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Performance appraisals are employee evaluations regarding the performance of the employee in the workplace. These appraisals are important as they are a way to provide employees with valuable information in order to motivate them to improve their performance. Here are a few tips on how to conduct effective performance appraisals:

Prepare

Do not go into performance appraisals unprepared. You cannot decide what you need to say while sitting in the meeting with the employee. Know exactly what you want to say to them before entering the boardroom including how you want to motivate them, what they need to work on and so on.

Communicate and coach

The best way to start the performance appraisals is to give them the feeling of a discussion. Ask the employee how they feel they have done. Get a better understanding of their opinion of their work by asking them whether they believe they have improved and why. Once they have answered, give your feedback and guide them where you can.

Highlight important notes

Don’t forget to highlight all the important points. Highlight the areas where you feel they have done the best, and the areas where they have not done well in terms of specific objectives that are meant to be met. Be sure to bring up previous performance appraisals to appropriately compare where their performance has improved or deteriorated.

Be firm

Remember that you oversee each performance appraisal. It may be difficult to evaluate employee performance, especially when the employee is under-performing, always must be firm. This is especially true when you are talking about downfalls. Do not let your emotions get the best of you and cause you to back off – or become too vocal.

It’s easy to focus on the mistakes that interviewees make, but what about the interviewers? Hiring managers make mistakes too and these mistakes can make it difficult to fill a position. Here are a few interviewing mistakes that hiring managers commonly make:

Unreasonable expectations

Hiring managers often walk into the interview room having unreasonable expectations. It is not wrong to expect certain things from the interviewee, but you should not expect a superhero. The individuals that you are interviewing should be able to fulfil the requirements that were given in the job description. More than this is always a bonus, but it should not be something that you look for in every interviewee.

Minimal preparation

Ensure that you are prepared for the interview. As the hiring manager, you should not have to ask the interviewee what they are being interviewed for. It is also necessary for you to go through the persons CV thoroughly. Asking them questions that you could find out from their CV is not necessary and will waste precious interview time.

Nonsensical questions

Always make sure that your questions are relevant to the job you are hiring for. This goes hand in hand with being prepared. If you are not prepared, you may not know the right questions to ask the individual. Another line of nonsensical questions would be quirky questions such as riddles. You may learn if the interviewee is a quick thinker, but you may also confuse them and come across as unprofessional.

Getting distracted

The hiring manager must not get distracted in the interview process. Not only will you miss vital information, but you will also seem uncaring and cold. If the interviewee feels as though you do not care this could make them despondent and you could lose out on a talented candidate for the position.

Professional development training is a business tool that is often overlooked as business owners are unaware of its importance. This type of training can benefit the company in many ways. Read about the business benefits of professional development training below:

Gained knowledge

Professional development training is about training employees to improve in their field as well as expanding their knowledge about different fields. If the business invests time and money into professional development training, they will increase the collective knowledge of the employees and improve overall productivity.

Attractive business appearance

A business with a professional development training programme in place shows that the business cares for its employees. The gesture makes the business more attractive to customers as people want to support a business that supports its staff. Job applicants are also more attracted to businesses that offer professional development training.

Retain employees

Professional development training is beneficial as it assists a business in retaining employees. You are likely to retain employees through training as they have been given the opportunity for personal growth as well as growth within the company. Neglecting your employees may lead to a loss of great employees to competitors that offer opportunities for career advancement.

Identifies potential

Putting employees through professional development training gives business management a chance to identify employees that have the potential to grow in the company. Leadership skills are highlighted and replacements for managerial positions can be scouted. This allows businesses to guide these specific employees through their work and training until they are prepared to fill a higher position.

An employment equity plan is a way for an employer to eliminate unfair practices regarding discrimination in their company. Using a plan, employers can work towards a better future for their company as well as South Africa. Read more about why your company should have an employment equity plan below:

What is it?

An employment equity plan is a plan that aims to create equal opportunities within your company for minority groups and to eliminate the unfair treatment of employees due to their race, gender, or disabilities. The plan should address any problems regarding discrimination in the company. It should also include goals to resolve these problems and move toward employment equity in your company. Once a plan has been drawn up, it needs to be approved by a trade union representative and the employees of the company before it can be implemented.

Why is it necessary?

Having an employment equity plan in place will allow an employer to review their staff profile in comparison to the demographics of the company. They will have a greater understanding of their demographic shortfalls, allowing them to make changes where necessary. These changes will help in the creation of a more diversified group of employees which will benefit the company immensely. Moving towards a more equal workplace contributes to the sustainability of the company in the long run and enhances its credibility within the industry.

Employment equity and BEE are two government acts that aim to combat unequal opportunity in the country. Though these two acts have the same goal, they have a few differences, such as their focus group. Read about Employment equity and BEE below and the differences between them:

Employment equity

Employment equity is an act that aims to create workspaces that do not discriminate people according to their race, gender or disability. This act promotes equal opportunity for people of these minority groups to enter the workspace and grow through the years. The only group that is not represented by the Employment equity act is white males that do not have disabilities. If a company does not comply with the legalities of the Employment equity act, they may be heavily penalised. Employment equity is a complex process that requires the employer to get involved and create a plan that ensures equal opportunity for all.

BEE

BEE is more specific than the Employment equity act. BEE is related to the economic participation of black people in South Africa. The term “black people”, with regard to the BEE act, is referring to those who are black, mixed race and Indian. This excludes white people, including those who have disabilities. However, being BEE compliant does not mean that businesses are not required to follow the Employment equity act. Companies that are non-compliant with the BEE act will lower their BEE level as they lose scorecard points. This is a negative aspect for business as they could lose support from suppliers and consumers.

Employment equity is a legal requirement in all workplaces. It is advised that employers take affirmative action in assuring employment equity in the workplace by creating a plan. Read more about employment equity and how it needs to be applied below:

The objectives

Employment equity in the workplace is characterised by using various employment practices to ensure the representation of minority groups. South Africa’s history shows a large amount of discrimination in terms of race, gender and disability regarding access to education, employment and much more. The employment equity act is in place to counter discrimination in the workplace and to provide the suitable candidates of each minority group with opportunities of employment on all levels of occupation.

The application

The application of employment equity in the workplace involves the use of a plan created by employers. This plan must be accepted by the trade union and the employees before it can be implemented. Employers need to be sure of all procedures and practices regarding employment equity to create a fair plan. The plan needs to include goals relating to the resolution of any employment equity issues within the workplace.

Skills development

Employment equity works alongside the skills development act. Managers are required to inform all employees of the opportunity for growth in the company. This ensures that all employees within the workplace, regardless of their age, gender, race and disabilities, have equal opportunity to move up in the company through the development of their skills.

Black economic empowerment (BEE) is a government programme that was initiated to reduce the effects of inequality caused by apartheid South Africa. Many companies around the nation are BEE compliant because of how it benefits the country and the business. Read about these benefits below:

Community development

The first benefit of being BEE compliant is that you are supporting a worthy programme that aims to aid the problem that is inequality in South Africa. BEE compliance is in place to enable black South African’s to do business in the country. BEE compliance also gives employees an opportunity for skills development that can be used close the skills gap in the country. Your compliance demonstrates your commitment to your community development.

Competitive edge

Being a BEE compliant company, you will have an edge over competitors who are not BEE compliant, as well as competitors with a lower BEE score. If your business is BEE compliant it will enhance the image of the company making it the suitable choice for consumers and suppliers alike. A higher rating may even give you the leverage you need to negotiate prices with suppliers.

Growth

The competitive edge that you have with suppliers will be great for the growth of the company. The heightened interest of consumers will also allow you to grow your business. There are also secondary effects of BEE compliance. It will allow your company to grow from within as the staff morale will be boosted by noticing your efforts in creating a better community.

Recruiting individuals to fill positions in your company can be a difficult task. There are many things that must be considered. Do not worry as we are here to make it easier! Follow these steps for an effective recruitment process:

 

Strategizing

The strategizing stage is all about understanding what you are looking for, what the costs will be and how much time it will take. In this stage, companies will often look at upskilling existing employees instead of hiring new employees. If your company is looking to hire new employees, contact us via email or telephone and let us help you through this process.

Write a job description

The next step to an effective recruitment process is to give us the job description. It is important that you are as specific as possible when writing the description. This is essential so that the people applying for the position are aware of the responsibilities of the position. We will also need you to give us the minimum requirements of the position to help us narrow our search for your perfect candidate.

Screen CV’s

Now it’s our turn to work our magic! We will save you time by screening CV’s to eliminate people who do not meet the requirements to fill the position. We will be able to narrow down the pool of applications to a select few that can then move on to the final step of the recruitment process; the interview.

Interview

The final step in the recruitment process is the interview stage. At this stage we will have worked with you and the candidates to ensure that each interview runs smoothly, the rest is up to you! The interview process is very time-consuming, and it involves a lot of attention and an understanding of what to look for in a candidate. Review our blog on interview tips for more information on how to conduct an interview properly.

An important decision in businesses is the choice of who to hire. The positions need to be filled with competent, enthusiastic individuals who are willing and able to work towards the company’s goals. To ensure that you are hiring the right employees, it is important that the hiring manager avoids all recruitment problems. Here are a few recruitment problems to avoid during the interview process:

Job description

If the job description is not accurate, it can cause recruitment problems. The interviewees need to be completely sure of the job they are applying for as to not waste your time. If the job description is not accurate, or if it is vague, it could cause confusion and the applications you receive may not be exactly what you are looking for, which will slow down the recruitment process. Make sure to add all responsibilities of the position and the experience that is required to be considered for the position.

Unsure of the job specification

In the screening and interview processes recruitment problems can occur if you as the interviewer are unsure of the job specifications. Before screening an applicant, make sure you are aware of what to look for in the interviewee. Type an outline of what is required for the position in order to find applicants that match these requirements.

Screening the positives

Don’t look for the positives in the applications. It is important to be critical when screening the CV’s. Yes, you should be looking at the individuals’ suitable qualities for the position as well as the company, this does not mean you should overlook the negatives. Pay attention to any suggestions that the applicant would not be successful in the position.

Subjective bias

In the interview process, do not let your ‘gut feel’ take over. Make sure that the interviewee is ticking all the boxes and that your positive outlook on their first impression isn’t getting in the way of you seeing the potential negatives that they are displaying. It is important to be objective in interviews as personal feelings can cloud your judgement and cause recruitment problems.

The human resources division of an organisation plays an important role in the functioning of the company. They are responsible for many key elements of the company that allow the company to continue with business smoothly. Payroll, health and safety, legal compliance and files are all handled by human resources. Many organisations prefer outsourcing their HR services and here’s why:

Cost-effective services

Having a human resources department is not an inexpensive addition. The space needed for the department, paired with the high salaries of each of the members of the team can become quite expensive which is why some businesses prefer to outsource their human resources services. Outsourced services give businesses the opportunity to pay less for the same services that will allow the company to operate efficiently.

Risk management

It can be difficult for a business to keep track of the updated human resources regulations when they are so busy trying to maintain other areas of the business. Outsourcing human resources services will save a business the struggle of constantly having to check up on the changes in laws and service regulations. The professionals hired will be sure to keep themselves up to date.

Efficiency

An efficient workplace is imperative for keeping a positive workflow in a business. Outsources human resources services utilize advanced technology that can help keep things running efficiently by streamlining payroll and other functions. Spend less time filling out forms ad focus on other important aspects of business by outsourcing human resources services.