule necessary to ensure a comfortable and professional work climate? • Is the rule necessary to maintain the integrity and reputation of the department? • Is the rule necessary to stay out of legal trouble?

17. Rules are made to be followed, so • Write only those rules necessary to cover things important to the department’s success. • Don’t leave a rule on the books if the consensus is that no one follows it. • When rules change, have each employee sign and date a sheet indicating that he has received them.

18. Key to Success • Make your expectations known to your employees in clear, concise and easy to understand rules and policies.

19. HELP!!!!! We have given the employees the game plan for what we expect, now what happens when they don’t follow the plan?

20. Key to Success Coach first, discipline later and only if necessary.

21. What is coaching? Coaching is helping your workers learn and do their jobs to the best of their abilities. It may involve on-the-job training in basic job skills, or it may involve more subtle motivation by which you encourage your employees and help them refine their skills and increase their job efficiency.

22. What makes a good supervisor or coach? The good coach creates a positive work environment by giving support and encouragement to others and by reinforcing their desire to do well. A good coach recognizes the differences in individuals, knows their strengths and weaknesses, and is able to bring out the best in them.

23. What are the coach’s greatest challenges? • The employee who feels he or she is more qualified than the supervisor and resents authority. • The employee who is a marginal worker who does just enough to get by. • The employee who possesses excellent technical skills, but is not able to get along with co-workers or supervisors.

24. It sounds simple, but Sometimes, all that is necessary is to tell the employee, “Don’t do it.”

25. Why should we try this first? • It saves an unbelievable amount of your time. • Both supervisors and employees do not experience the inevitable escalation of stress that occurs with traditional disciplinary actions.

26. How to I implement the “coaching” plan in my department? • Sell your supervisors on the plan, then hold them accountable. • Explain that it is the supervisor’s job to find ways to cope with human demands and to inspire commitment among employees. • Explain that it is the supervisor’s job to direct the work of individuals, while maintaining a vision of departmental goals.

27. The Supervisory File Key to the success of managing the personnel within your department is insisting that all supervisors be required to keep a simple diary of interactions, accomplishments and problems associated with each employee under his/her supervision.

28. Joe Arceneaux 6/28/04 7:25 a.m. --Spoke with Joe about being late. Said he overslept. 6/29/04 7:45 a.m. – Spoke with Joe about being late again. He blamed car problems. 6/29/04 10:20 a.m. – Told Joe he did a good job on the investigation. 6/30/04 Joe was 30 min. late. Gave him a written record of counseling.

29. Why is the supervisory file so important? • The notes become invaluable in having a balanced picture of employee performance when attempting to do performance evaluations. • The notes serve as tools for evaluating training needs. • When all else fails, the notes serve as supporting documentation for formal disciplinary actions.

30. Help! The warm, fuzzy stuff didn’t work! No matter how good we are as coaches, some employees refuse to be coached. They push the limits of acceptable behavior and continue to violate the rules.

31. What should we accomplish with discipline? • Change the problem work behaviors.

32. Structured discipline has its place, but don’t be held hostage by it. • If you develop an elaborate hierarchy of penalties for specific violations, you compromise your ability to manage effectively. • Some violations are so severe that a dramatic penalty is necessary even for the first violation. • In some cases, a second chance is called for.

33. When discipline is necessary: • Act promptly. • Get all the facts. • Decide what action should be taken.

34. In addition to the items mentioned on pages 9 and 10, ask yourself What do I have to do to get the employee’s attention and make sure this does not happen again?

35. Alternatives to Discipline • Verbal Reprimand • Written Record of Counseling • A work condition or environment of value to the employee.

36. The Verbal Reprimand • The documentation for a verbal reprimand should be in the supervisor’s notes. • It should include the date, the time, and the essence of what was said. • If a form is used, it should still be placed in the supervisor’s note file, not the employee’s personnel file.

37. Written Record of Counseling • This takes the form of a memo to the employee. • The problem behavior is clearly discussed, along with future performance expectations. • The employee may be asked to sign the document. • Give the employee a copy, then place in the supervisory file, not the employee’s personnel file.

38. Formal Disciplinary Actions • Written Reprimand • Suspension • Reduction in Pay • Demotion • Termination

39. Written Reprimand • This is a letter addressed to the employee which describes what happened, why this behavior is unacceptable, and expected future behavior. • The written reprimand is placed in the employee’s official personnel file, and may be appealed to the civil service board.

40. Get across to the employee what behavior is expected. May be used as documentation for why future disciplinary action is needed. May not be appealed. Get across to the employee what behavior is expected. May be used as documentation for why future disciplinary action is needed. May be appealed. Comparison of Written Record of Counseling to Written Reprimand

41. Documentation Tip for Written Reprimands • The written reprimand must be transmitted over the approval signature of the appointing authority. • If there was prior counseling on the issue in question, documentation should be attached to show a progressive, good-faith effort to work with the employee prior to discipline. • Do a PAF and forward to the civil service board.

42. Suspension • Suspension includes a loss of seniority and pay, although the two may not be equal. • A suspension should be for consecutive days. • A suspension should always be in calendar days, not hours.

43. Documentation Tip for Suspensions • The severity of the suspension should be commensurate with the infraction. • Attach documentation on prior counseling for the infraction. • Document the departmental rules violated, as well as provisions of state law which justify the action. • Gives copies to both the employee & CSB.

44. Reduction in Pay • A reduction in pay may be effected for a period of time to the rate prevailing for the lower class, or a less severe amount. • This action might be appropriate if the actions of the employee caused a monetary loss to the department, or when suspension in hours is desired. • The PAF should include effective date, ending date, and rate of pay during the period of the action.

45. Demotion • A demotion is a reduction in rank, with a resulting loss of pay. A demotion may be for one rank, or extend as far as the entrance class. • If you wish to specify, as part of the discipline, that employee will be ineligible to take a promotional test for a period of time, it must be done at the time of the original discipline.

46. A Word About Loudermill and Administrative Leave With Pay • Cleveland Board of Education vs. Loudermill was a landmark case in 1985 that changed many personnel practices pertaining to disciplinary actions. • The Court determined that public employees have a property interest in their employment that may not be taken away without due process. • If you place an employee on leave without pay, he has suffered a loss without due process.

47. Administrative Leave With Pay • This tool allows administrators to get the employee out of the work setting and complete the investigation prior to depriving the employee of money. • When civil service boards adopt such a rule, it has the force and effect of law. • Try to keep the use to a minimum.

48. Good Faith, For Cause, and Due Process • Any disciplinary action taken by the appointing authority should be in good faith and for cause. • In documenting the reasons for disciplinary action, you should always mention that the efficiency of the department would be compromised by the employee’s actions. • Due process means giving the employee an opportunity to say why the action should not be taken against him.

49. When Removal of an Employee is Necessary • Each administrator will be faced with the decision of whether or not to keep trying to change a problem employee or whether to cut his losses. • This is one of the most stressful and emotionally draining situations with which administrators will have to deal. • Concern for the individual must not override our ultimate responsibility to the public.

50. Most Firefighters and Police Officers Realize -- • That they do not want someone backing them up who doesn’t know his job, or who cannot take orders in an emergency. • That their reputation is affected, as well, when a co-worker takes action which compromises the efficiency, integrity or respect of the department. • Funding is often linked to public perception.