CHANGING TRENDS IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Moving beyond training- Performance consulting

2009-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

IF not us, WHO? If not now, WHEN?

When the global economy is slowing crawling back to its original form, this situation offers a tremendous opportunity to those in training & development to rise up to this occasion. Management today seeks out those people who can partner them to install the performance required by organizations to win back the lost ground.

We must evolve from training to performance perspective. Performance consulting is the process by which we can work with the management to identify and achieve performance excellence linked to business goals.

Role of Performance Consultant

Following points can describe the role of a Performance Consultant

1. Focus: Identify and address performance needs of people
2. Output: Provide services to assist in changing or improving performance
3. Accountability: Held accountable for establishing and maintaining partnership with business leaders.
4. Measures: The results of training and non training actions are measured for performance change & cost benefit.
5. Assessment: Assessments are completed to determine performance gaps and reasons for these gaps.
6. Relationship to organizational goals: The function is viewed as producing measurable results like cost savings, increase in productivity etc.

Skills required for being a successful Performane Consultant

Four key areas of skill and knowledge is required by performance consultants to be successful

1. Business Knowledge
2. Knowledge of Human Performance Technology
3. Partnering skills
4. Consulting skills

Performance consultants are business people who specialize in Human performance.

How Performance Consulting moves beyond training

· Identify the primary forces, outside the control of the organization that will challenge the organizations ability to meet its business goals.
· Discuss the strategies and actions being taken by competitors and the implications of those actions for the organization.
· Skillfully use the business language- the language which is spoken throughout the organization.

Performance Consultant is a role and not a job. Its is distinguished from the role of a traiditional trainer by its focus on what people must do rather than on what they must learn

Transitioning from Traditional training to Performance Consulting

2009-12-19T10:17:00.000-08:00

“Remember, training is not what is ultimately important …….performance is”

– Marc Rosenberg

One of my friends working as a trainer with an MNC financial services firm gets a call from his operations manager telling her that the training she conducted for his team has done nothing to the falling customer satisfaction scores. The statement clearly said “whatever you did certainly didn’t work”. This leaves my friend very perplexed.

Scenarios like this are a common feature in many organizations. What these scenarios have in common is today training is being looked at as a tool to enhance performance.

Most of the expenditure on training & development is wasted as skills and knowledge gained during training sessions are not appropriately applied by employee on the shop floor. Only about 10% of these expenditures are transferred to the job. This makes it imperative for training to move from traditional approach to the performance approach.

Bob Mager and Peter Pipe have advocated that trainers differentiate between skill and knowledge deficiencies and other work environment factors that affect performance. For over three decades , Tom Gilbert has advocated performance analysis based upon rigorous examination of exemplary performers. He has argued that this is not enough to ask exemplary performers what they do; instead analyst must observe their performance.

There is no doubt that our economy is changing in fundamental and many far reaching ways. The performance demands placed on employees are demanding and their work is changing every day. The competitive advantage and survival of any organization demands that its employees perform at high level.

This brings in a tremendous opportunity for professionals in “training & development” space, as in their quest to achieve high employee performance & productivity, Management and others will seek out these people who can partner them to install the performance required by the organization.

Thus trainers today must be able to do:
1. Develop collaborative working relationships with key managers and other stake holders
2. Clearly understand the Vision and mission of the management
3. Identify the performance levels required by employees to survive
4. Work with people in and outside the management to determine all interventions required to be a “High Performance Organization”

These activities are clearly outside the preview of traditional training processes. Hence trainers today have to transition themselves from being trainers to Performance Consultants who can help employee to identify and achieve performance excellence linked to business goals. The theme that comes out of this discussion is “think performance, not training”

How to deal a torrid relationship with your employer

2009-12-12T06:55:00.000-08:00

Walk away…..u deserve better……that’s probably what your friends would have told you had you been into a troubled relationship with your partner….

You will not be left with too much of a choice…Either tackle the situation or leave your partner

The same rule applies in your relationship with your employer. When your needs are not being met at work for a long time or you feel you’re compromising or maybe putting your dreams on hold- its an indication of a “Toxic Relationship”. It not only effects your work life, it also effects your health, relationships, confidence and your self esteem gets hit too.

In order to change things you should be willing to i) Develop a strong self-respect and ii) know what corrective actions to take

Here are a few corrective actions that will help:

1.Know your Value: Without a strong sense of self-esteem, it’s impossible to achieve change and improvements on career front. So the first thing to do is to get focused on identifying your unique talents, be clear about the commercial value you have created for your employer and clients. Take out those glowing testimonials, appraisals and feedback. This will help you get back your self esteem and in turn give you the courage to break free of the situation that is grinding at you.

2. Get clear about your needs: What is the work you really want to do? What are the personal and professional needs? What are the values you will never ever want to compromise on? What are the skills and strengths you want to develop & utilise on a day-to-day basis?

3. Identifying the missing links: in an employee-employer relationship, you need to know which of your needs are not being met before seeking to make changes. If notclear on the missing links, you can very easily make an impulsive decision that takes you out of the frying pan and into the fire.

4. Be open for a dialogue: Whatever be the problem, the moment you engage in a constructive conversation, you are on your way to making progress. Be open for a dialogue without any anger, judgement or prejudice and you can make the situation better. Always remember “To Understand than to be understood”.

5. Have options: if you are stuck in your personal relationship and suddenly you get a compliment from your partners friend….how to do feel? I am sure it lifts your spirits…that’s exactly what happens when you stuck in a bad situation in your job….a sudden call from a head hunter to discuss a potential position and you start feeling valued. An email from your friend asking if you would be interested in exploring an opportunity in his organization gives you a feeling that you have other options.

Always remember that there’s’ a future beyond your current situation and that the outside world places a value on you. Instead of waiting for opportunities to knock your door, start creating these opportunities for yourself. Start networking with your professional friends and acquaintances. This will give you the confidence and options to deal with the situation instead of getting to a stage where things become untenable.

Throughout our lives and careers, we all get stuck in difficult stages of a relationship – both with our partners and employers. Most of us will usually tolerate a bad situation for a while until it becomes extremely uncomfortable. But some of us will never tackle such situations until something “breaks.”

So friends lets not get ourselves into a situation where we “break” – forcing us to just resign, burn our bridges or leave with no job to go to creating another set of problems; lets get up and put our acts together to steer clear of such a situation by following the above mentioned steps as we “deserve a lot better…”

Traits of A High-Performance Organisation

2009-12-10T05:45:00.000-08:00

Seven important traits of High Performance Culture

A compelling vision
The vision statement of what the company wishes to be in non-financial terms reflects in the employee behaviour of the organisation.

A true-believer psyche
Employees are not concerned with their individual success alone but they believe in their company's vision and its success. Each employee strongly believes that he is part of the organisation and owns it too.

Basic values
At least two to four basic values are observed in high-performing organisations. These simple and down-to-earth values are either implicit or stated.

Dissatisfaction with current performance
Although employees are proud of their organisation, they are not complacent about their current ways functioning. There is a certain degree of restlessness and they try to improve their performance by learning from mistakes.

Respect for peers

Respect of peers through their performance and the desire to be the best is the biggest motivator amongst executives in high-performing organisations.

Committed employees
The idea of a long-term association with the organisation and their colleagues causes employees to behave well with them. They do not exhibit any other behaviour with a short-term association in mind.

Fun

High performing organisations believe in working and playing hard. Success is celebrated almost everyday.

The Employees

High-performing companies invariably attract outstanding performers, they do not settle for anything less. Employees' exhibit a "Can-do" attitude and are Highly Competitive

The system aims at developing employees and maintaining transparency in business transactions, and having clear expectation/evaluation/frequent feedback.

Reference: The Manage Mentor

Keep The Faith! - People Management

2009-09-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

Key learnings:
Staying committed to corporate talent management in a downturn is the only way to ensure better future
In addition, setting up EAPs can help organisations address fears of lay-offs and job cuts and keep employee morale high

Premise

Hold ground and hang around! This is what Mc Donald’s, Caterpillar and Coca-Coal HR chiefs are telling their people. The three giants are not giving up yet on their talent management initiatives. When other corporate houses are packing up their talent plans, the trio is going all out to give their talent management initiatives a facelift.

According to Cynthia McCague, HR chief at Coca-Cola, there has been no change at all in their hiring intent. The company plans to stay course and do everything it can to hold and attract talent for future business needs. The soft drinks giant employs more than 90,000 employees and has a focused framework for employee development.

Ditto at McDonald’s. The company is going ahead with its million dollars programme for talent management. At Caterpillar too economic downturn has done little to dampen its talent plans The Company plans to spend a whopping USD1.5 billion for its training and talent management initiatives. The figures are staggering because of the changes happening around.

Lessons from corporate Gullivers

The talent management story at the world’s most celebrated corporations is surely worth admiring. However it is also worthwhile to spend time and mind in understanding how and what is it the companies are doing differently that is shielding them from the economic wrath.

An analysis of the talent management practices at the three corporations revealed that the three of them were doing the same. The little differences that figured were mainly because of the differences in their industry practices.

At McDonald’s...

McDonalds’ has had a cushy time despite the downturn, since the footfalls in the restaurants‘ global locations have only increased with recession; considering that restaurants offer affordable fast foods. Thus the rod was spared for restaurateurs. This apart the company stands out because of its relentless efforts to boost its workforce abilities, providing the best possible growth opportunities by aiming for talent management initiatives that strengthen employee engagement and also build commitment and loyalty. Further the company has also started certain talent management programmes at the stores with competent training and development initiatives. The Company has also started commitment surveys at the stores including the franchisee stores. This has helped the company learn about the way employees feel about serving for the fast food giant.

An interesting change witnessed by the McDonalds store managers is that since recession set in, the number of job applications at McDonalds has doubled. People are pouring in with their resumes like never before. “This is a mark of the relationship quality that we share with our employees,“ says Floersch, the HR chief at McDonalds.

At Coca-Cola...

Coca-Cola is shielded from the rough weather like McDonald’s.The company is doing rather well for itself while giving others “simple moments of pleasure”! Apart from the regular talent management initiatives, Coca-Cola has set up employee assistance posts (EAPs) to help employees address their fears and concerns about the future of the company and their growth in it. According to McCague, family and friends of employees talk about their concerns and help address their fears about people lain-off around them. The EAPs aim to ease the fears and concerns of the employees and their families by spending time with them and letting them know with exactness the real picture.

At Caterpillar. ..

No shield, yet there! Manufacturers of earth movers are not shaken by the tremours around it. The giant continues to stand tall and how! The company plans to infuse USD 1.5 billion in its talent management drive. The company is clear about keeping its workforce intact. Caterpillar announced a 35 per cent pay cut for senior executives and 15 percent pay cut for other employees but they discussed with the employees about pay cut before communicating their purpose to them.. According to Sid Banwart, the firm’s chief HR officer taking employees into confidence is the only way to move forward in a crisis.

The company has also rebuffed its internal employee development programme. When asked about poaching competitor talent Sid was blatant in stating the organisation relies heavily on its internal talent pool and therefore does not feel the need to look outside.

Final thoughts

The common denominator underlying the three success stories is their commitment to nurturing talent and believing in spirit that man and not machine is supreme. Leaders of the three corporations have also showed that talent management and employee recognition are not mechanical that can be turned on or off based on the external environment. Following it with great seriousness and sincerity since corporate success is all about winning people and not robots. Thus, organisations irrespective of the external environment should hold stead and stay committed to its people and make the most from the crisis!

Reference: TheManageMentor.

Reorganize and Recover In a Challenging Economy

2009-09-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

In March, Profiles International researchers conducted a comprehensive review of organizational design and talent management practices to identify best practices in organizational restructuring.

It polled companies on how well they believed their organizations followed these practices and how well they would be prepared for a major reorganization and redeployment event. Nearly 800 people from multiple industries participated in the survey. Based on the data, they identified the following strategies for reorganizing and redeploying employees in order to succeed during a recession.

1. Know how each job supports the organization's key objectives. Seventy-six percent of participants expressed some uncertainty about this point. An organization may be behind the curve if job designs have not changed with a revamped plan of action. If employees are performing their jobs the same old way, they are thwarting progress. Top leaders must buy in to the strategy and share it with employees so every worker knows how to put the plan into action.

2. Consider internal and external candidates for open positions. Twenty-eight percent of respondents were certain they looked inside their organization first for the best candidate. Internal hiring demonstrates confidence in a company's training practices of and employees. Such practices encourage top performers to take initiative and exercise creative thinking. Less training is required in crucial aspects of the job, such as the scope and connections to other employees and departments because internal hires already know how the company works.

3. Use objective evaluation criteria based on known outstanding performers. To ensure each worker fits the job, measure how top employees in the same position perform. Then apply the same assessment to candidates for the position and see how well they match the top performers. This approach works because it applies objective standards to the position instead of using subjective standards or "hiring with your gut."

4. Apply a consistent selection process to all candidates. Only 24 percent of respondents were certain their selection processes were objective and fair. This is important, not only because talent managers want to do the right thing, but also because legal challenges to employee selection standards are expensive. The best employee selection process ensures selection standards are job-related, validated and standardized.

5. Include key stakeholders in the employee selection process. Seventy-three percent of business leaders in the survey were not certain the most important members of their organizations were involved in this critical process. Key stakeholders are those affected, for better or worse, by talent operations, those with an interest in what talent leaders do and those who influence talent managers' actions.

6. Train interviewers in selection process. Profiles' research reveals an opportunity improvement. Fewer than 20 percent of participants are certain their interviewers receive adequate training. Once talent managers decide to use structured interviews - those in which questions and tasks are chosen beforehand to ensure consistency - it is imperative to coach interviewers. The process is more likely to go smoothly if interviewers understand it, buy in to the reasoning behind it and know what to do. The unstructured interview will not enable talent managers to identify the best candidates.

7. Conduct comprehensive reference and background checks on job candidates. According to the survey, only 34 percent of respondents utilized such information. Leaders might view reference or background checks as unnecessary when they "know" someone is right for a position. Employment experts estimate nearly one-third of all resumes contain false or exaggerated information.

In today's economy, most organizations face pressure to reduce waste and maximize efficiency. For many, this means making difficult personnel decisions to eliminate positions that do not add sufficient value to the organization and either eliminating or redeploying people to those roles. The stakes are high with little room for error, but with proper assessment and coaching systems in place, companies can position themselves to survive the current conditions and thrive in the future.

[About the Author: Jim Sirbasku is co-founder and CEO of Profiles International Inc., a human resource management solutions and employment assessments provider.]

Training and Development - Conjured Learning

2009-08-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

Simulations as more than learning tools

Key learnings:

Gaming simulations have carved a niche in training
But they also have the potential to move a little beyond that

Gaming will enable learning professionals to reinforce key learning ideas, deliver more attractive, engaging sessions and ensure higher retention levels is an irrefutable fact. Organisations are so satisfied with just this much that only few have exploited the true potential of gaming.

“Simulation games have more potential than what is currently being harnessed,” says an expert in gaming technology. The biggest discovery is using games to bolster business performance. In fact, once organisations understand the correlation between gaming and business performance, the final word in the learning world will be games!

Simulation games allow learning professionals to reproduce complex market, organisational and customer-service systems and conditions. As a result, learning interventions are better poised to support business performances. Read on to understand the link between simulation games as a learning tool and improved business performance.

Reasoning

The question, “Why simulations?” though answered a hundred times before, todayt in answering the same question, the objectives are to highlight:

Using simulation games is relevant in present times
How simulations boost business performance

The joys of simulation

Besides their high entertainment value, using simulation games can create knowledge. By modelling work-life conditions, they enable learners to understand:

Complex market functioning
Tactics that support improved business performance
Competencies and skills needed to achieve high performance

In short, simulation games, when well leveraged, give organisations a unique business advantage. Detailing reasons why simulation games should become a hot favourite, especially when increasing business performance is the key learning objective.

Generational preference:

With gamers representing an increasing chunk of the employees, short, intermittent online learning exposures will leave learners dissatisfied and disillusioned Simulation games offer modern learners what they expect - a wholesome online learning experience.

Equally important is for organisations to understand the importance that modern generations place on technology. To them, technologically non-savvy organisations have no future. As the head of a telecommunications company reiterates, “With the younger generation in particular, it is important to attract such employees with the kinds of technology they have come to expect, including simulation games and Web 2.0 capabilities” .

As well as to helping organisations cater to the learning needs of newer work generations, simulation games help attract and keep the young crowd! But these benefits are just the beginning.

Built-in learning:

Simulation games place learners in practical performance management situations. Here, learners play a central role in managing and controlling and gain practice in making the right moves. Learners also enjoy the luxury of making errors without suffering its outcomes. With rapidly changing trends, having learners return to classrooms or online sessions often is not possible. With this limitation, simulations provide a great learning platform and what is best is that learners are not getting short-changed in the bargain. On the contrary, they benefit more from the experience of being-in-the- moment. “Compared with traditional classroom learning, simulations help learners master content and new behaviours forty – seventy percent faster,” says an expert. Speeding learners to new learning competencies translates into quicker business results.

The differentiator

There are market simulations that allow learners to perform ‘what if’ analyses. By modelling cause and effect associations that exist in a particular market environment, these simulations allow learners to get a first-hand feel of complex market functions and human interactions. Simulations also make learners better assessors of real-life situations. Known as the ‘déjà vu factor’, a learner who has experienced something in a simulated meeting will immediately link it to what he is going through in real-time.

Simulations can also help business plans and organisational structures to enable employees to understand the complex web of their operations and functioning. Organisations have used such simulations to identify actions and interactions that act as obstacles or hamper functioning. Simulations have also helped them test the solutions. In fact, an emerging practice is using simulations for corrective and preventive measures. Customising all these simulations to the‘t’ will have the desirable impact.

As mentioned above, simulations can help gain critical skills and competencies even when individuals have had no prior experience in it. A railway company employed a cost-centre simulation solution to help their employees, who were engineers with no exposure to finance, gain financial management skills. By engaging those in complex role-playing and allowing them to plan and perform operational activities, the engineers felt as comfortable as their finance counterparts by the end of their training.

The benefits of simulation continue to charm organisations. But thinking of them as learning tools alone will prevent organisations from using them as part of performance management. Given the increasing complexities of the business world, speeding employees’ knowledge and competency gaming is a definite way to ensure better and quicker business results.

Ref: TheManageMentor.

The Grim Reapers!

2009-08-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

HR specialists are experiencing extreme burnout as they carry out multiple lay-offs ...

Key learnings:

HR professionals need support to manage lay-offs induced stress and anxiety
Emotional distancing is one of the key fallouts of lay-offs
Training and HR support networks can help ease the pain associated with conducting lay-offs

HR professionals are living their worst nightmare! Their worst fears suddenly have come true, with lay-offs and job cuts becoming more frequent than one would have ever imagined. .HR professionals are feeling the heat from the emotional outbursts of people being laid-off and the stress caused because of overseeing continuous rounds of lay-offs. The most disturbing part of lay-off related stress is that more than thirty percent of HR professionals are considering a job shift! The reactions seem graver than one would have bargained for, Organisations thus need to take notice of the not-so-welcome trend that is beginning to unfold. Understanding the reasons for anxiety, stress and depression and providing help to overcome these negative feelings is thus pressing for organisations that wish to preserve their HR asset.

The weathered and wilted

HR professionals surely are gaining experience of a different kind by engaging in lay-offs round after round. The experience is extraordinary and faraway from normal. While the experience can be enriching as human resources professionals, getting weathered by the storm is terrible. Some would argue that excessive weathering is causing them to wilt under pressure and stress is leading them to disillusionment. .

Traditionally, it has been the human resources department that has provided counselling to stressed and anxious employees, however, today HR professionals need support of the same kind more than anybody else. Statistics provided in the report presented by workforce management would enable better understanding of its gravity. The HR anxiety survey reveals that:

Out of the 370 respondents surveyed more than sixty-five percent had started drinking more while others lit up when they felt unduly stressed
More than thirty percent HR professionals are thinking about a job change
Sixty-six percent of HR professionals are worried about losing their jobs
Seven percent HR professionals have already lost their jobs
Fifty percent of the surveyed professionals have conducted three or more rounds of lay-offs in a time span of 16-18 months
Majority feel distressed as people call them names like “grim reaper” and “the axe man”
Seventy percent have reported with complaints of sleeplessness and stress-induced depression

The foregoing statistics are alarming and suggest the need to take preventive measures for containing the negative impact of today’s uncertain economic times as it is resonating deep and far within the corporate fold.

According to corporate psychologists, HR professionals have been corporate caretakers. They have played a key role in hiring people to ensure better organisational productivity. Removing them for ushering cuts in corporate outlays and containing loss because of poor economic conditions is a bizarre experience for HR professionals. Such conflicting experiences are taking a toll on the mental and physical health of HR professionals. The implications can be worrying for both employers and HR professionals. While HR workers would have to battle out ill-health and a poor mental state, the employers would have to worry about the morale of HR workers and the resulting medical costs that the company would have to bear.

The most worrying fact about the whole lay-off caused stress and anxiety is that, most employers are oblivious to the implications of lay-offs on people who conduct them. All remedial measures are directed to those being laid-off and none towards HR professionals who have been sitting for lay-offs round after round. For instance, the employer providing laid-off employees with outplacement services, however, there is no counselling or aid provided to HR professionals to help them cope with the pressures of axing jobs.

Emotional distancing

Apart from the health issues, emotional distancing is the most obvious fallout of excessive lay-offs. HR professionals are increasingly distancing themselves from their colleagues. According to Laura Rhode, HR director of Bonita Springs, Florida-based hardware giant, “as HR professionals we do not want to get too close with other colleagues as it would really hurt if they were asked to leave”. Where HR professionals are not emotionally distancing themselves we find employees distancing themselves from their “HR friends”, as they believe that they are “sorrow makers”. According to a survey, twenty-five percent of HR professionals believed there has been a dramatic change in their relationship with their colleagues ever since they carried-out lay-offs.

HR professionals thus need help. The criticism, self-induced stress, anxiety, tagging by friends and depression are reasons enough to take professional help. Most HR professionals are fighting the ailments at their personal level without much success. The need to get some professional counselling that can make them feel better about their work is important to spread cheer and gaiety among the HR fraternity. Apart from professional counselling HR professionals can set up formal support networks that work towards providing common comfort. However, the disadvantages of a formal network would be that it could lead to a “HR” versus “us” idea..

This apart, HR professionals can enrol for training on how to conduct lay-offs and deal with issues related to lay-offs. Most HR professionals surveyed believed the training they received helped them cope with stress and therefore recommend it with great conviction. However, experts believe that while training surely helps HR professionals get a grip on conducting lay-offs, explaining the strategy behind lay-offs can highlight the impact of training.

While the survey brought out some real grim facts about conducting lay-offs, it also has given hope and a reason to cheer. According to the survey only nineteen percent respondents believed the stress and anxiety would have a long-term impact on their health and adversely impact their attitude towards HR function. The rest sounded upbeat and positive and believed that this phase too shall pass and the “grim” reapers would soon become “grin” reapers!

Ref: TheManageMentor.

Recruitment & Retention- Mistaken Identity

2009-08-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

Poor hiring is not always about what one does, it’s also about what one doesn’t!

Key learnings:

A mistake-free hiring process is a rarity
This however does not mean organisations do little to prevent typical hiring mistakes

It is surprising how many organisations rave and rant about showing the importance of ROI of recruiting while indulging in actions that eat into the returns. But let’s cut them some slack. Most are ignorant of how they damage their recruiting efforts. This week’s mailer reveals a few common damaging activities that ail most recruiting processes. The hope is that once aware, organisations will tread the recruiting path with more caution than before.

What really happens?

In a recent finger-pointing research, analysts confirmed how the high-handedness of hiring managers and supervisors affect most recruiting functions. The objective to improve the recruiting returns is to target the hiring managers and supervisors since final hiring decisions lie in their kitty.

Here are a few mistakes that can easily be avoided with little awareness and effort.

Mistake: Rebuking recruiters about candidate quality only to reject the qualified based on gut feelings or resume information

Complaints on how only a few candidates match are rampant. But what hiring managers and supervisors overlook is the number of qualified candidates they reject citing reasons such as, “I don’t think he’ll like the job”, “I’m sure he’ll get bored with the job profile soon” and “He is overqualified for what we have to offer”. Maybe these reasons are not flippant but how many organisations ask their hiring managers to confirm their reasons for rejecting a candidate. Once this stipulation is in place, hiring managers and supervisors will be wary of rejecting candidates for unjustified reasons.

Mistake: Failing to make it to the interview

There have been instances when critical positions have been vacant for long and when ‘right’ candidates finally show up, hiring managers have done the disappearing act on the day of the interview. Good fits are always a rarity and competition for them is always on. Therefore, not showing up for scheduled interviews is the biggest mistake some hiring managers make. Most candidates are unwilling to reschedule their interviews or make reappearances. While their unwillingness has all to do with their market worth, hiring managers are quick to say, “The fact that he cannot reschedule or come on another day shows his reluctance to work for us”. It may not be true. Start pulling up hiring managers and supervisors for not showing up on scheduled interviews.

Mistake: Turning up ill-prepared for interviews

There have been instances when recruiters have had to resend candidates details while the candidate is seated across the interview table. Recruiters have not only resent resumes but have also attended those urgent; “Hey, quick tell me something about this guy” calls. A hiring manager or supervisor’s lack of interview readiness speaks volumes of how serious he is about hiring the best. Getting hiring managers and supervisors to share their interviewing schedules a week in advance and asking them to clarify their concerns about shortlisted candidates in advance should help hiring managers and supervisors get serious about their roles.

Mistake: Turning up late for interviews

Asking candidates to wait beyond their scheduled time gives them the impression the organisation is unorganised, ill-prepared or could not careless about them. Though most candidates would wait for the interview, only the desperate would wait to accept an offer. Typically, the desperate are not always the best. Hold hiring managers and supervisors accountable for sticking to their interviewing timetable.

Mistake: Getting to the interview only to ask dimwitted questions!

Asking interviewing questions is not akin to being a quizmaster! Questions asked should help hiring managers and supervisors make the right hiring decisions. However, most hiring managers and supervisors ask irrelevant, inappropriate and wrong questions. Interviewing questions have to be to-the-point and information generating. Blaming those in-charges of interviewing is unfair when they have had no formal interviewing skills training. Here is where more organisations falter. All organizations do not make artists out of their interviewers, interviewing skills is a recognized art. Hiring managers and supervisors must be trained with the dos and don’ts of interviewing and exposed to questioning skills.

Mistake: Delaying decision making Delayed decision is refuted decision.

Although not yet recognised as an idiom, it holds true in recruiting circles. Hiring managers and supervisors who delay hiring decisions stating, “We are yet to hear from our team” or “I am waiting for the green from my boss” are doing a disservice to recruiting. Although some have the courtesy to tell candidates about the delay, undue time lags between interviewing and hiring are the banes of recruiting. Most top candidates are lost during this time. Justifying their time lags is a must for hiring managers and supervisors. Also, penalising them for keeping critical positions unfulfilled even after interviewing.

As some experts rightly say, the success of most actions lie in not what is being done but what is not, in hiring too, success lies in avoiding the preceding mistakes. Hoping this week’s mailer will enable organisations to indulge in a mistake-free hiring process - happy hiring.

Ref: TheManageMentor.

Tapping Top Talent in a Downturn

2009-08-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

HR leaders often are faced with the task of downsizing in one business unit and recruiting highly skilled professionals in another. They have to cope with an exponential increase in applicants for a much smaller number of open jobs, maintain morale in constantly shifting external and internal environments and help their organizations retain key employees. This must be done with reduced recruiting and HR staffs and slashed budgets, at a time when brand image is a critical success factor.

Today, more than ever, organizations must recruit and select the best talent where they have openings and upgrade talent in areas where it will advantage the business. Change in the business environment has happened so fast, many organizations have been slow to adjust and take action. In the current economic climate, it is necessary to take a step back and evaluate workforce plans, as well as talent acquisition processes and enabling technology and determine a strategy that works for the organization in the new recruiting reality.

A Fresh Approach

The biggest mistake an organization can make in this challenging environment is to let down markets drive its vision and shut down recruiting completely. Don't ignore reality. Take a well-planned, creative approach to workforce planning and talent acquisition.

When recruiting departments are faced with more work and fewer resources, build in efficiencies, maximize existing tools, eliminate waste from existing processes, innovate, manage vendor relationships and establish strategic partnerships.

Consider the following steps:

1. Re-evaluate recruitment marketing strategies.
Don't stop running ads and posting jobs, but do be strategic and take a planned approach. The market has shifted from a scarcity to an abundance of candidates in a very short time - adjust accordingly. Don't overspend or spend in the wrong areas. Now is a great time to be out in the market as the competition for talent is much lower. Take advantage of it.

Also, renegotiate existing vendor relationships; don't pay last year's rates this year. There will still be skill shortages and geographic recruiting gaps, so rewrite copy and spruce up the company's look. Speak in a genuine voice for the organization by working with the marketing department.

2. Leverage the hidden gold mine.
Arguably the most commonly overlooked tool in any organization is its existing database. A real gold mine of information, the resumes collected by recruiters and HR staff during the past few years should provide great leads on passive and active candidates. For instance, run a Boolean search on the company's internal ATS database.

3. Improve competitive insight.
Leverage candidate interviews to collect market data on competitors. Actively call leads and network to gain insight into their knowledge about competitors. As talent managers interview candidates from competitors, gather critical information to help position the company to win in the market.

4. Tap the current employee pool.
Take a fresh look at the existing employee pool. Which individuals shine in the downturn? Identify individuals who have been interested in gaining experience in other functional areas and who would be willing to wear two hats during difficult times.

For the right employees, the current climate might provide real opportunities to gain much needed and desired experience in another area. Strong employees will appreciate the opportunity for long-term career growth, and it will show them how much they are valued.

5. Maximize social networking in recruiting.
When used properly, social media networks are an effective tool. The time demand is surprisingly low. If an organization has limited time, choose one or two networks to try. One recommendation is LinkedIn, which is targeted to professionals and requires little maintenance.

6. Automate candidate contact, and employ well-designed self-service.
Tracking down candidates can be time-consuming and frustrating, not to mention costly. Be efficient. One of the easiest solutions is to work with a provider to automate the process. There are myriad tools and software options on the market. The most attractive are those that include auto-scheduling, online minimum qualification screening and telephony/video interviewing platforms. Talent leaders also will want to improve and perhaps automate selection tools to ensure they find those few best needles in the now huge haystack.

Many talent managers can relate to the challenge of responding to the growth in candidate calls to "check status" and a single candidate applying for multiple positions. Turn on auto e-mails. A recent Pinstripe survey showed that less than 20 percent of organizations use that functionality in their ATSs.

Books Are Fun Ltd., a Chicago-based subsidiary of Reader's Digest, and the world's leading display marketer of books and gifts, experienced the benefits of automation firsthand. To meet expansion goals and cover attrition rates, Books Are Fun recruits 250-300 independent sales representatives every year. Before automation, the company's six internal recruiters spent 70 percent of their time screening applicants.

"We knew that the most important part of the recruiting process is the late-stage conversation that we have with a candidate about the job as a lifestyle change rather than just another position," said David Hammond, vice president of sales recruitment. "We needed our internal folks to focus on these late-stage conversations. It was a waste of time for my staff to handle the screening process."

Books Are Fun outsourced the sourcing and screening process to an organization that was able to reduce costs and time to fill by streamlining candidate tracking; managing all recruitment marketing efforts including postings and active and passive candidate sourcing; and accessing additional resources, including community-based recruiting from libraries and organizations, franchise and sales-niche recruiting, various national and regional job boards and TRM contact searches.

7. Find the right candidates from the onset.
Many organizations put too many people through too far in their processes. Design talent acquisition, screening and selection processes carefully and stick with them. Screen people in - and out - early.

"In the past, Books Are Fun offered a contract to the first qualified candidate that appeared. Now we want to offer a contract to the most qualified candidates only," Hammond said. "Our new system generates enough volume of qualified candidates to provide us with real choices."

8. Review the funnel and revise processes.
An organization may have fewer openings, but now there will be more people applying, which will significantly increase the amount of time spent screening and responding to applicants. This can exhaust an HR team, particularly one that recently reduced staff, and could increase effective cost per hire.

Adopt a high-volume recruiting model to process a high volume of candidates in a time of low job requisitions. Technology enables the process in a candidate friendly way. Move online prequalifiers to the top of the funnel, and save the paid online screens and assessments for the spot where the funnel is slimmer.

Books Are Fun revised its process and brought about significant improvements, including a 45 percent decrease in costs, a decrease in time to fill from 52 to 42 days and clear recruiting metrics including weekly summaries, pipeline reports, hiring funnels and detailed process maps.

9. Protect the brand.
When an organization is one of a few that is hiring, and getting 500 resumes for every job posted, process change is necessary. Work with experts to ensure the company doesn't miss good people or alienate future prospects and customers. This is particularly important if an organization is a major consumer brand, and every applicant also is a consumer.

Be polite and respectful every time. Companies are not usually good at this, and HR will find it especially important to partner with marketing and hiring managers when everyone is being asked to do more with less.

Times are tough and the human resources function is on the frontlines of the battle. But remember, every downturn yields winners and losers. Some organizations will not merely weather this storm; they will seize the opportunity to emerge as a more efficient and successful.

[About the Author: Sue Marks is founder and CEO of Pinstripe Inc., an HR and recruitment process outsourcing firm serving large- and middle-market domestic clients, as well as the Global 5000.]

People Management- Miss-stakes!

2009-07-26T08:34:00.001-07:00

What not to do when the times are tough…

Key learnings:

Business heads too are human, and prone to committing errors
They need to avoid certain mistakes to be able to survive tough times

Often, it is what you don’t do that impacts success, rather than what you do. Quite a few business heads have undone their good work with a few slip-ups here and there. Unfortunately, the condition of the economy hasn’t supported them. Mistakes that could have easily been ignored in good times appear bigger and uglier during a recession. Expecting the top brass to be error-free is both unfair and unrealistic. But there are certain mistakes that must be avoided to survive the tough times. Here is what business heads must be wary of:

Look before you leap

Difficult times compel individuals to take difficult actions. But what is tough to fathom is why those actions appear more desperate than deliberate. In this downturn too, managements have made quite a few impulsive and copycat decisions, which they will regret once the economy bounces back. Decisions have to be made diligently, particularly during tough times. Right from evaluating the source of information to a critical analysis of the worth of the decision, due-diligence should be the guiding principle.

Power corrupts

When in trouble, the more the number of friends and advisors one has the better the chances of surviving. Even though everyone agrees that networking, both social and professional, can help bail out individuals, business heads are chary of networking with their rank and file. Although the reverse should be the case, managements become more guarded and cloistered when times turn bad. Here is what can help correct the mistake:

Involve everyone, right from a shop-floor worker to a C-level executive, in generating ideas, innovative methods and short-cuts
Continue to delegate as before
Be transparent

Also, do what US President Barack Obama does! Obama’s team hosts discussions on the internet to invite suggestions and opinions from different people. In addition to generating ideas, the responses enable them to evaluate public sentiments.

Hasty decisions

“No one ever downsized their way to greatness,” says a business analyst. Yet, most belt-tightening initiatives have been so severe that the possibility of bouncing back to normalcy when the economy rolls out is bleak. In trimming flab, organisations have cut so deep that some of the muscle has also been hacked. Getting back top performers, who have been treated poorly, is almost impossible. Another equally hasty action is implementing strict recruitment freezes.

A downturn is an excellent time to pick up good talent at competitive wages. Once this opportunity is lost, the ugly practice of poaching, and paying through one’s nose, will return! Also, in organisations where layoffs have been extensive, those who stay will be grateful only for a few days! Soon employees will realise that they must now shoulder the workload of those laid off. Their disappointment and dissent will be just the beginning of troubles to follow! An effective way out is to try different alternatives to laying off.

Expansion

With organisations reducing the numbers on their rolls, meeting the needs of customers will be a huge task. So, however tempted managements may be to pick up the competitors’ ‘uncared for’ customers, a downturn is not an opportune time to expand business. With fewer employees, there is no guarantee that customers, who shifted loyalty because they have been treated poorly, will receive any better treatment. Moreover, expecting teams with reduced manpower to be enthused about new business is irrational. A better way would be to treat existing customers with extra care. When customers stand testimony to how well an organisation took care of them despite the downturn, there can be no better advertising than that.

Do what can be done

The ‘more with less’ frenzy is such that managements stretch their fewer resources over heavy tasks without recognising that every work team will have only limited elasticity. A business consultant observes, “I have found that much of the ‘more’ is work that provides no value at the end of the day.” Business heads must scrutinise every task and determine its ROI, and only those with good returns should be retained, refitted into the workflow and delegated. Moreover, an employee performing five meaningful tasks will not feel as overworked as someone handling fewer, but non-contributory tasks.

Everyone makes mistakes, even business heads. But making the above-mentioned ones is more than a slip-up.

Ref: TheManageMentor.

Recruiting With Finesse !

2009-07-26T08:16:00.000-07:00

Recruitment agencies can boost an organisation’ s recruiting prowess by following performance- based methodology.

Key learnings:

Job descriptions restrict talent search, and therefore, should be used only as a reference template

Recruiters need to identify at least two accomplishments- -individual and team based--to help recruitment managers steer the interview in the right direction

The workloads of a recruitment manager and a recruiter are inter-linked. If a recruiter works hard, then the recruitment manager need not struggle as hard! Recruitment managers, with the help of recruiters, can create an equation that is mutually beneficial, while serving the organisational interests in the long run.

Most recruiters complain about how recruitment managers reject piles of resumes ruthlessly, while the latter crib over the poor quality of database that the recruiters give them to sieve through. However, experts believe that with performance- based recruiting, the scenario would change for the better. Performance- based recruiting is a tool that recruiters could use to tame the fussy recruitment managers. The strategy aims at providing the managers with better choices, thereby ensuring more hits than misses.

Feel the pulse

Performance- based recruiting underscores identifying candidates who fit the organisation’ s talent description, while analysing the personality type of the candidate and understanding how well it is suited to the existing organisational culture. It makes traditional templates and tools like job description redundant, and uses instinctive judgments to shortlist candidates. The idea behind it is to improve the quality of candidates sent to recruitment managers for screening, thereby enhancing the success ratio.

The concept is based on certain key guiding principles that need to be adhered to for maximising its impact. The guidelines include:

Discard ‘ideal’ job description

Most job descriptions that are handed over to recruiters are more surreal than real! If recruiters go by the job description, they would cut the chances of finding the ‘right fit’ drastically, and instead, line up resumes that are anything but close to the organisational requirements. Experts, therefore, recommend discarding the job description and focussing on a simple “what kind of a candidate will do the job well” criterion. Stating the requirements simply makes the job of identifying talent easy. A simply stated requirement projects the candidate as a normal professional who is equipped to do the job well. In addition, a job description limits the choice, as it binds recruiters in details like experience and skills that may be important only because the manager thinks so, but not because the job requires them. The decision to discard the job description, however, has to be taken with the consent of the recruitment manager. The job of convincing the manager about how he will get a better screening profile without a description lies with the recruiter!

Develop thorough understanding

As ‘job descriptions’ go out of the window, recruiters need to understand the job in totality. Without a clear understanding of the job, recruiters will end up making inappropriate profile selection, leading to a high rejection rate. A job can be understood well by indulging in a point-by-point discussion with the recruitment manager about the pre-requisites mentioned by him. For instance, if the recruitment manager says that the candidate should have at least two years of global work experience, then it would be worthwhile to ask how global experience helps perform the job better. Thus, converting job description into performance profile will help recruiters develop a thorough understanding of the job.

Identify accomplishments

In the process of screening candidates, identifying two accomplishments- -team-based and individual-- can help recruitment managers make the interview process quick. Recruiters asking candidates to list two defining moments of their careers and communicating them to the recruitment managers can set the pace for the interview process, giving managers an insight into the real worth of the achievements.

Drop preconceived notions

Most recruiters and recruitment managers make their decisions within the first 10-15 minutes of the interview. This happens partly because they give into certain preconceived notions, and therefore, their decisions are not necessarily the best and the most prudent. Staying wary of this tendency and making a deliberate attempt to fight ‘first impressions’ is important for making logical recruiting decisions.

Invest in candidate preparation

To ensure that candidates are at ease, recruiters must prepare them by sharing information that can help them answer job and industry-related questions. Providing them with a list of probable questions will help candidates cut on their nervousness and anxiety before the interview.
Use holistic assessment Most cases of underperformance are attributed to non-technical skills. Technical competence alone will not give a complete picture. Hence, using a multi-factor assessment tool is important to ascertain candidate competence.

Recruiters who incorporate these recommendations in their recruiting plans will benefit immensely. As for recruitment managers, screening will be easier and decision-making much faster.

Ref: TheManageMentor.

Stopping May Not Be an Option

2009-07-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

People live a lot longer than they used to. If you leave a CEO or other senior management role in your 60s, as most do - if your finances permit it in our current economy - you may have 20 or more good years ahead of you. Today, when people have the ambition, drive and energy to achieve great success in any field, it is unlikely that it will just stop when they change or leave a job.

I have never in my life met a successful CEO who was lazy. CEOs, like you, are incredibly hard-working and ambitious. And in spite some grumbling about how tough the job is, the great chief executives I know love their work. Thus, it stands to reason that unless you are about to die or you are infirm, when you make a career transition, your drive is not going to just go away.

You may even think you want to rest and relax, but according to the "retired" CEOs I have met, that desire won't last long. You will need an outlet to express yourself. The prospects of sleeping late, living on the beach, improving golf scores, going on cruises and playing all day hold almost no allure for the great leaders I have known.

Along with rest and relaxation, another favorite myth for the retiree is the ability to spend lots of quality time with the family. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, senior leaders likely have been working continuously for years, usually for decades. For better or worse, their families have been able to survive without them at home. It's a mistake to delude oneself into believing family members now want you around all of the time. For those who are married, retirement may be the spouse's greatest nightmare!

One top military officer shared his experience. "My wife said that she was looking forward to spending lots of time with me. One day, after a few months of retirement, I was in the kitchen alphabetizing the cans. To my amazement, she didn't really seem to care if baked beans should be filed under BA for baked or BE for beans. On the contrary, she reminded me that this was not the military, that I was not her officer and that it was time for me to find something else to do since I was driving her crazy."

Another former CEO laughed as he remembered his retirement. "My kids were grown up and living their own lives. They quickly grew tired of my visits. My wife got so tired of me she got a job in a dress store, just to get out of the house. One day I was watching TV by myself, and a delivery guy came to drop off a package. It was his last stop, so I invited him in for a cup of coffee, and we had a very interesting conversation about life."

After he left I thought, 'What a great conversation. That was the highlight of my week.' Then I looked into the mirror. I hadn't shaved for three days. I had been watching junk on TV. Then I realized what I had just said: 'The highlight of my week was having a cup of coffee with the delivery guy.' As a CEO, I may have had some bad weeks, but I never had a week so boring that coffee with delivery people was a highlight. I got a job the next day."

As you slow down to hand off the baton of leadership to your successor, whether you are the CEO or the executive vice president of human resources, you should have less to do at work. Let your successor start running the place. And I have an important suggestion: Use this time to start planning something exciting to do with the rest of your life. You will probably have too much drive and ambition to be a successful retiree.

You may be thinking: "If I announce my successor in advance, isn't there a danger that I will just become a lame duck?" Almost every executive goes through this dialogue as part of the challenge of slowing down. This fear often results from postponement of the announcement until the last minute, and inhibits what could otherwise be a much smoother transition process.

When it is approaching time to leave, face reality. You will become a lame duck! Attention will shift to your successor. His or her vision for the future of the company will mean more than yours. If you disapprove of executive team members' ideas, they will just wait it our and resell the same ideas to your successor. People will start sucking up to him or her in the same way they used to suck up to you.

Make peace with being a lame duck before it actually happens. Be a happy and productive lame duck. Coach your successor behind the scenes. Build that person's confidence, and begin the transfer of power before you have to. Your life, your successors' life and the lives of the executive team members will be a lot better.

[About the Author: Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is a world authority in helping successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior. He is the author or co-editor of 22 books, including The Wall Street Journal No. 1 business best-seller What Got You Here Won't Get You There.]

Emotionally Charged - HR practices

2009-07-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

Does EQ matter?

Key learnings:
The hype about hiring individuals with high EQ may be just that
But research shows it that organisations have to offer their employees emotional support

With all this hype about emotional intelligence, emotional quotient or EQ is fast becoming an essential hiring feature. As much as organisations strive to hire the best, the focus on hiring those with high EQ is equally high. One behavioral analyst, fittingly questions, “do emotions actually belong to the workplace?” This week’s mailer reviews the excitement about EQ to understand and tag its true worth.

Is there a need for EQ?

Trying to set up the connection between emotions and decision-making, a group of behavioural scientists studied the case of the railroad worker who gained instant fame when he survived a railroad barb piercing him. As miraculous as his surviving was, an unknown fact about the incident is that even though the worker’s intellect was intact, he lost his ability to decide after the incident. An excerpt from the concluded study is as follows.

"Such patients develop severe damages in personal, professional and social decision making, in spite of otherwise largely preserved intellectual abilities... After the damage, they had difficulties planning their workday and future, and difficulties in choosing friends, partners and activities.. ." This study in itself provides evidence of the role emotions play in decision-making. Therefore, hiring those with high EQ is justified in upping an organisation’ s emotional intellect.

Equally important is that organisations understand how a change in workforce demographics almost decides importance of hiring and developing emotionally stable employees.

Demographic indulgence

A few demographic trends worth reviewing include:

Late marriages
Increased number of divorcees and single parents
Increased number of households supported by unmarried individuals
Increased number of singles

India is fast accepting the above trends, which are more pronounced in the West. These trends underline an increase in the number of individuals either living alone or in nuclear families.

Those who live alone or in families where members are either children or elderly parents crave companionship at work. Unlike normal families where individual emotional needs are met, unsatisfied emotional needs are carried to work. Thus, these individuals will try to build family connections at work for which they will indulge in emotional expressions.

Also, when ‘loners’ spend most of their waking hours at work, it is natural for them to network both professionally and socially with their colleagues. Therefore, it is not unfounded that these individuals do not have a life outside. Also, these individuals expect that their employers address their professional requirements and gratify their emotional needs too. Although this requirement adds to the expectations organisations must meet, providing emotional support to employees can be a win-win deal. Here is how.

The other side of the story

One of the biggest challenges organisations face is keeping their talent in-house and happy. If satisfying emotional needs can act as a motivation combined with retention tool, organisations can only gain by providing emotional support at work. But if meeting this requirement is going to be a permanent duty, then hiring individuals with high EQ cannot alone satisfy it. As one behavioural scientist says, “It takes one high-strung individual to test the EQ of an otherwise emotionally stable team”. Therefore, the best way out is to organise regular EQ development initiatives.

When employees are equipped to negotiate better, think and work creatively, decision making skills with integrity, manage stress and simply get along EQ is developed. Although a tall order, a bunch of common soft-skills programmes, run well and regularly can do the trick. Emotions have a rightful slot at workplace is confirmed, the next concern arising is, “do all organisations require employees with high EQ’?”

Emotionally balanced

Demographic trends do suggest why organisations must beef up their emotional intelligence. Is the need for hiring individuals with emotional intelligence so pressing that individuals without it are not hired at all?

Those with high EQ understand how their feelings affect them and those around them. They can decide the influence and impact of their feelings. This awareness helps them better modulate their conduct. Individuals with low EQ give in to their feelings easily and therefore experience more emotional outbursts. Depending on team and organisation size, nature of tasks and business, and communication flows, it is for organisations to discover whether they want to hire high EQ employees and how many. However, too much importance on EQ as a hiring feature is not justified as it is internally impelled.

The EQ hype is not hyperbole. Organisations need to up their emotional intelligence. But they do so at a relaxed and comfortable pace. As helpful as employees with high EQ are, those with low EQ may not be troublemakers as currently presumed.

Ref: TheManageMentor.

Retention Strategy: Meaningful Motivation

2009-07-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Retaining and developing existing talent can be more important to an organization and less expensive than acquiring new talent.

Unfortunately, even if an organization already is focused on retention, chances are good it is following a misguided and expensive compensation approach. "Misguided" may seem like strong criticism, but while extrinsic rewards of money and benefits may cause a short-term burst of productivity, they often don't motivate. Further, they also contain the seed for demotivation long term because, once compensation is awarded, it becomes expected. So when revenues dictate that bonuses are smaller, people aren't just unmotivated, they are actually demotivated, making them less satisfied overall with their jobs and, subsequently, the organization.

This finding is at the heart of the work of Frederick Herzberg, who is known in organizational development circles as the father of modern motivation. Herzberg didn't say appropriate compensation isn't necessary. It is. In fact, Herzberg found that while the presence of certain basics such as good working conditions and an appropriate salary didn't motivate or increase job satisfaction, their absence contributed significantly to job dissatisfaction.

Herzberg's research makes it clear that monetary rewards don't motivate and don't compensate for ineffective management. Real motivation comes from work in the form of achievement, recognition, meaningful work, responsibility, advancement and growth.

Managers can't always change the work itself, but there are practical and simple steps they can take to provide a more motivating workplace and manage in a way that changes the relationships employees have with their work, their managers and their organizations.

Leverage the Power of Human Nature

Humans are natural problem solvers. We like to figure things out and determine how things should be done, especially when we're the ones doing them.

This is why when talent managers give people the opportunity to express their opinions and provide input into work processes, they enhance buy-in and ownership, effectively using human drive to an organization's advantage. People who feel ownership of their work are likely to find that work more meaningful than people who have no say in how things are done.

For example: The next time a talent leader assigns a project, make sure that leader knows that people clearly understand the desired end result and the parameters for the work and also provides the latitude for them to determine how they are going to achieve it. Recognizing this natural human drive to be a part of the solution is a critical first step to motivating people to do their best and enjoy doing it.

Manage Performance and Mentor People

Talent leaders also must recognize this human drive to problem solve in themselves, and then curb it. If a manager is focused on his group's performance, he or she will feel the need to provide answers and solve problems, making employees feel less necessary in the process.

The talent manager's most effective role is to empower and mentor. In this role, the leader will motivate people to do more, and performance will take care of itself. Plus, helping people realize they can perform job tasks with less help enables them grow personally and professionally while making the managers' job that much easier.

When a talent leader is compelled to provide answers, he or she should ask questions instead. Asking good questions is a great way to help people learn to problem solve and make good decisions. It gives people the opportunity to discover the answers for themselves, which gives their work meaning and provides the right environment for sustainable learning, adding to their personal skill set and growth, which also is great for the organization.

Focus on the Person, Not the Job

When talent managers make people feel like they care more about the work than the employees, it can promote feelings of insignificance. Conversely, an employee who feels his manager's concern for his well-being is more likely to experience the trust characteristic of high-performing teams and organizations.

Talent leaders should take time to get to know their employees. This will not only help to build trust, it will provide invaluable insight into what motivates them. Different things motivate different people. One person might be thrilled about new responsibilities as a project manager, while another might experience a greater sense of achievement when allowed to actually produce the desired end product.

In addition to being sensitive to individual role preferences, it pays to note the varying degrees of structure individuals need to be happy in those work roles. Some people need and prefer more direction and clarification than others. This is especially true in ambiguous or uncertain situations.

To assess individual need for structure, ask people to write down questions they have about their jobs. Someone with lots of questions probably needs more structure, while the person who has few questions almost certainly needs less.

Show Up When Things Are Going Well

Being the human problem solvers we are, it's natural for a manager to intervene more often when something is not working than when things are going smoothly. Unfortunately, in this type of environment, employees soon begin to fear every conversation with managers, viewing them as people who show up only when there's a problem.

Brain chemistry research shows this fear of criticism actually triggers the fight-or-flight response, bathing the brain in fear hormones that increase defensive behavior and actually inhibit learning. Talent managers that only talk to employees when something's wrong end up with defensive and withholding employees, and fewer opportunities to uncover the information they need to know about workers and their performance.

To avoid this common scenario, talent leaders should intentionally make time to recognize employees for what is working. Schedule regular meetings where people are invited to report their successes. This structured recognition date will prompt employees to look forward to seeing the talent manager, motivating them to share everything necessary about their performance, as well as how to mentor them and help them achieve even more.

Plus, in the process of learning what's working, the manager also will learn what's not working. But the interaction starts with attention on what the person is doing right, which creates an atmosphere in which people are more open to suggestion and learning can take place.

Publicly Recognize Great Performance

In addition to making time to let employees tout their own achievements in private, public recognition helps to reinforce a sense of accomplishment and accountability. When people are publicly recognized for a job well done, they experience that sense of achievement all over again, which makes them eager to get back to work and tackle the next problem even more skillfully.

When a manager sees good problem solving and decision making, he or she should acknowledge the success privately and in front of others. Timing is important, so don't wait for the annual awards banquet. Making public recognition spontaneous and frequent will motivate everyone, create an environment that supports and encourages ongoing learning, achievement and accountability for all. This motivational culture is good for the employee, the manager and the organization.

But when attempting to recognize and motivate employees to do better work, talent managers should ask: Will my actions contribute to the person's sense of achievement or recognition? Do they fit their individual preferences? Will my actions enable him or her to grow and be prepared to take on more responsibility? Do they make the work more meaningful?

If the answers to any of these questions is no, talent leaders should recognize that while they may make the person feel rewarded for a job well done, they probably won't achieve the long-term motivation they're looking for.

[About the Author: Chris Musselwhile, Ed.D., is president and CEO of Discovery Learning Inc. and author of Dangerous Opportunity: Making Change Work.]

Recruitment and Retention - Move It!

2009-07-20T04:16:00.000-07:00

Internal job rotation has come of age… ......

Key learnings:

The second-generation internal movement systems are more strategic than the first- generation prorammes
The second-generation methods shun the legacy system of the past, and are more competitive in nature

Employee retention is one of the most critical concerns of corporate leaders, especially in times when ‘buying talent’ does not appear viable. Organisations are reeling under immense pressure to develop and hone the talent that they already have, opening up internal movement options like job rotation, stretch assignments and taking employees to newer levels.

Economic downturns present a good opportunity to reflect on an organisation’ s employee development and succession planning initiatives. Most organisations are facing talent woes as they have failed to get their retention act together by creating a promising development plan for their staff. However, the present downturn may well be the turning point for organisations working towards employee development and retention. Before organisations incorporate an internal movement strategy in their retention plans, it is important to ascertain the goals.

Objectives

The internal movement strategy can help organisations attain the following objectives:

Enhanced employability:

Internal job movements through job rotations and stretch assignments help increase the employability of workers. These initiatives giver workers the right kind of exposure and expand the scope of their expertise, resulting in both vertical and lateral growth .

Improved morale:

Internal movement makes the job more interesting and challenging, thereby enhancing employee engagement and morale. Employees also feel driven and motivated, as the new jobs test their abilities and help them realise their real potential.

Leadership development:

Job rotation is also used as an instrument for leadership development. When internal movement is planned and employees are moved up the corporate hierarchy, the intention is to develop potential leaders for future organisational requirements.

Better skills:

Internal movement helps employees build on their skills, as job rotation and stretch assignments require them to expand their kitty of skills.

To meet the demands of the new age, the internal movement systems too have undergone change.

The second-generation systems, as they are referred to, are pretty much the same as the first-generation internal movement systems; the difference, however, lies in the strategic component. While the first-generation systems are largely operational, the new generation systems are more strategic. In addition, there are other significant differences too. Understanding these differences will help organisations deploy their resources effectively.

Integration and differentiation

While most second-generation strategies are an improvised version of the earlier strategies, and therefore, are integrated through a common framework, differences lie in the approach and execution. As mentioned above, the second-generation systems are more strategic, as compared to the earlier more operational systems. In addition, they are also:

Broader in their approach, and cater to a number of internal movement channels by creating attractive opportunities
More proactive in creating opportunities for growth, which is unlike the first generation systems that are largely reactive
More competitive, with better opportunities to nurture top talent, as compared to the first-generation programmes that are more of a legacy, lacking in quality

Job shifts can be temporary under the second-generation systems, unlike first-generation systems where job shifts are more like a permanent posting.

Understanding these differences will help HR leaders chart their course carefully. However, it is important to note that internal movements have to be deliberate, as they do not happen naturally.

The reason is simple: Most people hesitate to leave their comfort zones for something they are not sure of. Managers too fear losing their best men to jobs that may not suit them. In addition, HR policies too do not support random job movements. Despite the impediments, experts believe that leaders can leverage the potential of internal movement systems for boosting retention and development efforts.

Ref: TheManageMentor.

People Management - Simply Engaging!

2009-07-20T04:09:00.000-07:00

Simple measures can make a big difference to employee engagement and organisational performance. ..

Key learnings:

Gender, hierarchy, culture and industry have a great impact on employee engagement
Employee engagement is best ensured through job satisfaction resulting from contribution

Employee engagement is essential for corporate survival. The significance of a committed and engaged staff can not be undermined.

Employee engagement represents the extent of emotional affiliation that employees have with their jobs. It is difficult to quantify engagement levels in terms of numbers. Nevertheless, it is important to measure it. An important factor in measuring employee engagement is the cultural bearing of the organisation. The meaning of employee engagement varies with geography, and depends to a large extent on the cultural disposition of the organisation. The corporate definition for engagement varies widely from country to country. In India, employee engagement is an emotional subject, encompassing elements like loyalty and commitment. Further, in the context of Indian companies, employee engagement is tangible, and can be quantified by the years of association with the company.

Along with different definitions, countries also have different sets of motivating factors. What motivates an Indian may not motivate an American and vice versa. Hence, understanding the interplay of various factors that result in employee engagement or disengagement can help leaders craft a successful strategy.

Engaging dimensions

Employee engagement is best described as the degree of alignment between job satisfaction and job contribution. When employees feel that their contribution is adding value to the job, it results in job satisfaction, which in turn leads to greater employee engagement. Hence, using these two parameters to ascertain the level of engagement can help leaders get a better insight to steer their efforts.

According to Business World – Anexi BlessingWhite survey on employee engagement, employee satisfaction and contribution combine in five different ways. They are:

Fully engaged
Nearly engaged
Honeymooners and hamsters
Crash and burn
Disengaged

Each of these categories represents the level of employee engagement in the given job. The fully engaged category includes workers who are extremely satisfied with their jobs and contribution to the organisation. The nearly engaged section includes workers who score high on the contribution front, but give a few points a miss on the satisfaction component. The honeymooners and hamsters include those who are new to the job and show great drive to stick around. The crash and burn category includes workers whose contributions always fall short, thereby resulting in a state of perpetual dissatisfaction. The disengaged category, as the word suggests, comprises the disinterested lot, who figure on the underperformers list. In the context of Indian companies, 34 percent of employees are fully engaged, 29 percent nearly engaged and 13 percent are disengaged.

This segmentation of employees on the basis of their engagement levels can help leaders chalk out a better people management strategy. Employee engagement is a dynamic function and is affected deeply by the changes in the external environment. Thus, apart from employee behaviour and individual aspirations, there are other factors that have to be considered for a thorough understanding of the way engagement expresses itself.

Key determinants

Employee engagement, as mentioned earlier, depends on a large number of factors. In addition to an employee’s personal aspirations and cultural moorings, critical factors like gender, hierarchical status and the industry also influence engagement levels. The BW-Anexi survey revealed that men are 10 percent more engaged than women, and 6 percent less disengaged. Further, engagement also increased as one moved up the hierarchy. Those at the lower hierarchical levels showed less engagement, while those at the top exhibited maximum engagement. The difference in the levels of engagement was also evident across industries. In case of research-driven industries like pharmaceuticals, employee engagement was found to be low, while the engagement levels were high in service-oriented industries. Thus, it is evident that employee engagement depends on a number of parameters.

As mentioned earlier, job satisfaction and employee contribution are the two key components of employee engagement. However, understanding each of these, and the factors that lie within, is important to get a clear perspective of the interplay and dynamics of employee engagement and its components. According to the survey, job satisfaction is influenced by the following factors:

Career development opportunities and training efforts (30 percent)
Challenging work (19 percent)
Better opportunities to leverage one’s strengths (29 percent)

Employee contribution, on the other hand, was found to be greatly influenced by:

Development and training (26 percent)
Effective feedback at regular intervals (25 percent)
Clarity of goals and a clear understanding of what the individual is required to do and why (22 percent)

The aforementioned factors represent the Indian sentiment, but are also consistent with the global opinion about factors influencing satisfaction and contribution.

Final thoughts...

While employee engagement is a dynamic function and is dependent on a number of factors, it surely can be managed by incorporating certain basic measures. However, before doing so, leaders and managers must be sensitised to the various factors influencing engagement and steer their efforts to ensure perfect alignment.

Ref: TheManageMentor.

HR Practices - The Brand Wagon!

2009-07-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

Building employer brand the better way…

Key learnings:

Employer branding is not a recruitment exercise, but a relationship building process
To ensure effective brand creation, a clear understanding of the scope and objectives of the programme is important

Employer branding calls for an appropriate strategy to accomplish its objectives. However, most organisations do not pursue employer branding efforts in the right way. A recent survey conducted by the Employer Brand Institute revealed certain interesting facts. While some findings conform to universally accepted ideas on employer branding, there are others that come as a shocker. The findings include:

CEO involvement is critical for branding success
External and internal market research is not a success parameter
More than 80 percent of the global corporations have an employer branding strategy
Half of those having a branding programme showed a serious disconnect between branding objectives and strategy
The scope for development and improvement in an employer branding strategy is dynamic and depends to a large extent on the environment surrounding the organisation

These findings are important for organisations that are working towards framing an effective branding strategy. Most organisations fail to link their strategies to branding objectives. For the desired branding effect, organisations have to focus on certain key measures, which ensure that they meet their programme objectives with ease.

Imperatives for success

To succeed with the employer branding strategy, organisations have to focus on the ‘intent’ of execution. To do so, leaders have to work on six critical parameters. They are:

Clear definition

Leaders need to begin their efforts by defining employer branding clearly, with reference to the organisational context. The definition should include the type of brand that the organisation wants to create, the kind of talent pool it wishes to attract and the changes that would accompany the process. Further, leaders need to understand that employer branding is not about recruiting talent; it is a relationship building exercise that is largely strategic in nature, aimed at creating a positive corporate image. This image would determine the quality of talent that would be associated with the organisation, and therefore, impacts the overall productivity of the organisation. Leaders, who take a narrow view of employer branding, fail to capitalise on its true potential. They will be vulnerable to crises as compared to those who focus on building lasting relationships through a strong brand.

Scope and objectives

Branding is not any ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity, but presents itself as and when there are changes taking place in the corporate environment. Leaders must, therefore, ascertain the objectives keeping in view the ‘need’ for the exercise. In addition, understanding the scope of the branding effort is also important to give it the right premise and context for execution. For instance, if an organisation wishes to attract alumni of certain universities and institutes, its approach and scope would be different from an organisation that wants to establish an employee referral culture. Thus, within a larger employer brand, organisations can create small branding strategies that cater to the changing business needs and different lifecycle stages of the business.

Ownership of process

Whose job is it anyway; HR, marketing or corporate communications? Most corporate initiatives fail because of the uncertainty over the ownership of the process. Hence, clarifying issues pertaining to ownership and accountability is important for the success of any initiative. In the case of employer branding, the effort has to be more collaborative, as the exercise is largely strategic and calls for the involvement of HR, marketing and corporate communications. Hence, allocating responsibility on the basis of the roles that each of the functions would play is important for the smooth execution of the strategy.

Understand ethos, drivers and needs

A clear understanding of the corporate culture, work ethos, talent routers and needs is important for building an effective employer brand. Collecting information and intelligence on important issues like external perception, leadership vision, employee concerns, suggestions for improvement and talent needs is critical for deriving the desired branding solution.

Leadership involvement

CEOs and other senior executives have to be involved in the process of employer branding. Leadership involvement enables managers to get a clear insight into the future needs, and helps them work on a premise that is more long-term in nature.

These key factors determine the success of any branding initiative.

Right channels

The world of communication has undergone a revolution. The number of channels available for communication today are plenty, thereby giving leaders a number of options to channelise their message. However, selecting the right channel of communication is important, since a wrong choice of medium can sabotage the very purpose of communication.

Communication in the context of branding has myriad complexities. Since the agenda of branding is to communicate a positive image about the employer, and also strike the right chord with target audience, it is important that cultural, geographic and demographic considerations are accounted for. Therefore, applying a common template to all global locations can boomerang for organisations that believe in a ‘tried and tested’ strategy. Developing sensitivity to the surrounding environment is, thus, critical for creating an appealing and successful employer brand.

Ref: TheManageMentor.

Training and Development - Preserve the Learned!

2009-07-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Learning professionals live on the edge, while their business strategist colleagues stay safely guarded...

Key learnings:

Dual domain speciality is important for achieving corporate learning objectives
Learning leaders have to partner, outsource and learn continuously to establish a desirable business-learning equation

Despite the growing interest and concern over an organisation’ s learning apparatus, recession seems to have sounded the alarm bells for learning professionals. Most organisations have been indifferent towards learning efforts, and as a result, learning theorists, strategists and instruction designers live under constant threat. It is indeed disconcerting to see how organisations let their learning muscle slacken, despite the definite strength it gives to their business prospects.

Experts believe that an effective learning framework is pivotal to business success. Hence, letting it pass under the axe in a bid to control costs can only be self-destructive. This, however, does not suggest that learning should be spared from cost analysis; it must be treated as an indispensable part of business, which gives much more than what it takes. Organisations that truncate their learning initiatives in a cost-cutting exercise only betray their shallow approach to learning. It is critical that organisations find the right balance between learning and doing business. Earlier, when organisations advocated the need for learning without analysing the business case, learning initiatives continued to mushroom without logic. And today, caught in the economic downturn, the learning function finds itself being axed, again without logic. Finding the right balance, where learning needs of business complement its growth needs, is important for success.

Business of learning

Most leaders acknowledge the need for striking the right balance between learning and business, but fail to achieve it. Also, every organisation takes a different approach to finding the desired balance, and hence, understanding the basic framework on which the approach should be based for best results is important.

According to Roberto Euguino, the chief learning and organisation development officer at Alloys Inc, the Sweden-based information protection and storage company, corporate success comes from a well-orchestrated act of pulling all critical business levers. Identifying these levers and aligning them is important for driving better corporate performance.

Euguino lists four levers that he believes are critical for organisational good performance. They are:

The right set of people
Effective training and development framework
Ensuring good performance through effective compensation systems
Performance optimisation through effective performance management systems

Each of these levers is important for consistent organisational success. Leaders who fail to leverage even one of these can sabotage their learning and HR efforts. Efficient learning officers work their way through these levers and make sure that their learning efforts are well aligned with the overall corporate objectives.

It is, however, difficult to ascertain that all the four levers work in tandem if the reigns are with one leader. Experts, therefore, suggest learning leaders to be more inclusive and bring in various perspectives to design their learning frameworks. Learning cannot translate into tangible benefits unless there is a partnership between business strategists and learning theorists. Each has to understand the perspective of the other to arrive at a holistic learning solution. There are also other ways of accomplishing a better learning experience. These include:

Partnering with external consultants

Learning leaders can partner with external consultants to leverage their enterprise learning experience and skills. The advantages of bringing in an external voice are many. For instance, external consultants always approach learning with an innovative bent of mind and treat it as a challenge. Therefore, the probability of a transformative learning experience increases. External consultants also keep the pace high and provide solutions at a faster rate. Their expertise also lends learning managers a sound base to build their future organisational development capabilities.

Continuing education

Learning leaders should ensure that their learning team is on a knowledge-enrichment drive constantly. To do so, organisations should offer continuing education programmes targeted at executives on the learning team. Consistent training and learning would help learning designers and theorists get an insight into the changing needs of business, and therefore, frame a programme that is effective and relevant. In addition, theoretical reinforcement of concepts will help executives from the business side to get a better hold of the learning concept.

The future looks bright for learning professionals who understand that business–learning dual domain speciality is the best way forward. For executives to grow in a manner that is more holistic and effective, it is important that learning experts make the right investments to ensure both learning goals and the organisation’ s larger business goals are met without compromising on either.

Ref: TheManageMentor.

Entwining Procurement and HR

2009-07-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

The tipping point has been reached for the increased collaboration between HR and procurement -- but creating value is not as easy as bringing the teams together. A strong relationship starts with a foundation of mutual understanding and respect for one another's competencies.

The worlds of human resources and procurement have become increasingly entwined as the greatest cost to most organizations these days is that of human capital. To better manage this important and complex resource, HR and procurement professionals have had to collaborate and strategize more than ever before.

The traditional procurement organization has evolved into a "sourcing and procurement- service organization" or strategic sourcing organization." This elevated, more-strategic function of procurement is working closely with HR now more than ever before.

Sourcing professionals usually handle the high-value, high-risk, high-reward and highly complex types of purchases (mainly focused on services or specialty items) while procurement is focused on the operations side ("procure to pay" and "invoice review and recovery").

The trend is clear and is likely here to stay -- more HR services are now purchased with sourcing and procurement departments used as an intermediary. To be effective, HR and procurement teams must understand how to unlock value from one another by building a relationship that helps generate efficiencies and, ultimately, more effective acquisition of talent and other HR-related services (i.e., healthcare insurance) for their companies.

The Tipping Point

No longer new to one another, HR executives and procurement professionals are at a stage where their partnership has reached a certain level of maturity. HR executives -- once used to managing their own supply base, developing relationships with vendors and negotiating their own deals -- are bringing their procurement counterparts to the table.

Likewise, procurement teams are striving to add value and show that they are not just a formality that needs to be managed in the purchasing process.

Creating value is not as easy as bringing HR and procurement teams together and asking them to collaborate. The teams must establish a strong working relationship that starts with a foundation of mutual understanding and respect for one another's competencies.

Here are five ways HR and procurement teams can best collaborate to unlock their combined value:

1. Speak the same language.

Anyone who works amongst peers of the same discipline every day has a tendency to speak in their own language. To set clear objectives and manage processes effectively, HR/procurement teams must understand one another clearly.

Avoid HR/procurement- speak and, in instances where it's unavoidable, explain what terms mean. If you don't understand what something means, ask. For example, if the procurement team is discussing "aggregation" (combining buying power in specific categories within the various business units within a company), it may not be a familiar term or idea for the HR executives with whom they are working.

It would be important when discussing aggregation to be sure everyone in the room understands the concept so that they can provide input on where aggregation would be optimal.

2. Trust and value one another's expertise.

Procurement and HR teams must engage with one another without one side trying to dominate the other. Both parties must come to the table with the understanding that the ultimate objective is to meet the business goal (i.e., secure the right talent and HR services for the company's needs) and that, in partnership, they will deliver a more valuable solution.

Without this foundation of trust and respect, working together toward that end goal becomes increasingly complex and tedious, which can create detrimental results.

3. Remember your soft skills when establishing your partnership.

HR procurement is an area where a hard-skills approach must be balanced with a soft-skills approach. The procurement team must position itself as a strategic partner to HR, guiding the department in the direction it recommends vs. "taking over" negotiations or vendor relationships.

HR must remember that procurement's agenda isn't necessarily contradictory to its own, and should be open to other ideas and recommendations. Having a candid dialogue and leveraging the expertise, experience and knowledge of both parties will lead to a more effective solution for the company.

4. Create a consistent approach to vendor relationships.

Uniting HR and procurement has provided companies with a single view of their supply base, rather than each HR specialty knowing only about its own suppliers. This can lead to cost efficiencies due to scale/scope of services provided to the overall organization. However, most organizations that have procurement teams still have a large portfolio of HR services providers to manage.

Creating a consistent approach to vendor relationships not only helps the vendors come to expect a certain working relationship with your company, but can help ensure consistency in management of that relationship between procurement and HR as well.

A consistent approach to managing and negotiating with suppliers can eliminate gray areas between HR and procurement during the process, while also helping to generate efficiencies throughout the partnership.

5. Bring services purchasing expertise to the table.

HR procurement is vastly different from materials purchasing. Service purchases are more often based on relationships and are not returnable. Bringing a pure cost-savings mentality to HR procurement can hinder an HR/procurement team's relationship from the onset; value, not cost savings, is the ultimate goal. Staff quality and agency service levels are just as important as generating cost efficiencies.

At the end of the day, clearly defining roles from the onset and throughout the decision-making process is critical to a combined HR/procurement team's success. Who makes the final decision? Who has the lead on the decision timeline? Who is in charge of the process? Those organizations that get it right stand to improve in their efficiency, value and risk management.

Those organizations that allow ineffective procurement/ HR relationships to continue are missing a great opportunity to unlock value in their human-capital strategy.

[About the Author: Bernadette Kenny is chief career officer and senior vice president of human resources for Adecco Group North America. She is responsible for the human resources functions for Lee Hecht Harrison, Ajilon Professional Staffing, Ajilon Consulting and Adecco General Staffing.]

Organisational Behaviour - Poach Reproach

2009-07-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

The not-so-good side of recruiting off competitors.

Key learnings:

Poaching has its advantages
But recruiting off competitors is not always a good idea

There are reasons why poaching is a successful way of filling critical vacancies. And there are also reasons, other than legal, why recruiting from one’s competitor is a huge mistake. This is particularly true when salespeople are poached or snared away from one’s archrivals, as this approach to filling vacancies is ridden with land mines. Unless organisations know how to avoid them, the best thing to do would be to avoid such recruiting! This mailer tries to expose a few recruit-from- competitors myths, so that organisations can tread cautiously.

Why snatch or snare?

Good salespeople are as rare as snakes in Ireland! The pressure to cover a large ground and numbers is so immense that organisations would not be bothered about orienting or training those who are new and inexperienced in a particular type of selling. Other than paying lip service to training and encouraging salespeople to refer to bulky and shoddily documented sales guides, there is little that most organisations do to equip their sales force. But this does not mean organisations do not understand how detrimental poor sales teams can be to business.

Therefore, it appears that the quickest and the most ‘logical’ approach to building a good sales team is to recruit someone who is already doing the job well. However, this approach of bringing rivals’ men across will not do much good for organisations because many of their assumptions are only myths.

Myth 1 The more insular and complex the industry, the better it is to recruit insiders.
As one analyst rightly says, “No one came out of the womb mastering your industry.” Recruiters need to understand that such a belief is only shaky. However, there are certain specialised skills and knowledge that salespeople require to serve in a particular industry. Instead of taking newcomers through the entire gamut of training, equipping them with those special skills and knowledge is a better approach than recruiting salespeople ‘with similar experience’, only to realise they are worse mismatches than freshers.

Organisations bent upon recruiting individuals with relevant industry experience should understand the challenge of scalability. Organisations cannot fit in all or could afford all! This inward recruiting trend can keep talent pipelines dry and make referral programmes a waste of time.

Myth 2 They will bring their clientele across.
Given the ‘rolling stones’ trend, no one raises an eyebrow when people jump jobs. In fact, employees with 3–5 years of tenures have become an oddity! Even customers understand that employee loyalty has a changed definition these days. Therefore, assuming they will follow their ‘trusted advisor and friend’ is unrealistic. As marketing observations go, customers once hooked to a brand or product, are likely to remain more loyal to it than a salesperson to his organisation! Moreover, someone who could bring in his clientele could also take them away when he leaves the organisation.

Myth 3 Recruiting someone who works for the big guys is a good thing for small enterprises.
This only works when both enterprises are identical in their operations. And even if they do, a fact worth considering is that no two organisations have analogous sales cultures. Therefore, the assumption that someone who has done a similar job well in a bigger organisation will also be successful in a smaller set up is incorrect. An expert says, “A synergistic match between your company and the candidate is needed to put together a long-lasting sales marriage.”

Another incorrect assumption is that salespeople will carry forward their passion into the new job. While passionate salespeople are a driving force, those who jump jobs frequently do not remember what to be passionate about! “Salespeople who bounce from company to company in the industry become ‘vanilla’,” says an observer.

Even when full-fledged training isn’t a possibility, infusing newcomers with passion should be a primary objective of on-boarding. Some will argue that the surest way to infuse passion is to train well. However, there a few other things that can trigger passion when there is no training.

They include:

Telling a salesperson that he has been chosen specially for a product launch
Asking a salesperson to become a role-model for others
Making a salesperson in-charge of a team soon after on-boarding

Myth 4 Those recruited from big companies will blend into their new roles with ease.
Sometimes, the real reasons for recruiting from competitors are laziness and the inability to train. While the latter is understandable, laziness is not. The lack of drive to scout for and select the right talent leads organisations into believing that recruiting experienced hands from one’s competitors will give them ready-made salespersons. But the truth is that when someone comes on board, he needs to be trained in ‘the organisation’ s way of selling’, no matter where he worked before, and for how long.

The above beliefs are common in organisations. Being a little worldly-wise should help them steer clear of the myths that affect their recruiting.

Ref: TheManageMentor.

Leave on a Positive Note: How to Write a Letter of Resignation

2009-06-27T23:18:00.000-07:00

Whether you’re on your way to a great new position or unhappily leaving your employer for personal or career-related reasons, you need to write a resignation letter.

The main goal of your letter is to inform your employer about the details of your resignation, but the underlying benefit is a chance for you to strengthen your relationship with your supervisor/colleagues and leave on a positive note. Approach the letter as if you’re writing a thank-you note, and you’ll be on the right track. The following tips will help:

The Introduction

Your letter’s introduction should indicate that you are resigning and should provide your last day of employment. For example: “Please accept this letter as notice of my resignation from my position as [job title]. My last day of employment will be [date] .”

The Body

The body of your letter should mention your reason for leaving and show your gratitude for the experience the job has given you. Here are a few ways to state that you are leaving, based on your situation:

· Found a New Job: “I have accepted a position as [job title] in [location], which will give me the supervisory responsibilities I have been eager to assume."

· Starting School: “I regret having to leave [employer name], but I am strongly committed to earning my [degree type] and have been accepted to [school name] for the fall term.“

· Medical Reasons: “I regret having to leave, but I am currently experiencing medical issues that prevent me from continuing in this position.”

· Partner Relocation: “My wife/husband has been offered an excellent job opportunity in [location], and we have decided to move there so that she/he can accept it."

· Relocation Refusal: “The Company’s restructure has left many of my colleagues looking for new positions, so I am grateful for your offer of reassignment to the office. However, my family and I have decided that relocation is not feasible for us right now.“

· Bad Experience: “My decision to leave is based on both personal and professional reasons, but please understands that I have thoroughly enjoyed my association with [company name]. I have learned a great deal from you, and I look forward to applying this knowledge in my next position.”

You may also mention that you appreciate the opportunity to work with your supervisor and other team members. If you name-drop, be careful not to exclude anyone. Remember that your letter may make the office rounds. If appropriate, state your willingness to help with the transition; for example, you might offer to train your replacement.

The Closing

End your letter with an expression of kind wishes and interest in keeping in touch. For example: “I hope that we can continue our professional relationship and that we meet again in the future. Best wishes to you and to the rest of the staff.”

Ref: By Kim Isaacs, Monster Resume Expert

Employee Motivation: Top 5 Myths

2009-06-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

While motivating employees is a key factor in an economic recovery, many companies are failing to keep their workers fully engaged in their jobs because they share some common myths and beliefs, according to Suzanne Bates, author of "Motivate Like a CEO: Communicate Your Strategic Vision and Inspire People to Act!" (McGraw-Hill 2009).

Employers must re-examine their beliefs about employee engagement if they hope to accelerate their business recovery and retain their top talent, said Bates, president and CEO of Bates Communications (http://www.bates-communications.com/).

In a typical workplace, only 29 percent of employees are actively motivated and engaged in their jobs, while 71 percent are unmotivated and disengaged - either not engaged at all (54 percent) or are actively disengaged (17 percent) - according to the Gallup Management Journal’s Employee Engagement Index.

"While there has been a slight uptick in employee motivation in recent surveys, this may be only temporary because it's based on survival. As the pendulum swings back, employers should watch out - because employees will look at their jobs and their companies differently," said Bates.

"The Top 5 Myths about Motivating Employees" are at work even during an economic boom. However, in a serious recession, everything changes, and employers' misperceptions can be damaging. "If employers don't re-examine their human resource practices and beliefs about motivation," said Bates, "they risk damaging morale, losing top talent, and lengthening their recovery time."

The Top 5 myths about motivating employees, according to Bates and "Motivate Like a CEO," are:

Myth #1: Money is the number one way to motivate employees. "Salaries and bonuses have been the staple of motivation. Most companies relied primarily, even completely, on monetary rewards," said Bates. "Money is only one of many factors in motivation. Yet companies have become lazy about motivating people instead of giving them what they really crave, which is recognition, praise, and the opportunity to learn."

Myth #2: If you want to motivate people, don’t let them in on the bad news. "This is a particularly damaging myth. Bad news always gets out to employees. They hate it when you hide bad news; they consider themselves partners in the company, and they long for a chance to contribute and make a difference, especially in tough times," said Bates. "The surest way to motivate people is to empower them even with terrible news, so they can come to terms with reality, think their way through the crisis, and contribute to creative solutions going forward," said Bates.

Myth #3: Most employees know what motivates them. "Many people are searching for a larger purpose, and they are not finding it in their work," said Bates. "In challenging times, employers can become a powerful source of motivation and pride among talented people. In a downturn, leaders must talk to employees and help them discover who they are and what motivates them. Spend time with them; ask them why they enjoy the work, what they enjoy most, how they want to contribute, and where they see themselves in the future," said Bates.

Myth #4: You simply cannot motivate everyone. "This was true in boom times, when organizations were bloated and some people you hired were marginal. Those days are over," said Bates. "Now that companies have downsized and are arguably leaner and meaner with the best talent, this is a damaging assumption. It is a leader’s responsibility to motivate employees. It’s time to stop blaming employees, and start looking to leaders to ignite the spark," said Bates.

Myth #5: People are just grateful to have a job, and this attitude will survive the downturn. "Top talent will always have a place to go, and while they may have had less mobility during the recession, your competitors are already looking around to see who is unhappy and ready to leave," said Bates. "Employers who keep believing their people are just grateful to have a job will be blindsided when their top talent walks out the door because they don’t have leaders who are engaging them, praising them, recognizing them, and giving them opportunities to grow."

Ref: Suzanne Bates

People Management- Formula for Success

2009-06-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

If a HR manager of any organisation is thinking of jumping onto the team-based-management bandwagon, they should first take heed of the lesson many chief executives have learned the hard way: they must give their employees a solid incentive for making teams work and teach them the skills they'll need to earn those incentives.

Take the case of this hypothetical company, Damodaran Industries. The HR manager Sushil Rao had enough foresight to do both: giving incentives and teaching new skills. When he first took the step to help restructure his company, which makes seating and table products for private aircraft, Sushil made an unusual proposal to employees: teams would be paid 25% of sales on the specific product they made, and they would distribute those revenues among their members as they saw fit. They would be responsible for hiring, scheduling, customer service, quality, and even their own cash flow.

That first year, Sushil tried the new system on just one team, promising employees that they would not earn less than they had the previous year. As it turned out, average annual wages increased three-fold. Once employees began to see that if they worked more effectively as a team they would make more money, they had enthusiasm for working in this new way, and they made a commitment to learning. The following year, four more teams were organised similarly.

Indeed, learning was critical to the new system's success. Sushil, who has a background in organisational design, developed his own training programme to teach employees effective communication, team-building skills, and business processes. Employees were required to attend 13 hours of training every quarter for a full year.

Sushil supplemented the training with team coaching. He also made assessments of teams' weaknesses, often suggesting that a particular team repeat a training session. Team leaders were required to put in even more training time, attending three-hour courses at a local community college on hiring, time management, and cash flow.

The training and coaching have paid off. While costs per employee have remained steady, sales were up 50% last year, and the company's margins are at about 20% -- twice the industry standard.

Ref: TheManageMentor

Six Steps to Accomplish Your Goals and Resolutions

2009-06-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

Don't let your goals and resolutions fall by the wayside. Chances are that to achieve your dreams and live a life you love, those goals and resolutions are crucial. Goal setting and goal achievement are easier if you follow these six steps for effective and successful goal setting and resolution accomplishment.

You need to deeply desire the goal or resolution. Napoleon Hill, in his landmark book, "Think and Grow Rich" had it right. "The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat." So, your first step in goal setting and achieving your dreams is that you've got to really, really want to achieve the goal.

Visualize yourself achieving the goal. Lee Iacocca said, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." What will your achievement feel like? How will your life unfold differently as a result? If the goal is a thing, some gurus of goal setting recommend that you keep a picture of the item where you see and are reminded of it every day. If you can’t picture yourself achieving the goal, chances are – you won’t.

Make a plan for the path you need to follow to accomplish the goal. Create action steps to follow. Identify a critical path. The critical path defines the key accomplish-ments along the way, the most important steps that must happen for the goal to become a reality. Stephen Covey said, "All things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation of all things. You have to make sure that the blueprint, the first creation, is really what you want, that you've thought everything through. Then you put it into bricks and mortar. Each day you go to the construction shed and pull out the blueprint to get marching orders for the day. You begin with the end in mind." He's right.

Commit to achieving the goal by writing down the goal. Lee Iacocca said, "The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen." I agree completely. Write down the plan, the action steps and the critical path. Somehow, writing down the goal, the plan and a timeline sets events in motion that may not have happened otherwise. In my own life, it is as if I am making a deeper commitment to goal accomplishment. I can’t fool myself later. The written objective really was the goal.

Establish times for checking your progress in your calendar system, whatever it is: a day planner, a PDA, a PDA phone or a hand written list. If you’re not making progress or feel stymied, don't let your optimism keep you from accomplishing your goals. No matter how positively you are thinking, you need to assess your lack of progress. Adopt a pessimist’s viewpoint; something will and probably is, going to go wrong. Take a look at all of the factors that are keeping you from accomplishing your goal and develop a plan to overcome them. Add these plan steps to your calendar system as part of your goal achievement plan.

Review your overall progress regularly. Make sure you are making progress. If you are not making progress, hire a coach, tap into the support of loved ones, analyze why the goal is not being met. Don’t allow the goal to just fade away. Figure out what you need to do to accomplish it. Check the prior five steps starting with an assessment of how deeply you actually want to achieve the goal.

This six step goal setting and achieving system seems simple, but it is the most powerful system you will ever find for achieving your goals and living your resolutions. You just need to do it. Best wishes and good luck.

[About the author: Susan Heathfield is a Human Resources expert. She is a management and organization development consultant who specializes in human resources issues and in management development to create forward thinking workplaces. Susan is also a professional facilitator, speaker, trainer, and writer.]

Change Management- Leadership support

2009-06-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

Leadership Is Key in Change Management

Successful change management requires a large commitment from executives and senior managers, whether the change is occurring in a department or in a complete organization. One recent survey respondent said, “a change effort cannot be optional for senior staff. They must lead or get out of the way. The new system will ultimately have to stand on its own feet, but every new system needs support and nurture.”

Senior leaders can do the following for successful change management.

Establish a clear vision for the change management process. Paint a picture of where the organization will end up and the anticipated outcomes. Make certain the picture is one of reality and not what people “wish” would occur.

Appoint an executive champion who “owns” the change management process and makes certain other senior managers, as well as other appropriate people in the organization, are involved.

Pay attention to the changes occurring. Ask how things are going. Focus on progress and barriers for change management. One of the worst possible scenarios is to have the leaders ignore the process.

Sponsor portions of the change or the change management process, as an involved participant, to increase active involvement and interaction with other organization members.

If personal or managerial actions or behaviors require change for the changes to take hold in the organization, “model” the new behaviors and actions. (Walk the talk.)

Establish a structure which will support the change. This may take the form of a Steering Committee, Leadership Group, or Guiding Coalition.

Change the measurement, reward, and recognition systems to measure and reward the accomplishment of new expectations.

Solicit and act upon feedback from other members of the organization.

Recognize the human element in the change. People have different needs and different ways of reacting to change. They need time to deal with and adjust to change.

Senior leaders must participate in the training that other organization members attend, but, even more importantly, they must exhibit their “learning” from the sessions, readings, interactions, tapes, books or research.

Be honest and worthy of trust. Treat people with the same respect you expect from them.

Reference: Susan Heathfield is a Human Resources expert. She is a management and organization development consultant who specializes in human resources issues and in management development to create forward thinking workplaces. Susan is also a professional facilitator, speaker, trainer, and writer.

People Management- A Globally Multicultural Outlook

2009-06-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

Diversity recognises existence of differences in a work force with regard to the race, gender, physical ability, lifestyle, tenure, age, religion, geographic origin, education, attitude/behaviour, functional expertise and personality. A study on one of the Fortune 500 companies, a multi cultural organisation, gained immense popularity from its employees on implementing a multicultural policy. The policy ensures that there are no discriminatory issues in an organisation with regard an employee's nationality.

Diversity management is considered a new organisational paradigm. Companies have realised the need to move beyond a human resource model to a model with inherent value in diverse workforce. Globalisation has brought the 'diversity' factor into focus. Employers feel that diversity should be given significant importance since complications on such issues are unwarranted at work place.

Many Indian companies have expatriates occupying senior management positions and find it difficult to deal with the rest of the employees. Management should formulate anti discrimination policies to cater to such problems. To be a global player, it is imperative to have a diversity initiative programme in place.

The Diversity Programme

Dow Chemicals with plants and offices all over US was designated a multicultural organisation. It made substantial progress towards 'inclusion'. It identified certain key areas, which influenced diversity initiatives.

Initiation and support from the top management

Dow Jones, an organisation that has its offices all over the U.S., has an anti discriminatory policy, which focuses on serious commitment towards the diversity initiative. Though it was considered as 'frivolous' for some, the top management's initiative made a lot of difference to employees across the board. Employees started taking the issue more seriously than before.

Another company with a good track record of diversity management is Xerox. The top management's objective was to convince employees that managing diversity was not an obligation but was a business imperative.

Companies looking to tie up or acquire global companies should ensure that a diversity management policy is in place.

HR initiatives

Several inclusionary measures were made sub functions of the human resource department. A committee called

'The Preferred Employer Quality Action Team' comprising of a cross-section of managers at corporate headquarters spearheaded policies. The team identified five categories for improvement: overall compensation, employment security, operating environment/culture, policies and values and personal dimensions. It believed that these areas affected employee satisfaction and were derived from general attributes that the company hoped to achieve.

Organisational communication

Employee involvement in HR policy making was the high point of the diversity initiative the organisation could have come up with. The Equality Council comprising of a cross-section of employees met once a month to discuss issues related to a diverse workforce. Membership rotated every two years.

Suggestions ranging from a diversity booth at the Family Day Picnic to offering discrimination refresher training sessions, preparing guidelines during performance appraisals and creating an anonymous suggestion box titled "Dr. Equality" were conceived by this council.

The council also designed posters, calendars, and coffee mugs to promote the diversity theme. Employees collectively determined policies at work and could express disgruntlement with existing policies through the council. The HR manager moderated the discussion.

The council also helped design yearly employee opinion surveys. Diversity progress at plants within the organisation was highlighted, in an annual corporate diversity conference. The in-house and corporate newsletters encouraged employee involvement and helped to transmit the diversity message.

The organisation had a corporate philosophy governed by diversity policies. The standardisation of policies was in accordance with the desire to create a stronger organisational unity and identity among the employees. These policies created a "sense of linkage" and a feeling of unity by having a common cause.

A true commitment to diversity encompasses a variety of measures over a period of time. Creating a climate of acceptance requires major, systematic, and planned change efforts, which are typically not part of affirmative action plans. Efforts to address managing diversity must be supported by profound changes that are reflected in the day-to-day operation.

Cheer Leaders! Organisational Behaviour

2009-05-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

Ignoring tell-tale signs of employee depression can have adverse consequences on organisational well- being

Key learnings:

Mental well -being is as important an aspect as the physical health of the employee
Absenteeism, negative attitudes and unexplained behaviours cost the company in terms of money and healthy work culture

Absenteeism and lowered productivity as a result of physical stress and ill-health are causing a dip in the productivity levels of organsiations. However, depression and state of mental distress cause a lot more than just a drain in productivity levels.

Depressing facts:

Most often, depression is ignored and employees or individuals are told to pull up their socks and get going

When an employee is depressed it affects his working pattern and thinking
Depressed employees either think or worry too much or remain indifferent to situations and people around
Depression costs employers USD 44 billion a year in lost productivity

Absenteeism and presenteesim Organisational losses because of absenteeism are always accounted for. But, many a times, presenteesim causes loss in terms of productivity. Presenteesim as a consequence of depression can be defined as "the people with depression showing up for work but not functioning at anywhere near full capacity. Some examples are failing to return phone calls, turning in poor-quality work, missing deadlines altogether, not following up on new business leads, being paralysed with indecision, inability to face work at all, coming in late, leaving early, or not even returning from lunch, difficulty in getting along with coworkers, withdrawing from the social environment at work."

Sadly, many of us brush aside these things hoping that time will help us overcome difficult situations. Doctors however warn that it is very important to identify signs of depression among employees. Some apparent symptoms are:

Diminishing performance
Absenteeism
More mistakes at work
Complaining of disturbed sleep and falling asleep at work
Fatigued feeling all the time
Losing the cheer factor
Minimised concentration
Upsetting talk and worrying always
Displaying emotions at the drop of the hat
Remaining isolated from co-workers
Reluctance to join in informal meetings and fun outings
Irritability and emotional outbursts

Sometimes depressed individuals spread gloom and the learning and development of the work place can be affected. Any team member's unhealthy attitude can create tensions and affect performance of the entire team.

Role of the employer

When any employee or co-worker exhibits any of the above mentioned signs, managers should address the issue immediately. Many companies offer Employee Assistance Programmes that include mental health and psychological counseling. Research shows that work place depression can cost the organisation millions and experts suggest that employers must encourage their employees to seek professional and medical help.

Helping workers

Learn more and keep employees' informed about depression and how to handle co-workers exhibiting signs of depression.

Awareness is the key here:

Mocking and ridicule can worsen things. All said and done depression is a disease that is curable.

Alert: Depressed people are prone to causing mishaps. An alert work environment can thwart risks. Similarly, suicidal tendencies or tendency to harm own self and others are particularly high. An effective EAP must ensure the best medical aid to such employees.
Be non-judgmental: Managers are not medically certified to deal with depression cases. It is in the best interest of all to refer such employees to the medical team or experts.
Confidential matters: Matters like treatment for depression needn't be discussed with co-workers.
Stay flexible: Help the employee by offering flexi schedules during the time of treatment and allowances so that his absence from work doesn't pinch him financially. By working form home the employee can feel connected without the pressures of office cubicle.

The time to be happy is here Psychologists, say socialisation, being appreciated at work and fulfilled work place often are major happiness factors. These are in all likelihood detriments to depression. Simple stapes like

Doing a job you love
Pursuing a hobby that can help you feel better
Learning new skills
Taking professional help to improve at work
Creating a work/life balance

Doctors too urge managers and co-workers to eliminate bias against depressed employees. Many times the employee after the treatment puts in better efforts and drives higher productivity. Good managers believe that comprehending their staff's behaviour is as important as understanding their performance.

Timely interventions, medical help and supportive work environment can help employees cope with exhausting situations better and emerge confident and upbeat once again.

Reference: TheManageMentor.

Organisational Change - HR Practices

2009-05-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

Best practices in managing organisational transformation.

Key learnings:

Organisational change aimed at improving work methods, productivity and business profits must be coherent

Enthusiastic leadership, flow of creativity and stability in procedure helps in reaching the goals

Jargons like organisational change and organisational transformation are often used theoretically and in management talk. The term organisational change is used in the context of companies that are undergoing or have just undergone a transformation.

However, organisational change management is not a 'one-month ordeal'. It is a process that involves rearticulating managerial, technical, financial and business aspects.

A McKinsey Quarterly online survey shows that only 38 percent of the global employees consider change as a positive effect on performance. And, 10 percent believe that most of such transformations are unproductive.

Change management

According to change management experts, two factors are critical for any transformation to click. One is vision or goal-the changes the company aspires to bring about. The second is sustainability. The sustainability factor refers to the unwavering energy, commitment and persuasiveness to reach the goal.

Defining the objective

A well-defined and comprehensive objective spells out the goal clearly for all the employees of the organisation. While different departments may have different approaches, the core aim of transformation remains unchanged. This distinctly clear system ensures an upbeat journey that promotes organisational health, participation of every employee and bottom-line profits.

Defining the role and time frame

A well articulated strategy ensures that there is no overlap of roles. It also rules out misinterpretation. Each employee has his defined role that is personal and challenging. Moreover, since the focus is on 'strengths', the definitive goal of 'effectual transformation' is accomplished.

When the time frame is set over a few months, the employees will be enthusiastic. Goals set over three or five years fall prey to dwindling employee interest. In such cases, the leadership of the organisation plays a very important part. For effective articulation of long term goals, involvement of employees and applying fair and apt metrics to track developments, it is important for employees to remain clued in to developments.

Sustaining energy and flow of ideas

Creativity and ideas are advantages that help sustain organisational change. Many a time, organisations discard ideas doubting their practicality. However, innovation is the key to reach people and bring about desired changes.

Most often, ideas from employees or leaders are considered deeply. Mutually inspiring organisations initiate creativity, responsibility and accountability. To encourage an 'idea sharing' work environment, leaders must espouse innovation and sharing thoughts that can bring about radical transformations.

Channelising energies

When leaders of an organisation announce transformation to employees, two extreme reactions are bound to happen. There will be employee totally gung-ho about the transformations and those who will be cynical. It is important to generate positive stimulation and help employees channelise their dynamism. Some companies reward 'ideas champions', while some appoint 'the master blaster'. Such steps energise the staff towards transformation.

"A smaller set of high-impact, briskly moving initiatives is more energising-and thus more sustainable- than a broader set of initiatives moving at a stately pace."

Seeing is believing

Any results of the transformation, however small, must be highlighted to ensure greater participation. Employees usually remain mute spectators to the brainstorming sessions and meetings that are part of the organisational change. The worth of such sessions is usually taken too lightly. However, even a small success during the transformation reaffirms employee faith in the process and the overall vision.

Learning curve

The transformational process is a learning process for leaders, management and employees. Open communication channels, suitable rewards and discipline are extremely important to understand the change. While the transformation aims at bringing about success in the organisation, individual growth and learning cannot be ignored. Experts rightly suggest that organisational transformations which focus on individual strengths create a more involved staff.
In today's highly dynamic market, being a flexible, employee centric and practical organisation is a plus. An organisational transformation is a dynamic process with multiple levels of planning and execution. However, the reengineering and rebuilding process can be an exhilarating expedition if the leadership has commitment and clarity.

Reference: TheManageMentor.

FAILURE IS OPPORTUNITY

2009-05-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

History is full of people who were either blind to their faults and mistakes or refused to acknowledge them, and their pride was their down fall. How different things could have turned out if they would have been humble enough to admit when they were wrong.

What about you? Do you hide your mistakes? Or you take the courageous path of owning up to them? Believe me, most people will respect you more if you do. Sure, some people may rub it in or try to use your humbling for their own advantage, but that’s their problem and does indicate a weakness in your own character.

In the long run, character determines your worth. It’s not the easy successes that prove your mettle, but how you pick yourself up after a fall and try again. By acknowledging and going on in spite of your failures, you’ll also inspire others to not give up.

Failure is a step forward when you learn from it. Failure prepares the way for success by causing you to look hard at your plans and methods. If all those who had eventually succeeded at what they set out to do had stopped at the first failure, we’d still be back in the Stone Age! Aren’t you glad others took the advantage of their failures? Won’t you do the same?

Reference: Hari Nair

Sabbatical Saga- People Management

2009-05-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

Taking time off or unpaid leave is now looked upon as a relief variation to the ongoing layoffs

Key Learnings:

Layoffs have become more of a norm today, and both the employers and employees are finding the entire process agonising

Sabbaticals and programmes like unpaid leave offer benefits to both the employer and the employees

The current economic slow turn has seen an increase in the number of employers opting to offer sabbaticals as opposed to layoffs

According to the website yoursabbatical. com, a sabbatical can be defined as "a planned job pause - paid or unpaid - whereby an individual takes time to rest, travel, volunteer, learn a new skill, or fulfill a lifelong dream before returning to work. Eligibility and benefits will also vary from company to company."

With so many layoffs happening, experts urge more and more organsiations to use sabbaticals as an easier alternative to 'distressing layoffs.'

Carol Sladek, a principal in Hewitt Associates' work/life consulting practice, says, "It's a longer-term solution than just saying, 'OK, today we're in trouble. We need to eliminate jobs.' Sabbatical is a good alternative- especially in an economic downturn."

Why sabbaticals?

Apart from doing away with layoffs, the benefits of offering sabbaticals are many. Employers look at it as one way of retaining their valued employees, re-engaging them, reduced turnover and no re-hiring costs. Despite the downturn, employers are optimistic of better days ahead. And keeping in mind this optimism, employers are in support of sabbaticals.

Sadly, many organisations are still unaware of all the benefits a sabbatical programme has in store. According to Hewitt Associates, 'only 4% of employers offer unpaid sabbaticals'. The primary reason for these dismal figures is the refusal to let go, whether it is leave or the employees. Also, many fear the loss of star performers. Will they ever return back or look for greener pastures?

To state, sabbaticals are an essential part of work/life balance and understandably helpful in the grim economy too. Hiring new set employees is financially precarious as the cost of replacing an employee is almost twice the salary. Given these restraints, employers are opting for unpaid time offs also known as sabbaticals. Sabbaticals initiate and promote 'cross training' amongst the rest of the employees. For instance, replacing the employee who has taken off implies that another employee assumes more responsibility and new learning of the job.

Sharon Klun, director of work/life initiative, Accenture, sabbaticals like the ones at her firm "could be a tool to help get companies through a bumpy economy."

Companies that offer sabbaticals

It is not surprising that most companies that offer sabbaticals have been featured on 'companies we want to work for', 'fortune 500 companies' and the 'best places to work for'.

Accenture has been one of the forerunners in espousing 'sabbaticals' as a great way to rejuvenate, reconnect and retain employees. With already a large number of work/life programmes in its kitty, Accenture came up with sabbaticals or unpaid leave after an employee survey revealed a massive appeal for the same. 'Future Leave' as the sabbatical programme is known at Accenture offers 'time off' that can extend up to three months and can be availed once in every three years.

The upshot of this programme is employees use this time off to learn new things, dedicate time to family, volunteer to help the needy or some even take a trip to the Himalayas. Rejuvenating is the key here. Since, the entire programme is unpaid for, the employees set aside some amount from their salaries every month. Once they have sufficient amount to fund their 'sabbatical' they take time off. The employees are enthusiastic about funding their sabbaticals. In addition to this, Accenture conducts 'personal engagement surveys' to comprehend how well these initiatives work in ensuring a fair and commendable existence.

At Deloitte, sabbaticals can be extended up to five years and during the unpaid leave period the employees have access to mentoring, small work projects and training at low costs. This is to ensure that the employees are not completely detached from the organisation. They believe that with these initiatives the "highly valued individuals, can re-enter the workforce and we would be at the top of their list to get them back, rather than leave the firm, get disconnected and not come back."

Sabbaticals, what it offers the employer and the employees'?

Let us list in short the benefits of a sabbatical to the organsiations:

Talent pool: Since the high performing employees stay on the payroll, the organisation retains talent, knowledge, expertise and also cuts re-hiring costs.

Attracts future talent: Organsiations with work/life balance initiatives are almost on every talented individual's wish list. Thus it helps in attracting potential talent.

Fulfilled workforce: The entire workforce is happy with such initiatives and the cross training involved is a learning process for employees.

Since it is seen as an alternate to layoffs employees, future employees and clients are happy. The repute of such organsiations are higher especially during tough times.

An encouraging workplace attracts and retains talents, commands greater credibility amongst clients and stakeholders and is seen as a whiff of fresh air in the market.

Sabbaticals for the employees:

Helps them rediscover themselves , relearn and paves way for deeper introspection

With this kind of awareness and refreshment, employees are better equipped mentally and physically to take on challenges at work once they resume work.

With sabbaticals, the commitment and loyalty of the employees towards the organsiations are deepened

The benefits of a sabbatical are manifold, from new passion for work, better creativity, and most importantly higher commitment of the workforce. Taking a sabbatical needn't be treated with trepidation; it is just another way to learn.

Kathie Lingle, Director of a global human resources association sums up the response to pressurising work environments as "Smart organisations are looking at how to keep people whole and sane with them."

Sabbaticals maybe the answer!

Reference: TheManageMentor.

Are Talent Leaders Only Using Half Their Resources?

2009-05-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

Peter Weddle, CEO of HR and employment specialty publisher Weddle's LLC, said American workers - including talent managers - are struggling to achieve career success with half their brains tied behind their backs.

"Career success begins with a good understanding of who we are as individuals. Our characteristics, believes, principles, values, all of that you have to know before you can figure out what you're passionate about. The problem is that information doesn't come to us intuitively," Weddle explained. "We have to work at understanding what that unique person inside us is all about."

He said the challenge is that every person/worker has a preferred way of thinking about thinking about things. Creative people rely more on the right hemisphere of the brain and seldom use the left. Analytical people rely on the left hemisphere and seldom use the right. Thus, we end up only using half of our inherent talents.

His book, Recognizing Richard Rabbit: A Fable About Being True to Yourself, attempts to make it easier for the average worker to find out who he or she is, what he or she is trying to become and how to tap into inherent talents. Encouraging the reader to use creative energy to try and answer those questions, the book also offers a self-interview to explore the analytical side of the brain and reason through questions that may reveal what a person values, believes in and hopes to leave behind as a legacy at work.

Some of the questions include: Does the significance of doing something truly different influence how you feel about it? Are you affected by what you will have to accomplish in order to make a difficult change in your life? And can you really change the circumstances that affect your day?

The book's premise is based on research done by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi for his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Weddle said during the course of his research, which involved thousands of interviews with high- and low-profile workers, Csikszentmihalyi found that no matter what workers did or how long they'd been doing it, people often had optimal experiences when they were confronted with a meaningful challenge and then stretched to their limits and beyond to meet that challenge or accomplish a goal.

"The single greatest milieu in which that kind of goal stretching occurs is at work," Weddle said. "Recognize yourself in both dimensions of your life. Of course you want to be authentic in your personal or social relationships. You want to be authentic with your family and friends. If you do that, you experience an emotional state called joy. That's only half the story. If you're equally authentic and passionate about who you are, and you bring that person to work, you will experience a cognitive state called happiness.

"The bottom line is, be joyful, but be happy too. Don't forget that work is just as great an opportunity to express your own true self as the rest of your life is. HR people talk about work-life balance as if work has to be balanced with all the good things that happen in life. That's true, but it's also important to balance your life with all the good things that can happen at work.

"The fundamentals of our economy may be in trouble, but the fundamentals of our character are not," Weddle said. "This is the very moment when working strong is just as important as living strong. If you can do that in this environment, you can do that anytime. And that will serve you well for the rest of your working life."

[About the Author: Kellye Whitney is managing editor for Talent Management magazine.]

Managing Rumors

2009-05-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

HR leaders are reporting that economic fears are prompting more employees to eavesdrop and gossip about the impact on potential job losses. Transparency, communication efforts and decisive action are needed to ease uncertainty, experts say.

Eavesdropping and gossip are on the rise in U.S. workplaces as the recession continues to raise employee fears of potential job losses, a new study suggests.In a poll of 494 HR professionals, conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of respondents said they've had to deal with an increased number of eavesdropping incidents in the last 12 months as a result of the uncertainty about the U.S. economy.

Examples of such incidents include employees lingering outside conference rooms or near the HR leader's door to catch wind of possible layoffs or terminations.

Also in the survey, half (54 percent) of HR professionals reported an increase in gossip and rumors about downsizings and layoffs among their employees, and about the same percentage (53 percent) said they had to address those rumors in the year between October 2007 and October 2008, when the study was conducted.

"What this clearly tells us is that we need to step up good communications in organizations and that's where HR can really show its leadership," says Steve Williams, director of research for Alexandria, Va.-based SHRM. "The more transparent you are, the less likely you'll get gossip around the recession" and people lingering around other people's desks and offices, trying to hear something."

We're seeing these incidents across the board, in all industries and in companies of all sizes," he says. "No company is immune. Fear is fear and gossip is gossip. It's happening everywhere."

Striking though the increase in eavesdropping and rumors may be, "it's perfectly normal to expect employees to pay much more attention to what is happening, or may happen, with their employers in difficult economic times," says Mark Hyde, whose self-named consulting firm is located in Rochester, Minn.

"Of course there will be gossip and rumors; expect it," he says.Without supplying any statistics,

Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz, chairman and CEO of Chicago-based employee-assistance provider ComPsych, says his company has been getting significantly more calls in the last couple of months "from employers concerned about how employees are reacting" to the plunging market and economy.

"People are trying to get information in ways that are, shall we say, less than direct," says Chaifetz.

"We're hearing about people trying to get into closed-door meetings or people looking at other people's mail. Employers have to be very mindful, right now; very careful that they don't let information out prematurely.

"Make sure, if at all possible, any difficult decisions are not discussed in e-mails or written communications," he says. "Leaks of information, especially at a time like this, could be cancerous in an organization."

Chaifetz also stresses the need to move quickly when making hard choices, such as whether to go through layoffs or a restructuring, and to "be direct, open and honest in your communications."

"Once you make that decision to lay people off, get that out there as a clear plan," he says. "If additional layoffs will be necessary down the road should the economy continue to worsen, communicate that as well. The best way to combat gossip in a company is to move decisively and quickly."

Sometimes, combating the problem with proper preparation, quick decisions and open and effective communication is easier said than done, says Megan Slabinski, executive director of Menlo Park, Calif.-based The Creative Group.

"Sharing information quickly and candidly can prevent employees from speculating, but there are times when confidential conversations among top officials are necessary," she says.

When private meetings must be held, "take those closed-door consultations away from public view to eliminate the buzz of what's happening. Go off-site if you can."

Chaifetz warns, however, that too many off-site meetings and out-of-the-ordinary gatherings by senior leaders can also give rise to fear and speculation. When announcements are made, Slabinski says, companywide conference calls, state-of-the- state meetings or brown-bag lunches are suggested. "HR really needs to pull people together at that point and open its door," she says.And while open communication "can't be possible for all things," says Williams, "it's the perception of communication that is important." The best way to create and convey that perception, he says, is to tell employees "why certain things can't be communicated at that particular time.""Be honest. Tell the truth. People tend to think those in management are evil, holding back information ... . In so many cases, that couldn't be further from the truth," Williams says.

"Often, management simply doesn't know why something is happening or how long it will last. Sometimes, simply saying you don't know something or the reason behind something, but are willing to address it," takes the sting off what could be perceived as malicious silence, he adds.By the same token, everyone from the top down should be on the same page when employees come asking, says Hyde."Many companies make the mistake of overlooking the front-line supervisors and only inform senior management about what is going on," he says.

"The front-line leaders need to know something since they ... have the best opportunity to stomp out any bad rumors."Even worse, when some of the front-line leaders inform their employees they have no idea what is happening with senior management, it makes things worse and fear heightens," Hyde says.Lastly, says Slabinski, companies shouldn't be afraid to discipline the "bad apples as soon as possible."

"Employees who are at the heart of gossip or who are caught eavesdropping and then spreading rumors need to be told to stop," she says. "If their behavior persists, it's perfectly acceptable for HR to address the problem in a punitive way," such as verbal or writing warnings, or worse.The spreading of bad information, however it's done, "stifles productivity and adds to stress in the workplace," Slabinski says. "HR leaders are completely in their rights" to discipline these culprits.

[About the Author: Kristen B. Frasch became the managing editor of Human Resource Executive in August of 2000 after more than 20 years of experience in business and consumer journalism, 14 spent as an editor and writer for various Philadelphia area newspapers.]

Improving returns on talent

2009-05-05T04:22:00.000-07:00

How should companies approach and formulate a talent strategy focused on better returns.

Organisations have worked over the years towards efficiently managing and monitoring returns on capital and assets. This has been an important role for the CEO and top management in years of boom and downturns.

However, there remains a great deal of ambiguity over the idea of managing talent as an asset. While organisations commit huge investments in talent and incur heavy costs on it, rarely do CEOs have visibility on the returns on talent employed (ROTE).

Investments in talent

An organisation makes multiple investments in acquiring and utilising its talent effectively. These are:

Time and effort: The man-hours spent by HR managers and others in an organisation in recruiting and managing talent adds up to quite a lot. And this has a cost attached to it.

Operating costs: The largest human resource costs in a company are in the areas of recruitment, training, staff welfare, travel for HR-related processes and so on.

Overall employee costs: This is an aggregation of cost to the company (compensation and benefits) of all employees. These costs are a part of the profit and loss statement of companies and normally tend to increase over time.

These spends directly hit the bottom line of the company. In times of downturns, organisations look at cutting down these spends to reduce costs. Although obvious and intuitive, this approach to improve ROTE has limited benefits and could prove counterproductive in the long run. Considering that any recessionary or slow growth phase is likely to be followed by a phase of rapid growth and expansion, a reduction in talent investment has to strike a balance between short-term pressures and long-term imperatives.

An alternative approach

Companies’ top management have always, knowingly or unknowingly, strived towards improving returns from talent. Their concern and need is to find more comprehensive ways of doing so. But what comes in the way is the absence of a common understanding of what constitutes talent, what kind of returns to expect and what levers must be used to improve ROTE.

Talent constitutes not merely employee numbers but also their capabilities. Hence, ROTE may be defined as the value gained in terms of contribution to business results through effective utilisation of talent and its capabilities while optimally managing talent costs.

The concept of "talent value chain" provides a comprehensive model to view the processes through which talent is employed and utilised

An organisation’s strategic goals along with a well-defined organisational structure are the starting point of the talent value chain. Each link in the talent value chain is a talent lever. Specific actions and initiatives under these talent levers are identified and planned leading to development of a "talent strategy".

Like business strategy, talent strategy addresses the key challenges a company is facing and hence, necessitates a careful examination of business challenges and objectives. It also needs to be adapted and changed to suit changing business environments and goals. Such a talent strategy ensures optimal and appropriate utilisation of talent and hence leads to an improved ROTE.

However, an appropriate and well-articulated talent strategy is rarely found to exist in organisations and hence improved returns on talent seem to constantly elude them. Let us examine three different business scenarios to illustrate the approach that an organisation can use to develop its talent strategy.

Downturn/low growth: An organisation struggling with a downturn or slow growth in its industry is faced with the challenge of optimally managing its assets and costs. Such an organisation should, therefore, employ its talent levers in a manner such that they address this strategic challenge.

In workforce planning, the organisation’s focus should be on optimal utilisation of talent through re-deployment or reducing existing manpower. Similarly, recruitment should either be frozen or highly selective. High performing, valuable employees should be identified from the less productive ones based on performance differentiation. This would help identify both talent which the company must strive to retain and manpower which can be released without a significant impact on company productivity.

Rewards too can be selective. Only those who contribute significantly should be rewarded. Policies should be reviewed to enhance centralisation, wherever possible. Potential development and retention should be geared towards the best-performing talent. Thus, this approach helps improve ROTE through managing costs, optimal utilisation of talent and high involvement of top management.

Rapid growth: Any organisation operating in an environment of rapid growth will look to capture a large share of business. This obviously translates into a key strategic challenge — talent acquisition and development.

In such a scenario, talent strategy is not so much focused on differentiation, as in a downturn/low growth situation, but on the speed of ramp-up for building employee numbers, their skill development and retention across levels.

Rewards and benefits are liberal and aimed at retaining a large mass of the employee base to maintain high productivity levels and build capacity. High degree of delegation for decision-making is dispersed across the management hierarchy to provide control and authority at key positions in the organisation to facilitate quick turnarounds.

ROTE is enhanced through improved skill base availability, development of skills in line with business requirements, and building and maintaining talent capacity. Hence, the talent strategy and initiatives are geared towards enabling the firm to successfully meet growth targets.

Global expansion: As organisations grow and evolve, they are likely to look at global expansion for higher growth. In such a scenario, strategic objectives change dramatically. This necessitates the redesign of the organisation structure and roles and also needs a drastic shift in talent strategy.

The talent strategy in such a scenario is focused on shifting from known practices to redefining talent practices to make them relevant to a global, geographically dispersed entity. Hence, it will focus on redefining recruitment practices to successfully recruit in new geographies, establishing a new employment brand and company identity, adoption of global practices, global

standardisation of policies and practices and compliance. These become the key areas to improve ROTE in an international, multicultural context.

Formulating a talent strategy

A structured and sound methodology to formulate and deploy a talent strategy is described in figure 2. The initial phase is primarily to understand the strategic objectives and ensure that there is an appropriate organisation structure, with clearly-defined roles, to support the achievement of company goals.

This is followed by an assessment of the processes in each link of the talent value chain. During this phase, a company may discover a complete absence of a process or gaps in the processes. These constitute the areas of improvement or new initiatives which are necessary to achieve company objectives.

These improvement areas/new initiatives are then prioritised depending on the strategic challenges and goals of the company and the presence of supporting systems/processes. This leads to a talent strategy defining specific steps or initiatives along each link of the talent value chain (talent levers). Based on this, a detailed implementation schedule can be developed with specific initiatives and timelines.

This approach, while simple and easily implementable, can provide disproportionate returns on talent employed. It provides a framework that can be used to ensure that an organisation’s talent is aligned towards achieving its strategic objectives. With such alignment, companies can maximise their ROTE in any industry or economic scenario and gain an advantage over their competitors.

Reference: Business Standard ( Article by: Sona Rajesh & Amit Bajpayee)

Bowling Out The Oddballs - Organizational Behaviour.

2009-05-03T10:36:00.003-07:00

Key learnings:

Impossible-to-get-along-with seniors are a top reason for attrition
But getting along with them is now becoming a professional requirement

Among the top reasons why employees leave organisations are impossible-to-get-along-with seniors. An effective way to address this issue is to inform seniors how their demeanour affects retention and employee morale. A practical way to deal with it is to equip employees with the art of dealing with tough bosses! The article outlines when equipped with a set of tactics, employees will find it easier to work with the toughies.

The art of getting along

A typical response when stuck with an eccentric boss is to quit. But given the economic low, job-hopping is a luxury few can afford. This however does not mean employees have to put up with poorly- behaved seniors. Moreover, organisations must and can avoid losing talent to poorly- behaved seniors. In short, if working with tough bosses is an occupational hazard then dealing with them is a professional skill! Here is how employees can be equipped with this skill.

As one behavioural expert says, "The first step to skills or competencies updation is awareness". Therefore, in dealing with tough seniors employees need to be aware of the different behavioural traits of the eccentric! Seniors can be categorised as under:

The lion: These seniors believe in roaring! Their modus operandi is based on a belief that much can be accomplished by shouting and creating a commotion. They also use intimidating non-verbal gestures such as staring and hand- on- hips to get their job done. A study reveals that such aggression manifests in those who are either impatient or like the spotlight to be on them for both right/ wrong reasons.

Effective ways of dealing with such seniors include:

Listening to them without arguing
Keeping one's ego aside. These seniors are likely to shout at their subordinates anywhere which can be embarrassing
Following their instructions to the 't'. The best way to deal with impatient seniors is to give them few reasons to complain

The chameleon: Another impatient lot are seniors who want a number of jobs done simultaneously. Although they are not rude they have little tolerance for those who fail to execute their orders. But following too many instructions while ensuring quality is tough, at times even impossible and these seniors do not realise that. In passing instructions and orders they are seldom considerate about their subordinate grasping what and how things need to be done. These seniors are also a forgetful lot -a consequence of attempting to get much accomplished. So at times they will retort with, "When did I ask you to do this?

Effective ways of dealing with such seniors include:

Making notes of all their instructions and sending them an e-mail about it
Keeping them posted of the progress on tasks on a daily basis
Taking them through the to-do list to reconfirm whether what is on it still needs to be done!
Documenting any communication with them

The Peacock: These seniors hide their shortcomings in their feathers. They are too vain to admit that their position is not a result of hard work and the right competencies but sheer luck! Working with them becomes a challenge because they are poor decision- makers, talk a lot but do little and are least inspiring. The only advantage is, they are not harmful or conniving.

Effective ways of dealing with such seniors include:

Fanning their false prestige by listening to all they have to say
Talking to them about tasks and assignments in terms of deliverables and timelines
Spelling out the benefits or consequences of decision -making at meetings and informal encounters

The fox: These seniors become difficult to deal with because they hit below the belt. Insecure in their positions they believe everyone is a threat and are plotting constantly to frame and fire people. Thankfully, they are a minority but unfortunately they are difficult to identify. Employees get to know of such seniors through others. When identified here is how one can manage around them:

Documenting every piece of communication
Keeping them posted of every move made
Sharing ideas and suggestions only when an audience is around
Talking about what happened at work with colleagues and other co-workers

Also, "being honest and acting with extreme care is the best policy when dealing with this type of boss," recommends an expert.

The serpent: The most dangerous of the lot are seniors who believe fear motivates employees best to perform optimally. Employees dread them because they:

Fire people for invalid reasons
Threaten employees constantly with punitive consequences
Induce guilt in employees to get work done

According to experts, "The attrition rate of this boss is highest because of the fear and psychosis he creates" and the best way to deal with them is to leave before they can sully one's resume and reputation.

Working with seniors with eccentric behavioural traits is not easy but definitely easier than giving up without trying! Moreover when it comes to building and maintaining employee relationships a bit of their onus is an employee's too. In using the above-mentioned tactics to identify who their seniors are, employees can work around a strategy to work with them better.

Reference: TheManageMentor

Customer Satisfaction and HR - HR practices.

2009-05-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

HR is crucial to improve customer satisfaction-surprising but true.

The adage 'customer is king ', signifies the importance and value of customers. Customers are crucial for a business and a customer friendly culture drives a company's profitability. No longer is the sales team alone expected to determine customer satisfaction. HR too plays a major part in ensuring customer satisfaction by hiring the best talent and training them to serve customers effectively. An analysis on 800 Sears Roebuck stores in 1999 revealed that an increase of 5% in employee attitudes increased customer satisfaction by 1.3%.

The Workforce Optimas Award winner, NCCI Holdings trained its customer service representatives in insurance data software products because a survey conducted by them revealed that its customers wanted assistance to use their products. Consequently, there was a significant increase of 33% in the customer satisfaction rating.

Customer satisfaction and loyalty can take the company ahead even during a downturn. Southwest Airlines boasted of profit in the fourth quarter of 2001 despite the sudden decrease in air traffic due to the September 11 attacks. Kmart on the contrary was declared bankrupt because it could not provide a customer friendly environment like Walmart.

According to Michael DeSanto, a consultant for Walker Information, the cost of acquiring a new customer is equal to 5 times the expenses incurred for serving an existing customer. All these instances reiterate the need to build a strong customer relationship.

HR's Initiative

In order to drive customer satisfaction to an enviable level HR should concentrate on smart hiring practices and employee development.

Hiring the budding star performers

To build a customer friendly culture HR should hire only such employees who are capable to reinforce customer satisfaction. According to Ron Zemke, president of Performance Research Associates, a consulting firm, a successful customer service representative is one who is an optimist, flexible and able to manage stress and criticism. He should be able to strike a balance between his interests and that of the company and the customer.

Scrutinising a potential candidate should begin from the time he appears for the interview. The candidate's body language and attitude before and during the interview might give some cues about his capabilities.

Probing situations the candidate may have encountered during his earlier work experience during the interview helps to identify the candidate's abilities and attitude. Patrick Wright director of the Centre suggested this probing technique for Advanced HR Studies at Cornell University to Whirlpool.

Talent+ Inc, another HR consulting firm helped Ritz-Carlton in restructuring their hiring system. Previously, their customer complaints reached an all time high of 27%. After the new system was introduced, the complaints dropped to an amazing 1% in the year 2000.

According to the company's managing director Lisa French, the new system appraises the prospective candidate's traits. This is done through open-ended questions in the interview and a comparison of their traits with those of well-known personalities in the same field.

Training the budding stars

On being recruited, a candidate should be trained to establish customer relationships. To serve the customer better one needs to understand his needs. For this the employee should be aware of the different personality traits and their behavioural patterns. The Meyers Briggs Type Indicator questionnaire is an effective tool in identifying personality types.

Effective communication skills need to be imparted. Further developing the voice tone of the employee and his body language take the lead here. Research shows that 55% of the total impact of an employee's interaction with the customers is by body language and 38% by his tone. In particular, employees serving customers telephonically need to improve their listening skills, as it is difficult to comprehend the same over the phone. Listening to the customer attentively and restating it concisely shows the kind of attention a customer is given.

The people at Rosenbluth differ here also. They insist that their employees speak in an amicable manner to customers. Words like 'certainly', 'it's been my pleasure' put the customer at ease and display the employee's zeal to serve.

Building customer loyalty through employee loyalty

Employee allegiance is crucial to build customer satisfaction and loyalty, because customer and employee satisfaction run parallel.

According to Michael DeSanto, new employees feel good about their company when they have the opportunity to acquire new skills and move up the corporate ladder. Once an employee stays with the company for about 3 years he gets restless if nothing new is happening.

Similarly, new customers feel thrilled by the attention showered on them by the company. Over the years, regular customers used to attention, however begin to feel neglected and explore new avenues.

An organisation that does not acquire the loyalty of the customer or employees might be left in lurch. The two are interdependent. If the employee is happy then the customer satisfaction is also high.

One touch solutions at Captain D's

Captain D's proves that HR's role is detrimental in the restaurant industry where customer service is crucial.The HR initiatives taken by Captain D's to lower their staff turnover, increase customer service and thereby increase their profitability is commendable. Shoney's Inc, started in 1947, provides family dining at Shoneys' and Captain D's chain of restaurants spread over 20 states with 550 franchises.

According to Matt Gloster, vice president of administration for Captain D's, around 8000 employees are trained in all the aspects of restaurant business every year. An uphill task because employees are spread over 20 states and training them from recipes to business operations is an arduous task. The wide geographical spread made a simple thing like communicating a change in the recipe of a dish a complicated process during training sessions. The problem was that the changes have to be communicated to all the branches and thereby requiring to reproduce the same data a number of times.

OneTouch solution, an application software that has a video and two way voice and data application was introduced to allow the employees to communicate with the trainer.

The solution can be applied to PC or non- PC environments so Captain D's and Shoneys used it at all places in the restaurant. This ensures that groups or individual employees attend the training sessions. The training programmes introduced the employees to different topics and a quiz ensured that the trainees comprehend the programme.

Top managements know the developments in the restaurants when they access the data stored by Matt Gloster. Moreover, they can easily update the training programmes by downloading them. OneTouch also helped the restaurants to maintain a productive workforce by training the employees to multitask.

Captain D's thus improved its productivity and customer satisfaction and decreased turnover. Glowing over the restaurant's success Matt Gloster recalls the phrase coined by the chairman 30 years ago, ' show and tell '. The approach states ' tell me, and I'll forget. Show me, and I'll try to remember. Do it with me, and I'll always know how '.

The case of Captain D's shows the importance of an effective training programme to improve customer satisfaction. It also establishes the need to hire potential employees, train them and keep them happy.

Reference:The ManageMentor

Recruitment & Retention- Smart Interviewing

2009-05-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

Graphology is widely used by large corporations in Europe during interviews to detect personality traits as varied as ego drive and risk aversion. Within the United States, risk-taking entrepreneurs use handwriting analysis to identify the best candidates for sales jobs. Tom Payette, for one, hires a graphologist to help him ferret out winners for his $30-million Jaguar and Suzuki dealership in Louisville. He claims that technique has significantly reduced his annual sales-force turnover rate, which at 36% is nearly half the industry average.

A successful interview should determine if there is a match between a candidate and the job. Furthermore, a good interview process allows HR to understand the job seeker's behaviour, values, motivations, and qualifications. Time and time again HR has seen candidates hired for sales jobs that don't like calling people or customer service employees who can't look into the customer's eyes and say, "Hello." Then there are good employees promoted into management positions having no clue of how to lead and manage others.

Why interviewing techniques fail:

Lack of preparation - First impressions last long! Before conducting an interview HR should make sure that they understand the key elements of the job. They should develop a simple outline that covers general job duties. Working with the incumbent to get a better idea of what the job is about is essential

Lack of purpose - Not only should HR determine the best applicant, but they also convince the applicant that this is the best place to work in.

Lack of clearly defined job competencies - Each job can have anywhere from 6-14 job competencies. Identify the behaviours; knowledge, motivations and qualities incumbents need to be successful in the job.

Lack of structure - The best interview follows a structured process. This doesn't mean that the entire process is inflexible without spontaneity. It means that each applicant is asked the same questions and is scored with a consistent rating process. A structured approach helps avoid bias and gives all applicants a fair chance. This can be accomplished by using behaviour-based questions, role-plays and situational questions.

Sample role-plays are effective ways to learn and practice new skills. They can also be used during the interview process to determine the skills and personal charisma of people during stress.

Traditional interviews are never completely reliable. Yes, a structured approach will improve the HR's chances, but it is essential to go a step further. Pre-employment screening is an important aspect of the hiring process for most employers. By using various assessments and profiles, organisations have been able to help clients reduce turnover and improve the quality of their workforce.

Ref: TheManageMentor

Training & Development- Orchestrating Orientations

2009-05-01T22:36:00.001-07:00

Orientations are orchestrated by the HR manager and follow a checklist. This ensures that all aspects are covered and gives new employees a sense of where they are in the process. Three phases are suggested for an orientation programme.

Phase I: The Basics
The first phase of orientation should take place at the start of the first day on the job or, even better, a day or more before the job starts.

The basics include what people need to know right away in an unfamiliar workplace. This will allay anxieties about how their kids can reach them in an emergency, the location of washrooms or where and when they will get lunch. Phase I also involves starting personal files. Safety information that is not job-specific can also be covered here.

Phase II: Personnel Policies

This phase should happen within the first week on the job, if not on the first day. It consists of a review of the personnel policies in the employee handbook. Employees can be asked to read it in advance and tested on the contents in the form of a short written quiz with multiple-choice and true/false answers. There need not be any penalties for wrong answers, but employees are more likely to take the policy handbook seriously if they know they will be tested.

Phase III: The Business

In this phase the mission, history and internal structure of the business, its products and its customers can be covered. This could involve several sessions, from the first month before the new employee's impressions begin to strengthen.

Mission: This part of the orientation process provides new employees the vision of the company. The HR Manager can tell the new employees how he started working or acquired the business, what it means to him and what he hopes to accomplish. Only a HR Manager can convey this sincerely.

History: A scrapbook with local newspaper articles and photos of former and present buildings, customers, products, and before-and-after pictures of re-sets can be displayed.

Internal structure: An organisational chart is a good visual aid. Also an indication of where the new employee fits in should be given.

Customers: Discuss expectations for customer relations, thereby giving a sense of who the customers are, and how the company serves them. Role-play scenarios with new employees give a vivid picture of what customer service means at the company.

Products: Beyond the training that each employee receives in his specific job, the orientation should cover the company's product standards, where to find products and answers to customer questions. Purchasers could give short presentations featuring actual products, preferably with samples for trial.

Ref: TheManageMentor

Managing Global Talent With Integrity

2009-05-01T09:06:00.001-07:00

The enormous cultural diversity in today's global economy makes evaluating, assessing, recruiting and managing talent a challenge - perhaps the challenge - for transnational companies. There are several key steps companies and their talent leaders can take to meet that challenge and build a global workforce that delivers high performance with high integrity.

First, contemporary corporations must explicitly establish high performance with high integrity as the foundational goal of the enterprise, recognizing that it should indeed be the goal of global capitalism.

High performance means strong, sustained economic growth based on superior products and services that provides durable benefits to shareholders and other stakeholders.

High integrity means:

a) Tenaciously adhering to the spirit and the letter of formal rules, both financial and legal.

b) Adopting voluntary global standards that bind a company and its employees to act in its enlightened self-interest.

Living the core values of honesty, candor fairness, reliability and trustworthiness, which infuse the creation and delivery of products and services, and guide internal and external relationships.
Combining high performance with high integrity must counter strong pressures to cut corners to make the numbers. It isn't just about avoiding evils and the potentially catastrophic impact of an integrity miss. It is also about creating strong, affirmative benefits for the company, the marketplace and the broader society. Such trust is needed to sustain corporations' enormous power and freedom - even under current regulation - to allocate capital, to hire and fire people, to drive productivity, to invest in new geographies and communities, and to innovate with new products or services.

This is not a frill or a nice-to-have. It is not the initiative of the month. The fusion of high performance with high integrity should be the foundation of an organization. This is especially so for companies seeking beachheads in difficult markets.

During my time at General Electric, whenever I was asked what I lost sleep over, my answer was always the same: emerging mistakes. For understandable reasons, multinationals have embraced the potential of significant new growth in the developing world, touting it at analysts' meetings and in public speeches. At the same time, they are quietly aware of the significant integrity minefields that threaten to impair performance and destroy margins: limited rule of law, endemic corruption, rampant conflicts of interest, erratic enforcement, money laundering, unscrupulous local competitors and hard-to-assess economic and political risk. To meet their dramatic growth projections, transnational companies must navigate treacherous shoals.

Second, corporations must adopt a uniform, high performance with high integrity global culture. Culture is the shared principles and practices that influence how people think and behave. The right culture is not punitive but affirmative. Such a culture only can exist when it flows from top leadership - when aspirations are matched by actions. Integrity principles and practices should be driven deep into business operations, without compromises for tough markets.

An important dimension of such a culture is the adoption of global ethical standards. "Globalization through localization" is one of the mantras of transnational companies. Localization, of course, includes adherence to the financial or legal rules of the specific national jurisdiction. GE's code of conduct, for example, begins: "Obey the applicable laws and regulations governing our business conduct worldwide."

But that's not always enough. In some cases, the answer to questions such as, "Is it according to GAPP?" or "Is it legal?" may not be adequate because formal rules don't address the broad problems facing a company. A corporation may find the best answer is to go beyond required duties and voluntarily impose a higher global ethical standard on itself and its employees.
An organized, systematic process is needed to decide whether to adopt such global standards. Once adopted, these standards should have uniform application and implementation across business units, product markets and geographies as formal financial and legal rules. Examples include ethical sourcing and building Greenfield plants in emerging markets to world, not local, standards.

Another important dimension is hiring "A" players in key leadership positions throughout the company and recognizing that driving performance with integrity into business operations requires resources. In most corporations, there is a constant struggle to find the right people and allocate adequate resources. Unless both happen, the merger of integrity and business processes isn't possible.

Hiring experts inside the corporation is vital and cost-effective for risk assessment and abatement. Inside experts know the company far better than any outsider, and they can act quickly. For example, Jack Welch encouraged me to hire outstanding experts in taxes and environmental programs, who had developed world-class expertise both in government service and private practice. Beyond minimizing and mitigating integrity risks, they also proved extremely valuable to the CEO in transactions and financial planning and in offensive and defensive public policy.

Questions about paying for the integrity infrastructure need to be faced candidly and systematically. There's no way around it: Funds must be found and spent to establish the fundamentals. Unless the CEO makes this a clear performance metric for business leaders, these costs inevitably get shoved to the bottom of the list.

This is a forward commitment, as well: When the company engages in the next round of "10 percent across-the-board cost-cuts," the CEO and other business leaders must fight the temptation to wield the ax in this sensitive area, and instead scrutinize the actual impact of reductions.

Third, performance with integrity education and training must come alive. It must be given the same commitment as training in business skills such as finance, marketing, sales and IT, and employees must be given a voice to raise integrity concerns.

The largest challenge: finding the people, message, method and evaluations that collectively constitute a culturally sensitive, yet globally effective set of communications in each market. Face-to-face sessions with employees unschooled in the company's global culture are essential; Web or paper training are second-best.

For example, GE Healthcare developed a short training case about the now famous but fictitious Mr. Vu, who faced multiple tough scenarios, such as hiring third-party consultants, approving travel and living expenses, dealing with customers' demands for bribes and the use of the GE mark.

Such learning by example isn't easy. Talent leaders will need knowledgeable trainers to develop trust and get the most out of illuminating discussions. GE often found it hard, given the exponential growth in Asian employees, to deliver live, in-context training. Too often, we had to settle for an interactive Web-based approach. This challenge is mirrored in the difficulty of finding multilingual, multicultural leaders who can help the corporation act with local sensitivity and global discipline in emerging markets, while also anticipating contingencies, diversifying operations and finding top talent.

One of the most powerful principles in creating a high performance with high integrity culture, and for ensuring accountability up and down the corporation, is to give every employee a voice. This means encouraging, and indeed requiring, the reporting of concerns about possible violations of financial, legal and ethical standards.

One channel for such voice is a company "ombuds" system that encourages employees to express their concerns, addresses those concerns promptly with professionalism and respect, makes failure to report itself an integrity violation and, of course, sanctions those who engage in retaliation. A vibrant, fair, trusted ombuds system not only detects issues early, before they can metastasize into huge problems, it also deters improper acts inside the company right from the start.

Another channel for employee voice is through the finance, HR and legal functions. These key staff members must reconcile dual, conflicting roles. They must be partners to business leaders and help accomplish performance goals. But they also are corporation guardians and must report legal, financial, ethical and reputation concerns to corporate staff leaders if they have problems raising and addressing them in their business units.

Finally, corporations must develop compensation regimes that do not just pay for performance, but pay for performance with integrity. We can measure integrity by looking at whether leaders have adopted the core performance with integrity principles, are implementing the key practices to achieve them, have created the affirmative culture - through employee surveys and 360 degree assessments - compare favorably to peer companies and have achieved annual performance with integrity goals and objectives. Similarly, the management development process should be aimed, in part, at training future leaders in the principles and practices of high performance with high integrity, especially in international markets.

[About the Author: Ben W. Heineman Jr. is senior fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Law School and senior counsel to the law firm of WilmerHale. This article is adapted from his book, High Performance with High Integrity.]

Perfect the Art of Sharing- People Management

2009-05-01T08:47:00.001-07:00

"What separate those who achieve from those who do not is in direct proportion to one's ability to ask for help". - Donald Keough, former President of Coco-Cola

Who determines the management skills imperative for success, the managers, the management or an individual's inherent talent and abilities? History and the experience of great leaders show it's the skills and talent of an individual.

A critical issue often ignored when calculating success is delegation. Delegation is rightly called the fundamental of management skills, a prerequisite to lead a successful personal and professional life.

Delegation
Delegation is the ability to effectively assign the responsibility and authority of a task to another person or group of people. It defines the fundamental skill of a manager, the ability to get work done.

It's fait accompli that managers rarely understand this 'critical skill' or practice it. This 'delegation deficiency' must be cured if managers wish to succeed.

Why delegate?
Business owners or managers are responsible for various activities related to their business. These activities may require a lot more time than they can afford, hindering professional growth. Hence, the need to delegate.

For instance, Brad a recently promoted accounts manager of a company was well versed in all account related tasks and considered a master of all work. This actually proved a disadvantageous. Brad never found time to perform his new managerial tasks. He was always engrossed in resolving the less important issues of his subordinates, his earlier peers.

The key...
Only after a coaching session with his senior did Brad realise that his ready acceptance of his subordinates' duties stunted both his and their growth.

Effective delegation
To be efficient managers must cure the deficiency of delegation.

Right fit!
Before delegating, the manager must ensure that the employee is trained for the task. For appropriate training, the strengths and weakness of the person and the personality need consideration. Thus, managers should be sensitive to the talents and skills of the person.

Information: The basic guidelines while delegating work is the information necessary for the delegatee to execute the work. The resources necessary must be planned. Managers must provide their delegatees (the person accepting the work) the basic guidelines and necessary information to execute the work.

All yours!
Empowerment is necessary for effective delegation. Once the work is delegated, the delegatee must be given the autonomy to execute the job. This will heighten not only the interest of the employee and realisation of satisfaction but also success.

Spotlight!
Delegation relates to the responsibility of the work not the work itself. 'Too many cooks spoil the broth', so does delegation of the same work to too many people. In delegation the results accomplished and the not the process followed are important.

However, tasks that depend heavily on intricate technologies, may stress on the approach adopted to accomplish them. The delegatee must have the liberty to exercise his initiatives.

Two-way road:
Lack of dialogue between the managers and the delegatee may lead to confusion and waste of resources. A frank discussion of the problem / task may help formulate a quick and better plan for the execution.

I am there!
The delegatee may come up with his own way of work and get confused at times. The manager's support is crucial at such times. This boosts the employee's confidence in himself and in the superior.

During the discussions, managers must help resolve the problems and encourage the delegatee to share his views.

Update!
Ensuring the employee's accountability is manager's responsibility. He must get a regular update of the progress of the work delegated.

Returns!
The delegatee may be empowered when the manager is able to execute the work perfectly. Manager's guidance should not prove to be a roadblock in the execution of the work. Interference may hinder progress of the work and may not yield the desired outcomes.

Recognition!
Rewards and recognition ought to be given to the person for achieving the set goal. The credit of an unsuccessful project ought to be shared by the manager. They must consider mistakes as an investment.

Taking the credit...
Dr. Abdul Kalam was the Mission director for India's first satellite launch vehicle project. But the project was a failure in its first attempt. Prof.Satish Dhawan of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) organised a press meet and announced " Friends, today we had our first Satellite launch vehicle to put satellite in the orbit, we could not succeed. It is our first mission of proving multiple technologies in satellite and satellite launch vehicles. In many technologies we have succeeded and a few more we have to succeed, above all I realise my team members have to be given all the technological support. I am going to do that and the next mission will succeed".

After the success of the mission in the second attempt a similar press conference was organised and Dr. Abdul Kalam addressed the conference to announce the mission's success. Dr Kalam rightly pointed out that-

"When success comes in after hard work the leader should give the credit for the success to the team members. When failure comes the leaders should absorb the failures and protect the team members".

"There will be failure in a system, failure in a project, failure in the procurement action or failure in the administrative action even failure in the political system. It is vital to protect the team immediately after a failure from the onslaught effect of failures. We should celebrate the success of individuals and team equally".

Win-win situation
A win -win situation provides better scope for learning, helps the delegatee acquire new skills and explore new avenues and solutions. Above all it saves time and resources.

Hurdles
Resistance to change is a common phenomenon. Resistance could arise from:

Culture:
Organisations' culture is built over years of effort. Lack of a proactive culture hinders effective delegation. The manager should install a culture that appreciates the significance of delegation. Employees must realise that delegation of work is both a learning experience and a growth opportunity.

Reverse delegation may take place where the employee may intelligently pass on the job sighting ignorance as a reason. Subordinates' rejection of responsibility may be due to lack of trust in the superior, lack of confidence in himself and the superior or lack of interest in the activity assigned besides lack of understanding of the process.

Remedy ...
Managers can avert such situations by building a friendly and informal rapport with their subordinates. Regular interaction and building up employee confidence by acknowledging their contribution to various activities other than his basic duties. This installs confidence in the employee and encourages him. Tough tasks could be delegated upon successful completion of simple tasks. The step-by-step process builds employee creativity and enthusiasm.

Thought process
Employees must be encouraged to think positively. With superiors' support and skills and knowledge combined with rewards and recognition employees can develop positive thinking.

Further... The process of delegation thus requires managers to understand the need for it and master the art and foster professional growth. Through effective delegation managers can cultivate a work environment that develops future leaders, time essential for execution of critical tasks and for planning of new projects. Above all it creates a motivated workforce.

Ref: TheManageMentor

The Ex-Factor!- HR Practices

2009-04-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

Key learnings:

Corporate alumni programmes help organisations re-recruit employees with much greater ease

In case of sales-driven organisations these boomerang programmes offer the recruiting advantage and also give a major boost to the business by providing competitive intelligence

The economic recession is exerting pressure on organisations from all sides. Managers and leaders cannot stretch even an inch and therefore layoffs and indiscriminate delayering of the staff is rampant. As a result of layoffs and corporate delayering there has been a significant talent exodus into the corporate talent pool. There is enough talent floating around in the market and therefore, today may be the best time for organisations seeking to recruit employees.

Unfortunately not many are in a position to recruit. For preserving floating talent and keeping it in the active sourcing loop organisations are considering increasingly formal corporate alumni programmes. These programmes help maintain mutually beneficial relationship with ex-employees and others in the market.

The "boomerang programme" as it is called underscores the need to stay in touch with employees. They could spring back into the organisational fold with much greater ease. Also it saves the organisation and the employee a lot of effort and time. Re-recruiting people under the boomerang programme is much simpler as compared to starting afresh with the entire recruiting process. Besides recruiting benefits of the corporate alumni programme, there are other more business-oriented advantages. For instance, in case of sales- related jobs, re-recruiting sales people would not only save the organisation recruiting efforts but would also provide the added advantage that comes by virtue of the number of contacts that the sales executives would bring. Thus, corporate alumni programmes provide multi-dimensional benefits to organisations.

Back to the pavilion!

Employees are the best brand -builders for organisations. The "word of mouth" publicity that the staff give its employer is beyond the best marketing and brand positioning strategy. Hence, it is extremely important that organisations if not for humane reasons but for the sake of pure economics treat employees well and implement lay-offs amicably. This apart, there are other reasons that justify the need to pursue corporate alumni programmes. The reasons are both HR- related as well as business -related, and these include:

Reduction in recruiting costs Lowered employee change Greater employee satisfaction levels Better brand -building by re-recruiting ex-employees

In addition to the HR--oriented reasons for pursuing corporate alumni programmes, there are equally convincing economic justifications for the programmes. These include: Increase in the number of customer referrals

Enhancement of customer base by turning ex-employees into customers Leveraging competitive intelligence from employees

Inputs for product assessment

Thus, the aforementioned reasons make a rather convincing case for organisations to pursue formal corporate alumni programmes.

The mark of an effective boomerang

The following attributes make corporate alumni programme a success and represent the
worth of pursuing a corporate alumni programme:

A strategic business tool

HR leaders must build a strong business case around the alumni programme. Corporate stalwarts like Mc Kinsey Consulting, Booz Allen Hamilton and Ernst & Young have been known to position their alumni networking efforts more strategically thereby giving it a more serious feel. Leaders must shun the "HR fad" image of important initiatives like alumni networking to leverage its real benefits.

Prioritise alumni

Effective alumni programmes prioritise alumni on the basis of their performance record. This helps quicken the recruiting efforts of organisations and it enables managers to identify the right talent without wasting much time and effort

Tech -savvy

Effective alumni programmes use technological platforms to ease out the process. Unlike earlier when excel spreadsheets were used to maintain employee data base, today's technology is more advanced. The programmes use customer-relationship management software to accomplish the same job.

Leverage social networks

Alumni programmes must leverage public and private social networks to expand their scope. Social networks are by far the richest source of knowledge, information and contacts. Hence, leveraging this source can help boost the effectiveness of alumni programmes.

Use of an effective measurement tool

The efficacy of corporate alumni programmes needs to be adjudged at regular intervals. This would help the efforts stay in the right direction. Without an effective metrics system managers would fail to improvise the existing approach to alumni networking.

Incorporate alumni networking efforts in the onboarding programme

Organisations must familiarise employees about their alumni networking efforts right in the beginning . making this information a part of their onboarding exercise. Awareness about this programme would help employees feel more secure and enhance employee loyalty.

While the economic slump may have got depressing, probe deeper and you will see an opportunity. Making the most of this opportunity is a matter of choice, for those who leverage it, the possibilities are endless!

Ref: TheManageMentor

The Critical Need to Supplement Personality Testing for Recruitment and Development

2009-04-22T12:06:00.001-07:00

Personality testing is popular, but research reveals it is a limited tool for selection and training. However, HR initiatives in 2009 can be bolstered by replacing or augmenting personality testing with best practice skills or competency testing.

A down economy need not prohibit organizations from launching effective business strategies. In tough times strong organizations survive while weak ones die. Unfortunately, not every company understands that the way to stay viable and strong is to invest in its people. This oversight therefore offers a tremendous competitive advantage for organizations who believe that training and professional development are critical for retaining and maximizing the most from the talent that leaders count on to pull their organizations through. In short, employee and organizational development equal business development.

Psychometric assessments can be a cost-effective and efficient strategy for evaluating individual and team effectiveness, identifying training needs and selecting the right people. Strategically speaking, good assessments help your business develop its strengths, minimize its weaknesses, seize opportunities and deal with economic threats. That said, it is not widely known that personality tests - traditionally popular with training and development professionals - are incomplete tools for selection and development. Take time this first quarter of 2009 to review your HR and training department's practices to see if you need to supplement any of your initiatives that rely on personality testing.

What is Personality Testing?

Personality refers to innate and relatively mental structures that provide general direction for individuals' choices and behavior. Among the many theories of personality, the "Big Five Model" is arguably the most popular and well-validated. The Big Five dimensions represent broad traits believed to encompass the range of normal personality.

a) Agreeableness: Highly agreeable people tend to be altruistic, warm, generous, trusting and cooperative.

b) Conscientiousness: Highly conscientiousness people are typically efficient, punctual, well-organized and dependable.

c) Emotional Stability: Emotionally stable individuals are usually calm, relaxed and generally free from worry.

d) Extraversion: Highly extraverted people are typically highly sociable, assertive, active, energetic and talkative.

e) Openness to Experience: People high in openness tend to be imaginative, original, unconventional and independent.

Some important points about this model...

First, the traits are dimensions, not types, so people vary continuously on them, with most people falling in between the extremes. Second, the traits are stable over a 45-year period beginning in young adulthood. Third, the traits are, at least partly, heritable or genetic. Fourth, cross-cultural studies have confirmed that the traits are universal. For all of these reasons, personality testing is often used in an attempt to help gauge the interests, motivations and broad behavior patterns of candidates and incumbents.

Is Personality Testing Useful for Recruitment and Training?

For decades personality tests have been popular for pre-employment screening. Despite the validity of the Big Five model (or any model of personality) , personality traits have serious limitations when applied to industrial-organiza tional psychology. Research shows that personality tests are poor predictors of workplace performance, whereas measures of general mental ability (reasoning, planning, abstract thinking, comprehending complex ideas and learning quickly) and job-specific skills are stronger and more consistent predictors of performance. In fact, the popular 0*net database of job classifications and corresponding requirements describes positions in terms of skills and competencies rather than broad personality traits. It is not surprising therefore that many companies are either replacing or supplementing personality testing with competency testing.

Simply stated, personality tests do not provide sufficient measurements or insights to give you an accurate understanding of a person to help you make a sound hiring or developmental decision. Moreover, it is questionable whether most of them yield legally defensible information. Measuring "how" people express themselves in general circumstances is good information, but it is markedly incomplete.

In today's competitive market where the best candidates for positions are aggressively
pursued, using the best tool for hiring and training is not a luxury, but a necessity. The best practice approach to selection and training is not personality testing but rather skills assessment - i.e., measuring cognitive performance and competencies related to the service-hospitality industry.

How Does a Skills Assessment Supplement Personality Testing?

Relying on a personality test to guide your hiring, performance analysis and training initiatives is much like relying on a road map to guide your vacation choices - it is interesting but terribly incomplete information. As one reasonable critic of personality testing put it, "Without weather forecasts, resort reviews, activity guides and price data, a long-planned, restful excursion could end up at a wilderness boot camp." A skills assessment, on the other hand, is a specialized tool that analyzes the attitude and skill set of a candidate or incumbent. Similar to the roadmap analogy, a well-constructed skills assessment provides the critical information left out by the simple personality tests so often touted by consultants and vendors as the golden keys to recruitment, results and retention.

Personality variables are not synonymous with skills and abilities. You cannot truly develop employees based on personality given the fixed nature of the Big Five traits. But leaders can impact learned attitudes and behaviors that underlie important skills and competencies. Therefore, the results of a skills assessment can be leveraged in powerful ways that add immediate and lasting value to businesses. First, they help managers hire better employees. Next, they are used to troubleshoot performance problems with existing employees. Finally, they benefit in helping develop employees into better performers. It is also important to mention that some skills assessments utilize legally defensible analytics, which protect test takers and organizations from unfair results and biased hiring or development decisions. Therefore, unlike personality tests, the results from skills assessments have superior validity and can be used across the employment cycle for an individual.

As an added bonus, skills assessments also benefit the broader organization by allowing leaders to benchmark the competencies for positional success, evaluate the effectiveness of training programs in an unbiased manner and facilitate more specific and useful job descriptions and succession plans. The use of a well-validated and industry-specific skills assessment is a business strategy to seriously consider adopting in the current economic climate. It is an important, cost effective and easy-to-implement step in making your HR and training departments profit centers in 2009 and beyond.

[About the Author: James Houran holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and is President of 2020 Skills Assessment. He is an 18-year veteran in research and assessment on peak performance and experiences, with a special focus on online testing.]

Include Employees in Leadership Transition Conversations

2009-04-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

"Uncertainty" is a common word these days, used to describe everything from the economy to the future for America's businesses and workers. Having a succession plan for key management positions is one of the most valuable HR initiatives a company can leverage. During uncertain times, it's imperative for businesses to make sure employees have as much job certainty as possible, but succession planning often is neglected for more immediate concerns.

Just as the country had two and a half months to transition into Barack Obama's administration after eight years of Bush leadership, companies benefit greatly from a planned transition between incoming and outgoing top-level management.

But it's not always that easy. Generally, there are three kinds of transition:

1. An internal candidate's successful transition. This is only possible when a company knows the executive is leaving and has identified a likely successor. It eliminates surprise and enables a smooth, transition with the least amount of distraction and lost productivity.

2. An executive leaves unexpectedly. This is a good opportunity for companies to promote from within, but the news can lead to power jockeying and interpersonal struggles.

3. A company brings in an external candidate. When companies go outside for a new leader, they are implicitly saying to current employees: "You're not good enough to lead," or "Whatever you have been doing in the past, it is not what we need you to do in the future."

Planning is the lynchpin to ensure organizational stability during a change of power. For example, Hilton Hotel Corp. identified succession planning as a top company priority and emphasized this by creating a separate, dedicated succession planning department within the company's corporate structure. Hilton is able to identify different competencies for the most critical management positions company-wide, while highlighting employees with the appropriate competencies who are on track to succeed in different divisions. The company can identify successors for every executive position and ensure minimal confusion and uncertainty in the midst of change.

People likely do not fear change as much as they fear uncertainty. Uncertainty over leadership creates anxiety which leads to decreased productivity and increased turnover. Further, the more uncertain people are about the potential actions of a new leader, the more they may view that person as a threat.

Further, when there is change at top, employees naturally wonder what's next. Defining roles in advance of succession can set employees' expectations and allow them see where they fit into the organizational picture. Transparency and communication before, during and after transition reduce uncertainty and keep performance high.

The fewer surprises a company has, the better it is for employees and the organization as a whole. Creating a robust and active succession plan not only safeguards against surprise, it can contribute to higher productivity and employee satisfaction. Successful succession plans are the byproduct of a smart performance and talent management program that gives companies a clear window into its workforce's skills, strengths, competencies and goals.

Strategic succession plans engage employees at all levels in a dialogue about their company and the future of its workforce. They also empower executives to build the company's bench strength, improve individual employees' career development plans and save time and money.

Nothing communicates the employee's value in a company more than programs that actively seek to develop and advance careers within the organization. The key to succession planning is not to go into the process blind. Using the right tools, including a performance and talent management system, companies can plan for most contingencies in C-level exits. All they need is a little planning.

[About the Author: Steven T. Hunt, Ph.D., SPHR, is the chief scientist at Kronos Inc., a company that empowers organizations to effectively manage their workforce.]

Moving ahead during tough times

2009-04-19T10:55:00.001-07:00

It is a seesaw-like situation for executives in the corporate world as each executive tries to justify his personal and professional goals. Pressure times compel top class executives to reveal their true personality. Their determination and composure in such tiring situations reveal their leadership qualities. However each employee can be a leader in his own stride by inculcating perseverance to survive in today's tough world.

Fear factor

Often pressure builds a sense of urgency and forces an individual to arrive at logical solutions for practical problems. When an employee is apprehensive of the outcome of a business strategy he generally tends to evade it thereby complicating the situation. Evading must be the last thing on an employee's mind if survival is his goal.

Away from...

To mobilise organisations, immediacy must be created. Employees though slip into a fear psychosis when faced with immediacy. Fear moves them into immediate action but not necessarily in the same direction. Therefore, all that fear does is to misalign the efforts of individual leaders to motivate employees towards common goals. Fear only brings to naught leaders' efforts to motivate employees. This is further compounded by the stress it produces.
,

Corporate health

Stress is the causative factor for many an ailment in the corporate health, leave alone employee personal health. Stressful employees lack creativity and become inefficient. Their perspectives are narrowed down and their problem-solving abilities slacken and learning ceases. Even employee morale diminishes leading to disengagement. Disengagement cannot contribute to peak performance!

The motivating duo

The duo that influences the success of businesses is fear and quite surprisingly leadership. Truly, fear scatters the efforts of employees in random directions. Leadership balances the negative effects of fear in employees by aligning their goals in the desired direction.

Sharing is winning

Pre- defined goals help employees visualise the path they would be treading. Sharing the organisation's vision, mission and values is key to its success.

Good, bad and the best

Identification of ultimate goals unlocks creativity, enhances problem-solving skills and helps utilise resources towards a purposeful mental state. Working towards challenging goals, creates eustress, a positive stress syndrome, which channelises energy. However, directionless movement creates bad stress. The balance between the good and bad stress needs to be delicately managed. Coordination is crucial here. Lack of coordination could paralyse an employee's ability to take on challenges. Therefore, good stress and coordination must complement each other.

The pull effect

Pulling the workforce back into powerful, productive mental state requires effective leadership. Leaders must be positive and shun negative attitudes at the workplace to radiate stress effectively. Spreading positive feelings throughout the team creates intrinsic motivation.

Towards leadership

Extraordinary leaders thrive despite the restrictions imposed by tough and challenging times. That every employee is a leader in himself implies that there must be a storehouse of some intangible inherent characteristics.

Bigger is better. The leader must view the problem in its entirety not in parts. Vision differentiates a leader from a follower. It helps him disentangle the nitty-gritties of a problem that prevent him from resolving it.

Fire from within. Unwarranted faultfinding leads to ineffective teamwork. Leaders must act rationally and objectively, without being carried away by internal conflicts.

First and foremost. Sacrifice is an important characteristic of a good leader. A leader who sacrifices first for his team will earn the loyalty of his subordinates and colleagues.

Calm and composed. A relaxed mind enables employees to make better decisions.
Move them forward. Leaders emphasise on being optimistic motivators during rough times, thereby moving the employees forward towards their goals.

Small leads to the big. Goals must be split into smaller achievable targets. Employees must be rewarded when those goals are achieved. A consistent win in small goals keeps the track of success steady for the employees while motivating them.

Have more of humour. A decent sense of humour even during tough times helps maintain the tempo of work/life balance.

Tripod balance

A motivated team relies on the tripod stand fundamental. So building a motivated team during hardships requires the top management to hire, train and communicate constantly.
Hiring the best is essential because, they make the job of motivating easier. A bad hire for the right job is difficult to motivate.

All employees cannot be perfect but are undoubtedly trainable. A right mix of technical skills, people skills and self-management skills is essential for appropriate training. Training must not only be appropriate, but also adequate. Once trained, employees must be encouraged to take a holistic perspective of their company and replenish their capacity for creativity.

Training promotes competence and therefore, confidence, the latter being an internal motivator. Competence also reduces stress and increases productivity besides improving attitude.

If employees' contributions are not acknowledged, they get demotivated and withdraw. Employees work enthusiastically if their ideas are valued. Talking about uncertain situations help defuse anxiety, which may lead to stress. Truth is an antidote for uncertainty. Therefore, constant communication is an imperative.

Reconnecting people

Once stress is reduced, the onus lies on the leaders to provide a direction to the employees and motivate them adequately and appropriately. Over-motivating the employees could have negative impact too, so leaders must be cautious.

Productivity is about moving forward in a uniform direction once it has been determined with the team consensus. Anxiety and fear are imaginary monsters and employees must avoid fighting them to perform well.

Learning in a Tough Economy

2009-04-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

Although there seems to be no shortage of bad news in the business world these days, there is a bright spot for learning leaders: Economic downturns often present opportunities to make learning more effective, thereby making organizations more competitive.

When the economy slows, corporations are forced to respond. It's a simple financial matter: Less money coming in means less money available to spend. Common fiscal belt-tightening techniques include budget cuts, spending and hiring freezes, and reducing the size of the employment base through buyouts, attrition or layoffs.
As organizational leaders weigh tough decisions on where to cut costs, they should ask themselves one simple question: "Do we still want to be in business after the downturn?" If the answer is "yes," one area in which spending should not be cut without some serious strategic thought is employee learning and development.

True, adjustments may be needed. The learning and development department probably should reduce spending just like everyone else. Instead of cutting all initiatives in equal fashion, smart organizations retain initiatives that are critical to business success and cut back on those that may simply be "nice to do." Think of it this way: It wouldn't be prudent for a restaurant kitchen to eliminate fire extinguishers to save costs in lean times, would it?

Canceling an arbitrary portion of training initiatives across the board creates the illusion of savings - some real via eliminated travel expenses and some potential under the assumption that freed-up staff time is put to good use. But without strategic thinking about where cuts should be made, such moves could end up damaging the differentiators responsible for competitive advantage.

Planning to Outlive a Recession

Development is a key factor in ensuring people stay engaged in the organization and continue to have an impact on the company's bottom line. Giving current and potential leaders the development they need helps a company weather the storm and continue to excel. So how can necessary cuts be made with minimal long-term damage? What can be cut, and what should remain?

To guide the decision-making process, company leaders should sit down with line managers and talent professionals to examine the key factors to business success and which training and development initiatives enhance these factors. Smart companies proceed strategically so that reduced learning and development spending won't blunt long-term corporate success.

Look at Talent Management as a Response to Economic Downturn

Don't spread reduced training dollars as if they were peanut butter and you were trying to make 10 sandwiches with only enough available for five. Such a nonstrategic approach simply reduces effectiveness across the board - including in the areas responsible for a firm's competitive advantages.

Instead, choose more carefully who you need to invest in and which types of behavior you need to impact. This means you have to determine which offerings have the most immediate and direct effect on the business and on customer experience. It also may mean you have to be more selective about who is invited to participate.

Take the example of Company X, which has a significant development initiative for high-potential leaders. This program has shown visible impact for participants and their managers. As the economy enters a soft period, Company X opts to cut spending for the coming year. How will this initiative be changed to compensate for this cut? Should the program be eliminated for a year or two? Should it be adjusted so it's less intensive? In the end, a decision is made to retain the initiative as its current level of intensity, but to offer it to fewer individuals.

Let's look at the impact of this decision:

a) The nomination criteria for the program are strengthened. This results in more in-depth discussions by senior leaders and managers about who should attend and increases the value of this initiative in the minds of these influential individuals.

b) Chosen participants benefit from the same high-quality program as participants from previous years, and any feelings of being cheated by having to settle for a second-rate version are avoided.

c) Management takes the opportunity to communicate to those who didn't make the cut. They're told of the reduction in slots this year and are reassured they will be reconsidered for participation the following year. They are disappointed they won't get to attend this year, but are glad that when their turn comes they will not get a second-rate version of a program that has become well-respected.

d) Those who did make the cut are told they were among a smaller group chosen, leading to a clear understanding of the company's desire to retain them over the long term and even more accountability to put what they learn into visible practice.
In this way, a spending cut ends up positioning the company to reinforce its commitment to a development program that really makes a difference. Most companies tell their employees that they are the firm's most important asset. Company X found a way to walk that talk.

Ensure All Training Efforts Are Critical to Continued Business Success

The key issue here is deciding what behaviors, industry gatherings and activities are truly critical to business success. When budgets are cut, learning and development managers need to ensure a clear line of sight exists between training efforts and the value they provide for the business and its customers. A good example comes from the manufacturing sector: A downturn is not the time to scale back training on quality or safety technique. Any refinery manager will tell you the same thing in a heartbeat.
On the other hand, an economic downturn probably is a good time for a company expanding in Latin America to limit Spanish-language instruction to only those being deployed there in the near future. Broader training across the talent pipeline in this area can be resumed once the economic storm has passed.

In truth, a time of universal economic contraction may even be a time when expanded training efforts become necessary. Key customer relationships may cool due to less frequent in-person visits and increased reliance on voicemail and e-mail. This may happen at precisely the moment when the customer is looking for its own ways to cut spending.

Companies in this situation would be wise to invest in new or enhanced targeted sales training to ensure confidence and credibility in dealing with nervous clients. It's human nature. We all want to affiliate ourselves with the strong, the confident and those who will survive. Customers of organizations are no different. They want to know that the entities they outsource to or buy products from will still be there after an economic downturn has run its course. Such a strategy not only serves an immediate business need but also positions the company well for when the economy regains its health.

Leverage Learning From Work Experience

An economic downturn is a great time for companies to think beyond the traditional workshop format. Much can be learned on the job and in collaborative groups. Simulation-based learning, increased coaching and mentoring, and looking to company leaders to teach others based on their own experiences all can have a deeply positive impact on the leadership pipeline.

Whether the format looks like a community of practice, an action learning team or simply a facilitated discussion group, learning and development leaders can help get people talking with each other about their own experiences and what they have learned.

Look to Technology

Technology-enabled learning can extend development investment when economic times are tight. Similar program content can be delivered without the associated travel costs, and if done well, an atmosphere of engaged group learning can be maintained.
Let's look at another example, this time from a firm we'll call Company Y. This organization has professionals based in locations around the globe. These individuals gather in person twice each year to review case studies, swap notes and discuss the latest trends. Company Y anticipates a slowing economy and makes a decision to eliminate these twice-yearly gatherings to save travel and accommodation costs.

But Company Y doesn't stop there. In fact, its corporate leaders have been researching lower-cost alternatives ever since the meetings' costs were tagged for discussion. After all, the value of these best-practice exchanges are tangible and are one reason why Company Y's people are so clued in to the needs of their clients. Although Company Y eliminates the twice-yearly in-person gatherings, a quarterly webinar is instituted in its place to cover the same topics. The employees experience continuity of best-practice information flow. True, employees miss the face time with colleagues, but at least they know their needs for connection and development still matter as Company Y realizes cost savings.

Companies should look to intranets, online chat rooms, SharePoint technology or other existing resources to enable collaboration and idea exchange between teams and colleagues geographically separated from one another.

Move From 'Training' to 'Development That Makes a Difference'

Learning professionals know that, as engaging as any training event can be, the lessons learned quickly can dissipate and fail to translate into meaningful changes on the job without an effort to make the learning "stick."

To reap full the benefit from resources spent on learning and development, companies need to effectively communicate expectations to the individuals who will be taking part, as well as to their managers. Success is more than just showing up at a training event. Insights must lead to action, and action must translate into practical improvements in performance.

Taking a realistic approach to learning and development means ensuring people know what needs to be improved, they are motivated to improve and they get useful knowledge and tools to address their targeted areas. They also need opportunities to apply what they have learned, and they need to be held accountable for improvement. These strategies can help drive effective integration of new skills. They're also another example of a reaction to an economic downturn that can have a lasting positive effect on the company long after the economy has improved. Learning professionals can seize the moment to drive best practices into place.

Foster Dialogue About How Competitive Advantage Can Be Maintained or Enhanced

An economic recession is like any other type of organizational change, only this one is imposed from the outside. Employees and management can't hide their heads in the sand waiting for the recession to pass or for the "other shoe to drop." The challenge needs to be faced head-on.

Learning and development leaders can help foster dialogue among employees about what the business needs to do to be more competitive than the next company. After all, the whole industry is in the same situation. Issues need to be addressed with emotional engagement, not just a set of dispassionate adjustments. This is the time to increase communication in all directions and encourage employees to respond thoughtfully. Ask them to help prioritize how development dollars get spent. Such discussions often yield surprising and valuable insights.

Set the Stage for Increased Competitive Advantage

Recently, Personal Decisions International conducted a survey of human resources professionals and other business leaders around the globe to uncover organizational approaches to retention of key employees in the slowed economy and what tactics they have found to be most successful. Among the 530 respondents, 93 percent said retaining key employees is even more important during an economic downturn.

Perhaps counter intuitively, the survey found "accelerating the development of key employees" to be a more effective tactic to retain these individuals than "competitive pay and benefits." These responses offer real-world evidence that employees want development opportunities and will stay with the company that offers them.

Skillful learning and development leaders can foster a common vision of what it looks like to be successful, even in a recession. Those who do so will mobilize and focus energy across their organizations, both for today and tomorrow, as they become catalysts for action and learning.

Author: Marc Sokol
[About the Author: Marc Sokol is the senior vice president and global practice leader of development solutions at Personnel Decisions International. ]

Efficiency at the Workplace

2009-04-15T23:12:00.000-07:00

When countless office hours are wasted efficiency, productive and profits of a company are affected. To boost efficiency HR managers must take control, spur employees to work faster and smarter for competitive edge.

Often employees waste countless office hours affecting efficiency and productivity and also the profits of the organisation. Onus is on you as HR manager, for enhancing efficiency and productivity of your company, and ensuring the greater profits.

Mr Ramesh Gelli launched the Global Trust Bank during the 1990s envisaging efficiency and service to the customers as a prime differentiator. In a short span of time, GTB has become a success story. Today it is noted for its efficiency, profitability and prompt service.

To achieve efficiency at the workplace, the HR manager must take control of the workflow. For this, proper planning and new technological tools can help the HR manager to streamline his work The technological support will help the boss to enable his subordinates to work smarter and faster. In doing so they both work better as a team. As a result the company gains the competitive edge.

Top class efficiency at the workplace means more quality time and greater profits. To know whether you as the HR manager are efficiently running your company, look into the following three aspects:

Time and money;
Taking control of the workflow; and
Options for the future.

Time and money - Employees waste countless hours in preparing and maintaining files. This old method of office management is highly counterproductive and inefficient. To improve the situation, you can switch over to the technology age and do away with the mountain of files. It not only saves workspace but also lowers the operational costs. However, examine the computer system to see if it is the best industry-specific system available. If the company is having separate computer systems for different tasks it will be losing productivity, which affects the bottom line.

Taking control of the workflow - By being more efficient the HR manager can take control of his workflow. New technology can help him to be more efficient. In turn, this will spur the employees' to work faster and better. Interestingly, a designer computer system that allows multitasking and shared data will inspire the staff to work in cooperation. Double entries can be avoided and thus time and money saved.

Options for the future - When the company cuts costs and increases efficiency, automatically profit margin goes up. However, as a HR practitioner, you should not be satisfied with it. Because a feeling of stagnation will set in. To avoid that condition, look ahead. You may want to extend your resources beyond your office environment involving remote employees. It allows employees to be able to work wherever and whenever they want. In turn this cuts down overheads for the company. When technology saves time and money, and improves efficiency, productivity gets a boost. Automatically, business grows. By being more efficient the HR manager can take control of his workflow. New technology can help him to be more efficient. In turn, this will spur the employees' to work faster and better. Interestingly, a designer computer system that allows multi-tasking and shared data will inspire the staff to work in cooperation. Double entries can be avoided and thus time and money saved.

Post Appraisal Blues- The Friday Syndrome

2009-04-15T23:02:00.000-07:00

Recently promoted supervisors are often victims of the so-called "The Friday Syndrome". Management promotes them on Friday afternoon and expects them to be effective leaders by Monday morning!

The transition from an employee to a leader is not easy. Employees are often promoted because they are good at the current job. Management assumes that a good employee will make a good supervisor. This is often not the case.

Employees who are good at what they do, often do it instinctively. They do it without thinking about it. It is often difficult for them to explain how they do so to others. They sometimes get impatient when people don't learn or understand as quickly as they do.

New supervisors need training. Unfortunately, it cannot always be provided. Someone has to help them make a good start. In a perfect world, their managers would take the time to do it. Most often they don't. HR can step in to fill the void by giving managers an outline for the discussion. If the manager doesn't take the hint, HR can take the initiative to do so.

Few tips to help the supervisor to get off to a good start:

Help them choose their priorities carefully. New supervisors often try to fix everything at once. They have to be taught to focus their attention on the most important things first and work on one or two of them at a time.
Help them focus on the positive. Sometimes new supervisors are so busy trying to make things better, they forget to show their appreciation for people doing things right. Nothing builds credibility faster than a sincere 'Thank you'. New supervisors need to be sure to demonstrate appreciation for people who are doing things right.
Make them aware to be firm, but fair.
Help them in learning to get all the employees in the department involved.

Most of us get comfortable doing things the way we have always done them. When someone comes along and starts telling us to do them differently, we get defensive. Whenever possible, new supervisors need to give people a chance to contribute to their finding new ways of doing things.

Ref: TheManageMentor

Performance Appraisal - Management by Objectives

2009-04-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

Once an employee has been selected, trained and embarked on his duties, it is time for performance appraisal. What is performance appraisal? Why do companies need to take up this task?

According to Heyel, “it is the process of evaluating the performance and qualifications of the employees in terms of job requirements, for administrative purposes such as placement, selection and promotions, to provide financial rewards and other actions which require differential treatment among the members of a group as distinguished from actions affecting all members equally”.

This concept dates back to the First World War and was then called “Merit rating programme”. Over a period of time, this concept has been through an ocean of change. The areas of evaluation have also changed.

Importance and objectives: Performance appraisals have been considered to be the most significant and indispensable tool for the management as it,

Provides useful information for decision making in areas of promotion and merit rating and compensation reviews.
Links information gathering and decision making process, which are the basis for judging the effectiveness of personnel subfunctions such as recruiting, selecting and compensation.
Helps pinpoint areas of concerns in the primary systems like marketing, finance and production.
Enhances understanding for training and counselling needs.

Methods of performance appraisal

There are several methods for evaluating performance. Management by objectives is the most popular one.

Management by objectives is primarily to change the behaviour and attitude towards getting an activity or assignment completed in a manner that it is beneficial for the organisation. Management by objectives is a result-oriented process. In this system, emphasis is on results and goals rather than a prescribed method.

For instance, the number of quality articles to be churned out in a week, at a publishing house is, let’s say, five. This is the goal of the organisation. This goal has to be set in coordination with the writers. The emphasis here again would be on accomplishing this task flawlessly over the week rather than the setting of a method to accomplish the same. You are giving them a free hand to decide as to how they want to work in order to accomplish target. This gives the employee both responsibility as well as authority to do a job. The employees are now responsible for its success and failure and it is their baby. It is a VERY SMART MANAGEMENT TOOL where the employee is involved in the decision making process.

The fives magic sutras

The mystery of management of objectives has the following basic steps.

Set organisational goals. This envisages that organisational goals and business strategies are expressed clearly, concisely and accurately. They are periodically reviewed. They should be challenging enough to motivate the employee. Clear and attainable goals help channel energies towards desired behaviour and let the employee know the basis on which he will be rewarded.

Joint goal setting. This step establishes short-term goals, which are performance oriented, between the management and the employee. The responsibilities are clarified to the employees through organisational charts and job description. The goals decided by the employee need to complement the goals of the management. They also need to be flexible to accommodate new ideas without losing individual responsibilities. Moreover they should be easily quantifiable. For example,

To prepare, process and transfer to the office superintended, all account payable vouchers within three working days from the receipt of the voucher.

To hold weekly meetings with all employee.To use program evaluation and review technique (pert) for all new plant layouts.

Performance reviews. This step suggests frequent performance review between the manager and the employees. During the initial stages the meetings be held once a month and later could be quarterly. For maximum benefit these meetings should be scheduled for more than once a year.

Set check posts: Establishment of major check posts to measure progress. This is merely to check that the employee surges towards his premeditated goal without any disruptions. These check levels should be higher in the initial stages and then gradually reduce. This demands that the manager should be on constant alert and exercise sound judgment.

Feedback: The employees who receive frequent feedback about their performance are highly motivated than those who do not. However, one has to ensure that the feedback is relevant and specific. This helps the employee and the manager understand where they stand.

The five-sutra process of management by objectives ensures that the manager and the employee define and establish goals and objectives for an employee to be achieved within a prescribed period of time. The employee is to be supervised and evaluated, periodically. To this extent, a frequent feedback and superior-employee interaction model must be evolved.

Ref: TheManageMentor

The Three R's of Motivation

2009-04-15T22:41:00.000-07:00

The greatest untapped resource to its full potential in any organisation is its work force. It has been estimated that an average employee at any given time works at less than 50% of his capacity. If this were true a good manager can increase productivity by:

Helping the organisation make a profit.
Motivating the sales team to achieve its full potential.

Conventional wisdom dictates that money and benefits are all that are necessary to attract and maintain a world-class sales organisation. The truth is that beyond a certain point, money and benefits are important only in keeping employees satisfied. Then what 's it that motivates people?

The Three R's

Recognition: Managers reinforce employees' desire to continue doing the right things by focusing on and rewarding positive behaviours, appreciating and being attentive to the good things employees do. This builds a positive self-image, leading to a positive attitude.

Unfortunately, most autocratic leaders tend to criticise, condemn and complain, never forgetting a negative performance ignoring good performances. Lee Iaccoca said many years ago, "When I reprimand, it is always orally and in private; when I praise someone, it is always in writing as well as in public."

Rewards: Napoleon observed, "Men will die for ribbons." Telling employees you appreciate them is a good beginning, but etching it in stone is even better. A personal thank-you card that recognises in detail a special accomplishment gives the recipient a form of praise that endures. It can be shown to colleagues, friends and family. A certificate or plaque is a permanent reminder!

Reinforcement: Singling out an associate every month for praise is probably the most popular form of individual recognition, as with a salesperson - or employee-of-the-month programmes.

Any form of reward can be effective - some for short periods, others for much longer. Regardless of how managers recognise achievement, they must consciously reinforce the behaviours associated with peak performance.

Best Motivator of All

Motivation is more than a well-thought-out reward programme. To really stimulate a team, a climate of self-motivation that promotes growth and personal development should be created.

The best way to motivate employees is to build their self-confidence. That's why provide employees the skills needed to excel in their profession.

Continuous training and education are necessary to keep a company thriving. The highest compliment an organisation can pay its employees and the greatest message it can send to the entire staff is, "We believe in your potential; our future and yours are long-term. Therefore, we are investing in your personal development, which ensures our company's growth and yours."

Ref: TheManageMentor

Performance Appraisal Blues

2009-03-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

A performance appraisal can be good or bad, depending on the employee. The appraisal, in theory, is designed to provide an orderly way for an employee’s superior to interact with him, usually on an annual basis, to tell him what the company thinks about his job performance and how to improve it by pointing out key positives and negatives about his on-the-job performance over the past year.

Its primary mission is to give feedback to help employees strengthen their capabilities so that they can be more productive members of the organisation, and in the process receive additional compensation or responsibility.

The review is used to convey both satisfaction with an employee’s job performance (leading, hopefully, to a raise) and dissatisfaction (which could be the precursor to a demotion or even a termination).

To grow with an organisation when an employee has received a less-than-sterling review, he has to learn to separate the "learning" areas from the "hurting" parts of the message (i.e. the personal or work related negatives). For the employee, the bottom line of a performance appraisal is often of a fairly short range.

Most employees come out of an appraisal that is critical of their performance understandably upset or angry. One important thing to remember is that the employee is still at the company (not applying for a job) so there's a lot they can do before resigning themselves to being terminated or being forced to leave.

Five keys to help employees to cope with and overcome a bad appraisal

Employees should go in with a list of accomplishments that they have accumulated over the past year. They will be surprised at how much they have accomplished.
They should go into the review assuming there will be some negatives, and think of the meeting as a way to learn what specific issues they have to work on to get to that next step. It's the boss' job to let the employees know about areas where they can improve, so the employee should try not to be offended. The employees’ goal is to convince the supervisor, in a positive manner, that they are willing to make that commitment.
Before going into a review, employees should separate a page into two columns. The first should be headed "Specific Areas of Strength"; the second, "Specific Areas of Improvement." It's very important that they hear both the good and the bad comments, because they will never improve, to their boss' satisfaction, if they deny, in their anger, that there are any areas needing improvement.
Employees should ask for clarification and specific examples if they hear generalisations or don't understand what the problem is. But they should try hard not to be too argumentative.
Employees should find out how their boss might solve these issues, and ask for another review in 30 days to address these specific issues, to see if headway is being made.

Employees should remember that if they spend their time being hurt by or defensive about what is said, and not learning about what they can do to change their boss' perception, they are doing themselves a disservice.

What they should try to accomplish is to leave the meeting with a good idea of what they can do to improve their boss' perception of them, before the next appraisal. The employees should also create an image of a thoughtful employee who is willing to change and able to modify behaviour.

Good jobs are hard to come by, and if employees like their job, this approach will help to give them a fighting chance to assess and correct areas that their supervisor feels may have been overlooked, without allowing personal feelings to dominate.

Reference: TheManageMentor

Performance Appraisal - Management by Objectives

2009-03-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

Once an employee has been selected, trained and embarked on his duties, it is time for performance appraisal. What is performance appraisal? Why do companies need to take up this task?

Importance and objectives: Performance appraisals have been considered to be the most significant and indispensable tool for the management as it,

Provides useful information for decision making in areas of promotion and merit rating and compensation reviews.
Links information gathering and decision making process, which are the basis for judging the effectiveness of personnel subfunctions such as recruiting, selecting and compensation.
Helps pinpoint areas of concerns in the primary systems like marketing, finance and production.
Enhances understanding for training and counselling needs.

Methods of performance appraisal

There are several methods for evaluating performance. Management by objectives is the most popular one.

Management by objectives is primarily to change the behaviour and attitude towards getting an activity or assignment completed in a manner that it is beneficial for the organisation. Management by objectives is a result-oriented process. In this system, emphasis is on results and goals rather than a prescribed method.

The fives magic sutras

The mystery of management of objectives has the following basic steps.

To prepare, process and transfer to the office superintended, all account payable vouchers within three working days from the receipt of the voucher.

To hold weekly meetings with all employee.To use program evaluation and review technique (pert) for all new plant layouts.

Reference: TheManageMentor

Recruitment & Retention: Assessing jobs, not persons

2009-03-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

Job Analysis (JA) is a process to identify and determine in detail not only the particular responsibilities and requirements but also the relative importance of these responsibilities for a given job. It is a process where judgements are made about data collected on a job.

The purpose of JA is to establish and document the 'job relatedness' of employment procedures such as training, selection, compensation, and performance appraisal.

An important concept about this tool is that it analyses the job, not the person. The data required may be collected from incumbents through interviews or questionnaires.

Job Analysis can be used in:

assessment tests to measure effectiveness of training and
Identifying methods of training (i.e., small group, computer-based, video, classroom...)

It can also be used to structure compensation based on:

skill levels of an employee
hazards at the work place
responsibilities of supervisors at the work place
required level of training needed to perform the job

Selection Procedures

This technique can be used in selection procedures to identify or develop:

job duties that should be included in advertisements of vacant positions
appropriate salary for the position
interview questions
selection tools
performance appraisal/evaluation forms
orientation material for new employees

Job Analysis can be used in performance reviews to identify or develop:

goals and objectives
performance standards
evaluation criteria
length of probationary periods

Methods of Job Analysis

Several methods exist that may be used individually or in combination. These include:
review of job classification systems

incumbent interviews
supervisor interviews
expert panels
structured questionnaires
task inventories
check lists
open-ended questionnaires

A common method of analysing a job would be, to give the incumbent a simple questionnaire to identify job duties, responsibilities, equipment used, work relationships and work environment. The completed questionnaire would then be assisting the Analyst to conduct an interview of the incumbent. A draft of identified job duties; responsibilities, equipment, relationships and work environment would be reviewed with the supervisor for accuracy. The analyst would then prepare a job description and/or job specifications.

Job Analysis: Right Person Right Job

2009-03-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

Writing job descriptions is an art. A correct job description brings in the right employee. As today the focus is on multi-tasking or multiple skills, companies with good job descriptions have a shortened recruitment cycle. A good job description is well thought out but not written from boilerplates.

What is job description?

Job description specifies job requirements and acts as a screening tool. Therefore, manpower requirement and planning is dependent on job descriptions. Information about duties, responsibilities, Key Result Areas (KRA’s), qualifications and compensation information are detailed as part of job description.

Duties: Clearly outlining the duties is crucial for a good job description. Duties need to be specific to both short-term issues and long-term challenges of the position. Short-term priority issues need to be addressed during the first few days. Long-term challenges relate to where the hiring manager wants to be in months down the road.
Qualifications: Qualifications are the principal screening elements. These fall into two areas – must haves and nice to haves. Must haves are absolute requirements and without them the person is screened out. Nice to haves are like the icing on the cake.
Compensation information: Generally,this area is skipped in job descriptions. When stated, however, will attract a wider range of qualified individuals. The most important thing is, for the right person, compensation can always be adjusted, titles changed and duties expanded.

The why's of job description

It is essential to provide guidance to people as to what to do and how to do it. Job description enables people in organisations to know who does what and who knows what. Above all, it provides information about the technical skill requirements and “nature” of the person best suited for the job.

How to write a good job description?

Be crystal clear: The crucial question is, "What is the purpose of the job?" It highlights:

Management’s expectations from the employee.
Role of the job-holder.
Employee's contribution towards the achievement of company goals.
Relationships between different jobs and activities of the organisation.

Source of information: Best-written job descriptions are those written by or with the person in the job. He is the best person to know about the job and thus will be able to complete his own work profile. In case the employees are not articulate enough to write the details, help them with formal and informal interviews and questionnaires. Encourage them to choose the titles.

Assess the skills and abilities: It requires complete analysis of the work structure on the following lines:

Technical/professional aspects.

Administration.
Man management.
Commercial activities.
Written or spoken communication skills.
Analytical skills.

List the tasks: They should be arranged in an order based on the importance, frequency and processes.

Analyse the job: Should be analysed on the following accounts:

Decision-making authority.
Time frame to make decisions.
Number of units under control.
Definition and distinction between the staff and line functions.
Levels of authority.
Whom to report to.

Write the job description: It should contain the title and department, location, responsibility and major functional relationships.

Current trends
E-recruitment is the in thing now. The workforce, too are looking for opportunities on the Net. Writing job descriptions for the Net is radically different from writing for the regular media. Here are few tips that will help you attract the best talent to your company. An effective job description format online includes:

Position heading: It is the text that catches the job-seeker’s attention. The text must goad them into going further and hence needs to have a punch in it.

Company statement: It is essential to create excitement and interest about your company.

Position summary: It enhances the interest level about the position along with providing additional information.

Salary and benefits summary: It provides the salary range associated with the position as well as a profile of company benefits.

Qualifications: Need to be stated clearly. If unclear, the job-seeker may think the position is below his expertise and may not apply.

Reference: TheManageMentor

Restructuring recruitment

2009-03-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

Cost cutting measures, massive layoffs, and reduction in jobs have left organisations with fewer talented employees. Organisations are being compelled to recruit from the best available rather than those best suited for the job. This is resulting in bad hires. Ultimately it is the organisation's performance that is affected.

Though organisations are implementing innovative strategies to attract the right talent, they are finding it difficult to retain them for long. This demands a restructuring of the recruiting process.
Structuring the recruitment process by automating it has helped organisations. They can invest in systems, which give recruiters sufficient time to assess soft skills. Recruiters will also have the opportunity to evaluate people for factors such as motivation, aspiration and potential, and not just the skills for the job.

How does it help?

Automating recruitment process can help HR:

Bring in objectivity and rule out bias in assessing potential employees
Track an individual's data
Provide information to set standards for performance
Understand personal interests
Match future organisational needs with individual development plans
Use resources effectively

While online recruiting saves the organisation both time and resources, it should be ensured that the time saved is spent on the key issues of the recruitment process. The recruitment stage should thus include:

Identifying the motivating factors of the employees to help them perform better
Understanding their long-term goals and aspirations to draw their career plans with the organisation
Tracing their lifestyle and family needs to make them feel cared for, to help retain employees for a longer time.

Reference: TheManageMentor

How to Appraise Performance?

2009-03-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

Speedy HR Solutions

PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global Human Resources Solutions practice repositioned its business strategy. The company combined its consulting services with a delivery model that moves at Internet speed to meet the needs of HR professionals in the new economy.

HR services provided by PWC are being named as UNIFI network. UNIFI will address issues like developing HR programmes, consulting for HR solutions worldwide, outsourcing of HR services and online HR services. This will bring about a dramatic change in the world of hr professionals.

The company would also launch a portal to address concerns of "worklife" needs of today's Web generation. The UNIFI network reinvents the way companies think about HR in today’s web enabled world.

The main aim of this project is to leverage the power of the Internet community. The objective of this project is also to make work places more interactive and personalised and a place where people can share knowledge.

UNIFI Network has tied up with PeopleSoft to render strategic business solutions to HR professionals. By teaming with such end-to-end application service providers, administrative tasks can be reduced drastically. The company has also tied up with Ask Jeeves to provide online customer care services.

UNIFI and other such packages can help solve complex HR problems to a large extent. Business units, which plan to restructure themselves and also cut operating costs, should necessarily invest in such ready-made business solutions.

Counselling at work place- The Resonance Way

2009-03-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

The Resonance Way
“I no longer have the enthusiasm, energy or creativity I once had towards my work", says Indu Jain, Fashion Designer at L'haut, a garment manufacturer.

Like Indu, employees who once derived pleasure from their work, have begun to lose interest, energy and talent. Though such employees turn in mediocre performance, increased competition and globalisation demand excellence and continuous improvement.

“We direct our efforts to help employees renew and revive the way they once felt about their jobs ", says Ravi Menon, HR Manager, La Femme. This helps the company retain some of their best talent for competitive advantage. These efforts make an employee feel that the company values his past contributions, and wants him to have a fulfilling and positive attitude towards work.

Talk ' Resonance'.

'Resonance' or 'flow' refers to the state of mind where an individual employee is deeply involved with a task, overcomes obstacles effortlessly and finds the experience more satisfying than the result. For example, in a game of tennis, the player is more satisfied with the techniques he used to overcome his opponent's moves rather than actually winning.

Identify and Rediscover.

HR needs to identify if employees ever experienced ' resonance' during their careers. Ask employees about their experiences at work or with any other activity. Ask open-ended questions like how an employee felt when he received the award for the ' best performer of the year.'

Identify and Recreate.

To prevent boredom and monotony at work, employees are eager to pursue hobbies and interests. At times, this can be given more priority and thus effect an individual's concentration at work.

Revisit a dream.

Dreams and personal aspirations play significantly influence an individual's performance at work. People tend to work better to fulfil personal aspirations rather than duty or obligation. However, obstacles like ill health or circumstances often prevent the realisation of a dream.

People who were successful and were excellent performers may never have had a dream to work towards. Despite success and fame, such employees never have anything more to look forward to. They do not put in the time, energy and talent that they once used to. Resonance makes them reflect on work and how they can make it more meaningful.

Reference: TheManageMentor

Integration Key to Effective Succession Planning

2009-03-19T23:51:00.000-07:00

Whether attempting to crown the next CEO or determine which workers to tap for promotion to the company's managerial ranks, an organization needs a comprehensive view into the workforce's skills and talent in order to make the best talent and business decisions. Integrating learning, performance management, compensation management and career planning can facilitate effective succession planning.

A successful succession plan should answer the following questions for each candidate:

a) Learning: What does the candidate know (knowledge)? What is he or she qualified to do (skills)? What training has the candidate completed?

b) Performance and competency management: How well has the candidate performed in the past? What does past performance indicate about areas of strength and/or weakness? Which competencies have the candidate attained or still need to ascend to the next level? Which positions in the organization map to the competencies demonstrated by this candidate?

c) Compensation management: What is the candidate's compensation history? How does the candidate's compensation map to his or her performance and achievement of corporate goals?

d) Career planning and development: What are the candidate's future career goals? Where does the person see him or herself professionally, one, three, even 10 years down the road? Is the candidate willing to relocate in order to accept a new or existing position? How much is he or she willing to travel?

To answer these questions, organizations must have insight and visibility into organizational talent. By integrating and aggregating information about an employee's learning, performance management, compensation, career-planning activities and history, organizations can generate a comprehensive snapshot of each employee or of an organization's entire workforce.

Further, this integrated approach serves to match employee career goals with organizational staffing needs, allowing companies to more effectively leverage existing talent.

Historically, the enterprise-technology platforms available to manage this employee data have been largely cut off from one another, each confined to its own silo of functionality. Traditional learning management systems (LMS), for example, automate the delivery and management of training and, in some instances, competencies. Traditional employee performance management systems (EPM) automate performance management administration and, in some instances, career planning.

This siloed approach has made it nearly impossible to integrate the information necessary for effective succession planning. But talent managers now are driving the evolution of a new class of enterprise software.

According to a June 2007 research report titled "Learning Management Systems 2008: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and Vendor Profiles" from research firm Bersin & Associates, the integration revolution already has begun.

The report said the "convergence of learning and performance management systems is still in its early stages," but LMS features are evolving and "continue to snowball at an incredible rate." Further, in response to customer demand, nearly every major LMS vendor "has developed a new set of capabilities for performance management, succession planning, and competency management."

According to Gartner Inc. the same phenomenon is occurring in the EPM market. When Gartner Research Vice President James Holincheck wrote the update to the research firm's "MarketScope for Employee Performance Management Software" in late 2007, he said EPM systems are no longer being evaluated on their own, and customers are increasingly selecting EPM solutions that are "more integrated with compensation and succession management."

In response, Gartner not only broadened the scope of its research to include all three areas, it expanded the very definition of EPM, from focusing only on performance management to include succession management and compensation management.

With succession planning moving to the forefront of the corporate agenda, the time has come for stakeholders to evaluate their succession planning strategies and solutions in the context of broader talent management capabilities and goals.

References: Shelly Heiden[About the Author: Shelly Heiden is executive vice president for Global Field Operations at Plateau Systems.]

Profit from Change - Organizational Behaviour.

2009-03-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Troughs and crests are a part of the economic cycle, however sitting pretty on them is not easy...

Key learnings:

Change is inevitable. The process begins with denial and hence when one indulges in denial , it is a hint of the impending change
A successful change process is one that culminates in commitment from those subjected to change

The economic gloom has blanketed the global corporate landscape in totality. Pessimism and dejection dominate the corporate sentiment. The worker population is feeling more insecure than ever and is unwilling to see the positive side of the slump. Despite all the doom and gloom, corporate psychologists believe that there is a reason to cheer. While the sudden slump has caught people off guard, it has also ushered a new and fresher economic inning. The change, as is being said has arrived. And therefore the reaction of people is justified as change in any form first meets resistance.

The resistance one is witnessing is justified as things that people took for granted till very recently have become luxuries. Ever -increasing share prices, steady economy, better pay, and better benefits were the most obvious incentives for the worker population. However, benefits have been slashed suddenly, pay hikes have become a distant dream and job security has taken a beating. With the scenario not looking too promising, the worker population is becoming increasingly jittery and desperate. However, on the flipside is a reassurance that the scenario is better than what one has seen in the past . Jobs are intact. Careers may not flourish but survival is not an issue and things may not be down for long.

Despite the reassurance, there is no running away from the fact that change is extremely draining , especially emotionally. People feel threatened when they are forced to move out of comfort zones. Unwanted or forced change therefore results in certain definite behavioural patterns. People begin to behave in a certain given manner that reflects unwillingness to change. According to social psychologists change, especially forced change goes through four stages before it sets in the new system Each of these stages reflects a certain behavioural pattern that is found in people subjected to the change.

Process of change

Stage1-Refutation The first stage in the change process is that of refutation or denial. People subjected to change do not oppose the change but merely deny the need for it. For instance, when recession arrived leaders across the globe lived in the denial mode for some time. They refrained from declaring its arrival. They termed the slump as "just another phase" in the economic cycle and waited for the crisis to pass. However, the realisation dawned when the consequences began to have a snowball effect. It was declared that recession had in fact arrived.Thus, in case of an impending change, one must:

Research data and information available and see for themselves if the change is real
Break out of the comfort zone and seek solutions. Sitting and hoping for things to fall in place would not help much

Stage2-Resistance After overcoming denial, people find themselves resisting change. The resistance is not directed at the new ways of doing things.It however emerges from the fear of moving out of the established zone of comfort. Thus , to overcome resistance people should:

Fragment change.
Takinging small steps towards accepting change works well for people who fear venturing into uncharted territories
Work with a positive frame of mind. Understand that if the change is coming from the leadership then it is well-thought of and sure to enhance performance in the long-term

Stage3-Self-experimentation The third stage of the change process underscores the act of exploration and self-experimentation by individuals subjected to change. This is a stage when people begin to choose parts of change that they believe could give them instant results. When people indulge in self-exploration , it is a sign of partial acceptance of change. They are perceived to be giving change "a chance" to prove itself, but on their terms. Thus, experimentation with components of change is a good sign for change leaders. To encourage exploration of new change , leaders should:

Reward people who experiment with the components of change
Encourage people to offer constructive criticism in the context of change

Stage 4-Commitment to change This stage spells success for the new change. At this stage change becomes an integral part of everyday life. People begin to see the new way as the only way of doing things. The old way is dumped and forgotten. However, at this stage leaders must guard against employees getting too complacent with change. They should push them continuously to experiment with newer and better ways of doing things.Brooding over change only lands one in a lose-lose scenario. The better way therefore, is to take change in the right spirit and profit from it!

Reference: TheManageMentor

13 things to never share or discuss with your co-workers.

2009-03-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

"It's a social environment as well as a work environment. However, you must remember while you can be friendly and develop a good rapport, business is business and friendship is friendship."

Most workers don't realize that what they say has as much impact on their professional imges as what they wear. People who say too much, about themselves or others, can be seen as incompetent, unproductive and unworthy of professional development.

To avoid your next case of verbal diarrhea, here are 13 things to never share or discuss with your co-workers.

1. Salary information What you earn is between you and Human Resources, Solovic says. Disclosure indicates you aren't capable of keeping a confidence.

2. Medical history Nobody really cares about your aches and pains, your latest operation, your infertility woes or the contents of your medicine cabinet. To your employer, your constant medical issues make you seem like an expensive, high-risk employee.

3. Gossip Whomever you're gossiping with will undoubtedly tell others what you said, Plus, if a co-worker is gossiping with you, most likely he or she will gossip about you.

4. Work complaints Constant complaints about your workload, stress levels or the company will quickly make you the kind of person who never gets invited to lunch. If you don't agree with company policies and procedures, address it through official channels or move on.

5. Cost of purchases The spirit of keeping up with the Joneses is alive and well in the workplace, but you don't want others speculating on the lifestyle you're living –or if you're living beyond your salary bracket.

6. Intimate details Don't share intimate details about your personal life. Co-workers can and will use the information against you.

7. Politics or religion People have strong, passionate views on both topics. You may alienate a co-worker or be viewed negatively in a way that could impact your career.

8. Lifestyle changes Breakups, divorces and baby-making plans should be shared only if there is a need to know. Otherwise, others will speak for your capabilities, desires and limitations on availability, whether there is any truth to their assumptions or not.

9. Blogs or social networking profile What you say in a social networking community or in your personal blog may be even more damaging than what you say in person. Comments online can be seen by multiple eyes. An outburst of anger when you are having a bad day … can blow up in your face.

10. Negative views of colleagues If you don't agree with a co-worker's lifestyle, wardrobe or professional abilities, confront that person privately or keep it to yourself. The workplace is not the venue for controversy.

11. Hangovers and wild weekends It's perfectly fine to have fun during the weekend, but don't talk about your wild adventures on Monday. That information can make you look unprofessional and unreliable.

12. Personal problems and relationships – in and out of the office Failed marriages and volatile romances spell instability to an employer. Office romances lead to gossip and broken hearts, so it's best to steer clear. The safest way to play is to follow the rule, 'Never get your honey where you get your money.

13. Off-color or racially charged comments You can assume your co-worker wouldn't be offended or would think something is funny, but you might be wrong. Never take that risk. Furthermore, even if you know for certain your colleague wouldn't mind your comment, don't talk about it at work. Others can easily overhear.

Talent Acquisition: Quality of Hire and Passive Candidates Reign Supreme

2009-03-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

The growing shortage of desired skills is compounded by an increasingly competitive global marketplace and an uncertain economy - all of which combine to force organizations to get more from the same, or less. It's critical that organizations find and lure best-fit talent and increase workforce productivity and retention. While each of these has pre- and post-hire implications, they also can be impacted by an organization's talent acquisition strategy. However, according to recent data from Aberdeen Group, the ability to identify and attract top talent continues to challenge most organizations.

The Shortage and Misalignment of Skills

Aberdeen Group's July benchmark report, "Talent Acquisition Strategies: Employer Branding and Quality of Hire Take Center Stage," revealed the two predominant factors driving talent acquisition at more than 80 percent of organizations surveyed revolves around the competition for skills, the limited supply of skills or both.

In addition to these external pressures, organizations face internal struggles when it comes to effective talent acquisition. Some 46 percent of all organizations - including 56 percent of those that achieved Aberdeen's best-in-class designation (top 20 percent) - cited workforce planning as their top challenge.

The second-highest ranked internal talent acquisition challenge facing best-in-class organizations focuses on the organization's ability to identify, recruit and validate better hires. In fact, 41 percent of best-in-class organizations cite quality of hire as an internal talent acquisition challenge, compared to only 23 percent that rank ability to reach ideal job candidates and time to fill job vacancies as key internal challenges. Laggard organizations (bottom 30 percent) place relatively equal weight on quality of hire, reaching ideal candidates and filling vacancies in a timely fashion.

Best-in-Class Talent Acquisition Strategies

To overcome the aforementioned macro pressures and internal organizational challenges, best-in-class organizations look longer term and focus on enhancing their employer brands, engaging and attracting passive candidates and targeting those who are best fit for their organizations and available job roles.

Best-in-class organizations distinguish themselves in talent acquisition through a mix of processes and technologies that force organizational collaboration, engage existing workers and target their collective efforts on what matters most to the organization. These work collectively to enable best-in-class organizations to achieve extraordinarily average year-over-year performance gains against the key performance indicators.

Key Differentiator: Recruiting Passive Candidates

Aberdeen's research shows talent acquisition in 2009 will be as much internal as it is external to the organization. But both must focus on heightening the organization's employer brand.

Internal strategies will focus on identifying and developing high-potential workers to fill anticipated higher-level vacancies. Best-in-class organizations place greater emphasis on career development, leadership training and flexible work environments to be more attractive to potential hires and more caring of existing staff. Some 68 percent of best-in-class organizations cite promoting career development and professional growth opportunities in recruiting campaigns as a top priority.

Progress against development plans for individuals designated high potential will be measured against the organization's needs to determine if, or when, the position must be filled externally.

External strategies will focus on finding and engaging talented professionals who are not actively seeking new employment. Passive job seekers are not easy to locate, but they represent an important part of a successful talent acquisition strategy. Aberdeen's research found 62 percent of best-in-class organizations are focused on creating or improving a data repository of desirable active and passive job candidates - versus only 46 percent and 35 percent of industry average (middle 50 percent) and laggard companies, respectively.

Whether internally or externally focused, an organization's talent acquisition strategy must create or validate candidates' and employees' perceptions of the organization as a great place to work. Fifty-three percent of best-in-class organizations focus on having corporate marketing and recruiting work together to improve employment branding. An additional 30 percent of best-in-class plan to have this collaboration in place during the next year. The importance of an internal talent acquisition strategy focused on making existing employees feel positive about the organization is highlighted by the following statistics:

a) Employee referrals are cited by all organizations - and 82 percent of best in class - as the top source to find desirable talent.

b) Some 74 percent of best-in-class organizations rank employee contacts and networks in their top three ways to recruit passive candidates, followed by attending conferences, industry events or tradeshows (60 percent) and visiting social networking sites (30 percent).

Best-in-class organizations are more aggressive at communicating job openings and job-role needs to current staff, and 79 percent are more likely to use the corporate Web to showcase the company's culture and opportunities.

Key Differentiator: Collaboration Between Recruiters and Hiring Managers

Collaboration between recruiters and hiring managers is critical to ensure they get the right candidates within an agreed-to time frame. This collaboration is in place at 89 percent of best-in-class organizations, resulting in a mutual understanding of expectations around the process, skills, attributes and attitudes in a desired candidate.

Aberdeen's research revealed a significant disconnect between human resources professionals and the hiring managers they serve. Non-HR managers are more likely than their HR counterparts to rank quality of hire as a critical success metric for talent acquisition. The same data also shows HR professionals are more likely than non-HR managers to rank time to hire as a critical success metric.

While HR and non-HR managers place relatively equal weight on the importance of overall hiring manager satisfaction, the difference in priority they place on quality of hire, quality of candidate and time to fill suggests a lack of understanding on what it takes to satisfy a hiring manager.

The importance of this collaboration is more pronounced when considering that organizations plan to increase hiring managers' involvement in the recruitment process. For example, 48 percent of best-in-class organizations get line managers involved in candidate follow-up calls, but some 75 percent plan to do so within the next year. Only 32 percent of best-in-class organizations train hiring managers on passive recruiting, but an additional 41 percent plan to do so during the next 12 months.

Key Differentiator: Measuring and Validating Quality of Hire

Seventy-four percent of best-in-class organizations said they have an "understanding of which applicant sources provide the best quality job candidates," compared to only 52 percent of lagged organizations.

When asked for the top four indicators their organizations uses to determine quality of hire, best-in-class organizations' responses focused on two areas: how quickly new employees got up to a desired level of competence and how long they lasted in their role during the first 12 months of employment.

To measure the quality of recent hires, organizations need to have processes in place to determine what level of performance the new employee should be at in three-month, six-month and nine-month time frames; to measure the candidate against those milestones; and to evaluate any performance gaps that need to be addressed. How well an organization can measure new hires job performance and use that information to improve the recruiting process plays a major role in a successful talent acquisition program.

Yet, according to Aberdeen's research, organizations ability to clearly articulate what quality of hire actually is still has a long way to go. Research revealed that quality of hire at most organizations is based largely on loose definitions. In fact, establishing "clearly defined metrics pertaining to quality of hire" is the most common plan related to talent acquisition that organizations will put in place in the next 12 months.

Recommendations

1. Gain clarity on skills gaps. Clearly define the common behaviors and skills of the organization's top performers or key contributors. Use this or the organization's core values as a general competency framework to identify skills gaps. This enables an organization to ascertain where gaps can be filled internally and which require more targeted recruiting efforts.

2. Seek feedback. New hires should be interviewed after the job offer to obtain feedback on the recruiting and hiring process. Make improvements as needed.

3. Define success metrics. Clearly defined metrics should be in place to measure the success of talent acquisition efforts. These metrics should be agreed on by HR and hiring managers and should address the organization's specific business issues.

4. Involve hiring managers. Hiring managers and recruiters need to be trained to use new technologies to find passive job candidates. Such workers can be a vital source of talent and expertise but have traditionally been invisible in recruiting efforts.

5. Focus on internal and external employer brand. The entire organization should work together to collectively brand the company a best place to work. Recruiting should be seen as an enterprise-wide function, not the role of human resources.

Ref: Kevin Martin
[About the Author: Kevin Martin is vice president and principal analyst of human capital management for Aberdeen Group.]

Recruitment & Retention- Objective Hiring

2009-03-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

While hiring, employers focus on objective factors like hard and soft skills and when firing, they often focus on subjective failure. When rehiring again employers return to objective qualifications.

Objective qualifications are necessary but prove to be insufficient at times. If employers look for all the qualities in one person, then that would be the biggest hiring mistake. This also limits their business potential.

If employers take a closer look at the hires in the past, which did not work out, it would be clear that the hirer must have taken only the objective factors into account. Individuals are more than a collection of technical skills and degrees. To avoid repeating hiring mistakes subjective factors that proved to be a success in the past, should be included. When we hire a new employee, we introduce into our work environment a whole person-with varying communication styles and unique personal strengths and weaknesses.

Most job descriptions talk about objective requirements but do not focus on interpersonal requirements. Interpersonal requirement is a subjective factor.

It is important for companies to mention at the time of hiring, that strong interpersonal skills are required. This is a precautionary step taken to ensure that the right candidates get into the company, so that the company does not have to rehire the same profile again. This should also be mentioned in the job description of the candidate.

Employers don't begin to judge a candidate’s interpersonal skills until the interview takes place. However, applicants do reveal their personality traits long before the actual interview.

The best way to gauge an applicant's interpersonal strengths is through the interview process itself. Interviews tend to focus on the applicant’s past work experience and existing technical skills. This is again an objective way of looking at the candidate.

By asking situational questions, the candidates’ subjective interpersonal style can be measured. Situational questions are not philosophical or abstract but require people to talk about how they would handle a particular situation at work place. By probing deeper into the candidate’s background, hiring mistakes can be avoided to a large extent.

Ref: TheManageMentor

Recruitment & Retention- Behavioural Interviews

2009-03-06T08:45:00.000-08:00

Recruiting is a crucial task for any Human Resource department. Especially for the senior management positions, unless an appropriate succession planning is implemented, HR will need to screen a number of prospective candidates before short-listing the appropriate ones. Understanding a candidate's attitude and behaviour is very important, as it determines his approach to the organisation.

An interview is the only means of investigating and finding valuable information about a candidate. No other process of assessment can give a better insight than the interview process. An effective interview is a process of understanding the unspoken and requires the skill of deciphering verbal signs of deception to gain vital information. The best method of gaining information is when the prospect is unaware of the process, since the scope of tampering is minimal here.

A structured and methodical interview helps uncover the known and - obvious aspects of a prospect's personality. To gain deeper insight into the unknown and understand the candidate completely, HR relies on behavioural interviews.

Behavioural interviewing is a technique that uses a structured set of questions aimed and designed to determine a candidate's attitude. This interview technique is based on the paradigm that, when a person makes a conscious effort to act against his natural instinct to respond to the situation, an increased tension and anxiety is displayed. As connecting situations are posed, he loses control due to increased anxiety and fails to keep track of his answers, thus bringing out his true behaviour. More importantly the interviewer understands the body language of the candidate. Such a technique is particularly useful to determine if a candidate is editing information or fabricating responses. This technique of interviewing is generally applied while selecting candidates for crucial management positions in the organisation.

Ref: TheManageMentor