Recruit, Inspire & Retain |
December 2003 |
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Ideas for "Marketing" and Providing "Customer Service" to Current and Potential Employees |
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Did You Get the Employee You Wanted?
You just spent six months and thousands of dollars to hire that new senior vice president. Here it is a few months out, and you’d like to know if you got a truly quality person.
On the surface, it might seem impossible to assess something as subjective as quality in another human being. But an increasing number of companies are establishing metrics to help them assess both quantitative and qualitative aspects of a new hire’s performance.
Q12
Measuring the quality of a new employee isn’t easy, nor is it universal.
The 2003 Benchmark Report, a nationwide survey of companies done by
Staffing.org and the Human Capital Metrics Consortium, showed that 30% of
companies measure, but the vast majority of companies still put their faith in
the front end–a rigorous selection process–to ensure that they get a
"quality" employee.
Gerry Crispin is a principal in the international staffing firm MMC Group. "I think one of the key problems that most corporations face is defining what quality really means," he says. "Quality is a measure of ‘did I get what I wanted?’ "
Among those that are assessing quality, the systems in place vary from gut instinct to research-based questionnaires. Experts agree that either the recruiter or the hiring manager must define quality, establishing some kind of standard against which to judge the employee.
At Health First, an integrated delivery health-care system in Melbourne, Florida, senior vice president of human resources Robert Suttles uses the Q12, a tool from The Gallup Organization that assesses both new managers and established ones. Q12 questions differentiate highly productive work groups from others." More than 500 corporations worldwide now use the tool as a barometer of quality in their workplaces.
Q12 information tells Robert Suttles of Health First how well a manager is doing in creating the right work environment for her team. Compensation is partially tied to the results of the survey. "The benefits for us are enormous," he says. "Where we have high scores, turnover is low, the group under that manager is more productive, more profitable, and we have higher customer satisfaction."
Six-month plans
Jim Ellinghausen, vice president and head of worldwide human resources for
Bristol-Myers Squibb in Princeton, New Jersey, says the company measures
quality in its senior people by how well a person has been integrated into the
organization.
First, however, a structured plan is created, with certain deliverables–which Ellinghausen calls "integration goals"–for the first 3 to 6 months of that executive’s tenure. For a new head of research and development, for example, goals might include visiting all his major research sites and meeting with key members of the executive committee within 6 months. About 90 days into the hire, the executive meets with his direct reports and talks to them about who he is and why he joined the company. Then for the next 3 or 4 hours–while he is out of the room–that group works with facilitators to develop questions for the executive.
Typical questions developed at that meeting ask what the executive looks for in his people, how he operates, what his goals for the job are and where he sees the organization going, Ellinghausen says. "It’s a dialogue that helps the organization say to this newly hired executive: ‘Here are things you will need to be aware of to be successful here.’"
A year ago, Bristol-Myers also began to judge the quality of new and existing executives by looking at 7 core behaviors that tie into the company’s culture and its pledge to "enhance human life." Six months into their tenure, new managers are assessed on their previously established integration goals as well as these core behaviors.
The metrics of caring
At Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., the quality of a new hire is measured in ways
more warm and fuzzy. The international hotelier has about 28,000 employees and
looks to its customers for guidance. Ongoing surveys ask customers about their
experience in emotional terms: Did they feel cared for? Were greetings warm
and sincere? Did they feel as if they were a guest in someone’s home? The
answers, while appearing subjective, are actually part of "satisfaction
scores" that each department in a Ritz-Carlton hotel receives.
Sue Stephenson, senior vice president of human resources, says the company uses assessments of customer loyalty to determine the quality of new and existing employees. Results come back to human resources on a monthly basis by hotel and department. A housekeeper’s quality, for example, won’t be judged only on the person’s work ethic or ability to be part of a team. "We also look at things like caring," says Stephenson.
Results have been "tremendous," she says. Year-to-date, Ritz-Carlton has achieved "top box"--the top box on the customer survey, indicating the highest satisfaction level--76.3% of the time. "That’s up 4% from last year," Stephenson says. "Most hotels don’t get near that result." Much of that success is attributed to both the after-hire assessments and a rigorous selection process.
It’s much more common to use rigorous selectivity in hiring than in after-the-fact assessments. Ritz-Carlton has in place a QSP--"Quality Selection Process"--that lays out explicitly what is expected of new hires, so that when they’re assessed, they know on what criteria they will be judged. "Much of our focus is on the selection process, what talents they bring to the table," says Stephenson. "For instance, you can’t teach someone to smile."
Just the beginning
Companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb and Ritz-Carlton are at the forefront
of a trend. The idea that companies should evaluate the quality of new hires
is just beginning to gain a foothold in human resources departments. In an
economy with rising unemployment, where people apply for jobs even if they
know they won’t be a good fit, assessing quality is increasingly important,
says Peter Weddle, a publisher of guides to online job boards. Measuring the
quality of an employee may prove elusive, Weddle says, but you can certainly
measure the impact of a quality employee. "In terms of the work
completed and how well it’s done, you can measure that. It shows how well
that person fits within an organization," he says. "And that’s
what quality is: a measure of how well someone fits."
from Workforce Management Online, October 2003
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Name That Christmas Carol!
The first 10 readers who submit 90% of the correct carols will win a prize.
1. No Crying He Makes
2. Join the Chorus
3. That Hailed Our Savior’s Birth
4. To Save Us All
5. Gathering Winter Fuel
6. Join the Triumph
7. And Wild and Sweet
8. From Angels Bending
9. Making Spirits Bright
10. Tell Me If You Can
11. And Makes the Nations Prove
12. You Stand in Verdant Beauty
13. Sing in Exultation
14. The Soul Felt its Worth
15. The Everlasting Light
16. Shepherds Quake
17. It Gave Great Light
18. The Running of the Deer
19. My True Love Sent to Me
20. One That Will Open and Shut Her Eyes
21. Westward Leading
22. To You and Your Kin
23. Come Peasant King
24. With Every Christmas Card
25. Everywhere You Go
26. He’ll Say, "Are You Married?"
27. But Have a Lot of Cheer
28. Folks Dressed up like Eskimos
29. On Christmas Day in the Morning
30. Underneath the Mistletoe Last Night
Send your answers to
rir@trainingsys.com. Remember, the 1st 10 readers to answer the most numbers correctly win!)**TOOL
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* The Talent Economy magazine interviewed Carolyn B. Thompson for an article "Learning Your ROIs: When it comes to training and development there is little question that they are worth the cost." Read the November 2003 article by Ian Palmer at
http://www.talenteconomymag.com.* Pete Van Dyke, Pastor of Canyon Lake Community Church, e-mailed
after TRAINING
SYSTEMS, INC. helped him turn his annual presentation to the
congregation into a lively story:
"The meeting went very well. Lots of
excitement and enthusiasm. I got the most comments ever about my report –
several even mentioned the effectiveness of moving from a sitting position to a
standing position as you suggested. Thank you for your incredible help. How can
we measure whether or not the message got across?–One way may be by the vote
on the 2004 budget, which was a sizeable increase over last year and for the
first time in this church’s history, by ballot vote, it passed unanimously.
One comment, ‘A vote against the budget would be a vote against Pastor’s
report.’"
Congratulations, Pete!
* Janet Long, PinPoint Mortgage, gave Carolyn the 2004 George W. Bushisms calendar with the words: "I hope this doesn’t offend you."
Carolyn responded, "George W. pokes fun at his accidental misuse of language – all leaders should be able to laugh at themselves."
Are You Working With A Genius? — Tips to Happily Get the Most
From Them
In many ways, Atiq Raza was the kind of employee managers dream about. He held degrees in physics, philosophy, electrical engineering, and material sciences. His passion for his work -- creating cutting-edge semiconductor technology for a Silicon Valley start-up -- bordered on the obsessive, and he regularly worked in the lab 18 hours a day. At the age of 30, Raza was dauntless, creative, and productive -- a real star.
Yet that same star power also made Raza a manager's nightmare. His ego was colossal, his behavior temperamental. He had little patience for co-workers and fought constantly with higher-ups, scorning their lack of technical knowledge and adherence to procedure. "Managing these people isn't for everybody," Raza says. "But they're powerful engines. If you harness their energy and creativity, you have a Ferrari on your hands."
Yet, while nearly all business owners say they're forever on the hunt for the best and the brightest, few know what to do when confronted with an actual, bona fide, off-the-charts genius.
A survey by the Center for Creative Leadership, found that
a of high-performing employees lack certain "emotional competencies" -- such as the ability to build a team or control their emotions in high-stress situations. The result: Their careers plateau or derail. And much of the blame, says Kerry A. Bunker, a senior associate at the center, rests squarely with starstruck bosses, who have little idea how to tame the savage genius.|
How to Happily Get the Most Out of Your Geniuses 1. Treat them as friends & take interest in their work. 2. Set up reward systems other than managerial advancement. 3. Create internal franchises. 4. Make them in-house consultants. |
"These types of employees need to believe in the cause, and in the integrity of the person leading the charge," Raza says. "They need to understand in their own language how what they do figures into the larger context of the company."
Raza involves his technical talent in nearly every aspect of the company's decision-making process. At Raza Foundries, top performers from every department sit in on at least 80% of high-level business meetings. Human resources is even instructed to use engineering lingo so procedures and policies seem more nerd-friendly.
Once you create that environment, Raza says, all you need to do is get out of the way. And it's vital to keep your own ego in check. "Sometimes even I only understand 50% of what they say," Raza says. "The important thing is that you listen."
Detrimental to your genius employees is the practice of rewarding top performers by giving them more managing responsibility. Many geniuses aren’t suited for managerial chores but still need to be rewarded for their contribution. One answer is to create career pathways designed specifically for your superstar talent.
Another option is to treat them as in-house consultants, who participate in the decision-making process but have little responsibility for overseeing others. Yet with some employees, the opposite approach might work. Todd Duncan, CEO of the Duncan Group, a sales-training consultancy in Duluth, Ga., advises managers to give their rainmakers a staff of their own -- creating an "internal franchise." Give your star a staff and a budget, and let him loose. The sense of ownership, Duncan says, can be a powerful motivator, pushing people to modify their behavior and tap their abilities.
Excerpts from Inc. Magazine article 5/03.
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Informal Learning — How Companies Can Capitalize on the Main Way
We Learn
Most of what we learn, we learn from other people -- parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, playmates, cousins, Little Leaguers, Scouts, school chums, roommates, teammates, classmates, study groups, coaches, bosses, mentors, colleagues, gossips, co-workers, neighbors, and, eventually, our children. Sometimes we even learn from teachers and trainers!
At work we learn more in the break room than in the training room. We discover how to do our jobs through informal learning – observing others, asking the person in the next cubicle, calling the Help Desk, trial-and-error, and simply working with people in the know.
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Formal learning - classes and workshops and online events - is the source of only 10% to 20% of what we learn at work. |
Several years ago the late Peter Henschel, then director of the Institute for Research on Learning, raised the important question on this. If ¾s of learning in corporations is informal, can we afford to leave it to chance?
If you agree that the answer to Peter's question is no, here are some suggestions for organizations seeking to boost results by focusing on informal learning:
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Streamline the informal learning process |
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Help workers learn how to improve their learning skills |
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Create a supportive organizational culture |
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Excerpts from Jay Cross’ 5/16/03 session at eLearning Forum. |
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Looking to the Future of Employee Retention
Workforce Magazine describes 4 trends that’ll change the way you retain employees:
1
Employees Have Been Having a Tough Time
Even when the economy eventually recovers, experts say, pervasive
dissatisfaction and anger aren’t likely to evaporate. Only 25% of workers
feel a strong attachment to their employers, and 4 in 10 feel trapped in their
jobs, according to Walker Information, an Indianapolis-based research firm.
Walker vice president Marc Drizin says employee loyalty was on the decline
even before the economy stalled, and that pattern is likely to continue.
"I think most organizations still don’t understand why you need to be
good to your workers," he says. Employers who ignore workplace discontent
run the risk of periodic productivity slumps as skilled staffers depart for
higher-paying positions whenever the labor market surges. Smart companies that
make employees feel valued will gain a crucial competitive edge.
2 You Need Defined Benefit Plans
Attracting the best and brightest employees in the future will become
nearly impossible without a defined benefit plan. Stewart Lawrence, a senior
vice president of The Segal Company in New York, predicts that companies
without retirement plans that provide guaranteed benefits will be passed over
for employers that do. "Employees now understand the volatility of
defined contribution plans and are looking for a balanced program with both
the upside potential of a defined contribution plan and the mitigation of
downside risk of a defined benefit plan," he says.
Major employers such as Microsoft, Wal-Mart, and Cisco Systems currently don’t offer defined benefit plans because they have been able in recent years to recruit and retain effectively without them. This will no longer be true. As the workforce ages and labor shortages increase, Lawrence says, companies will have to offer retirement plans that provide a floor level of retirement income.
3 Freelancers & Consulting
Companies need a way to control costs and increase flexibility. Corporate
workplaces will evolve into a continually shifting mix of employees and
freelancers, "to the point where it will become difficult to distinguish
one from the other."
That may lead to profound changes. Company health plans may begin to disappear, as workers on the move opt for their own portable health coverage, possibly subsidized by an employer. "Companies may not be hiring people for jobs," Dan Pink, co-author of Free Agent Nation, says. "Instead, they may be saying, ‘We definitely want this person around for 10 years to accomplish these particular tasks, and after that, we’ll see.’" The concepts of retention and career development, he says, may be supplanted by an emphasis on maintaining long-term connections to workers who manage their own rise, moving in and out of corporate positions with increased freedom.
4 Pay for Wellness Performance
Instead of waiting to pay for the treatment of sick employees, some
employers will soon turn to the concept of wellness management--with a twist.
The process, which is handled through an outside organization to preserve
privacy and HIPAA compliance, begins by having employees and their covered
spouses take a voluntary health-risk appraisal each year. These questionnaires
identify factors that lead to such chronic diseases as asthma, heart disease,
and diabetes, which can account for 20 to 35% of a company’s medical
expenses, Lerche says. If the appraisal identifies 2 or more risk factors that
point to a potential health problem, the employee or spouse is a candidate for
health coaching with a nurse, health educator, dietitian, or exercise
physiologist. The coach sets up a plan for the health risk and keeps track of
the employee’s progress via weekly phone calls. The incentive for the
employee is a reduction in insurance premium payments--$55 instead of $75 per
month, for instance, Lerche says. And if the employee stops participating, the
insurance discount can be suspended until he gets back on track.
"Too much of what we do is a short-term approach," he says. "50% of disease is ultimately preventable," and this approach can head off many major health problems.
"It’s for the employer that has low turnover, wants to invest in employees, and wants to see to it that they’re productive and in good health" in the working years ahead, Lerche says.
Excerpts from Workforce Magazine 6/03.
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THINGS
TO DO THIS MONTH/CONFERENCES TO
ATTEND/ |
December 7-10, 2003
Workplace Learning Conference, "Advancing Adult Work-Based Learning:
Building a 21st Century Community of Practice", Chicago, IL, http://www.workplace-learning.net
December 8-10, 2003
American Society of Association Executives Management & Technology
Winter Conference, Washington, DC, http://www.asae.org
FEBRUARY 2, 2004
Inspire Your Employees to Excellence Day! Use this day to begin making
your organization so attractive to your employees that they’ll never want to
leave! Sponsored by CBT Recruitment & Retention Consultants, a division of
TRAINING
SYSTEMS, INC. Get ideas by e-mailing TSI@trainingsys.com.
February 23-25, 2004
The 2004 Outsourcing World Summit, Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club
Resorts, Lake Buena Vista, FL, http://www.CorbetAsociates.com/special_invitation
March 1-3, 2004
Training Magazine’s 27th Annual International Training &
Online Learning Conference and Expo, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta,
GA, http://www.vnulearning.com
March 8-10, 2004
SHRM Employment Law & Legislative Conference, Capital Hilton,
Washington, D.C.,
March 22-24, 2004
SHRM Global Forum’s 27th Annual Conference & Exposition,
Sheraton Bal Harbour Beach Resort, FL,
SPECIAL HOLIDAY VOLUNTEERING/GIVING
Faith in Action. To locate a group near you log on to http://www.faithinaction.org, then click on "Find a Local Program".
Gifts that Give Back:
M.A.C.’s Viva Glam Lipstick Quad ($28, http://www.macaidsfund.org)
go to the M.A.C. AIDs Fund
The Bombay Company’s limited-edition teddy bear ($18, http://wwwbombaycompany.com)
benefits St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Peet’s on
Earth Coffee Sampler ($26, http://www/peets.com)
supports Coffee Kids, Global Education Partnership, and TechnoServe (a group
that teaches entrepreneurial skills to those in developing countries)
UNICEF offers a wide range of goodies (like a fitted tee, $15) to support
humanitarian aid to children in about 160 countries, http://www.unicefusa.org/cards
Organ Donation. For information on transplantation or to learn how to become a donor, visit
http://www.kidney.org or http://www.childrenskidneydisease.org
RED DRESS
Copyright 2003 TRAINING SYSTEMS, INC. All rights reserved.
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