ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 29, 1996 TAG: 9612310010
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: WORKING IT OUT
SOURCE: CAMILLE WRIGHT MILLER
Q: A fellow supervisor is so afraid of complaints based on discrimination against women and minorities he won't confront either about performance issues. The result is he's as frustrated as everyone he supervises.
A: For different reasons, the two ends of this supervising continuum are equally troubling. There are those who carry a mind-set that women and minorities are, as a group, less capable. Laws have been enacted to protect those affected by such conclusions.
At the opposite end are supervisors who are intent on not appearing prejudiced or who so fear litigation they go to extreme lengths to avoid interactions which could be construed as negative. These supervisors, often well-intentioned, harm by failing to help employees improve.
Improved performance leads to increased pay and promotion opportunities. Individuals who don't know what steps to take to improve are, essentially, denied opportunities.
The best approach is to treat everyone in a consistent and fair manner. If a supervisor has concerns about how to actually make that happen, he can ask for help from the human resources department.
Asking for help is more than meeting once to voice concerns. He should request ongoing support as he moves toward fair and consistent supervising habits. Everyone will benefit.
Q: Our son is getting close to finishing college. We've asked him to visit his college placement office, but he said the office wasn't helpful. We don't want him among the unemployed-underemployed graduates next year, but we don't know what other advice to offer.
A: College career development and placement centers are excellent resources for college students and alumni - if students and graduates are clear on the questions they want answered.
Students meeting with career counselors should ask what services are offered, what resources are available, and what timeline and guidelines the office recommends for students. They should ask what career interest tests the office supplies and then schedule an appointment to explore those tests. They should ask how to access job lists, when to make appointments with on-campus recruiters, where job fairs are being held, and how the alumni career network works.
Counselors also find it helpful if students have considered several questions in advance - In what geographic region do they prefer to work and live? Do they want an urban or rural environment? What size company and what kind of work environment do they desire?
Students who have not developed a strong relationship with the career development office before their senior year have a great deal of catch-up work to do.
Successfully employed college graduates are those who actively pursued internships during their sophomore and junior years. They complete career interest tests during their junior year, and are sending letters of interest with their resumes early in their senior year. Students expecting to be employed by graduation should be interviewing by January.
College career offices are a great resource, but they work best for students who are motivated and willing to conduct a high-energy job search. That includes a willingness to be persistent in getting needed information from the career office.
Q: An employee with a strong record of performance just pulled a really stupid stunt. I don't know whether to ignore it on the performance evaluation which is to be completed next month. If this had happened six months ago, it wouldn't be included in the evaluation. But since it happened now, I don't want to pretend it didn't happen.
A: The danger of such recency is that a good employee can receive a negative evaluation if something goes wrong just before an annual performance review. Supervisors should try to guard against errors of recency.
Annual evaluations are an overview of the entire year, but can be used to address specific problems.
If an employee's error of judgment was uncharacteristic, didn't harm property or persons, and wasn't a flagrant violation of company policy, consider leaving the incident in the personnel file and not including it in an annual evaluation. The incident was handled by your reprimand and documentation. It will be further handled by your continuing follow-up supervision.
If the incident was severe or a real breach of company values, you can add a summary of the critical incident in the space reserved for comments. If space isn't available, attach a summary memo.
Whatever your decision, check with your human resources department to be sure your decision is consistent with company policy and procedure. And, keep in mind what it is you really want to accomplish with the evaluation process.
Camille Wright Miller, an organizational behavior sociologist who works in Lexington, answers questions from our readers about workplace issues. Please send them to her in care of The Roanoke Times, Business News Department, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010.
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