Patra Says

patra

Government Shutdown???

Whether you are a government contractor or your business is tied to those who work in or for the government, you should ALREADY be communicating with your staff about what’s next.

Here are some issues my clients faced last time this happened. And no-one believed it was possible then either.

The important aspects were to clearly explain:

  • what the situation was
  • that it meant that the company had no control and contractors could not legally allow telework or any form of work under their contracts
  • what they were going to do about paying people. (Many simply could not pay employees while they were not working.)

Many did allow use of accrued leave but some had financial difficulties with this.

All had to be VERY CLEAR that it was not just the folks on the contracts but every other person – or all but X – who were not going to be paid.

  • what they would do about benefits — and the time frames before such impacts would be felt.
  • when and how the announcement of the closures would be communicated
  • who to talk to for specific concerns that their boss could not resolve.

Some also worked with their 401(k) providers to ensure hardship withdrawals or loans could be done and some worked with their banks for info/ideas to help.

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 SHR Insights comes to you monthly with nuggets of useful information, a short article on a critical issue, or important news you need. Sign up here to receive the SHR newsletter via email!Last newsletter I wrote about the poor performance management processes so many organizations tolerate. And immediately got several emails with cautionary tales.My favorite, because I see some variant of it so often, comes from a large government contractor. The employee writes that their system is one of objectives at the beginning of the year, self and manager evaluation at the end. Which his first regional manager did, just as the company intranet promised. But his second one was totally different. Despite asking his new manager several times, nothing was done in advance and at annual review time he got told to ‘just write up your evaluation, I will do mine based on what your objectives should have been.”How are you ensuring that your system is understood and actually folowed by your managers?

Networking for Success

Despite great evidence that shows people who are effective, consistent networkers are more successful, executives often do not make the time to maintain or grow their networks.

What human connections do you value most and why? Who do you have to bounce issues and idea around with outside your organization?
What professional and trade organizations do you actively participate in to keep your knowledge and skills current?

Scheduling some time each week to manage your network will pay big dividends for your own and your business’s success. Recently, on the WomenGrowBusiness blog, there was a terrific idea to create your own “Magical Marketing Checklist” which includes networking, professional events attendance, and personal outreach on a monthly schedule. Surely you have time to do something like this to grow your own success.

And think how good it will feel to check each item off!

Communicating for More Success

Study after study indicates top communications skills are critical for executive success. Yet many of us rush through our days barely speaking full sentences — and wonder why our employees don’t ‘get it’.

Before you commit to attending training or hiring a coach, you might consider some small steps. When you assign work, how do you communicate what needs to be done? How do you ensure the person actually understands what you want and what priority that is? Take a few small steps to increase your clarity and another few to check to see what the person understood — and productivity will increase.

See also this WGB post on modern communications:
I Text, You Tweet ….

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