United States Fire Administration Chief Officer Training Curriculum Human Resource Development Module 6: Managing the Workforce

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-2 Objectives  Differentiate between counseling and coaching  Demonstrate basic counseling and coaching skills  State the essential elements of an effective performance evaluation

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-3 Objectives (continued)  Describe the organizational system of discipline and the chief officer’s role  Describe the key components of an effective conflict resolution model

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-4 Counseling Counseling is used to correct personal problems such as rudeness, negative attitudes, and absenteeism.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-5 Counseling (continued)  Formal counseling is typically used for disciplinary and performance problems  Informal counseling is unanticipated, on- the-spot corrections or suggestions

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-6 Coaching What makes a good coach?

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-7 Counseling and Coaching Tips  Exhibit trust and respect for each employee  Accept diverse opinions and promote teamwork  Conduct regular coaching/counseling sessions with each subordinate

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-8 Counseling and Coaching Tips (continued)  Hold employees accountable for unsatisfactory performance  Give praise and rewards for jobs well done  Value employees’ ideas  Set high expectations for your employees and show confidence in their ability to perform

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-9 Activity 6-1: Counseling and Coaching  Time: –Total Time: 30 minutes –Discussion Time: 15 minutes  Purpose: –To differentiate between counseling and coaching –Demonstrate basic counseling and coaching skills

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-10 Performance Evaluations A performance evaluation summarizes an employee’s performance during the evaluation period.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-11 Good Performance Evaluation Process 1. Preparation 2. Review of job description 3. Review of previous evaluations 4. Performance assessment 5. Performance goals 6. Action planning 7. Feedback 8. Review or appeal process 9. Follow-up

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-12 Preparation Preparation begins by reviewing job descriptions, observing, giving feedback, and documenting subordinates’ job performance throughout the year.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-13 Review of Job Descriptions To clearly evaluate a person’s job performance, you must be clear about the duties/tasks of the position.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-14 Review Previous Evaluations Before the scheduled performance evaluation, review the subordinates’ previous evaluations to give you a review of their growth.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-15 Performance Assessment Examine overall performance by looking back at the past year and identify:  Greatest strength  Professional growth  Rating of overall employee performance for the entire year  Areas for needed improvement

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-16 Performance Goals Develop mutual performance goals that benefit the department as well as the employee.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-17 Action Planning Develop an action plan of how goals will be accomplished.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-18 Performance Feedback Verbally communicate to an employee positive or negative aspects of their job performance or behavior.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-19 Review or Appeal Process Employees have the right to request their evaluation be reviewed by a higher authority.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-20 Follow Up The employee and chief officer should meet several times between evaluation periods, to review the employee’s progress.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-21 Performance Evaluation Challenges  Hostile, unreceptive employees  Lack of communication throughout the year  Focusing on most recent events  Subjectivity – whether you like him or her personally

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-22 Performance Evaluation Challenges  Not focusing on whether he or she did the job and how well he or she did it  Not focusing on whether he or she did the job and how well he or she did it  Lack of time to devote to the process  Poorly written forms to use  Lack of performance documentation throughout the year

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-23 Activity 6-2: Performance Evaluation Steps  Time: –Total Time: 10 minutes –Discussion Time: 5 minutes  Purpose: To help students remember the essential elements and steps of an effective performance evaluation.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-24 Activity 6-3 Performance Evaluation Document Review  Time: –Total Time: 20 minutes –Discussion Time: 5 minutes  Purpose: To help students remember the essential elements required for an effective performance evaluation.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-25 Why Use Discipline?  Enforce employee obedience to maintain and gain control  Punishment for rule violations, disobedience, or unsatisfactory performance  A training tool that corrects and strengthens employee’s behavior

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-26 Progressive Discipline Model 1. Coaching and counseling feedback 2. Verbal warning 3. Written warning/reprimand given and placed in personnel file 4. Suspension 5. Dismissal

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-27 Advantages of Progressive Discipline  Seriousness of repeated violations is stressed upon the employee  Employee is given opportunities to improve before being terminated  Managers are more willing to address the problem early

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-28 Preventing Discipline Problems How can you prevent discipline problems?

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-29 Investigate Before Disciplinary Action Investigate:  Who  What  When  Where  Why

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-30 Elements of Good Documentation  Timely  Objective  Specific  Consistent  Focused

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-31 Discipline Guidelines  Same set of rules, regardless of race, religion, gender, seniority, or position  Authority limitations  No negativity  Timely enforcement

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-32 Alternative Disciplinary Action Steps 1. Listen to and consider employee’s version of incident 2. Explain expectations and review rules, regulations, or policies 3. Allow employee to ask questions and offer your assistance 4. Develop a plan for improvement 5. Establish time limits and consequences 6. Follow up

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-33 Activity 6-4: Disciplinary Report Statements  Time: –Total Time: 45 minutes –Discussion Time: 25 minutes  Purpose: To provide practice in the chief officer’s role of documentation for discipline purposes.

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-34 Eight-Step Conflict Resolution  Step 1: Explain why we are here  Step 2: Clarify your perceptions  Step 3: Allow the employee to clarify their perceptions  Step 4: Repeat step 2 and 3 until you are sure you understand the situation  Step 5: Communicate the organizational standard/expectation

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-35 Eight-Step Conflict Resolution (continued)  Step 6: Compare/contrast the employee’s behavior with the standard  Step 7: Solicit assistance from the employee in developing, and or determining proper/alternative solutions  Step 8: Recap the meeting while establishing a timeline for implementation/monitoring of the solution

United States Fire Administration HRD 6-36 Summary  The difference between counseling and coaching  Goal setting  Performance evaluations  Discipline and documentation  Conflict resolution