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Click here for part 1 Click here for part 2 Click here for part 3 Accident Reviews   After an accident or near miss, it is vital that responsible parties review the incident to find out what went wrong and how it could have been avoided.  The goal of an accident investigation is not to place blame, but to enable corrective action to prevent future injury.  Once the investigation is completed, the results should be shared with all employees.  It can be particularly effective to have the... Read Full Story

Click here for part 1 Click here for part 2 Key elements of human performance improvement Providing safe equipment starts early in the design phase, although most machinery can be retrofitted to correct any original design flaws.   For example, if you have a machine that requires the operator to turn a small knob that is located between two posts, it may be very difficult for a worker wearing protective gloves to accomplish the task.  It may be that the machine was designed in the "good old... Read Full Story

Click here for part 1 Old school managers often think that the way to improve safety performance is to find out who is responsible for each accident and punish that person.  The problem with that approach is that  usually you are punishing someone who is already in the hospital or recuperating at home.  The idea was that if employees knew they were going to be punished for having an accident, they would be less likely to have accidents.  This philosophy only makes sense if you believe that... Read Full Story

Nearly fifty workers are injured every minute of the work week, and about seventeen workers die on-the-job every day.  If for no other reason than that you don't want to be the person who has to call the employee's spouse after an injury, you should be interested in your workers' safety. If that's not enough to make you read this chapter, consider the costs injuries add to your business.  In addition to the direct costs associated with an injury such as doctor's bills and medication, there... Read Full Story

Click here for part 1 If you think you are always respectful, keep in mind that what really matters is whether or not your employees perceive you as respectful, and what they perceive as your motive for being respectful.  In a study reported in the Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, Daniel J. Koys notes that an employee's commitment to the organization is positively related to the perception that Human Resources Management is motivated by "a) management's desire to show respect for... Read Full Story

Once you have an employee or two on-board, don't forget that you hired the best.   Respect their abilities and skills, and get out of their way.   You might think that you show your respect for your employees by signing their paychecks every two weeks, but that is just a bare minimum of what employees expect from their employer. Human Resources expert Susan M. Healthfield lists respect as the first factor on her short list of employee expectations. In an article written for About.com, she... Read Full Story

Click here for part 1 Click here for part 2 Writing job descriptions may seem like a waste of time when you have so many more pressing things to attend to, but writing a good job description in the beginning can save you from much wasted expense in the long run.  Remember that hiring the wrong person can cost as much as 15 times the base salary.  Isn't it worth it to have a good job description to compare the candidates against if it gives you a better chance of hiring a top performer? After... Read Full Story

Click here for part 1 Using a Job Spec to Attract Top Talent Given that hiring the right person for the right job at the right salary is so important, what should you look for when hiring and promoting people in your organization?  According to a recent study in Library Leadership and Management , one of the keys to successful hiring and promoting lies in the writing of the position description. [i] A good position description will include the fundamental responsibilities of the job, as well... Read Full Story

When you first start out you may be the only employee your company has, but with growth, you might have to hire help.  Employees are one of the most costly assets you will have, so you will need to make sure you are getting the biggest possible bang for your buck.  In his book Topgrading:  How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People [i] , Bradford Smart divides labor talent into three levels:  A, B, and C.  Most companies hire A talent for about one-fourth of... Read Full Story

Click here for part 1 Click here for part 2 Click here for part 3 Pay early If you happen to have extra money left at the end of the month, (yes, this does occasionally happen!) pay those bills with the highest interest rate first.   Doing so may save you hundreds of dollars because every day you delay payment adds more to your balance.   If you make just the minimum payment on your credit card every month, you may take as long as 30 years to pay it in full.   So, pay extra whenever you... Read Full Story