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by David Bowser One of the biggest problems facing feedyard managers today is labor. Put two feedyard managers together and the odds are one of the first things they'll start talking about is finding and keeping the right people -- and getting rid of the others. Terry Boone, an attorney who specializes in labor and employment law, shared some insight into labor relations recently with the (Texas) Panhandle Human Resource Association. A supervisor's job is simple, said Terry Boone. There are only three things a supervisor is supposed to do -- stay out of the way of the good people in the organization, fire the problem-makers and try to get the mass in the middle to move toward the top of productivity. In a bell curve, there are problem employees at one end, excellent employees at the other end and a large bunch in the middle that need direction. The supervisor's job is to spot those people in the top 10 percent. "These are highly motivated individuals that show up at work early, leave late," Boone said. "Job number one is to identify those people and leave them alone, or you'll screw things up and they'll quit." Job number two is to find those people on the other end and fire them. Those are the people who are never happy no matter what you do," Boone says. "They always have a complaint." The ones in the middle, from time to time, need to be herded toward improvement. That's all a supervisor is supposed to do. One of the worst things a supervisor can do, Boone said, is try to rule by fear and intimidation. They end up losing that 10 percent that they really want to keep." People with good skills and attitudes can always find another job. Boone admitted that it's not against the law to have a hostile environment. "There is nothing in the law that says you need to be nice," he said. "There is nothing in the law that says you cannot be hostile toward employees. Many people think that hostilty is a wonderful motivating tool. There's nothing wrong with it as long as it is not for an illegal reason. A hostile environment has gotten a bad wrap." There is a rule in law, however, called intentional infliction of emtional distress."That is behavior that is so bad as to shock the conscience of a reasonable person," Boone said. Up until last year, there has never been a sucessful lawsuit in an employment setting, he says. The high court says employers can give employees pet names like fatboy, dimwit and stupid. Employers can even throw file folders at employees. But last year a case was brought before the court concerning a supervisor at a large telecommunications company. The supervisor had been in the military and had retired as a sergeant. He yelled at employees, pounded his desk, and kicked the furniture. The employees complained to management. The Human Resources Department talked to the supervisor, but he didn't change and, more importantly, the Human Resources Department didn't pursue the problem. The court ruled that the supervisor's behavior was persistent and pervasive. While the company told the court that they didn't pay the supervisor to harrass people, the court says that management knew about the problem, and after they knew about it, they took no effective steps to stop it. As a result, the court said, the company endorsed that behavior, and it became their own. Such problems can be avoided with positive management practices, but more importantly, a business as a whole can profit from positive practices. "Positive management practices start with very basic things," Boone said. In every employment study, the number one thing employees want is respect -- not money, not benefits, but respect. A U.S. Department of Labor report says a company that uses the greatest number of innovative human resource practices has higher annual share holder return and higher gross return on capital. "Employees that are happy with what they are doing, satisfied with their work environment, are generally much more productive," Boone says. The 100 best companies to work for in America are selected based on factors that have nothing to do with general productivity, Boone says. The number one factor is open and friendly atmosphere. That is followed by benefits, then the degree of security of the job. "The key to all those is very clear," Boone said. "Cutting edge work places have common traits -- concern for their employees, extensive training and positive reinforcement." © |
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