April is fast approaching!!!  Please keep going through your personnel files and preparing them for UniPrint to collect and scan.

Did you know 90% of communication is nonverbal!?  Think about a debate, such as during the election.  You may mute the television and you will be able to tell who won and who lost based on the body language of the candidates.

Remember people are watching your body language.  When talking to an employee, they will notice everything about you, if you cross your arms, if you smile, or if you yawn, they will draw a conclusion on who you are from your nonverbal communication.

Subtle smiles are important.  A subtle (and possibly practiced) smile looks friendlier and shows more confidence than your natural expression.  This may help establish rapport with the employee.

Remember, standing straight and using good posture reflect confidence.  Eye contact communicates that you are truthful.  However, a hand over your mouth while talking may suggest you are lying.

Be nice to everyone, kindness makes the world a better place.  If you anticipate that the conversation may result in the employee crying, have tissues available and ask if the employee needs a break from the conversation, but it is important to continue the conversation until its necessary conclusion.

Advocacy, December 2016, “Your Body Language during Trial can be just as important as what You Say” Allison Leotta

President Trump has named Victoria Lipnic as the Acting Chair of EEOC.  Victoria is an American attorney and has been a Commissioner of the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) since 2010.  Prior to her appointment as Commissioner of the U. S. EEOC, she served as the U. S. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment Standards from 2002 – 2009.

SHRM.org “Trump Names Victoria Lipnic Acting Chair of EEOC”, January 26, 2017, Allen Smith

Encourage the employee to be prepared; don’t hide what the meeting is about.  Suggest the employee complete a self-evaluation prior to the meeting.  This will help the employee share what has happened since the last performance discussion.

Empower employees to think about and discuss opportunities for development.   When discussing the development opportunities be sure they are work related and tie the learning objectives to performance objectives.

Request the employee share his/her material (e.g. self-evaluation, significant accomplishments, etc.) in advance.  This will allow the opportunity for the information to be reviewed and allow the supervisor to be more prepared for the conversation.

“3 Tips to Help Employees Prepare for Conversations About Their Performance”, January 10, 2017, Anita Bowens