Warner, who is SPHR certified, is the founding partner of Moody and Warner PC in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her tips came at the SHRM Annual Conference and Exhibition.
Train your managers with the following valuable information and practical warnings from Warner.
High-Ranking Manager Is the Bad Actor
“I like it when a high-ranking manager was the harasser or took the retaliatory step,” says Warner. The higher the rank of the bad actor, the better for my client.
Even Worse—This Is Not the First Problem with this Manager
A step worse is when I can show that this was not the first time this manager committed the bad act, says Warner.
Even Worse—No Corrective Action
And even worse than that, says Warner is when there were previous incidents and the company took no action. Always take action, says Warner. Do something.
Even Worse—The Manager Got Promoted and Got a Bonus
Sometimes it’s a step worse than that, when the bad actor has been rewarded. Say the top manager was behaving inappropriately toward a 20-year employee who was subsequently fired. Here’s what I’m going to tell the jury, Warner says: “You rewarded him for this inappropriate behavior and she’s out of work after 20 years. There’s nothing bad in her file; he has a thick file full of complaints and problems. The jury does not like that.”
You know your managers could do a better job if they were trained, and now there’s a convenient and reasonable way to get it done—BLR’s Leadership Library at the online, 24/7, TrainingToday. Get More Information.
Demonizing or Humiliating the Employee
Another mistake that Warner will take advantage of is demonizing or humiliating the employee. For example, often in an early conciliation session, the company attorney goes nuts on the employee, says Warner: “That could never happen here. You are crazy. This guy you are accusing is a great guy.”
The employee’s response is going to be, “I don’t care what happens. I am not settling. I am going to get the jury to hear this case.”
Here’s what to try instead, says Warner: “I’m really sorry. What are all the reasons you are concerned? I can see this is upsetting.”
Trying to be clever with testimony
“If you try to be clever, I’m going to get you,” Warner says. For example:
Warner: Does this incident violate your zero tolerance policy?
You (cleverly): It depends.
Warner: How many incidents does it take?
You: A few.
Warner: Do you agree it would be inappropriate to do/say X in the workplace?
You: There are times when it could be appropriate. It depends on how it’s interpreted.
Warner: Aren’t you the one who should know this?
Acting Clueless on the Witness Stand
Then, there’s the other side of the coin. A surprising number of managers and HR witnesses often seem clueless when testifying, Warner says. For example, they don’t know:
- The company’s policies,
- If or when training took place, and
- How complaints are “supposed” to be handled, let alone how they were handled in the particular case.
- The basics of the case: They haven’t reviewed the facts
“Losing” Important Documents
Finally, says Warner, be careful about documents. If you can’t find an important document in the case, like a performance evaluation or the other applicants’ resumes, I may suggest that you intentionally lost it.
“Finding” Mysterious “New” Documents
On the other hand, suddenly discovered disciplinary forms without an employee signature and complaints that are post dated are going to be suspicious.
Keeping simple documents: Just one of, what, a couple of dozen things you need to train your managers and supervisors on? So what can you do to make sure your leaders—every manager and supervisor on the org chart—take their leadership roles seriously? There’s only one way—train, train, train. By developing good managers you can help reduce turnover, improve morale and increase production, and that’s to say nothing of avoiding appraisal-based, expensive lawsuits.
How can you go about training your leaders? It’s never easy to find the time or the money, but leadership training has a tremendous ROI value for employers.
The Leadership Library provides you with a sensible (and economic) solution.
The Leadership for Managers and Supervisors Library allows you to:
- Train on demand. Employees can complete training anytime from anywhere. All they need is a computer and an internet connection.
- Reinforce training topics with engaging graphics and quizzes to test their knowledge.
- Monitor and track the results of your training program with the built-in recordkeeping tool.
- Save costs. The more you train, the more cost-effective the training becomes.
The Leadership Library for Managers and Supervisors is a Web-based training tool that can be utilized by any organization. All you need is a computer and Internet access, and the library is open 24/7.
Despaired of ever getting your managers and supervisors trained? It isn’t easy to fit it in—schedule-wise or budget-wise—but now there’s BLR’s Leadership Training for Managers and Supervisors. Train all your people, at their convenience, 24/7, for one standard fee. Get More Information.
The Leadership Library trains your managers on the fundamental skills required for successful team management and organizational communication.
The courses cover a range of leadership and managerial topics, including the following:
- Business Writing Skills for Supervisors
- Dealing with Change: How Supervisors Can Help
- Motivating Employees: Tips and Tactics for Supervisors
- Effective Communication for Supervisors
- Conflict Resolution and Consensus Building
- Workplace Ethics for Supervisors
- Encouraging Employee Input
- Negotiation Skills For Supervisors
- Time Management for Supervisors
- Professional Behavior: What Supervisors Need to Know
- Performance Goals for Supervisors
- New Supervisors’ Guide to Effective Supervision
- Problem Solving for Supervisors
- How to Manage Challenging Employees
- Coaching for Superior Employee Performance: Techniques for Supervisors
- Effective Meetings: How-to for Supervisors
- Leadership Skills: What New Managers and Supervisors Need to Know
This turnkey service requires no setup, no course development time, no software installation, and no new hardware. Your employees can self-register, and training can be taken anytime (24/7), anywhere there is a PC and an Internet connection. Courses take only about 30 minutes to complete.
TrainingToday automatically documents training. As trainees sign on, their identifications are automatically registered. When the program is completed, the trainee’s score is entered. So, when you want to see who has been trained on any subject, or look at the across-the-board activity of any one employee, it’s all there, instantly available.
Course certificates can be automatically generated from within the training center and are automatically retained for recordkeeping purposes.
Get started today on helping your managers and supervisors be the best they can be!