Personnel Records (Personnel Files)

Various Perspectives on Personnel Records (Personnel Files)

• Record keeping requirements/laws
• What to Keep in Employee Personnel Files
• What’s in an Employee Personnel File?
• Is Your Personnel Files?

Legal Implications of E-mail Records

• Developing a Policy for Managing Email
• Managing E-mail as Records – Industry Analysts
• Corporate, Legal Implications of E-Mail Management a Serious Issue

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Personnel Records

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Personnel Records. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

Library’s Human Resources Blog

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For the Category of Human Resources:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Personnel Policies

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Note that matters of employee law and regulations apply the same to for-profit and nonprofit organizations.

Sections of This Topic Include

• About Personnel Policies
• Sample List of Personnel Policies
• Training on Policies
• Various Perspectives on Personnel Policies

Also consider
Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blog Related to Personnel Policies

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Personnel Policies. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

Library’s Human Resources Blog

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About Personnel Policies

Role of Personnel Policies

There are numerous laws and regulations which regulate the nature of the relationship between an employee (and volunteer, in the case of nonprofits) and his or her organization. They are intended primarily to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equitably regardless of their race, creed, color or sexual orientation. They are intended to ensure that the treatment of employees and volunteers is based primarily on their job performance. Common types of activities guided by the laws and regulations are, for example, hiring and firing, benefits and compensation, affirmative action, rights of privacy, discrimination and harassment, and wrongful termination.

One of the fastest growing types of lawsuits brought by employees against their organizations is wrongful termination of employment. Other common types of lawsuits are in regard to allegations of discrimination and harassment. It is far better for organizations first to ensure that these types of improper types of behaviors do not occur, than to have to defend themselves in courts of law. The best way to ensure occurrence of proper behaviors is to enact comprehensive guidelines regarding how employees and volunteers are treated in the workplace. These general guidelines are called personnel policies. Specific sequences of activities resulting from the guidelines are often called procedures.

Note the difference between operational policies and personnel policies. Operational policies are to guide how employees conduct the activities of the organization, ranging from how a client joins a program to making sure the coffee maker is unplugged at the end of the day. Operational policies are not about the nature of the relationship between the employee or volunteer and the organization.

Developing Personnel Policies

Each organization should carefully consider what policies it requires and how they should be worded. When developing policies, always consult an expert who is very knowledgeable about federal, state/provincial and local laws regarding employment practices. For example, in the USA, consider the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992, and Occupational Safety and Health Acts. In Canada, some major employment laws are Employment Insurance Act, Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security Act, Canada Labour Code, etc. Personnel policies might also be governed by union rules or other contractual agreements.

Many organizations develop their policies first by closely reviewing policies of organizations with similar programs and services. While that practice is a good start, you still should have an authority on employment practices review your policies. Finally, in the case of corporations, the Board should formally approve the policies and the approval should be documented in Board meeting minutes.

Sample List of Personnel Policies

The following is a sample list of policies. Consider the following list to get an impression of some of the major policies in an organization. This list is by no means definitive for every organization. The policies developed by an one organization depend on the nature and needs of the organization.

Work Schedule

Work day hours
Lunch periods
Holidays
Vacation
Sick Time
Personal Leave
Leave of Absence
Severe Weather
Jury Duty

Hiring Procedures

Americans With Disabilities Act
Interviewing job candidates
Checking references
Offering employment

New Employee and Internal Orientation

New employee orientation — general information
Agency-wide new employee orientation
Intern orientation
New employee and internal orientation checklist

Compensation

Paydays
Overtime and compensation time
Classifying employees as exempt or non-exempt
Salary ranges
Positioning pay within a salary range
Maintaining competitive salary information
Reclassifying positions
Salary review policy
Promotional increases
Withholding salary increase due to performance
Withholding salary increase due to leave of absence

Payroll Information & Timekeeping Procedures

Payroll information — General
Payroll information — Direct deposit procedures
Payroll information — Required and voluntary payroll deductions
Timekeeping — General discussion of non-exempt and exempt employee classifications

Supervisor’s signature

Benefits

Eligibility and general information
Types of available benefits
Medical insurance
Dental insurance
Disability insurance
Supervisory communication
Life insurance
Confidentiality note
Retirement plan
Social security
Employee advisory resource

Workers’ Compensation Information and Procedures

When there is an injury or accident on the job
What is covered under Workers’ Compensation
Type of injury covered by Worker’s Compensation Insurance
Medical expenses resulting from a work-related injury
Resources available

Performance Assessment Procedures

Performance assessment cycle
Performance assessment process
Dealing with performance issues
Discipline: when the positive approach does not work
Separation from employment checklist
Communications by the supervisor regarding personnel issues
COBRA (Consolidated Budget Reconciliation Act)
Leave-taking procedures

Financial Management

Budget management
Capital expenditures
Supervisor’s responsibilities in maintaining the budget
Operating management
Financial reporting

Supplementary Information

Discrimination or sexual harassment complaints
Complaints regarding programs or staff

Data Practices

Policy
Procedures
Definitions
Security of Records
External releases
Internal releases
Use of data
Legal procedures
Destruction of records
Staff access

Training on Policies

If employees’ or volunteers’ (in the case of nonprofits) behaviors do not conform to the written personnel policies for your organization, and if an employee or volunteer sues your organization, then courts will consider your written policies to be superseded (or replaced) by your employees’ or volunteers’ actual behaviors that you appeared to be permitting to occur.

For example, if policies specified that employees should not discriminate on the basis of race, creed or color, yet there was a history of your employees clearly discriminating against other employees on that basis, then courts will conclude that your policies are to permit discrimination. Therefore, it is critical that employees and volunteers have clear understanding of each personnel policy and that their behaviors conform to those policies. The best way to accomplish that understanding if for employees and volunteers to be trained on the policies and for their supervisors to always be sure that policies are followed. Training about policies can be carried out by ensuring that:

• All employees and volunteers receive an orientation that includes overview of the policies and procedures.
• All employees and volunteers sign a document that indicates that they have reviewed the policies and will act in accordance with them.
• Supervisors regularly issue reminders to employees and volunteers about key policies.
• All supervisors themselves act in accordance with the policies.
• Any violation of terms of the policies is immediately addressed with reprimand or termination of the employee or volunteer, depending on the nature of the violation.

Various Perspectives on Personnel Policies

• Sample List of Personnel Policies
• Sample policy and procedure layout template
• Human Resource Policy Directory

• Example Personnel Policies
• More policies and procedures
• Policies and Procedures

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For the Category of Human Resources:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Personnel Policies, Employee Handbooks and Personnel Records

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Adapted from the Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business
and Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision for Nonprofit Staff
.

Sections of This Topic Include

Policies
Employee Manuals / Handbooks
Personnel Records

Learn More in the Library’s Blog Related to Personnel Policies, Handbooks
and Records

See the following blog which has posts related to this topic. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

Library’s Human Resources Blog

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For the Category of Human Resources:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Related Library Topics

Recommended Books

Personnel Policy Manuals (Employee Handbooks)

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Adapted from the Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business and Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision for Nonprofit Staff

Sections of This Topic Include

• Purpose of Employee Handbooks
• The Employee Handbook- Is There an Update Needed?
• Various Perspectives on Employee Manuals (Employee Handbooks)

Also consider
Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blog Related to Employee Handbooks

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blog that has posts related to Employee Handbooks. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

• Library’s Human Resources Blog

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Purpose of Employee Handbooks

Document all intended employment policies and procedures and collect them in a policies and procedures manual. (See Personnel Policies.) Having all policies and procedures in a manual facilitates training about them to all employees. All employees should have read the manual to understand and accept its contents. They should sign a form indicating so, and provide the signed form to the organization’s administrator.

All supervisors should be trained about the policies and procedures. A large number of suits brought against organizations is because, although the organizations had clear policies, supervisors did not enact the policies because they did not understand them. Note that courts may consider policies and procedures as superseded by the actual behaviors displayed by supervisors.

The Board of Directors (in the case of corporations) should authorize all policies in the manual and every employee should receive a copy of the manual.

Each policy should include wording to the effect that the policies are for general guidance in the relationships between staff and the agency, the board has authorized the policy, that policies can be changed at any time and that the policies do not constitute a contract between the organization and the employee. Consider the following wording on the cover of your policies manual:

“Nothing contained in or implied by this manual creates or shall be deemed to create or constitute a contractual obligation to employees on the part (of the organization). The policies, procedures and guidelines contained in this manual are subject to change at any time, do not confer any obligation (on the part of the organization) and do not create any right to employment on the part (of the organization).”

The Employee Handbook- Is There an Update Needed?

© Copyright Sheri Mazurek

So what do you say when an employee asks, “What’s the policy regarding [insert any random employee concern here]? If the answer starts with, “Well, the handbook says […], but we usually we just do it this way. Then you may be in trouble. Or, have you ever given the answer that you believed to be correct just to have the employee state, “well, the handbook says I am entitled to […].” And as soon as it is out of their mouth, you say, “well, that is not how we do things.” Or, instead of saying a word, you pull out the handbook and frantically search to find the source of their comment certain that you are going to prove them wrong. If any of the above scenarios sound familiar to you, your handbook or your handbook compliance may need a tune-up.

Having an accurate, up to date handbook has many advantages in the workplace. It provides employees and supervisors with guidance on how to handle situations as they arise. However, compliance with the policies contained within consistently across the organization can be even more important to mitigate risk to the organization. And while mitigation of risk shouldn’t be the only priority of HR professionals, it is a necessary part of the job. And even if you are not concerned with risk mitigation, just having the consistent compliance with policies provides a better workplace for employees. They like knowing what is expected and what consequences will occur for not meeting those expectations.

Below is a list of things to consider when creating, updating and communicating your employee handbook or Standard Operating Procedures.

• Have it reviewed by an attorney.
• Review it at regular intervals to ensure policies are current and up to date.
• Have a plan in place to address updates to policies. How will the updates be communicated to the organization?
• Ensure the communication of all policies to everyone in the organization.
• Provide training to supervisors and company leaders on the importance of consistently following all policies.
• Keep a log of all updates and changes to all policies. Don’t lock yourself into consequences you don’t want to enforce. Doing so, will encourage non-compliance and get you into trouble.

Additional Perspectives on Employee Handbooks

• Basics of Employee Handbooks
• Employee Manuals as Contracts
• How to Assemble an Employee Handbook
• The World’s Best Employee Manual
• The Employee Handbook- Is There an Update Needed?
• Staff Handbook Employee Handbook – Free Template
• Tools For Creating An Employee Handbook

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For the Category of Human Resources:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

How to Manage Your Stress and Time Even Better

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC

One of the most frequent concerns and complaints of people today is that they don’t have enough time to do what they — or especially their bosses — want them to do. Consequently, there are many resources with guidelines and tips to manage time more effectively. Time management and stress management often are closely related and discussed together.

Sections of This Topic Include

• Test – How Well Are Your Stress and Time Management Now?
• Myths About Stress and Time Management
• Major Causes of Workplace Stress
• Biggest Time Wasters
• Common Symptoms of Poor Stress and Time Management
• Wise Principles of Good Stress and Time Management
• Simple Techniques to Manage Stress
• Simple Techniques to Manage Time
• Role of “Gumption”
• Additional Resources About Time Management
• Additional Resources About Stress Management

Also consider
Related Library Topics

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Test – How Well Are Your Stress and Time Management
Now?

Before you read more about stress management, it might be interesting to see what your stress level is now. Take this short test.

Test Your Stress

What about how you manage your time now?

Time Management Quiz

So what do you want to do to manage your stress and time even better? Consider the many guidelines in this topic.

Myths About Stress and Time Management

Myth #1: All stress is bad. No, there’s good and bad stress. Good stress is excitement, thrills, etc. The goal is to recognize personal signs of bad stress and deal with them.

Myth #2: Planning my time just takes more time. Actually, research shows the opposite.

Myth #3: I get more done in more time when I wisely use caffeine, sugar, alcohol or nicotine. Wrong! Research shows that the body always has to “come down” and when it does, you can’t always be very effective then after the boost.

Myth #4: A time management problem means that there’s not enough time to get done what needs to get done. No, a time management problem is not using your time to your fullest advantage, to get done what you want done.

Myth #5: The busier I am, the better I’m using my time. Look out! You may only be doing what’s urgent, and not what’s important.

Myth #6: I feel very harried, busy, so I must have a time management problem. Not necessarily. You should verify that you have a time management problem. This requires knowing what you really want to get done and if it is getting done or not.

Myth #7: I feel OK, so I must not be stressed. In reality, many adults don’t even know when they’re really stressed out until their bodies tell them so. They miss the early warning signs from their body, for example, headaches, still backs, twitches, etc.

Major Causes of Workplace Stress

1. Not knowing what you want or if you’re getting it – poor planning.
2. The feeling that there’s too much to do. One can have this feeling even if there’s hardly anything to do at all.
3. Not enjoying your job. This can be caused by lots of things, for example, not knowing what you want, not eating well, etc. However, most people always blame their jobs.
4. Conflicting demands on the job.
5. Insufficient resources to do the job.6. Not feeling appreciated.

Biggest Time Wasters

1. Interruptions. There will always be interruptions. It’s how they’re handled that wastes time.
2. Hopelessness. People “give in”, “numb out” and “march through the day”.
3. Poor delegation skills. This involves not sharing work with others.

Common Symptoms of Poor Stress and Time Management

1. Irritability. Fellow workers notice this first.
2. Fatigue. How many adults even notice this?
3. Difficulty concentrating. You often don’t need to just to get through the day!
4. Forgetfulness. You can’t remember what you did all day, what you ate yesterday.
5. Loss of sleep. This affects everything else!
6. Physical disorders, for example, headaches, rashes, tics, cramps, etc.
7. At worst, withdrawal and depression.

Wise Principles of Good Stress and Time Management

1. Learn your signs for being overstressed or having a time management problem. Ask your friends about you. Perhaps they can tell you what they see from you when you’re overstressed.
2. Most people feel that they are stressed and/or have a time management problem. Verify that you really have a problem. What do you see, hear or feel that leads you to conclude that you have a time or stress problem?
3. Don’t have the illusion that doing more will make you happier. Is it quantity of time that you want, or quality?
4. Stress and time management problems have many causes and usually require more than one technique to fix. You don’t need a lot of techniques, usually more than one, but not a lot.
5. One of the major benefits of doing time planning is feeling that you’re in control.
6. Focus on results, not on busyness.
7. It’s the trying that counts – at least as much as doing the perfect technique.

Simple Techniques to Manage Stress

There are lots of things people can do to cut down on stress. Most people probably even know what they could do. It’s not the lack of knowing what to do in order to cut down stress; it is doing what you know you have to do. The following techniques are geared to help you do what you know you have to do.

1. Talk to someone. You don’t have to fix the problem, just report it.
2. Notice if any of the muscles in your body are tense. Just noticing that will often relax the muscle.
3. Ask your boss if you’re doing OK. This simple question can make a lot of difference and verify wrong impressions.
4. Delegate.
5. If you take on a technique to manage stress, tell someone else. They can help you be accountable to them and yourself.
6. Cut down on caffeine and sweets. Take a walk instead. Tell someone that you’re going to do that.
7. Use basic techniques of planning, problem solving and decision making.
8. Concise guidelines are included in this guidebook. Tell someone that you’re going to use these techniques.
9. Monitor the number of hours that you work in a week. Tell your boss, family and/or friends how many hours that you are working.
10. Write weekly status reports. Include what you’ve accomplished last week and plan to do next week. Include any current issues or recommendations that you must report to your boss. Give the written status report to your boss on a weekly basis.
11. “Wash the dishes”. Do something you can feel good about.

Simple Techniques to Manage Time

There never seems to be enough time in the roles of management and supervision. Therefore, the goal of time management should not be to find more time. The goal is set a reasonable amount of time to spend on these roles and then use that time wisely.

1. Start with the simple techniques of stress management above. Managing time takes practice. Practice asking yourself this question throughout the day: “Is this what I want or need to be doing right now?” If yes, then keep doing it.
2. Find some way to realistically and practically analyze your time. Logging your time for a week in 15-minute intervals is not that hard and does not take up that much time. Do it for a week and review your results.
3. Do a “todo” list for your day. Do it at the end of the previous day. Mark items as “A” and “B” in priority. Set aside two hours right away each day to do the important “A” items and then do the “B” items in the afternoon. Let your answering machine take your calls during your “A” time.
4. At the end of your day, spend five minutes cleaning up your space. Use this time, too, to organize your space, including your desktop. That’ll give you a clean start for the next day.
5. Learn the difference between “Where can I help?” and “Where am I really needed?” Experienced leaders learn that the last question is much more important than the former.
6. Learn the difference between “Do I need to do this now?” and “Do I need to do this at all?” Experienced leaders learn how to quickly answer this question when faced with a new task.
7. Delegate. Delegation shows up as a frequent suggestion in this guide because it is one of the most important skills for a leader to have. Effective delegation will free up a great deal of time for you.
8. If you are CEO in a corporation, then ask your Board for help. They are responsible to supervise you, as a CEO. Although the Board should not be micro-managing you, that is, involved in the day-to-day activities of the corporation, they still might have some ideas to help you with your time management. Remember, too, that good time management comes from good planning, and the Board is responsible to oversee development of major plans. Thus, the Board may be able to help you by doing a better themselves in their responsibilities as planners for the organization.
9. Use a “Do Not Disturb” sign! During the early part of the day, when you’re attending to your important items (your “A” list), hang this sign on the doorknob outside your door.
10. Sort your mail into categories including “read now”, “handle now” and “read later”. You’ll quickly get a knack for sorting through your mail. You’ll also notice that much of what you think you need to read later wasn’t really all that important anyway.
11. Read your mail at the same time each day. That way, you’ll likely get to your mail on a regular basis and won’t become distracted into any certain piece of mail that ends up taking too much of your time.
12. Have a place for everything and put everything in its place. That way, you’ll know where to find it when you need it. Another important outcome is that your people will see that you are somewhat organized, rather than out of control.
13. Best suggestion for saving time – schedule 10 minutes to do nothing. That time can be used to just sit and clear your mind. You’ll end up thinking more clearly, resulting in more time in your day. The best outcome of this practice is that it reminds you that you’re not a slave to a clock – and that if you take 10 minutes out of your day, you and your organization won’t fall apart.
14. Learn good meeting management skills. Meetings can become a terrible waste of time. Guidelines for good meeting management are included later in this section.

Role of “Gumption”

Everything good usually starts with gumption. It’s picking yourself up, deciding that you could be happier, that you want to be happier – and then doing one small thing to get you started and keep you going. Boredom and blaming are the opposite of gumption. Stress and time management start with gumption. It’s the trying that counts. Poor time and stress management often comes from doing the same thing harder, rather than smarter.

Additional Resources About Time Management

Recommended Articles

• Big Dog on Time Management
• Better Time Management Is Not the Answer
• Triple Your Personal Productivity

Additional Articles

• Basics of Time and Stress Management
• Time Management Central – tools, tips and reviews to save you time
• Time Management – Psychological Self-Hel
• Time Management for Leaders
• Planning Tips
• Time Management Activities
• What’s Your Biggest Time Drain?
• Definition of Time Management
• Balance Your Work and Play Ethics
• Are You In Control of or Controlled By Technology?
• Procrastination Definition
• Coaching Tip — Manage Time Urgency
• A 90-Minute Plan for Personal Effectiveness
• How Self-Tracking Can Benefit Business
• Time Management With Eagles, Robins, Turkeys
• Don’t Just Manage Your Time, Improve Your Productivity
• Priority Management: Focus on the Big Rocks
• Priority Management: Keep the Main Things the Main Thing
• Multitasking Yourself to Mediocrity?
• The “Do Nothing” Method of Productivity
• Great Reads This Week in HR
• Better Time Management Is Not the Answer

Additional Resources About Stress Management

• Controlling Heightened Stress in the Workplace
• Be Less Busy
• Executive Stress: We Have Been on the Case
• Stress, Anxiety, Fears, and Psychosomatic Disorders
• Your brain on stress
• Preventing Unnecessary Compensable Stress Claims
• Reduce Stress by Increasing the Feedback
• Executives Under Stress During Stressful Times Need Executive Stress Solutions
• Maintaining Personal Values At Work
• Manage Holiday Stress
• 21 Ways to Shrink the Email Monster
• Are Your Most Talented People Losing Their Minds?
• Make Stress Work for You
• Stress Management in the Workplace
• Be Perfect or Be Your Best
• Manage Job Stress
• Manage Work Stress Before It Manages You!
• 10 Job Stress Tips
• The Inspiration of Stress
• Work Stress Getting You Down: Here’s How To Get Back Up!

Stress Tests

• Stress Self-Evaluation
• Stress Level Test

Also consider

• Critical Thinking
• Innovation
• Creative Thinking
• Decision Making
• Organizing Yourself
• Personal Development
• Personal Wellness
• Problem Solving
• Time Management

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Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Time Management and Stress Management

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Time Management and Stress Management. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

• Library’s Career Management Blog
• Library’s Coaching Blog
• Library’s Human Resources Blog
• Library’s Spirituality Blog

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For the Category of Personal Productivity:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Reframing for Problem Solving (To See Things Differently)

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.

What is Reframing? How Is It Useful?

Reframing is seeing the current situation from a different perspective, which can be tremendously helpful in solving problems, making decision and learning. When people get stuck in a recurring issue, for example in a complex situation or in solving a complex problem, it is rarely because they are missing a certain step-by-step procedure to fix things. Instead, it is often because they are stuck in how they see situation.

For example, a person might be working hard to find a good time management course, because he has signed up for many courses but they rarely seem to improve how he spends his time. If, instead, he closely examines the causes of his time-management problem, he might find that the real problem is that he is never implementing any of the suggestions made during those courses. He has reframed what the solution to his problem really is.

The aim of reframing is also to shift one’s perspective to be more empowered to act – and hopefully to learn at the same time. Also, many times, merely reframing one’s perspective on a situation can also help people change how they feel about the situation, as well. Many fields regularly use reframing, including therapy, coaching and even marketing and sales. Techniques of reframing can also be used to cultivate creative and critical thinking skills.

When working to reframe perspective on a situation, consider the following basic guidelines. Keep in mind that, even though the following examples are about another person’s comments, you can use the guidelines to shift your own perspectives, as well.

Shift from passive to active voice

For example, if the other person said, “I just can’t seem to get past this,” you might respond, “What is one small step you might take?”

Shift from negative feeling to positive feeling

For example, if the other person said, “I don’t want to work on that now because it makes me feel sad,” you might respond, “What small part of that might you work on for now, that might even leave you feeling a bit more happy?”

Shift from past to future voice

For example, if the other person said, “I’ve never been good at public speaking,” you might respond, “If you imagined yourself to be successful at public speaking, how would you be speaking that would be successful?”

Shift from future to past voice

For example, if the other person said, “I can’t seem to get started on achieving this goal,” you might respond, “Has there been a time in the past when you achieved a goal and, if so, what did you do back then to be successful? How might you use that approach now?”

Shift from focusing on others to oneself

For example, if the other person said, “They don’t seem to like me,” you might respond, “What do you like about yourself?”

Shift from a liability mindset to an asset

For example, if the other person said, “I’m such a perfectionist,” you might respond, “How might being a perfectionist help in your job and life, though?”

Shift from victimization viewpoint to empowerment

For example, if the other person said, “That always seems to happen to me,” you might respond, “Sometimes we even do that to ourselves. Perhaps it’d be useful to explore if you’re somehow doing that to yourself, too?”

Additional Perspectives on Reframing

• Reframing
• Reframing The Reframing Matrix
• Cognitive Reframing Techniques that Work
• Six-Step Reframing
• Why Reframing Works for Stress Management
• Reframing for Mediation
• Leading Through Adversity: Reframing Tips and Techniques
• Chronic Illness: Stress, Suffering and Psychological Reframing
• Reframing
• Basic Guidelines to Reframing — to Seeing Things Differently

Also consider

• Concentration
• Creative Thinking
• Critical Thinking
• Mindfulness
• Mindsets
  
• Reframing
  
• Systems Thinking
• Strategic Thinking

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to This Topic

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to this topic. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the
sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

• Library’s Career Management Blog
• Library’s Coaching Blog
• Library’s Human Resources Blog
• Library’s Spirituality Blog

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For the Category of Innovation:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Problem Solving and Decision Making (Solving Problems and Making Decisions)

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.

Sections of This Topic Include

• Test – What is Your Personal Decision-Making Style?
• Guidelines to Rational Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Rational Versus Organic Approach to Problem Solving and Decision Making
• General Guidelines to Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Various Methods and Tools for Problem Solving and Decision Making
• General Resources for Problem Solving and Decision Making

Also consider

• Related Library Topics
• (Also see the closely related topics Decision Making, Group-Based Problem Solving and Decision Making and Planning — Basics.)

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What is Your Personal Decision-Making Style?

There are many styles of making decisions, ranging from very rational and linear to organic and unfolding. Take this online assessment to determine your own style.

Discover Your Decision-Making Style

Do you want to improve or polish your style? Consider the many guidelines included below.

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Guidelines to Problem Solving and Decision Making (Rational Approach)

Much of what people do is solve problems and make decisions. Often, they are “under the gun”, stressed and very short for time. Consequently, when they encounter a new problem or decision they must make, they react with a decision that seemed to work before. It’s easy with this approach to get stuck in a circle of solving the same problem over and over again. Therefore, it’s often useful to get used to an organized approach to problem solving and decision making.

Not all problems can be solved and decisions made by the following, rather rational approach. However, the following basic guidelines will get you started. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the list of guidelines. After you’ve practiced them a few times, they’ll become second nature to you — enough that you can deepen and enrich them to suit your own needs and nature.

(Note that it might be more your nature to view a “problem” as an “opportunity”. Therefore, you might substitute “problem” for “opportunity” in the following guidelines.)

1. Define the problem

This is often where people struggle. They react to what they think the problem is. Instead, seek to understand more about why you think there’s a problem.

Define the problem: (with input from yourself and others). Ask yourself and others, the following questions:

1. What can you see that causes you to think there’s a problem?
2. Where is it happening?
3. How is it happening?
4. When is it happening?
5. With whom is it happening? (HINT: Don’t jump to “Who is causing the problem?” When we’re stressed, blaming is often one of our first reactions. To be an effective manager, you need to address issues more than people.)
6. Why is it happening?
7. Write down a five-sentence description of the problem in terms of “The following should be happening, but isn’t …” or “The following is happening and should be: …” As much as possible, be specific in your description, including what is happening, where, how, with whom and why. (It may be helpful at this point to use a variety of research methods.)

Defining complex problems:

If the problem still seems overwhelming, break it down by repeating steps 1-7 until you have descriptions of several related problems.

Verifying your understanding of the problems:

It helps a great deal to verify your problem analysis for conferring with a peer or someone else.

Prioritize the problems:

If you discover that you are looking at several related problems, then prioritize which ones you should address first.

Note the difference between “important” and “urgent” problems. Often, what we consider to be important problems to consider are really just urgent problems. Important problems deserve more attention. For example, if you’re continually answering “urgent” phone calls, then you’ve probably got a more “important” problem and that’s to design a system that screens and prioritizes your phone calls.

Understand your role in the problem:

Your role in the problem can greatly influence how you perceive the role of others. For example, if you’re very stressed out, it’ll probably look like others are, too, or, you may resort too quickly to blaming and reprimanding others. Or, you are feel very guilty about your role in the problem, you may ignore the accountabilities of others.

2. Look at potential causes for the problem

• It’s amazing how much you don’t know about what you don’t know. Therefore, in this phase, it’s critical to get input from other people who notice the problem and who are effected by it.
• It’s often useful to collect input from other individuals one at a time (at least at first). Otherwise, people tend to be inhibited about offering their impressions of the real causes of problems.
• Write down what your opinions and what you’ve heard from others.
• Regarding what you think might be performance problems associated with an employee, it’s often useful to seek advice from a peer or your supervisor in order to verify your impression of the problem.
• Write down a description of the cause of the problem and in terms of what is happening, where, when, how, with whom and why.

3. Identify alternatives for approaches to resolve the problem

At this point, it’s useful to keep others involved (unless you’re facing a personal and/or employee performance problem). Brainstorm for solutions to the problem. Very simply put, brainstorming is collecting as many ideas as possible, then screening them to find the best idea. It’s critical when collecting the ideas to not pass any judgment on the ideas — just write them down as you hear them. (A wonderful set of skills used to identify the underlying cause of issues is Systems Thinking.)

4. Select an approach to resolve the problem

• When selecting the best approach, consider:
• Which approach is the most likely to solve the problem for the long term?
• Which approach is the most realistic to accomplish for now? Do you have the resources? Are they affordable? Do you have enough time to implement the approach?
• What is the extent of risk associated with each alternative?

(The nature of this step, in particular, in the problem solving process is why problem solving and decision making are highly integrated.)

5. Plan the implementation of the best alternative (this is your action plan)

1. Carefully consider “What will the situation look like when the problem is solved?”
2. What steps should be taken to implement the best alternative to solving the problem? What systems or processes should be changed in your organization, for example, a new policy or procedure? Don’t resort to solutions where someone is “just going to try harder”.
3. How will you know if the steps are being followed or not? (these are your indicators of the success of your plan)
4. What resources will you need in terms of people, money and facilities?
5. How much time will you need to implement the solution? Write a schedule that includes the start and stop times, and when you expect to see certain indicators of success.
6. Who will primarily be responsible for ensuring implementation of the plan?
7. Write down the answers to the above questions and consider this as your action plan.
8. Communicate the plan to those who will involved in implementing it and, at least, to your immediate supervisor.

(An important aspect of this step in the problem-solving process is continually observation and feedback.)

6. Monitor implementation of the plan

Monitor the indicators of success:

1. Are you seeing what you would expect from the indicators?
2. Will the plan be done according to schedule?
3. If the plan is not being followed as expected, then consider: Was the plan realistic? Are there sufficient resources to accomplish the plan on schedule? Should more priority be placed on various aspects of the plan? Should the plan be changed?

7. Verify if the problem has been resolved or not

One of the best ways to verify if a problem has been solved or not is to resume normal operations in the organization. Still, you should consider:

1. What changes should be made to avoid this type of problem in the future? Consider changes to policies and procedures, training, etc.
2. Lastly, consider “What did you learn from this problem solving?” Consider new knowledge, understanding and/or skills.
3. Consider writing a brief memo that highlights the success of the problem solving effort, and what you learned as a result. Share it with your supervisor, peers and subordinates.

Rational Versus Organic Approach to Problem Solving

Rational

A person with this preference often prefers using a comprehensive and logical approach similar to the guidelines in the above section. For example, the rational approach, described below, is often used when addressing large, complex matters in strategic planning.

1. Define the problem.
2. Examine all potential causes for the problem.
3. Identify all alternatives to resolve the problem.
4. Carefully select an alternative.
5. Develop an orderly implementation plan to implement that best alternative.
6. Carefully monitor implementation of the plan.
7. Verify if the problem has been resolved or not.

A major advantage of this approach is that it gives a strong sense of order in an otherwise chaotic situation and provides a common frame of reference from which people can communicate in the situation. A major disadvantage of this approach is that it can take a long time to finish. Some people might argue, too, that the world is much too chaotic for the rational approach to be useful.

Organic

Some people assert that the dynamics of organizations and people are not nearly so mechanistic as to be improved by solving one problem after another. Often, the quality of an organization or life comes from how one handles being “on the road” itself, rather than the “arriving at the destination.” The quality comes from the ongoing process of trying, rather than from having fixed a lot of problems. For many people it is an approach to organizational consulting. The following quote is often used when explaining the organic (or holistic) approach to problem solving.

“All the greatest and most important problems in life are fundamentally insoluble … They can never be solved, but only outgrown. This “outgrowing” proves on further investigation to require a new level of consciousness. Some higher or wider interest appeared on the horizon and through this broadening of outlook, the insoluble lost its urgency. It was not solved logically in its own terms, but faded when confronted with a new and stronger life urge.”

From Jung, Carl, Psychological Types (Pantheon Books, 1923)

A major advantage of the organic approach is that it is highly adaptable to understanding and explaining the chaotic changes that occur in projects and everyday life. It also suits the nature of people who shun linear and mechanistic approaches to projects. The major disadvantage is that the approach often provides no clear frame of reference around which people can communicate, feel comfortable and measure progress toward solutions to problems.

Additional Guidelines for Problem Solving and Decision Making

Recommended Articles

• Ten Tips for Beefing Up Your Problem Solving Tool Box
• Problem Solving Techniques (extensive overview of various approaches)
• Key Questions to Ask Before Selecting a Solution to a Business Problem

Additional Articles

• Problem-solving and Decision-Making:
• Top 5 Tips to Improve Concentration
• Problem Solving and Decision Making – 12 Great Tips!
• Powerful Problem Solving
• Creative Problem-Solving
• Leadership Styles and Problem Solving (focus on creativity)
• Forget About Causes, Focus on Solutions
• Ten Tips for Beefing Up Your Problem-Solving Tool Box
• Coaching Tip: Four Question Method for Proactive Problem Solving
• Coaching Tip — How to Bust Paralysis by Analysis
• Appreciative Inquiry
• Powerful Problem-Solving
• Problem Solving Techniques
• Guidelines for Selecting An Appropriate Problem Solving Approach
• Factors to Consider in Figuring Out What to Do About A Problem
• A Case for Reengineering the Problem Solving Process (somewhat advanced)
• Courseware on Problemistics (The art & craft of problem dealing)
• Key Questions to Ask Before Selecting a Solution to a Business Problem
• Adapt your leadership style
• Organic Approach to Problem Solving
• Make Good Decisions, Avoid Bad Consequences
• Priority Management: Are You Doing the Right Things?

General Guidelines for Decision Making

• Decision Making Tips
• How We Sometimes Fool Ourselves When Making Decisions (traps we can fall into)
• More of Most Common Decision-Making Mistakes (more traps we can fall into)
• When Your Organization’s Decisions are in the Hands of Devils
• Flawed Decision-making is Dangerous
• Problem-solving and Decision-Making:
• Five Tips for Making Better Decisions
• Study Says People Make Better Decisions With a Full Bladder
• What Everyone Should Know About Decision Making

Various Tools and Methods for Problem Solving and Decision Making

(Many people would agree that the following methods and tools are also for decision-making.)

• Cost Benefit Analysis (for deciding based on costs)
• De Bono Hats (for looking at a situation from many perspectives
• Delphi Decision Making (to collect the views of experts and distill expert-based solutions)
• Dialectic Decision Making (rigorous action planning via examining opposite points of view) Fishbone Diagram —
• 5 Steps to build Fishbone Diagram
• Fishbowls (for groups to learn by watching modeled behaviors)
• Grid Analysis (for choosing among many choices)
• Pareto Principle (for finding the options that will make the most difference — (20/80 rule”)
• For solving seemingly unsolvable contradictions
• Rational Decision Making
• SWOT Analysis (to analyze from strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
• Voting
• Work Breakdown Structure (for organizing and relating many details)

General Resources for Problem Solving and Decision Making

• The Ultimate Problem-Solving Process Guide: 31 Steps and Resources
• list of various tools
• long list of tools
• Mindtools
• Decision Making Tools
• Appreciative Inquiry
• Innovation
• Decision Making
• Group Decision Making and Problem Solving
• Inquiry and Reflection
• Mental Models (scan down to “Mental Models”)
• Planning
• Questioning
• Research Methods
• Reframing
• Systems Thinking

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Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Problem Solving and Decision Making

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to this topic. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

• Library’s Career Management Blog
• Library’s Coaching Blog
• Library’s Human Resources Blog
• Library’s Spirituality Blog

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For the Category of Innovation:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Organizing Yourself

(paperwork, files, etc.)

Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD

(Information in this topic is in regard to organizing your
“to do” lists, paperwork, files, etc. Setting up your
office furniture is included in Facilities
Management. Also note that topic Time
Management is closely related. Other topics are listed in
.)

Various Perspectives

Organizational Ideas & Business Filing Systems for your Office
How to Organize Your Filing System
Beyond Clutter
How do I Get Organized in My Business Paperwork?

Also consider
Critical
Thinking
Creativity
and Innovation
Creative
Thinking
Decision
Making
Organizing
Yourself
Personal
Development
Personal
Wellness
Problem
Solving
Time
Management

Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Organizing Yourself

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which
have posts related to Organizing Yourself. Scan down the blog’s page to see
various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the
blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

Library’s
Career Management Blog
Library’s
Coaching Blog
Library’s
Human Resources Blog
Library’s
Spirituality Blog

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For the Category of Personal Productivity:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Related Library Topics

Recommended Books

Personal Productivity

Critical skills in leading and managing — whether leading and managing oneself, other individuals, groups or organizations — are skills in decision-making and problem solving.

Sections of This Topic Include

• Critical Thinking
• Creative Thinking
• Decision Making
• Organizing Yourself
• Problem Solving
• Time Management

Also consider

• Personal Development
• Personal Wellness
• Basic Guidelines to Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Planning (Basics)
• Is the Day Before Vacation Your Most Productive Day of the Year?
• 13 Tips to Sleep More and Raise Productivity
• Productivity: Are You Doing What Really Matters?

Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Personal Productivity

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Personal Productivity. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

• Library’s Career Management Blog
• Library’s Coaching Blog
• Library’s Human Resources Blog
• Library’s Spirituality Blog

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For the Category of Personal Productivity:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Critical Thinking

This topic has been moved to https://staging.management.org/personaldevelopment//thinking/critical-thinking.htm