Poster of the Month, December 2015: The importance of quality in the workplace

Quality is a
foundation
— not just a
finishing touch

December's Poster of the Month shows how quality is not just about dressing things up to look good. It is a principal that needs to be applied to every aspect of your business — from the ground up.

Quality makes a solid foundation on which to build everything else.

Presentation is only one thing to think about, you also need to consider your:

• Service — attitude and manner when dealing with customers
• Flexibility — going the extra mile to respond to customers' needs
• Reliability — being dependable and doing what you promise to do
• Delivery — delivering on time, with pride, care and attention to detail
• Corrective action — responding appropriately if things go wrong 

Your employees are instrumental in delivering quality.

You can help your employees to help your customers by establishing a nurturing culture that respects, encourages and involves them.

Here are just some of the ways your company culture can support your employees:

• Provide adequate training and support
• Allow them autonomy to do their job without being micromanaged or constantly having to seek approval/authorisation/guidance from a superior
• Motivate staff to succeed and achieve high standards
• Celebrate and reward success 
• Listen and respond to employees' ideas and concerns

A culture like this makes employees more invested in what they are doing and more likely to do it well.

The result?

Well let's just say if your company was a stick of seaside rock, it would read QUALITY right through the middle!

If you like what you have read here today and would like to implement some of these principles in your company or organisation, Kodiak's workplace poster programme could help you do just that.

To find out more, please give us a call on: 01530 456 000

Poster of the Month, September 2015: Attitudes to change in the workplace

WINDS OF CHANGE

When the winds of change blow, some build walls and others build windmills.

~ Chinese proverb

September's Poster of the Month is about attitudes to change.

Change happens in every workplace. New equipment, new management, new rules and new processes can all take some adjustment.

Some people adapt to change better than others. They are the ones who build windmills. They always try to see the benefits and embrace them. 

Others can find it more difficult, especially if they have done their job the same way for a long time. For them, the prospect of change can be very unsettling. They may not understand why it is necessary and they may worry that they won't be able to cope with it.

They sometimes become the ones who build walls — resisting the change, digging their heels in, being unsupportive and sometimes even sabotaging its progress.

The best way of instigating change is to involve your employees before the changes take place. They are likely to be more accepting if you:

• tell them what is going to happen and how it will affect them
• explain why it needs to happen, focusing on the benefits
• invite, and respond to, their questions and concerns
• offer the support and reassurances they need

Kodiak posters regularly cover change, attitude and flexibility.

If you need posters on these subjects, we have a wide range available via our sales team.

For more information, please call us on 01530 456 000 or visit our website: www.kodiak.co.uk

Poster of the Month, July 2015: Valuing your employees

We can only offer the best

QUALITY PRODUCTS

and the best

QUALITY SERVICE

if we have the best

QUALITY PEOPLE

Your winning efforts help us to be the best

July's Poster of the Month is a positive, morale-boosting message that tells employees how much their efforts are appreciated.

It doesn't matter how good your equipment is, or how good your resources and materials are. If you don't have the skilled people who can make it all work, you may as well have nothing.  

Showing appreciation to employees for the work they do improves morale, teamwork and motivation — making a better workplace for everyone.

Could Kodiak posters help your business or organisation spread positive messages and improve morale? 

We have a wide range of posters on these subjects, available via our sales team.

For more information, please call us on 01530 456 000 or visit our website: www.kodiak.co.uk

How to beat the autumn blues

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The darker and colder mornings make it harder to get out of bed and harder to motivate yourself at work.

This morning, when my alarm went off at 6.20, it felt like it was the middle of the night. The bed was warm, but the house was cold. Outside it was still dark and heavy rain was beating against the windows. I pressed the snooze button and went back to sleep.

This isn't like me. I'm a morning person; a motivated person who likes to get up and get on. But on mornings like this, even I find it a struggle.

So what causes these problems?

Reduced exposure to sunlight can affect some of the brain's chemicals and hormones.

It is thought that sunlight stimulates the brain's hypothalamus. This is the part of the brain that controls your mood, appetite and sleep. 

To put this simply, in extended periods of daylight we feel happier and more energised. But when our time in the sun is reduced, we start to feel more downbeat and sluggish.

For around two million of us in the UK this causes a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

SAD is a more extreme reaction to the reduction in daylight hours and is a kind of seasonal depression. It usually begins around this time of year and carries on through the winter months. 

You can find out more about SAD here, on the NHS website.

If you think you, or someone you know, may be affected by SAD you should visit your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

There are some simple things we can all do to help beat the autumn blues.

Try to make the most of the daylight we do have:

• Sit near a window, if possible
• Take work breaks outside
• Go for a lunchtime walk
• Increase outdoor activities

In the workplace, you can help to maintain productivity by:

• Developing initiatives to boost morale and motivation
• Encouraging kindness, enthusiasm and teamwork
• Reminding employees to look after their general health by eating well, staying hydrated and exercising regularly
• Highlighting the symptoms of SAD and encouraging anyone who thinks they may have the condition to take action and visit their doctor

Kodiak posters can help you get the message across.

Kodiak Industrial produces posters that can help you and your staff adjust to the new season.

Our range includes posters on:

• Morale and motivation
• Teamwork
• General health
• Efficiency and productivity

For more information, please visit our website or call our team on 01530 456 000 to discuss your needs.

Tackling absenteeism

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According to the Office for National Statistics, 131 million days were lost due to sickness absences in the UK in 2013. This figure is down from 178 million days in 1993, but still represents a significant problem to UK employers.

While minor illnesses were the most common reason given for sickness absence, back, neck and muscle pain accounted for more lost days than any other cause.

How absenteeism is affecting your organisation

• Increased costs due to administration, wages paid to absent employees and high costs of paying overtime or hiring temporary staff.

• Possible safety issues caused by temporary and less experienced staff coming in at short notice and having to work quickly to catch up.

• Reduced quality / productivity due to provisional staffing measures i.e. less experienced temporary staff or overworked regular staff.

• Managers diverted from their regular duties to attend to staffing problems.

• Low morale where other employees are called upon to pick up the slack.

Sickness absence is just one reason for absenteeism

There are other reasons your employees may be unexpectedly absent from work. 

Some examples include employees who:

• take holidays without booking the time off first
• are being bullied or harassed at work
• are experiencing work-related stress
• have to take care of sick children or relatives
• have low motivation and take "sickies"
• call in sick to attend job interviews

How do you manage your employee sick days?

Tackling absenteeism can be a challenge and the ways of managing sick days can also be problematic. 

Some employers offer paid sick leave, but this system is open to abuse. Without a doctor's note it can be difficult to determine if an employee is genuinely ill.

Some employers offer a set number of paid sick days to be used as needed throughout the year. However, under this system, employees may see their sick days as days owed and take them whether or not they genuinely need to.

Some employers take a harder line and offer Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) only. The problem with this system is that employees who are genuinely ill are put in a position where they are likely to lose money and may feel pressure to work through their illness or return to work sooner than they really should.

In the case of employees with contagious conditions, such as flu or gastro viruses, this risks spreading germs to colleagues. It is also particularly hazardous in food manufacturing or catering environments where germs can be transferred to food and potentially infect a larger number of people.

Getting to the root of the problem

Another way of tackling the problem is to look at the root causes, as described above.

This approach might involve:

• regularly reminding employees to book time off for their holidays
• tackling issues like bullying and harassment by encouraging open communications, offering support to victims and reiterating to perpetrators that this behaviour will not be tolerated and could have serious consequences
• offering advice on managing heavy workloads, time pressures and stress; and encouraging employees to speak out if they are struggling
• looking at ways to improve employee motivation by encouraging a strong teamwork ethic and making your employees feel their contributions are valued 
• trying to retain valued staff by offering more training and/or opportunities
• reminding employees that their company and colleagues rely on them

Kodiak's poster subscription service regularly addresses all of these issues

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If you would like to try a more pro-active approach to managing absenteeism, our posters could help. 

For more information visit: www.kodiak.co.uk 

Or call us on: 01530 456 000

Employee morale: The importance of employee engagement

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We are going through a difficult economic time and the ongoing government spending cuts have left many people unsettled and feeling the pinch. Businesses too are facing added pressures, and at a time when they most need to prosper.

Companies and their employees have a co-dependency. While the employees rely on the company for ongoing employment; the company relies on its employees to keep it at its most productive and to maintain its quality standards.

It is easy to dismiss the issue of employee morale as 'management speak', but research shows that the spirit and enthusiasm of the workforce, or lack of it, can have a significant effect on business performance.

Employees who feel involved and valued are more dedicated to improving performance. Employees who feel disgruntled with, or apathetic about, their employers are more likely to have a negative effect on productivity and standards.

So how can we improve employee morale?

One way of gaining respect and commitment from your employees is to show respect and commitment to them.

Be more open
Ask your employees for their ideas and input. What makes their job more difficult? Can they see a way to improve service, save time or reduce waste? Giving them a chance to express their feelings, or frustrations, makes them feel better and gives you valuable insights into things you might be doing wrong.

Be proactive when it comes to change
Take the lead in instigating changes. Some employees can feel very unsettled, or even threatened, by changes at work. Be upfront about what is happening and how it will affect your employees. Invite them to ask questions or voice their concerns. This will help them to buy into new initiatives rather than shying away or rebelling against them.

Encourage them to shine as individuals
Think about what they can do to help themselves – perhaps to improve their confidence or to change their attitude to something.

Encourage them to work as a team
Teamwork can be positive and rewarding, but you only get out of it what you are prepared to put in.

Celebrate small achievements
An achievement could be anything that makes a difference to someone else's day. It could be a kind gesture, a friendly word, an offer of support or just giving someone something to smile about.

Employee morale is a subject that is covered every month in Kodiak's motivational poster programme.

To find out how Kodiak posters can help improve morale in your company or organisation, why not get in touch.

For daily tips on dealing with common workplace issues, why not follow us on Twitter

If you would like to find out how Kodiak posters 
can help your business work smoother, smarter 
and safer, please call us on: 01530 456 000 
or email us

Workplace conflict: Dealing with conflict at work

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Every workplace is made up of different people who are put together based, primarily, on their ability to do a job. It is perhaps inevitable that they do not always see eye to eye and that there are disagreements and differences of opinion between them.

So why does conflict arise?

Poor communication is one of the key problems. It can arise when colleagues fail to pass on messages, deliver wrong messages or withhold vital information. As communication is a two-way process, it can also occur when colleagues fail to listen to each other.

Poor interpersonal skills mean that some people are less able to express themselves clearly or negotiate effectively. This can lead to frustration, which ultimately causes conflict.

Personality clashes arise when, for whatever reason, two people simply do not get on. Where there is an underlying tension, conflicts and disagreements can tend to happen more easily.

Divided interests. For example, if one person has the task of reducing costs and another is committed to quality there could be disputes over timing, materials or staff.

Lack of resources can cause stress and frustration. For example, not having enough equipment to go around, or having to make do with outdated or inefficient systems.

Low morale may leave some people feeling undervalued or taken for granted. 

Most disputes are dealt with satisfactorily. However, unresolved conflict can be disastrous, resulting in staff developing bad attitudes, refusing to cooperate, not caring about quality and not contributing sufficiently to meet deadlines and targets.

How can we deal with conflict constructively?

Be open-minded. You might have the wrong end of the stick or be barking up the wrong tree. Wait until you have all the facts before you make your case.

Be respectful. Treat everyone as you would wish to be treated. Be calm, courteous and professional – do not raise your voice or use bad language.

Communicate effectively. Make your point assertively and rationally. Allow everyone else to voice their opinions and listen carefully to what they have to say.

Empathise. Try to put yourself in the other person's shoes and understand his/her point of view.

Focus on solutions. How do you want the situation to be resolved? Is there a solution that would suit everyone?

Be prepared to compromise. If there isn't an ideal solution to the problem, you may need to be more flexible.

Keep it professional. Focus on problems – not people – and put personal feelings aside.

Kodiak's workplace poster programme regularly deals with conflict at work and associated issues such as:

• Attitude
• Teamwork
• Assertiveness
• Morale
• Respect in the workplace
• Good communication
• Professional conduct

If you would like to find out more about how our posterscan help you address conflict and other issues in your workplace, please get in touch.

For daily tips on dealing with common workplace issues, why not follow us on Twitter

If you would like to find out how Kodiak posters 
can help your business work smoother, smarter 
and safer, please call us on: 01530 456 000 
or email us