Background and Challenges of BDS Auto Care
BDS Auto Care is a family owned business that develops and produces solution for automotive industry. With growing economy, there is opportunity to grow strategically by investment. For the purpose of expansion, the company needed to integrate operational plan for provider wider accessibility to store open timings, greater customer care, staff expansion and policies (Cai, 2009). The key people in the branch of the company are Tony (Supervisor) and Marie (Bookkeeper/Administrator). Tony had been feeling negative, source for which can be determined to be inappropriate pay structure I n the company. Though the Company plans on expanding yet, it does not aim at increasing pay structure of its employees and staff. Performance management plan for Tony needs to include steps to motivate him, by more recognition for his role. He feels as if a any other part in the company and not someone critical, who could drive performance. In one-to-one session with Tony, a resolution for way forward such that he can be brought on-board fully has to be ascertained. Resolution plan needs to integrate steps for enhancing productivity, also engagement in his job role. It has to be ascertained that his involvement within organization increases and his usage of internet reduces. Monitoring of his performance will allow overseeing any time that he allocates for other duties or for his personal work.
Being the manager and having one to one meeting with staff members, program that are outlined in the Performance Management Plan has to be highlighted. Details of such programs includes operations that staffs needs to integrate to cater to increased roles and responsibilities at the organization (Ferreira, 2009). For every role key results areas that are desired has to be highlighted along with indicators that reflects successful performance. A brief review period for performance has to be ascertained for the performance plan as well.
- Resolving of issues outlined in Employee profiles has to be attended. As Tony requires a motivation and engagement sessions. Marie needs an induction training to get more hands-on expertise. Conducting coaching session will help address Employee issue and will also help the Employee. Coaching session will include a training program aimed at greater success in performance areas within appropriate review period.
- KPI results are integral to be generated from team’s performance, hence appropriate measures to calculate such scores has to be taken. KPI for operational teams is aimed at better performance levels of employees for catering to increased schedules of the store, aim to customer satisfaction, integration of green initiative by the Company.
- Individual report on progress for individual Employee can be understood by means of chatting with them. Every employee faces separate issue, which can only be handled separately. This meeting will further help and raise awareness amongst employees to the concept of team achievement.
- Performance Development Plan can be completed on basis of outcomes of one-to-one session and sign-in agreement. The Plan highlights major subjects that needs to be attended during operations of individual employees.
- Performance review notes once completed can be placed in Employee’s file for better record of performance. This file can be kept as a record and accessed once required by the organization for developmental purposes.
Respond to these questions with your feelings and thoughts about coaching. What was your initial reaction to the coaching exercise?
Que.1 What was your overall assessment of your performance as a coach? Give reasons for this assessment.
Answer: It is often difficult to self-reflect regarding one’s own performance levels. Overall assessment of my own performance as a coach reflects that I was highly professional in my approach. I was critical of my staff’s during their coaching sessions and was also accommodative for making any changes to the sessions.
This assessment provided performance plan for employees development and performance. It will help them cater to specific performance goals in the future.
Key People in BDS Auto Care
Que.2 What do you think were some of your strengths during the exercise?
Answer: As a coach there needs to be some strengths identified that can help cater to performance criteria in a better way. My strength during the exercise was professionalism and being directed to goals specifically. Other strengths were keeping staffs motivated through the entire exercise.
Que.3 What do you think were areas where there was room for improvement?
Answer: I feel every coach realizes that there were areas or room for improvement posts coaching sessions. In this coaching session there was room for improvement for accommodating in more performance related criteria’s that could have been evaluated.
Que.4 What kind of strategies can you think of to help improve your coaching skills?
Answer: Strategies that can help improve my coaching skills are patient and more criticalness. I feel if I am more critical of my team’s performance then my team will be able to achieve better.
Que. 5 What do you think will be the cost of not implementing new strategies into your role as a manager?
Answer: There will be significantly high costs of not implementing new strategies into my role as a new manager. Some effects may be as severe as staff non-productivity.
Que.6 What are some valuable skills that you have learned today to help you in your role as manager/coach?
Answer: Some valuable skills that I have learned as a role of a manager or coach is to conduct staff related performance in a critical manner.
- Disciplinary hearings:
- Report : The reasons the organisation lost its unfair dismissal case with Fair Work Australia (includes points a to e)
In a small security company, Sam is a programmer in a team. As the Team Manager, it was noted that Sam had been missing quite a few deadlines and had struck the manager, when called for called for a meeting at the office (Aguinis, 2009). When Sam’s was dismissed, she filled a case with Fair Work Australia, where the Company lost the case. Reasons for the organization losing the case was several. the Company missed any sort of risk analysis that could arise in any situation. Here the risk pertains to injury done to manager or any other fellow employee, which forms a part of Employee Conduct and Disciplinary legislation. Legislation that might apply in this case is Fair Work laws and rules. The Company had not kept any performance review of the employee that reflected repeated missing of deadlines. There was absence of any disciplinary action against the employee prior to providing termination notice to the employee. There was no formal disciplinary progress against the employee. Further there was absence of any formal investigation that was carried out for the employees failing to abide by disciplinary procedures. Absence of records in employer’s book regarding the staff where claims for bad meeting review is recorded. There was a merely termination letter with no prior chances provided to the employee. There were no documented evidence that incorporated coaching sessions with Sam by the employer. Professional and proper performance management review or developmental plans for the employee was absent that could be produced by the employer in the court. There was absence of copies of signed agreement that reviewed Sam’s progress as submitted by the employer. There was also no formal hearing that had taken Sam’s point of view prior to her dismissal. As Sam was not stood down while the investigation was carried out. Further, there was absence of the claim made by the Company that can prove misconduct done by Sam. The manager failed to document any written warning in Sam’s file and they had merely verbal arrangement. Adoption of recording procedure for employee conduct would enable the Company defend its position as per Fair Trade Work rules.
Performance Management Plan for Tony
What the organisation should have been doing for it to have successfully defended its position against Sam’s claim of unfair dismissal.
The organization should have maintained written documents for all performance related plans for Sam. Any proceeding or progress made by Sam should have been documented with formal written warning issued. There is a procedure for maintaining performance review and conduct of employee in file of the employer. This would have allowed the organization to defend position against Sam’s claim for unfair dismissal.
What would have been the correct way to terminate Sam in accordance with legal and organisational requirements. (Point f)
Sam could easily been terminated in a legal manner that met organizational requirements. Correct way to dismiss Sam includes maintaining of all her proceedings in the Company, with maintaining her records to not able to meet deadlines. While she was absent from the Company, she should have been issued formal written warning notice to join back her work. Her physical assault should also have been documented. Post three warnings issued against her, which if she missed, the Company could have issued a dismissal notice. The Company can easily provide those documents signed and noted according to date as a measure of evidence for Sam’s dismissal. HR specialists should have been appointed at coaching sessions with Sam when he misconducted within the organization. Sam required support services to guide him towards fair conduct in his proceedings at the organization. He needed a formal coaching session to guide him towards proper productivity within the organization.
Question 1: What is performance? Explain performance measurement systems utilized within the organization you are familiar with?
Answer: Performance in organization is the actual output or results that an employee delivers against intended outputs. Performance is the productivity that is desired from employees and staffs to meet certain predestinated goals of the Company.
Performance measurement systems utilized within the organization examples are Balanced Scorecards, Performance Prism, action-profit linkage and Cambridge Performance Measurement. While there are other performance measurement systems present but the above ones that are highlighted are applied in organization systems more compared to others.
Question 2: KPIs
Answer: Being a manager of a new call center team three Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that the team needs to meet or exceed monthly are Average time in Queue, Service Levels and Average Speed of Answer. Average time in Queue will reduce customer waiting time while calling the call center and will allow answering to more number of calls. Service levels will allow identifying callers appropriately and help in better service delivery. Whereas Average Speed of Answer which is 4 seconds will be reduce greatly to below 4 seconds.
Coaching Reflection
Question 3: Describe the role of awards and certified agreements in managing employee performance, give some examples?
Answer: Employees performance needs to be coordinated and directed such that appropriate goals can be reached. Performance appraisal of employees can help understand levels of gaps existing amongst employee performance and expected levels. A KPI will further allow understanding such levels. While such levels of performance can easily be understood, they need to be strived towards by increasing employee productivity. Employee productivity can be achieved through various intrinsic and extrinsic motivation levels. Role of awards and certified agreements in managing employee performance can help achieve motivation in employees. Such awards and certified agreements can enhance recognition and help engage employees in a better manner.
Question 4: Explain unlawful dismissal rules and due process?
Answer: An employee might be subjected to unlawful dismissal rules for several reasons. Reasons for unlawful dismissal includes temporary absence from work due to injury or illness, trade union membership or participation in trade union activities, non-membership with trade unions, filling of a complaint, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, physical, mental ability, marital status, absence of work in maternity leave, temporary absence from work for engaging in voluntary emergency.
Process of such dismissal includes employee lodging a complaint, commission staff members checking application, then the employer being served with the application. Commission might hold conference to deal with parties to resolve the matter. The Commission if satisfied resolves the dispute and issues certificate.
Question 5: List three legislation that are related to performance management?
Answer: Performance Management follows several legislations. However specific legislation includes, Fair Work Act 2009, Fair Work Relations 2009 and Public Sector Management Act 1995 (South Australia). Though there are other acts that apply to areas of performance management but the above highlighted are the important ones that define ways that employees need to conduct themselves.
Question 6: Describe staff development options and information?
Answer: Employees and staffs needs to be developed through various options and information such that they can cater to performance criteria’s specified by the organization. Staff development options includes training, inductions, performance review and reporting and so on. These attend to specific areas in which staff requires improvements.
Question 7: Case Study 1
Case Study on Termination
What steps would you take to provide positive feedback to Mike?
Answer: Mike has been highly effective in reducing absenteeism in the team that had been facing serious issues with absenteeism. Mike needs to be given feedback formally through written instructions as well as verbally. Mike can be called for a one-to-one meeting procedure where he can be given feedback and asked regarding ways that he adopted to overcome the challenge at workplace. Other steps to provide feedback to Mike can be recognition given to him for his performance by highlighting his name on the whiteboard or through email in the intranet to various teams. This will help motivate Mike in a better way and also help him improvise for better performance in the future.
Question 8: Case study 2
What steps would you use to give constructive feedback to Louise?
Answer: Louise had been lagging behind schedule since the beginning of the project. Inspite of repeated warnings given, there has been a lag in performance levels to keep up to standard performance criteria. Understanding and analysing critical factor that affects Louise’s performance it can be understood that he does not take deadlines in a serious manner. A constructive feedback provided to Louise includes providing him relevant details that client requires project be completed in time. Further he needs to work hard until completion of the project and to set his deadline ahead of time such that he can finish in a suitable time period. Time management is critical for any project completion, therefore Louise should be coached in procedures of time management skills such that he is able to complete his projects in time.
Question 9: What are the legal consequences for managers and organizations for not keeping records of any activity surrounding performance management?
Answer: Managers needs to keep track and record of performance management for all staffs and employees. These records help them in the future and in current stages of operation management. There might be legal consequences for managers as well as the organization for not keeping records of activities surrounding performance management. Especially they might be subjected to cases as per Fair Work rules where employees might challenge employer for any legal proceeding taken against them. In such cases employer or manager will not be able to provide records of documents or any written proceedings for warnings or whatsoever.
Question 10: How would you provide assistance to an employee who:
- a) Has problems doing their job?
- b) Needs to develop skills to be considered for a promotion?
Answer: a) Employee and staffs needs to provided coaching that assists them from side of the employer. In case an employee faces challenges in their work roles of jobs such assistance can help them cope with standards provided. Assistance in form of training and guidance can further aid in developing performance criteria of employees.
- b) Employer can assist employees in development of skills that is considered critical for promotion. This will assists in succession planning, career development and promotion that in turn will help the organization to achieve higher levels of productivity. Imbibing skills from the employer will keep employee motivated and committed towards the organization, which in turn will assists in achieving greater goals for it.
Question 11: Nick and Tony have been fighting at work. List all the steps you would follow to discipline both employees.
Answer: Employees need to follow disciplinary course of action within the organization. They are typical legislations that has to be adhered to while delivering performance within workplace. While Nick and Tony had been fighting at their workplace, there are some disciplinary steps that needs to be accommodated for both employees. They need to be provided with written disciplinary course of action that needs to be followed within workplace. The employees has to be course of action that will be taken against them in cases they fail to adhere to specifications provided by the organization.
Reference Lists
Aguinis, H. (2009). Performance management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Cai, J. L. (2009). Improving supply chain performance management: A systematic approach to analyzing iterative KPI accomplishment. Decision support systems, 512-521.
Ferreira, A. &. (2009). The design and use of performance management systems: An extended framework for analysis. Management accounting research, 263-282.