Louise Woolridge / Andy Davies Human Resources

1. Louise Woolridge / Andy Davies Human Resources

2. HR Services • We provide a range of services to you which includes expert advice from professionally qualified staff. • Establishment of new posts, advertisement, recruitment & selection of new staff. • We support a range of wellbeing activities for you and your staff including OH referrals and return to work programmes. • Performance management including training on the appraisal process. • Provision of employee benefits to recruitment of quality staff and remain an employer of choice.

3. HR Survival Kit for Managers - content

4. HR Survival Kit for Managers - Objectives • Provide you with knowledge of key HR processes. • Enable you to deal with common place staffing problems before referring to HR. • Understand when HR should be contacted for expert guidance. • Understand where to look for further support/reference.

5. Recruitment & Selection

6. Recruitment & Selection • All organisations do this differently. • Main legislation surrounding R&S is through the Equality Act 2010; i.e. don’t discriminate against anyone or group of applicants. • We run separate R&S workshops which you will need to undertake prior to conducting an interview. • The LPDC website contains advice on induction at Keele. • And don’t get me started on advertising costs…..

7. Recruitment & Selection And now it’s time for a quiz….

8. How many jobs were advertised at Keele in 2012/2013 • 121 • 371 • 243 • 91

9. How many jobs were advertised at Keele in 2012/2013 The answer is 371

10. How many interviewees were there in 2012/2013? • 1184 • 421 • 232 • 871

11. How many interviewees were there in 2012/2013? The answer is 1184

12. What % of new starters remained at Keele for more than 1 year? • 91% • 99% • 94% • 97%

13. What % of new starters remained at Keele for more than 1 year? The answer is 94%

14. How much was spent on advertising vacancies in 2012/2013? • £180k • £60k • £100K • £80K

15. How much was spent on advertising vacancies in 2012/2013? The answer is £180k

16. Recruitment & Selection Summary: • We have workshops to prepare you for interviews. • We will soon have these available as e-learning. • Please book through the LPDC website.

17. Probation

18. Probation • There are a variety of probationary periods ranging from 6 months to 3 years. • This will have been identified on the contract request form following selection of the successful candidate. • ……Why do you think it is important for both colleague and manager?

19. Probation

20. Probation What would you do if an employee just isn’t meeting the probationary targets?

21. Probation What would you do if an employee just isn’t working out? • Need regular reviews and be honest. • Consider re-explaining tasks, re-training or developmental training to increase ability to conduct the role. • If still not meeting expectations, state that clearly and explain why. • Consider extending the probationary period to provide an opportunity for the benefit of the training etc to be realised. • Document discussions – write to them.

22. Probation What happens if you don’t have the honest conversation and you do confirm them in post at the end of their probation?

23. Probation What happens if you don’t have the honest conversation and you do confirm them in post at the end of their probation? • You keep an under-performing colleague for a long time (potentially). • There could be an impact on your business output and a morale issue within your team. • You will need to manage them under the capability procedure. • Your most effective way of dealing with someone who isn’t performing is during their probation.

24. Quick Quiz

25. What is taken into account when determining the length on probationary period? • Salary. • Complexity, seniority, experience and terms & conditions. • Number of direct reports. • Month in which appointed. 0

26. Which of the following comments is it likely to be unhelpful for a manager to make at a probationer's progress meeting? • The answer is: Complexity, seniority, experience and terms & conditions. 0

27. Which of the following comments is it likely to be unhelpful for a manager to make at a probationer's progress meeting? • I've noticed a substantial improvement in your written work since our last meeting. In the past month, you made only one error, compared to 10 in the previous month. • I'd like you to work on improving your timekeeping. In the past month you've been over 15 minutes late on 10 different occasions, which is unacceptable. • Some further improvement in your work is required. While you have increased your output from 20 to 25 units per hour, the target output is 30 units per hour. • You seem to be doing ok generally. 0

28. Which of the following comments is it likely to be unhelpful for a manager to make at a probationer's progress meeting? The answer is: You seem to be doing ok generally. 0

29. Which of the following statements will help both employee and manager during the probationary period? • Lie about the employee’s performance. • Blame others for the employee not achieving their objectives. • Be honest and document meetings. • Change the probationary objectives without informing the employee.

30. Which of the following statements will help both employee and manager during the probationary period? The answer is: Be honest and document meetings.

31. Probation • Hand-outs: • Guidance notes for Managers dealing with probationary periods. • Templates for probationary reviews – feel free to customise them. • In summary, • Hold regular discussions. • Be honest. • Document discussions.

32. Capability

33. Capability • The aim of the capability procedure is to assist the member of staff to achieve satisfactory work performance. • However, continued underperformance may also result in relevant warnings and ultimately to dismissal.

34. Capability • The levels: • Informal: • Stage 1 - Investigation of problem, identification of causes and provision of guidance/advice/adjustments. • Formal: • Stage 2 - First Formal Written Warning • Stage 3: Final Formal Written Warning • Stage 4: Dismissal • We want to equip you to handle the informal stage of this procedure. For anything beyond this, call your HR link.

35. Capability What is the threshold where there is a capability issue? • Judgement call for a manager. • Often a failure to deliver outcomes or meet deadlines. • Series of smaller events that are continuous. • Should be used after probation.

36. Capability What factors could affect a colleague’s performance and what would you do to understand these better? • Health issues – refer to OH for a report to help determine reasonable adjustments. • Wellbeing – the counselling service is available although this may be picked up and signposted by OH. • Dyslexia – contact HR to arrange a Dyslexia assessment. • Work relationships – is everything ok within the team?

37. Capability • The purpose of informal guidance/advice is to provide a positive framework in which the colleague can improve their performance. • Achieved by: • Support from the manager. • Advice, guidance, coaching, training or supervision. • Use of Personal Development Plans. • Should be within a timescale that takes account of the context of the problem, the individual and the needs of the University.

38. Capability • Please read the case study for Barry. • If it helps, discuss the case with your neighbour. • Consider: • Is this a case that you would deal with through the informal stage? • What questions would you have for Barry? • Would you refer Barry to anyone to establish any further background? • What would you do about the interaction within the team?

39. Capability

40. Capability • Completion of a Personal Development Plan. • Depends on context but for Barry, 6-8 weeks. • Objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time bound. Have a go at writing a SMART objective for Barry to prepare the packs for the next open day which is due on 22 March.

41. Capability In summary: • Act promptly where there are capability issues. • The informal stage is an opportunity for both parties to quickly resolve an issue. • Can’t work/won’t work - capability is about can’t work. Won’t work is a disciplinary issue. • Where you have followed the informal stage, with a PDP and suitable period of time for improvement, and there are still problems…..call you HR link.

42. Break for 15 minutes.

43. Sickness Absence

44. Sickness Absence So ….. Why manage sickness absence?

45. Sickness Absence • Cost of loss of productivity and working time • Impact on service • Impact on others – morale, pressure of workload • Duty of care and responsibility to the member of staff off sick • Contagion! • Managerial and moral obligation

46. Sickness Absence • Work related factors for sickness absence could be: - Working patterns making it difficult to manage work/family commitments - Terms and conditions e.g. pay, holiday, etc. - Career or job frustration – leads to boredom and inertia - Management style – need for direction, support, recognition, development - Perceived stress - Specific problems at work, e.g. bullying, workload - Environmental factors affecting employee’s levels of comfort at work.

47. Types of sickness absence • Long-term • Short-term, intermittent, or sporadic • Non-compliance with sickness absence reporting procedures

48. Sickness Absence – Information and Records • Information on sickness history, patterns, trends and reasons can be accessed on the HR Dashboard http://hrinfo.admin.keele.ac.uk/ • A referral to Occupational Health, if appropriate, can provide up to date, impartial medical information and advice, to help you manage the case, support the individual, and inform your decision making and consideration of adjustments • It’s vital that detailed and accurate records are kept by managers, throughout all stages of the sickness absence case – these clear audit trails could defend your position when/if you need to.

49. Sickness Absence – Information and Records

50. Disability and Reasonable Adjustments • A disability is defined in the Equality Act 2010 (Disability Regulations) as: “a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on an employee's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. • Employers have an obligation to consider any reasonable adjustments, which may include: - Specialised computer hardware or software - Increased flexibility to attend medical appointments - Disabled access to a building or floor - Specialist equipment to assist with lifting, carrying or portering duties - Additional time allowance for writing reports, letters, grant publications, etc.