Hi Jim,

>
>Is this for new employees or for existing staff?
>

Existing.

>If for existing staff, don't they already know? If for new staff then, as long as they've been gainfully employed before, shouldn't they also know. Of course if they are fresh out of school or if your company has some unusual circumstances then this needs to be communicated.
>
>You might consider handling things on an exception basis, as they (the exceptions) arise. Immediately as you are aware, not building up a case against someone.
>
>If your main 'objective' is to confirm to them that you are now indeed THE BOSS, then I'd look for other ways to do it.
>

My main objective is to improve productivity in our department, not to clean house or establish my authority. My previous boss was great to work for, but he wasn't big on confrontation or accountability. That's why he was so great to work for <g>. I managed to get some things done anyway, so I guess that's why the owner promoted me when he left. Now I have to introduce the concepts of accountability and productivity to the others. I want to set expectations, and then help the employees meet them. Step 1 is to make sure the expectations are fair and realistic.

>By the way, I generally agree with what you've outline, but there is one other factor that has gotten me talked to a few times - pure THINKING TIME. I can sit and be doing nothing but thinking through lots of factors about the problem at hand. Some bosses have told me flat out that I spend too much time doing nothing.
>

Personally, since I do a lot of thinking myself (yes, it's true <g>), I consider that productive time. Besides, put your hands on a keyboard while you're thinking, and now you're programming <g>.

>anyway, some thought for you
>

And they're very appreciated. Thanks.

>cheers
>
>
>>In a typical 40-hour work week, what is the minimum number of "productive" hours you would consider acceptable from an employee? My definition of "productive" would be any time doing work for the company: working on assigned tasks, helping others, answering phones, whatever. I would also include a reasonable amount of time spent improving skills, such as reading books, magazines, and forums such as UT. "Non-productive" time is essentially time not doing work: taking breaks, surfing the net, shooting the bull with other employees, etc.
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>>I was recently promoted, and I need to communicate company expectations to employees. I want to be sure that my expectations are reasonable and not out of line. I know this is subjective, but I would appreciate your opinion. Please be honest. It would be very easy to take the hard line and demand 100% productivity, but I don't think that is realistic. A certain amount of non-productive time is to be expected and is healthy, IMO. The question is how much? Thoughts would be appreciated.