Meeting Topic
Introduction for meeting topic discussion:
INTRODUCTION: As you construct your one-minute introduction for the upcoming meeting, read the article below, then share the most recent activity you engaged in that helped you develop your skills as a leader and influencer, regardless of whether you have people working for you or not. What have you done to build that ‘influence’ muscle? If you’ve done nothing, what CAN you do to begin building your own leadership abilities? Because leadership isn’t about being the ‘boss’ of a team. Leadership is about the example you are BEING to those who look to YOU for direction, inspiration and guidance.
Leading in Strange Times By Jennifer Myers
Things are strange out there. I would dare say 99% of us have not lived through anything remotely as disruptive as the situation we’ve been facing for the last 18 months. Times like these tend to drag our focus as business leaders into all the ‘noise’ around us – blow by blow media updates, worry, ‘languishing’.
Leadership guru John C Maxwell states that leaders are not made in times of crisis, they are revealed. Nobody ever became a great leader overnight. Leadership is a skill that can be learned and practiced, so those who have been learning and practicing over the past several months and years are now stepping up and finding out what they’re capable of. Those who haven’t yet invested in their own leadership development are looking for strong leaders to help show them the way.
In this article, we’ll take a quick look at how leaders at ALL levels (parents, not for profit leaders, coaches, business owners, medical professionals) can step up and influence those around us for the better. Because, at its core, leadership IS influence. Bad leadership precipitates a faster fall while good leadership offers steadiness and perseverance.
Let’s look at how we need to ‘show up’ as leaders for the people who look to us. We as leaders need to define reality for those we lead. This is not the first crisis we have ever faced. The people you lead need to hear the voice of reason right now. Define reality for them and help them re-focus their anxiety on staying in positive motion. Actually, according to my Clinical Psychologist partner, the people who look to you need 3 things that YOU can provide:
- Calm
- Certainty
- Positive ACTION
We as leaders need to put the people first. Who ‘the people’ are depends upon who you lead. Every single business has been affected by this situation and will continue to be affected by it. Good leaders will be thinking beyond the next 3 months and will be communicating regularly and calmly with their teams and their customers about how their business will look as they adjust to the changing situation. What short- term pain must you all bear now in order to come out the other side even MORE fit for purpose? Look for opportunities wherever you can!
Crises are distracting – they pull us away from the things we WANT into things like negativity and anxiety. As leaders we need to remember that even though the sky might be falling for some of those around us, the sky isn’t falling for us because we will remain focused on those things we CAN CONTROL. And that’s the second thing we need to do now – keep our focus single-mindedly on what we can control about our situation.
People around us are losing traction left and right – let’s help them regain traction by setting the
example. We know that people do what people see. Let’s show them how to behave in this situation by remaining calm, providing a sense of hope or certainty and directing ourselves and those we lead to take positive action.
Ultimately, this crisis will reveal what is inside each of us. Our choices over the years shape our character. Crises simply reveal the result of those choices. I’m showing up for you and for those I lead. What positive action can you take today that will help you stay the course?
Stay calm. Focus on what you can control. Keep moving forward.
Jennifer Myers is the owner of Gener8 Leadership Solutions and is a certified Leadership coach and trainer. You can read more about how she helps her clients and their teams HERE.
Next Meeting Topic
HR Must-Knows! By Vicky O’Connor
In New Zealand, an employment agreement is the fundamental legal document between an employer and an employee. It underpins the Employment relationship and is essential for ensuring the terms and conditions are clear and agreed to by both parties. Under the Employment Relations Act 2000, every employee must have a signed, written employment agreement.
It can be tempting to recruit people into your business and not worry about the formalities, especially if they are friends and family. There is a fine for not having a written agreement in place, but this can pale in comparison to personal grievance costs should a dispute arise. What business owners need to understand is that if you have an individual come into your business to work and no employment agreement is in place, they are considered permanent employees and therefore entitled to all the protections provided to them under the Employment Relations Act 2000.
For example, a café worker on a day ‘trial assessment’ got paid out $9000, because there was doubt around whether or not the day was a ‘trial’ since no documentation existed, therefore she was classed as an employee, and it was a full days’ work undertaken. The Employment Relations Authority found in favour of the ’employee’, and she was awarded $119 for the day worked, $1890 for 4 weeks termination notice since she was an ’employee’, and $7000 for hurt and humiliation.
The pay-out to employees through personal grievances is ever increasing, so to mitigate risk to your business, the first place to start is ensuring your employment agreement is fit for purpose, customised to the businesses needs and is up to date.
So, let us explore the ‘Must have’s’ in Employment Agreements.
There are three important documents to give your new employee:
- Employment Agreement
- Job Offer
- Job Description
The Employment Agreement
The three key mistakes Employers make:
- Not having a written agreement in place at all
- Not getting the type of agreement right
- Not complying with employment legislation
There are a number of legally required clauses in your employment agreements but more than that, you need to have clauses that will offer you protection and the ability to address employment issues when they arise.
Some of these clauses may cover: motor vehicle usage, social media, bullying and harassment, jury service, suspension, garden leave, drugs and alcohol, medical incapacity, and pandemic/infectious diseases to name a few. Your ability to take action as a business owner and/or defend against a personal grievance is very reliant upon you HR policies and practices.
Another area that business owners get wrong is relying on the ‘90 Day Trial Period’ to terminate employment when the 90-day trial period cannot be used as it has not been implemented correctly. This can easily lead to a personal grievance.
What you Must Do with 90 Day Trial Periods
For an employer to be able to fall back on a 90DTP to terminate a new employee, you need to ensure:
- The employment agreement is signed before the employee sets foot on your premises to work on the first day. The employee must not have worked for the employer before signing the agreement.
If you get the employee to sign their employment agreement after they have started work, then that employee is now no longer considered to be ‘new’ and therefore the 90 Day Trial Period is null-n-void, and you cannot rely on it to terminate easily. Many employers make this mistake.
- The written clause in the employment agreement must include the specific wording as per section 67A of the Employment Relations Act 2000.
- When you provide an employment agreement to an individual, you must allow them at least 2 working days to seek advice.
- Your employee must have a copy of the signed employment agreement.
- The 90 Day Trial period must state that the 90 days starts from the first day of employment.
- The letter of offer must refer to the 90-day trial period so that it is well disclosed along with advising them they have the right to seek independent advice.
- You must have given notice of termination within the 90 days; however, it does not matter if they final day of this notice is outside the 90 days.
For employers, it is best practice to get advice on the use of this clause.
What is important to understand is that as an Employer, you can only discipline and issue formal warnings if you can prove that an employee has breached their terms and conditions or the company policies. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that when providing any policies or handbooks to employees, you get them to sign a declaration to say they have read and understood it.
Once you have robust employment agreements and company policies in place, it is essential you follow these and refer to them when needed. With changes in employment legislation happening regularly, you need to do regular reviews of your employment agreements so that you stay compliant with laws and legislation.
The benefit of having company policies is that you can update them at any time. If you make changes to employment agreements, you need to do this in consultation with the employee and seek their authorisation.
HR Consultants are a wealth of knowledge. Do not hesitate to contact one for a chat and to use them for advice. It could save you money in the long run.
Vicky O’Connor owns iRecruit & HR and you can find out more about what she does here: http://www.i-recruitandhr.co.nz/
