Human Resource Risk Management

1. Human Resource Risk Management Speaker Name Speaker Job Title Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority

2. Today’s Discussion • Audience Participation is encouraged • Feedback is welcome and may be incorporated in future presentations • An overview of a wide range of topics will be covered

3. Why MMIA Is Here Today • Personnel Management is Risk Management • Reinforce your internal support systems • Your Personnel Department • Your Personnel Policy Manual • Relevant Labor Relations Contracts • Your City Attorneys • If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t – check with the above

4. Why MMIA Is Here Today Is there a difference between an HR risk and an HR exposure? • Exposures exist with personnel • Risk, like people, can be managed and supervised – just need to decide at what degree to manage and supervise

5. My Soapbox • Help good employees avoid making bad decisions through demonstrated oversight (checks / balances / policies procedures / enforcement) i.e. supervision • Realize it is not always about what was done right or wrong – but rather also includes: the Person/s, their Personalities, and the Politics, of the situation.

6. Why MMIA Is Here Today • Appropriate supervision of your staff will save money – reduce claims such as injuries, accidents, damaged equipment, harassment, failure to accommodate, and more.

7. Agenda • Supervision • Delegation • Personnel Policies and Procedures • Key Policies and Procedures • Focus on: Corrective Action / Discipline / Investigation / Grievance • ADA / EEOC / Pregnancy Discrimination Act • Job Descriptions • Performance Evaluations

8. Defining Supervision & Understanding Your Responsibilities

9. Best Practices In Supervision • Many different ways to be a supervisor – there is no “one” right way • My suggestions may not work for you • Tangents are ok in this training • Feel free to talk about a “hypothetical” employee(s) • We can cover anything you are interested in

10. Best Practices In Supervision“The Human Resource Theory of Relativity” • REMEMBER - Employees are infinitely inventive • THEREFORE – There are few universal solutions to supervisor challenges • FOCUS – Supervision means supervising for safety – all staff must be held accountable for working in a safe manner – for themselves and their coworkers Photo courtesy of http://timesonline.com

11. What is “Your” Definition of Successful Supervision? • No one has lost a limb or digit in awhile. • Staff does what they are told. • Staff don’t question work assignments. • Haven’t been sued in awhile. • No complaints, means no problems. • Thank the powers that be “insert name” is off on vacation, sick leave, workers comp, and/or other.

12. What is Supervision? • The process to train and orient the employee to the workplace • Assisting an employee in removing any barriers toward reaching specific skills and goals. • Continual process to monitor, guide, and correct employee performance. • Working as a both a supervisor and a coach

13. Seven Deadly Sins of Supervision • Trying to be liked, rather than respected • Failing to ask employees for advice and help • Failing to develop responsibility in employees • Overemphasizing rules and procedures • Failing to keep criticism constructive • Not paying attention to complaints • Failing to keep staff informed

14. Responsibility • Knowing your responsibility and authority is critical to success in supervision and management. • Understanding where and when your responsibility and authority end is just as important. • What if you are unsure – you need to ask.

15. Responsibility – Supervisors ARE NOT Responsible for • Making staff work • Making up for staff deficits in the job • Working miracles • Making something of nothing

16. Responsibility – Supervisors ARE NOT Responsible for • Doing the work for a staff person • Being a social worker, psychologist, parent, or chaplain • Being friends with staff • Motivating staff

17. Responsibility – Supervisors ARE Responsible for • Defining and communicating job requirements • Counseling and coaching • Providing job related training • Planning and organizing

18. Responsibility – Supervisors ARE Responsible for • Corrective and formative feedback • Evaluating performance • Discipline • Setting the environment for performance • In some instances screening, interviewing, and hiring applicants

19. Responsibility – Supervisors ARE Responsible for • Proactive – safety training • Proactive – equipment training • Proactive – correct PPE utilization • Most injuries are preventable – backs, shoulders, hands, knees • Getting an injured worker back to work when possible

20. Your Questions… My employee refuses to wear their PPE and I can’t make them As a supervisor should I be doing…. As a supervisor am I responsible for…. My “hypothetical employee” did “fill in blank”. What as a supervisor should I do…

21. Assigning Staff Work a.k.a. Delegation

22. Why Should I Delegate? • Because I still can? (hint – wrong answer) • To allow me to spend time and energy on the tasks to which add the most value to the city or town. • To distribute work among team members so it can be accomplished more efficiently. • To increase the commitment of team members to the organization. • To develop team members.

23. Why We Don’t Delegate • “I don’t have anyone smart enough.” • “I can do the task better myself.” • “It will take too much time to explain what I want.” • “I can do the task faster myself.”

24. Why We Don’t Delegate • “I don’t want to burden my overworked staff.” • “I enjoy doing this task.” • “This task is so important, I can’t trust anyone else to do it.” • “If I can’t do the task myself, I have no right to ask anyone else to do it.”

25. Yes No Yes No Trust and Delegation TrustSkills? Fully Delegate Develop Trust Motivation? Manage Re-deploy

26. Key to the Delegation “Hand-off” • Provide the big picture (Why is the task important?). • Provide clear definition of the “deliverable” or desired results of completing the task. • Provide schedule or deadline expectations. • Verify adequate skill and resource availability. • Agree on follow-up steps, if any. • Give direction on what is needed and when,not how to do it.

27. Assign Responsibility THEN Get a Commitment • Purpose is to understand the employee’s intentions / hear the employee verbalize commitment / begin the first step • This step takes the least amount of time, but it helps clarify the assigned task between the employee and the supervisor • Ways to ask: When can you begin, how do we get the ball rolling, can you provide me with an outline and a timeline

28. Confront Excuses / Resistance Supervisor must: • Not focus on the excuse • Guide the employee toward positive action • Simplify plan if too many excuses • Focus on employees’ talents and what can be done • Understand the inactivity is not acceptable

29. Clarify Consequences • Be clear about outcomes if the plan is, or is not, implemented correctly • Emphasize both the positive and the negative • Don’t let poor performance, inactivity, delegation of duty slide – stand firm • Discipline when appropriate

30. Working Supervisors • All supervisors are “working” supervisors • We have to get our jobs done and still have time to appropriate supervise the work of others • Delegation assists in the process • Time to supervise and ensure safety • Help good employees make good choices

31. Personnel Policies and Procedures

32. Personnel Policies and Procedures • Do you have a copy on your desk • Have you read it recently • Look before you leap / call before you dig • Collective Bargaining Agreements

33. Policies Guide Supervisors • You don’t have to reinvent the wheel • Allows for proactive management • Improves employee relations • Helps guide you as supervisors

34. Policies Guide Supervisors • Policies are established in writing and address situations in a uniform and non-discriminatory manner • Orients employees and assists them in understanding and following policies • May assist with union relations • Assists in making personnel actions defensible

35. Policies Guide Supervisors • Reduce misunderstandings • Increase consistency • Support disciplinary action • Avoid charges of discrimination and favoritism

36. Policies Ensure Consistent Management • Examine what is in writing vs. what actually happens “on the job” • Consistency is key to employees following the guidelines • Provide training to employees, supervisors, and Council Members • All employees should have a signed statement that they have read and understood the manual

37. Questions For The Group • Do you consistently follow your policies and procedures? • Are there areas that you find yourself having to improvise on the fly? • Do you find anything that is in contradiction with practice or other policies?

38. Questions For The Group • Any current weaknesses you have found in the PPM that have caused you difficulty? • Do you have safety policies and procedures? • Can you say that 100% of your employees understand it? • Who has final authority for Personnel Actions in your PPM?

39. Key Policies

40. Reviewing Specific Policies • Probationary Period Policy • Corrective Action and Discipline Policy • Complaint Resolution and Grievance Procedure • Worksite Safety • Unlawful/Sexual Harassment Policy

41. Probationary Period Policy

42. Probationary Period – Defining Good Cause • Montana is not an “At Will” employment State. To discharge an employee who has completed their probationary period, the employer must show “good cause”. • Under the Montana Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act, good cause is defined as “reasonable job-related grounds for dismissal”

43. Probationary Period • Employers should include a probationary period policy in their manuals • During a 12 month probationary period employment can be terminated by either party, at will, on notice to the other party, for any reason or for no reason”

44. Probationary Period • Montana Law defaults to 6 months if not stated. • Fire and Police have statutory probationary periods. • Collective Bargaining Agreements may set different probationary periods • Supervisors need to be aware of these

45. Probationary Period • Employers should not include a “Special Secret Double Probation Policy” • Probationary Period Policy “Extensions” should be carefully defined and consistently applied • Existing employees must undergo a break in service before they are placed in a new Probationary Period

46. Questions For The Group • Can you put someone back on “probation” as a disciplinary action? • Do you put someone back on “probation” when they have been promoted/demoted? • Can you extend a probationary period?

47. Corrective Action & Discipline

48. Corrective Action and Discipline • A properly designed Corrective Action and Discipline Policy will help ensure that all managers and supervisors follow the same course of action when working with employees. • Key Areas: Timeliness, Consistency, Accuracy, and Documentation

49. Corrective Action and Discipline-Important Disclaimer- • Each of the following disciplinary actions is independent of the other and will not necessarily be applied in the order listed. For example, depending on the severity of the offense, an employee may be terminated or suspended without having been warned or counseled, or may be terminated without having been placed on probation or suspended.

50. Corrective Action and Discipline For Non-Probationary Employees: • Corrective Counseling (optional) • Oral Reprimand • Written Reprimand • Suspension (with or without pay) • Disciplinary Demotion (optional) • Termination