1) The workers’ fit to their jobs;
2) The compensation system;
3) Training and resource gaps;
4) Probation Periods/Performance Reviews;
5) The 5 generations in our work force;
6) Corporate culture.

1) The workers’ fit to their jobs – When I was 20 years old, I managed a group of 40 students at an amusement park during the summer months. I had gained my experience over three previous summers as a “barker” (a person who calls you to play the games in the midway), so I knew how to train them and they respected me because my training meant they earned good commissions. There was one person who was not doing well. My boss suggested that I find out what was bothering her and switch her over to a different game.

It turned out that she hated working at the balloon water race because boys would spray her with water. I, on the other hand loved working at the water race because I would talk non-stop in the microphone when the race was on, and if boys sprayed me, I would joke that they should aim for the clown’s mouth, then they would spray me some more and a little kid would win.

I switched her over to a game that was slow and tedious but people could win gorgeous, giant, fluffy dogs. She would dress up her booth with pride and became one of my top performers because she was well suited to that game (which, by the way, I hated because it was way too slow for me). The fact that she could do so well at that game (much better than I) was a huge learning experience for me in terms of matching people to jobs that they like and to which they are well suited.

Now, when I hire someone, in addition to looking at their qualifications, I assess how they would fit with me as their manager, how they would fit within my team, and how they would fit within the organization.

2) The compensation system – When I was 26, I introduced a new product into the market, but I couldn’t figure out why sales were slow in the first three months. While having a coffee with a sales rep, he said to me, “I’m not getting paid commission on your product, so why would I waste my 15 precious minutes with each client promoting your product”. Oops! I now keep in mind that I need to understand how people are compensated in order to get the results I want.

It’s important to set up a compensation system which rewards those who do well versus those who are doing the minimum required to get their jobs done, otherwise, those who do well will leave, and then you’re stuck with those who just get by.

3) Training and resource gaps – When I see someone having difficulty with their jobs, I like to ask them what’s slowing them down and find out if there is a need for training which is an opportunity to grow, or if their equipment needs to be improved. In my own case, I was taking four days to write an e-bulletin because I was writing my own HTML code and I was very unproductive. When I asked and obtained some web editing software, my productivity quadrupled.

4) Probation Periods/Performance Reviews – Probation periods for new staff ranges from 3 months to 5 years in different companies, with 1 year being the most common. This is an excellent time to provide feedback to advise the newcomer of your expectations and of their responsibilities and to decide whether you want this person long term in your organization.

Performance reviews, twice a year, are a great way to provide direction on what needs to be done and to provide feedback on progress and whether goals need to be adjusted. I find that it’s important to discuss the goals and the competencies that are being used to achieve those goals. One thing that works really well for me is that I have told my staff to send me e-mails or letters they receive from their clients when they are being praised since managers hardly ever hear about the good stuff, but are the first to hear about the bad stuff when a complaint is lodged. I keep the good feedback on file and talk about them during performance reviews. My staff thinks this is great. I also praise them when I see good work, and if it is exceptional work, I’ll provide them with an instant award.

5) There are currently five distinct generations in our workforce today which have a different approach to their work and life, and are thus motivated by different things. They are the Traditionalists (who went through World War II); the Baby Boomers; the Gen Xs and the Gen Ys. It takes a one-day course just to start to understand the differences between these groups. As a borderline Baby Boomer/Gen X, I was fortunate to take this course with one of my staff, a Gen Y. After the course, we sat down to discuss what we had learnt and how we could improve our communications and expectations with each other. It’s quite an eye opener to find out that people can have hugely different perceptions based on the generation into which they were born.

6) Corporate culture – If it’s good, it’s like working in heaven. If it’s bad, it’s like rotting in hell. From my experience, if I can’t change a bad situation, I’m better off leaving.

This is a topic with endless scenarios and solutions, and which keeps human resources consultants and behaviour specialists very busy.