So it is now all go on the farm, calving is underway and you need everyone on deck and doing their jobs effectively and well……………but…………….sadly reality is often different.
Staff are sick, or they just do not do what you would with regards to how they function in your workplace. They’re late, they don’t seem to think ahead with a task and therefore miss easy things that can be done to save time later. They insist on having their phone in their hand even though you’ve made it clear they should not and while they are doing that they miss something else that otherwise was easy to see and do correctly.

Frustrating isn’t it?

Above is just a few of the ways that employer’s temperaments get tested at this time of year.
And yes, you as the employer have rights, you can tackle these issues and look to get people back on track and the team working where it should.
Just it is very important how you go about getting staff back on track.

I often say there are two ways to go about anything, one way will elicit support and encourage people to want to get onside with you and do the right thing, the other generally puts people’s back up and more or less assures some future clashes and I always encourage that people choose option one while it still has the best chance of working.

The key thing is keeping yourself in the position where you retain the choice to choose option one. And when you are tired, stressed, frustrated or any mix of these – that is just not as easy to actually do.
So your best friend in these situations is to develop a really good, quick to use, pause button.
See what is happening and unless it is wellbeing and welfare urgent – do not react! Pause.
Think about what happened, why it upsets you, what needs to happen and how is the best way to go about letting the employee know what is expected so that it is clear and has the best chance of a good result. This may require that you say something like “Hey I just noticed what you were doing, I will get back to you about how to do that correctly, but for now can you just do this [task] and I’ll follow up with you again when I’m done here”. That stops the not good activity from continuing and has created the space for you to think about how to correct it. 
You have also quietly and calmly let them know what they were doing was not right, so if it was something they should know – now they have time to think it through and hopefully realise that when they were guided through the role and what is and is not expected that you meant it and will hold staff to those standards and now they have time to realise they need to stay on track and also be a bit apologetic for letting the standards slip. This would clearly help get things well and truly back on track.

If the issue that occurs feels a bit heated and you can’t say anything constructive immediately, use the pause button to simply remove yourself from the situation (again so long as no harm is being caused by the staff’s action that requires you to step in).
The reason the pause is so essential is that if relations sour, process is everything and if you get caught out losing your rag, no matter how justified, you create flaws in the process that can cost you money.

So, it is the busy season, you and your team will get tired and some things won’t go as planned. Remember the pause button – it can be your best friend.
And if you need help with any employment related matters, that is where I am here to help you.
John from JB HR & Business Support, call me on 021 508 128 or email john@jbhrbusinesssupport.nz.