Enhancing Communication And Teamwork At Cairns Fitness Centre - Performance Appraisal Essay.

Guidelines for Enhancing Communication and Teamwork

Cairns centre currently has seven employees. The current average performance of the team is currently at ‘meet requirements’, which is, a rating of 3.

Name of Staff	Role	Average Perfomance Rating	Strengths	Weaknesses
Lachlan Miller	Fitness Instructor	2	Customer Service	Lack of Team work Time Keeping
Ashley Jackson	Fitness Instructor	3	Client Support Team Work	Public Relations
Sally Stowe	Assistant Manager/Fitness Instructor	3	Customer Service Public Relations	Firmness with Staff Giving constructive feedback
David Dawson	Fitness Instructor	3	Team Player Customer Service	Growing Client List Varying fitness classes
Jim Hunt	Fitness Instructor	3	Customer  Development Customer Loyalty	Team Work Organization
Naomi Hamilton	Fitness Instructor	3	Team Work	Problem Solving
Paul Thomas	Cairns Center Manager	2	Staff Appraisal	Communication Skills Leadership Collaboration Risk Management Problem Solving

An analysis of the performance appraisals shows that there needs to be more teamwork. Teamwork is not effective in the Cairns centre and this has greatly affected workplace relationships. To enhance communication and teamwork in the Cairns team, the following guidelines will be put in place:

Building a communication culture – A communication culture will be created where the team will have both formal and informal meetings. This will assist all the employees to be comfortable with one another. Employee communication will be encouraged by making sure the meetings that are held are interactive.

Emphasizing on important messages – There will be emphasis on important messages by keeping them short and precise. Good work will be recognized in front of the team and follow up done on any issues that are raised by the staff.

Listening to employees – Mechanisms will be put in place to ensure that employees are listened to. Formal feedback methods will be put in place and input will be taken seriously. This will ensure that employees freely communicate to leaders and to one another.

The cairns team is a culturally diverse one. To make sure communication is effective across all the cultures, the team will try to understand the cultural differences in the Cairns team. The differences will be respected and communication will be done in such a way that all the team members understand.

There will be active listening so that everyone takes in what another is saying and that the team understands one another. This will enable everyone feel like part of the team as their concerns or suggestions will be listened to.

To ensure that the center manager is always available for the team members, the following steps will be taken:

• Time will be set aside every day to speak to each of the employees and ask them how the job is and any challenges they may be facing.
• The manager will ask employees open-ended questions and this will enable a good working relationship, as it will create openness.
• The manager will take interest in the personal and professional success of the employees. Employees will be encouraged to develop both their personal and professional lives.

When developing and refining new ideas, advice will also be sought from the general manager. The general manager is the overall head hence receiving her input will be great for the Cairns team.

Employee feedback was sought and it is evident that work is not being shared equally in the team.  Some of the fitness instructors feel that they are doing more work that their colleagues. They feel that they are overworked yet some of the employees do not seem to have enough clients. Another issue that has been brought up is that some of the employees are unwilling to assist whenever others are overwhelmed. Some employees are not also active in looking for clients and do not seem to be willing to take on new clients hence making others over worked.

In solving these issues, a team meeting will be held and the issues affecting the team identified. The manager will communicate the concerns that have been noticed about the Cairns team and employees given a chance to speak about the same.

Internal and external consultations will be done on how this issue will be solved. The procedure for engaging external consultants at bounce fitness will be followed before any consultant is engaged. Internal consultation will also be carried out as per the internal communication strategy of bounce fitness.

Stakeholder Analysis and Building Networks

Once consultations have been done, the teams will then brainstorm and list possible solutions to the current problem facing the team. The manager will ask each team member to suggest ways in which teamwork can be enhanced in the Cairns team. The team will then evaluate the options that have been given together. During this, the team will decide which solutions they think will be most effective to solve the current situation. The best solution will be selected and the team asked if they are all comfortable with whatever has been selected. While at this, the manager will express the fact that teamwork is key and all members should have equal roles hence no one should feel overworked. The problematic employees should be spoken to one on one so that they are given verbal warnings against their behavior. The agreements made will be documented nd monitoring and evaluation put in place to ensure that all the fitness instructors pull their weight. Any employee who breaches this will face disciplinary consequences.

The complaints policy ensures that there is consistent, fair and confidential handling of complaints for both customers and staff. The company aims to resolve complaints at the first point of contact. All complaints are recorded and monitored until resolution.

The customer service policy of bounce fitness states that all employees must deal with customers irrespective of their status in the company. Staff must be courteous and friendly at all times to customers.

The administrative policy states that emails must be used in a responsible manner. There will be limited personal use of email to ensure professional and efficient delivery of services.

The employee code of conduct sets out rules that guide employees to behave ethically and responsibly within the work place.

To maintain the confidence of customers and staff trust must be built. This will happen when there is constant fair treatment and important decisions are made with the contributions of everyone. Another important factor will be to pay attention and respond to what the stakeholders say and do. Stakeholder opinions must be responded to so that they feel part of the company. There must be commitment to stakeholders. The manager must show stakeholders that he wants to build a long-term relationship with them. Stakeholders must also be engaged so that loyalty can be built.

• The manager will ensure that they are open-minded so that they fit within the culture of the organization. The views of other people will be respected.
• The manager will carry out observation before reacting or making any comment. This will assist in being sensitive to other cultures or norms
• Questions will be asked before any decision is made so that no one deems anything as offensive. Clarification will be sought where needed

• Active listening when interacting with internal and external contacts
• Giving and receiving feedback
• Coming up with solutions
• Encouraging participation and accepting new ideas

• Risk and Compliance Standards
• Customer Relationship Management
• Supplier Standards
• Stakeholder Standards
• Sustainability and Environmental Management
• Community Responsibility

• Sharing all project details including project proposals and project schedule
• Listening to team and shareholder feedback
• Involving team and shareholders in project formulation and implementation
• Giving a report on the financials through financial reports
• Holding meetings on project progress
• Communicating value propositions

• Communicate the change process to all employees
• Involve employees in the change process
• Nominate change champions to assist in change process
• Involve employees in decision making

• The company will be able to maintain its position in the fitness industry
• The company will be successful in strategy as it will have established the necessary platforms for success
• Bounce fitness will benefit from immense opportunities and this will enable the business to grow

• The company will be able to get referrals and this will lead to increasing customer base
• The company will benefit from free advice from its connections
• The company will have increased confidence when doing business

Bounce Fitness Stakeholder	Type of communication	Means of communication	Stake in project
Project Manager	Telephone and One on One Meetings	Electronic and Memo	High-Ensures all deliverables are on course
Project IT Engineer	Telephone and One on One Meetings	Electronic and Memo	High-Designs Automated Mail Delivery System
Marketing and Sales Team	Telephone and One on One Meetings	Electronic and Memo	Medium – Marketing automated mail delivery system
Finance Team	Telephone and One on One Meetings	Electronic and Memo	High-Make sure that the project utilizes funds appropriately
Customers	Adverts and Email	E-mail /Direct Mail	Low- They will only adopt service if automated system is efficient and effective
Employees	Telephone and One on One Meetings	Electronic and Memo	High-Ensure project is successfully implemented

Customer Increase-The networks that have been built have led to word of mouth marketing which has led to an increase in the number of customers. This has led to organizational growth.

Strong Brand – Bounce Fitness has strengthened its brand image due to its networks. This has helped the company to maintain customer loyalty as the networks have marketed them in a positive light

Industry Trends – Through establishment of networks, the company has been able to follow industry trends as they get to know early which trends are popular with customers. This has helped in the tailoring of services.

The networks that have been built by the company will lead to success of the new project. This is because the company already has a strong brand image. The networks will give reviews about the project and assist the company in knowing if they are on the right path.

In the role-play, the performance assessment for Lachlan Miller has been used and the relevant outcomes are indicated under each row.

Performance Appraisal for Lachlan Miller
Collection of relevant information	Relevant information was collected by interviewing the employee so as to know why they were not performing on the job and the challenges that he may be facing
Communication of ideas	The communication was done face to face and in a friendly manner so that the employee would not feel uncomfortable
Issue resolution	Employee was asked his views on how issues would be resolved, ideas were suggested to him and the same compared
Treatment of internal and external contacts	The internal and external contacts were treated with respect and empathy
Use of standards	The set policies and procedures were used in guiding the performance appraisal of the employee
Trust and Confidence	Confidentiality was maintained as per the policy
Identify and analyse difficulties	Identification of obstacles to employee performance was done and difficulties faced by the employee analysed
Guide and Support	A monitoring and evaluation plan put in place for the employee to guide perfomance
Improving Outcomes	Methods of improving performance were put in place and this was tracked
Adjust Interpersonal Styles	The manager adjusted the interpersonal style so as to interact with the employee on a personal level and drive performance
Encouraging Team Members	Team members were encouraged to communicate freely and to give feedback
Conflict Management	Conflict management was done impartially without taking sides

• Accepting and Celebrating Differences – Celebrating all cultural differences and finding a way to work with everyone leads to positive work relationships
• Listening Effectively –Listening to employees whenever they have an idea or a complaint gives them confidence hence enhancing work relationships
• Open Door Policy – Having an open door policy in the company where employees are not restricted on how they interact with management will create a positive work environment
• Open Communication –Open communication leads to ideas being exchanges constantly and builds a team spirit hence leading to good working relations within the organization
• Giving and Taking Feedback – Giving employees honest and unbiased feedback and accepting feedback from them is a way to create a positive work environment.
• Mentoring – Mentoring employees from the moment they start working for the company makes them feel welcome and this creates positivity in the office

Project Reports – Reports should be produced at each stage of the project and shared with stakeholders. This way, they will know how the project is progressing and raise any issues of concern as the project progresses

• Gantt Charts – Gantt charts are a good way of communicating to the stakeholders, as it will show project timelines as regards the project. Stakeholders will therefore be able to keep up with project progress and raise any arising issues
• Meetings – Frequent meetings can be done to update stakeholders. The meetings should be interactive and stakeholders allowed giving their feedback or ideas.
• Video Conferences –Video conferencing is a good way of meeting with stakeholders. This can be done frequently and it will allow for stakeholders who may be far away to participate.

• Identify the issues – The issues arising should be identified by looking at their causes and if there are further underlying issues
• Understand everyone's interests – The issues that affect all concerned parties must be identified, as this will help to know why there are issues in the first place. This can be done by speaking to each of the parties separately and understanding things from their perspective
• List the possible solutions- Possible solutions must be listed and discussed with each of the parties.
• Evaluate the options-The options chosen will be evaluated and together with concerned parties, an option will be chosen

efining Acceptable Behavior – The organization sets up policies and procedures that govern everything done at the work place. Disciplinary policies are also put in place and this greatly assists in dealing with conflict.

• Mediation – Acting as a mediator between the concerned parties, discussing the issue and coming up with possible solutions.
• Negotiation and Collaboration – There can be negotiation and collaboration to help solve whatever issue has occurred. This will happen until the conflict is resolved.
• Arbitration – A third party can be called in to act as an arbitrator. This will help in viewing the conflict from another angle and coming up with better solutions.

• Employee Feedback –seeking employee feedback about what may be causing the employee to underperform. The employee should be approached in a calm manner and underlying issues affecting performance identified after which feedback will be sought on how to improve performance
• Training and Development – Ensuring the organization constantly trains employees and gives them opportunities for development. This leads to motivation and employees will always strive to perform
• Mentoring-Supervisors should always mentor their direct reports .This will encourage performance and any underlying issues will be noted earlier on before things get out of hand.
• Setting Goals and Consequence Management-Together with employees, goals and objectives will be set. Consequence management will also be put in place so that employees focus on their overall goals.

• Create an accountability system – An accountability system can be created and this will enable employees be responsible for any of their actions. It will lead to an improvement on how people relate at the work place
• Create an Open work relationship –Open door policy will be created and it will enable honest feedback and observation will be easier hence helping management know if relationships are better
• Monitor performance –A better performance means that employees are working better. It is therefore important to monitor perfomance as it is an indicator of better work relationships

• Doing an employee survey where feedback was collected and analysed and this has assisted in knowing how employees really feel
• Having team building where employees have been encouraged to raise any concerns
• Having supervisor-employee mentoring sessions where employees have been asked to give feedback
• The feedback collected has been analysed and discussed with the overall HR manager and relevant solutions put in place so that effective workplace relationships are built

Trust and Confidence has been developed by:

• Taking interest in employee well-being and personal development - In this case the employee who had a performance rating of 2 has been spoken to and goals set. The employee is being mentored by the manager and has also been encouraged to enroll for a course that will enhance personal development
• Enhancing Team Relations – Frequent meetings are now held with employees and a number of team building activities done by the center manager to create better relationships
• Open Door Policy – Employees can approach the manager at any time and give suggestions or raise issues of concern
• Reward and Recognition – Good perfomance is recognized in front of the team and rewards are given. This creates trust and a positive environment

• Having monthly cocktails with stakeholders hence enhancing relationships
• Participation in community activities and giving free fitness and health talks
• Project updates have been constantly given through project reports
• Stakeholders have been encouraged to give feedback

Managing difficulties into positive outcomes has been done through:

• Employee mentoring where there is constant mentoring by supervisors. This has helped employees to feel as if they are part of the team
• Encouragement of feedback, where employees can now raise concerns and observations. Problems are now dealt with at an earlier stage
• Training and development – Training on how to get more clients, give good service and developing oneself. Employees have also been encouraged to set personal development goals and supervisors take interest to make sure they are achieved