workplace – Pelican Staffing Nigeria

Whether you work outside, at a desk, or with heavy machinery, there are hazards in your work environment to be aware of. It’s important to note the potential dangers in your environment to avoid workplace injuries.

Safety Tips
1. Use Tools, Equipment And Machinery Properly
Only operate machines you are trained or certified to use and ensure they are cleaned and maintained regularly.

2. Report Any Unsafe Conditions
Fix any unsafe conditions or workplace hazards as soon as you notice them. If it is dangerous for you to remove the risk, notify a supervisor immediately.

3. Wear All Necessary Safety Gear
Always wear the necessary safety equipment. The proper safety gear in your workplace could be reflective, fire-retardant clothing, industrial workwear, or something as simple as nonslip shoes

4. Keep Your Workplace Clear From Clutter
Having a clean workspace positively impacts your job satisfaction and keeps you and your coworkers free from danger. You could trip and fall over scattered objects and they could hide another hazard you cannot see.

5. Stay Hydrated
Drink enough water to remain alert and avoid dehydration. Even in the winter, it is very essential to stay hydrated with water and warm liquids to prevent light-headedness and lack of focus.

6. Practice Good Posture When Sitting Or Lifting
Use ergonomic desks and keyboards to avoid straining your wrists and arms. Sit up straight, keep your shoulders in line with your hips, and lift with your legs when you are moving objects. Poor posture can cause strain on your back, neck, and shoulders, which can lead to serious injury.

7. Take Regular Breaks
Look away from your computer screen regularly to avoid eye strain. Taking regular breaks allows your body to rest from the tasks you are doing. When you return, you will be more focused and have a higher level of concentration.

8. Be Aware Of Your Surroundings
– Look for spills or items on the floor that could be tripped over.
– Note the appropriate safety equipment and gear for each task you are doing.
– Choose mechanical aids such as a forklift or wheelbarrow to help lift items and encourage others to do the same.
– Keep emergency exits clear and uncluttered so they are accessible in the event of an emergency.

9. Never Take Shortcuts
Procedures exist to keep workers safe. Though skipping a step or not wearing safety gear may save you time, it isn’t worth getting injured over. Use every tool and machine according to the instructions.

10. Remain Aware Of New Safety Procedures
Though it is the responsibility of the company to make staff aware of new safety procedures, it is your responsibility to make sure that you fully understand the information. If you’re unsure about a new procedure, ask questions.

As an HR manager, it’s important to pay attention to workplace negativity as it can threaten the success of your organization. It affects employee morale, and more time and energy ends up spent on unnecessary negativity rather than productive work.

Once a negative eneegy is detected, check out to see if your employee is:
– Burnt out due to excessive work or strict deadlines
– Misunderstood or unheard in the workplace
– Unappreciated, unrecognized, or underpaid
– Unable to resolve disagreements with peers
– Negative as a result of rumors or gossip
– Motivated but lacking in resources or support

Then you can take the following steps:

1. Communicate Frequently:
Encourage open communication among team members. This can help prevent misunderstandings and miscommunications that can lead to negativity. Ensure employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns without fear of retribution.
– Hold regular twam meetings to discuss ongoing projects and address any issues that may arise.
– Encourage employees to voice their opinions and concerns constructively.
– Establish an open-door policy for management, allowing employees to discuss any issues.

2. Focus On Opportunities:
Employees are more likely to feel positive about their workplace if they see opportunities for growth and development. Providing these opportunities can help reduce negativity and increase job satisfaction.
– Offer training and development programs to help employees enhance their skills and knowledge.
– Encourage employees to attend conferences, workshops, or seminars to further their professional growth.
– Provide opportunities for employees to take on new responsibilities or projects that challenge and engage them.

3. Seek To Understand:
When negativity arises, it’s crucial to address it quickly and effectively. Ignoring the issue will only allow it to fester and grow, potentially leading to a toxic work environment.
– Address negative behavior or attitudes directly, discussing the issue with the employee constructively and non-confrontational.
– Offer support and resources, such as counseling or mediation services, to help employees resolve conflicts or personal issues.
– Implement clear policies and procedures for addressing workplace negativity and ensure all employees know these expectations.

4. Highlight Victories:
Recognizing and rewarding employees for their hard work and achievements can go a long way in fostering a positive work environment. This helps to boost morale and motivation, as well as reduce negativity.
– Develop a recognition program that acknowledges both individual and team accomplishments.
– Offer incentives, such as bonuses or extra time off, for exceptional performance.
– Celebrate team successes with events or outings

Performance management is a tool that helps managers monitor and evaluate employees’ work. The goal is to ensure that employees are performing efficiently throughout a particular period of time.

IT’S IMPORTANCE
1. Performance management is intended to help people perform to the best of their abilities in alignment with the organization’s goals.

2. It views individuals in the context of the broader workplace system and encourages their input in goal-setting.

3. Performance management focuses on accountability and transparency and fosters a clear understanding of expectations.

4. Rather than just annual performance reviews, performance management provides ongoing feedback to employees.

STEPS IN PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

1. Aligning employees’ activities with the company’s mission and goals: Each employee should understand how their job contributes to the company’s overall goals.

2. Developing specific job-performance outcomes: Through performance management, employees should understand: What goods or services does my job produce? What procedures does my job entail? What effect should my work have on the company? How should I interact with clients, colleagues, and supervisors?

3. Creating measurable performance-based expectations: Employees should have the opportunity to give input into how success is measured.

4. Defining job-development plans: Employees should have a say in what types of new things they learn and how they can use that knowledge to the company’s benefit.

*The Performance Management Cycle*

The performance management process or cycle is a series of five key steps. These steps are imperative, regardless of how often you review employee performance.

*1. Planning*
This stage entails setting employees’ goals and communicating these goals with them. While these goals should be disclosed in the job description to attract quality candidates, they should be communicated once again when the candidate becomes a new hire.

*2. Monitoring*
In this phase, managers are required to monitor the employees performance on the goal. This is where continuous performance management comes into the picture.

*3. Developing*
This phase includes using the data obtained during the monitoring phase to improve the performance of employees. It may require suggesting refresher courses, providing an assignment that helps them improve their knowledge and performance on the job, or altering the course of employee development to enhance performance or sustain excellence.

*4. Rating*
Each employees performance must be rated periodically and then at the time of the performance appraisal. Ratings are essential to identify the state of employee performance and implement changes accordingly. Both peers and managers can provide these ratings for 360-degree feedback.

*5. Rewarding*
Recognizing and rewarding good performance is essential to the performance management process, You can do this with a simple thank you, social recognition, or a full-scale employee rewards program that regularly recognizes and rewards excellent performance in the organization.

Critical thinking skills allow you to understand and address situations based on all available facts and information. Typically, using critical thinking at work involves processing and organizing facts, data, and other information to define a problem and develop effective solutions.

The critical thinking process typically includes steps such as collecting information and data, asking thoughtful questions, and analyzing possible solutions. For example, if you’re working in human resources and need to resolve a conflict between two employees, you will use critical thinking to understand the nature of the conflict and what action should be taken to resolve the situation.

This skill has helped employees solve problems and build strategies that make them better at their jobs. For this reason, employers may look to hire employees who have strong critical thinking skills.
In this article, we’ll talk about the importance of critical thinking in the workplace and what it means for you as an employee.

A critical thinker don’t only accumulate information well, but they also know how to use the information to deduce facts and determine outcomes. By conceptualizing outcomes, critical thinkers tend to be better at solving problems than people who simply memorize information.

How to improve critical thinking skills:
1. Evaluate new information:
2. Consider the source
3. Ask lots of questions
4. Follow up with research
5. Form an opinion

If you want to highlight your critical thinking in the skills section of your resume, consider using terms like the following:
1. Observation skills: These skills are important to critical thinking overall because observation is a primary way people receive information. When employees see how to complete a task or observe the actions of their coworkers in a staff meeting, that serves as a starting point for evaluation.
2. Analytical skills: Evaluation and analysis are synonyms. Analysis implies the technical review of information and the ability to draw educated inferences from it.
3. Communication skills: When it comes to critical thinking, it’s important to be able to communicate ideas and strategies that help you do your job better or make your team stronger.
4. Problem-solving skills: After identifying an issue, critical thinkers come up with solutions and outcomes. This process is commonly known as problem-solving on a resume.

Time management skill is a necessity:yYou may often wish for more time, but you only get 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds each day. How you use that time depends on skills learned through self-analysis, planning, evaluation, and self-control.

1. Know How You Spend Your Time: Ask yourself the following:

Did everything you needed to do get done
Which tasks require the most time?
What time of day when you are most productive?
Where is most of your time devoted to?
Having a good sense of the time required for routine tasks can help you be more realistic in planning and estimating how much time is available for other activities.

2. Set Priorities
Managing your time effectively requires a distinction between what is important and what is urgent (MacKenzie, 1990). Experts agree that the most important tasks usually aren’t the most urgent tasks. However, we tend to let the urgent tasks dominate our lives. Covey, Merrill, and Merrill (1994) categorize activities into four quadrants in their Time Management Matrix: urgent, not urgent, important, and not important. While activities that are both urgent and important must be done, Covey et al. suggest spending less time on activities that are not important (regardless of their urgency) to gain time for activities that are not urgent but important. Focusing on these important activities allows you to gain greater control over your time and may reduce the number of important tasks that become urgent.

3. Create A To-do List
Creating a “to-do” list is an easy way to prioritize. Whether you need a daily, weekly, or monthly list depends on your lifestyle. Be careful to keep list-making from getting out of control. List manageable tasks rather than goals or multi-step plans. Rank the items on your “to-do” list in order of priority (both important and urgent). You may choose to group items in categories such as high priority, medium priority, or low priority; number them in order of priority; or use a color-coding system. The goal is not to mark off the most items but to mark off the highest priority items (MacKenzie, 1990). A prioritized “to-do” list allows you to set boundaries so you can say “no” to activities that may be interesting or provide a sense of achievement but do not fit your basic priorities.

4. Use a Planning Tool
Time management experts recommend using a personal planning tool to improve your productivity. Personal planning tools include planners, calendars, phone apps, wall charts, index cards, pocket diaries, and notebooks. Writing down your tasks, schedules, and items to remember can free your mind to focus on your priorities.

5. Get Organized
Disorganization leads to poor time management. Research has shown that clutter has a strong negative impact on perceived well-being (Roster, 2016). To improve your time management, get organized.

6. Schedule Appropriately
Scheduling is more than just recording what must be done (e.g., meetings and appointments). Be sure to build in time for the things you want to do. Effective scheduling requires you to know yourself. Your time log should help you to identify times when you are most productive and alert. Plan your most challenging tasks for when you have the most energy. Block out time for your high-priority activities first and protect that time from interruptions.

7. Delegate: Get Help from Others
Delegating means assigning responsibility for a task to someone else, freeing up your time for tasks that require your expertise. Identify tasks others can do and select the appropriate person(s) to do them.

8. Stop Procrastinating
People put off tasks for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the task seems overwhelming or unpleasant. To help stop procrastination, consider “eating the big frog first.” A quote commonly attributed to Mark Twain says, “If it’s your job to eat a frog today, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the big frog first.” Unpleasant tasks we procrastinate completing are “big frogs.” Complete these tasks as your first action of the day to get them out of the way. Another option is to “snowball” your tasks by breaking them down into smaller segments, completing preparatory tasks, and eventually completing the larger task at hand. Whether you choose the “big frog first” or “snowball” method, try building a reward system for completed tasks to help stay motivated.

9. Manage Time-Wasters
Reduce or eliminate time spent on these activities by implementing some simple tips.

Take advantage of voice-to-text features such as transcribed voicemails or to make notes or draft emails and text messages when you are on the go.
Avoid small talk. Stay focused.
Take any necessary action immediately following a call.
Impose screen time limits and regularly monitor your digital wellness.
Schedule breaks from your devices.
Set aside a specific time to view and respond to emails, but don’t let it accumulate to the point it becomes overwhelming to sort.
When someone comes to the door, stand up and have your meeting standing to help keep it brief.
Start and end the meeting on time.
Prepare an agenda and stick to it. Use a timed agenda, if necessary.
Don’t schedule meetings unless they are necessary and have a specific purpose or agenda.
Use recording software or designate a note-taker.

10. Avoid Multi-tasking
Psychological studies have shown that multitasking does not save time. In fact, the opposite is often true. You lose time when switching from one task to another, resulting in a loss of productivity (Rubinstein, Meyer, and Evans, 2001). Routine multi-tasking may lead to difficulty in concentrating and maintaining focus. Do your best to focus on just one task at a time by keeping your area clear of distractions, including turning off notifications on your devices, and setting aside dedicated time for specific tasks.

10. Stay Healthy
The care and attention you give yourself is an important investment of time. Scheduling time to relax or do nothing helps you rejuvenate physically and mentally, enabling you to accomplish tasks more quickly and easily. Unfortunately, poor time management and too much screen time can result in fatigue, moodiness, and more frequent illness. To reduce stress, reward yourself for time management successes. Take time to recognize that you have accomplished a major task or challenge before moving on to the next activity.

Organizational behavior is the study of human behavior in an organizational setting. This includes how individuals interact with each other in addition to how individuals interact with the organization itself. Organizational behavior is a critical part of human resources, though it is embedded across a company.

Organizational behavior is an especially important aspect to human resources. By better understanding how and why individuals perform in a certain way, organizations can better recruit, retain, and deploy workers to achieve its mission. The specific aspects of organizational behavior relating to HR are listed below.

1. Recruitment
Organizational behavior research is used to identify the skills, abilities, and traits that are essential for a job. This information is used to develop job descriptions, selection criteria, and assessment tools to help HR managers identify the best candidates for a position. This is especially true for roles that may have technical aspects but rely heavier on soft skills.

2. Training
Organizational behavior can be used to design and deliver training and development programs that enhance employees’ skills. These programs can focus on topics such as communication, leadership, teamwork, and diversity and inclusion. In addition, organizational behavior can be used to be better understand how each individual may uniquely approach a training, allowing for more customized approaches based on different styles

3. Performance Management
Organizational behavior is used to develop performance management systems that align employee goals with organizational objectives. These systems often include performance metrics, feedback mechanisms, and performance appraisal processes. By leveraging organizational behavior, a company can better understand how its personnel will work towards common goals and what can be achieved.

4. Employee Engagement
Organizational behavior is used to develop strategies to improve employee engagement and motivation. These strategies can include recognition and rewards programs, employee involvement initiatives, and career development opportunities. Due to the financial incentives of earning a paycheck, organizational behavior strives to go beyond incentivizing individuals with a paycheck and understanding ways to enhance the workplace with other interests.

5. Culture
Organizational behavior research is used to develop and maintain a positive organizational culture. This includes devising strategies that supports employee well-being, trust, and a shared vision for the future. As each individual may act in their own unique manner, it is up to organizational behavior to blend personalities, integrate backgrounds, and bring people together for a common cause.

Why Is Organizational Behavior Important?
Organizational behavior describes how people interact with one another inside of an organization, such as a business. These interactions subsequently influence how the organization itself behaves and how well it performs. For businesses, organizational behavior is used to streamline efficiency, improve productivity, and spark innovation to give firms a competitive edge.

The term “performance appraisal” refers to the regular review of an employee’s job performance and overall contribution to a company. Also known as an annual review, employee appraisal, performance review or evaluation, a performance appraisal evaluates an employee’s skills, achievements, and growth, or lack thereof.

Companies use performance appraisals to give employees big-picture feedback on their work and to justify pay increases and bonuses. They can be conducted at any given time but tend to be annual, semiannual, or quarterly.

The Purpose of Performance Appraisals?
Performance appraisals are usually designed by human resources (HR) departments as a way for employees to develop in their careers. They provide individuals with feedback on their job performance, ensuring that employees are managing and meeting the goals expected of them and giving them guidance on how to reach those goals if they fall short.

Performance appraisals also help employees and their managers create a plan for employee development through additional training and increased responsibilities, as well as to identify ways that the employee can improve and move forward in their career.

Types of Performance Appraisals

Most performance appraisals are top-down, meaning that supervisors evaluate their staff with no input from the subject. But there are other types:

Self-assessment: Individuals rate their job performance and behavior.

Peer assessment: An individual’s work group or co-workers rate their performance.

360-degree feedback assessment: Includes input from an individual, supervisor, and peers.

Negotiated appraisal: This newer trend utilizes a mediator and attempts to moderate the adversarial nature of performance evaluations by allowing the subject to present first. It also focuses on what the individual is doing right before any criticism is given. This structure tends to be useful during conflicts between subordinates and supervisors.

Some Criticisms of Performance Appraisals?

1. Performance appraisals are designed to motivate employees to reach and/or exceed their goals. But they do come with a lot of criticism.

2. Distrust of the appraisal can lead to issues between subordinates and supervisors or a situation in which employees merely tailor their input to please their employer.

3. Performance appraisals can lead to the adoption of unreasonable goals that demoralize workers or incentivize them to engage in unethical practices.

4. Some labor experts believe that the use of performance appraisals has led to lower use of merit- and performance-based compensation.

5. Performance appraisals may lead to unfair evaluations in which employees are judged not by their accomplishments but by their likability.

Benefits of a Performance Appraisal?

1. When executed correctly, performance appraisals can pay off significantly. Among other things, they are capable of boosting employee morale and engagement, clarifying expectations, helping to get the best out of staff, and incentivizing hard work and dedication.

2. It’s not just companies that benefit, either. Open lines of communication make it easier for employees to raise concerns, express themselves, find their right path, feel appreciated, and be rewarded when they do a good job.

1. Vision
First and foremost is vision. Whether communicated via a simple mission statement or a corporate manifesto, a company’s vision can be a powerful tool.

2. Values
Values, while a broad concept, can embody the thinking and perspectives necessary to achieve a company’s vision. They can serve as a beacon for behavior necessary to progress toward all manner of success. Examples of values include fairness, trustworthiness, integrity, performance excellence, teamwork, and a high-quality customer experience.

3. People
People come next, with companies employing and recruiting in a way that reflects and enhances their overall culture. Plus, people are the key to bringing corporate culture to life and obtaining the high-value performances that can lead to favorable business outcomes.

4. Narrative and Place
Lastly, narrative and place are perhaps the most modern characteristics of corporate culture. Having a powerful narrative or origin story.

5. Teamwork
Employees should be encouraged and trained to work together with camaraderie and trust toward common goals. The benefits of teamwork, such as problem-solving, the development of innovative ideas, and improved productivity, should be demonstrated to the workforce.

6. Training and Education
Companies should provide the means for employees to improve their skills and enhance their knowledge so that the vision and goals of the company can be more reliably reached. Training and education can also provide employees with a path to new opportunities within their companies. This can motivate individuals to learn and do more.

HOW TO DEVELOP A CORPORATE CULTURE

There is no single strategy for building a corporate culture because companies, industries, and people can be so different. However, the basic steps below may help you envision a corporate culture that spells success for your employees, clients, and company.

1. Define your company’s vision, values, and behaviors.

2. Gather feedback from employees about your company’s values, ideas, and work methods to improve the workplace environment and performance.

3. Use small discussion groups, surveys, or town hall-type meetings to engage your employees and give them a voice.

4. Establish methods, such as training at regular intervals, to communicate company values/behaviors and determine how well they are understood.

5. Employ high-quality internal communications to maintain consistent contact with employees about company goals, the working environment, and employees’ roles in the company’s success.

6. Establish guidelines that reinforce company values, e.g., a rule that employees should not be disturbed by work phone calls, emails, or texts during vacations or other types of time off.

7. Recognize employees in a positive and public manner as a reward for their contributions to corporate success.

8. Practice what you preach—ensure that management maintains a consistent behavioral approach to operations rather than cutting corners when convenient.

9. Be approachable so that all employees may address their concerns and feel connected/of value and foster teamwork rather than silos and isolation.

10. Set goals for diversity and inclusion; celebrate the differences among people as you encourage consistent behavior from all.

Corporate culture refers to the values, beliefs, and behaviors that determine how a company’s employees and management interact, perform, and handle business transactions.

A company’s culture will be reflected in its dress code, business hours, office setup, employee benefits, turnover, hiring decisions, treatment of employees and clients, client satisfaction, and every other aspect of operations.

IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE CULTURE

A carefully considered, corporate culture can elevate companies above their competitors and support long-lasting success. Such a culture can:
1. Provide for a positive workplace environment
2. Create an engaged, enthusiastic, and motivated workforce
3. Attract high-value employees
4. Reduce turnover
5. Drive and improve performance quality and productivity
6. Result in favorable business results
7. Underpin a company’s longevity
8. Strengthen return on investment (ROI)
9. Provide an implacable competitive advantage
10. Clarify for employees the goals of their positions, departments, and a company overall
11. Contribute to the diversification of the workforce

TYPES OF CORPORATE CULTURE

1. Clan Culture
Clan cultures are about teamwork and collaboration. In such a culture, those in management function as enthusiastic mentors who provide guidance to subordinates. Good relationships, encouragement, trust, and participation are key aspects.

2. Adhocracy Culture
Adhocracy culture creates an entrepreneurial workplace in which executives and employees function as innovators and risk-takers. In this flexible environment, agile thinking is nurtured. Employees are encouraged to pursue their aspirational ideas and take action to achieve results that can advance company goals.

3. Market Culture
Market culture is focused on meeting specific targets and bottom line goals. This culture creates a working environment that’s competitive and demanding. Management is most interested in business results. Employees are encouraged to work hard and “get the job done”.

4. Hierarchy Culture
A hierarchy culture is a traditional corporate culture that functions according to a company’s executive, management, and staff organizational structure. That is, it follows the chain of command from top down, where executives oversee employees and their work efforts to meet specific goals.

Performance management is a tool that helps managers monitor and evaluate employees’ work. The goal is to ensure that employees are performing efficiently throughout a particular period of time.

IT’S IMPORTANCE
1. Performance management is intended to help people perform to the best of their abilities in alignment with the organization’s goals.

2. It views individuals in the context of the broader workplace system and encourages their input in goal-setting.

3. Performance management focuses on accountability and transparency and fosters a clear understanding of expectations.

4. Rather than just annual performance reviews, performance management provides ongoing feedback to employees.

STEPS IN PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

1. Aligning employees’ activities with the company’s mission and goals: Each employee should understand how their job contributes to the company’s overall goals.

3. Creating measurable performance-based expectations: Employees should have the opportunity to give input into how success is measured.

4. Defining job-development plans: Employees should have a say in what types of new things they learn and how they can use that knowledge to the company’s benefit.

THE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT CYCLE

The performance management process or cycle is a series of five key steps. These steps are imperative, regardless of how often you review employee performance.

1. Planning
This stage entails setting employees’ goals and communicating these goals with them. While these goals should be disclosed in the job description to attract quality candidates, they should be communicated once again when the candidate becomes a new hire.

2. Monitoring
In this phase, managers are required to monitor the employees performance on the goal. This is where continuous performance management comes into the picture.

3. Developing
This phase includes using the data obtained during the monitoring phase to improve the performance of employees. It may require suggesting refresher courses, providing an assignment that helps them improve their knowledge and performance on the job, or altering the course of employee development to enhance performance or sustain excellence.

4. Rating
Each employees performance must be rated periodically and then at the time of the performance appraisal. Ratings are essential to identify the state of employee performance and implement changes accordingly. Both peers and managers can provide these ratings for 360-degree feedback.

5. Rewarding
Recognizing and rewarding good performance is essential to the performance management process, You can do this with a simple thank you, social recognition, or a full-scale employee rewards program that regularly recognizes and rewards excellent performance in the organization.

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