For the second in this occasional series, I want to look into the mysterious employment status of Miss Rabbit.
Peppa Pig features large in our house, so I have had plenty of opportunity to study this. For the uninitiated, Miss Rabbit runs the supermarket, the rescue helicopter, the train, the bus, the museum gift shop, the space attraction, the kiosk at Duck World, the ice cream van...the list goes on. For me, this raised a few issues, but I am going to focus on Miss Rabbit's employment status. We'll leave consideration of Miss Rabbit and the Working Time Directive, and the discrimination which is clearly preventing married women from holding down a job for another time!
Miss Rabbit appears to work every hour of the day, running pretty much all of the service industry. How can she be employed in so many places at once? There are a number of options:
1) Everything is owned by a single organisation; Miss Rabbit is employed by the umbrella company and deployed on a just-in-time basis. If this is the case, I'd recommend that the organisation looks at their resource and contingency planning, and considers some succession planning / flight risk analysis. On the one occasion where Miss Rabbit is sick, she has to organise her own cover and send her sister (Mrs Rabbit, just in case you wondered!) in to cover all of her jobs for the day. Everything falls apart. An organisation relying solely on one person for success is heading for trouble at some point.
2) Each business is owned by a different organisation; Miss Rabbit is freelance, operating under her own limited company, and invoicing them for time spent. This explains her ability to leap between roles wherever she is required. However, if this is the case, the businesses are exposing themselves to potential risk in the event of an HMRC audit: Miss Rabbit appears to hold a key role in each organisation and it is difficult to see how she could avoid being viewed as an employee, potentially incurring tax and NI liabilities going back to at least 2003. It is also unlikely to be the most cost-effective resourcing method; Miss Rabbit is likely to command a high day rate as she seems to be the only person available for work, and there doesn't seem to be anyone around to validate her invoices and timesheets.
3) Each business is owned by a different organisation, employing Miss Rabbit on zero hours contracts, so that they can just deploy her as needed. A zero hours contract creates an employment relationship, without requiring the employer to commit to a specific volume or pattern of work. It can be viewed as exploitative, potentially demanding commitment from the worker without offering any security. It would also be difficult to manage, and each organisation would need to be aware that Miss Rabbit was accruing annual leave as she worked, and to allow her to take this. Miss Rabbit may view this arrangement as beneficial to her - she is free to hold a number of jobs, although clashes appear to be likely, and it is lucky that there appears to be a community agreement to all travel to work at the same time on the single bus journey of the morning. I presume that on the day she drives the school bus for the trip to the mountains, everyone is happy to find a different route to work! I would urge the businesses, in this situation, to consider whether zero hours contract are the best way to go; they can seem an easy alternative to workload and resource analysis and planning, but increased loyalty and quality commitment could be achieved by offering fixed work patterns.
4) Miss Rabbit owns all of the businesses, and is operating on a shoestring. As the owner of a collection of small businesses, she may feel that she can't afford to employ others on a temporary or permanent basis. However, her businesses may be suffering; if more fully staffed, it is likely that sales in each area would increase, as they would cater more conveniently for the needs of the community. She could consider starting some sort of childcare business (which doesn't appear to currently exist, except for pre-school for a few hours each day), and create childcare capacity which would potentially free Mummy Pig, Mrs Zebra, Mrs Elephant and so on to seek part time work outside the home, should they wish to do so. There is an untapped pool of potentially skilled and keen workers, who are likely to want to work on a part time basis, thus not incurring the cost of full time employees. This would reduce the vulnerability of the businesses, reduce reliance on her, and leave her with more leisure time to enjoy the profits of her work (although it's unclear what she would spend her time doing as she appears to be the only single, childless adult in the community!).
5) We all know how rabbits breed..."Miss Rabbit" may in fact be multiple rabbits, each with a separate full time job, but no-one has noticed because the Rabbit family look so alike (a cynic may think that Miss Rabbit and Mrs Rabbit were in fact the same drawing). In which case, straightforward employment status, and a community that doesn't realise it is overrun by rabbits.
What do you think? I suspect it is 5!
Tuesday 29 October 2013
Tuesday 15 October 2013
HR Dilemmas from children's TV: Postman Pat
I think this will be the first in an occasional series on the HR dilemmas presented by characters on children's TV. It was inspired by Postman Pat so we will consider him first.
Having recently watched more episodes of Postman Pat than I care to admit, it struck me that there is a theme. Each day, Pat attempts to deliver one thing, generally messes up / loses it, but eventually manages to get the item there in the nick of time.
This raised, for me, a number of people management questions.
Is Pat deeply incompetent, and getting away with it, or succeeding against all the odds?
How could his productivity be improved so that he can make more than one special delivery per day?
Could resources be better deployed: he has a van, a helicopter, and a jeep (at least) assigned to his sole use?
What happens to all the parcels we see coming through the mail centre if he is only delivering one per day? Is there actually an army of less photogenic (a frightening thought) of mail delivery professionals handling the rest, leaving the tricky ones to Pat?
If Pat's performance is an issue, how should it be managed - is it capability or conduct?
Firstly, we should have a look at the expectations which have been set. Has Pat been asked to focus on the careful delivery of a limited number of special items, or would it be reasonable to expect him to deliver more? Has a precedent been set so that he believes he is achieving what is required?
Secondly, we should investigate the circumstances around the bodged deliveries. What were the commercial and reputational impacts of Pat's inability to deliver a parcel without some form of mishap? Has he actually lost or seriously damaged anything, or are they all near-misses? If all near-misses, what is the potential impact, and is this serious enough in itself to require some sort of disciplinary or performance management action?
Thirdly, why is it happening? Does Pat need more training? Is he aware that it is a criminal offence to open someone else's mail? Does he know how to adequately secure the van so that items don't fall out? Has he been trained on securing parcels within the van so that items don't break? Or is he just too busy trying to control the domestic animal that he carries around with him to concentrate on what he should be doing?
Armed with the answers to these questions, I would recommend an informal conversation to begin with, between Pat and his line manager (invisible - regular one to ones clearly aren't in place). Clear expectations should be set. If no improvement is seen, a formal process should begin. This could either be a disciplinary process (if we believe that Pat has been adequately trained and instructed, and is not following procedure - i.e. conduct), or make use of a performance management process.
Following each step of the procedure, objectives and a review date should be set, and regularly reviewed. If things improve, and Pat achieves the objectives, excellent news: the people of Greendale will benefit from an improved postal service. If he doesn't pick up the pace, improve the quality of the delivery, and gain better control of his cat...well, once the appropriate steps of the procedure had been followed, I would dismiss him.
Yes, that's right.
I would sack Postman Pat. What would you do?
Having recently watched more episodes of Postman Pat than I care to admit, it struck me that there is a theme. Each day, Pat attempts to deliver one thing, generally messes up / loses it, but eventually manages to get the item there in the nick of time.
This raised, for me, a number of people management questions.
Is Pat deeply incompetent, and getting away with it, or succeeding against all the odds?
How could his productivity be improved so that he can make more than one special delivery per day?
Could resources be better deployed: he has a van, a helicopter, and a jeep (at least) assigned to his sole use?
What happens to all the parcels we see coming through the mail centre if he is only delivering one per day? Is there actually an army of less photogenic (a frightening thought) of mail delivery professionals handling the rest, leaving the tricky ones to Pat?
If Pat's performance is an issue, how should it be managed - is it capability or conduct?
Firstly, we should have a look at the expectations which have been set. Has Pat been asked to focus on the careful delivery of a limited number of special items, or would it be reasonable to expect him to deliver more? Has a precedent been set so that he believes he is achieving what is required?
Secondly, we should investigate the circumstances around the bodged deliveries. What were the commercial and reputational impacts of Pat's inability to deliver a parcel without some form of mishap? Has he actually lost or seriously damaged anything, or are they all near-misses? If all near-misses, what is the potential impact, and is this serious enough in itself to require some sort of disciplinary or performance management action?
Thirdly, why is it happening? Does Pat need more training? Is he aware that it is a criminal offence to open someone else's mail? Does he know how to adequately secure the van so that items don't fall out? Has he been trained on securing parcels within the van so that items don't break? Or is he just too busy trying to control the domestic animal that he carries around with him to concentrate on what he should be doing?
Armed with the answers to these questions, I would recommend an informal conversation to begin with, between Pat and his line manager (invisible - regular one to ones clearly aren't in place). Clear expectations should be set. If no improvement is seen, a formal process should begin. This could either be a disciplinary process (if we believe that Pat has been adequately trained and instructed, and is not following procedure - i.e. conduct), or make use of a performance management process.
Following each step of the procedure, objectives and a review date should be set, and regularly reviewed. If things improve, and Pat achieves the objectives, excellent news: the people of Greendale will benefit from an improved postal service. If he doesn't pick up the pace, improve the quality of the delivery, and gain better control of his cat...well, once the appropriate steps of the procedure had been followed, I would dismiss him.
Yes, that's right.
I would sack Postman Pat. What would you do?
Thursday 10 October 2013
In praise of 2 year olds
It's really easy to get into the habit of complaining about terrible twos/tantrums/early starts/being tired all the time. I have to confess that our terrible-2-year-old is not so terrible, as they go, although she has her moments. And, a more embarrassing confession, I have been inspired to write this post by watching DIY SOS this week. **hides face in shame**
Still with me? The family featured on DIY SOS had twins born really prematurely, leaving one with cerebral palsy, who will never sit let alone move unaided, and one less ill but still fragile. They reminded me that while life with a small child may feel hard sometimes, my life is a breeze compared to families who go through that kind of illness or difficulty, whether in the short or long term. So I thought, time to celebrate a few of the things which are amazing about 2 year olds.
Like seeing the wonders of the world - as Rachel's bath drained tonight, she lay in it watching the way the water spiralled down the plughole, absolutely fascinated. When I stop trying to rush her from one place to another, it's so nice to be part of the process of learning about the world and the way she wonders at it!
The start of conversation - when speech suddenly moves from disjointed words into full sentences and you have a little person you can chat with! Particularly hearing Rachel have a conversation on the phone with Daddy when he's not going to be home until after she goes to bed.
Singing...waking up at 6am is sweetened by the fact that we are generally woken by a rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Every time she sees a bus she sings Wheels on the Bus (all verses). She sings songs I don't even know (bonus of nursery!), and is generally word perfect after just a couple of times of hearing a song.
Reading and books...whilst I've always been pretty convinced of the benefits of reading (possible understatement, see other blog!), we are already starting to see the impact of reading. Rachel knows words and phrases that she can only have picked up from reading (phrase of the day: Something smells delicious! as her tea cooked), and is starting to recite books along with us when we read them. Sometimes she even recites books when she doesn't have the book in front of her.It's cute, but it's also reassuring that there is a point to spending time doing these things!
Relationships...not only does she ask to see adults, family, etc, but this is the age where you start to see real little friendships starting with other children. It's just so nice to see your child choosing to play with your friends' children, and starting to interact rather than simply playing alongside.
Imaginative play - I didn't realise it started this early, but Rachel can play pretend games for hours, whether it be dolls house, happy land, or pretending to go to sleep/wakeup/sleep/wakeup etc time after time under a makeshift duvet!
So, amongst tantrums (don't want to put shoes on, haven't got shoes on, have got the wrong shoes on...) I think 2 is a great age so far. And a pretty beautiful one too:
Still with me? The family featured on DIY SOS had twins born really prematurely, leaving one with cerebral palsy, who will never sit let alone move unaided, and one less ill but still fragile. They reminded me that while life with a small child may feel hard sometimes, my life is a breeze compared to families who go through that kind of illness or difficulty, whether in the short or long term. So I thought, time to celebrate a few of the things which are amazing about 2 year olds.
Like seeing the wonders of the world - as Rachel's bath drained tonight, she lay in it watching the way the water spiralled down the plughole, absolutely fascinated. When I stop trying to rush her from one place to another, it's so nice to be part of the process of learning about the world and the way she wonders at it!
The start of conversation - when speech suddenly moves from disjointed words into full sentences and you have a little person you can chat with! Particularly hearing Rachel have a conversation on the phone with Daddy when he's not going to be home until after she goes to bed.
Singing...waking up at 6am is sweetened by the fact that we are generally woken by a rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Every time she sees a bus she sings Wheels on the Bus (all verses). She sings songs I don't even know (bonus of nursery!), and is generally word perfect after just a couple of times of hearing a song.
Reading and books...whilst I've always been pretty convinced of the benefits of reading (possible understatement, see other blog!), we are already starting to see the impact of reading. Rachel knows words and phrases that she can only have picked up from reading (phrase of the day: Something smells delicious! as her tea cooked), and is starting to recite books along with us when we read them. Sometimes she even recites books when she doesn't have the book in front of her.It's cute, but it's also reassuring that there is a point to spending time doing these things!
Relationships...not only does she ask to see adults, family, etc, but this is the age where you start to see real little friendships starting with other children. It's just so nice to see your child choosing to play with your friends' children, and starting to interact rather than simply playing alongside.
Imaginative play - I didn't realise it started this early, but Rachel can play pretend games for hours, whether it be dolls house, happy land, or pretending to go to sleep/wakeup/sleep/wakeup etc time after time under a makeshift duvet!
So, amongst tantrums (don't want to put shoes on, haven't got shoes on, have got the wrong shoes on...) I think 2 is a great age so far. And a pretty beautiful one too:
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