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In far too many organizations, there are people at work that are not producing. Yes, they show up every day. And they are present in one form or another (most often physically but not always mentally) for the required period of time. But, then they leave work at precisely the time that they are allowed to. They won’t give their employers a second more time or a dollop more energy than is required.

This is not an indictment of an hourly worker who clocks in and is paid for their time. (Although it could be if that worker is present physically but not mentally and makes mistakes that cost the organization money). This refers to the employee who is considered to be in the ranks of management, in charge of insuring that the organization performs, achieves results and does so with the least cost possible.

The Gallup organization did a survey of over one million workers and issued a phrase that they use to define this type of employee: disengaged. By the way, the Gallup survey defined 55 percent of the total workforce as fitting into this category. In some organizations, that percentage is considerably higher.

What makes up the critical difference between engaged employees and those that are disengaged? Research suggests that it comes down to three critical factors.

The first difference is initiative. People who are engaged in what they are doing are proactive; they are not sitting and waiting to be told what to do. They see a problem, or an opportunity, and they tackle it.

Individuals with initiative go the extra mile. They are not afraid of hard work; they don’t mind tackling difficult tasks that others don’t want to do. The reason is that this type of person is ready, willing and able to apply what they know to get the job done. If they lack a specific skill, they are not afraid to learn what they don’t know so they will be able to do more.

Kineticdiecasting

One of the most difficult tasks of anyone supervising people is taking the time to carry out a performance appraisal. In one well known municipality in California, an employee never received a formal, written evaluation in 16 years of employment; apparently her supervisor felt that an annual increase in salary was sufficient enough feedback on performance.

An increase in pay, or receiving a bonus, is not an adequate substitute for a formal appraisal of how someone is performing their job.

Neither is saying “keep up the good work” which means nothing to an employee, because there is no point of reference to the statement.

Human resources people in larger organizations usually devise and provide a system consisting of forms and processes for supervisors at every level to implement.

Unfortunately, if the supervisor doesn’t perform the appraisal, doesn’t take the time to sit down to thoughtfully consider the employee as an asset to the organization, there is not much human resources can do about it.

In smaller organizations, forms and processes typically don’t exist. Which is a shame, since most of the people working today work in smaller organizations. The US Small Business Administration (www.SBA.gov) defines this as employers with 500 or fewer employees on the payroll.

Even if formal systems exist, too many supervisors do not want to perform performance appraisals because they do not want to put themselves in the awkward and difficult position of having to criticize an employee.

Think about that for a minute. If you are the manager of a department of say, 12 people, and you have a difficult conversation with an employee who is under performing, what will the environment be like in that particular office following that discussion?

To add one more layer to think about, what if the under performing employee had been on the payroll for more than a few years?

Last Friday, I turned in my resignation notice after four years of employment with this company.

My decision was not a hard one, as many problems have transpired during the time that I have been here. Still, you asked me to reconsider my decision because you felt that I was making a mistake and would benefit from staying with the manufacturing company.

It has been said that people do not quit companies—they quit their bosses. In this case, I believe that you quit being my boss a couple of years ago.

Please let me provide you with the specific reasons I am leaving so that you might be aware of them, and perhaps even address them before others leave. Some people have already left the company due to layoffs, while others have resigned to pursue other opportunities.

The department in which I work has been downsized from 12 to 3 people in the last year, and everyone is anticipating more layoffs if the economy and company sales do not improve.

As a result of the layoffs, I have been doing the essential work of those that departed. While I understand that the company does not need as many people when sales have decreased, it would also be nice if the workload was reduced proportionately.

Unfortunately, I am now working long days and nearly every weekend. Because I am an exempt employee, this extra time is not compensated over and above my normal salary.

Business Rules

Dear New Employee,

Welcome to the company! I would like to take this opportunity to share the ways in which our company is unique from other places you may have worked in the past.

Candidly, I do not subscribe to all of the various definitions for the “Baby Boomers”, “Generation X” or “Generation Y”. I don’t care what the theories are or what the media tells the world. In this company, there are certain policies and procedures you will subscribe to, regardless of your age, generation, etc.

This company’s success has been a result of hiring the right people. We let people know where they stand all the time so that if we were to make a change or let someone go, there is no surprise.

However, I do understand that you will undergo some adjustments in becoming a productive employee. With that in mind, I have taken the liberty to provide you with the company rules.

This list of rules was originated in a speech given by Bill Gates, and they have been identified as the keys to success within this organization. By the way, we review these rules at every department and company meeting.

Rule 1: Focus on the Mission

At this company, we have a simple mission: “We are ladies and gentlemen serving our clients and each other.” Please memorize this short statement. You will be asked to repeat it, in public, regularly. These eleven words guide our daily actions and behaviors.

Rule 2: Life is not Fair

Life is not fair, so get used to the fact that some people will be blessed with and/or given more than you. It is unfortunate that far too many of us—children and adults alike—spend time complaining about what other people have that we don’t have.

People also complain about the lucky “breaks” others receive by being in the right place at the right time. In business, far too many people envy the success of their competition. Employees often rejoice (perhaps secretly) when they see the problems and pitfalls of others.

How one chooses to deal with what life has given them is the measure of a person. Complaining about things will only make you turn into a negative person who will be far less productive than a happy person.

Rule 3: Develop Your Self-Esteem

The world cares little about your self esteem and expects you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. Success breeds success. If you do not and cannot succeed, then you must look to yourself, and not to the company. You will be as successful as you want to be. The choice is yours and your alone.

Rule 4: Success takes Time

While I would encourage you to set your goals high, you must understand that success does not occur overnight. Success is a journey, so be prepared for the long haul. This means years, not hours.

Rule 5: Respect Your Superiors

You will have a boss who will supervise your efforts. Your boss is not a professor, does not have tenure, and he or she will not allow you to be late for meetings, not follow through when assigned a task, turn things in late, leave early or be tardy.

Those behaviors reflect directly upon his or her judgment to hire you. Because your boss does not have tenure, how well you perform is a direct function of how well he or she performs. You must also consider all those above you in the organization as one of your bosses. Show them respect and they will treat you with the same. Disrespect them and you will not be employed here. (See Rule #1 if you need any clarification regarding this).

Rule 6: Work Hard

Nothing we do here is beneath your dignity. I have a different word for burger flipping—I called it opportunity and it paid my bills when I was younger. We do not flip burgers in this company, but we do serve clients. Clients pay your salary, so what they say goes, as it is your job to please them.

Rule 7: Accept Responsibility

Accept responsibility for your mistakes. Do not blame your parents, college professors, former employer, the government, the oil companies, the automobile manufacturers, your insurance company, your landlord, the driver of the car in front of you, your boss, coworkers, or suppliers. Instead of whining about your errors, omissions and mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 8: Learn From Others

The people you work with are not boring, stupid or slackers. If you think they have nothing to offer you, consider what they have accomplished.

They have worked long, hard hours to create, design, build, market and sell new products, contributing to both the top and bottom line of this organization’s financial well being, which has now allowed us to put you on the payroll.

While they were working very hard to generate profits and positive cash flow, they were also listening to people new to the company talk about how cool they are and how much better things ran at their former employer or when they were in college or high school.

So before you give us a lot of unnecessary advice, do us all a favor and work a few months here so you can understand what it is like to work in a culture different from the one you just left.

Rule 9: Time Off is Earned

You will earn a vacation in 365 days. Unless you have earned it, you will not get time off because you simply need a break. Just to be clear, everyone here works 8 hours a day, more if necessary. Breaks are taken as allowed by law, but they do not last longer than allowed by law.

Rule 10: Real Life Involves Work

Television and movies are not reality. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to work. In this company, people work every day that ends in the letter “y.” This means Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Yes, you read Saturday and Sunday correctly, because our clients expect us to serve them when they need to be served.

Rule 11: Nerds are Important

Are you nice to nerds? You should be, as the chances are that you will end up working for one in this company.

As you begin your new job, it is my greatest desire to help you succeed. Please keep these rules in mind, and I wish you the best of luck in this company!

Warm Regards,

The Business President.

4. Length of Time Support is Provided.
Another factor to consider when selecting outplacement services is the amount of time you feel the displaced worker would require outplacement support. In general, the more senior-level the position, the longer it will take the displaced employee to find suitable employment. A second time factor to consider is whether the displaced worker will receive ongoing one-on-one scheduled sessions with a career transition consultant or whether the ongoing support merely includes access to job
search support materials.

5. Costs.
Outplacement costs must be considered when selecting an outplacement firm. Check to see whether outplacement costs are clearly defined and stated on the outplacement firm’s web site and in their marketing materials. Are you charged only if the displaced employee elects to contact the outplacement firm for support or are you charged regardless of whether the displaced employee receives support? Are there affordable packages available that provide the services you feel your
displaced employees would most benefit from without providing unwanted services? Another cost factor to consider is whether the outplacement firm gives you the able to select outplacement services a la carte to meet your needs. Also determine whether the outplacement company has a minimum
fee requirement or whether they will charge you only for the number of displaced employees you actually have even if the number is as few as one.

By considering each of these five factors you can develop effective selection criteria for deciding on an outplacement provider to best meet the needs of your displaced employees while adhering to your
budget constraints.