Can you improve team performance through an Employee of the Month Program? I say, DEFINITELY YES!
Let me share a simple program that we did and how it improved team performance and culture...
THE STARS & STRIKES PROGRAM
When we started our company, we briefly encountered a stressful and emotional period wherein anger and yelling started happening between supervisors and subordinates. This was brought about by errors and negligent work issues.
It would start innocently enough. A staff would make a mistake. The managers would talk about it and the next thing we knew, blood pressure would rise and people would flare up. Needless to say, morale was low and the team became fearful of the bosses. Negative comments were amplified and positive comments went unnoticed.
We did not want our company culture to be this way, so we started the Stars & Strikes Program. It's a fairly simple program that can be used per department or the company as a whole and linked with the Employee of the Month Award.
In the Stars & Strikes Program, we basically have two types of colored cards.
a. Blue cards for Stars --- where we commend and write down each good performance and deeds of our staff.
b. Yellow cards for Strikes --- where we write down each mistake and reminders to perform better to our staff.
We drop these cards in a confidential box. Then at the end of each month, we open the box in front of our staff. We count the Star cards against the Strike cards. Whoever, gets the highest amount of Star Cards (less the strikes) is our employee of the month. The Employee of the Month gets a cash prize and a day off.
I like this program because:
a. When a staff makes a mistake,
- it gives the manager time to pause and think before getting angry.
- it is a writing tool to express reminders and corrections.
- it is a tracking tool to quantify the criteria for employee of the month.
b. When a staff performs well,
- it gives the manager a medium to express gratitude.
- it is a written commendation that employees can keep.
- it helps us recognize the exemplary deeds and contribution of each employee.
Lately, we noticed that we have been writing a lot of Star cards and very minimal Strike cards. This shows that performance is up. Our company culture is on the right track and morale has never been better.
If you have comments, questions or clarifications, please reply to this post.
If you have your own favorite program that you would like to share, feel free to reply to this post.
Let's all help each other improve our companies. Ultimately, this will lead to a better Philippines.
For more tips on Performance Management, check out Businessmaker Academy's seminar on Coaching Techniques for Managers & Supervisors, as well as their HR Management Seminar Series.
>>> Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the president and head of research and development for Businessmaker Academy. She is an educator, entrepreneur, marketing communication specialist and HR practitioner. Together with her husband, Mark So, she is committed to helping people improve their personal, professional and financial lives.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Useful Tools to Communicate & Udpate Employees
Aside from traditional bulletin boards, there are simple tools that you can use to communicate and update your team of employees. Let me share with you a couple of tools that we use in our company...
COMMUNICATIONS LOGBOOK & ONLINE MESSAGE BOARDS
This is especially helpful when you've got employees with different schedule shifts... Or when we need to share information within the team, but don't want to necessarily announce it to the whole world.
Back in college, not so long ago, we had a tambayan (hangout place). Since my friends and I had different class schedules and we didn't see each other daily, we would communicate and update each other using a message logbook. (There were no cellphones yet at that time and not everyone had beepers).
In the same way, we've been using a message logbook in our office for the past 5 years. In the logbook, we write notes, reminders, greetings and such. It's has been a pretty good communications tool.
But we've recently added another improvement in our company. Since everyone in our company now have computers and internet access, we have an Online Message Board for the team. We use the forum to update each other about projects and programs. Unlike email wherein it gets difficult to sort through all the messages that come in, the forum provides a focused discussion thread for us.
It's pretty cool and very easy to do. For more information on simple HR projects that you can do, you may attend Businessmaker Academy's HR Management Seminar Series and become a member of HR Club Philippines. For assistance in setting up your Online Message Board and train your people on how to use it, you may work with an IT specialist or visit BusinessmakerOnline.
>>> Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the president and head of research and development for Businessmaker Academy. She is an educator, entrepreneur, marketing communication specialist and HR practitioner. Together with her husband, Mark So, she is committed to helping people improve their personal, professional and financial lives.
COMMUNICATIONS LOGBOOK & ONLINE MESSAGE BOARDS
This is especially helpful when you've got employees with different schedule shifts... Or when we need to share information within the team, but don't want to necessarily announce it to the whole world.
Back in college, not so long ago, we had a tambayan (hangout place). Since my friends and I had different class schedules and we didn't see each other daily, we would communicate and update each other using a message logbook. (There were no cellphones yet at that time and not everyone had beepers).
In the same way, we've been using a message logbook in our office for the past 5 years. In the logbook, we write notes, reminders, greetings and such. It's has been a pretty good communications tool.
But we've recently added another improvement in our company. Since everyone in our company now have computers and internet access, we have an Online Message Board for the team. We use the forum to update each other about projects and programs. Unlike email wherein it gets difficult to sort through all the messages that come in, the forum provides a focused discussion thread for us.
It's pretty cool and very easy to do. For more information on simple HR projects that you can do, you may attend Businessmaker Academy's HR Management Seminar Series and become a member of HR Club Philippines. For assistance in setting up your Online Message Board and train your people on how to use it, you may work with an IT specialist or visit BusinessmakerOnline.
>>> Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the president and head of research and development for Businessmaker Academy. She is an educator, entrepreneur, marketing communication specialist and HR practitioner. Together with her husband, Mark So, she is committed to helping people improve their personal, professional and financial lives.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
How to Develop a Strong Company Culture
A company's culture is greatly influenced by it's management. How the bosses conduct themselves, will ultimately be mirrored by the team. For instance, if the management is customer-oriented and conducts business in a professional yet personal way, chances are, you will find their employees acting the same way.
This is evident whenever I visit a new private doctor's clinic. I can tell immediately even without meeting the doctor if the doctor has good bedside manners and really cares for the patient. All I do is observe how their secretaries deal with customers and I'll know what the doctor will be like and whether I will continue to see this doctor.
Because customers relate and ultimately come to trust a company due to its culture, building a Good Company Culture that leads to a Credible Corporate Image is a vital function of HR and should not be shoved over to the Marketing Department to invent on its own. Ultimately, a well-defined and practiced culture will greatly increase a company's success... and HR practitioners have an major role in this.
So How Do You Develop a Strong Company Culture?
First, Build the Foundation.
In our company, our management team took the time to discuss and map out our VMV---Vision, Mission and Values. We also prepared our Company Policies, HR manual and Employee Orientation Program. It was important that the whole management team take part in this endeavor. You don't just write this stuff and expect others to read and follow. Getting people's Buy In is key, and the best way to get people's buy in is to include them in the process. (To learn more about building a solid HR foundation for your company, you can check out books and seminars on Fundamentals of HR Management)
Second, Recruit People with the Same Values.
Unless your company's primary preference is diversity, it is best to find people whose values and competencies are in line with the company's VMV. In our company, we started employing competency-based recruitment with special emphasis on Values. Since we started practicing this type of recruitment and selection process, I've noticed that our employee turnover rate has gone down. (To learn more about Effective Employee Recruitment, Retention and Selection, you can check out books and seminars near you)
Third, Train Your People
There our many ways that you can train your people. One of the most successful HR projects we have is an Automated New Employee Orientation Program. This innovative project allows us to orient an employee through a 4-part interactive webinar, so that we don't have to physically conduct the training ourselves every time there's a new employee. Any employee who is hired by us undergoes this process, then we follow it up with some Company sponsored seminars and On-the-Job Training. (To learn more, you can check out BMA's Corporate Training Services or Seminars on Training Program Development and Trainers Training Program)
Fourth, Manage Performance
Once, you've selected and trained your employees, you need to constantly ensure that they are performing well and that they are upholding the values of the company. Here you want to build programs that will help you increase productivity and create a system that allows you to track, monitor and evaluate employee's performance. Giving Feedback regularly is a powerful way to manage and increase your team's performance. (To learn how to build Performance Management Systems and Programs, you may read books, interview professionals and attend seminars)
Lastly, Reward Your Employees
This is the fun part of the job in HR, developing innovative and cost-effective programs that will make employees happy. There are so many exciting ways you can motivate your employees and keep your culture alive. In our company, we continuously try our best to maintain a stable compensation and benefits structure that the company can afford. We also have fun HR programs that reward good deeds and give incentives to star performers. (To learn more, check out Businessmaker Academy's Compensation & Benefits Management Seminar)
In the next posts, I will share with you Successful HR Project Ideas that you can easily implement to build a strong and happy Company Culture.
>>> Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the president and head of research and development for Businessmaker Academy. She is an educator, entrepreneur, marketing communication specialist and HR practitioner. Together with her husband, Mark So, she is committed to helping people improve their personal, professional and financial lives.
This is evident whenever I visit a new private doctor's clinic. I can tell immediately even without meeting the doctor if the doctor has good bedside manners and really cares for the patient. All I do is observe how their secretaries deal with customers and I'll know what the doctor will be like and whether I will continue to see this doctor.
Because customers relate and ultimately come to trust a company due to its culture, building a Good Company Culture that leads to a Credible Corporate Image is a vital function of HR and should not be shoved over to the Marketing Department to invent on its own. Ultimately, a well-defined and practiced culture will greatly increase a company's success... and HR practitioners have an major role in this.
So How Do You Develop a Strong Company Culture?
First, Build the Foundation.
In our company, our management team took the time to discuss and map out our VMV---Vision, Mission and Values. We also prepared our Company Policies, HR manual and Employee Orientation Program. It was important that the whole management team take part in this endeavor. You don't just write this stuff and expect others to read and follow. Getting people's Buy In is key, and the best way to get people's buy in is to include them in the process. (To learn more about building a solid HR foundation for your company, you can check out books and seminars on Fundamentals of HR Management)
Second, Recruit People with the Same Values.
Unless your company's primary preference is diversity, it is best to find people whose values and competencies are in line with the company's VMV. In our company, we started employing competency-based recruitment with special emphasis on Values. Since we started practicing this type of recruitment and selection process, I've noticed that our employee turnover rate has gone down. (To learn more about Effective Employee Recruitment, Retention and Selection, you can check out books and seminars near you)
Third, Train Your People
There our many ways that you can train your people. One of the most successful HR projects we have is an Automated New Employee Orientation Program. This innovative project allows us to orient an employee through a 4-part interactive webinar, so that we don't have to physically conduct the training ourselves every time there's a new employee. Any employee who is hired by us undergoes this process, then we follow it up with some Company sponsored seminars and On-the-Job Training. (To learn more, you can check out BMA's Corporate Training Services or Seminars on Training Program Development and Trainers Training Program)
Fourth, Manage Performance
Once, you've selected and trained your employees, you need to constantly ensure that they are performing well and that they are upholding the values of the company. Here you want to build programs that will help you increase productivity and create a system that allows you to track, monitor and evaluate employee's performance. Giving Feedback regularly is a powerful way to manage and increase your team's performance. (To learn how to build Performance Management Systems and Programs, you may read books, interview professionals and attend seminars)
Lastly, Reward Your Employees
This is the fun part of the job in HR, developing innovative and cost-effective programs that will make employees happy. There are so many exciting ways you can motivate your employees and keep your culture alive. In our company, we continuously try our best to maintain a stable compensation and benefits structure that the company can afford. We also have fun HR programs that reward good deeds and give incentives to star performers. (To learn more, check out Businessmaker Academy's Compensation & Benefits Management Seminar)
In the next posts, I will share with you Successful HR Project Ideas that you can easily implement to build a strong and happy Company Culture.
>>> Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the president and head of research and development for Businessmaker Academy. She is an educator, entrepreneur, marketing communication specialist and HR practitioner. Together with her husband, Mark So, she is committed to helping people improve their personal, professional and financial lives.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Philippine Holidays 2009
Philippine Holiday Schedule for 2009
(PGMA’s Proclamation 1699)
Just uploading an important News Advisory which was posted in the HR Club Forum previously. This is a helpful reference for all of us. As HR practitioners, this run-down of Holiday Schedule is very useful for planning your company schedules, manpower allocation and leaves. You might want to circulate this among managers so that they can plan events and activities on the right dates---not during holidays!
Here is the List of Philippine Holidays for 2009
through PGMA’s Proclamation 1699:
April 6 - Araw ng Kagitingan - regular holiday
moved to the nearest Monday)
April 9 - Maundy Thursday - regular holiday
April 10 - Good Friday - regular holiday
May 1 - Labor Day - regular holiday
June 12 - Independence Day - regular holiday
August 21 - Ninoy Aquino Day - special non-working day
August 31 - National Heroes Day - regular Holiday
November 1 - All Saints Day - special non-working day
November 2 - All Souls Day - special non-working day
November 30 - Bonifacio Day - regular holiday
December 24 - Christmas Eve - special non-working day
December 25 - Christmas Day - regular holiday
December 30 - Rizal Day - regular holiday
December 31 - New Year’s Eve - special non-working day
Given this holiday schedule, this results
to a list of ten (10) long-weekend holiday dates for 2009:
April 4 - 6 (Araw ng Kagitingan on April 9
moved to the nearest Monday, April 6)
April 9 - 12 (Holy Week or Easter holidays)
May 1 - 3 (Labor Day)
June 12 - 14 (Independence Day)
Aug 21 - 23 (Ninoy Aquino Day)
Aug 29 - 31 (National Heroes Day)
Oct 31 - Nov 2 (All Saints Day/All Souls Day)
Nov 28 - 30 (Bonifacio Day)
Dec 24 - 27 (Christmas holidays)
Dec 30 - Jan 3 (Rizal Day & New Year)
Note: Edsa Anniversary (Feb 25) and Ramadan (Sept 21?) were not mentioned. There are also other City-related holidays that you should look into.
Enjoy the 2009 Holidays!
>>> Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the president and head of research and development for Businessmaker Academy. She is an educator, entrepreneur, marketing communication specialist and HR practitioner. Together with her husband, Mark So, she is committed to helping people improve their personal, professional and financial lives.
(PGMA’s Proclamation 1699)
Just uploading an important News Advisory which was posted in the HR Club Forum previously. This is a helpful reference for all of us. As HR practitioners, this run-down of Holiday Schedule is very useful for planning your company schedules, manpower allocation and leaves. You might want to circulate this among managers so that they can plan events and activities on the right dates---not during holidays!
Here is the List of Philippine Holidays for 2009
through PGMA’s Proclamation 1699:
April 6 - Araw ng Kagitingan - regular holiday
moved to the nearest Monday)
April 9 - Maundy Thursday - regular holiday
April 10 - Good Friday - regular holiday
May 1 - Labor Day - regular holiday
June 12 - Independence Day - regular holiday
August 21 - Ninoy Aquino Day - special non-working day
August 31 - National Heroes Day - regular Holiday
November 1 - All Saints Day - special non-working day
November 2 - All Souls Day - special non-working day
November 30 - Bonifacio Day - regular holiday
December 24 - Christmas Eve - special non-working day
December 25 - Christmas Day - regular holiday
December 30 - Rizal Day - regular holiday
December 31 - New Year’s Eve - special non-working day
Given this holiday schedule, this results
to a list of ten (10) long-weekend holiday dates for 2009:
April 4 - 6 (Araw ng Kagitingan on April 9
moved to the nearest Monday, April 6)
April 9 - 12 (Holy Week or Easter holidays)
May 1 - 3 (Labor Day)
June 12 - 14 (Independence Day)
Aug 21 - 23 (Ninoy Aquino Day)
Aug 29 - 31 (National Heroes Day)
Oct 31 - Nov 2 (All Saints Day/All Souls Day)
Nov 28 - 30 (Bonifacio Day)
Dec 24 - 27 (Christmas holidays)
Dec 30 - Jan 3 (Rizal Day & New Year)
Note: Edsa Anniversary (Feb 25) and Ramadan (Sept 21?) were not mentioned. There are also other City-related holidays that you should look into.
Enjoy the 2009 Holidays!
>>> Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the president and head of research and development for Businessmaker Academy. She is an educator, entrepreneur, marketing communication specialist and HR practitioner. Together with her husband, Mark So, she is committed to helping people improve their personal, professional and financial lives.
Friday, July 10, 2009
My HR Story
Just want to share how I got into HR...
I never really expected that I would be doing HR work. I'm an Entrepreneur and a Marketing Communications Specialist by profession while my partners are into education, sales and finance. So when we started Businessmaker Academy 5 years ago, HR was at the bottom of our list of priorities. I was busy working on the Marketing and R&D aspect of the business---giving literally my blood, sweat and tears to build our company with my partners Mark and Cindy who were working as hard.
Building the company from scratch, we went through a lot of sleepless nights working hard to survive the then shaky economy and early challenges of business. But no matter how hard we worked, we found ourselves having to work harder and harder... oftentimes having to troubleshoot, solve problems and fix the mistakes of our staff back then.
Worse---Instead of handling HR, we assigned the HR function to our then Accounting & Office Supervisor---BIG MISTAKE. Being inexperienced in HR work and having no prior training, she was not ready to take on that role. There were several occasions wherein our staff made their issues known to her, but she did not inform us of any problems encountered. Consequently, morale got low, productivity suffered, then a great divide between staff and mancomm arose. Those were dark times...
It was then that I realized that I had to take charge of our company's HR---aaack! Well, somebody had to do it.
So by default, I became the HR head. I first created a simple 5-page HR manual. Then, together with my partners, we mapped out policies, benefits and incentives. More importantly, we spent time training our new team and establishing exciting programs (please read Successful HR Project Ideas in this forum). Within a year, we managed to build a better HR system and an employee enabling company culture. Whew!
It took us 5 years to finally succeed and make Businessmaker Academy successful. Now, we can breathe and enjoy some of the fruits of our labor. We now understand: One of the key ingredients for business success is good HR Management. With our new and improved team, morale is much improved, everyone is united and productivity is high. Galing ng team!
That's how important HR is---looking back, it should have been at the top of our list: "Take care of your team and your team will take care of your company."
>>> Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the president and head of research and development for Businessmaker Academy. She is an educator, entrepreneur, marketing communication specialist and HR practitioner. Together with her husband, Mark So, she is committed to helping people improve their personal, professional and financial lives.
I never really expected that I would be doing HR work. I'm an Entrepreneur and a Marketing Communications Specialist by profession while my partners are into education, sales and finance. So when we started Businessmaker Academy 5 years ago, HR was at the bottom of our list of priorities. I was busy working on the Marketing and R&D aspect of the business---giving literally my blood, sweat and tears to build our company with my partners Mark and Cindy who were working as hard.
Building the company from scratch, we went through a lot of sleepless nights working hard to survive the then shaky economy and early challenges of business. But no matter how hard we worked, we found ourselves having to work harder and harder... oftentimes having to troubleshoot, solve problems and fix the mistakes of our staff back then.
Worse---Instead of handling HR, we assigned the HR function to our then Accounting & Office Supervisor---BIG MISTAKE. Being inexperienced in HR work and having no prior training, she was not ready to take on that role. There were several occasions wherein our staff made their issues known to her, but she did not inform us of any problems encountered. Consequently, morale got low, productivity suffered, then a great divide between staff and mancomm arose. Those were dark times...
It was then that I realized that I had to take charge of our company's HR---aaack! Well, somebody had to do it.
So by default, I became the HR head. I first created a simple 5-page HR manual. Then, together with my partners, we mapped out policies, benefits and incentives. More importantly, we spent time training our new team and establishing exciting programs (please read Successful HR Project Ideas in this forum). Within a year, we managed to build a better HR system and an employee enabling company culture. Whew!
It took us 5 years to finally succeed and make Businessmaker Academy successful. Now, we can breathe and enjoy some of the fruits of our labor. We now understand: One of the key ingredients for business success is good HR Management. With our new and improved team, morale is much improved, everyone is united and productivity is high. Galing ng team!
That's how important HR is---looking back, it should have been at the top of our list: "Take care of your team and your team will take care of your company."
>>> Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the president and head of research and development for Businessmaker Academy. She is an educator, entrepreneur, marketing communication specialist and HR practitioner. Together with her husband, Mark So, she is committed to helping people improve their personal, professional and financial lives.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Our HR Digital Newsletter
Let me first introduce you to HR Club Philippines, the online forum membership site created by Businessmaker Academy to help HR practitioners and students continue learning and developing skills in Human Resource Management.
This Online Newsletter is a by-product of our Seminar Series on Human Resource Management. Aside from our regular forum, we've decided to digitally deliver helpful news, insights and project ideas to help you make positive improvements in your workplace. Basically, we're here to help you help others at work.
So feel free to subscribe, post comments and questions and share this to your friends.
Here's to a happy and productive workplace to all of us!
>>> Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the president and head of research and development for Businessmaker Academy. She is an educator, entrepreneur, marketing communication specialist and HR practitioner. Together with her husband, Mark So, she is committed to helping people improve their personal, professional and financial lives.
This Online Newsletter is a by-product of our Seminar Series on Human Resource Management. Aside from our regular forum, we've decided to digitally deliver helpful news, insights and project ideas to help you make positive improvements in your workplace. Basically, we're here to help you help others at work.
So feel free to subscribe, post comments and questions and share this to your friends.
Here's to a happy and productive workplace to all of us!
>>> Jhoanna O. Gan-So is the president and head of research and development for Businessmaker Academy. She is an educator, entrepreneur, marketing communication specialist and HR practitioner. Together with her husband, Mark So, she is committed to helping people improve their personal, professional and financial lives.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
