A happy workplace is a productive workplace, but in every business, large and small, but especially small, there will be the inevitable conflicts caused by a team of individuals working in close proximity to one another. The source of the conflicts might be petty arguments that are either professional or personal in nature, but petty arguments can quickly escalate into full blown feuds.

Feuds, which if left unresolved will damage the productivity of your business and cause it to haemorrhage money at an alarming rate.

As Spiderman knows, with power comes responsibility. As a manager it is your job to handle conflicts in your business and not just let them fester. However, with the right Management Training, you’ll be confident when handling arguments. Conflict Management Training is a specialised private course that gives you the right tools, techniques and theories to handle conflict and shows you how to use them in practical situations.

The following five tips are an essential guide in reaching an amicable resolution to any conflict which might rear its ugly head in the workplace:

What’s The Problem?

First things first, in this day and age you can’t just solve the problem by banging your employees’ heads together and ignoring the root problem which caused the conflict in the first place. It is essential that all parties involved know exactly what the issue causing the conflict is. Allow everyone to express their opinions, perspectives and thoughts and make sure everyone agrees that there’s a problem. Once the nature of the problem is established you can best identify how the problem can be resolved. Read the rest of "5 Tips to Overcome Work Place Conflicts in a Small Business"

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Posted by Guest Author in Leadership Training, Management Skills Training on January 27th, 2012 | No Comments »

Management Training: Performance Management

One of the most daunting tasks for any manager, and especially a newly appointed manager (who often manage people who were formerly at the same level), is dealing with poor performance. However – not dealing with poor performance will, in the long run, give a manager much bigger problems to overcome.

We cover Performance Management in detail on our Management Training and Leadership Training programmes, as well as on our Appraisals Training Course. All of these courses run on a public basis in Brighton, Sussex.

This article provides some practical advice for managers on how to prepare for, conduct, and follow up a meeting to tackle poor performance

Preparing to raise the issue

1.  Define and clarify the problem

• What is the basis of your concern, and is this justified?   Is the problem serious enough to warrant action?   Can you, and should you, live with it or is the behaviour or performance unacceptable?
• What, precisely, is the gap between the person’s behaviour/performance and what is required?
• ‘Attitude problems’ must be redefined clearly and specifically in terms of the observable behaviour manifested by the person concerned and its effects.  Performance problems need to be quantified or described with reference to agreed and clearly defined standards and guidelines.
• What change do you want to result from the discussion?  You cannot raise an issue without having a clear picture of the new behaviour or revised level of performance you expect from the member of staff.
• What facts/evidence do you have?  Are you happy about the information you have, and about its source?  If you need more information, from where can you get it?  What records or other sources of data exist?  Is there anyone else to whom you need to speak?

Read the rest of "Management Training Tips: How to Address Poor Performance"

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Posted by Andy Trainer in Management Skills Training on April 21st, 2011 | 2 Comments »

performance appraisals

Here is a definition of Performance Management:

“an integrated set of planning and review procedures which cascades down through the organisation to provide a link between each individual and the overall strategy of the organisation.”

Out of Performance Management has arisen the need for Performance Measurement.

Silicon Beach Training provide both Performance Appraisals training and Performance Management training courses in Brighton, Sussex. Private Appraisals and Performance Management courses can be arranged 01273 622272.

Why measure performance?

The main reasons for measuring performance can be summarised under three main headings:

ACCOUNTABILITY
CONTROL
DEVELOPMENT

An increasing emphasis on performance and on the achievement of results is leading to the adoption of performance management schemes by more and more organisations. These schemes may vary in their design and application but nearly all are based on the simple premise of reviewing an individual’s (or a team’s) performance against previously agreed targets. The traditional idea of an annual appraisal meeting where a form was completed and then forgotten until the next year is disappearing, as performance management is accepted as a key part of the manager’s responsibility in developing their staff.

Performance Appraisals

From the point of view of an organisation or a manager, performance appraisal provides an opportunity to assess the value of each individual’s performance over a period of time. It is a learning opportunity for both managers and the individual being appraised and to review:

• If performance was good (i.e. agreed objectives were met or exceeded), what made it good and how can these contributing factors be maintained?
• If performance was merely acceptable, what could the organisation, manager or individual do to improve in the coming appraisal period?
• If performance was below the agreed standard, what were the reasons?

The emphasis in well-designed performance management schemes is not to punish “below-par performance” but to help people to reach a better standard of performance in the future (or maintain an already high standard).

Schemes not designed and applied in this way rarely benefit individuals or the organisation. Performance cannot be appraised without the existence of an explicit standard. So the other major benefit to both organisations and their staff is that it forces discussion and agreement on an objective standard of performance which staff members are supposed to reach.

Conducting a Performance Management Meeting

10 Point Checklist

1. Set a clear agenda and objectives for the meeting and prepare thoroughly.
2. Use specific examples rather than generalities when describing performance, good or bad.
3. Listen!
4. Motivate – balance positive and negative feedback.
5. Focus on behaviour that can be changed rather than on more vague aspects of personality or attitude.
6. Discuss development needs and performance improvement.
7. Summarise to ensure clarity about what has been agreed.
8. Don’t avoid emotive issues if they important.
9. Set SMART objectives. SMART = Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound.
10. Be prepared to receive feedback on yourself as a manager.

For a practical and comprehensive look at this topic we have a 2 day Performance Management Course which can be customised around your own organisation’s performance management procedures and documentation. We can also arrange Appraisals Course to provide the interpersonal skills required to conduct performance reviews.

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on April 15th, 2007 | No Comments »

Meetings can be dreaded by members of the team. If you are to lead a meeting there are many things you can do to manage them as efficiently as possible. This will save your employees and colleagues time, and the company’s resources.

Meetings are essential and ultimately, when managed well, very constructive. They can be the only time where all the creative individuals are together, new ideas can be created, plans can be made and they encourage cohesion and efficiency.

Creative people are usually very busy, if you waste their time they will get frustrated and have less time to do what they do best.

If you learn how to manage meetings effectively, not only will you be a great asset to your company you will gain respect from your employees and colleagues and earn the reputation of a person who can get things done.

Managing Meetings Effectively

• Don’t have a meeting for the sake of it, cancel a meeting rather than meet for the sake of it.  If you have already made your mind up about a course of action there is no point in discussing it.
• Only ask the relevant team members to the meeting.
• Do have a meeting to address large numbers of people quickly and effectively.
• Have meetings when you need input, or to encourage others to come on board and to encourage them or motivate them about an idea. If this is your intention, be prepared. How are you going to motivate them?
• Always have an agenda and stick to it
• Be clear about what you want from each item
• Summarise points with one sentence and move on swiftly
• Take control of or delegate the role of facilitation, if it is your meeting you should be leading
• It can help to indicate what you want from each member at the start of the meeting
• Make sure you invite the right people, if it doesn’t involve someone or you don’t need their input don’t ask them to attend.
• Ask yourself:
  • Who can provide the best advice?
  • Who has the most experience?
  • Who will support you?
  • Who will oppose you?
  • Who do you need to make it happen?
• Choose the venue to suit the meeting, for authority chooses a boardroom, for an informal meeting choose an office etc. If you want to encourage colleges or persuade them what about coffee and snacks or even a meal.

If you put the above into practise, meetings should no longer be a bore. They can be an efficient and effective way of getting things done, generating ideas, moving things forward, and saving time.

We provide a one day Effective Meetings course for those looking to improve the way they manage meetings.

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on September 18th, 2007 | No Comments »

For help with with problem solving you could try a facilitation course. When planning and implementing change, problems sometimes arise. Problems will certainly arise during your life as a manager (if they haven’t already!).

Being personally effective means being able to face and resolve problems in a planned and proactive way. But not in a hasty and haphazard way. So how to go about it?

Effective problem solving depends on having a structure and a process which will act as a guide when you are faced with any problem.

Problem solving process

Here is a a clear and straight forward way of solving problems. It is made up of four stages:

1. DEFINING THE PROBLEM
2. ANALYSIS
3. OPTIONS
4. ACTIONS

Think for a moment about how you solve problems. Do you already follow this process? If not, what process do you use? It is not unusual for a manager when faced with a problem, to leap from PROBLEM to ACTIONS in one jump and, of course, the action chosen could be exactly the right one. BUT often it is not as you have missed the two important stages of ANALYSIS and OPTIONS.

For example, you think the problem with the city transport system is there aren’t enough buses! Action: buy more buses!

BUT what if you buy more buses and the situation is the same? The answer maybe that there are already enough buses but they are inadequately maintained, or that there is a shortage of drivers, or that the time-tabling needs to be revised.

What you have done in identifying the problem is to leap straight away to the solution to buy more buses which in this case would be a waste of time and money.

Problem solving strategies

Below are some questions which will help you through the process in a systematic way either on your own or with your team:

1 DEFINING THE PROBLEM

• What are the signs and symptoms of the problem?
• Who is the problem impacting?
• When is the problem occurring?
• What is your desired outcome?

Once you have answered these questions, you will be in a position to clearly and accurately define the problem. You should then write a Problem Statement which spells out this clearly defined problem. Once you know exactly what you are dealing with, you have a better chance of coming up with the most appropriate solution!

2 ANALYSIS

• What do I/we contribute to this problem?
• What part of this is mine/ours to own?
• What other data do you need to solve this problem?

3 OPTIONS

• What are all the possible ideas to solve the problem?
• What options constitute a viable Plan A & Plan B (consensus)

4 ACTIONS

• Specific steps to be taken?
• Time frame for each step?
• Who is responsible for each step?
• What specific criteria will be used to evaluate success?
• When will this evaluation be conducted? By whom?
• Who needs to know about this plan?

Silicon Beach Training deliver great instuctor lead Management Course and Leadership Courses

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on April 15th, 2007 | No Comments »

“In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” (attributed to Theodore Roosevelt)

It is generally accepted that more people prefer a manager who makes bad decisions to one who makes no decisions at all! Decision making is a key component in the functioning of any organisation and managers need to make decisions on a variety of issues. You may be involved in some or all of the following spheres of decision making and others:

• Financial – budget implications of spending
• Staffing & development – training and project work
• Product development – research, marketing
• Customer – developing a customer base
• Organisational – change strategies
• Policy & procedures – new systems and policies

Decisions only need to be made where there is more than one alternative. If there is only one way forward, then there is no decision to make!

Decision making skills

Within the culture of your organisation there will already be rules of both individual and team decision making and any competent manager needs to research what these are before introducing their own processes.

However there are some general guidelines that apply to decision making:

1. Be clear about what outcome you want
2. Consider what appears to be the most appropriate course of action
3. Look at the alternatives; consult your peers, team, colleagues for ideas
4. Explore the consequences of each alternative
5. Choose one
6. Implement it
7. Review it
8. Make any appropriate changes for next time

However you decide how to decide, you need a systematic process, a process you can refer back to if you don’t get the desired outcome or if you are asked to justify the decision you made.

A planned approach following a logical process as the one above will give you this.

Group decision making

Whatever your style of management there will be times when it will be appropriate to involve a group of people in the decision making process. If you involve your team in a decision that affects them, this will normally increase their commitment and engagement to that task.

Group decision making can be defined as the process of arriving at a judgement based upon the input of multiple individuals. As with individual decision making, the use of a decision-making model is a systematic way of establishing group decision making proficiency.

Advantages of making decisions as a group

• You can share information which is not held by all individuals
• The synergy (two heads are better than one) of the group leads to better decisions
• Hearing other points of view can lead to fruitful discussion and stimulate other ideas
• Group members will be more committed to the outcome

Disadvantages of making decisions as a group

• It takes more time
• Members do not always agree and compromise can be difficult to achieve
• Group members may not be willing to share information
• Groupthink may take over; this is a process by which groups put consensus and unanimity above the quality of the decision and fail to look at all the alternatives objectively.

Contact us to arrange a Decision Making training course.

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on April 18th, 2007 | No Comments »

We all know about the importance of effective communication, don’t we? We don’t need to be reminded, do we?

If this is the case, how come so many problems in organisations are caused by bad communication?!

It’s worth recapping that when you are talking to others you must be:

• CLEAR: no jargon, straightforward explanations, check they understand, one thing at a time, don’t confuse
• CONCISE: short sentences, get quickly to the point, don’t waffle
• CONSISTENT: reinforce messages, repeat where necessary, use positive language

Remember that communication is a combination of speaking and listening or sending and receiving messages.

How to improve your interpersonal communication

Here are some general guidelines for improving interpersonal communication:

1. Check for understanding: As a sender of a message, check for understanding by asking the receiver to summarise what s/he has understood. Check for any assumptions.
2. Listen actively: Listening is not a passive activity; active listening demands focus. You need to concentrate totally on what the sender is saying and put aside your own noise .
3. Be aware: If you are aware of your own perceptions about your receiver, you are in a better position to prevent unintentional messages being sent. Also, your perceptions of yourself can impact on your communications.
4. Be empathetic: Your message may provoke an emotional reaction in the receiver. Be sensitive in your delivery and be prepared to acknowledge these emotions. When you are receiving, probe further if you suspect strong emotions underlie the “real” message.

Communication in organisations

In traditional hierarchical organisations, information flows only from the top downward. Whilst this can be an effective way of communicating information from senior management, this form of communication has disadvantages:

• It excludes valuable ideas held by junior members of staff
• It contributes to a culture of organisational inertia
• It demotivates more junior members of staff who feel excluded
• Current approaches and more modern technical practices are not passed up the line

Ideally information needs to flow upward as well as downward to maximise the communication process. As this is against the traditional method in hierarchies, it needs facilitation to make it happen. This can be achieved by several methods including:

• Quality teams from all grades in the organisation meeting to discuss a single issue
• Regular feedback up and down the line on progress and achievement
• Managers being prepared to genuinely listen to junior staff and take on board their ideas

As a manager you have a responsibility to improve the communication patterns around you, starting with yourself.

Take time to answers these questions:

• How does communication flow in your organisation?
• How effective is this as an aid to effective communication?
• What can you do to assist in the improvement of communication patterns within the organisation?
• What can you do to improve your interpersonal communication skills?

Our Communication Skills course will benefit those who want to improve the way they communicate with others.

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on April 16th, 2007 | No Comments »

What competencies does an effective manager need to develop?

Competencies are usually divided up into clusters; that is, groups of similar competencies under a set of headings. Competencies are developed with the individual organisation in mind so it is not possible to give one definitive set of competencies here; within your own organisation these will vary somewhat. However, there are some general agreements about what makes an effective manager so we can extrapolate from these and find some common themes.

Competency clusters for managers

My work - managing my own work area and the service my section provides

My people – managing my team; ensuring they are skilled in their jobs, motivated and productive and that a good team spirit exists between them

Myself – managing the stress of my job with composure, being self aware and seeking development opportunities

My organisation – keeping up-to-date with developments at an organisational level, managing change positively, helping drive the organisation forward and achieve its objectives

Focus on competencies

My work:

• Maintains a thorough understanding of organisational dynamics and how to work within the culture to achieve results
• Maintains a broad knowledge of organisational policies and procedures and relevant legislation
• Plans and monitors the delivery of the service by accurately estimating needs and prioritising resources appropriately so that budgets are adhered to
• Delegates tasks to others and makes sure deadlines are met
• Relies on experience to understand and evaluate problems
• Gathers information from a variety of sources before making decisions
• Sets professional standards and develops procedures to ensure they are maintained
• Strives to ensure that a quality service is delivered in a fair and equitable manner

My people:

• Manages the team in a transparent and equitable manner
• Provides clear direction on a regular basis and adopts an approachable management style
• Deals with under-performance in a timely manner and ensures improvement where possible
• Communicates in a clear and effective manner, listening and ensuring that messages are clearly understood
• Ensures that regular two-way communication happens across functions and levels
• Promotes a culture of involvement and consultation within the team and rewards positive contributions
• Motivates staff towards the provision of a quality service
• Works with individuals to identify strengths and development needs
• Strives to ensure professional and personal development for team members

Myself:

• Inspires others to maintain professional standards and work towards common goals
• Leads by example and provides clear direction
• Accepts responsibility and accountability
• Maintains a calm and controlled style in all situations
• Demonstrates energy and enthusiasm for their role
• Is flexible during challenging times and perseveres despite setbacks and the pressures of the role
• Demonstrates a practical commitment to their own professional and personal development

My organisation:

• Promotes change actively and continuously strives to improve the quality and efficiency of the service
• Takes the initiative to proactively identify inefficiencies and implement solutions
• Encourages others to embrace change positively
• Makes appropriate use of technology to advance the quality and efficiency of the service
• Regularly updates their knowledge of organisational policies and procedures and relevant legislation

You need to find out what competency frameworks exist in your organisation ie. what are the competencies that are required to be an effective manager where you work. You will then know what the organisation expects of you as a manager.

This will provide a very useful pointer to determining your development needs and in enlisting your manager’s help in the realisation of your learning objectives.

Silicon Beach Training offer training needs analysis courses.

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Posted by Heather Buckley in Management Skills Training on April 15th, 2007 | No Comments »