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• Are there established rules of engagement? • Do people know exactly what kind of demeanor, deportment and behaviors are expected of them? If so, who came up with the rules – the employees themselves or was this handed to them?
• What are the repercussions for straying from the list of expected behaviors?
• What are you and the organization willing to do to correct rude behavior?
We have been asked to either “fix” the employee(s) who have poor manners by subjecting a full group of non- offending employees to “respectful behavior” training or to train the non-offending employees in how to deal with the offenders. These are not long-term, short- term, or even necessarily good solutions. Doing any will likely increase animosity.
The simplest solution is for the company and the managers to not allow this behavior to fester.
The simplest solution, however, may not be the easiest. Here are some solutions and strategies to turn poor behavior around before any claims of discrimination or harassment may occur:
1. Create an environment where these behaviors are not accepted. Zero Tolerance – remember this?
2. Have meetings to create Team Rules of Engage- ment. A Duke University study on executive leadership showed that leaders who had rules of engagement for staff had higher productivity and more successful organizations overall than those who did not. Patrick Lencioni, in 5 Dysfunc- tions of a Team, recommends that if team mem- bers come up with the rules, they are more likely to commit to them. More importantly it is easier for the managers to manage to the list of rules.
3. Managers should facilitate mini-sessions on re- spectful behaviors with their teams: Take 10-15 minutes in a team meeting, ask team members to share what “respect” looks like to them (specifi- cally) and how they want other team members to behave. You can turn the agreed upon list into a document then have the team sign it and agree to it.
4. Managers, with the support of HR, should pro- vide mini-training sessions to their employees on all of the company policies throughout the year. Training should be in small chunks to keep fo- cus on the topic. Create a structure for discuss- ing and really understanding what policies mean
22 CA Employer September 2010
and what they look like in action. Don’t just read them or talk about them. Engage the audience for the most impact. Role play some examples. Most importantly, don’t make an example out of an employee who may have offended a policy: “Remember when Johnny blurted out XYZ about XYZ this violated the policy.” You don’t want to point fingers at any one person, specifically.
5. Be sure there is accountability throughout the or- ganization, from your leaders to your front line. All managers must be on the same page with holding their staff accountable. If one manager holds their team accountable, it’s easier for other managers to follow suit.
As an example, executives may man-
date that each supervisor meet with his or her team to create rules of engagement that will be filtered up through the organization. Or, executives may rein- force the “mini-trainings” as a way to keep focus.
6. Rudeness, if left unchecked can turn into ha- rassment or discrimination. (Harassment and discrimination can easily turn into a lawsuit!) It is vitally important that not only supervisors, but employees understand their obligation un- der the law to maintain safe and non-hostile work environment (physical and psychological).
7. Employees also need to be familiar with the “em- ployment contract”: While an employee has a right to be paid for hours worked, the employer has the right to ask that the work be done at a certain level of quality, and that includes quality of behavior. Very few employers and even less em- ployees know about labor code article 3 (sections 2850-2866) that states employees shall
− use [at least] slight care and diligence − use great care and diligence. . to protect the interest of the employer
− use ordinary care and diligence − substantially comply with all the directions of his employer except where impossible or unlawful
− perform [his] service in conformity − be bound to exercise a reasonable degree of skill
− be bound to use such skill as [he] possesses
8. Tell employees that “it’s a brand new day’” and the old culture of getting away with everything without discipline or termination is no longer serving the organization. Employees will understand this mes- sage quickly. It is reinforced when they see and hear of people getting disciplined or terminated
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