Interesting article and clearly sets out good guidelines to follow. However, it is a little disappointing to see that mediation is only mentioned at the outset of a dispute. Whilst it cannot be denied that mediation plays a valuable part it can also be used to address the emotional issues which can result following the conclusion of any grievance.
This Bank Holiday comment completely enraged me. The UK gets fewer holidays than our European counterparts but no-one is grumbling about their productivity! I would be inclined to agree that spacing out the holidays would have some value, that gap between the August Bank Holiday and Christmas always seems mighty long and moves to introduce another BH in the autumn don't seem to have progressed very far. Plus with Easter being a moving event there is the potential to have a run of shorter working weeks. I dread to think what will be the next suggestion for increasing productivity .....
I stumbled across the programme by pure chance earlier this week which was my good fortune especially as I met Paul at a CIPD branch event last year when he presented this concept. You can imagine the complete horror felt by HR professionals when it was suggested people shouldn't have employment contracts (at least only ones with the very essential legal stuff) but thankfully no-one went into hyper-ventilation mode. :-D The whole concept feels very strange but it made me think very hard about how we work and what may be good or bad about it. Mind you, Paul's presentation to my CIPD branch caused a headache which lasted about 3 days ... However this programme enabled me to see everything in action along with the inevitable reaction to change. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this!
I would also like to add my thanks for an excellent article and add a couple of things. The point about coping with the loss is a very important one and workloads should be monitored for far longer than might be expected. My brother suddenly died some years ago and my workload was not monitored at any time. If anything it actually increased. The gesture of support with flowers/cards speaks volumes and rightly, approval should be sought first with the employee. Used sensitively this can be enormously helpful with the grieving process. Travelling to/from work with a colleague can help too. With my situation my journey to work involved a 40 mile round trip by car and I was quite convinced I was fit to drive. Luckily I didn't have an accident but after the shock wore off some three months after the death, I then realised that driving might not have been advisable. Finally, if the manager concerned is not comfortable with dealing with the bereaved employee (not everyone is) perhaps 'buddying up' with a trustworthy colleague for a while can help to nip any problems in the bud. Thanks again for such a comprehensive article. :-)
My answers
Interesting article and clearly sets out good guidelines to follow. However, it is a little disappointing to see that mediation is only mentioned at the outset of a dispute. Whilst it cannot be denied that mediation plays a valuable part it can also be used to address the emotional issues which can result following the conclusion of any grievance.
This Bank Holiday comment completely enraged me. The UK gets fewer holidays than our European counterparts but no-one is grumbling about their productivity! I would be inclined to agree that spacing out the holidays would have some value, that gap between the August Bank Holiday and Christmas always seems mighty long and moves to introduce another BH in the autumn don't seem to have progressed very far. Plus with Easter being a moving event there is the potential to have a run of shorter working weeks. I dread to think what will be the next suggestion for increasing productivity .....
I came across this from a May edition of Personnel Today (bit behind on my reading!). Not entirely relevant but still provides food for thought ...
http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2010/05/21/55671/let-staff-choose-their-own-managers.html
I stumbled across the programme by pure chance earlier this week which was my good fortune especially as I met Paul at a CIPD branch event last year when he presented this concept. You can imagine the complete horror felt by HR professionals when it was suggested people shouldn't have employment contracts (at least only ones with the very essential legal stuff) but thankfully no-one went into hyper-ventilation mode. :-D The whole concept feels very strange but it made me think very hard about how we work and what may be good or bad about it. Mind you, Paul's presentation to my CIPD branch caused a headache which lasted about 3 days ... However this programme enabled me to see everything in action along with the inevitable reaction to change. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this!
I would also like to add my thanks for an excellent article and add a couple of things. The point about coping with the loss is a very important one and workloads should be monitored for far longer than might be expected. My brother suddenly died some years ago and my workload was not monitored at any time. If anything it actually increased. The gesture of support with flowers/cards speaks volumes and rightly, approval should be sought first with the employee. Used sensitively this can be enormously helpful with the grieving process. Travelling to/from work with a colleague can help too. With my situation my journey to work involved a 40 mile round trip by car and I was quite convinced I was fit to drive. Luckily I didn't have an accident but after the shock wore off some three months after the death, I then realised that driving might not have been advisable. Finally, if the manager concerned is not comfortable with dealing with the bereaved employee (not everyone is) perhaps 'buddying up' with a trustworthy colleague for a while can help to nip any problems in the bud.
Thanks again for such a comprehensive article. :-)