HR Strategies and framework for Emerging, New and Small Businesses

HR Strategies and framework for Emerging, New and Small Businesses from Vinod Bidwaik

If your boss thinks that your growth has limitations, what will you do?

Your Exit Strategy..

Vikas was the Line Manager of Prabhanjan, one of the senior technical sales manager in one of the well-known MNC.  Prabhanjan was around 52 years old, working almost for 10 years in the company. He was not doing well for last few years. He was qualified engineer, expert in his segment, but was not doing well for last few years. Vikas has concluded that Prabhanjan was reached at the level of complacency.  In spite of giving several feedback, Prabhanjan was not trying to fulfil the expectations of his line manager. Vikas communicated to the management  that he didn’t want the person in his team. Of course he had taken all actions, to bring the Prabhanjan at expected level. The issue was the attitude of employee.  

Six long lasting ways to manage your talent and improve their engagement.

Talent Management and employee engagement is widely discussed and unresolved mystery yet. It started long back with war of talent and still today issues are same and relevant with changing scenario.  When you do the employee engagement survey, you will find the career development is lowest score in any organization. Can it be addressed with some innovative but small initiatives? How? Let’s check some effective ways to address it.

Analyze your employee demography with their experience with your company, their age and their inclinations to their career. New person may have different priorities & old employee may have different priorities. Connect with them and try to understand their issues, concerns. Importantly don’t be just soundboard. Take it at appropriate forum.

Equally focus on new employees. First few days are important days for new employees where he decides about his stay in the organization. New employee should not be left unattended. Make sound orientation and induction plan.

Job Enrichment: Employee want to take more responsibilities. They want growth. You can club two job together, enhance the job, increase the span of control and then increase his grade or upgrade title. Off course, you also should complement this with increase in salary.

Job Rotation: Design sound job rotation policy and make it compulsory for all functions. You can develop your employee here on the job and also prepare them to take more responsibilities.

Title change: Most of the times, after 2-3 years employees come to me and asks when their title would change. Still in India (and in Asian countries), title is considered to represent the status in society, among friend and peers. Design the innovative titles which will address the psychological need of employees.

Project assignments: Find out some innovative projects where employees would add some value to the business. Depute them on cross functional projects. Project assignments are the best way to develop your employees.

Top HR Trends expected in 2014 & beyond…

Peter Drucker once stated, “The Future arrived when we weren't looking, so we’re still dealing with issues, ideas and programs that don’t fit the world’s new realities.”

We are still in the era of economic crisis. Growth expected is normal and not like what was there earlier. The challenge for business leaders is to create growth opportunities that far outstrip the potential of the global economy. All Business Leaders and functional managers  will have to think and act very differently -- the differences between “fast growth” which we witnessed in past  and “new era of business” conditions are not inconsequential.

HR trends are not also isolated from such changes. We need to think differently. We should change the way we are working today. The issue today is not the talent, you advertise the vacancy, you will get hundreds of CV in your inbox. The issues is for RIGHT talent, Right talent which grows the business. And this is also applicable to all HR practices.

Some trends I see in following years are as under.

HR Business Partnership:

Please read my earlier post on this on this link http://vinodtbidwaik.blogspot.sg/2012/08/are-you-hr-professionals-partnering.html.  HR professionals are expected to play the role of business partner. Every HR person should ask the question how his role or the function aligned to the number decided by the top management. How they can relate the consequences, impact of the actions of HR function on the overall business. Question is not related to the cost control, but how HR play the role to optimize the productivity, engagement and people cost, how people are aligned towards the organizational goals. HR professional are consultants for the business leaders and functional leaders on their people issues. HR is expected to play the role of Coach to managers on people issues.

Leaders Readiness and maturity for the new economic era:

How we are going to measure the readiness of leaders to new change, adapt and create new growth. This is not an easy task. It is easy to understand that outsized performance in an easy growth era will not automatically transfer the new economic era. Business leaders role here with the support of HR is raising awareness and providing clarity around changing expectations and supporting to create the right matrix for the growth.

At the other side, how our leaders are enough matured to come out from their conventional thinking and think the business in different perspective is also important. leadership maturity is an individual’s ability to operate effectively at the appropriate level of complexity, ambiguity and scale. HR is expected to act as a Coach, if required arrange development plan for leaders if required to cope up with the situation.  Leaders are those who come out from the comfort zone, challenge the status quo and operate in disruptive, turbulent and volatile market or situation with speed.

Off course HR is expected to identify issues, development needs and act proactively to take the leadership at next level.

 (RE)emergence of Industrial Relations Role:

You must have notice the turbulence in Industrial Relations during last few months. (Strike in Bajaj Auto Ltd, Murder of Maruti Manesar plant HR head etc.)  Maintaining good Industrial Relations is crucial now a days. Employee expectations are increasing day by day. They don’t have the moderate expectations. Due to speed, insecurity and fear, workmen are again coming together to go aggressive on their demands. Impact on the business is critical.

In such situation, IR role again has been (re) emerged as the important role. HR professional will have to update themselves on the trends in IR, keep an eye on the behaviour of workmen and roll out the IR risk assessment and mitigation plans.

No more (more) fresher:

We have also seen the mass recruitment in past. Recruitment from college campuses was common, the placements will still be there, but not for all. There are so many (engineering and management) colleges are shutting their shops due to less response from the industries for the placement. The main issue is employability skills of these students. Industries will be very choosy to recruit the candidates from colleges.     

Offloading HR transactional jobs:

If you are good in payroll, attendance, other HR operational jobs, better you upgrade your skills as a HR expert or HR generalist or HR business Partner. Most of the companies are eliminating HR transactional jobs and such jobs are outsourced to optimize the cost. Still you will be employed, but your growth will remain restricted.

More focus on building organizational capabilities (training & development):

“ Organizational Capability is a business’s ability to establish internal structures and processes that influence its members to create organization-specific competencies and thus enable the business to adapt to changing customer and strategic needs”. (D. Ulrich & D. Lake (1990). Organizational Capability).

What D. Ulrich & D Lake told in 1990 is still relevant. Perhaps the focus was still missing and people miss the opportunities. Now this has to be continued. Identifying and building right capabilities is the first priority to HR.  

There are certain issues with talent, one of the issues is RIGHT talent, another is their skills and competencies suitable with your company. You will not get the apple to backfill the apple. You have to hire good oranges. To convert them into apple, companies have to continue the focus on training and development of their staff.  

More focus on OD and Culture Change initiatives:

The business scenario is changing. Organizations have to tune their cultural bandwidth with the changing scenario. Management is expecting (from HR)  steering more organizational development initiatives. It is not the expert role now, you can still hire the consultants, but first stage, HR is expected to diagnose and act on the plan and devise the HR strategy. HR will have to play the role of deployment leaders of new initiates and measure the success of such initiatives.   

Recruitment through job referrals, networking & online platforms:

Recruitment (placement) agencies are now outdated. Everybody have the job portals with them. More jobs will be filled through internal job postings, referrals and through professional & social sites. Companies are tracking the candidates through LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, Twitter etc. now a days virtual presence is must.    

Focus on HR technology and tools and reduce HR FTEs:

Instead of  relying on person, companies are automating their HR processes. Everything is online, If you don't swap your card, you get the sms intimating the same, your training history is online, your appraisals are online. Managers are not expected to go to HR for small issues. Managers will have their control on their team through Managers Self Service and Employee Self Service. HR is only here to advise and consult. No paper work and bureaucracy, however more face to face discussion is expected.  

Focus on Ethics, Code of Business Conduct and corporate governance.:

Companies are looking for sustainability and trust for shareholders. To build this, companies are advocating work ethics, code of business conduct and corporate governance.  HR is expected to train their employees on value system, ethics and create the positive work culture to foster the same. There is lot of awareness among the people about the same and they expect that they are well treated, respected, valued and follow the work ethics.

No hefty Compensation, but benefits can be more:

Today, there is no differentiation between  Software Engineer working in IT industry and Production Engineer working in Manufacturing industry.  Compensation percentile and compa ratios may be different in different segments, but there is not big gaps. Only compensation is also not the differentiation factor. There are no heavy increments unlike in past. You may hardly receive 8-10% increase in coming years. However right employees will be rewarded. They will get more salaries.    

HR Demographics and HR analytics

Do you know what is the employee cost against the revenue & sales? What is the contribution margin of the product? How HR cost has the impact on the product? DO we know the demography of our employee. How HR cost are trending and making the business impact? HR is expected to work on HR analytics and demography not only understand what that is, but to understand the business impact, analysis and make HR plans.  HR demographics help you to devise your customized HR strategy. 

This is the continual change and we should sense that…. 

“Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” John F. Kennedy. Let’s not miss the future.

Do you know what’s happening there??

When Sales Manager put down his papers, his boss, Sales Director was very unhappy, unhappy with the HR. Sales Manager was high performer and probably was the successor of Sales Director in the future. He was happy in the organization, but somehow for last few days he was not much engaged. Sales director and CEO were unhappy not because of Sales Manager put down the paper, they were unhappy because this news was shock for them. The issue was discussed in the meeting and CEO asked HR Head, “Why his resignation is surprise for all?”  

When Sudhashu, Plant HR Head was called by his boss, Sudhanshu never thought that internal union members were planning to get the external affiliation. In day to day activities, he was so tied up that he could not get the feel of workmen in the organization. When his boss told this, we was actually surprised, why he was not able to get this news before his boss.

In both incidences, management has some expectations from HR. Management clearly wanted to know such news from HR. When it came via other channels, it was considered error from HR side, though not a major failure.

Does such cases  are frequent in organizations? Is HR senses what’s happening in the organization? Are there any channels where management comes to know any events, pulse, feels before they becomes the surprises? It is not expected that HR should keep an eye on everything in the organization, but when it comes to HR related issues, definitely HR is expected to break such news.

If you are a HR professional, irrespective of your profile, you need to be more proactive while dealing with the people. I always tell my team members that every paper, every issue coming on your table, is the opportunity to start interaction and further opportunity to build the relationship with the person. This help you to build the  trust. And if you build the trust, people will come to you to speak, not only official issues, but they will give you the feeling of the people. They are your communication channels.

It is not just for the sake of communication only, but then you get the time to act and possible certain positive actions on the issues.      

I have three suggestions for HR professional and even other functional  line managers.

1. You should be the first: You should be the first person who should come to know every function related information. Your team members are your eyes and ear of your function. It depend upon you how you build the relations, and how people are comfortable coming to you.
2. You should be Proactive in approach: You should not be reactive in approach. Exit interviews are the reactive approach. Why you should act after the event? In 95% resignations, there is less probability, that employee will stay back in the organization. They already made up their mind. There is no point in discussing why he is leaving the organization and what better could have been done for him. Exit interviews still can be conducted, but more proactive approach (e.g. stay interviews) should be adopted.
3. Your approach should be long term: Most of the time, reactive approach leads to short term solutions. If your approach is proactive, you can think long term Consequences. Compliance attitude may lead you in mess. Just think, how the particular solution will be long lasting, off course not necessary permanently.

These are not technical and functional competencies. These come through experience, but awareness of this will definitely help you.

What Makes a Good Workplace? Part-7

Item 11: "In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress."

We have all had the infamous annual or semi-annual job performance review with our manager. The first two minutes of the review are usually focused on what the manager likes about us and our work, and the remaining 58 minutes are spent on our "areas of opportunity" (the things we are weak at and should improve upon). We usually walk out of this meeting feeling deflated and, while we have a clearer understanding of what we don't do well, we have little understanding of what we do well.

The best managers recognize that this time to discuss the progress and growth of employees is an opportunity to help them understand themselves better and to give them a clear perspective on how their contributions are really making a difference to the organization. This is why the value of quality, individualised feedback is one of the 12 key discoveries.

One of the paradoxes of hiring and retaining talented employees is that they tend to lack an intuitive understanding of how their talents manifest themselves in specific behaviors. They need objective feedback as to how they can focus these talents to become more productive -- feedback managers can provide. Such managers understand that, because talents are innate and natural, it is impossible to not use one's talents. So, instead of trying to change individual employees through centering on their weaknesses, great managers feel compelled to help them gain self-understanding and knowledge about the talents they possess and how they are applied every day at work.

Talent never becomes "talented" until an employee has a role that uses that talent. Great managers are always holding up a mirror to employees and encouraging them to "look in the mirror"-- to know themselves well and to know the roles in which they will most likely succeed. The world's greatest managers can answer some basic questions about every one of their employees. Some of these are:

·         what do employees enjoy the most about their current and previous work experiences

·         what attracted them to come to work for the organization

·         what keeps them there

·         what are employees' strengths, talents, skills and knowledge

·         what are their goals for their current roles

·         how often would they like to meet to discuss their progress

·         are they the kind of people who will tell me how they're feeling or will I have to ask

·         what are their personal goals or commitments

·         what is the best praise and recognition they have ever received

·         what have been the most productive relationships they have had with a mentor or manager and what made them so special Talent only responds in relationship to another human being.

Thus, feedback must be specific to the individual, and must be given in the context of a positive employee-manager relationship. The last words of Item #11 -- "my progress" -- are a significant part of this Item. Employees must walk away from any discussion of their growth with a clearer understanding of who they are, instead of who they are not.

Item 12: "This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow."

The need to learn and grow is a very natural instinct for human beings. Finding more efficient ways to do our jobs is one way we learn and grow. Where there is learning, there is innovation and a breeding ground for a more positive and refreshing perspective toward our perceptions of self and others.

In today's work environment, productivity does not come from working harder; it comes from working "smarter." This is why work environments that reinforce and promote learning are attractive to employees.

We have all worked with people who have stopped learning and growing. They suddenly have all the answers, and become unable or unwilling to see alternative solutions. Their attitude infects both the workplace culture as a whole and their coworkers, individually. It limits the very growth and innovation that creates competitive advantages for today's companies. Why do people become unwilling to learn and grow? Because learning and growing involve risk--the risk of challenging the status quo. Change brings about unfamiliarity, and with unfamiliarity comes insecurity.

Great managers recognise that they face a challenge every day: How do you create a culture that is open to new ideas and allows employees the opportunity to explore possible implications of those ideas without fear of rejection or retribution? Great managers know that, initially, good ideas are not always perfectly thought-out, executable strategies. Good ideas are often abstract, and need discussion so they can be defined and sculpted toward the best possible outcomes. This process takes time and energy; time and energy are limited resources. Nevertheless, the investment of time and energy is imperative to making good ideas useful. For employees, the creation of a culture receptive to new ideas also involves significant belief and trust in their managers and teams.

A company's future is dependent upon the learning and growth of its individual employees who are close to the action. Great managers, employees and teams are never quite satisfied with current ways of doing things. They always feel a slight tension about finding better, more efficient ways to work. 

(END)

What Makes a Good Workplace? Part-6

Item 9: "My associates (fellow employees) are committed to doing quality work."

Highly productive employees tell us there is a vast difference between being named to a team and actually identifying with that team. We have all experienced being assigned to a team or a workgroup--our manager assigns us, and our name is added to the team roster. Just because our names are added, however, doesn't mean that we psychologically join the team, especially if we are afraid the other team members don't share our commitment to producing quality work. Helping all members identify the team characteristics that will result in a quality product can lead to insights into greater efficiency and increased productivity. Trusting that one's co-workers share a commitment to quality is a key to great team performance.

When employees are asked, "Are you committed to quality?" they all answer in the affirmative. This reflects employees' natural, human tendency to think highly of the work they produce. Since they all give the same answer to this question, however, the question does not differentiate the most productive workgroups from those that are less productive. Instead, employees' answers to the question, "My associates are committed to doing quality work," are much more revealing. Employees want their co-workers to share their commitment to quality, and want to be part of an organisation that challenges and enables them to excel.

Often, the definition of quality sets the tone of a workplace culture. If quality is defined as the absence of defects or mistakes, we send a strong message to employees that encourages them to cover up mistakes or problems quickly, with little attention or exposure. In the best workplaces, managers realize that human beings will make mistakes, and can learn from correcting them. In these workplaces, quality is defined as the process employees use to recognize a problem and work toward its solution. In healthy workplaces, employees understand that a customer's loyalty can actually increase if the employees take a positive approach toward solving a quality problem. The best managers and workgroups do not scapegoat; rather, they see quality issues as a challenge to improve their product or service and, thus, to increase customer loyalty.

A problem can also bring out a greater sense of teamwork in a workplace. Employees who are committed to doing quality work look at a problem as a challenge to improve their team cohesiveness. They use the power of the team not only to overcome the crisis, but to correct the process to avoid future problems, and move on to greater productivity and quality. Interestingly, some of the most productive teamwork is observed during these times of crisis. The excellence and the spirit of teamwork that emerge from dealing effectively with problem situations are the stuff of great workplaces.

Item 10: "I have a best friend at work."

Human beings are social animals, and work is a social institution. Often, it is a place where long-term relationships are formed, from networking relationships, to friendships, to marriages. In fact, if you did not meet your spouse in college, chances are you met him or her at work. The evolution of quality relationships between people is a very normal process, and is an important part of a healthy workplace. In the best workplaces, employers recognize that employees want to forge quality relationships with their coworkers, and that company loyalty can be built from such relationships.

This item -- "I have a best friend at work" -- is clearly one of the most controversial of the 12 traits of highly productive work groups. In answering this item, many employees do not stumble over the word "friend" since they have many friends at work. Instead, they may get stuck on the word "best" because they feel the term implies exclusivity, and they have trouble identifying one "best friend" among their friendships with their coworkers.

Gallup discovered the power of this item in identifying talented work groups -- that the strongest agreement with this item occurred in the most productive work groups. Because some employees had difficulty with the item, Gallup went back to those groups and softened the word "best" to "close" or "good," or excluded the word "best" entirely. When this was done, however, the item lost its power to differentiate highly productive work groups from mediocre work groups. This suggested that the item's use of the word "best" actually pinpoints a dynamic of great work groups.

Gallup has also observed that employees who report having a best friend at work were:

·         43% more likely to report having received praise or recognition for their work in the last seven days

·         37% more likely to report that someone at work encourages their development

·         35% more likely to report coworker commitment to quality

·         28% more likely to report that, in the last six months, someone at work has talked to them about their progress

·         27% more likely to report that the mission of their company makes them feel their job is important

·         27% more likely to report that their opinions seem to count at work

·         21% more likely to report they have the opportunity to do what they do best every day

While companies often pay significant attention to the loyalty employee’s feel toward the organization, the best employers recognize that loyalty also exists among employees toward one another. All employees have "leaving moments" when they examine whether to leave or stay at an organization. The best managers in the world observe that the quality and depth of the relationships that employees have with others on the job will be a critical component that affects their decision to stay or to leave.

This item also cuts to the issue of trust between coworkers. When strong loyalty is felt in an employee work group, employees believe that their coworkers will help them during times of stress and challenge. In this day of rapid-fire change, reorganization, mergers and acquisitions, having best friends at work may be the true key to effective change integration and adaptation. While employees who have best friends at work do not report lower levels of stress on the job compared to those who do not have best friends, they do identify significantly higher levels of healthy stress management. 

(Continued...)

What Makes a Good Workplace? Part-5

Item 7: "At work, my opinions seem to count."

All employees want to feel that they are making significant contributions in their workplaces. The ways organisations hear and process employees' ideas will shape, to a large degree, whether or not they feel valued for their contributions.

The need for employees to feel valued--to know that they really make a difference in their companies and organisations is critical. This is often referred to as employees' "internal stock price." It measures the sense of value that employees feel in their work and toward their organisation. The degree to which a company's employees feel their opinions count is readily apparent to its customers. We have all encountered an employee who felt detached or insignificant, and we know the impact that employee's attitude had on us as customers.

If the ideas, instincts and intelligence of a company's employees are its sustained competitive advantage, then employees' responses to Item 7 are of great importance. Nothing is more demoralising to employees than being excluded from significant decisions--decisions that affect their jobs. Great manager’s consult with employees regularly to make sure those close to the action have input into critical decisions. This does not mean that employees have the final say on decisions that affect their jobs. It does mean that when employee’s desires and managers' decisions differ, the best managers explain the rationale behind their decisions. These managers use the decision-making process to help employees both to see the full scope of a decision, and to understand why the decision was made the way it was. A straightforward explanation can be a real credibility and communications builder.

Great managers never ask employees for their opinions, and then decide to do the opposite, without clearly explaining why. Great ideas are the building blocks for increased efficiency and new product development. Great places to work, in which employees' opinions count, encourage ideas to flow, and to be heard, processed, and refined. Not all ideas will be successfully implemented, but the process of refining ideas is still wonderfully productive: It builds employees' confidence in the company and reinforces to employees that their efforts can make the company better.

Item 8: "The mission/purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important."

Excellence happens only when people have a deeply felt sense of purpose in their lives. Human beings want to belong to something that has significance and meaning. They want to know they are making a difference, and are contributing to an important endeavour. The best workplaces give their employees a sense of purpose, help them feel they belong, and enable them to make a difference.

Having a clear understanding of how an employee's particular role or job contributes to the company's "reason for being" can be an incredible form of emotional compensation. Employees at every level or function like to feel that they belong. Individual achievement is important, of course, but when employees of an organisation feel they are an integral part of a larger whole, they are more likely to stay committed to that organisation. All of us like to feel as though our companies stand for us, represent us, share our values, and have the same kinds of goals. It is more exciting to "share a mission" than simply to "complete a task."

Every individual has a different and unique sense of purpose, and individuals find different meanings in similar situations. Thus, designing the proverbial "mission statement" is not necessarily the solution to helping employees find a sense of purpose in their work. There is nothing wrong with mission statements, but they are often too vague and too broad to allow each employee to connect with them. Think about it. All employees, either consciously or unconsciously, ask themselves, "What is this company's purpose? Does this company look at the world in the same way I do?" Employees all want to know whether their purpose meshes with the company's, and since each one of them looks at the world in a slightly different way, each comes up with a different answer.

Great managers continually strive to help employees understand how the company's purpose/ mission relates directly to the work that employees do. This, in turn, enables employees to find a connection between the company's values and their own. Every employee has different values. Some value competition, others value service, others value technical competence. Great managers translate the company's purpose into language that each employee can understand.

Outstanding workplaces never confuse "strategy" with "purpose." Purpose is constant. It is the heartbeat of the company, and provides the company with power and guidance. It never changes. Strategy provides the answers to the question, "How will we get to where we are going?" Strategies do change. In fact, companies devise new strategies all the time as they try to find the most efficient path toward their business goals. If your company changes strategies regularly, this does not necessarily mean that it lacks a clear purpose. Great organisations emphasise how new strategies support the broader organisational purpose. Great managers always help to keep the distinction clear in each employee's mind. 

What Makes a Good Workplace? Part-4

Item 5: "My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person."

Gallup's research indicates that employees don't leave companies, they leave managers and supervisors. The impact that a supervisor has in today's workplace can be either very valuable or very costly to the organization and the people who work there.

All of us as employees have had the unpleasant experience of having a bad supervisor or manager. Many of us have also experienced the results and benefits of a good one. When Gallup evaluates the difference between bad and good supervisors, it is amazing to see how clear the difference is in the minds of employees. Yet, when we ask employees, "Do you want to be managed?" everyone says "No." Why is this? Because we automatically think of our bad experiences. What if someone who is similar to the best supervisor one has had could manage the employee? Would he or she want to be managed in that case? Yes. So, the issue is really this: What makes a great manager?

Gallup finds that great managers and supervisors possess identifiable talents or recurring patterns of thought, feelings and behaviors. The talents of great managers include:

·         getting a true sense of satisfaction out of seeing their employees grow and succeed, even if the employee's success surpasses that of the manager

·         intrinsically knowing how to match the right person with the right roles to produce the best possible results

·         setting expectations by defining the desired outcome

·         not dissecting every role down to the exact steps needed to accomplish it

·         they help people grow within a role instead of grow out of it

·         they always try to bring out what God left in versus trying to put in what God left out.

Great supervisors genuinely care about the people they work with, and thus treat people according to their individuality rather than treating everyone the same. Supervisors are the filters from which broader organizational changes and initiatives make sense to individual employees and thus gain true acceptance and understanding.

One could speculate that people are not resistant to change; they just don't have the relationships to translate how such modifications will impact them and their jobs.

For years, Gallup has learned from surveys that the credibility of senior management is critical to employee perceptions of the organisation. This led them to consult with CEOs and leaders to encourage them to have greater visibility and clearer communications. Then, three years ago, they made a discovery: Employee perceptions of senior management credibility are largely driven by the quality of relationships employees have with their supervisors. Thus, rather than feeling the need for a town-hall meeting, the CEO should feel compelled to ensure that all employees have a caring relationship with their managers or designates.

Item 6: "There is someone at work who encourages my development."

The innate yearning to learn and grow is natural to human beings. Our jobs allow us to encounter new situations and find new ways to overcome challenges every day. Why, then, do we have a tendency to stall or stagnate?

Every employee should be consciously aware of how he or she is learning and growing.

Conventional management theory has always highlighted the need for employee development. The traditional approach largely involved helping employees to identify their weaknesses, and then creating a plan to correct them. By focusing on their weaknesses, so the reasoning went, employees would become stronger and more productive. While this approach seems to make sense, it has had a significant, unintended consequence: It has emphasized who the employee is not, rather than who the employee is. As a result, the common theme in the management-employee relationship has been a constant determination to change something.

Change can be good and an effective means to improvement, of course, when it encompasses something such as learning a new skill; in the conventional approach, however, management has often tried to change dispositional factors that are part of an employee's wiring or talent. An example of this would be an effort to help employees better manage their time. While there are many tools to aid in this effort, the way one manages his or her time is a recurring pattern of thought, feeling, and behavior-in other words, part of an employee's wiring-not something every employee can be "trained" to do better. Great managers make a clear, definite distinction between what can be trained in and what is already hard wired.

For the past 40 years, development has also meant "getting promoted." Today, it embodies the degree to which employees are growing within their current roles. Most employees want to be promoted, but not if it means doing a job that does not match their individual talents and skills. We have all witnessed the Peter Principle in action: when an employee who is accomplished at a particular job is promoted to supervisor. While this may work, the new position often requires a distinctly different set of talents-talents the promoted employee may not possess. So, in the end, the promotion significantly impacts the quality of life for both the individuals promoted and the people they supervise.

In today's workplace, the concept of "lifetime employment" is passé; the new emphasis is on "lifetime employability." Managers who want to encourage the lifetime employability of their direct reports help them equip themselves with self-understanding and a clear perspective on what roles they will excel in. To accomplish this goal, such managers pursue straightforward discussions with employees. In these discussions, they seek to understand employees' strengths,

talents, and skills, why they accepted a position with their employer in the first place, what keeps them there, what kind of relationships they need to be most productive, desired mode of recognition, and the yearnings and directions the employees wish to follow.

The best managers feel there is nothing very complicated about development. Development involves holding up a mirror to employees and encouraging them to know themselves. As employees come to understand who they are, these managers strive to provide responsibilities that will be a good "fit" for employees' talents. Then, as employees move forward in their self-knowledge, great managers persist in looking for opportunities to make the best use of employees' talents.

(Continued...)

What Makes a Good Workplace? Part-3

Item 3: "At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day."

Full human potential is realised only when people are in a position to use their talents and strengths. Great performance is found when an individual's natural talents fit his or her role. Matching the right person with the right job is probably the most significant challenge organisations and managers face today.

Putting people in the roles that best fit who they are is one of the 12 key discoveries. The research found that the best measure of the degree to which employees feel that their talents are being used in their jobs is their level of agreement with the Item 3 statement above. Having an opportunity to "do what I do best every day" is tied to the integration of a person's talents (recurring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours), skills (what he or she knows how to do), and knowledge (what he or she knows). Talents are those patterns that one cannot turn on and off at will. Great managers realise that, while talents are the differentiating factor in excellent performance, they are also neither created nor altered. In contrast, one's skill sets and knowledge can be impacted and altered.

The best managers see the specific talents needed for every role. Conventional wisdom dictates that some roles are so easy, they don't require talent. Great managers rebuff this belief. The best front desk clerks in a hotel, for example, have a talent for "winning others over." They establish a trust relationship with people within the first 7 seconds of an interaction. Great telephone service and sales personnel are talented in having a "third ear" or the ability to connect visually and emotionally with people they talk to on the phone. Outstanding accountants see patterns in numbers and "hear" a message or story.

Excellence should be revered in every role. Often, we manage from the perspective that because we would not want a particular job or have the talent to perform it well, we must manage it as a job no one would want to do, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is, however, a false perspective. T he task of the best managers is to clearly define the talents needed for each role, and then choose the right person for that role. A manager's job is not to make people grow talents they do not have, but to identify and utilise existing talents to their fullest potential.

Item 4: "In the last 7 days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work."

Praise and recognition are essential building blocks of a great workplace. We all possess the need to be recognized as individuals and to feel a sense of accomplishment. There is nothing complicated about recognition, but it is one of the items that consistently receives the lowest ratings from employees.

Taking the time to recognize and praise good performance is one of the 12 key discoveries.

Historically, praise and recognition in the workplace has been handled from the perspective of "If you don't hear anything, assume you're doing a good job." In contrast to this "old industrial workplace" mindset, the new knowledge-based worker relies and depends upon praise and recognition as the means of defining what is valued by the organization. Today, praise and recognition are communication vehicles for what is deemed as important.

Obviously, recognition can be either positive or negative. Gallup has found, however, that positive and negative recognition are not opposites. Instead, the opposite of any kind of recognition is being ignored. The worst possible thing we can do to someone at work today is to ignore him or her! Workplaces that continue to abide by the old culture ("If you don't hear anything, . . . ") will destroy the very human spirit that makes the true difference in quality output and service delivery.

Although recognition can be either positive or negative, effective recognition has the following characteristics: it is positive in nature, immediate and real-time to performance, specific about what is being praised, and close to the action. Many organizations have formal recognition programs that seem to have limited effectiveness. This is probably because these programs do not always give employees a clear idea of what, exactly, is being recognized, i.e., profit, growth, and so on. There can also be times when credit is given where credit is not due, such as rewarding the weatherman for a bright and sunny day.

Positive recognition is often thought of as coming strictly from supervisors or managers, but Gallup has found that employees cherish praise and recognition from peers. Coworkers know intimately the particulars of a job and when they notice excellence, it is a special event. So, praise and recognition do not just come "from the top down" anymore!

(Continued...)

What Makes a Good Workplace? Part-2

Item 1: "I know what is expected of me at work."

Expectations are the milestones against which we test our progress. Within the workplace, knowing what is expected can be viewed as the pathway that guides us toward achievement. If expectations are not clear, we are hesitant, indecisive, and unsure of ourselves. The importance of properly setting expectations for employees is one of the 12 key discoveries from a multiyear research effort by The Gallup Organization. The objective of the research was to identify the consistent dimensions of quality workplaces (those in which four critical outcomes-employee retention, customer satisfaction, productivity, and profitability-are all at high levels). The research identified 12 dimensions that consistently correlate with these 4 outcomes-dimensions Gallup now uses to measure the health of a workplace. An associated research effort, in which Gallup studied more than 80,000 managers, focused on discovering what great managers do to create quality workplaces.

Setting clear expectations is not a new concept for managers. In our attempts to set and define clear expectations, however, we often over-operationalize jobs. We put all of the focus on describing the steps to follow, and in doing so create an environment that communicates, "Check your mind at the door, follow these steps, and you will meet expectations." This roboticizing of humans builds little self-worth and self-confidence, and dramatically impairs quality output. When defining steps becomes the focus, setting expectations then becomes a question of how to control employees, rather than of how to guide very different people with very different styles toward productive outcomes.

So, how does a manager, who is held accountable for a team's performance, set expectations? The best managers tell us they define the right outcomes first, and then let each person find his or her own route toward those outcomes. This approach resolves the manager's dilemma. It allows for growth of the individual to occur via the individual's discovery of his or her own "path of least resistance." It appreciates and values differences between employee styles and flow, and allows individuals to use their strengths to their fullest potential.

This approach also encourages employees to take responsibility. Great managers want each employee to feel a certain amount of tension to achieve. Defining the right outcomes creates that tension and the thrill and pressure of being out there by oneself, having a very definite target. It is recognized and understood that every job has a certain number of steps associated with it. Some jobs have more of them than others do. The question is, do the steps support a clear perspective on the particular outcomes that are desired? Many times, the steps actually obscure the outcome, and the result is mere activity that has no broader purpose.

Item 2: "I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right."

We have all been in the position of having an expectation put on us and not having had the tools necessary to achieve it. This is a very frustrating position to be in. The importance of employees feeling that they have the materials and equipment they need to do their jobs right is one of the 12 key discoveries from the multiyear research effort.

The challenge we face in providing the necessary tools in the workplace is how to appropriately match individuals with a wide range of skills and knowledge with the right tools to maximise their potential. If this matching is not thoroughly examined, there can be great cost for the individual, the organisation, or both. Many organisations, for example, have come into the computer era boldly and rapidly. Salespeople have been supplied with laptop computers with the idea that computers will help them better manage time, keep accounts organised, communicate with the home office, and so on. But many salespeople don't use them. Companies tend to view this lack of usage as a training issue. So they send the salespeople off to computer school to build a comfort level with computers, and their salespeople end up using them to play solitaire. In other words, sometimes we give people materials and equipment they actually don't need to do their job right.

There is also another issue measured by this item. In today's non-hierarchical, flat organization, employees are looking around for clues that define where they stand in the social order of things. Materials and "stuff" have become those clues. So, a manager may receive an employee request to put a conference table in the employee's office, only to discover that the main reason given is "because Julie has a conference table in her office, and I am as important as she is." here is, therefore, a relational component to this item as well.

The best managers shift the decision to the employee. They provide criteria for employees to use in making decisions such as, how is this new tool or piece of equipment going to help:

· you as an employee

· our company

· our customers

This broadens the perspective of the employee, expands clarification on desired outcomes, and builds better communication between individuals and managers. It also takes the manager out of the traditional "parent" role and allows for true ownership and accountability.