Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Tania, Those are good sources of candidates for open positions. In the current state of the economy, it may not be necessary to use a staffing agency, which is going to cost your institution money. With unemployment rates as high as they are, your walk-ins and website might provide you with a ready source of candidates at little or no cost. Pat

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Employee Dismissal: Unpleasant, But Sometimes Necessary

Tania, I agree with your response. You also want to make certain that you are prepared to deliver the message that the employee is being dismissed. As I have said before, a dismissal rarely comes as a surprise if we as supervisors have done our job. Usually, the dismissal is due to poor performance. If we have worked with the employee to improve performance, we might be able to avoid the dismissal altogether. I also recommend having another person/supervisor in the room as serve as a witness should their ever be a need to prove what was said or done.… >>>

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Employee Dismissal: Unpleasant, But Sometimes Necessary

Dolly, It does depend on your state, but in most career colleges and most states, our employees are employed "at will." We are different than the public education sector where faculty in particular frequently have teaching contracts and a union to protect them. It is still advisable to make certain that the dismissal is performance based with documentation to show the reason. As I said earlier in the forum, the dismissal should rarely come as a surprise. Working with the employee to improve the performance might prevent the need for the dismissal. Pat

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Employee retention

Dolly, There are also fewer opportunities for employees to move to a new employer because fewer companies are hiring. There is a possible difference in the career college sector, however, since our enrollments tend to be growing with increasing need for good, high quality staff and faculty. I like your idea of having employees re-evaluate their own job performance. As supervisors, we need to be willing to assist them in this effort. Pat

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Delegating or Dumping

Dolly, You are right on target when you talk about the professional development of the employee. That is the piece that makes delegating such a viable opportunity. Some people will say that it is just easier to do it myself but then you deprive the employees of an opportunity to develop new skills. Pat

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Recruiting the Best Person for the Job

Dolly, I am frequently hearing comments similar to yours that schools are tapping into their graduates to fill the ranks of faculty. I appreciate your comment that they first gain experience in the real world, which I believe is critically important, expecially from a credibility perspective in the classroom. Pat

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Delegating or Dumping

Hi Diana, Good distinction between the two. When you delegate you should be thinking about the professional growth opportunity that you are giving the employee. Even though a task or project is delegated, the ultimate responsibility for its successful completion still rests with the supervisor. When you delegate, you still need to do periodic followup to make certain the task is being completed appropriately and to respond to questions the person to whom the task was delegated might have. Pat

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Recruiting the Best Person for the Job

Diana, Sorry about my delay in responding to your post. I have been in Orlando for the Career College Ass'n. Convention and Board of directors meeting since Saturday with limited access to e-mail. I like the fact that you bring new instructors in as assistant instructors. That you gives you and them an opportunity to hone their teaching skills. Accreditors want to make certain that these grads first establish themselves in the industry and gain some experience which they can then share with their students before they take on the role as teacher/instructor. In this economy it is rarely necessary… >>>

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Employee Dismissal: Unpleasant, But Sometimes Necessary

Marietta, It is never easy to dismiss an employee so you are not alone in your feelings. No matter how many times you must take this step, it never seems to get any easier. Preparation is key. Even practicing what you will say helps as does keeping the emotion out of the process. Stick to the facts. Dismissal should rarely come as a surprise to the employee if communication regarding poor performance has been occurring on a continuing basis. I also try to have another management person in the room, usually someone from HR, so there is a witness. Pat

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Employee retention

Marietta, Sorry about my delay in responding to your post. I have been in Orlando for the Career College Ass'n. Convention and Board of director meeting since Saturday with limited access to e-mail. Most institutions are experiencing similar situations with regard to employees being happy just to be employed. We still want to make certain that we are treating employees with dignity and respect and showing appreciation for what they do to contribute to our institution's success so once this recession ends and employment opportunities become available, our best employees don't jump ship. Students connect with faculty and staff. If… >>>