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Agency Worker Regulations and Employers

January 30, 2012 By

Ever since the AW Regulations were conceived in 2010 employers (or “hirers” in terms of the legislation) and employments agencies have been grappling with the impact that the gain of entitlements the legislation will give agency workers will have on their organizations. It is certain that the Regulations will bring extra costs for example

  •          From the first day of work the agency worker has to have the same “access to canteen facilities, child care provision and transport arrangements” that company employees have.
  •          Managing the data of compliance – tracking assignments length and type, especially repeat assignments with the same hirer.

The regulations also encompass anti-avoidance measures to stop hirers and agencies artificially. For example if the work tasks are organized so that an individual works on a particular tasks less than 12 weeks and then is given a 6 week break before being taken on again on the same work, again for a period of less than 12 weeks this will be taken as a measure of avoidance of bestowing rights. If this happens a third time then an employment tribunal could take the view that the work is being structured in a prohibited way and could give additional fines. Employers do need to take advice, for example by consulting MSL Forza Regulations.

However, there is nothing in the legislation that will act to stop employers taking on agency workers for less than 12 weeks as a company policy which was not the intention of the legislation.

Filed Under: Managing People Tagged With: , ,

Business management: choosing the right transport

November 11, 2011 By

When a company is choosing its transport services this is a major decision. Though initially it may be thought that the transport of the company’s goods could be managed in-house, and indeed, if this can be managed in a van or two, this is perfectly possible. However, it should be considered that even with experienced staff the management of a fleet of lorries or arranging for rail freight has its own nightmares of organising logistics, and maybe taking energy from the core business of making and selling a quality product.

Clever use of specialised freight or shipping companies can really make a business more efficient. And for businesses that need goods carrying to a range of places, nationally, within Europe or internationally, and particularly for companies who plan to develop or expand export services the choice of business transportation is crucial. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Managing a Business Tagged With: , ,

Do people problems really matter in businesses?

October 31, 2011 By

Busy managers can be prone to dismiss people-problems as pretty trivial in the scheme of things. BUT people problems in spite of what managers at whatever level think do really matter because they:

1)      Waste time – and wasted time means money. People gripe and grumble instead of working

2)      Create unnecessary stress in the company – people get upset about people problems and this can lead to outburst of bad temper, absenteeism and low morale

3)      Distort business decisions – If staff are perceived as “problem  people” then managers often avoid solving the problems and circumvent the problem person by moving them sideways or even promoting them. Organisations often get designed around marginalising or accommodating problem people

4)      Provide opportunities for manager s to develop their management skills- managing people who are agreeable, positive and co-operative is easy. Learning how to manage people problems effectively is a real test of personal skill. A manager who can manage difficult people, can manage anybody.

The manager needs to analyse the problem behaviour and the situation or situations in which it is displayed. It is useful for the manager to have a checklist so that all aspects can be thought through, such as:

1)      Is the behaviour a problem to everybody or just to me

2)      Does the behaviour affect the company efficiency and output

3)      Am I the problem? Does my behaviour cause the problem

4)      Could the situation be amended to help the problem

5)      Will coaching, counselling or re-training help the problem ?

6)      Is it essential to confront the issue in a sensitive manner

Given this analysis it should be much clearer to the manager  why, how and when to act to solve the problem, if at all.

Filed Under: Managing People Tagged With: , ,

PHILIPS DCM3020/05 Micro Hi-Fi System

October 26, 2011 By

PHILIPS DCM3020/05 iPad & iPod Docking System - Black Enjoy versatile music capabilities with this stunning, trendy Philips DCM3020/05 iPad & iPod Docking System . With an in built docking station for your iPod, iPhone and iPad the Philips DCM3020/05 has plenty to offer and will compliment your music on its electrifying system. The impressive black Philips DCM3020/05 iPad & iPod Docking System also brings style to match the noise with two attractive speakers matching the stylish unit. Bringing immersive entertainment, the Philips DCM3020/05 Micro Hi-Fi System boasts 120 watts of power and the bass of wOOx technology compliments your music with stunning sound. Enjoy an array of music options with the Philips DCM3020/05 iPad & iPod Docking System , offering you excellent sound and playback for your enjoyment!

Filed Under: Top Products Tagged With: , , , ,

The Abilene Paradox: the Management of Agreement

October 26, 2011 By

The Abilene Paradox is a psychological construct in Decision Making theory. Formulated by Jerry Harvey after he and his family were on the way to Abilene, which it appears was an unpleasant journey on a hot day when it was finally realised that none of them wanted to go but had agreed because they thought the others did.

In terms of organisations the Abilene Paradox can be stated as follows:

Organisations frequently take actions contradictory to their real requirements, therefore defeating the very purpose they are trying to achieve.  A major consequence of this paradox is therefore that the inability to manage agreement is the major source of organisation dysfunction.

It is the inability to manage agreement, not the inability to manage conflict that is the characteristic of organisations stuck in the Abilene Paradox.

 

Does your organisation display symptoms of the Abilene Paradox?

  • Members agree privately about the problems facing this organisation
  • Members agree what the solutions to these problems should be
  • Members don’t communicate these true feelings. In fact they hide them in public.
  • With such inaccurate information decisions are often poor and counterproductive
  • Members become angry, frustrated, irritated and express dissatisfaction. They form subgroups, cliques, and blame other groups and authority figures

The cycle repeats unless ways are found to manage agreement. Managers should not only recognise the symptoms but be skilled enough in techniques to resolve the issues.

Filed Under: Managing a Business Tagged With: , , , ,

Strategies for managing people problems

September 13, 2011 By

Developing Strategies:  In order to develop strategies and skills for managing people problems then there are  5  assumptions managers need to agree with:

1)      There is no such thing as a problem person, only problem behaviours. It is always some aspect of the person’s behaviours that cause you a problem

2)      Problem behaviours are made and not born. All problem behaviours have been acquired by the person at some time and as such it is possible to change it

3)      All problems behaviours fall into one of two categories. Too much behaviour and too little behaviour.

4)      Problem behaviours need to be viewed relative to the actual situation in which they are displayed. Problem behaviours may well be caused by the situation itself

5)      Different approaches are needed  depending on whether the behaviour is new or part of habitual behaviour. A capable manager deals with a new problem immediately – it is much easier to nip it in the bud than to try to sort out things that have happened many times and never been confronted before.

There are four alternative ways for managers to act when considering people problems [Read more...]

Filed Under: Managing People Tagged With: , , , ,

Management Skills: Why is providing effective feedback essential?

August 12, 2011 By

“Feedback” is the work most often used when talking about formal or informal appraisal interviews and whilst this is an obvious situation for feedback, there are other situations where giving feedback is an important part of the process such as coaching and mentoring. That is guiding and helping staff to learn and gain skills either in a recognised coaching situation or in day to day working contacts.

There are more ways of providing feedback than simply by sitting-down discussions between manager and subordinate. For example, a task that helps people learn by experience or gain a better idea of strengths and weaknesses or even a psychometric questionnaire  for self-analysis can give valuable insights.

Feedback helps employees to answer the questions about themselves and their performance. It may be that employees get the wrong idea about what their managers think of them and their work (especially when the manager is often busy and harassed). Employees without feedback can be underrating or overrating their work performance.

However, poor feedback is worse than none at all. If a manager’s comments are seen is inaccurate or biased or just plain unkind then the impact on performance is going to be negative rather than the positive learning effect that feedback should have.

Filed Under: Managing a Business, Managment Skills Tagged With: , ,

Analysing the Abilene Paradox and one way of managing agreement

July 18, 2011 By

The Abilene Paradox – acting in the diametrically opposing way to that which everyone knows should be done, is about managing agreement. As with all paradoxes, the underlying behaviour is about absurdity. It just does not make sense for organisations, whether the smallest business or largest corporation to take actions that lead in the opposite direction to all the information they collectively possess for solving the important problems they have. The actions are absurd because they make the matter worse.  The psychological behaviours powering the paradox are:

1) Action anxiety – people are anxious about acting in a way which they think is contradicting what other people think.

2) Negative Fantasies – people fear that their reasonable and sensible actions and ideas will have a negative consequence if they express them. (People will laugh at me?)

3) Real risk – many people are unwilling to take risk and yet risk is part of life.

4) Fear of separation – people fear ostracism from their group  and the fear of separation from others is what powers the paradox. A paradox within a paradox – by not speaking out people in the organisation actually create the separation they are most anxious about.

Approaches to solving this may differ, but a simple and effective one is to gather the people in the organisation who are key actors in the problem and solution into a group and confront the issues. The person who has convened the meeting then “confesses” his insights into the situation, listens openly to the feedback and lets other members give their views on the issues. The solutions to the problem might be quick and simple once the problem has been faced. There is of, course, risk involved and the lid of Pandora’s box may have been lifted and ugly conflict released.

Filed Under: Managing a Business Tagged With: , ,