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As we enter another New Year, it is almost compulsory for some to begin thinking of their New Years Resolutions, or how this New Year will be different than the others.

This New Year, rather than trying to think outside the box and get creative for resolutions in the workplace, why not concentrate on the attainable goals and the immediate issues that still need attention?

Cold Culture & Low Morale: If this is an issue in your workplace, why not start with yourself? A common theme among the coaching that I do with staff and managers alike is that you are only in control of yourself (as someone wise once informed me). Start with you. You can be the change that makes your workplace happier, or warm a cold culture. Arriving at work with a smile for the day, saying hi to people and having a generally good attitude can cause a positive shift in the workplace. Also try to create opportunities to improve culture and morale such as a staff potluck lunch. This can also help with problem areas such as retention and recruitment.

Violence & Harassment: This has been a big topic this year as it was in the media spotlight a couple of times. Make sure that you have the right (and necessary!) policies and procedures in place so that you are prepared to deal with a  situation if it arises. If the right policies and procedures are in place then employees will also know the consequences of their actions, the support they will receive if they are victims, and the process if they are witnesses. Creating an environment where employees know that neither Violence nor Harassment are tolerated in the workplace is the primary. This is also a requirement of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for workplaces.

Disciplinary Issues/Bad Behaviour in the workplace: Timely discipline is of great importance in the workplace. We wrote another blog on this topic in 2014 (to read it click here). Having a Progressive Discipline Policy and Procedure in the workplace will aide you in handling tough situations involving unwanted behaviour in the workplace such as: chronic lateness, insubordination, etc.. Pesce & Associates can assist in the development of workplace policies and advice on proper procedure in the Progressive Disciplinary process.

Going into the New Year, try to handle the issues that are in front of you rather than worrying solely about those that might happen – they’re going to come up all on their own. While preparedness is the best medicine, we don’t want to forget about our needs now.

Contact Pesce & Associates if you are looking for HR assistance.

Happy New Year!