Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Employee Dismissal: Unpleasant, But Sometimes Necessary

Erica, Dismissal or termination should not come as a surprise to the employee. Even so, it is important to plan for that dismissal as you would any meeting with an employee. A dismissal is a progressive process starting with the identification of issues and assistance with fixing the deficiencies. When efforts fail, the next step is dismissal. I agree with you that this step needs to occur in private but will usually involve HR to make certain there is a witness to verify the process. Be factual in the discussion so the information is crystal clear. Dr. Patricia Kapper

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Retaining Your Top Employees

Amanda, Are there any special programs that your school has put into place to help to retain your employees? Retaining employees is as important as retaining students. It all impacts the bottom line, but, more importantly, it impacts the lives of students, faculty, and staff in multiple ways. Students deserve to get value for their educational dollar. Satisfied faculty and staff, with little turnover, will provide that for students. Not only will they provide the value but also the quality students expect. This leads to highly satisfied students. As a manager, it is important to monitor and analyze faculty, staff,… >>>

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Employee retention

Mark, When I would visit our schools, I would tour the school with the leadership. I was looking at the typical things like what was happening in the classroom--were the students engaged; was the campus clean; etc. But most importantly, how did the manager interact with the faculty, staff, and students. Did he/she acknowledge or ignore them as we toured. If the faculty, staff, and students were ignored, that was a huge red flag. If you stay connected with the people, you will definitely retain your employees. Dr. Patricia Kapper

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Do Employee Retention Strategies Work?

Mark, You are good! You manage smart. Working "with" people allows you to achieve so much more than when you expect people to work "for" you. It is the team that will accomplish so much more. As I have said before, treating people with dignity and respect through valuing them as people will result in high employ retention. Keep doing what you are doing. I am sure it must be successful and employee retention high. Dr. Patricia Kapper

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Do Employee Retention Strategies Work?

laura, It is important in any organization that employees know exactly what is expected of them. Employees need to know what standards they are going to be measured against. Being fair and upfront with those reporting to us is the best way to achieve employee satisfaction. From your response, It sounds like Dr. Patricia Kapper

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Delegating or Dumping

Stephen, Although your response was brief, you are essentially correct. Dumping has more benefit for the delegator with little thought or attention given to the employee. It is done in order to remove tasks from the delegator's plate rather than to develop the skills and experience of the employee. Delegators do provide support and do track progress because the ultimate responsibility for the successful completion of the task continues to rest with the manager/delegator. Dr. Patricia Kapper

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Retaining Your Top Employees

April, I continue to believe that employee retention is dependent to a large extent on how employees are treated. Those who are valued and treated with dignity and respect will positively impact your productivity among other things. Employee morale will be better. Student retention ill be better. High turnover costs the company in multiple ways and does impact the bottom line. Even if you are able to find a terrific replacement, you still need to take into consideration the recruiting costs and the employee's learning curve before they become truly productive. Dr. Patricia Kapper

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Recruiting the Best Person for the Job

April, Recruiting the right person always begins with an assessment of the need for the position followed by the creation of a clear, concise job description. In your response, you mention getting the right fit. Organizational fit is difficult to assess but is very important if you want to hire the best person for the job. Have you found any effective way to make this determination? Dr. Patricia Kapper

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Retaining Your Top Employees

Earl, If I understand you correctly, your company tends to hire those who have "grown up", so to speak, within the industry. High retention allows for that experience to be evident in the classroom. It needs to be a win-win, however, so that the faculty member feels valued and, therefore desires to continue with the company. It sometimes comes down to those little things you do for employees that determines whether they stay or go. Retention can depend on multiple factors, some of which the manager has total control over, others not so like salaries. Dr. Patricia Kapper

Dr. Patricia Kapper

Discussion Comment

Employee retention

Justin, Sometimes it is those "little" things that we do, whether good or bad, that impact and employee's decision to stay or to leave. I have said many times that it is important to treat employees with dignity and respect. Research has shown that this is more important than money in determining employee satisfaction. I once did a document entitled "Twelve Steps to Effective Faculty Administration." The first step was "Treat Faculty with dignity and respect." We felt so strongly about the importance of these steps that we had each President sign a document committing to implementing every step. I… >>>