360 degree feedback assessment resource
Giving feedback is a necessary evil of business life. 360 degree feedback assessments are a formalised method for people to get a ton of feedback. This positive and negative feedback is an invaluable source of information for finding out about your strengths and development opportunities.
Large companies usually have an established 360 degree feedback assessment process. This feat of logistics involves feedback questionnaires being passed between bosses, customers, peers, direct reports and not forgetting your own self, asking questions about how often you demonstrate certain behaviours. When the form filling is complete, a whole lot of number crunching is done and shiny report produced, summarising the findings.
With shaking hands, people open their reports and learn what people really think about them, warts and all. Usually, the report is fodder for a personal development plan (link) and for an annual appraisal.
So why do small companies miss out on this process? Some may consider a 360 degree assessment process overkill, after all everyone knows each other? Right? Well, maybe, but it’s more likely to be two things – cost and know-how - which stop them from gaining valuable behavioural in-sight.
Let’s knock cost on the head right now. www.reactive360.com provide a free 360 degree assessment resource, with plenty bells and whistles to keep you impressed.
Multiple respondent groups:
- Self, Manager, Peer, Direct report, Stakeholder, Customer, Other
- Preview / print a sample of the report and the questionnaire
- Fully comprehensive easy to understand graphical and text rich report
- No limit on the number of 'raters'
- No licence, up-front or annual fees
- Easy to use interface and help manuals
- Recognise and manage failed e-mails
- On-line 'Live help', telephone and e-mail support
Choice of 3 fixed questionnaires and report layout
Know-how is no longer a problem as it really doesn’t get more straightforward than this. Reactive 360 have set up a comprehensive set of questionnaires you can use immediately. Here’s the good bit – they manage all the administration to get the questionnaires out to the right people, back again and churn out a lovely looking report.
The questionnaire asks the person filling it in to rate whether a behaviour is demonstrated always, usually, rarely or never, or isn’t relevant to the role. For example, a manager will be assessed on whether “People are given every chance to grow and develop with the business” or a customer service rep. is assessed whether “People go the extra mile to delight the customer”
If you decide to go for it and use the free tool, Reactive 360’s support is amazing. You can chat live online and get immediate help. And it really is immediate – my test “ping” took a measly 28 seconds to get a reply – which would have been quicker if the chap hadn’t just taken a mouthful of coffee. Excellent stuff.
There are now no excuses for you to start a 360 degree assessment process in your company or team. The benefit of the behavioural insights far outweigh the minor discomfort people will feel about being honest with each other and more importantly with themselves.
By Lyndsay Swinton |
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A creative approach to workplace incentives
Impact Development Training Group has developed an innovative staff incentive scheme – mainly non-monetary – as well as a strong commitment to ethical working practices and corporate responsibility.
Impact Development Training Group is a global people development company, employing some 250 staff in 50 worldwide locations, including Australia, Japan, Scandinavia and America. Its UK office is located on the shores of Lake Windermere, a world away from the pressured pace of the city. This unusual choice of location provides a strong indicator of the philosophy that defines the Impact brand values; its people are more likely to get their adrenaline rush from kayaking on the lake or climbing a rock face than they are from working late to reach unrealistic targets. It is Impact’s belief that organisations thrive only when staff potential is allowed to develop, and that risktaking and experiencing ‘adventures’ while at work is vital if employees are to get a sense of meaning from their jobs.
Impact’s approach to reward is that employees should be ‘rewarded’ even before they do anything; that by providing a good working environment and culture it will motivate people to do their job well from the start. Furthermore, the idea that ‘work’ and ‘life’ are wholly separate pursuits, which must never converge, is alien to the Impact culture. Instead the company encourages staff to become involved in outside interests that will enhance their personal development. These might include taking advantage of Impact’s breathtaking location to learn a new skill, such as abseiling or rowing, or balancing time in the office with following alternative career paths (one staff member works as a TV presenter alongside their responsibilities at Impact).
Freedom and flexibility are at the heart of Impact’s incentive policy, as is the understanding that different people are motivated by different things, and that it is important to identify incentives that are appropriate to specific driving factors. If an individual’s motivations lie outside the four walls of the office, Impact will support them where they can. This accommodating philosophy certainly seems to engender a positive response from staff, who were recently polled for the Sunday Times’ Best Companies to Work For Survey. They were asked 70 questions covering eight areas of their working lives, including leadership (how staff feel about company heads and the values of the organisation), wellbeing (relating to stress at work and work-life balance) and personal growth (examining whether people feel challenged by their job and see the potential for personal advancement). Employees were also asked for feedback on how they feel their pay and benefits size up to similar organisations.
“Impact’s rejection of a ‘one size fits all’ approach to staff”
The survey results provide concrete evidence that Impact’s staff feel supported by their managers and team members. Just over 85% said they believe the organisation is run on strong principles and values, and 87.9% said they feel proud to work for Impact. Respondents cited the fact that managers trust their judgment as a huge positive in terms of their sense of pride in their work, and that they feel they are treated as individuals, with their own vision and ambition. The findings also support Impact’s rejection of a ‘one size fits all’ approach to staff, setting it apart from competitors and creating a workforce that is happy, productive and loyal. Furthermore, the company’s willingness to facilitate schemes which benefit the community, both locally and further afield, have earned Impact a number one ranking on the Times’ survey in response to the question ‘my efforts to help good causes outside our business are supported’.
On a more practical level, Impact staff can take advantage of flexible working hours and subsidised meals at the office restaurant, alongside other more standard incentives such as regular team lunches and extra holiday or pay for staff who have been at the company for ten years. However, traditional targets and appraisals do feature in the Impact HR policy, and staff are rewarded financially when their performance at work adds tangible value to the business – individuals who deliver over target can earn a bonus of up to 10% of their salary, for example. Appraisals are carried out every six months and allow staff to get 360-degree feedback, but much more frequent updates between staff and managers are the norm across the company.
Andy Dickson, Head of Impact UK, sums up: “There is very much a culture of democracy within the organisation, where non pay-related rewards and incentives are available to all and opportunities to travel and take part in socially responsible projects are open to anyone who expresses a keenness to be involved. Indeed the expectation is very much that every employee, across all areas of the Impact business, will take part in an ‘adventure’ of some sort during their employment.”
Source: THE HRDIRECTOR |
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Are companies training their employees right?
Companies spend a small fortune each year on training their employees. Right from human resources personnel to line managers, everyone swears by the “T” word, almost as if it makes the world go round. Scratch the surface a bit; ask them about the real results they achieved from the last training program they were involved in and you might get a very different reaction. We think training might be the most misused, misunderstood, overestimated, yet underutilized tool in corporate history… well, maybe not quite, but you get the picture.
So, are we saying that companies that invest in training their employees have got it all wrong? Aw, give us a break! The last thing to do is throw the baby out with the bath water. Allow us to explain.
Don’t think of it as annual ritual. We think that most businesses approach training like it was some kind of festive tradition – do it once a year and be done with it. Training is not an isolated experience, and learning isn’t something that can be swallowed in three quick gulps. Like it or not, every person is continuously engaged in the training process – how would they learn, otherwise? Most real training happens during the normal course of a work routine, the more people go about their tasks, the more they learn. And that which is learned during this type of process, is rarely forgotten, unlike the information contained in glossy presentations and glib talks that form the essence of a lot of training programs!
Which brings us to our next point, and that is, there must be transfer of knowledge. The holy purpose underlying the efforts of all those firms training their employees must be that the trainee learns something, which can be put to good use, during the normal course of work. Knowledge by itself is of no value, unless it can find application of some sort. And since we’ve already said that transference happens best when one is on-the-job, it’s easy to see that one feeds off the other. If we change our mindset to one that believes that training is not a one-off, but “infinitely-on” activity, and formalize the everyday learning a little bit, it can really pay off! Let’s take the example of a research company – regular sharing of information among team members about new resources, techniques and concepts, multiplies the knowledge capital right away. Isn’t that a type of training, in itself? Of course, there are plenty of situations where a structured training program is called for, like when new technology is involved, or a fresh recruit has to be taught a manufacturing process. But don’t forget that the real learning begins once the training program ends.
We talked about results earlier. Many senior executives mistakenly believe that training their employees is a waste of time and money, because the results are not there to see. Hold on, a bit. Could this merely be a case of myopic hindsight? What efforts are being made to ensure that the goals of the training function are in sync with the company’s objectives? Has someone tried to align the two? If so, what were the expected deliverables? You know what we’re getting at. On the other hand, could it be that the process is not working because of practical limitations, such as the inability to gather all concerned at one place at one time? Technology has found a way around this – companies such as Walk the Talk offer a host of CD based training materials that enable people to learn when they can, where they can.
Get people together. If the newly gained knowledge is applied as it should be, it is likely to impact others within the company. So, take the big picture into account. Take the example of a new sales reporting or invoicing system primarily used by the accounts department - make sure the sales and customer service teams know about it too. And finally, make sure that senior management is involved at important times. If the CEO believes in the worth of training, and says so, the guys down the line have no choice but to believe it!
Paying attention to some of these ideas might make a big difference to the success of your company’s training initiatives. Do give it a try.
By Akhil Shahani |
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Conducting Effective Employee Orientations
Do you have two steps, or even three in the Orientation process? There must be a general orientation, a departmental orientation, and the specific job orientation, conducted by different parties.
The General Orientation is usually managed by either the Training Department or the Human Resources Department, with the Departmental Orientation by the Department Head or first Assistant, while the specific Job Orientation can be carried out by an experienced and trained employee (trained on how to train).
These guidelines are intended for people conducting the General Orientation:
A general rule of thumb for having the audience interested in the general orientation is
- To make them feel at ease (open circle)
- Make sure that they had enough time to read the employee manual ahead of orientation time
- Spend a good portion of the intro time towards self-introductions, spiced with open questions
- Get them acquainted to know who Management is: have a big chart in the orientation/training room which depicts how the organization is set up, with photos of the management team next to their title
- Get them acquainted with the operation: have another large chart in the room depicting the flow of work and communications regarding the organization; this flow should include customers, suppliers and all parties affecting the organization (I had just planned such a chart for the hotel where I dealt with Training and Development, wrote it out in text, had an artist express it in carricature format (humorous colourful chart) - after all this was a hotel. Maybe in a technical company humour is not allowed. I explained it to the artist and we showed how each job position affected the final product since the customer's/guest's first contact with the operation and ending with the last contact.
- Have them know and see departments in operation: based on this drawing I conducted the orientation and explained all functions of the hotel, promising a personal tour of all the departments we discussed, including back areas, where the Department Heads received us personally and gave further insight on their departments
- Allay their fears and doubts: cover subjects which are usually never mentioned in orientations, such as the difficulties new employees or supervisors experience, about turnover figures, about how people assimilate better after hanging out three months, about how they can turn to you for any difficulties they experience, be it regarding their rejection by existing old-timers or other matters. Let them know they can always turn to you for confidential advice (do not forget that any new person has fears and doubts regarding being accepted, succeeding or failing)
- Encourage friendships among new employees: try to create a team spirit among the existing group of newcomers - by the end of the day or the two days you will have created a group of employees at different levels and from different departments who will cooperate and enhance communications across the organization
- Extend respect to them as human beings: have lunch with them as a group (I saw too many people who conduct orientations go to a different lunch room and this is very insulting)
- Enable first hand contact with upper management: have different Executives come to welcome the group and assure them of management's commitment to help them succeed. Introduce each of the newcomers; dwell on their position, career background and personal interests.
- Assure them how the organization welcomes their observations, comments and critiques.
- And last but not least, sharing company goals with them. Discuss it with them. Ask what their own personal and career goals are and try to right there and then mesh their own goals with the company goals.
This strategy (action plan) has proven to be highly successful. It cuts down on turnover drastically, engenders trust, cooperation and motivation.
By Claire Belilos |
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Diversity: New Questions, New Learning
Academee's unique 'Diversity Learning Out of the Box' board game is an innovative learning tool used by over 1,000 organisations across the globe. Now a new set of questions for facilitators is bringing the game bang up to date.
This colourful, fun and engaging game enables participants to develop a clear understanding of all aspects of diversity and inclusion, and to relate this to their own organisations.
Question:
Who was the youngest ever Prime Minister of England?
To give you a clue, he was 24 when he won the post and is remembered for his tough policies against corruption, fiscal reform, shifting power toward the House of Commons and the union with Ireland.
This is just one of the brand new questions that Academee is using in our board game, 'Diversity Learning Out of the Box', as a way of generating discussion about various diversity issues, including age.
How old do people feel you should be to become Prime Minister? Is 24 considered to be young or old these days?
His record includes 'tough policies.' Just how old do you have to be before you can be taken seriously and regarded as 'tough' as opposed to 'an upstart'? Are there value judgements made by people around the need to have a certain amount of experience before you can make tough reforms?
Academee people are very tough on our own work and we continually appraise it with reform in mind. We recognise that questions like the one above have the potential to go out of date. At some point, someone younger than 24 may become Prime Minister. We also recognise that a question based around politics may not appeal to everyone. We need to constantly ensure that our facts are updated, and that any cultural references within 'Diversity Learning Out of the Box' are relevant and meaningful to our participants.
We therefore regularly update our facilitator guide, and we believe that our newest version is our best yet.
So what has changed?
Facts relating to legislation have been updated to reflect changes in the regulations, updated case law and examples of good practice.
We have included two brand new sections: one on specific transgender issues and another on issues relating to 'Respect for All'. Transgender has been given its own section to reflect its growing importance as an individual strand of diversity as promoted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Historically it has been considered by organisations either under sexual orientation or gender, neither of which is appropriate.
'Respect for All' has been created to cover issues around treatment of individuals that fall outside the usual legislation-driven strands of diversity, such as bullying, body image, work-life balance cultural behaviours. Our aim is to enable people to recognise the value of an individualistic and humanistic approach to diversity. Creating a successful, effective and harmonious work environment is far more than just keeping on the right side of the law.
We have included more questions than ever in each section, almost doubling the total content.
The inclusion of new sections and a greater number of questions means that the guide comes with a brand new set of 'Opportunity' and 'Challenge' cards.
Brand new questions have been included in every section. Some favourite questions have been retained at the request of our clients but the answers have been expanded to reflect current thinking and also to suggest different ways of using the material.
We have greatly expanded the answers to each question, focusing on how best to use the answers to promote valuable discussion within groups. We have added a wealth of supplementary questions under most of the main questions so that facilitators can turn one simple question into a much longer learning session if they choose. We have included common issues that can be raised in response to a question and suggestions on how to deal with them constructively.
There is a brand new section of hints and tips on how to play the game effectively in different situations depending upon time available, nature of the learning group and the aims of your learning session.
Based upon our years of experience of playing the game, we have also included a new section on how to deal with group dynamics. Our intention is to empower facilitators with confidence in how to deal with challenging situations and maintain a positive fun atmosphere.
So what hasn't changed?
The strategy behind the 'Diversity Learning Out of the Box' has never changed. We know that people learn best when they are having fun. This facilitator guide is fresh and new but still challenging, quirky, interesting and enjoyable.
Article by William Pitt |
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How the Johari Window Improves Team working
The Johari Window model gives a framework for understanding and improving self-awareness. Greater self-awareness can make you more effective in group situations, improve your interpersonal skills and build better relationships.
All the best management models have four quadrants and the Johari Window is no exception ;>)
The Johari Window Model
Here's what the different segments mean...
- Open/free area – Known by Self, Known by Others
This area includes all information freely shared by you to others around you. Some information is unavoidably in the open area, such as your body shape, or eye colour. Other information such as your views, experience, and knowledge are divulged by simply spending time with you.
The simple aim is to increase you open area, by decreasing the other three areas.
- Blind area – Unknown by Self, Known by Others
This area is the “spinach on your teeth” information – you’re blissfully unaware your pearly whites more closely resemble a cows. If only someone would tell you! You can decrease your blind area by actively seeking feedback from people. Scary stuff, but consider the alternative of not knowing.
- Hidden area – Known by Self, Unknown by Others
It’s probably best to leave your skeletons in your closet and your demons in your mind, and open up in other ways. There is some personal information that is useful to share, helping people better understand where you’re coming from. Mind reading is a rare skill, so save time by disclosing more about yourself.
- Unknown Area – Unknown by Self, Unknown by Others
People who lack experience or low in self belief may have a large unknown area. Good managers explore this area of potential and bring out dormant skills, abilities and talents by providing learning opportunities and a mistake proof culture.
Johari, Cigarettes and Alcohol
So what’s the Johari Window got to do with cigarettes and alcohol? Keep in mind that the simple aim is to increase your own and team’s open area, by becoming aware of blind spots and disclosing hidden areas. Feedback flows more freely when the “Dutch Courage” from alcohol sets tongues wagging and loosens inhibitions. And cigarette smokers spend 10 minutes in “Smokers Corner” every few hours to do little else but chat and learn more about each other.
Okay, so I’m not seriously suggesting you take your workmates on a drinking extravaganza and encourage a free for all slanging session fuelled by Dutch courage. What I’m suggesting is actively working on giving and receiving feedback within your team, and creating environments that make it easier to do so. We have a duty to provide only helpful, constructive and above all, sensitive feedback and alcohol impairs our soft skills.
Learn from smokers and create frequent, informal times to chat within your team – maybe even set up a smoke free “Smokers Corner”. Yes chatting is necessary at work! People are more likely to open up when they know your favourite dance record, how you came to speak Serbo-Croat fluently and about your horse jumping medals.
So I put it to you, the case for cigarettes and alcohol in the workplace, coupled of course to the Johari Window, and their role in increasing interpersonal effectiveness. Use the “Dutch courage” principal to help you give and receive feedback and reduce blind spots. Use the “Smokers Corner” principal to help you find out more about others and share more about yourself.
Take the first step in increasing your effectiveness and start using the Johari Window model with your colleagues.
By Lyndsay Swinton |
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Learning Trends
Business is booming, but budgets are bust
According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), British business is increasingly optimistic about future prospects. Recent CBI research also found that training is the most significant area for increased future investment, with a greater number of companies intending to invest in training over the coming year (19%) than in September 2005 (14%).
The CIPD's study reinforces the findings of a March 2006 study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. This found that the amount of training European employees receive continues to drop, with the UK falling below the European average.This is a trend to watch. A recent report from the National Audit Office (NAO) estimated that, on average, an 8% increase in the proportion of trained workers can lead to a 0.6% increase in UK productivity. However, too many organisations in the UK ignore the link between learning and organisational performance. Let's just hope that more employers wake up to the benefits of learning, and that we really do see an upward trend in training investment.
The formal training course is dead
Informal learning is definitely a trend that's here to stay. Bite-sized learning, on-the-job learning, mobile learning and elearning are just some of the key ways that learning is becoming more accessible, and increasingly integrated into everyday working life.Only 17% of learning and development professionals responding to the CIPD's 2006 survey of learning and development said that the formal training course takes priority in their organisation. The survey also found that 84% of organisations now encourage individuals to take more responsibility for their own learning and development.This is an exciting trend, which brings many benefits. However, while individuals taking control of their own learning is a trend we should all encourage, we also need to bear in mind that these individuals need support from organisations. Informal learning needs to be smart, accessible and innovative.
Blended Learning
Blended learning has really come into its own and we are seeing a huge trend for integrating different forms of learning to provide real choice for learners. Rich, blended learning environments are giving learners greater control over their learning journeys and making learning more effective. Great blended learning is about more than combining elearning with face to face learning. It is about integrating a range of learning methods, such as coaching, online learning tools and surveys, face to face workshops, assessments and collaborative activities. The trend for increasingly sophisticated blended learning solutions is set to continue.
Learning on the hoof
Mobile learning is a very, very hot topic right now. A 2006 Kineo survey found that over 50% of learners use audio learning at least occasionally, both in formal and informal contexts. An MP3 player is the preferred means of accessing audio learning, and leadership and management development are the favoured topics.
Podcasts were also highlighted as one of the newest ways learners liked to receive information in initial research into corporate elearning published in May 2006 from Learning Light (LL).
Learning to transform organisations
Change remains a key challenge for most organisations. In today's fast-paced environment, this trend can only continue. However, successful change is being jeopardised by a failure to put in place adequate learning to support it, according to the CIPD's 2006 survey of learning and development. Separate CIPD research also shows that major organisations can expect to undergo major restructuring, on average, every three years, and that 40% of these reorganisations fail to deliver on objectives.
With organisations under constant pressure to transform and evolve, it is crucial that learning professionals become involved at the initial planning stage of transformation programmes, and that learning engages employees in the change process.
Leadership still in the lead
Leadership continues to be one of the most prominent areas of organisational learning. This is unlikely to change: every organisation needs to develop successful leaders, especially as the pressure for organisational change increases.
The CIPD's 'International Management Development' guide 2006, based on qualitative research, highlights the need for multinational organisations to create a set of international leadership qualities, and demonstrates that developing leaders who can manage and are accepted across the globe is important to business success.According to a 2006 Ashridge research report, 'Succeeding in Complexity,' high levels of leadership competence and strong organisational support are crucial to the success of teams working in complex environments.
The key to successful leadership development is to go beyond competence development to really engage the hearts and minds of individuals and create real behavioural change.
About the author
Dr Jo Cheesman |
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Love, The Greatest and Best Retention Tool
Hold on now HR people, we’re not talking about hugs and kisses. No sexual harassment and hostile work environment situations. However, my thoughts with this kind of retention strategy hover a bit above the notion of love and caring for employees. In my opinion, it is in fact, a greater retention tool than money, bonuses, gifts, cards, letters or any other form of corporate concept to address high turnover. Not to say that those items don’t contribute in a positive manner to the workforce, they just can’t do it alone. What is it that your employee’s are asking you to do? Let’s take a quick look at what they’re asking for and what they believe “love” from you is:
Inspire Me
Here you need to be of strong support to your employees and staff. Take them to the next level; show them you care about their development. Please throw away the older management concept of “chain of command.” I’m here to tell you that this concept will not work with 21st century management. The next generations of employees only respect a leader after the leader has shown respect to them. A leader that inspires, and really takes the concept of servant leadership to the highest mark, will see the lowest turnover and the highest productivity from their teams, it’s just that simple. Inspire me is all about being one with an employee. You provide the tools, you provide the means for them to do their jobs, give them what they need.
Know Me
Do you know your employees? It doesn’t matter whether you manage five or 50, the question is do you know your staff? Who are they? What are their likes and dislikes? How about their favorite thing to do on the weekend? We spend so much time as managers talking about how we can retain our people. In fact, 80 percent of companies talk about retention strategies, but only 20 percent actually execute plans to combat it. It’s sad really. Do you know me? Make it a part of your schedule to spend one on one time with staff to learn about them. How many kids do they have? Dreams? Inspirations? Phobias? Greatest successes? Take the time, it will pay big dividends and will also make you a happier more engaged manager and leader.
Communicate With Me
One of the top reasons why people leave companies is lack of communication with their manager. Let’s face it; people leave companies because of bad management. Feel free to give me a call or email and I can elaborate. I’ve studied and participated in exit interviews and no matter what the reason the exiting employee gives, down deep inside, it’s the manager that is the reason. Communicate with me!....say your staff. Listen, talk to me, tell me how we’re doing, how does my position contribute to the common good, or simply take some time to just talk to me and tell me how your weekend was. Through good communication techniques, a manager can break down so many barriers of mistrust with employees. Get and keep employees engaged, have them work hard for you and really go the extra mile for their leader……communicate with them.
Care About Me
Earlier in my HR career, I once thought that employees needed to leave their personal issues at the door when they walked into the office. Leave your personal problems on that hanger on the door when you come to work and pick it up when you leave. How wrong I was! It took me nearly 10 years to observe and understand just the opposite. If our staff has personal issues going on, it’s our job as managers to assist them with getting through those tough times as much as we can. Organizations often have many tools to assist with this. Despite your personal proxemics, this could be the best time to offer a hug to a staff member or even a prayer. Managers and leaders, we need to hold ourselves just as accountable to loving our employees as we are to initiating the performance management process when it dictates action based on absenteeism. In other words, if we can pay as much attention to employee’s needs as we do with P&P and SOP, we’d be in a much better place as an organization. Take the time to show some love!
Grow Me
Our staff and employees are begging us to develop, train and assist them in their work. Almost 100 percent of generation X and Y would agree with this. Simply, if we don’t provide these tools, they will leave our organizations. Succession planning, training and development, seminars, and investing time into people sounds daunting doesn’t it? What manager has the time? We need to make the time. Again, as corporations, we spend a lot of time talking about strategy, monthly P&Ls, MORs, media issues, threats of the economy and its impact on our bottom line. But ask yourself, how much time do you take each week to develop your people? My guess for most managers is very little. It’s not necessarily our fault though. We have so many things to do in a work week. It’s not like we’re not trying. I hear you! However, the best retention strategies must include this concept of “grow me.”
If all these five principle can be managed well and developed, your organization should not have a recruitment crisis on its hands. Aside from growth strategies, those who say we’re in or are soon to be facing a recruitment crisis have got it wrong. Ask yourself why you have open job requisitions open in the first place? Why are people leaving? Ignore the obvious answers you get during exit interviews from people who are afraid to burn bridges: “better opportunity, more pay, better benefits, commute, personal”….sound familiar? Here’s the key: Why are they looking in the first place? If your organization can cover these five points, I am convinced that you won’t need to worry about open reqs as much as you may now.
Please feel free to give me a call or send an email. I would enjoy an opportunity to discuss strategies on how you can offer more love to your staff and company.
By Brian Beck |
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Public sector HR professionals
As public sector HR professionals, we are all too often immersed in advising managers and organisational leaders about how they should deliver their services. We could be discussing new approaches to performance management, remuneration, ensuring value for money and efficiency, being clear about what is strategic and what is operational and where the two areas meet, understanding who our key stakeholders are, being clear about alliances and threats in and outside our organisations – I could go on! Having been given this opportunity to reflect, I sat and mapped out the five key challenges or areas that I believe we need to address:
Leadership
Place shaping, community leadership and delivering services to empowered and engaged citizens requires a new order of leadership skill and capacity from public sector leaders, both political and managerial. Leading a place and the multi-million pound organisations that provide services to areas requires business acumen, the ability to connect with communities and, ultimately, the willingness to listen and respond to the needs of people as individuals – not something you always see in abundance within the upper echelons of public service. However, dreams of a public sector-wide university apart, HR needs to grip this challenge now and understand the changing context within which leaders need to operate and how best they can be prepared for this.
Pay and reward
Pay and reward remains the immediate battleground for HR in the short term. National negotiating machinery is increasingly out of touch with the needs of local employers, politically directed by ministers and, as a consequence, is more focused upon managing cost pressures and the broader economic position. Moving into a total reward environment where greater personalisation and choice exists for employees will not only be beneficial for employers, but will also make the challenge for HR in this area much more interesting. Wouldn't it be so much more engaging to bring this all together into a single debate, instead of having pay in one corner, pensions in another, benefits in a third and last, but by no means least, the poor old HR person in the fourth corner – trying to box clever against all three issues?
Equality and diversity
Increasingly, the need to ensure organisational approaches to diversity has a true focus upon communities, and community cohesion has meant that the role of HR in shaping, supporting and embedding good approaches to equality and diversity is under threat. Rather than grumble about this or blindly accept the Trevor Phillips view that there isn't a role for HR in diversity, public sector HR needs to rouse itself. We all need to recognise that diversity in terms of service access, design and delivery, policy development and employment opportunities are all areas that HR can contribute towards and should have a strong voice in delivering. After all, the diversity agenda has grown up from anti-discrimination employment law, and who better to take this forward than HR people who can see the bigger picture?
Talent management
Supply and demand; it's a relatively simple process isn't it? Talent spotting, talent development and, most importantly, the ability to deploy talent effectively for the future means that HR needs to provide resourcing and development solutions that are faster, more flexible, and technology-enabled. We also need to be thinking now about how to engage with the future public servants through new media, such as Web 2.0. A strong web-based presence, not just websites, is clearly something we should be grappling with now and becomes an increasing issue as we all try to attract Generation Y employees to our ageing workforce.
Service transformation and efficiency
Finally, the big challenge for HR in the future is to get involved with service transformation and modernisation, changing the very way in which public services are delivered. However, we can hardly do this without first looking to ourselves. When was the last time you looked at the cold hard benchmarking information and performance data in relation to your team and used this to drive further efficiencies out of the system, and when did you properly consider the need to transform your own function?
Now, off you go and look at the day job with a fresh pair of eyes and a clear line of sight to the bigger picture – the future's bright, the future's HR.
By Stephen Moir |
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Art of retaining Your Best People
Many managers and team leaders ask me how to deal with employees in a way that will maximize their potential, create loyalty and respect, and cut down on high turnover and destructive behavior in the workplace. The single most common reason people stay or leave an organization is based on the relationship they have with their direct supervisor. Therefore the key is to show a keen personal interest in each person. Recognize everyone's uniqueness and find ways to allow that uniqueness to be expressed at work.
The following tips can be adapted to your particular situation.
One-on-one Meetings
- Build trust; have meetings in your office over lunch or coffee with each individual.
- Get to know your employee by asking about their career goals, even if you have to acknowledge that working at their present job may just be a stepping-stone on the way.
- Ask what opportunities for growth they might like in their job.
- Ask what part of their present job they enjoy the most. Find ways to give them more of those tasks.
- Ask if there is any part of their job they don't like. If possible, relieve them of the particular task. If not, help them find ways to make it more pleasant. Break it down time-wise. Build in rewards.
- Always recognize jobs well done; give bonuses, e.g. tickets to movies or other events, recognize the employee of the month, rewards for creative ideas, etc.
- Where possible allow the employee to learn a new area of interest. Encourage that interest by sending them to a class, etc.
- Set up a mentoring system.
If each individual employee feels appreciated they will more likely remain motivated to stay in an organization and consistently provide quality work that is aligned with the company's goals.
Article by Dorene Lehavi Ph.D |
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Ten Tips for Managing Stressed Employees
Do you have employees who are suffering from work-related stress?
Check that you have systems in place to help people who think they're beginning to suffer from stress. Who can they turn to? Is their privacy guaranteed? Are they likely to be heard? The Health and Safety Executive recommend that a risk assessment be carried out to help you identify both actual and potential problems.
Show that you're aware of the problem by talking to staff and getting their views - you might even use a questionnaire to find out what the stressors might be.
Encourage all managers to have a consistent attitude, showing that they are open to individual concerns and will listen attentively, and privately, to any issues that arise.
Make sure that your employees are actually in the right jobs and sufficiently well-trained to do these jobs. Control over their work and clarity about what they're supposed to be doing is essential to reduce stress in employees.
Encourage a good work-life balance. Spending too much time at work, or thinking about work, doesn't give people the opportunity to relax.
Make sure that you're communicating effectively with your staff. For example, lack of information about changes that are going to take place can make some people feel uneasy and thus increase their stress.
Involve your staff as much as possible in any improvements or changes that you want to make in your systems or procedures. They will often know the best way to implement these changes anyway, so including them in the decision-making process increases their sense of control and should ensure the changes stick.
Where possible, provide flexibility in the jobs that people do - either to do things differently, or to do different things.
Where an employee seems to be suffering from stress, encourage him or her to see their doctor. Brushing it aside and hoping it will get better won't work! Nor will getting rid of the individual solve the problem if it's endemic to the workplace.
Finally, accept the fact that stress is a real issue in the workplace and that it can lead to thousands of hours of downtime if not tackled. You have a legal responsibility as an employer to ensure that employees are not made ill by the work they do. If you act responsibly and with compassion you can reduce or eliminate the risks of stress. This will ensure that your people are happy, your organisation functions effectively and your organisational culture is positive and supportive.
Article by Keith Dixon |
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The Role of the Trainer
How to Begin
In the ASTD Handbook of Training Design and Delivery (2nd edition, 1999), Nancy Maresh argues that trainers should capitalize on the innate nature of the brain to:
- Seek and perceive patterns
- Create meanings
- Integrate sensory experience
- Make connections
- The trainer should aim to:
- become proficient at designing and delivering a dynamic curriculum
- assess learning
- effectively administer true education
aresh argues that "in the process trainers will release learners' intrinsic drive to acquire knowledge, an admirable outcome from any training."
People come to learn with a variety of previous experiences, needs and skills, so Maresh advises us to create common ground as a first step in the training process - and every subsequent learning segment. By this she means entering into a dialogue with the members of the training group, acknowledging their experience and speaking directly to "the familiar frustrations, joys, and challenges that link up to the learning task at hand."
This is done through a series of questions that highlight the backgrounds of individual members, identify their concerns and gain commitment to the learning process. Maresh suggests 'enrollment' questions beginning with "How many people have ever ..." but not relying on just a show of hands. It is essential to elicit information and comments. Moreover, the trainer should repeat what members have said so that everyone hears and to validate the members who made those statements.
For example, a training session on selection interviewing could begin with enrollment questions such as:
- How many people here have been trained as interviewers?
- How many of you have a lot of experience as interviewers, whether or not you have been trained?
- And how many have very little experience of interviewing?
- Any with none at all?
- But surely you all been interviewed by someone else?
Questions such as these should involve everyone in the room and also bring out comments, questions and friendly banter - as well as telling the trainer what level of training will be needed for the group.
The common ground acts as a basis for group awareness. When the audience begin to see themselves as a group, they begin to relax and feel comfortable entering into the learning process together. The stage is now set for the trainer to address what Maresh calls the 'big why' in the trainees' minds. Remember that we are building connections and relating to previous experiences. So the purpose, method and intended results of the training need to be explained in relation to the answers given to the enrollment questions.
The importance of the subject - especially in relation to trainees' own experience - and what can be done with the learned skills when trainees get back to work should be explored.
Then, Maresh advises, the trainer should say something about his or her own background, ideally using a personal story involving the subject of the training session. According to Maresh:
"This connects the leader to the participants in an esssential way. People's experiences are dramatic. They include emotions, mystery, tension, climaxes and humor. When personal stories are recounted, learners emotionally identify with the parts that have meaning to them, and this confirms their commitment to participate. Personal stories bond the audience to the instructor, the course content, and other participants." |
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Why is HRM increasingly important?
Is there any evidence that the implementation of HRM has a significant effect on national or organizational economic performance? After all, this is the justification implicit in HRM models for valuing the human resource above all others. When the first edition of this book was written (in the mid-1990s) the conclusion was that we simply did not know. (...)
Since then, progress has been made in conceptualizing the problem and measuring results (...). For example, Huang (2000) looked at 315 firms in Taiwan and related their human resource practices to their organizational performance. Huang's study shows a significant relationship between performance and the effectiveness of their HR functions, including planning, staffing, appraisal, compensation, and training and development.
Michie and Sheehan-Quinn (2001) surveyed over 200 manufacturing firms in the UK to investigate the relationship between corporate performance and the use of flexible work practices, human resource systems and industrial relations. They found that 'low-road' practices - including shortterm contracts, lack of employer commitment to job security, low levels of training and unsophisticated human resource practices - were negatively correlated with corporate performance. In contrast, they established a positive correlation between good corporate performance and 'high-road' work practices - 'high-commitment' organizations or 'transformed' workplaces. They also found that HR practices are more likely to make a contribution to competitive success when introduced as a comprehensive package, or 'bundle' of practices.
Kelliher and Riley (2002), highlighting evidence to support the view that the impact of HRM is greatest when it involves a set of coherent policies and practices, also consider that HR initiatives should be implemented as part of an integrated package. They instance functional flexibility, which leads to an intensification of work, but in the cases they studied this was less of an issue when supported by higher levels of remuneration.
Michie and Sheehan (1999) used evidence from the UK 1990 Workplace Industrial Relations Survey to show that 'low-road' HRM practices also appeared to be negatively correlated with investment in R&D and new technology. By contrast, 'high-road' work practices were positively correlated with investment in R&D and new technology. Cooke, F.L. (2001) reviewed a number of British studies on the use of 'high-road' and 'low-road' HRM strategies and concludes that high-road HRM may lead to better organizational performance. But firms do not necessarily opt for this because of the historical, social and institutional context of employment relationships in Britain.
Rondeau and Wager (2001) focused on the ability of certain 'progressive' or 'high performance' human resource management practices to enhance organizational effectiveness, noting growing evidence that the impact of various HRM practices on performance is contingent on a number of contextual factors, including workplace climate. They conducted a postal survey of 283 Canadian nursing homes which included questions about human resource practices, programmes and policies impacting on workplace climate. The survey also included a variety of performance indicators. Their results indicated that nursing homes with more 'progressive' HRM practices and which also reported a workplace climate valuing employee participation, empowerment and accountability tended to be viewed as better performers. The best performers overall were those nursing homes that had implemented more HRM practices and also reported workplace climates reflecting a strong commitment to their human resources.(...)
Greenwood (2002) reviewed the ethical position of HRM and concluded that even when judged by minimum standards, HRM is seriously lacking, not least because of a general disregard of stakeholder theory. Foote (2001) investigated the ethical behaviour of HR managers working in a sample of UK and Irish charities. The study highlights the ethical inconsistency between the application of strong, explicit organizational values to external clients and the limited influence of those values on HR strategies and practices within organizations. HR professionals no longer thought that the HRM function should be the conscience of the organization, but felt that they had a significant role in the provision of advice on ethical action to senior management.
What do people 'at the coal face' feel about the prevalence and effectiveness of human resource management? Gibb (2001) describes a survey of the views of 2632 employees on HRM in the 73 organizations for which they worked. In this study employees were found to be positive about some elements of HRM, including training and development, rewards and levels of personal motivation. They also gave high ratings for the performance of HR staff across a range of services. But the survey found negative employee views on the management of staffing levels, aspects of recruitment and retention, communication and overall levels of morale in their organizations.
By Alan Price |
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