FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Larry Wenger, Founder, Healthier Workplaces
(877) 872-6195

LarryW@HealthierWorkplaces.com

HEALTHIER WORKPLACES AND KENCREST PARTNER
TO PROVIDE INSPIRED LEADERSHIP FOR BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE

Healthier Workplaces, a Bucks County, Pa.-based management training and employee relations consultancy, has partnered with KenCrest, a Plymouth Meeting, Pa.- based not-for-profit organization.  KenCrest is a pioneering provider of social and educational support services to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism.  Healthier Workplaces, headed by Larry Wenger, a veteran human resources consultant specializing in both the not-for-profit and corporate leadership arena, is leading the effort, which will enhance the professional knowledge of more than 300 KenCrest directors, managers and supervisors on management best practices to continue the program and service  delivery to KenCrest clients.  

            The course, entitled “Excellence in Leadership and Supervision” will build upon the leadership skills of KenCrest’s management and supervisory staff and positions the agency for future sustainability and continued growth.   KenCrest  provides services primarily in southeastern Pennsylvania, but also operates programs in Connecticut and Delaware, employing a total of nearly 2,500 people. 

The course provides participating staff with a 36-hour training program over a six-week period. It will help them solidify their understanding of leadership and management best practices, develop a clearer awareness of their own leadership styles, identify areas in which a change in their behavior might increase their leadership success, and apply the knowledge and assessment information to their daily activity.  The course is being held in several locations concurrently, so that staff from a  variety of work locations  can conveniently attend.  It is anticipated that all trainings will be completed by July 2016.

           

“KenCrest,” designated as one of the Philadelphia area’s top places to work, “is to be commended for taking on a staff development project like this”, says Healthier Workplaces’ Larry Wenger.  “It says a lot about their commitment to maintaining the workplace as a setting of excitement, growth and challenge.  We’re honored to be partnering with them in this effort.   Often, when economic times are uncertain, employee training is one of the first expenses to be cut.  KenCrest’s  bold move to make this kind of an investment in their future, and that of their staff, speaks volumes about the organization’s commitment to quality services.   

            Since 2005, many human service organizations and leading companies throughout the Northeast have trusted Healthier Workplaces, headquartered in Newtown, Pa., for training on leadership development and employee morale and relations. Larry Wenger and his team of expert trainers have years of experience in the area of social management.  To learn more about Healthier Workplaces, visit www.HealthierWorkplaces.com.

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You have reached the blog of Healthier Workplaces.  Read our posts, make comments and check out the rest of our website (www.healthierworkplaces.com) and see why our training services might just be what the doctor ordered for your organization.  

Getting Rid of the Annual Performance Evaluation
Sounds outrageous doesn't it.   No more annual evaluations.  Think of it!  There's a rationale behind this seemingly over-the-top recommendation.  The rationale is that when it comes to improving the performance of employees, and after all that is what it's all about, the annual performance evaluation is not where we should spend our time and energy.  Here's why.

1.  The communication during the typical performance evaluation is confusing.  It's 50 minutes of how great the employee is doing, followed by ten minutes of,  "but there is one other thing...."  And guess what, the employee walks out only remembering the negative comment.

2.  Annual performance evaluations serve a limited instructive function.  They are a requirement of a bureaucracy.  They are not an opportunity for teaching.  They are simply a review of performance over a period of time and normally that period of time is the 30 days before the supervisor wrote the evaluation;  that's the period of time that the supervisor can most readily recall, even though the evaluation is supposed to cover a year.  

3.  The annual performance evaluation too often is not done in a context of a positive relationship between supervisor and employee.  So the entire conversation is ripe for misunderstandings to occur.  (see the YouTube video in our current Newsletter for an example of misunderstandings).  It's not a positive relationship because the supervisor has made only minimal investment in building a relationship.  

4.  Annual performance evaluations are not done on time or done at all.  Not unusual to hear about organizations where a heavy majority of employees have never had a performance evaluation.  And sometimes the more senior level supervisors are the most negligent in carrying out this responsibility.

5.  The annual performance review has too many surprises; usually surprises about their performance which has not met expectations.   This means that employees have been working with the mistaken impression that their performance was at least "ok".  

So what is the option?  What both employees and supervisors need is regular, frequent performance feedback - daily if necessary.  New employees need daily feedback, more experienced, normally, less frequently.  This requires the full range of leadership skills in order to be done competently:   time management so that time for feedback is available; a commitment to the development and success of employees;  the ability to communicate good news and bad news with clarity, to mention just a few.

Let's get good at performance feedback. Begin by having frequent 1:1 meetings.  No, a 1:1 meeting is not chit-chat in the hallway.   Let's learn about how our employees learn and improve their performance; it'll be a little different for each.    Let's learn to teach;  see what John Maxwell says about equipping employees for success.   Stop playing 'sink or swim' with our employees and then telling them at the end of the year, if they last that long,  that they are drowning.

Set up Employee Perks that are Creative, "Cool" and not Expensive.

So you are not a Silicone Valley employer and you cannot afford free meals, child care, a year of parental leave or unlimited vacation time.  So what?  That doesn't mean that your benefit package needs to be same old, same old.  You can still be creative, cool and affordable.  Here are some ways to accomplish that, according to INC. writer Diana Ransom.

1.  Allow your employees to take a day off periodically to volunteer at a social agency.  Maybe you are already a social agency but doing this gives your employees a view of how things are at other agencies and maybe they will appreciate your place more.  They may also have opportunity to rub shoulders with corporate volunteers and might be eager to learn about what you are doing.
2.  Provide subsidized shares at a local community supported agriculture garden.  Great opportunity for your employees to learn about growing great, natural food.
3.  Subsidized gym memberships.  Negotiate with a local fitness center about a bulk membership purchase and you'll get the per person rate down very low.
4.  Give employees $100 per year to assist in their purchase of a non-motorized vehicle (bike, kayak, roller skates).   Physical activity not only builds health but fights of depression and the loss of their "mojo".
5.  Make benefit changes as flexible as possible.  Everyone is different.  Yes, it will cost more to coordinate but the savings might be more than made up in reduced turnover.
6.  Have focus group discussions employees annually to review their needs and interests with regard to perks.
7.  Tie perks to the bottom line.  Yes, some of them are very nice, but the reason they exist is to make the organization more effective and efficient.  If a perk is costing more than the savings it produces, chances are it should not survive.

6 Hot Tips to Help You Hire Winners

Very few of us have ever had any formal training in how to make hire decisions.  We learn as we go and we feel like out "gut" reaction to an applicant is pretty accurate.   Times have changed in the hiring game however and today you are likely to know more about the capacity of that copier you bought last month than you do about the applicant sitting in front of you.  They are all wearing a "mask" after all and your job, should you chose to accept it, is to get behind the mask and uncover what the applicant probably does not want you to know.

Making good hiring decisions can make all the difference for your organization.   You'll definitely be ahead of the game when it comes to employee morale; you will probably lower your turnover rate and the ability of the staff as a whole to meet your "mission" increases dramatically.  Since replacing even a $10 per hour employee, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, costs no less than $3800 out of pocket, you'll even save money.

So here are 10 smoking' hot tips to help you separate applicants who can really help you from those who will be around to collect a paycheck, and very little else.

1.  Remember, your objective is different than the applicant.  You want to find out as much about the applicant as possible; the applicant wants a job offer or at least a second interview.
2.  Watch out for "positive chemistry".  This feels good right away and you'll assume that you've finally found the right person.  But it probably has very little to do with whether or not the applicant can meet the job requirements.
3. Make sure your questions ask about the applicant's past work and experience.  Don't pose a scenario and ask, "what would you do?"  Past performance is the best predictor of performance in the future.
4.  Don't provide the applicant with a job description before the interview.  Plenty of time for that later.   The job description (especially if it's a good one) merely gives the applicant easy access to the verbiage he/she thinks you want to hear.
5.  Don't talk too much.  Wait for the applicant to answer difficult questions.  Be comfortable with silence.  If you as the interviewer are talking more than 20% of the time...you are talking too much.
6.  Use pre-prepared questions.  That way you will be able to listen intently without worrying about what your next question should be.

Making good hiring decisions is not necessarily a science, but you should always be trying to improve your ability to make these judgements.  Whatever hiring process you have, subject it to a quality control process.  Become a student of hiring and do it better today than you did yesterday.