…Raab “exercised his executive judgement” and was claimed to have “acted in a way which was intimidating” by being “unreasonably and persistently aggressive” during a meeting…
As justice secretary, Tolley said, Raab had “acted in a manner which was intimidating” by going further than appropriate in “delivering critical feedback”, and insulting officials by making “unconstructive critical comments” about their work.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65333983
I get it (I don’t condone it) – you’re stressed, time is short, resources are scarce, and you’re relying on work from your team in order to progress important developments in a project. The pressure is on and others are awaiting your update or presentation or advice or whatever it might be.
But in the final stages, you’re let down when the contribution you were expecting from your team is not to the required standard. Faced with this, it’s hard to remain perfectly composed and to not reveal obvious expressions of disappointment. Your tone of voice changes, facial expressions manifest uncontrollably, micro-aggressions are perceived by others…
Is Raab a bully? Some are saying that Raab is not the problem and that actually this is the snow-flake generation’s lack of resilience. Others are saying that he should have followed correct business management practices. But what are correct management practices?
Is there is a way for managers to avoid the frustration and the feeling that the only remedy is to give someone a ‘piece of your mind’? Yes – there are acceptable responses (as opposed to an ill-thought reaction). And the response should be in the context of the management/employee structures already put in place.
Already put in place? err… what management structures are they then?
Ok – listen… it’s very rare that someone deliberately does a bad job – the chances are, if the work is not as the boss expects then the boss needs to look at themselves, the organisation and how the task was set in the first place: did the member of staff know what was expected of them? Were they provided with the correct guidance? Were they trained correctly? Are they even doing the job they originally joined the organisation to do? And how can you quantify a member of staff’s performance? Is it the boss’ word against theirs?
If there is one key lesson to take away then it’s this: set objective standards!
This is written with the small business owner in mind, perhaps a sole-trader taking on their first employee – but the advice could apply to all levels. The following steps might seem like a lot of work but I assure you that it’s well worth doing – not only does it help with managing staff but also promotes standards, consistency, fairness and contributes to creating autonomous systems that can function in your absence.
STOP – read this: this blog is not about how to write contracts or to discuss employment law, or appraisal systems per se, or QMS etc. We can look at those another day. This post is about how to make your life (as an employer/manager/leader) easier in the long run using basic administration. As ever, meaningful and good quality processes are rarely convenient and easy to put in place. But little incremental improvements soon build up. So…
1) Setup an employee contract which lays out the terms of employment, dress code, ethical codes, details of holiday, sick leave, pay etc. The list is too long to detail here but there is an easy-ish solution for this: become a member of the Federation of Small Businesses which will give you access to plenty of model forms, documents and advice. The ACAS website is also a great resource.
2) Detail the job description – this builds on the employee contract. It might be part of the contract in some way, perhaps as an annexe. But don’t be afraid to list the day-to-day tasks. This could be quite easy for a role that is very prescriptive – such as a machine operator on a production line. However the role of a manager, advisor or researcher might be harder to define. It might take some thinking about – my tip is to think about the outcomes that are required. So a line in a job description might be:
“the role requires the individual to research specific areas of potential new policy and then provide written reports (in the company reporting format) to the managing director that allow her/him to understand the salient points of the subject and they also need to be provided with concise and logically ordered reference documents to allow for their further reading if required (sample briefs and further guidance are provided in the company procedures manual).”
3) Articulate and publish your company policies and guide. This might take several forms depending on the type of business and how much reference material your staff might need. You might have industry codes of practice to follow or key H&S Manuals or perhaps technical manuals for equipment. And you may simply have lots of best practice to follow – for example, letters to clients outlining key facts and essential information etc. The list can be endless. A good way to manage this is to create an over-arching management document that is the umbrella document for all the other references – and where necessary, simply reference the other documents.
4) Lay down specific instructions for staff to follow – eg, the fire assembly point, or car park arrangements, or specific telephone manner, or agenda for the weekly meeting, or the policy for consultations held off-site etc. My solution for this is a collection of SOPs – ‘Standard Office Procedures’ – I have over 100 of these for my small business and they are invaluable – each SOP lays down the details and expectation for any given segment of work activity – SOP 1 is how to open the office, who holds keys and alarm codes and even talks about opening and closing the blinds at the start and end of the day. SOP 121 is some details about handling client money in the context of our accounting system. And everything in between. They’re a great resource – especially, when training and inducting new staff.
5) Layout your disciplinary and remedial procedure. This final point circles back round to the 1st recommendation and could be included in the contract: If you’ve put in place points 1 to 4, you will have a comprehensive and layered system for providing employees with the guidance, standards and expectations required. Thus any deviation by staff from the required standards can be referenced against the contract, the job description, the management book, the best practice guides and the company procedures.
It’s worth repeating this point:
It’s very rare that someone deliberately does a bad job…
…the chances are, if their work is not as the boss expects then the boss needs to look at themselves first. But the remedial system should provide a mechanism for further training, one-to-one guidance and also, if really necessary an evidence and audit system for dismissal etc.
So, the correct management procedure is not to get angry and frustrated… the correct procedures are to provide detailed, comprehensive and objective requirements to form the foundation for the employee’s role and then refer back to those as and when required – they will provide the objective resource and reasoning behind feedback, critique, guidance and praise – which could (or should) be part of an ongoing appraisal and career development process.
Final point… you could also stop looking for the things that go wrong and instead concentrate on the things that go right. See here: Stop looking for what went wrong – and look for the things that go right. Part 1 (Introduction)
Are you a business owner and feel like you can’t get “good people”? These recommendations do require some effort to implement but they make the difference between running an ‘ok’ business compared to an excellent business where people can thrive and grow their careers. If you require specific advice then please contact me. I’ve experience of design and development of training and management systems, QMS, SMS, private business support via app and CRM systems. I’m happy to help you create solutions for your small business.
