Resolution - Increase Employee Productivity - The Largest Risk in Your Business

In a recent Taleo Research Study, they reported that the largest risk to their company’s bottom line and brand is low employee engagement and productivity. Most companies are asking people to do more with less because companies can no longer afford to have suboptimal performance from any employee.

No one argues the fact that there is a direct correlation between engagement and productivity. The real question is, how do we sustain high levels of productivity on the job while keeping people engaged?

The first step, in an ongoing sustainability process, is to teach the employee to become goal-oriented. All of our Leadership and Management Development Courses are goal-oriented and we teach people how to get results. Performance and productivity enhancement is defined as our desired outcome.

The second step is to align the business goals to talent goals. Executive level management must provide the vision and articulate the strategy. Mid level management must provide a work environment that allows the strategy to be driven while presenting a responsibility, accountability and self-empowerment culture to support this highly engaged workforce.

Our Making of an Effective Manager helps mid-level management get executives and employees on the same boat while keeping it on the straight and narrow path to success. Middle Management is what makes things happen. If they are not trained, they will not understand the value of setting goals, and nor will they know how to get employees to realize they are part of that goal.

It is documented that 85% find linking talent management to corporate goals challenging. The reason for the high percentage is that most people are not goal-oriented and until they learn the competency that will help them get the desired results, they will struggle.

The value from engagement and alignment can pay big dividends for your company’s future. As an owner and/or HR professional, it is your job to drive the process and select the right tools to achieve the desired results.

Call Innovative Leadership now to help you define your plan of action for engagement and alignment at 609.390.2830. Or click here to learn more about The Making of an Effective Manager.

Critical Business Success Factor

Many experts feel that even though every company is different, it is important for each to develop a succession plan that includes hiring from within, conducting a developmental opportunity or audition, providing a defined plan with time lines for anyone to assume a leadership responsibility, and disclosing the process or succession plan to the shareholders.

Most succession plans do not take into consideration that different environments require different leadership competencies or skills. So, if we narrow our development process than we may never have the right person ready to assume the leadership role in any company. Companies need to consider what most professional sports teams do as a major component for success and that is a strong bench. Most championship teams, whether it be in basketball, baseball, or even football have a great bench or understudy for their key positions. Companies, like professional sports teams, must have a strong bench of candidates who can lead or “step up to the plate” under a variety of scenarios.

Many companies use different forms of people development processes. Some companies call them Leadership Academies or Institutes, and/or High Potential Candidate Schools. Despite the different names, the end result is the same: development of people toward a higher level. As a business owner, you need to provide a constant flow of internal talent but you also must be aware that when people don’t get the higher position, they do have a tendency to leave the organization so the funnel better continue to be adequately filled at all times.

It is also important for companies to deliver some kind of transparency to their shareholders, customers, and internal personnel. The ideal succession plan should minimize uncertainty, which is not a bad thing in this economic climate, and continue to promote the “real” culture of the company. The depth of the company’s disclosure should be predicated by the need at the time and situational circumstances.

Also, many experts believe that the succession plan must take into consideration the corporate culture to the extent that every company should have a corporate culture that transcends the exit of any leader or person. Most companies do not really know what they smell, taste, and feel like to their internal and external customers. The best way to determine the current culture and the culture employees want is to conduct an Organizational Needs Inventory (ONI) assessment but most companies don’t do them.

So, succession planning is just a more formalized name that can be defined as a process to help companies develop their people to meet their future needs.It certainly sounds like it is time for a Leadership Program! Let's get started!

Employees Want Good Management

A recent poll of the employees demonstrated that the most important thing to people at work is good management (36%). The employee also found that the respect of colleagues was very important (26%). Money, benefits, learning skills, and having fun in the workplace were far behind.

Our company, Innovative Leadership, focuses the majority of our training and development programs on the front line supervisor or manager. The roles and responsibilities of any supervisor or manager have changed over the years and it is important for companies to realize that the middle management of their organization is the real “glue” that holds the company together.

• Management today must learn to focus on the “bigger picture and translate the company’s goals into meaningful steps or action plans.
• Management must make sure the worker today is both engaged and responsive to change
• Management must also learn the legal do’s and don’ts of supervising to avoid legal mistakes that can cost them and their companies financial losses and embarrassment.
• Management must help elevate morale and retain the high achieving worker
• Management must be good decision-makers and problem solvers to enable them to give the proper direction

Management must also provide a leadership focus. Success must be viewed as a journey and it is the responsibility of management today to demonstrate the skill sets and competencies relating to:

• Talent Management
• Strategic Business Development
• Change Management
• Productivity and Performance
• Implementation with measured results
• Leadership Development

It is important to realize that in today’s workplace, 85% of employees are giving a less than average performance. Management’s primary role in the workplace is the development of people by helping them reach their potential. The most important factor in the workplace today is to engage the worker by providing a better understanding and clear definition of the direction of the company and future strategy.

We need to finally realize that strategy plus people equals success and your middle management team is the one that can ensure that the summation of the two is achieved. Our courses and workshops teach mangers the skill-sets and competencies that compliment the foundation elements to leadership and produce the desired results. We do things differently and the outcome is defined upfront. Call now for more information on our Leadership and Management Development Process at 609.390.2830.

Leadership and Stuffed Shrimp

I just finished reading an article by the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania in which they come to the conclusion that the shocking succession of corporate meltdowns signals a massive leadership failure across the financial services landscape. The article (Leadership Fails Wall Street by The Wharton School, 2008) continues to point out that it is their belief that executives at these troubled firms may have ignored or failed to see the level of risk their companies were taking in a crusade to enhance results and their own compensation. Risk taking, considered in many cases to be a strength of senior executives and hopefully is, becomes affected by their problem-solving and decision making skills. Some organizations have even created Decision Support Teams or Departments to provide research and resources prior to making a specific recommendation. The fact of the matter is that the executives got greedy and didn’t assess the situation as thoroughly as they should have. Why did some companies avoid entering or participating in the questionable practices that have caused the great “bailout”? It could just be that they did entertain a decision making process and were more thorough with their “what if” scenarios. It all boils down to greed and inappropriate business ethics. The personal compensation packages being offered by companies today may have played a role in the decision making process but it isn’t the single cause for this situation.

The next article that came across my computer was an article titled, Generational Interaction = Jumbo Shrimp by MyPartTimePro.com, 2008. I don’t necessarily agree with the rationale contained in this article but I do agree that the generations in the workplace today are not sharing their knowledge or expertise with anyone, let alone any one specific generation. We have a stalemate between the generations in terms of the workplace expectations of and for each. The baby boomer generation appears to be in the “no-decision” mode while the other generations are in a “let me make the decision mode” and nothing is getting done. Succession planning is at a standstill because to plan for such means that the “boomers” will have to eventually give up their turf and head out to pasture. They appear to not be willing to share the knowledge and expertise to make good decision makers out of the younger generation. The “no one taught us” or “we had to roll up our sleeves and get down and dirty to learn our trade” is the mantra of the “boomers”. We refuse to move the generations forward without making them “sweat and toil” like we did. The fact of the matter is that we have had some more ups and downs then they have had, but in reality, we have had it pretty easy and the “boomers” are sitting there pretty “fat and happy” for the most part. Now the financial downturn has caused the “boomers” to have second thoughts about retiring and hoping that the market corrects itself with the next few years.

I think we have a “stuffed shrimp” scenario. We are not willing to develop and mold our future leaders. Everyone is satisfied with status quo and no one wants to hand the torch off to their successor. Family businesses now have three generations in the fold with no sight of the elder generation leaving and turnover at the Executive Level appears to be slowing down. Unemployment is starting to rise again and hiring is on hold. This economic downturn is certainly contributing to the lack of movement in the business community. Business leaders must ask themselves the century old question; do the benefits outweigh the risks? If they do, try to take one step forward and show some initiative to change or we may never get out of this predicament.

Talent Management Means Competent Leadership

Talent Management is an entity that has been slowly evolving within many corporations. Most corporations list the following practices as part of their overall program:

• High potential employee development
• Leadership Development
• Professional Development
• Succession Planning
• Career Planning
• Learning and Training
• Performance Management
• Competency Management
• Retention
• Employee Engagement

Talent Management should concern itself with competencies. Companies should focus on the competencies that make a difference today and will continue to make a difference tomorrow. It means fitting the “right person” to the “right job” and then measuring their impact on the company’s strategy or goals.

In simplest of terms, Talent Management is people development associated with organizational effectiveness. Most companies do not have a clue about what Talent Management means to them and what competencies will provide sustained growth and success. It is important that they focus on their Strategic Development plan now and don’t wait until it is too late. It will be too late when they do not have the people who are able to learn and perform the roles and responsibilities needed for sustained growth. Do we have the people that can respond to the rapidly changing, highly competitive marketplace?

Most companies have not yet assessed the talent within their organization. How can the learning and training components be applied when you don’t know what is needed to develop the people. People are starting to talk about succession planning only because a lot of key people are leaving the workforce for retirement or alternative careers. I joined a pharmaceutical company in the late sixties and within three weeks, the company has decided that I was a “High Potential”….an HP as we called it back then.

A fast track of combined learning and training programs were laid out before me while at the same time, my performance was monitored as if I was under the microscope. It appears that many companies have strayed away from labeling “high potentials” and providing a program to accelerate their careers within the company. Now, I know some companies have accelerated programs and call these designated potential leaders something, like top producers, achievers, or whatever.

It just seems like the same old story. We have been concerned about this problem for many, many years but we have done nothing to provide a fully integrated set of human resource functions that can be called a people development process. We hesitate to assess anyone or anything because it will cause conflict and we can’t have conflict when we need to retain good talent.

Is Talent Management really meeting the needs of most companies? What are we waiting for? The leadership of our companies must step up and focus on a Strategic Development Plan that includes people, processes, and performance. The integration of those three entities often results in employee engagement, motivation, and success.

Human Resources in many companies is defined as the human capital experts. So, when are these so-called experts going to jump up and down and give their leadership team a real assessment of the culture, the people, and the potential to more forward while sustaining growth and reaching goals? It will probably be when all the Talent has left.

Confusion in the Ranks

I have read article after article regarding the importance of employee retention. I have also read in a recent survey the American Society of Training and Development that the following are ranked according to how the best companies measure performance; 1) Productivity Improvement, 2) Ability to Retain Essential Employees, 3) Quality of Products and Services, 4) Customer Satisfaction, 5) Employee Satisfaction, 6) Sales and Revenues, 7) Overall Profitability, 8) Cycle Time Reduction or Improvement and 9) Other.

In another article, “The Hidden Talent Retention Strategy” by Michael Laft, which appeared in Training and Development (December 2007 Issue) stated that 75% of managers are unaware of a retention strategy in their office. Appearing in the December 2007 issue of Training and Development, it has been shown that even when companies are making an effort to engage workers or make them happy, the managers are not aware of the company’s actions and this is not being communicated to them.

The number one non-financial reason why workers leave their jobs is an opportunity for advancement, followed closely by work-life balance and more interesting work. This was noted in a survey conducted by the International Association of Business Communicators.

Even though most articles written for the HR circles are telling everyone to align your people with your business strategy, they are not telling the management team of the respective company to do the same. Almost every article on employment is demonstrating that there will be an imminent shortage of executives and that most companies expect competition for talent to intensify. Senior executives have frequently acknowledged their failure to pay attention to these issues and now seem to understand that their retention strategies cannot focus solely on the top performers but all employees. We need to engage workers of all ages, nationalities and genders who want to work for your company and remain there for as long as they can.

The problem is that managers treat talent in a most reactive manner. Managers and companies alike must think of the workforce as a collection of segments that actively create or apply knowledge. Companies need to make sure that performance reflects the workplace expectations of both the worker and the company. Companies need to instill a deep commitment to its employees. A commitment must start at the top and should cascade downward through the ranks. Managers must try to integrate a hiring and retention program with their strategic business plan and communicate this integration to all employees on a daily basis. These employee retention strategies must be incorporated into the culture of the company and be expected in terms of core value or competency.

When we find that talent is being nurtured at all levels of the organization or company, we can be reassured that we have been successful in creating a real retention plan that exhibits the real values of company and its commitment to its people and their values.

Contact Innovative Leadership at your convenience for information on our integrated Hiring and Retention Process that can make a difference in motivating, retaining, and even hiring your next top producer or “star” employee. www.ILDV.org or 609-390-2830.

Bah Humbug - Talent Management

It has been over ten years since McKinsey & Co. coined the phrase, “War for Talent”. We certainly have had the opportunity to research the subject, develop a plan of action, implement the plan and now reap the rewards of our actions. Wrong! We have said, “Bah humbug” to the program and done nothing.

A new a survey offered these key findings:

• Talent acquisition planning is sorely lacking – less than 18% of the respondents report to have a plan implemented.
• Talent management will have an impact on all levels within every organization.
  Identifying and developing leaders within organizations is as important as attracting new, top-flight talent.
• 71 percent of the respondents list retention as a major challenge for 2008
  Other countries are better prepared than we are in the United States.
  
  These findings are based on the “Talent Shortage Survey” conducted by Equation Research on behalf of Stanton Chase International and Birkman, International during the 3rd quarter of 2007.
  
  Maybe it’s frustration or just the timing of the Holidays, but I have contacted over 1000 HR Professionals and no one appears interested in focusing on the development of a Process that can help their organizations with this talent management concern. Is it reality or perception? Are we just saying that we are willing to let our successors worry about solving that problem?
  
  The winning formula is very simple:
• Engage the top level for attracting and hiring talent from all age groups as a routine and ongoing process
• Make a company wide commitment starting at the top to:
• Attract new talent ahead of the crisis of exits
• Retain valuable talent already in the company
• Rapidly develop processes for recognizing and developing leaders within the organization
• Utilize an assessment instrument(s) to aid in both leadership identification and development coupled with coaching/mentoring programs
  
  Bah! Humbug! Nobody’s listening, if you are listening are you acting on it?

…twas the night before…

What Do Workers Need?

We are starting to focus on the “bottom of the barrel”. In the majority of companies, we have not integrated our business strategies into the culture of our workforce and are not challenging people to learn the skills that will enable them to lead our company long after the disappearance of the baby boomers.

Globally, we are struggling to acquire the employees we need. The demand for workers in the emerging markets like China is outpacing the supply of talent in those areas. The exodus of the “boomers” in the US coupled with the downsizing that occurred in the last fifteen years has left us with a void in talent that is now needed to fill key management positions.

We have not developed the talent that will provide the skills that we will need to achieve our business goals. Linking talent to strategy is something that we must focus on now, not in the future. Companies must focus on their best employees and make sure we give them what they want. We can no longer afford to spend the majority of our time bringing up the “bottom of the barrel”. The top performers in most companies want opportunities for personal development, feedback and positive discipline, and the ability to work with a mentor/coach in a non-threatening environment.

We have to re-energize the “boomers” to become the best teachers of experience and get the younger workers to become the teachers of technology so that the end product will be a high achieving workforce. We have focus on changing behaviors and learn to measure the change…..isn’t that what Human Resources all about?