hiring and firing

Hiring Interview Hiring/Firing Interview What qualities do you look for in potential employees? I like to look for individuals that have had experience with people with disabilities. It is a difficult population to work in at times and takes patience and dedication. So I choose employees that I know can handle these types of individuals. What are red flags in interviews? I think someone who doesn’t ask questions about the job requirements or if they seem disinterested. I also look at body language to see if they are comfortable being in this environment. What are the three most common interview questions you ask? Why do you want to work here? What type of experience do you have with people with disabilities? What are the reasons you are seeking a job at this type of facility? What is your interview process? The first step is having the potential employee come in for an interview, where we sit and talk about the job and I’m able to ask them question. After the initial interview if I am interested in them working for this company. I invite them in for a facility tour and introduce them to some of the individuals they will be working with. I introduce them to other employees and they stay during a meal time so they understand how our day program works. After that if they are still interested in the job. I offer them a job. What is your plan of action? We have a star system, which is a teaching tool. We write out the problem discuss it with the employee then discuss solutions to the problem and make sure it doesn’t occur again. If the employee gets three or more stars then that is a write up with points. What kind of problems have you disciplined for? Some occurrences are minor such as having their cell phones and texting. Being to late to work, or overtime. We have a very tight budget and have to watch our hours closely and employees are informed of this. Major ones that I see are no call no shows. Frequency of hiring/firing? We don’t fire very often unless there is a good reason and it can’t be solved. But I feel like we hire often and the reason I believe is because we are a state funded company, our employees don’t receive the best pay and most people work here as a temporary job and it has great hours for high school kids, so they work here mostly a limit of three years. How do you protect yourself legally when you fire someone? We document all occurs of stars and write-ups. We also document employee time clock entries and document whether they were late or clocked out late. It’s all you can do is have great documentation of occurrences on all employees. How do you make your decision to fire someone? Usually when I choose to fire someone they have continually done things that have not benefited the company and their responsibility for working with company seems to not be important to them. I usually discuss with the employee multiple times about expectations and problem solve with them on fixing whatever the problem may be and if it continues to occur, I see no choice but to let them go. How do you deal with gossip? If gossip is a problem especially between two or more employees and it has become a problem. I usually call each of them individually into my office to discuss the problem. If they all agree there is a solution I will meet with them together and make a plan of action that they both agree on the solution.

How do you budget your company?

We first have to take all things into account the supplies we need such as machinery and tools. We decide on jobs and get paid from what we earn from those jobs. We don’t have a based pay or salary because what money my company gets is from the jobs we do.

What types of expenses do you have?

Expense wise we have paying our employees, keeping equipment working, and time and travel for the jobs which we change the customers for as well.

How do you decide what things you spend money on if you are on a tight budget?

The only way my company can work is if I have the machinery to do the job. I always have to keep them working. Sometimes my employees won’t get paid the full amount for jobs based on what work we’ve done. It’s not ideal but we are a small company with few employees and I only get paid if the job gets complete. At times the jobs take longer based on machinery breakdown or weather conditions. So the job takes longer and it takes longer for the payment. I always try to estimate what a job should take and keep a tight schedule so I and my employees are consistently getting paid.

When your company is lacking in areas how do you improve those areas if you don’t have money to do it?

Having a construction company is expensive. The equipment is and the tools. When the economy is not doing as well we struggle at different times. I have had to lay off employees based on the work we have available. It’s a hard job owning a company and paying employees. The weather can also impact what my company can and can’t do.

How do you decide what you pay your employees?

My employees are paid based on jobs. I have a base pay dependent on each job and my employees get a portion of it after completion. We keep track of our hours every day that we worked. So at the end of the week what money we made it spilt between employees and hours worked.

1.       Leadership requires personal mastery – Nurses demonstrate leadership when they show competence and mastery in the tasks they perform. Nurses are deemed competent by means of a license to practice nursing (NLN 2010).

2.       Leadership is about values – Nurses value the sanctity of life and do our best to preserve it.

3.       Leadership is about service – Nurses dedicate our lives to serving those most vulnerable.

4.       Leadership is about people and relationships – Nurses care for our patients as individuals, one size does not fit all.

5.       Leadership is contextual – Nurses adapt to the situation we are in. We take in the details and conform to what is needed.

6.       Leadership is about the management of meaning – Nurses understand that there are many ways to take something, and we make sure our patients understand not only the "how" but the "why."

7.       Leadership is about balance – Nurses take care of themselves so they have the strength to take care of others.

8.       Leadership is about continuous learning and improvement – Nurses understand that optimal healthcare changes as new evidence comes to light. Nurses take these changes and implement them to better serve the patient.

9.       Leadership is about effective decision making – Nurses think critically and make decisions based on knowledge and intuition.

10.   Leadership is a political process – Nurses understand that sometimes you have to be diplomatic because sometimes you deal with crazy.

11.   Leadership is about modeling – Nurses show their patients what healthy living should look like by embracing it.

12.   Leadership is about integrity - Nurses do what is right and good even when there is no one there to watch them.

When completed post the URL to the entry.

  a. The results of the test

I have a blend of Cautious, Supportive, and Dominant traits. Apparently, my  Cautious traits are probably a little stronger than my Supportive or Dominant traits

     b. Was this a revelation/ new knowledge about yourself?

Yes, and no. I think that they all fit, I am just not sure that my cautious side is my dominant side. I do think that I think about things before I do them, but once I decide I move forward without a lot of caution. I do agree with the dominant and supportive traits, however.

     c. How will this effect your leadership style?

I'm not sure that an online, 12 question test will make me rethink how I lead. I think these are fun, and sometimes provide a bit of insight, but there is no new information given if you are even a little self-aware. 

     d. What will you do with the knowledge this test gives you?

Very little. As I mentioned earlier, I am a skeptic when it comes to these types of things. I felt like many of the questions did not give me the ability to really choose what I feel like fit me best (all applied equally, etc.). If anything, it will cause me to really think about the cautious side of me and ask if that really applies and if it is a benefit or not.

My name is Aimee and I am currently a Labor and Delivery nurse at Utah Valley Hospital. I have created this blog as part of an assignment for a BSN class I am taking. Here I will post thoughts on things I learn in class as I reflection what it is to be a leader in the field of nursing.