“Twelve Pillars to Your Business Success”

 

Pillar Four – People                          

This morning I started working with a new client who runs a bakery and has a very popular product that has made a huge impact on the coffee shop market.

As we sat in the bakery discussing the business people came in, the line got longer, the tables filled up and busy became a little chaotic. The thing that really struck me was there was no impatience or angst from the customers as they waited to be served by the very efficient team; and the owner greeted many by name and many like family. Unlike similar businesses this team have a great enthusiasm for their role and they love their customers. The owner leads by example and demonstrates through her energy and passion what is expected.

The message is very simple….Good people make a great business.

 

So why then do so many businesses have unengaged team members and unengaged customers? The Fourth Pillar will show you how to have great people in your business.

We will discuss:

• Recruiting – Induction
• Training
• Coaching and Mentoring
• Performance Reviews
• Reward and Recognition
• Team Building
• Moving On

 

In my mind it all starts with finding good people. I regularly hear business owners lamenting that “I can’t get good team members”, “Young people today are useless” and “People today just don’t want to work”. I disagree! These business owners are simply telling me that they don’t know how to recruit, manage and lead and they are simply getting the people that their lack of skill attracts.

These business owners do not place the time, effort or importance on the task of recruiting the right people. They employ the first person who comes through the door because they do not “have time” to do this very important task properly. Then they complain about their team and have to repeat the task when the person leaves or they dismiss them because they were “hopeless”.

This often applies to the appointment of family, friends or friends of friends. Having these people in your business can have advantages; however, their selection should be part of the process not a replacement for it. When employing by DNA or friendship ensure that due process is used and that friends and family are the best fit for the role compared to others who have applied. Think about the ramifications if it does not work out.

So, let me help. Following is my recruitment and induction process. 

Recruitment and Induction Process

1. Why do you want to fill this role? Document it.

Be very clear on why you need this person, write it down.

2. What is the profile of the perspective candidate? Document the Perfect Person.

Write down everything you can think of that will make this person suitable for your company and the role. Most of these things you can’t put into an advert, however, when you meet this person you will know they have a great chance of being a good fit. Write down what you want in regards to education, experience, male or female, age, where they live, married or single, children, driver’s license, have they travelled, interests. Doing this allows you to develop a clear picture of the type of person you want.

3. Write a position description and include all details. See example attached at the end of this chapter.

Write a position description for the role that is clear and can be given to prospective team members.

4. Benchmark the salary and conditions. Value the role in a band and pay according to experience (e.g. $45k to $60k)

Find out what is a fair wage for the role including benefits. The web is a great source for this information to see what others are offering.

5. Advertise the role. Decide on the best media to attract the right candidates.

Using the information above (and being mindful that there are some things that you can’t mention in an advert) write the advert and place it in your selected media.

6. Document questions to ask applicants. Cover skills, experience and attitudes.

Give proper consideration to the questions you will ask, write them down and also record broadly the answers you expect.

7. Ask applicants who you are interested in to send in a full resume by email with a covering letter. If you can’t follow the letter instruction they probably will not fit your short list.

Review the applications and create a short list, advise the unsuccessful applicants.

8. Phone interview first.

Do phone interviews first to reduce the number of short listed candidates. Don’t waste your time on too many face-to-face interviews.

9. Send them a copy of the Position Description before the interview.

Send a copy of the Position Description to the short listed candidates

       10. Create a short list to interview 3 to 6 applicants face-to-face.

       11. Allow a minimum of 45 min per interview. However if the candidate is clearly unsuitable don’t waste your time and end the interview early.

       12. Reduce the candidates to 2 or 3. Interview these again and involve other members of your team.

It is always a great idea involve other people in the process. I once had seven interviews for a roll including Recruiter x 2, Company MD, team member on the same level as me, people who would report to me, MD again and then Company owner. Maybe overkill for a small or medium business but involving others is always a good idea.

       13. Employ for fit and attitude first and skills second

I’m sure you have heard it before but attitude is ingrained and skill can be trained. If new people do not share the values of the business they have little chance of success.

       14. Ensure that the applicants understand the role and go through the Position Description with them. Ensure they understand and will sign your company Code of Conduct.

If you do not have a Code of Conduct please develop one. See Pillar One for an example.

        15. Before making the final appointment ensure salary and conditions are clearly understood.

        16. Make the appointment, confirm in writing with a letter of engagement that shows all salary and conditions, including probationary period and confirmation that the Code of Conduct is signed.

        17. Establish a starting date/time and who the new employee will report to on the day.

        18. Establish an induction process, introduce to team members, show around premise, give info on lunch, restrooms, etc. To help the team member settle in perhaps appoint a “mate” to assist them in the first couple of weeks.

        19. Be clear on dates for the review of their progress 1 month, 2 months and 3 month review when probation period ends.

I believe strongly that most people want to know how they are progressing and that they want to be successful. Throughout the probationary period it is critical that new people are clearly told where they are doing well and how to improve areas in which they may need assistance. You have invested in them, so please help them be successful.

       20.At times other than progress reviews find the new team members doing things right and encourage them. Discuss points of improvement privately.

       21. If it is clearly not working terminate before the end of the probationary period after suitable warnings. Ensure you document all improvement discussions and have given them the opportunity to succeed.

You have probably heard the saying “Hire slow, fire fast”. Taking the care to find and nurture the right people is very important; they are an investment in your success. However, if it is not working you must be prepared to move people on. Always refer to the legislation in your market and ensure you follow the process. Sending poor messages to the rest of your team by handling dismissal badly is very counterproductive, not to mention that you may be liable for unfair dismissal or prosecution. 

Training and Development

Training programs are just as important to small and medium business as they are to large corporations. You have invested in a new person now you must do everything to help them succeed. It makes no sense to just let them work it out for themselves. Training does not have to be costly. Here are some ideas:

• You could devote 2 hours per week to work through a new process or system with them
• Appoint a “mate” or mentor to work closely with them
• Give them manuals or other information to read
• Develop a skills register that can be checked off as new skills are learned
• Fund or partly fund more formal training
• Send them to work with one of your suppliers for a couple of weeks
• Send them to other areas of your business to learn new skills and work with new people
• Set the learning tasks where they will report on their progress

I once worked with a sales company where new recruits were given the keys to the car and told to go and sell. Not surprisingly many failed and this cost the business dearly in recruitment costs, overall sales and team engagement.

 

Coaching and Mentoring

In my life and career I have been very fortunate to have had many great people share their skills, knowledge and wisdom with me.

Taking people under your wing to assist them to grow and develop not only makes great business sense it is very satisfying to see an individual grow and succeed due in part to your help.

Great coaches and mentors ask lots of questions. These are meant to stimulate thoughts and action from the recipient. Spend time with your team asking questions and you will learn a great deal and help them.

A few examples that will generate development discussions:

• “What have you learned from that mistake?”
• “How would you do it differently next time?”
• “Which roles do you feel challenged with?”
• “What is your genius” In other words, “What are you really great at and love doing?”
• “Tell me how you will manage a particular project”
• “Tell me how you will overcome your disagreement with XX?”

Mentors and Coaches also provide challenges. For example:

• Set your team members projects that will stretch their thinking or skills
• Take them to meetings with customers and suppliers
• Ask them to review processes and seek efficiencies
• Ask them to chair team meetings
• Involve them in projects outside the norm

 

Doing this will allow them to develop and you to develop them. Team members are better engaged and supportive if they are involved, feel valued and supported. Your investment in them is more likely to be realised with positive training, coaching and mentoring.

The best advice I have ever received was from my father. He simply said “Always try to do more than is expected and you will be successful” This seems to work.

Successful Employee Coaching and Mentoring looks like this:

Mentoring your employees requires a continuous effort to make it a part of your management practices. Use the tips in the following list to help incorporate coaching and mentoring techniques into your management practices:

• Delegate: Articulate the results you want to see, set parameters, determine what support the employee needs, and set times to conduct progress reviews along the way.
• Give performance feedback: State what you observe, be specific and direct, show sincerity, and communicate face-to-face for both positive and negative performance efforts.
• Motivate employee performance: Give timely recognition for a job well done and provide favourable assignments that challenge your staff and meet business needs at the same time.
• Mentor employee growth: Pass on words of wisdom that guide behaviour for success and ask employees for ideas to make improvements and solve problems.
• Focus employee performance: Collaboratively set goals with action plans that define the key steps for achieving the goals.
• Set meaningful goals: Define the results that need to be achieved and how the goals will be measured.
• Assess employee performance: Don’t wait for the annual review. Meet one-on-one with each person at least once per quarter to review performance; adjust plans accordingly to keep priorities current.
• Aid career development: Collaboratively set plans that define how employees will prepare themselves — from training to work assignments — to grow in their skills and capabilities.
• Deliver training: Give step-by-step instruction that involves your employee doing the skills or procedures in a hands-on way.
• Reinforce good performance: Catch employees doing quality work and demonstrating positive behaviours with the same effort that you catch them when performance doesn’t go as well as expected.

 

Performance Reviews

Structured in the correct way Performance Reviews are a very positive tool to engage, encourage and correct team behaviour. Yet most small and medium business owners never do them. Why? The typical answers are “no time”, “they know how I feel”, “it’s only for big business”. The real answers are, “I could not be bothered” or “I don’t know how”.

As mentioned before most people (if you recruited the right team) come to work wanting to contribute and to do their best. A correctly structured performance review can reassure team members, improve engagement, assist retention, correct behaviour and improve productivity. Plus save you $$$s recruiting new team members.

A well-structured performance review should also be two-way and provide for an open and frank discussion between the team member and their supervisor. It is meant to assist in success not to threaten dismissal. I also do not believe it should be at the same time as salary review, this should be another discussion so as not to distract from the process.

There are many examples of excellent performance reviews available for free off the web. Do a little searching and find one that suits you. Or contact me and I’d be happy to send you a couple that I have used over the years.

A good Performance Review will allow for a review of the team member’s competencies, team member feedback and self-appraisal plus set developmental goals for the team member. There should be the opportunity to set dates for follow up discussions. Some Performance Reviews will provide a rating or score of the team member. Personally, I would not recommend using this system of rating.

Reward and Recognition

While I do not believe it is appropriate to score team members I do believe it is very appropriate to provide the correct reward and recognition to high performing individuals.

This may be as simple as a quiet thank you for a job well done, a small reward such as a voucher or movie tickets, right up to bonuses, profit share or even part ownership. Recognising and rewarding positive behaviour will encourage and engage team members who display the desired behaviour and possibly motivate and encourage those who are not totally on board.

The key to reward and recognition is sincerity. The reward must be earned and the reward offered sincerely. While some may not admit it people appreciate being recognised for their efforts and appreciate receiving a reward usually regardless of size.

Seek out people doing the right thing and acknowledge them. Have a few vouchers or movie tickets available to give away for positive behaviour.

You may also want to offer larger incentives for positive team work. Could you share the benefit of reducing costs by 20%? Consider sharing half of the savings back to the team. Or, when we reach budgeted profit I will share every dollar over the budget with the team.

I am not sure Team Member of the Month is a great idea. However, saying thank you publically to an individual team member can be a very strong motivator.

Reward and recognition schemes must be sincere, fair, transparent, consistent and practised regularly.

 

Look for these Attitudes of a Great Team Member and Reward and Recognise accordingly

 

1. They want to see the business grow and will be pro-active about helping the business or owner.
2. They will work back when you ask them to without grumbling about it (however if they have something else on that is important take that into consideration).
3. Will agree or want to attend training external to the business.
4. They will agree to new ideas and strategies in a positive way, not find reasons why it won’t work.
5. They won’t spread gossip about other team members or the business owner. They won’t talk about another person without the person being there.
6. They will talk positively about ideas, concepts and people.
7. They will work hard to improve themselves.
8. They will support the leader not sabotage them.
9. They will want to become a leader, not be a victim.
10. They will always follow your systems and suggest a system improvement at the first opportunity.
11. They are willing to learn and don’t interrupt when they are meant to be listening.
12. They will greet customers and other team members in a friendly manner.
13. They will welcome new team members in a friendly manner and keep that manner until the person works into the team.
14. They will do more than they are asked to do and contribute to the business without being asked.
15. They see a future in the business and would like to see it grow.
16. They will always endeavour to speak the truth.
17. They are willing to talk to their manager or business owner about issues or questions about the business and other team members in an honest, non-exaggerated way.
18. They will have happy dispositions and positive outlooks.
19. They learn from mistakes and don’t make the same mistake twice.
20. They are willing to create and document systems and processes or at least go to the business owner with suggestions at the earliest opportunity.

Use Reward and Recognition to invite your team members to step up to higher standards, and expect more from them than they do for themselves.

Team Building

You have worked hard to recruit the right people, you are training, coaching and mentoring them, reviewing their performance and providing positive reward and recognition. Now it’s time to really get them engaged and firing on all cylinders. Now is the time for you to lead your team to a level of performance that has not existed in your business before. One plus one no longer equals two; it equals 6, 7 or 8.

Here’s how you can do it – be an exceptional leader. Whilst buying drinks on Friday and having a BBQ breakfast for the team may be fun it’s not really team building or leadership. It’s fun.

 

High Performing Teams are built on the basis of:

Strong Leadership

This is not being aggressive or overbearing. It is setting the standards and the vision of the business and keeping the team focused on the company and their goals.

Common Goals

Every team member must know where the business is going. Sharing a positive common goal is a very powerful tool in maintaining direction and focus.

Knowing and Following the Rules

A good team knows and follows the rules to ensure a positive and orderly workplace. Just like any team sport rules are important and everyone should know them and follow them for the good of the team and the company.

Individual Action Plans

Every team member contributes to the common goals and has a individual plan that contributes to the achievement of these common goals. People like to know what is expected of them and what they should be focused on.

Taking Calculated Risks

Teams sometimes need to take risks to move ahead. Risk taking is supported and encouraged within guidelines. The Leaders encourage teams to develop new and improved strategies and processes.

With Everybody Involved and Included

Everybody must contribute and play their best game. If all team members are not contributing the team rarely wins. Carrying non-productive team members will sap the energy of those who are giving it their full energy.

Moving People On

It is a fact of business that not all team members will have the skills, energy or commitment to fit into the business. The reasons are many and varied, however, when this does happen it is important to ensure the individual is given every chance to be successful. Counselling, mentoring and guidance is the right thing to do for the individual and the company and it is the law in most instances. As you know replacing people is time consuming and can be expensive so working to assist success is worthwhile.

However, if there is no other option, dismissing team members is necessary for the health of the team and the company. Very often the person dismissed is also better off. You must be compassionate and reasonable and follow the legislation that is current in your market. Please ensure you understand your responsibilities in this area.

Following is a process that you may find useful to address the issue of underperforming team members.

PERFORMANCE COUNSELLING AND WARNING PROCESS

The following procedure is designed to assist in improving employee performance and to ensure that current legislation is followed in the event an employee needs to be dismissed.

How we progress through a disciplinary/dismissal process will depend on circumstances.

This procedure is aimed at both getting an employee ‘back on track’ as well as, in the event that we need to dismiss the employee, providing evidence that the employee has not been unfairly dismissed (and that there was a valid reason for the dismissal and procedural fairness was offered).

The more procedural fairness that can be introduced into the performance management process the more able we are to meet current legislation.

The process is a four step performance counselling and warning procedure

STEP 1: Counselling and verbal warning
STEP 2: Counselling and written warning
STEP 3: Counselling and a final written warning
STEP 4: Dismissal of employee

It is critical to keep documentation, such as diary entries, file notes and details of any disciplinary meetings had with employees.

STEP 1: COUNSELLING AND VERBAL WARNING

The first step is to have a discussion with the employee about their performance or behaviour. The purpose of this discussion is to try to correct the employee’s performance/behaviour by bringing it to their attention and putting them on notice that more formal disciplinary action could follow. The employee must be made aware that they are to have a meeting regarding their performance. Make sure that you have all of the correct information regarding the incident/s before the meeting and that you have prepared an outline of what is to be discussed.

During the discussion:

• take thorough notes
• state the specific problem
• give the employee a chance to explain their point of view
• take into consideration the employee’s responses
• after considering the employee’s responses, if you are not satisfied, inform the employee of the changes and performance you expect and put them on notice that if they do not improve it will lead to further disciplinary action. It is also important to advise the employee that they should consider this to be a verbal warning.

After the discussion:

• record in a file note the date, location of meeting, who was present and what was said (particularly the wording of the verbal warning).

STEP 2: COUNSELLING AND WRITTEN WARNING

The second step is to have a formal meeting with the employee about their performance or behaviour. The purpose of this meeting is, again, to try to correct the employee’s performance/behaviour by bringing it to their attention. The meeting more formally puts the employee on notice that further poor performance/behaviour may result in disciplinary action. The employee must be made aware that they are to participate in a meeting regarding their performance and they must be offered the opportunity to have a support person present. It is best if you also have a witness for this discussion. Once again, ensure that you have all of the correct information regarding the incident/s before the meeting and that you have prepared an outline of what is to be discussed.

During the meeting:

• take thorough notes
• review the previous discussion
• discuss the employee’s performance or behaviour since this last discussion (provide sufficient detail to allow the employee a fair opportunity to respond)
• give the employee a chance to explain their point of view
• take into consideration the employee’s responses (consider taking a short break in the meeting to do this)
• after considering the employee’s responses, if you are not satisfied, inform the employee of the changes and performance you expect and issue them with a written warning (preferably given afterwards) and,
• make sure the employee understands that failure to change may result in further disciplinary action.

After the meeting:

• record in a file note the date, location of meeting, who was present and what was said and
• have the employee sign the warning and keep the written warning on file.

STEP 3: COUNSELLING AND FINAL WRITTEN WARNING

The third step is, again, to have a meeting with the employee about their performance or behaviour. The purpose of this meeting is to give the employee a last chance to correct their performance/behaviour by putting them on notice that if it occurs again there will be further disciplinary action up to and including the termination of their employment. The employee must be made aware that they are to participate in a meeting regarding their performance and they must be offered the opportunity to have a support person present. It is best if you also have a witness with you for this discussion. Once again, ensure that you have all of the correct information regarding the incident/s before the meeting and that you have prepared an outline of what is to be discussed.

During the meeting:

• take thorough notes
• review the previous warning
• discuss the employee’s performance or behaviour since the last warning (provide sufficient detail to allow the employee a fair opportunity to respond)
• give the employee a chance to explain their point of view
• take into consideration the employee’s responses (consider taking a short break in the meeting to do this)
• after considering the employee’s responses, if you are not satisfied, inform the employee of the changes and performance you expected and issue them with a final written warning (preferably to be given to them afterwards) and
• make sure the employee understands that failure to change may result in further disciplinary action up to and including the termination of their employment.

After the meeting:

• record in a file note the date, location of meeting, who was present and what was said and
• have the employee sign the final written warning and keep the written warning on file.

STEP 4: DISMISSAL OF EMPLOYEE

The final step is dismissal of the employee on the basis that they have not improved their performance/behaviour following the warnings issued to them. The purpose of this meeting is to give the employee a final chance to explain their performance/behaviour before making a final decision to terminate their employment. The employee must be made aware that they are to participate in a meeting regarding their performance and continuation of their employment and they must be offered the opportunity to have a support person present. It is best if you also have a witness with you for this discussion. Once again, ensure that you have all of the correct information regarding the incident/s before the meeting and that you have prepared an outline of what is to be discussed.

During the meeting:

• take thorough notes
• have someone from senior management with you
• review the previous warning
• discuss the employee’s performance or behaviour since their final warning (provide sufficient detail to allow the employee a fair opportunity to respond)
• tell the employee that you are considering terminating their employment
• give the employee a chance to explain their point of view and
• take a short break in the meeting.

During the meeting break:

• take into consideration the employee’s responses and
• if not satisfied with these responses prepare a dismissal letter stating reasons and any entitlements owing.

Resume the meeting:

• advise the employee that their explanation has not been satisfactory and that you are terminating their employment
• outline the reasons for the termination with reference to previous warnings and discussions
• give the employee a dismissal letter
• advise the employee on any information they need about payment
• explain whether the employee will be required to work the notice period or whether you will be paying the employee in lieu of notice and
• if they are to leave immediately consider whether, for security reasons, it is desirable for a senior management representative to escort them to their locker or office and then from the premises.

After the meeting:

• record in a file note the date, location of meeting, who was present and what was said and 
• keep a copy of the dismissal letter on file.

It is highly advised that you develop a checklist for departing employees covering:

• return of keys/cards/laptops and 
• reminding employees of post-employment obligations.

 

Great people make a great company and when you recruit correctly, train, encourage, recognise, reward and lead you will achieve a first class team. If you need to make hard decisions do so respectfully and within the law.

There is no doubt in my mind that the fastest way to grow your business is to recruit great people to help you do it. People who may be smarter than you, more specialised than you and who can share your vision will give you a huge advantage.

 

An Example of a position description as mentioned in Recruitment & Induction point 3

Position description

Administrative officer

This is an agreement between the administrative office and the Director.

1.0      Subordinate functions to this position

Nil

2.0      Results inherent in this position

The execution of duties, programs and actions to assist the Director in running xxxxx

3.0           This position is required to complete the following responsibilities in accordance with the company’s standards and procedures

• Answer the telephone after the third ring.
• Deal with all mail.
• Process all bills.
• Process petty cash.
• Process all expenses.
• Process timesheets.
• Process payments to staff, contractors and others.
• Chase outstanding accounts.
• Create and send invoices.
• Maintain MYOB so it is up to date each week.
• Reconcile accounts.
• Create financial reports as required by the Director.
• Maintain stationery stock.
• Maintain PC as per schedule.
• Maintain subscriptions for newspapers, magazines, antivirus software and others as directed.
• Maintain office procedures.
• Deal with clients, suppliers and others each day in a warm, polite and professional manner.
• Deal with business support services such as IT, banks and insurance companies in a warm, polite and professional manner.
• Maintain and/or create databases – clients, jobs, marketing, designers, writers, other subcontractors and others as required.
• Make all travel arrangements for xxxx staff or for those involved in xxxx projects.
• Undertake direct marketing activities for the Director including: database entry, database maintenance, record selection, form letter writing, merge and print activities and mailing.
• Establish and maintain the smooth operation and the day to day management of the office.
• Undertake non-specific support duties as directed by the Director.
• From time to time, as agreed, undertake duties outside normal working hours.
• To meet with all team members each week, as assigned by the Director, to discuss current client status, opportunities, problems and various other matters.
• To maintain a level of training appropriate for your position.
• To meet with the Director as requested.
• To report to the Director any exceptional problems or situations.
• To ensure paperwork is being done correctly and in a timely manner.

4.0          Behaviour standards required

The following dress code will be maintained at all times:

At client meetings, seminars or functions, a professional standard of dress will be maintained.

At the xxxx premises, or at other events during work times, such as training and seminars, your discretion should be used.

The following time commitments will be maintained:

Be at work and ready to start at the scheduled time.

Be ready and available at least five minutes before any appointment or meeting.

If an appointment or meeting is convened at a client’s premises or external location, be at the location at least five minutes before the appointed time.

Make contact with the office when away or unavailable for any period of time when expected to be at work.

If you expect to be off work through illness, ring the Director as soon as possible after 7 am.

The following team interaction standards will be maintained at all times:

Maintain a professional and friendly attitude toward other team members.

Tell the truth and be honest in all your dealings with team members.

If ongoing problems arise, then talk to the Director.

Wherever possible you will communicate problems in writing/email and offer solutions to those problems.

No smoking at or outside xxxxx premises, or at client premises.

Workspace will be maintained in a clean and operative manner.

5.0      Reporting standards required

• This position is responsible for producing a monthly report itemising the following:
• Overview of your activities undertaken during the month.
• Any concerns regarding your position and possible solutions to those concerns.
• Any concerns or opportunities not being addressed with regard to the overall operation of xxxx, and possible solutions to those concerns/missed opportunities.
• Other reports as deemed necessary by the Director.

6.0          Term of contract

This contract is for a period of three months, commencing at a time to be determined. If both parties agree to continue this contract, a further period of time will be negotiated at that time.

During such time, the contract may be terminated by either party by giving notice of one week; provided that xxxx shall not terminate you harshly, unjustly or unfairly.

7.0          Performance review

• A formal review of performance, duties and remuneration outlined within this Position description will be conducted every month for the first three months of the contract. After the initial three month period, a review will be conducted once every six months, unless the Director deems more frequent reviews are necessary.

• Performance will be judged using the following indicators:
  • Demonstrated ability in the use of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Windows XP.
  • Demonstrated ability to undertake duties with the minimum of direction from the Director.
  • Effective use of time and ability to schedule and priorities daily, weekly and monthly tasks.
  • Pro-active ability to engage the Director with queries, concerns or job-related issues, ensuring your position is undertaken in a professional manner.
  • Maintain dress and behavioural standards in keeping with the position.
  • Be willing to undertake further training as agreed.

8.0          Training

• During the period of this contract, further training will be required. As further training is a requirement of your employment and forms an integral part of your performance review, training assessment will be conducted as part of the review process.

• xxxx may conduct training and it will be a requirement for you to attend training as directed by the Director. This training will be at no cost to you, however some training may be conducted outside working hours.
• You will be expected to undertake training, as directed by the Director, to help you reach and maintain the standards outlined in this position description. This training will be at no cost to you, however some training may be conducted after working hours.
• If you wish to undertake any other training to further your career, personal development and so on, and wish time off work or assistance in payment, you will need to discuss this with the Director. Each case will be judged on the value of training to your overall position, cost of training and urgency of current workload.

9.0          Hours of contract

• To start at 8 hours per week. It is expected that the requirements would increase to 16 hours per week within three to six months.

10.0          Termination:

• Either party providing the following notice may effect termination giving one week’s notice.
• Termination without notice shall occur if you at any time:
• Commit any serious or persistent breach of any company policies, procedures and practices.
• Be guilty or any grave misconduct or wilful neglect in discharge of your duties.
• Be convicted of any indictable offence.

11.0          Remuneration:

• Remuneration will be negotiated. The range is $xxxx per hour, depending on skills and experience.

• You will be paid weekly into your bank account, subject to an invoice being issued to xxxx.
• The monitoring of hours will not be undertaken – it is up to you to keep a record of hours worked and to ensure a level of honesty surrounding the hours worked in any given week.

12.0          Signature of understanding and agreement

Your signature below is a statement that you have read this position description in full and you both understand this position description and will abide by the requirements contained within.

 

I __________________________,     agree to this position description and will conduct business in accordance to this position description.

 

 

 

___________________________________

Signature:

 

Date ____/____/____

 

I __________________________,     have explained this position description in full and in accordance to the company’s procedures and standards.

 

 

___________________________________

Signature: Director

 

Date ____/____/____