wb toolbox jim's€¦ · write down some of the unwritten expectations you have of your crew....

Participant’s Workbook Toolbox-1Tools for Peak Performance

Toolbox

Write down some of the unwritten expectations you have of your crew. Note, these should be minimum expectations of the employees, not lofty goals. Good examples would include:only take breaks at scheduled times, call in if they are going to be late, use of strong language.

Unwritten Expectations of Employees

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Unwritten Expectations of My Crew

If you could create an ideal job for yourself , what would be the importance of each of the itemslisted below? Fill in the circle in the appropriate column.

Not Somewhat Very ExtremelyImportant Important Important Important Important

1. Wage rate

2. Opportunity for challenging work

3. How much work you complete

4. Opportunity to make decisionsabout your work

5. Fringe benefits

6. Chances to learn new things

7. Safe working conditions

8. Your supervisor's understandingof your work

9. Opportunity to develop yourskills and abilities

10. Chances for promotion

11. Opportunity for overtime

12. The quality of work you do

13. The opportunity to do somethingyou think is important

14. Respect from co-workers

Creating Your Own Profile

Continue to next page


15. Job security

16. Physical surroundings whereyou work

17. The quality of the equipmentyou work with

18. The way you are treated byyour supervisor

19. The resources you have to do your work

20. Friendliness of co-workers

21. Opportunity to advancefinancially

22. Working as part of a team

23. Being able to see your workwhen completed

Transfer your responses from the previous pages to the list below. Then connect the dots with a straight line.


Basic Needs

1. Wage rate

5. Fringe benefits

7. Safe working conditions

15. Job security

16. Physical surroundings whereyou work

21. Opportunity to advancefinancially

Social Needs

8. Your supervisor's understandingof your work

14. Respect from co-workers

18. The way you are treated byyour supervisor

20. Friendliness of co-workers

22. Working as part of a team



Growth Needs


3. How much work you complete

4. Opportunity to make decisionsabout your work

6. Chances to learn new things

9. Opportunity to develop your skills and abilities

10. Chances for promotion

12. The quality of work you do

13. The opportunity to do somethingyou think is important

17. The quality of the equipmentyou work with

19. The resources you have to doyour work

23. Being able to see your workwhen completed

The profile provides a picture of what is important to you. The numbered responses may be thought of as wants, or specific things desires by workers. Which category of needs is highestfor you?

Periodically filling out a copy of this profile may help you get a better perspective of where you truly want your career to go. As with all of us, your life changes everyday. What you wanted and enjoyed last year or yesterday may be different from your wants and desires today.

Name:

The first step in improving performance is to understand your crew members and what they want to get out of their jobs.


Basic Needs

1. Wage rate x x x x x

2. Fringe benefits x x x x x

3. Safe working conditions x x x x x

4. Opportunity for overtime x x x x x

5. Job security x x x x x

6. Physical surroundings where you work x x x x x

7. Opportunity to advance financially x x x x x

Social Needs

8. Your supervisor's under- standing of your work

x x x x x

9. Respect from co-workers x x x x x

10. The way you are treated by your supervisor

x x x x x

11. Friendliness of co-workers x x x x x

12. Working as part of a team x x x x x


Crew Member Profile

Profile, continued

Name:____________________________________________


Growth Needs

13. Opportunity for challenging work x x x x x

14. How much work you complete x x x x x

15. Opportunity to make decisions about your work x x x x x

16. Chances to learn new things x x x x x

17. Opportunity to develop your skill and abilities

x x x x x

18. Chances for promotion x x x x x

19. Opportunity to do something you think is important

x x x x x

20. The quality of work you do x x x x x

21. The quality of the equipment you work with

x x x x x


x x x x x

23. Being able to see your work when completed

x x x x x

Which category of needs appears to be the strongest for this worker: (Circle one.)

Basic Social Growth

Name:_______________________________________

List the internal and external rewards that will likely encourage this worker to perform above the minimum.

External rewards Internal rewards

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

Valued Rewards


National Cooperative Highway Research Program Toolbox

yes yes no

no no yes

yes

no

yes

no

no

yes

no

yes

no

yes

Choose ActivityChoose Activity

Gather Actual Performance

Data

Does Actual Performance Exceed Expected?

Were There Uncontrollable Events?

Were There Organizational Constraints?

Do Workers Have Ability, Knowledge & Skill?

Are Workers Adequately Motivated?

Is The Performance Expectation Realistic?

Change Methods or Technology

Are You Satisfied?

Revise Strategy

Is The Activity Complete?

Improve Job Management

Improve Selection, Training &

Assignment

Apply Motivational Techniques

Revise Expectations

Performance

Performance Analysis Flowchart



Poor Performance

Troubleshooting Checklist

Is The Performance Expectation Realistic? Revise Expectations

Do Workers Have the Appropriate Ability, Knowledge & Skill?

If None Of The Above Change Methods or Technology

Improve Selection, Training & Assignment

Are Workers Adequately Motivated? Apply Motivational Techniques

Question Solution

Were There Uncontrollable Events?

Were There Organizational Constraints?

Revise Strategy

Improve Job Management

Job Prep Worksheet

What? (Describe the activity)

Who? (Assign crew)

Where? (Describe location)

When? (Time & date)

How? (Methods & equipment)

Job Prep Worksheet, (continued)

Why?

How Long? (Completion goal)

Safety Requirements & Gear?

Job Resources Worksheet

Continued on next page

Information (use job prep worksheet)

Hand Tools

Equipment

Labor (Type & quantity)

Job Resources Worksheet, (continued)

Materials (items & quantity)

Protective Equipment



Additional Points to Consider About Coaching

Question 1: Does employee know the performance expected of him or her?

Often, workers are not told what is expected of them in terms of quantity, quality, and time—or they aresimply told to do the best they can. However, a worker and his or her supervisor may have differentexpectations as to what “best” really is. Supervisors should make sure that workers know what and howmuch are to be done, the proper procedures, and the required time frame.

Question 2: Does employee know that actual performance can be improved?

Employees have to be able to compare expected performance to actual performance. Too often, workersare not told what their actual performance is. Expected and actual performance should be comparable sothe worker can clearly see if actual performance is less than expected.

Question 3: Are there obstacles beyond employee’s control?

As shown in this flowchart from Chapter 5, it’s important to determine if there are obstacles that keepemployees from performing as expected. If so, workers have an acceptable reason for subpar performance.A lack of resources or other organizational problems can seriously limit performance.



Sometimes special situations cause lower performance. For example, a sick child may cause a parent tomiss work or be late. The worker is forced to deal with the child’s illness because he or she cannot controlit. When obstacles to performance occur, supervisors must either remove them or change performanceexpectations.

Question 4: Does employee know how to improve?

If employees know that their performance is subpar, and if obstacles to good performance have beenremoved, supervisors must then decide if the workers know how to improve. Do the workers have theability, knowledge, and skill to improve?

If the answer is “no,” the solution may be as simple as demonstrating how to perform the task the right way.Sometimes, however, the workers may have to complete a more formal training program.

Question 5: Do negative consequences follow good performance?

If workers know how to improve performance, but don’t improve, it’s necessary to determine why. Allperformance, good or bad, has consequences. It’s best when good consequences result from good perfor-mance, or bad consequences from bad performance. For example, if a worker completes a job ahead ofschedule—which must be considered good performance—and the supervisor recognizes that performanceand praises the worker for it, good consequences have followed good performance. Similarly, if a workerhas been leaving work early for several days—an example of poor performance—and is reprimanded bythe supervisor, bad consequences have followed bad performance.

When positive consequences follow good performance, the worker wants to keep performing in that way.Negative consequences following bad performance make the worker want to avoid performing in that way.

Sometimes, however, things go awry. An example of negative consequences following good performance iswhen the credit for one worker’s good performance is mistakenly given to another worker. It happens.(However, good supervision techniques—such as “managing by walking around”—should make such foul-ups rare.)

Question 6: Do positive consequences follow poor performance?

Yes, it happens. But it shouldn’t! If the consequences are not consistent with performance, the worker willbe confused as to what is expected. Supervisors must eliminate situations that give good results for poorperformance. (Again, do your managing by walking around—and be the best possible observer and lis-tener.)

Question 7: Can employee improve if he or she wants to?

If workers want to improve performance and are able to do so, supervisors should seek to change theworkers’ performance or behavior through coaching. If workers can improve but don’t want to do so, itmay be necessary to terminate them or reassign them to another job.



THE STEPS IN ONE MINUTE PRAISING

based on The One Minute Manager

One key to being an effective supervisor or manager is topraise your employees. Here are the steps:

1. Tell people up front that you are going to let them knowhow they are doing.

2. Praise people immediately.

3. Tell people what they did right—be specific.

4. Tell people how good you feel about what they did right,and how it helps the organization and the other people whowork there.

5. Stop for a moment of silence to let them “feel” how goodyou feel.

6. Encourage them to do more of the same.

7. Shake hands* to make it clear that you support their suc-cess in the organization.

*A word of advice: The One Minute Manager recommendedshaking hands or “touching people in other ways” to showyour appreciation and support. Current codes of conduct forthe workplace, however, regard most physical contact be-tween coworkers as unacceptable. Even handshaking shouldbe done appropriately—brief and business-like. Rememberthat everyone’s different. Some might like a pat on the backor a big hug, but others might feel uncomfortable and cry“harassment!” So use good judgment.



THE STEPS IN ONE MINUTE CORRECTING

based on The One Minute Manager

One Minute Correcting goes along with One Minute Praising. Itfits in with the process of coaching and should be used whenworkers are not performing in the desired way.

1. Tell people beforehand that you are going to let them knowhow they are doing.

The first half of the correcting:

2. Correct people immediately.

3. Tell people what they did wrong—be specific.

4. Tell people how you feel about what they did wrong—and inno uncertain terms.

5. Stop for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence to let themfeel how you feel.

The second half of the correcting:

6. Shake hands, as appropriate, to let them know you arehonestly on their side.

7. Remind them of how much you value them.

8. Reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their perfor-mance or behavior in this situation.

9. Realize that when the correcting is over, it’s over.

Following this procedure will enable supervisors to helpworkers identify what is unacceptable and understandthat their supervisors value them but not the unaccept-able performance or behavior.



CHECKLIST FOR ENCOURAGING WORKERS

(Are you doing all that you can to encourage your people? Review this checklist occasionally as a generalreminder of how you can encourage them. In particular, when you want to reward someone, look over the fifthitem—especially the suggestions in the little boxes. You may come up with other forms of recognition and/or statussymbols.)

❏ Evaluate employees continuously.Don’t consider only the most recent performance and behavior.Review far enough back in time to get the “full picture.”Evaluate both effort and accomplishment.

❏ Manage workers and their activities by “walking around.”

❏ Coach crew members by giving them feedback, information, and guidance.Follow the “Considerations in Coaching” described in the earlier tool.

❏ Mentor employees by being interested in their development and advance-ment, helping each one identify his or her own interests and goals.

❏ Reward workers for their performance using feedback, evaluations, praise,recognition, status symbols, promotions, and/or job assignments.

❏ Praise crew members by following the basic techniques of One Minute Prais-ing, as outlined in an earlier tool in this Toolbox.

❏ Correct employees (point out their misconduct/failure to perform; counseland admonish them) by following the basic techniques of One MinuteCorrecting, as outlined in an earlier tool in this Toolbox.

❏ Encourage worker involvement in the organization’s decision-making.

Forms of Recognition

Spoken compliment(in public or private)

Written compliment

Certificate or plaque

Newspaper or newsletter

Others:____________________________________________________________

Status Symbol Examples

Special parking space

Hard hat sticker

New truck

Organization jacket or cap

Others:____________________________________________________________



Reassess yourself from time to time to chart your progress as a supervisor. Compare the currentresults with the results from the last assessment. Don't mark on this page or the next one. Instead,use it to photocopy a new worksheet each time. Save the completed worksheets in this binder.

How Often

Indicate how often you do each of the behaviors listed. 1 - Never

Place the appropriate number in the space provided. 2 - Sometimes

Add up your answers and put the total in the blank at the end. 3 - Often

4 - Always

1. I explain each person's duties when I give assignments.

2. I discuss the behavior and performance I expect from each person in my group.

3. I let workers use their judgment on the job.

4. I tell workers when they do a good job.

5. I make sure people understand their pay and benefits.

6. I make sure people have the knowledge, skill, and ability to perform a job before I assign them to it.

7. I make sure people are aware of training and upgrading opportunities.

8. I make sure people know how they can advance in the organization.

9. I give people job assignments that allow them to develop and use their skills.

10. I rotate job assignments so that people don't get stuck doing the same job unless they want to.

11. I tell people how well they are doing while they are doing a job.

12. Where possible, I make sure people are trained in jobs other than their own.

13. I give people challenging but reasonable assignments.

14. I treat people fairly.

15. I work with my people to help them understand what they have to do to improve their job performance.

Supervisor Self-Assessment Exercise— Then and Now



16. I keep my people informed as to what is going on in the organization and what will be happening in the future.

17. I give my people the chance to help make decisions on issues that affect them.

18. If workers come to me with a problem, I discuss it with them and help them finda solution.

TOTAL How did you do this time compared to the last time?Are you improving as a supervisor?

The closer your total is to 72, the better the job you are doing in dealing with your workers. Youneed to improve the behaviors for which you entered a 2 or less. A score below 50 means your negative performance is probably affecting the performance of the crew. A score above 60 probably improves crew performance.



Use the four pages of this inventory to photocopy a new set of forms each time you want to evaluateyour interpersonal communication skills. Compare the current inventory with the previous one togauge your improvement. Save each completed inventory in this binder.

Answer each question as quickly as you can according to the way you feel at the moment (not theway you usually feel or felt last week). The questions refer to your interaction with coworkers.

Circle the most appropriate response. The Yes column is used when the question can be answeredas happening most of the time or usually . Use the No column when the question can be answeredas seldom or never . The Sometimes column should be marked when you definitely cannot answerYes or No. Use this column as little as possible. If you cannot give the exact answer to a question, answer the best you can, but be sure to answer each one. There are no right or wrong answers.

1. Do your words come out the way you like them to Yes No Sometimesin conversation?

2. When you are asked a question that is not clear, Yes No Sometimesdo you ask the person to explain what is meant?

3. When you are trying to explain something, do Yes No Sometimesother persons have a tendency to put words in your mouth?

4. Do you merely assume the other person knows Yes No Sometimeswhat you are trying to say without your explainingwhat you really mean?

5. Do you ever ask the other person to tell you how Yes No Sometimeshe or she feels about the point you may be tryingto make?

6. Is it difficult for you to talk with other people? Yes No Sometimes

7. In conversation, do you talk about things that are Yes No Sometimesof interest to both you and the other person?

8. Do you find it difficult to express your ideas when Yes No Sometimesthey differ from those around you?

9. In conversation, do you try to put yourself in the Yes No Sometimesother person's shoes?

10. In conversation, do you have a tendency to do more Yes No Sometimestalking than the other person?

Inter personal Communication Inventor y—Then and Now



11. Are you aware of how your tone of voice may affect Yes No Sometimesothers?

12. Do you refrain from saying something that you know Yes No Sometimeswill only hurt others or make matters worse?

13. Is it difficult to accept constructive criticism from Yes No Sometimesothers?

14. When someone has hurt your feelings, do you Yes No Sometimesdiscuss this with him/her?

15. Do you later apologize to someone whose feelings Yes No Sometimesyou may have hurt?

16. Does it upset you a great deal when someone Yes No Sometimesdisagrees with you?

17. Do you find it difficult to think clearly when you are Yes No Sometimesangry with someone?

18. Do you fail to disagree with others because you are Yes No Sometimesafraid they will get angry?

19. When a problem arises between you and another Yes No Sometimesperson, can you discuss it without getting angry?

20. Are you satisfied with the way you settle your Yes No Sometimesdifferences with others?

21. Do you pout and sulk for a long time when someone Yes No Sometimesupsets you?

22. Do you become very uneasy when someone pays Yes No Sometimesyou a compliment?

23. Generally, are you able to trust other individuals Yes No Sometimes

24. Do you find it difficult to compliment and praise Yes No Sometimesothers?

25. Do you deliberately try to conceal your faults from Yes No Sometimesothers?

26. Do you help others to understand you by saying Yes No Sometimeswhat you think, feel, and believe?

27. Is it difficult for you to confide in people? Yes No Sometimes



28. Do you have a tendency to change the subject Yes No Sometimeswhen your feelings enter into a discussion?

29. In conversation, do you let the other person finish Yes No Sometimestalking before reacting to what he or she says?

30. Do you find you rself not paying attention while in Yes No Sometimesconversation with others?

31. Do you ever try to listen for meaning when someone Yes No Sometimesis talking?

32. Do others seem to be listening when you are Yes No Sometimestalking?

33. In a discussion, is it difficult for you to see things Yes No Sometimesfrom the others person's point of view?

34. Do you pretend you are listening to others when you Yes No Sometimesactually are not?

35. In conversation, can you tell the difference between Yes No Sometimeswhat a person is saying and what he or she may befeeling?

36. While speaking, are you aware of how others are Yes No Sometimesreacting to what you are saying?

37. Do you feel that other people wish you were a Yes No Sometimesdifferent kind of person?

38. Do other people understand your feelings? Yes No Sometimes

39. Do others remark that you always seem to think Yes No Sometimesyou are right?

40. Do you admit that you are wrong when you know Yes No Sometimesthat you are wrong about something?

Total Score (see Inventory Scoring Key)



Look at how you responded to each question. In front of each question, write the appropriate scoreusing the table below. For example, if you answered "Yes" to item 1, you would find below that youget three points; write the number 3 in front of question 1. When you have finished scoring each ofthe 40 items, add up your total score.

Yes No Sometimes Yes No Sometimes

1. 3 0 2 21. 0 3 1 2. 3 0 2 22. 0 3 1 3. 0 3 1 23. 3 0 2 4. 0 3 1 24. 0 3 1 5. 3 0 2 25. 0 3 1 6. 0 3 1 26. 3 0 2 7. 3 0 2 27. 0 3 1 8. 0 3 1 28. 0 3 1 9. 3 0 2 29. 3 0 210. 3 0 2 30. 0 3 111. 3 0 2 31. 3 0 112. 0 3 1 32. 3 0 213. 0 3 1 33. 0 3 114. 3 0 2 34. 0 3 115. 0 3 1 35. 3 0 216. 0 3 2 36. 3 0 117. 0 3 1 37. 0 3 118. 3 0 2 38. 3 0 219. 3 0 1 39. 0 3 120. 3 0 2 40. 3 0 2

How are you doing as a communicator? Are you better now than you were the last time you did thisinventory? The average score for adults is 86. Higher scores mean better communication skills. If your score is still below 86, you need to keep working on your communication skills.

ACTION PLAN

for

The first step in improving performance is to understand your crew members and what they want to get out of their jobs. Develop a profile for each member of your crew.


Basic Needs

1. Wage rate x x x x x

2. Fringe benefits x x x x x

3. Safe working conditions x x x x x

4. Opportunity for overtime x x x x x

5. Job security x x x x x

6. Physical surroundings where you work

x x x x x

7. Opportunity to advance financially x x x x x

Social Needs

8. Your supervisor's under- standing of your work x x x x x

9. Respect from co-workers x x x x x

10. The way you are treated by your supervisor x x x x x

11. Friendliness of co-workers x x x x x

12. Working as part of a team x x x x x

Step 1: Develop Profile

Develop Profile, continued


Growth Needs


x x x x x

14. How much work you complete x x x x x

15. Opportunity to make decisions about your work

x x x x x

16. Chances to learn new things x x x x x

17. Opportunity to develop your skill and abilities x x x x x

18. Chances for promotion x x x x x

19. Opportunity to do something you think is important

x x x x x

20. The quality of work you do x x x x x

21. The quality of the equipment you work with

x x x x x


x x x x x

23. Being able to see your work when completed

x x x x x

Which category of needs appears to be the strongest for this worker: (Circle one.)

Basic Social Growth

What do you think are three important wants of this person, for example, wanting to learn to operate a grader or wanting to work overtime. Put an asterisk ( * ) beside the one that you think is most important.

1.

2.

3.

Step 2: Wants From Job

Now that you better understand your crew members, list the internal and external rewards that will likely encourage this worker to perform above the minimum.

External rewards Internal rewards

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

Step 3: Valued Rewards

Now list several tasks you think will provide these internal rewards. These are tasks that the individual is likely to enjoy performing. Then indicate if the individual has the ablity, skill and knowledge to perform the task.

Task Ability, Skill and Knowledge (circle one)

1. yes no

2. yes no

3. yes no

4. yes no

5. yes no

6. yes no

Step 4: Tasks Individual Wants To Perform

List the behavior and performance goals for this worker, the actions that you will take to influence that behavior or performance, and the time-frame provided for seeing improvements.

Behavior or Performance Actions to Improve Timeframe to Seeto be Influenced Behavior or Performance Improvements

Step 5: Goals For The Individual

ACTION PLAN

for Crew

Identify crew goals for behavior and performance, the actions that you will take to influence that behavior or performance, and the time-frame provided for seeing improvements.

Behavior or Performance Actions to Improve Timeframe to Seeto be Influenced Behavior or Performance Improvements

Step 1: Crew Goals

Only the crew supervisor can evaluate long-term behavior and performance. The following table shows various behaviors and performance parameters. It provides room to record projected goalsand a monthly summary of actual behavior and performance. The first month represents the base- line from which you start. You should see noticeable improvements after 6 to 12 months.

Measured PerformanceAttribute or Activity Goal 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Absenteeism

Job Quits

Grievances

Citizen Complaints

No Response to Emergency Call Outs

Pothole Repair

Crack Sealing

Guide Rail Repair

Mowing

Shoulder Repair

Culvert Cleaning

Ditching

Step 2: Evaluate Lon g-Term Behavior and Performance

wb toolbox jim's€¦ · write down some of the unwritten expectations you have of your crew....

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