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Week commencing 26th November - 30th November
Monday 26 November
Employees tend to be critical of their own performance and may raise problems in their appraisals that you are not aware of.
Tuesday 27 November
You must follow a three-step discipline process before sacking someone, unless the circumstances are exceptional.
Wednesday 28 November
Keep recruitment interviews to a maximum of 90 minutes. Any longer and you risk losing concentration, any shorter and you could miss essential information about the candidate.
Thursday 29 November
Do not rely on one person to perform a critical task - train one or two others as a precaution.
Friday 30 November
Propose changes to employees and welcome suggestions. You may receive feedback that helps avoid costly mistakes.
Week commencing 19th November - 23rd November
Monday 19 November
Plan recruitment interviews carefully. Prepare a skills specification and job outline to help you establish criteria against which candidates can be assessed.
Tuesday 20 November
Don’t wait for a monthly appraisal before tackling problems, tackle them as they arise.
Wednesday 21 November
Many people thrive on pressure, but remember that it can cause problems including stress and low workplace morale.
Thursday 22 November
Spell out your policy on sickness absence in your employee handbook and follow it. If problems arise, it will help you defend your position if you can show that you have followed your procedure.
Friday 23 November
Encourage staff to reach demanding targets with a reward incentive scheme.
Week commencing 12th November - 16th November
Monday 12 November
Establish a company phone policy. Decide a standard greeting for incoming calls and pick up within a certain number of rings to give a professional impression.
Tuesday 13 November
Make sure that homeworkers are initiated into company culture and continue to have face-to-face contact.
Wednesday 14 November
Encourage employees to give you feedback and suggestions on how the company could improve its working practices.
Thursday 15 November
If the standard of work by an employee drops or they start taking time off sick, consider whether they may be suffering from stress.
Friday 16 November
Time messages to staff carefully. Busy people will not take much information in unless it is directly relevant to the job in hand.
Week commencing 5th November - 9th November
Monday 5 November - Employees who work from home might benefit from being able to work without interruption and manage their time more effectively.
Tuesday 6 November - Use regular appraisals to keep employees focused, motivated and productive.
Wednesday 7 November - If an employee has been away on long-term sick leave, do all you can to facilitate a return to work such as a switch to lighter duties or working from home.
Thursday 8 November - You may ask a pregnant employee for an appointment card to prove an antenatal appointment has been made if they appear to be taking excessive amounts of time off.
Friday 9 November - You must provide written terms and conditions within two months of employing someone. These must detail pay, hours, holiday entitlement, job title, place of work and notice period.
Week commencing 29th October - 2nd November
Monday 29 October - You are not obliged to make contributions to your designated stakeholder pension, but contributions can be an effective way of attracting and retaining employees.
Tuesday 30 October - If possible, always have at least two interviewers present at interviews to ensure a balanced view and protect you against accusations of unfair treatment.
Wednesday 31 October - Build confidence by trusting capable staff with more challenging projects and praising their achievements.
Thursday 1 November - Consider introducing return-to-work interviews for employees who have been absent.
Friday 2 November - If an employee's time-keeping or attendance is poor, find out why. There could be mitigating reasons and you might be able to help.
Week commencing 22nd October - 26th October 2007
Monday 22 October - Make sure team members know what the team's overall goal is and what their individual objectives are.
Tuesday 23 October - When carrying out an employee review, ask about long-term career goals. They may be looking for another job and the sooner you know, the earlier you can plan ahead.
Wednesday 24 October - Schedule your work tasks to suit your state of mind. If you are at your liveliest mid-morning then make customer calls at that time.
Thursday 25 October - Respond to employees’ successes and failures as soon as possible to allow them to progress. Be specific and say what you are praising or want improved.
Friday 26 October - Managers should be seen to be personally involved. Take time to phone or visit customers.
Week commencing 15th October - 19th October 2007
Monday 15th October - A contract of employment exists as soon as an applicant accepts your offer of a job regardless of whether the offer is verbal or written.Tuesday 16th October - Prior to an interview, send written instructions to the candidates stating where and when the interview will be held.
Wednesday 17th October - Focus on making workplace changes that will bring the most benefits rather than those that are easiest to implement.
Thursday 18th October - Tackle unpleasant jobs first. You may think you are saving time by doing something more straightforward, but anticipation of the unpleasant task might make you less productive.
Friday 19th October - After carrying out a staff appraisal, write up a report so you can review the employee’s progress in their next review.
Week commencing 8th October - 12th October 2007
Monday 8 October - Do not expect to find the perfect candidate for a job when recruiting. Even the best candidates are likely to require some kind of induction or training.
Tuesday 9 October - Try logging the time you spend on activities over the period of a week. You may find you waste 30 per cent of your time on unnecessary tasks.
Wednesday 10 October - Open questions — which cannot be answered with a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ — encourage candidates to talk during interviews and are good for gathering information.
Thursday 11 October - You may notice behavioural changes in stressed employees, such as constantly staying late and refusing to take breaks.
Friday 12 October - Provide telephone training for employees on how to politely handle difficult customers.
Week commencing 1st October - 5th October 2007
Monday 1 October - Leaders should not appear overprotected. Get out and be seen at all levels of the organisation.
Tuesday 2 October - Do not use your disciplinary procedures when dealing with an employee who is frequently off sick. Give written cautions instead and follow your policy for dealing with sickness.
Wednesday 3 October - If you are handing over projects, encourage the employee to take full-responsibility but provide support in the form of progress reviews.
Thursday 4 October - When recruiting, focus on the qualities needed for the job but remember you might not find a person with all of the skills.
Friday 5 October - Give employees every opportunity to communicate and express their ideas and feelings through meetings, newsletters, team bulletins, suggestion schemes and regular appraisals.
Week commencing 24th September - 28th September 2007
Monday 24 September - Build employee confidence by trusting them with challenging projects and targets.
Tuesday 25 September - Never dismiss an employee without investigating the incident thoroughly first. Always suspend the employee on full pay while you establish the facts.
Wednesday 26 September - Get in touch with HM Revenue & Customs when you take on staff - there is lots of information you'll need to start recording.
Thursday 27 September - Find the right team for the job. If your business relies on good customer service, employ friendly, confident people.
Friday 28 September - When giving negative feedback, do so in private, focus on the facts, avoid personal criticism and listen carefully to the employee’s response.
Week commencing 17th September - 21st September 2007
Monday 17 September - Remember to be flexible for candidates who cannot attend interviews during normal working hours.
Tuesday 18 September - Find our how employees prefer to learn and then tailor training accordingly.
Wednesday 19 September - Remember that staff have the right to make genuine mistakes, so avoid blame and putdowns.
Thursday 20 September - Provide new employees with a company handbook setting out your policies and day-to-day expectations.
Friday 21 September - Delegation, job shadowing and job rotation can be good ways of conducting in-house training at minimal cost.
Week commencing 10th September - 14th September 2007
Monday 10 September - Keep asking employees for thoughts and ideas on all aspects of your business, including overall strategy.
Tuesday 11 September - Make sure staff have the equipment and support they need to perform delegated tasks successfully.
Wednesday 12 September - Consider advertising work experience placements at local universities. Hiring an undergraduate can benefit both you and the student.
Thursday 13 September - All employees must be provided with an itemised payslip.
Friday 14 September - Always maintain confidentiality when team members come to you with problems.
Week commencing 3rd September - 7th September 2007
Monday 3 September - When giving feedback, aim to help the person receiving it rather than air your own frustrations.
Tuesday 4 September - Hold regular meetings to help your team gel successfully.
Wednesday 5 September - Get employees' support for training by explaining how it will benefit them, as well as the business.
Thursday 6 September - Create a clean, healthy and pleasant working environment. Enforce health and safety standards and provide ergonomic furniture, lighting and equipment.
Friday 7 September - For employees based at home, a risk assessment of the proposed working environment should be carried out.
Week commencing 27th August - 31st August 2007
Monday 27 August - Remember that group interviews can be too competitive and may not be suitable for senior roles.
Tuesday 28 August - Any extensions from time away from the office should be agreed in advance. There may be tax implications if an employee adds holiday to a business trip.
Wednesday 29 August - Set up a system for transferring calls. Taking a name and a number before the call is transferred will help if the caller gets lost.
Thursday 30 August - Allow time between interviews for prospective employees to complete your notes and take a break.
Friday 31 August - Avoid being too critical if delegated tasks go wrong. You can’t expect staff to get everything right first time, and you risk damaging their confidence.
Week commencing 20th August - 24th August 2007
Monday 20 August - Screen new employees by taking up references.
Tuesday 21 August - A redundancy is only justifiable if: you stop doing what the person was employed to do, you stop doing it where the person is employed to do it or you need fewer people for that job at that location.
Wednesday 22 August - Praise team members' achievements generously and promptly to keep morale high.
Thursday 23 August - You can often benefit most by working with people who are not like you. Leaders who are strong on the big picture may benefit from working with people who pay attention to detail.
Friday 24 August - Ensure homeworkers have a suitable environment and can work free from interruptions.
Week commencing 13th August - 17th August 2007
Monday 13 August - If you employ someone with a disability you must be prepared to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to make the workplace more accessible.
Tuesday 14 August - Be prepared to try and fail. Foster a climate in which it is okay to make mistakes.
Wednesday 15 August - Make sure staff who train others are adequately trained themselves.
Thursday 16 August - Give individuals rewards that matter to them. A half-day off might cost less and mean more than a cash bonus.
Friday 17 August - Once you have told someone how to do a task, check they have understood to prevent problems cropping up later on.
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