Performance management of employees is a skill new supervisors must develop to earn the trust and respect of their team.

Supervisors who are new to performance management can learn from other managers’ common performance management mistakes.

The Halo Effect When Evaluating Employee Performance

When one attribute is recognized and emphasized over all other qualities, this is called the Halo Effect. When a supervisor fails to realize that they are blinded by one aspect of the employee’s performance (positive or negative), they forget to evaluate and provide feedback on other critical behavioural challenges, strengths or skill gaps. The Halo Effect is a common problem with overly friendly or overly aggressive employees. These employees exhibit extreme behaviours that can overshadow their actual work performance.

To avoid the Halo Effect, set clear performance targets to measure the employee’s performance against these targets and not the halo behaviour.

The Middle of the Road Effect During Employee Reviews

In an attempt to not rate an employee too high for fear they will not strive to improve or too low so they will feel defeated, some supervisors rate employees in the middle of the scale.

The consequence of supervisors rating all of their team in the middle of the scale is that an employee’s strengths and weaknesses are not identified, commented or coached on. It means that an improvement plan cannot be created. Employees need to understand their areas of weakness so they can work on improving them and their areas of strength to feel a sense of satisfaction. The danger of the middle of the road effect is that employees can disengage and lose respect for their manager’s ability to coach them to excellence.

To avoid the Middle of the Road Effect, supervisors should spend time listing the strengths and weaknesses of their team members outside of the performance review form or software to determine which areas should be rated high or low.

The Comparison Effect When Managing Employee Performance

Supervisors who rate employees positively because they possess similar attributes or rate them poorly because they fail to mirror their strengths or the qualities or strengths of star employees demonstrate the Comparison Effect. The Comparison Effect prevents managers from recognizing significant negative or positive differences that require feedback and coaching.

To avoid the comparison effect, measure employees against clearly defined performance targets that have been agreed to by the employee.

Overall, to avoid making the above mistakes during the performance review process, managers need to take a step back and objectively look at their team member’s performance. In addition, clearly defining performance targets and asking the employee to self evaluate their performance can also help avoid these common mistakes or biases when assessing employee performance.

It is okay to allow that splash of creativity to emerge in problem-solving in the workplace. So here are some tips for the reluctant problem solver.

There is often discomfort with appearing too creative in a business setting. It is particularly true in mainstream, bureaucratic workplaces where the lighter side of life is not always appreciated.

The following suggestions can help make anyone a creative problem solver. As a result, I will make the entire problem-solving process more productive and possibly more fun.

First, there are four basic questions about creativity that need to be answered:

• What is creativity? “The ability to produce or somehow bring anything new into existence, whether a new solution to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic item or shape,” according to creativity.
• Who has creativity? Absolutely everyone has that ability somewhere inside their mind, heart, perhaps the soul.
• Who needs creativity? Everyone needs creativity. It is the spark that brightens the dullness of everyday life. Even a little creativity can help find innovative solutions to overwhelming problems in the workplace.
• Who evaluates the value of creativity in problem-solving? Whoever is involved in the problem-solving process determines if any particular idea will work. Maybe only part of it is acceptable, achievable, or marketable. But, if the creative solution isn’t discussed, no one will ever know how good it is or is not.

Barriers to Creativity in Problem Solving

Some natural barriers keep people from thinking more freely and creatively at work. Following are some excuses people use for not allowing those creative juices to flow:

• Concern for personal risk:
• People sometimes feel that they are exposing themselves, maybe even putting their jobs at risk by being too creative. There is usually a fear of rejection or ridicule that makes them feel too vulnerable to take a chance.
• Self-concept: 
• Too many people do not see themselves as creative, so they won’t even think outside the box.
• External environment: 
• Some people are overly concerned about the system, the location, the timing, or anything else that can be an excuse not to think more creatively.
• Personal traits: 
• The list of traits that can be barriers to creativity is endless, e.g. defensiveness, insecurity, or shyness.
• Social pressures: 
• People think they don’t have time to be creative; they are supposed to be somewhere or doing something else; they are in junior positions, so they shouldn’t push themselves forward.
• Myths about the creative process: 
• Many people think that creativity belongs to certain professions like writing or theatre, that regular men and women working in an office or retail outlet could not possibly be creative.

It could even be said that these people who think they are not creative have created their barriers!

Help with Creative Problem Solving

People willing to put thought and effort into it can work through those barriers to creativity and allow their minds the freedom to move into the problem-solving territory:

• Self-confidence: the basis of self-confidence is the acceptance of one’s strengths and weaknesses. Build on personal strengths and redefine weaknesses as challenges to improve.
• Freedom from physical barriers: move around, walk or run, do yoga breathing exercises, change to comfortable clothing.
• Freedom from mental barriers: clear the mind of irrelevant thoughts; e.g. imagine a blue sky with a few fluffy, white clouds and a gentle breeze clearing your mind.
• Understanding creative tension: accept the tension between ideas that seem the opposite. It is the kind of energy that sparks marvellous ideas.
• Brainstorming: this process allows creative solutions to tumble out onto the table. One or two people or an entire work unit can brainstorm. No matter how many people are involved, there is no discussion of the feasibility of an idea until the exercise is finished.
• Imagery: Imagine the issue scenario ‘solved’. A careful review of that ideal image might reveal a solution to the problem, perhaps something that is far beyond the usual.
• Analogy: this process is somewhat more sophisticated, starting to stretch the mind past the familiar to make it ‘strange’, giving a different perspective; e.g. ‘If I were this problem people were trying to fix, how would I protect myself against them?’

Despite all these ideas that encourage people to be free to explore creative solutions, there is, in the end, a discipline in the process. The creative ideas must be analyzed to identify the most feasible, achievable solution. No solution is implemented without a rigorous examination of all the pros and cons, the resources needed and the probable impact. For participants who are reluctant to be too creative, this is usually essential information. As a result, they will not look stupid or ridiculous; they will be respected as creative problem solvers.

Learn a few active listening tips to help anyone retain more information and become an all-around better listener.

Being an active listener is often an underrated skill. However, effective listening has many benefits, including stronger interpersonal relationships, retaining information, and avoiding misunderstandings. Let’s now discuss a few ways to improve your active listening ability and get ahead in life.

Be Attentive

An engaged listener focuses their full attention on the speaker. It can be accomplished by avoiding daydreaming and not being distracted by extraneous factors like noise or a room being too hot or cold. Rather than that, direct your full attention to the present moment and what is being stated.

Additionally, you’ll want to keep eye contact with whomever you are conversing with or keep your eyes on the speaker if you are listening to a speech. Be aware of tiny nuances conveyed by the speaker’s body language and tone. Again, it demonstrates that you are interested and will help improve the flow of a conversation or speech.

Body Language Cues

These are other factors that should be implemented to encourage active listening. Some examples would occasionally be nodding your head to show that you follow the speaker. Another would sometimes be asking pertinent questions or rephrasing the speaker’s content into your own words to ensure that you understand the message they are trying to convey. Also, avoid doing disrespectful things like continually glancing down at your watch or text messaging on your cell phone.

Avoid Being Biased

Allowing your ideas to obstruct your progress is an excellent way to miss out on some potentially important information. Don’t be under the impression that your thoughts are being attacked when listening to a speaker. It is doubtful that you will agree with what someone else has to say, but you should not allow this to affect the information that you retain. Also, try not to make judgments on what you are listening to. Just follow along with the knowledge and explain your counterargument after the speaker is finished if you disagree.

Give Feedback

It is encouraging to the speaker and demonstrates that you were paying attention. It may be accomplished by asking pertinent questions and paraphrasing what has been stated. As a result, it’s best to wait until the speaker has completed speaking before asking questions. Interrupting the speaker with questions during the lecture might impair your ability to recall knowledge.

Preparing and completing a Time Log is the first step in identifying the best time management strategy for yourself.

Want to finish that novel you started a couple of years ago? Start a business? Donate time to charity? Spend more time with your family? Maintaining a Time Log is the first step in deciding a time management strategy.

What is Time Management?

At its core, time management prioritizes your goals and apportion your time accordingly. To accomplish this, you need to know your habits (both good and bad), daily activities, and you’re most productive when you’re. Once these are established, you employ practical tips to overcome stumbling blocks getting in the way between you and your goals. Finally, time management means managing yourself. It’s “a process of constantly asking what is more important, and arranging priorities to reflect each choice” (UC Davis Centre for Student Involvement).

You have to face the reality of how you’re spending your time before you know what changes you need to make. You don’t know when you’re going until you know where you’ve been. The Time Log will be your map.

What is a Time Log?

A Time Log is an organized capture of every activity you do in a full day (e.g. 16 hours) or a workday (e.g. 8 hours). It must be kept for about a week and then analyzed to be helpful. Keeping one for only one day may capture anomalies and not habits. But, to be honest, when you own it. If you need to improve your time management, you need to change some practices. Lying to yourself won’t help you accomplish this. It will take a little bit of extra effort upfront to log your time, but the payoff comes later – when you can prioritize effectively and achieve your goals. Maintaining a Time Log is the key to unlocking your ability to change how you manage your time.

How to Keep a Time Log

The best approach is to use a time log template. First, make your time log template sheets. The column headings are up to you. They may be specific to a project or a typical day’s activities. Please print it out to make your notes on it quickly as you go. Alternatively, make entries directly into a spreadsheet on your computer. It will simplify to total the rows and columns when you’re done.

Write down EVERYTHING you do and how long it takes: email, coffee breaks, lunch breaks, time spent on the phone, travel time, time in meetings, surfing the Internet, etc. Do this for a week.

How to Analyze a Time Log

Once you’ve filled out Time Logs for a minimum of a week, analyze the results daily and weekly. Add up totals for the week, and categorize your findings. You will notice trends, depending on your habits:

• Perhaps an excessive amount of time on the Internet
• A large percentage of time in meetings
• A disproportionate amount of time providing phone support to the same person at work

The “”Pareto Principle”” – a.k.a. The 80/20 rule

The 80/20 Rule, the Pareto Principle, was named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. Specifically, Pareto discovered that 20 per cent of the people owned 80 per cent of the wealth (as surveyed across several geographical regions). Famed quality control expert Joseph Juran identified that 20 per cent of product defects cause 80 per cent of problems. IT and Customer Support Managers know that 80 per cent of system resources are consumed by 20 per cent of the users in a company.

The 80/20 rule can be applied to business, behaviour, personal life, and beyond. In the case of how you manage your time: Identify and focus on the 20% of effort that gives you 80% of your results – and minimize the rest.

An introduction for meshing recent graduates into the workforce; Facing the challenges of Millenials shaking up the job market

Who they are…

According to Yahoo! HotJobs, there are currently 80 million Millennials, also known as Gen Y’ers, worldwide. Generation Y – born between 1979 and 1999 – have been submerged in technology since they took their first breath of fresh air. They have grown to become working professionals and become Wii champions in their spare time. In this digital age, listening to an iPod, socializing on the internet, or having a Bluetooth permanently attached is a means for survival. They stay connected to be connected!

What you should know…

This article provides a general understanding of millennials when you strip away their gizmos and gadgets. Remember three points while speaking with them:

First, they are “people.”

Millennials have had access to many channels of communication throughout their life. It has provided ample experience to enhance interpersonal skills and has evolved the ideal “people” skills. In addition, the chat and publishing tools at their fingertips have made them conversationalists and authors.

Beyond modes of communication, the melting pot culture, and access to the globe via the web, have taught them to truly appreciate diversity, enabling them to work with people of all backgrounds. In addition, they have been raised in a society that leaves no child behind, encouraging group involvement. This learning environment has fostered the perfect team players.

They are engaged in society.

Millennials know what is going on. They stay connected to the news, sports, and weather with the touch of a screen. Access to the world’s events is without boundaries. Downtime is minimal – Smartphones never sleep. They always communicate with the world around them through blogs, chat, forums, Facebook, and texting. Call it “Information Overload” if you must, but there comes knowledge with the abundance of material accessible. They have the tools and the information just as they have their opinion. Their voice is their right. They can spread it across the globe, and as you can see, they certainly exercise it.

They work hard and play hard.

Once they find their desired career, they see their commitment through. Money is no longer the most excellent motivator in the job market. Millennials need recognition and connection, not just a wage. With the advances in technology, workers are more valued than ever. The users of such technologies are businesses’ most significant assets. As long as you provide them with a creative and innovative culture that supports their ambitions and goals, they will stay valid for the long run.

The organizational culture should support their hard work, dedication, and freedom to create and discover. There should always be room for play. Take Ask.com, for instance; they have an Official Ambassador of Fun on staff. Look at Google’s success; they give their employees 20% of their time to work on their projects. Bottom lines, rules should allow some leeway – if the employees have incentives, they will be more motivated to show you what they can do.

Good public speaking skills are essential to career success and social effectiveness. Thankfully, there are sure-fire ways to improve speaking skills.

Anyone wishing to advance their career or improve their personal effects should improve communication skills. Articulating one’s thoughts, ideas, proposals, and suggestions in writing and speaking will go a long way toward ensuring professional success. Like Martin Luther King Jr. or William Jennings Bryan, an excellent public speaker is well-positioned for success. Fortunately, there are ways virtually guaranteed to improve general speaking skills. Ten methods to improve your public speaking:

Study great speakers —

Those hoping to become better speakers should study great speakers. There are numerous examples of great orators in history, from Demosthenes to Winston Churchill and Frederick Douglass to Billy Graham. Read their speeches. Study the context of their most important lessons (who was their audience? what were they trying to get the audience to believe or do? what were the obstacles to that goal?) and how they spoke within that context (how did they tap into the minds of their listeners? how did they address the obstacles? what was their strategy?). Learn from the greatest if you want to be the best.

Speak with a goal —

It is an excellent principle for public speakers. Never get up in front of an audience without a clear objective. Is the goal to inform or entertain or both? Is it to persuade? Is the goal to inspire action? If so, what action do you wish the audience to take?

Speak with enthusiasm —

No one likes to listen to a dull speaker. The key to holding an audience’s attention is to speak with passion and enthusiasm. Legendary orator William Jennings Bryan described eloquence as “thought on fire.”People want to come and see you smoke,” observed the renowned Methodist preacher John Wesley. So allow your enthusiasm to pour from you as you speak about the aims of your presentation.

Know your audience —

Your speaking style will be different (or at least it should be different) when speaking to elementary school students instead of Fortune 500 chief executives. Your presentation’s content must be adjusted (vocabulary, illustrations, etc.), but you’ll also need to match your personality and style to that of your audience. One should be more enthusiastic than their audience. After all, enthusiasm is critical and contagious (see the previous point). However, a hand-clapping, cheerleader style presentation designed to thrill pre-teens might not go over well with well-heeled business executives.

Know your topic —

Knowledge breeds confidence. Ignorance breeds nervousness and fear. Never go into a presentation unprepared.

Smile —

One of the most important things a person can do to achieve likability is smile. A smile conveys happiness, confidence, and enthusiasm. It helps the person wearing the smile to think positive, happy thoughts, and it tends to draw those same thoughts out of others as well. There are, of course, times one should not smile, but smiling should be the default facial expression. Not a forced, exaggerated smile, but a relaxed, natural one.

Practice regulated breathing —

This tip is especially for those who struggle with public speaking fear. Before you get up to the podium or stand in front of the group, regulate your breathing. Make sure your brain gets enough oxygen, and utilize breathing to be calm and deliberate.

Expect the best from yourself —

Banish worries and fears. Don’t allow doubts to undermine your self-esteem. By doing your homework (knowing your audience, topic, and objectives), you have every reason to be confident.

Understand the audience wants you to succeed —

While there may be a rare, strange person in the group (or perhaps a personal enemy), most of your audience wants you to give a great speech. They are rooting for your success. The reason why is because they’d rather listen to a great speaker than a bad one. Draw confidence from the fact that you and your audience have a shared, positive goal.

Develop a servant’s heart —

The audience isn’t there to serve you. Rather, you help them. Make a conscious decision to like and respect your audience and to want to give them your very best. Be a servant. Serve your audience. If you’re giving a comedy presentation, your goal is to help them laugh, not for your sake but for theirs. Many of them had a bad day or are facing a complex scenario. They need a humorous break. That’s your job. If you’re giving a persuasive presentation, try to persuade them, not so it benefits you, but because you believe that what you have to offer will genuinely help them. Serve your audience.

Anyone can become a more effective and successful public speaker by doing homework, establishing clear objectives, and developing the proper perspective and attitude. Improving one’s general speaking skills takes time, work, and patience, but it can be done. And it’s well worth it.

It’s easy to improve your employable skill set and earn power with after-hours training, even with almost no money to spare. Includes tips!

Off the job, training methods can be initiated either with the assistance of a worker’s employer or by the workers themselves to increase their marketable skills and, therefore, income. Typically, off the job training refers to ongoing training conducted while still employed after regular business hours.

Informal Self-Directed Learning

Self-directed learning as a method of the job-training presents a double-edged sword of sorts for both employers and employees. On the upside, self-directed skills training can drastically improve the initial capabilities of workers who can systematically interpret and retain the information they source themselves through means such as videos and skill books.

Enhanced skills for the worker may eventually translate into a better work situation and earning potential. However, the downside of informal self-directed learning for both the worker and employee is that it can be challenging to establish and test the effectiveness of the skills obtained through self-directed studies. To validate their self-directed study, workers can either find direct work experience in the subject matter, thus proving their study was successful, or complete third-party skills testing from an accredited source for added legitimacy.

Formalized Distance Studies

Formalized distance studies combine the convenience, flexibility and self-determination of the informal approach with the backing of certificate, diploma or degree accreditation, which can in some cases establish a more easily marketable set of skills. Typically, distance learning programs have some interactive components with their issuing organizations.

For example, distance courses can be taught via Internet broadcast and assignments are graded and submitted digitally. Moreover, after regular work hours, workers taking part in formalized system studies are likely to combine textbook reading with Internet media coursework and workbooks online or paper form. As a result, formalized systems studies command a higher level of recognition from employers than entirely self-directed informal learning.

Night Courses

Night courses are generally provided by community colleges and sometimes universities and are aimed at just these sorts of off the job methods of training that many workers are looking for to improve their earning potential. One of the critical advantages of night courses is that they do not offer the same technical difficulties for students who are not particularly adept with computers and may encounter problems with the computer usage aspect of formalized distance studies.

How Learning New Skills Raises Earning Potential

According to Sharif Shakrani, co-director of the education policy centre at Michigan State University, “In today’s economy, education is closely related to economic growth.” While critics might question the neutrality of such a statement given its source, it is a reasonably safe assumption that extra education will eventually translate to higher earning potential for individual workers, mainly when backed by widely acknowledged educational institutions.

Negotiation is one of the most pleasing career skills you can develop! Here are some tips to prepare you for an effective negotiation process.

Negotiation skills apply to nearly every aspect of our lives, personally and professionally. To some, the skill comes naturally. However, it is a learned skill that most of us take practice to perform effectively. Considerations for Business Negotiations will be discussed in this post. Prepare for the negotiation by asking yourself these questions:

When is negotiating required?

It is necessary to negotiate when two parties wish to do business together, and decisions must be made about how the transaction(s) should occur. An example of this is when two companies enter into a long-term commitment that requires consideration to details such as cost estimation, purchasing changes, or set-up time, to name a few.

What is the role of communication?

The negotiating process relies heavily on communication. Most negotiations start with a verbal connection and eventually escalate to a written contract. Before you meet with the other party, practice reciting the details of your proposal. Be sure to prepare to answer questions concerning your submission. If you seek to do business cross-culturally, it is necessary to evaluate the negotiation customs of the other party. Time and resources are preserved when both parties understand the typical strategies inherent in various cultures. Sometimes something as simple as misinterpreting a hand-shake can make or break an important business deal.

What are your goals and objectives?

Before attempting to find out the other party’s intentions, you must clearly understand your purpose. So make sure your objectives are written down. Also, you should identify your key objectives for reaching the goals that you have set. Please review this information several times, adding to it as needed. You will want to be well prepared to stand your ground and remember your intentions. New ideas will be introduced during the negotiation, so you need your notes to stay focused.

What are your minimum standards?

Every negotiator has a minimum standard that they refuse to go below. Although it is not recommended that you disclose this minimum at the start of the negotiation process, you must remain personally aware of your limits. Think through what you have to offer and what you’d like to achieve. Know the lowest price or standard you’re willing to agree to meet your objectives and accomplish your goal. Even the savviest negotiators have minimums that they will not budge on.

Are you willing to walk away?

Some business deals may not be ethically, financially, or strategically sound. The other party may even change their views along the way. Examples of this include sudden erratic behaviour, or their finances may prove to be less than you were led to believe. If situations seem unfavourable for you, be willing to walk away. Good negotiation is not a deal where your losses will be more significant than your wins. All negotiations are about compromise. Yet, no one should leave the table feeling like their needs have not been served.

These questions can help you measure your negotiation preparedness. You should be prepared with solid research and knowledge before entering any negotiation. Be very clear about your needs and what you are willing to compromise.