To recap the discussion we began yesterday, remember that supervisors play a particularly critical role in compliance. They must be familiar and comfortable with organizational policies and with employment-related laws. They have to adhere carefully to proper and legal practices, and ensure that their employees do the same. But they also have to get things done.
You’re asking quite a lot of your supervisors. They have to supervise, select, motivate, train, and give feedback. They have to manage tight resources and their own careers. They’re responsible for ever larger groups of employees, with ever greater pressure to perform, in an environment where change is a given and there’s never enough time.
Unfortunately, that means that they are likely to make some off-the-cuff decisions that you’ll regret, probably in court.
Here Are the Last 3 Common Mistakes Supervisors Make
4. Acting Precipitously
Of course, the most dangerous thing supervisors do is the heat-of-the-moment firing. “That’s the last straw—you’re fired. Pack up and get out of here.” Consider:
- Firing, no surprise, is the most likely act to get an employee thinking about a lawsuit.
- A fire-from-the-hip termination often happens in front of other employees, and that just exacerbates the situation.
- Firing is the most likely act to get a jury thinking “unfair” (and an attorney thinking “easy money”).
- The stated reason for the firing is often not supported by existing documentation. For example, a person will be fired for “poor performance,” and then when the personnel file is revealed, there is a string of performance reviews that say “Satisfactory” or “Good” performance.
Supervisors need to know that they must always contact HR before making a termination decision.
Yes, you do have the budget and time to train managers and supervisors with BLR’s 10-Minute HR Trainer. Try it at no cost or risk. Get details.
5. Ignoring Budding Problems
Most supervisors don’t like confronting their employees about negative things (for example, lateness, vulgarity, harassment, threats, abuse, discriminatory behavior), so they tend to let things slide in the hopes that either the performance will improve or the person will quit. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. Once you’ve let problem performance go without comment for months, you’re condoning it.
6. Retaliating
Unfortunately, if you are a supervisor, it’s a natural urge to retaliate when, for example, an employee:
- Says bad things about you online
- Files a harassment or discrimination claim against you
- Does something that is legal, but annoying, like requesting FMLA leave during the busy time of the year
“You think you’re getting away with that and I’m going to do nothing about it?”
Supervisors have myriad ways to make life miserable for workers who have “wronged” them, but they must refrain from doing any of these things unless they are done for a well-documented business reason and are consistent with past actions in similar circumstances.
Train your line managers with BLR’s 10-Minute HR Trainer. There won’t be time for classroom boredom. Try it for free.
Are you looking for up-to-date compliance training material that you can use to help your supervisors avoid these and other management mistakes? Look no further than BLR’s 10-Minute HR Trainer!
10-Minute HR Trainer sessions include a trainer’s outline, a takeaway handout, and a follow-up quiz. And you get all these for 50 key HR topics right off the bat in the initial book—plus quarterly updates with more essential training.
With this training resource, we’ve provided an easy-to-manage program that lets you train in discrete, 10-minute chunks. It’s a program that’s easy for you to deliver and that requires little time from busy schedules. And it’s remarkably affordable.
As its name implies, this product trains managers and supervisors in critical HR skills in as little as 10 minutes for each topic. 10-Minute HR Trainer offers these features:
Trains in 50 key HR topics, including manager and supervisor responsibilities, under all major employment laws and how to legally carry out managerial actions from hiring to termination. (See a complete list of topics below.)
Uses the same teaching sequence master teachers use. Every training unit includes an overview, bullet points on key lessons, a quiz, and a handout to reinforce the lesson later.
Completely prewritten and self-contained. Each unit comes as a set of reproducible documents. Just make copies or turn them into overheads and you’re done. (Take a look at a sample lesson below.)
Updated continually. As laws change, your training must as well. 10-Minute HR Trainer provides new lessons and updated information every 90 days, along with a monthly Training Forum newsletter, for as long as you are in the program.
Works fast. Each session is so focused that there’s not a second’s waste of time. Your managers are in and out almost before they can look at the clock, yet they remember small details even months later.
Evaluate It at No Cost for 30 Days
We’ve arranged to make 10-Minute HR Trainer available to our readers for a 30-day, in-office, no-cost trial. Review it at your own pace and try some lessons with your colleagues. If it’s not for you, return it at our expense. Click here and we’ll set you up with our 10-Minute HR Trainer.
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