My Employee is Late for Work Again

Late for Work: Late, tardy, delayed, behind schedule, … however you describe being late it presents a number of challenges for managers and organizations.

In many professional workplaces start times vary and employees are offered flexibility in their schedules. In customer focused positions, typically staff are expected to be in the office during “core” hours, such as between 9 and 4, but may vary their start and end times to suit their personal schedule. In this model staff usually choose a start time and stick to this schedule so clients, colleagues, and the manager know when to expect them. Any change to the regular schedule would require either approval or at minimum notification. This system works very well until someone takes advantage of the flexibility and starts coming in late, leaving early, coming back late from lunch, or taking extra long breaks.

The impact of this behavior may show up as:

• decreased productivity,
• missed sales opportunities,
• inferior customer service, and/or
• poor morale.

Managers are often not so much focused on “time” but on output, productivity, sales and customers served. As long as the work gets done and standards are exceeded managers tend to be happy and will let some “tardiness” go unchallenged.

Co-workers are not so forgiving. They are often the first to take note of someone showing up late. This can lead to resentment and poor office morale very quickly. There may be a perception that an employee is not pulling their weight or is being given special treatment.

Managers are encouraged to have regular meetings with their employees where they can discuss performance, including attendance issues, and offer a forum for employees to raise issues. A well written employee handbook, code of conduct and/or policy on hours of work is an important manager tool.

A flexible workplace is important to workers, but it is equally important for managers to address attendance issues in a prompt and fair manner.

Looking for tips to help manage employees? Download our free Manager Guides from the Fusion Industry Resources Page.

Ontario Government Proposes changes to Police Record Checks

On June 3, 2015 the Ontario Government introduced Bill 113, Police Record Checks Reform Act. The Act introduces new standards that would apply to all police services in Ontario. The intent of the legislation is to eliminate barriers to employment, while balancing public safety and the protection of individual human rights and privacy. The legislation will ensure consistent application of police record checks across the province.

Under the current background check system, people have been denied employment and volunteer opportunities due to background checks which have included information about mental illness or police contact that did not lead to a conviction.

For employers that currently use police background checks as part of their recruitment process, these changes may result in fewer candidates being screened out of consideration due to their police record.

If passed, the legislation would:

• include a process for people to request that certain information be removed from their records;
• eliminate the release of certain information such as details about a person’s mental health, status as a victim or witness to a crime, non-criminal information, and local police contact;
• allow individuals to review the information being released before giving consent for the background check to be shared;
• offer 3 types of police records checks to meet the requirements of employers, educators and volunteer organizations;

A Criminal Record Check would list criminal convictions and findings of guilt under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

A Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check would contain a criminal record check plus outstanding charges, arrest warrants, absolute and conditional discharges and some judicial orders.

The Vulnerable Sector Check, used for people working or volunteering with vulnerable populations such as children, seniors and persons with disabilities, would contain a criminal record check and judicial check plus findings of not criminally responsible due to mental disorder, record suspensions (pardons) related to sexually-based offences and non-conviction information related to the predation of a child or other vulnerable person (i.e., charges that were withdrawn, dismissed or stayed, or that resulted in acquittals).

The proposed Bill 113 received 1st reading on June 3, 2015.

Workplace Legislation Review – Ontario launches Changing Workplace Review in 2015

In May 2015 the Ontario Ministry of Labour launched a workplace legislation review. The review will examine workplace legislation and consult with stakeholders to determine how the legislation could be updated to better reflect the current nature of work and society. The “Changing Workplace Review”  will focus on two important workplace statues:

• Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and
• Labour Relations Act,  1995 (LRA).

The ESA and LRA were drafted in the 1950-1960s. The world of work has significantly changed since this time. Although both statues have been amended over the years, an overhaul of the legislation has not been undertaken until now.

The review is expected to look at the following factors:

• changes in worker demographics: age, gender, and diversity.
• changing nature of work: part-time, temporary, self employment.
• globalization, technological change, rise of service sector.
• minimum standards: overtime, leaves of absence, termination.

Public consultations are on-going now across the province. Next session in Toronto is September 18, 2015.  Employers and individuals are encouraged to provide input and comments. Written submissions will also be accepted until September 18, 2015. 

Share your comments here about workplace legislation and changes you would like to see implemented.

Mentoring at Work is Good for Business

Establishing a mentoring program at work is one way for a business to support employee training and development with little cost or risk. Mentoring can be a very effective way to develop employees and future leaders.

Many successful people in business, sports, and entertainment credit a mentor for helping them achieve their current success. In fact, people point to having several mentors focusing on different areas of development and at different stages in their career.

What is Mentoring?

• Mentoring involves a partnership between two people for the purpose of learning and development. It is most successful when both partners have a clear goal that guides their relationship.
• Mentoring can involve:
  • sharing career stories, decisions, failures and successes;
  • partners working together on a project;
  • one partner job shadowing the other;
  • a buddy system – where an experienced employee trains a new employee;
  • giving career advice;
  • any other relationship where the parties share information and help develop leadership skills .
• Mentoring is no longer restricted to a senior person leading a junior employee. Now days the relationship can benefit both partners. New workers have technology skills, application skills and new ways of doing business to share with senior staff.  Senior staff have industry history, knowledge and experience to share with junior staff.

As a small business – we don’t have the leadership or time to mentor.

• A mentoring program does not need to be limited to people within your organization; mentors can be experts or leaders from your business partners, professional or personal network.
• Technology has eliminated the need for people in a mentoring program to work in the same city or country or to meet face to face.
• A successful mentoring program does not need to be time-consuming. It does require commitment. Usually 2 to 3 hours per month is sufficient.

Benefits of Mentoring:

• No or minimal cost involved.
• Can be informal or formal.
• Time commitment is flexible and is up to the individual partners. It is ok to invest in the relationship for a short period of time.
• Partners do not need to work in the same functional area, organization, city or even country. In fact, by reaching outside your field or organization you may gain access to skills and knowledge not otherwise available.
• Both partners in the relationship typically benefit – whether you feel good from “paying it forward” as the mentor or you gain valuable insight and leadership skills as the mentee.

Mentoring is an attractive option for businesses with a limited budget for training and development. Developing employees and future leaders should be an important business goal and a mentoring program is one way to help your company achieve this goal.

Do you credit your success to a mentor? Share your story.