The Top Mistakes That Managers Make

03/05/07

"You have a nice accent. Where are you from?"
Sounds like an innocent enough question, right? But even seemingly harmless small talk like this could lead to trouble for managers. Thankfully, you can keep your company on a smooth course by understanding and avoiding most common managerial mistakes, such as:

"Hey, he's the one who decided to work on this project after hours. How do I owe him overtime?"
When a nonexempt employee chooses to work voluntarily off the clock, on lunch breaks or at home, you must pay that employee overtime. You can discipline or terminate the employee for taking unauthorized overtime, but you still must pay the overtime.

"An absence is an absence. What difference does it make?"
Plenty. If you don't distinguish between different types of absences, you may violate state or federal laws. For example, absences covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act cannot be counted against an employee's performance in an evaluation. Disciplining a disabled employee for absences falling under the Americans with Disabilities Act can be grounds for a discrimination suit. Also, preventing employees from taking personal time for religious reasons could result in discrimination litigation.

"You didn't do anything wrong. We have to let you go for budget reasons."
Yes, disciplinary actions or terminations can be uncomfortable. Nevertheless, if you sugarcoat your actions with kind words or don't give the employee truthful and legitimate reasons for the decision, you may be inviting legal trouble.

"If I tell you about a case of harassment going on, can we just keep it between us?"
As a manager, you must report every complaint of sexual harassment so that it can be properly investigated. Even if the person telling you isn't directly involved, or tells you in confidence.

"Why can't everybody just speak English?"
Unless it is for safety reasons or customer service situations, you cannot require employees to speak only English at work.

_________________________________________________

Do you need answers fast?
G.Neil’s exclusive, informative Fast Answers For People Managers provide quick and easy solutions for people managers. These eye-catching management training guidebooks provide important facts and helpful tips on a variety of subjects, including employment law, performance appraisals, sexual harassment, discipline, hiring, firing and more.

And how do you know if your candidates are management material before you hire them? With G.Neil's Supervisory Skills Inventory, you can get an excellent sense of an individual's management potential by the way it rates key supervisory behavior.

12 Mistakes Managers Commonly Make Video Training Program