The Young Professional 1 - Arizona Parks and Recreation Association

15 minutes early, keep in mind that the issue here isintegrity, not 15 minutes of time. It is about integritybecause he is trying to do something without younoticing it, and he is continuing to do so after you havealready warned him. This is a much bigger deal than15 minutes of time; you cannot have someone workingfor you who deliberately tries to get away with thingsbehind your back. I can almost guarantee you thatwith someone who operates this way, there are otherproblems with how he approaches his work.The same applies to the habitual late starter. Yourpolicies should clearly indicate what “late” means andconsequences for not being ready for an employee tobegin their shift. By the way, I strongly recommendthat this applies to management as well…you needto set the example by ALWAYS being on time for thestart of your shift and never departing early. Of coursethere are those times when you have additional timecommitments due to attendance at meetings, specialevents, etc. However, these should be clearly noted andlisted in your posted weekly work schedule so that youremployees are aware of your expected hours.The bigger-picture issue here is learning how to dealwith situations where the people working for youare not performing in the way that you need. Becomfortable raising the issue, correcting the behavior,setting consequences if it continues, and then enforcingthose consequences, and doing it all in way thatis direct, straightforward, and fair (not defensive,insecure, or overly harsh). These are essential pieces ofbeing a manager.More situations like this are going to come up — andsome of them will be more complicated than what timesomeone is leaving — and you will need to be preparedto handle them. So I would recommend startingto think about how you are going to handle othertypes of performance problems, like someone who iscommunicating poorly with park patrons, or someonetrying really hard but just not doing a good job, orsomeone who does not follow through on things youask them to do. Your job now is to handle this stuff, andyou do not want to wing it.Steven Thompson, CPRP, is theExecutive Director and CEO ofthe Wisconsin Park & RecreationAssociation. sthompson@wpraweb.orgCALL FOR ABSTRACTSCALL FOR ABSTRACTSTwelfth Biennial Coalitionfor Education in theOutdoors ResearchSymposiumJanuary 10-12, 2014Indiana University’s Bradford WoodsFollowing the symposium, presenters maysubmit their papers for inclusion in the refereedpublication, Research in Outdoor Education. Toreview or order the previous eleven volumes inthis series, go to http://www.outdooredcoalition.org/. Articles from previous volumes (back to2004) may be accessed on EBSCOs AcademicSearch Complete. Abstracts from the past foursymposiums can also be found on the CEOwebsite.Whether or not you submit an abstract forpresentation, please consider attending thissymposium. It brings together emerging andestablished scholars from a host of disciplines.The topics will stem from many contexts (e.g.,adventure education, environmental education,summer camp), and the atmosphere is informal.Plenty of time will be allotted to talk with peopleand establish new connections while reinforcingexisting ones. If you care about outdooreducation-related research, you won’t wantto miss it! The symposium is also affordable;registration, lodging and meals were less than$240 in 2012.If you have a completed study or a study inprogress,please consider the attached “Callfor Abstracts” and email your abstract to KeithRussell (Keith.Russell@wwu.edu) by September12, 2013, and mark your calendar for theJanuary 13-15, 2012 event!Please share this opportunity with otherstudents, faculty, and professionals who mightfind it of interest.Page 18 | The Young Professional