Creating a positive work environment, setting clear goals and having regular, honest and timely communication can help grow great employees while reducing performance issues.

Following a performance management process can ensure expectations are communicated clearly between employer and employee. The three stages of a simple, good performance management system are to:

1. Plan together what should be achieved and by when. What may be the consequences for goals achieved and goals missed?
2. Monitor together progress toward that goal at helpful and constructive intervals.
3. Review the plan and the progress together. Was it realistic? Was it achieved? What next?

The law protects an employee at work by setting minimum rights, ensuring they are safe and not unlawfully discriminated against, bullied or harassed, and by making sure an employer acts in good faith.

• The Employment Relations Act 2000 and all its subsequent amendments is a powerful piece of legislation that is there to protect vulnerable employees and ensure basic rights, for example by requiring that every employee has an employment agreement with minimum entitlements. Further pieces of legislation determine those entitlements such as the Holidays Act, Minimum Wage laws and Parental Leave laws.
• The Health and Safety at Work Act aims to protect workers from harm by ensuring workplaces are safe and risks are eliminated or minimized.
• Other important legislation includes the Privacy Act and Human Rights Act which have a wider scope beyond employment.

Employment advocates understand the Employment Relations Act and its various implications for making businesses better places to work in. Key areas include job design, recruitment and onboarding, training and development, performance management, compensation and benefits, and employee relations. Employment advocates can also be involved in employment disputes and may represent either the aggrieved employee or the employer. They do their most noble work by advising employers of best practice so as to avoid the challenge of a personal grievance and help businesses achieve great results with and for their people. Employment advocates are not lawyers.

Employment lawyers specialise in the Employment Relations Act and its implications for those who are unhappy with their employment relationship(s). They prepare documentation, and advise on very complex processes. They represent employers and/or employees in disputes, particularly the employment court and High Court. They typically appreciate good HR companies that help businesses manage avoidable HR issues. They value ongoing HR support in a business as this leads to finding and growing a successful workforce, and greater chances of a happy workplace.

Entitlement to leave is one of the costliest components of employing someone. For many businesses, if a staff member is absent, they need to be replaced in some capacity, so leave can be a double cost to the employer. Processes to control access to leave, whether that be sick leave, annual leave, study leave, parental leave or leave without pay are very important, as they head off the possibility that an employee may access more or less leave than they are entitled to or be paid at an incorrect rate. Leave management can also help highlight potential issues which may need addressing such as a pattern of absence.

Leave management can be controlled through a basic payroll system, but this practical side of the entitlement should be matched with policies that work for the business. Good policies answer questions like how much notice do we need before granting annual leave? Will notice vary with the amount of leave requested? Leave entitlements are determined by the Holidays Act and the Employment Relations Act, but the specifics of accessing the entitlement can be controlled by the business, e.g. are text messages an acceptable form of requesting sick leave? Leave management ensures a good strong balance between operational considerations and staff entitlements.

Human resources, people and culture, employee experience; whatever the job title, the focus of HR is on the most important assets of a business – its people. Key areas include job design, recruitment and onboarding, training and development, performance management, compensation and benefits, and employee relations. Underpinning all these areas is the requirement to ensure a business complies with the Employment Relations Act. HR practitioners often find themselves balancing a tightrope between advocating for both employees and employer! Using good HR processes and practices can add value to a business and drive success by finding and growing a great workforce.

Some employers use the term “performance management” for a thinly veiled disciplinary procedure with a view to exiting an under-performing employee. This is a risky management style as every employee has the right to ask for a review of any treatment that they consider unfair or unreasonable. HR plays a crucial part in developing and driving processes that encourage and support great performance as well as those to manage poor performance in an effective and compliant way.