should all employees be treated the same

However, you can agree to norms of behavior that will allow people to carve out some space for their preference. A refreshed look at leadership from the desk of CEO and chief content officer Stephanie Mehta, This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. Market data provided byFactset. Again, this is why its important to understand your individual employees so you can apply the right approach. It will make you a better, more inclusive, and more thoughtful person--at work, and beyond. This kind of blanket management approach is, frankly, lazy. It's the difference between making a special accommodation, and a special deal. I have seen younger employees who needed my least supervision while others needed frequent couching and they are all smart. However, there are a few things you could try before making such a drastic change. There are times when you need to select one employee over another. Summary. The Personnel Today Awards Here are a few ideas to help: If you arent yet grasping this basic concept, you will struggle in your, This doesnt mean guessing what the entire group wants. For example, they might prefer to go through an online course on their own time or even read a book on the subject. Some employees need detailed instructions and direction, but others can simply be pointed in a direction and told the desired objective. When youre transparent with your team, everyone knows where they stand. From that point forward, receiving his feedback was a breeze for me--and for him--and over time, I was even able to ask him, "How do you like to receive feedback?" Since people have different needs, its important that HR works to understand these differences and accommodate people accordingly. Be considerate of your team members, but dont be a pushover; you know when youre being taken advantage of, the article says. Absolutely. I do my best to understand each individual and to go at least halfway to meet them, so that we can do productive work together, and so they feel that they truly can bring their whole self to work and be appreciated for their efforts and abilities. Maybe some like to hash it out in the here and now and others like to think it over. Complaints about favoritism arent uncommon when a group of people work together under one manager. - Quora. In these situations, to prevent misunderstandings, it may be helpful to explain to the employee why you are treating him differently. Try as we might, we cant get around that fact. In extreme cases, complaints about favoritism can result in lawsuits against you and your company. Employees should be treated as the consumers of work. Shell understand what motivates them and how they prefer to be rewarded for outstanding performance. You dont want this to cause confusion or bad feelings on the team, particularly if some employees work remotely and arent naturally in the loop based on proximity. Lastly, you could have an honest conversation with your supervisor, suggesting that the organization try harder to build a more inclusive culture in your organization. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The questions are submitted by readers, and Taylor's answers below have been edited for length and clarity. This means that laws, policies and programs should not be discriminatory, and also that public authorities should not apply or enforce laws, policies and programs in a discriminatory or arbitrary manner. The 4 Rules of Treating Employees Equitably #DynamicCommunication | Entrepreneur Leadership The 4 Rules of Treating Employees Equitably If you want to be a respected boss, a revered manager. I know it goes against everything were taught about HR. Why or why not? It also comes as . I have seen many people leaving their managers because they have given up on getting better opportunities or waiting for more senior peers to move out of the team to get better positions. You are teaching through your actions and modeling the behavior of 'fairness' in the workplace.". I want to keep it more professional. It allows you to allow everyone to be their best selves. Some need to be cajoled, some need to be inspired, some need to sleep on things, some prefer direct feedback all the time, and for some direct feedback all the time would be hugely uncomfortable. When you work with your employees on a personalized development plan, the company wins and the employee wins. If you cant credibly establish differentiating factors, different treatment will be hard to justify. If you treated all the people listed above identically, it would be no surprise if some of them left for a new opportunity. I really can conclude that regardless these companies and government rules and policies, I got a great training, great opportunities, and great managers. The EAT concluded that the employer had behaved reasonably in finding that punching a colleague was serious enough to amount to gross misconduct. Can an employer contribute different amounts toward employee medical For those who need detailed instructions, it might not be because they have little motivation or dont know what to do. Helping companies identify, select and develop talent. After the party, Mr Battersby sent the claimant a number of threatening and violent texts. So, to be frank, looking for a new job may likely be the answer for you. Its a staple of poor managers. Fair treatment involves ensuring that your employee's rights are being respected and that each employee is given individualized treatment. If an employee is dismissed but another employee, caught up in the same incident and who behaved in exactly the same way, was not dismissed, the tribunal may find the decision to dismiss the first employee unreasonable (and therefore unfair). It's Far More Useful to Treat Them Like Individuals. From sewers to llamas, a further decision on inconsistency of treatment was made in the case of Westlake v ZSL London Zoo. However, you will need to show that you have the requisite justification for doing so. For instance, off-site training may present logistical or family problems for some employees, so they resist it, or they know a day off from the job means they will work harder or even longer hours to recover from the office day they missed. A good manager will take the time to get to know her team members individual strengths and weaknesses. Treating everyone similarly can actually do us more harm than good and it actually causes a lot of the issues that people find most frustrating about HR. However, deciding whether disciplinary circumstances are truly parallel is far from straightforward and 2015 saw the issue explored in a glut of cases. I get where this is coming from. Consistently Apply Rules and Standards Set. In what manner do your employees like to receive comments and feedback? In both scenarios, the ability (or otherwise) to mete out different sanctions will need to be justified to avoid accusations of unfair treatment and potential employment tribunal claims. I believe these two classes should be treated as separate in terms of reasonable notice and its assessment.The reason for this is t . An article from Vikus suggests that you pay attention to what team members are doing and. Now turning to how you should go about doing this, recognize that firing an employee is always a difficult thing to do. Are they okay with a blunt style of feedback or do you require more explanation? There was ill feeling between the claimant and Ms Sanders and a fight broke out between them at the Christmas party. Further, when you treat different people the same, you are suppressing their unique ability to contribute in their own ways, and lose the diversity present in any workplace.. Consider asking a trusted individual -- but not one of your favorite people -- to tell you if others perceive your actions as favoritism. differently when determining if they should remain employed with the company for failure to perform their jobs satisfactorily. 3. In many cases, you do have to be fair in the way you treat your employees, but the reality is that each member of your staff is unique and you need to take that into account. Ms Sanders, however, was issued with a final written warning. Wealth is distributed fairly because of A) the low supply of people willing to . You may need to postpone a promotion because your business's current financial situation does not allow you to grant the promotion in the originally anticipated time frame. Employees should be treated equally when it comes to job performance. To combat this problem, be transparent about what youre doing and why. Your employees have different desires, performance levels, traits, work styles, goals, and motivations. His role involved carrying out annual inspections on floodgates used in sewers. 2. Mr Newbound had been employed by Thames Water for 34 years with an unblemished record. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 2023 ClearanceJobs - All rights reserved. Ive heard from many readers like you and Ive been in your place myself. Some people love face-to-face interaction while others are fine with short emails. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Policies that make perfect sense for people working in an office may be nonsensical for those working from home. The Way Your Employees Work Best What type of atmosphere do your employees thrive in? Despite what anyone says, there is absolutely no basis for treating employees in protected categories (whether it be race, ethnicity, gender, age, etc.) Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Attention, Managers: Do Not Treat All Your Employees the Same. Although Mr Andrews was the competent person in charge, he was relatively inexperienced and was given a written warning for misconduct. But consider the perspective of an employee whos highly focused on their career at this stage of their life. If we know our team members personal goals and ambitions, we can support them in helping them become a better version of themselves. Each employee should be empowered, like the customer, to select the working style that fits them. Its a real frat-house atmosphere, and as one of the only women in the office, Im not in the most comfortable situation. Treating everyone who works for you in the same manner is ready-made management, and thats not the best approach for your company. Second, the people who you treat fairly will respond in kind. In the employment context, differential treatment often means that an employer treats a group of employees differently from other groups because of specific characteristics that they are unable . Performance Review Tips For Managers: Dos and Don'ts | AMA By doing this your recommendation to terminate should not raise any red flags higher up. In contrast to MBNA, Newbound v Thames Water Utilities is a useful example of where disparity of treatment of two employees was referred to by the Court of Appeal as stark and unjustified. However, there is nothing wrong with paying attention to your employees favorites to accommodate it when you can. All the people in a company should be treated equally and provided with the same number of holidays in a year or people doing different jobs enjoy different amounts of holiday time. They'll stick around, be ambassadors for your company, and genuinely enjoy working for you. These are important--don't get me wrong--but once you're over these fundamental hurdles, treating everyone the same won't get you very far as a manager (or in life). Example - Justifying Inconsistent Treatment | U.S. Equal Employment Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday. That will work for many employees, but sometimes the more direct, harsher approach is the only way you will get change from that employee. You dont want this to cause confusion or bad feelings on the team, particularly if some employees work remotely and arent naturally in the loop based on proximity. This will help you build a foundation and a sense of caring (Yes, managers can care.) But by taking these steps, you can move forward with confidence knowing you took the proper precautions. Your name and email will always be kept private, and you can always unsubscribe at anytime! I've been asked the question many times: Is treating all employees the same the best way to lead your team? We keep hearing about discrimination complaints at work that are not based on origin, religion, ethnicity and all the things listed by government or company rules. When Employee Engagement Turns Into Employee Burnout. . How to apply a one-size-fits-one approach while maintaining a level playing field level in your organization. Do I qualify? We built a foundation of trust that has been the cornerstone of our relationship to this day. This problem has been solved! The job market in the United States is ruled by supply and demand, which work together to ensure a fair system where workers doing difficult, vital and unpleasant work are paid the most. And rather than treating every one of them exactly the same, it works much, much better to adapt to the people you work with. Reaching out can be done with one-on-onemeetings, drop-in chats, or employee surveyswhatever works best for you. Where the circumstances appear, on the face it, to be truly parallel, this justification will be closely scrutinised by a tribunal so make sure that reasons for the difference in treatment are clearly documented. An employer is required under Title VII to treat an employee temporarily unable to perform the functions of her job because of her pregnancy-related condition in the same manner as it treats other employees similar in their ability or inability to work, whether by providing modified tasks, alternative assignments, or fringe benefits such as . But I believe HR really shouldnt treat everyone exactly the same. If you arent just as accommodating to your other employees, they may feel that your friend can do no wrong in your eyes. According to an article from the Leadership Resource Center, this is the first hurdle you must overcome. If one employee has worked for 20 years with an exemplary disciplinary record, while another has only been employed for three years and has received a previous warning, this might enable you to apply different sanctions (although this may be more difficult if both are accused of gross misconduct). If you can agree to a style, feedback wont become nagging. But did that make their decisions fair to all of the members of their teams? When you reject their individuality, you suppress the strengths of their contributions. While in some cases your organizations requirements dictate those goals or objectives, with most employees there are numerous additional requirements that could be set collaboratively. Suggests additional skills that employees might wish to attain that could benefit them and the organization. The result isyoull know more about your employees and be better able to motivate and inspire them.. Jun 27, 2019 Violate this, and you risk alienating followers. Everyone. Legal Statement. No employee wants to feel like a plug and play human being some interchangeable employee. If you can find the right balance between accommodating individual preferences and maintaining workplace unity, your employees will not only feel recognized and valued, but they'll have the space and agency to engage more closely and thoughtfully with their work. A manager has got to remember that he is on stage everyday. Here are some steps you can take to ensure fairness without treating everyone exactly the same. document.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); About us If an employee is dismissed but another employee, caught up in the same incident and who behaved in exactly the same way, was not dismissed, the tribunal may find the decision to dismiss the first employee unreasonable (and therefore unfair). This is where the "danger" of treating people the same comes in. One team member might be eager to learn new skills and grow with lunch-and-learns. So what can you do? And the best way to ensure fairness is to treat them all exactly the same, right? Meta has launched Threads, a new text-based app to rival Twitter. The other objection I often get to this approach is that it must require me to be a chameleon. Imagine a company that encourages employees to take more time off and work fewer hours in the interest of work-life balance. 3. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. Employers need to tread carefully in situations where disparity of treatment arises. Why You Should Treat Your Employees Like Customers | Salesforce Why HR Should Not Treat Everyone The Same - Forbes It is strictly performance-related, but Im nervous about the potential repercussions. How many teams you have seen with most senior staff (or people with most experience) being the most valuable in everything? Every time I decide to make an accommodation for an employee that is special in any way, I ask myself, would a reasonable person agree with me that this is the right thing to do? Natalie Jeffries, an associate from Burges Salmon, looks at the lessons from key cases where employees in an organisation were dealt with differently for the same types of misconduct. Find your nearest EEOC office Despite your best efforts, it may still appear that you are favoring an employee or group of employees. Johnny C. Taylor Jr., a human resources expert, is tackling your questions as part of a series for USA TODAY. Non-discrimination is an integral part of the principle of equality. Even more important is that different people learn better with different techniques. Instead, it means connecting with each individual on your team. Applying Hadjioannou, it found the facts did not involve truly parallel circumstances. If you push them to limit themselves to 40 hours a week, they might get frustrated and choose to work somewhere else. Michel Theriault is an author, speaker, and consultant focusing on topics relevant to Managers and aspiring Managers in businesses of all sizes who want to get results, get attention, and get ahead. While there are certainly benefits and drawbacks to the various techniques for learning and you need to make it work for your requirements, taking into account how each employee learns and trying to adapt the development and training program to those needs will go a long way. Get to know the people you work with as people, rather than treating them like machines. Discrimination: Left out of the loop due to gender? ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. 10 Web Sites Where You Should Have Your Company Profile Listed, 25 Frequently Asked Questions on Starting a Business, The 10 Most Creative New Business Ideas Out There. Strive to learn more about your team members as individuals. In a sense, it's like listening to the radio--there are many radio stations on the dial, each with their own frequencies. Avoid offering special treatment to friends who work in your department. It is your ability to manage the needs of individual employees while providing them with a unique career development path that leaves your team feeling valued. 1-800-669-6820 (TTY) 29 CFR Appendix to Part 1604 - LII / Legal Information Institute Her website is www.YourBestLifeTodayCoaching.Com . Submit it here. To better understand this, think about a time in your career when your boss instituted a rule change that affected everyone on your team to fix a problem caused by just one person.
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