ye INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / FEBRUARY 27, 1990

Bosses have problems too

ple who work as supervisors — who play the role of “boss” in any working situation — are often unsure of themselves when it comes to dealing with poor employee performance.

Many supervisors are insecure about talking to an employee about poor work habits, according to management trainer John Watt. “Because they may not have the knowledge they need, many bosses are nervous and worried about saying something negative to an employee with a performance problem.”

Watt is leading a two-day workshop March 8 and 9 at Douglas College for supervisors called Conducting Effective Performance Interviews."

_ “This course is not designed for the expert,” says Watts. “It will be of general interest. Anyone who has to appraise the performance of other people will benefit from it.”

The course is for people who have a supervisory problem and do not know what to do about it. “When people walk out of this course we will have given them the tools they need to do something about their problem,” he says. “The participants will be able to feel more comfortable in any performance in- terview. They will be in control and know what is going on.”

Watt offers several case studies to show participants how to im-

prove the way they conduct perfor- ’

mance interviews. For example, Harry Smith is a good worker and gets along well with his fellow employees. But Harry is always late for work. He has been warned a number of times and his response is always the same. “Aw, c’mon, boss, I work hard all day for you guys. _ What’sa few lousy minutes?” What can the supervisor say to get his tardy worker to be on time?

“The boss should make sure the ground rules are set right at the

- beginning,” Watt says. “He or she

must establish a contract with = Harry, let him know that this is what

_ is expected, and that there will be

consequences if the tardiness con- tinues.” . But what if Harry thinks he can

. get by on his competence and’his

charm and continues to be late for work each day?

“Establishing and focusing on the contract between the company and the employee works for 99 per cent of people,” Watt says. “But with the one percent who just will not learn, the supervisor must be prepared to fire that person if they refuse to honour the contract.”

Watt cites other examples of » employees with performance problems. Joe Jones is cheerful, honest, loyal and a hardworking employee. But Joe is incompetent. He was not always this, way. With the company for twenty years as a warehouseman, he has always been an asset.

But the company has com- puterized its warehousing and Joe is unable to cope. He is no longer cheerful and his mistakes are begin- ning to cost the company money. What does his boss do?

“It is important to treat Joe with the courtesy he deserves,” Watt says. “If a boss cannot treat his people with respect and decency, he will not succeed as a supervisor.”

“Joe deserves a ‘Win-Win’ solu-

tion to his problem,” says Watt. “He

must come away knowing that his inadequacy is understood and respected, and that both he and his boss have worked together to solve the problem. He may be moved to another department. The boss should always know how far the company is prepared to go in deal- ing with loyal and hardworking Joe.”

At the other end of the spectrum is Super Sally, an over-achiever whose performance at work is daz- zling and quite incredible. Her boss is a little afraid of her. She is so good the boss sometimes feels quite inade- quate when dealing with her.

“The trick with Super Sally is to make sure she does not run out of challenges and that the way she is treated does not adversely affect the other workers,” Watt says. “But the boss should remember that the people who get promoted are those who develop good people to work for them. Sally can be a great asset to her boss.”

Watt encourages supervisors to bring their problems to the workshop for discussion. The course runs Thursday, March 8 and Friday, March 9, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The cost is $155. Early registra- tion is recommended. For more in- formation call 527-5470. @

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