By Carolee Colter, Helena O'Connor 161 July - August - 2012 An audit can be described as an unbiased examination and evaluation of systems and processes of an organization in order to demonstrate whether they are in compliance with a standard. The human resources (HR) function of any business, including cooperatives, covers all aspects of the employer's relationship with its employees: personnel policies, hiring, [...]
By Jeanie Wells 159 March - April - 2012 Food co-ops are known for being compassionate employers. Unlike some of our big competitors in the grocery industry who only work to maintain their organization's interests, food co-ops seem more likely to try to accommodate individual interests and preferences alongside the organization's priorities. This is a great thing, something that food co-ops should be proud [...]
Sometimes what appears to be a performance problem—employees not doing the job up to your expectations—is actually a problem with the organizational structure of your business. If tasks go undone because they are falling off someone's overfull plate, or because they are on several different plates, or because they aren't on anyone's plate, you've got a structure problem. Sometimes what appears to be a [...]
CBLD Policy Template and other resources (links to the CBLD Library) GM Report Support: Staff Treatment Related articles in Cooperative Grocer Colter, Carolee, and Mary Courteau. “Counting on Co-op Employees.” Cooperative Grocer #141, March-April 2009. Scholl, Marilyn. “The Board Role in the Accountability Stream.” Cooperative Grocer #130, May-June 2007.
As we continue our year-long examination of the empowerment and accountability stream in food co-ops, the point in the sequence where the rubber really hits the road is in the day-to-day functioning of the co-op’s operations. This is the stage in the cycle where the vision gets implemented in myriad ways: through customer interactions, workplace culture and operational systems development. It’s the intersection between [...]
Why do some people enjoy a job and stay with it for years while others seem unhappy and leave—or stay on but complain, come to work late, and call in sick more than others? Why do some people enjoy a job and stay with it for years while others seem unhappy and leave—or stay on but complain, come to work late, and call in [...]
Should staff be eligible to serve on the board of a consumer co-op? Many of today’s food co-ops started as small buying clubs. No one was paid, everyone pitched in. As the co-ops grew, incorporated, opened store fronts and hired staff, little attention was paid to role clarity and accountability. Paid staff and member workers often served as the board of directors. Now that [...]
Mary Jones had reason to look forward with optimism to her upcoming performance review. She felt that over the past six months she had built a track record of good solid performance working as a cook in the co-op kitchen. She was consistently punctual, reliable, productive, and efficient. As a cooperative team member she had filled in many extra days during a coworker’s long [...]
David Jones* first suspected something was wrong when Christy Wright missed three days of work and didn't call the store. "It wasn't characteristic of her," Jones says. He'd promoted Wright to grocery manager after three years with a strong track record. "She was as good as I've ever seen in dealing with difficult customers." With only 25 employees, the workforce of Jones' natural foods [...]
