The Art of

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

A People Manager’s Toolkit

CAROLINE McENERY

Published by OAK TREE PRESS

Cork, Ireland

www.oaktreepress.com / www.SuccessStore.com

© 2017 Caroline McEnery

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78119 271 9 (Hardback)

ISBN 978 1 78119 272 6 (Paperback)

ISBN 978 1 78119 273 3 (ePub)

ISBN 978 1 78119 274 0 (Kindle)

ISBN 978 1 78119 275 7 (PDF)

Illustrations © JR Casas / Adobe Stock Photos

Cover design: Kieran O’Connor Design

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or electronically without written permission of the publisher.

Such written permission also must be obtained before any part of this publication is stored in a retrieval system of any nature. Requests for permission should be directed to Oak Tree Press, info@oaktreepress.com.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

1Introduction

SECTION 1: THE CORE SKILLS

2Questioning

3Listening

4Paper Trails

SECTION 2: THE EMPLOYMENT JOURNEY

5Values

6Managing

7Hiring

8Induction

9Coaching

10Grievances

11Disciplinary

12Talent

13Trust

14The End

SECTION 3: MAXIMISING YOUR POTENTIAL

15Yourself

16Your Plan

17Conclusion

Caroline McEnery

The HR Suite

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are so many people I need to thank along the journey of writing this book, which is a culmination of my experience, education and life lessons. Wow! Have I enjoyed that journey! I feel really privileged to do a job I love with such a great team and such a great customer base every day.

I’d like to start my Thank Yous with my team at The HR Suite, both past and present. I so appreciate all your contribution and the way you always go the extra mile. I’m genuinely indebted to you all. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support, professionalism, positivity and continuous improvement attitude that we keep raising the bar for our customers and enjoy the journey as a team along the way.

I’ve had the privilege of working with amazing people along my career journey, so I really want to thank my colleagues, managers and mentors both in Kerry Group and the Garvey Group. You all pushed me to be better, and to strive for more. I learnt so much and enjoyed every minute. Thank you.

Paula Fitzsimons from Going for Growth and ACORNS has always been so supportive in my entrepreneurship journey that I’m delighted to be a lead entrepreneur of ACORNS, helping great women grow great businesses. Paula, you are genuinely an inspiration and I appreciate all you’ve done for me. To my lead entrepreneurs and Going for Growth peers who I’m thrilled to call my friends: Wow, ladies, what a superb network I’m privileged to be part of that really drives me and my business both personally and professionally. Thank you for your support and friendship.

I’d also like to particularly thank Tomas Hayes and Fiona Leahy from the Kerry LEO and Julie Sinnamon, Jean O’Sullivan and Sarita Johnson from Enterprise Ireland. Without their support, this journey would have been so much more challenging. Thank you all.

I’d like to thank all our loyal customers that we’ve had the privilege to work with. I so appreciate that you trust us with your HR and your people. Your support and business is genuinely appreciated. You are such fantastic ambassadors for our business and give us the highest compliment we could ever wish for through your ongoing referrals. Thank you for your trust, your business and support.

I’d like to thank my amazing publisher, Brian O’Kane of Oak Tree Press, for his input, belief and expertise. Brian, you were first class and an absolute pleasure to work with.

Finally, I’d like to thank my amazing family and friends. I’m so lucky to have so many people in my life that are such a positive influence and really believe in me and support me in everything I do. They make my ordinary extraordinary. They support me when I need a ‘phone a friend’ and help to celebrate the successes and achievements along the way. I realise I’m so lucky to have each and every one of you in my life and thank you sincerely for your support.

I’m a big believer in enjoying the journey. The culmination of all the people who’ve influenced me along the way means I get to do what I love with amazing people every day. Thank you all. Without each and every one of you, this book would not be possible. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Caroline McEnery, The HR Suite

This wonderful poem by WB Yeats is one of my favourites. It always reminds me that, when working with and managing people, you are dealing with people’s dreams and hopes.

Since work is completely entangled in all our lives, you must tread softly in your dealings with all employees and colleagues.

Ask the right questions at the right time

A lot of the HR advice, mentoring and training tips I give to business owners and managers hinges on ensuring you ask the right questions at the right time and then listen, silently and carefully, so you can then identify how best you should progress proactively to the next steps from there.

This book should be on your desk as a ‘go to guide’ that you can dip into as needed to remind you of the key questions you should ask in different situations throughout the employment journey. By asking the right questions, you will enhance your team’s skills to maximise their own talent and you will make your business or department more successful by engaging your team’s knowledge and skills. This book is a summary of our top tips to help make your journey of people management run more smoothly so you can maximise your very best resource – your team.

Your team deserves the best manager you can be

I have included a personal action plan review at the end of the book to help you self-assess your own skills and current management techniques. Hopefully, you will identify some tips to enhance your skills – I know from the experience of other managers that they really do work! Enjoy the journey!