Reviews and Termination: Walking an Employee Legally and Fairly out the Door
Performance Reviews April 12, 2012 0

Reviews and Termination: Walking an Employee Legally and Fairly out the Door

Nobody enjoys the termination process. Managers, HR professionals and employees all head into it with dread, resentment, anger and awkwardness, and in a civilized world, this is as it should be. If you enjoy letting employees go, we suggest you re-evaluate your line of work (at the very least). But sometimes this task is unavoidable. So when the time comes to dismiss an employee for performance issues, disciplinary problems, or company restructuring, make sure your actions and words are carefully chosen. A single mistake can expose your company to all kinds of backlash, including expensive lawsuits.

Keep these considerations in mind as you move forward with employee terminations:

KNOW THE LAW

Carefully review both state and Read More

HR and Finance: Working Together at Last
Uncategorised March 5, 2012 0

HR and Finance: Working Together at Last

HR and finance departments have sometimes found themselves at odds, since the goals and contributions of each have traditionally been viewed as focusing on different areas of business strategy. While HR professionals are dedicated to the efficient deployment of human capital, finance managers see themselves as a revenue generating center and often view human capital as a cost. The traditional roles of HR and finance are, however, shifting and they are finding that their focuses are overlapping more and more. After all, from a CFO’s perspective, profitability is the goal; however, that goal cannot be reached without a high-performing workforce devoted to meeting the same objective.

Of course, there is no functional company without a functional workforce. And there can be no workforce without careful management of necessary salary, benefit, and Read More

Who Coaches Your Coaches?
Uncategorised February 21, 2012 0

Who Coaches Your Coaches?

manager hierarchyIn some ways, the end of the review cycle is like the end of the holiday season. All the ceremony, decorum and protocol get packed away in boxes and sent to the attic, not to be seen again until the following year.  Often, the lessons learned, the resolutions, the improvement plans and the passion for “change” go with them. In early January, mangers with the best of intentions set forth to coach struggling employees, and employees with sweeping ambitions place themselves in the hands of responsible mentors and nothing really happens.

This isn’t just because of momentum or the pull of daily obligations. It’s often because managers, despite their intentions, don’t actually know how to make employees better. They know how to get things done (or they wouldn’t be mangers). And they know how to hire, fire, and delegate. But can they teach? Can they coach? Can they drive actual changes in productivity?

Training and Performance Improvement: Three Considerations

1. If your managers find themselves Read More

Keeping on Top of Talent with Online Surveys
Other Blogs... October 14, 2010 0

Keeping on Top of Talent with Online Surveys

I read an interesting case study this week in the Harvard Business Review that brings up a question any CEO or HR professional may find themselves asking at one point or another: “Why are we losing all of our good people?”

It’s common for organizations to encounter staggered episodes of increased employee resignation. This can bring a great deal of concern and worry to the table for HR, and may very well be accompanied by a subsequent group of questions such as: “Are we doing something wrong?” “How can we fix this?” and “Is this something that we can prevent?”

According to F. Leigh Branham (CEO of Keeping the People, a human resources consultancy and author of “The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave: How to Recognize the Subtle Signs and Act Before It’s Too Late”), there are several “triggering events” that can push an employee to leave. The important thing to remember is not to panic when faced with such a circumstance. As shocking as it may be to lose top talent, there are preventative measures that HR can take to increase employee satisfaction and lessen the chances of them ‘hitting the pavement’.

Executing employee surveys are a great way to address the needs of your people, and also a way to receive valuable feedback from start to finish. Using employee surveys as part of your hiring process, alongside and in between performance reviews, and as part of exit interviews can generate optimal results.

Regular surveys are especially useful for “checking up” or for gathering specific information on employees throughout the year. Jean Martin, executive director of the Corporate Leadership Council confirms this by saying that companies should “conduct regular ‘culture audits’ to measure employees’ connection to the company’s work environment.” She continues, “These anonymous audits consist of a brief set of questions aimed at discovering cultural disconnects.”

An employee will not always be upfront and direct with their manager if they are unhappy with their working environment and are thinking of cashing in. As Branham puts it, “Most employees are reluctant to talk openly with management about any of these so-called push factors.” Anonymous employee surveys are great for this very reason, especially because they allow HR to gather data which can be analyzed and used to fix or prevent the problem. As Martin confirms, “Such studies followed by proper managerial attention, can reduce attrition rates by as much as 87%.”

However, as I discussed in last week’s blog (see common talent management traps), employee surveys should never replace human contact. Anna Pringle, head of international people and organization capability for Microsoft confirms that HR should “consider conducting ‘listening tours.’ These would involve visiting every department, gathering direct feedback from supervisors and staff, and taking the organization’s pulse.” While employee surveys are a great tool, they should always be accompanied by face-to-face interaction.

Want to learn more about employee surveys? Take a look at eSurvey – emPerform’s integrated online survey tool.

The Power of Simplicity: A New Era in Performance and Talent Management
Other Blogs... October 1, 2010 0

The Power of Simplicity: A New Era in Performance and Talent Management

A New Era in Performance and Talent Management

Dr. Vijay Jog, Founder and President of Corporate Renaissance Group and John Smith, Director of Enterprise Business Solutions at CRG, recently teamed up with HR.com to talk about the importance of simplicity in performance and talent management.

The webinar presents a plethora of valuable information for HR professionals who are interested in learning about simple, yet effective talent management.

According to Dr. Vijay Jog, the key to talent management boils down to this: establishing a clear vision, core values and reason for existence. It’s about valuing your employees and their overall contribution to the organization.

But is it possible to bring such simplicity to performance and talent management?

The short answer is yes! It’s possible! But the harsh reality is that not all organizations recognize talent management as an essential piece of the overall puzzle. Talent management is often misunderstood, implemented incorrectly or in some cases, not at all. Current misconceptions and ways of thinking can stifle the true potential of talent management. Some view employee evaluations as more of a chore than a fundamental activity. Others may not understand or believe in the ROI that performance management can deliver. Or perhaps recent global cost pressure has led to treating employees as “cost” and not as an “investment.” The list goes on.

The truth is, if kept simple talent management can be a worthy and rewarding venture. The most expensive and complex software systems do not always deliver the best results. When it comes to a talent management solution, simplicity and clarity trumps complexity, every time.

 

The Performance Value Circle

The performance value circle was developed by emPerform as a practical and straightforward approach to talent management.

 

The performance value circle is broken down into 8 components:
  1. Building brand awareness
  2. Recruitment and on boarding of employees
  3. Monitoring, mentoring and improving talent
  4. Embedding culture and loyalty
  5. Measuring (competencies, skills, engagement, 360s) and reporting
  6. Talent management and succession planning/promotion
  7. Measuring value and embracing analytics
  8. ESAT/feedback and linkages

 

If HR follows all of the steps in this process, then building brand awareness, attracting and retaining employees to the organization will happen all on its own, making talent management a natural course of action.

Other Blogs... September 9, 2010 0

Get Smart about Succession Planning: The Value of Developing and Retaining Top Talent

Business working together

In a world where global competition is fierce and high-quality employees are hard to come by, the idea of grooming and retaining talent should always be kept top of mind.

As we’ve all seen firsthand with the recent economic recession, the environment we live in is volatile. And unless you have a crystal ball or psychic powers, you can never really predict what’s going to happen when it comes to your business or your employees. Like the environment we live in, people are also unpredictable. They can get scooped up by the competition, fall ill or jump ship at any time.

 

So ask yourself this: What would you do if a key employee resigned tomorrow? Are you prepared?

Several recent studies show that the aftershock of the recession has left employees feeling uneasy about their jobs and futures with current employers. To counter this, organizations should be doing everything they can to retain and develop their existing talent. After all, having to re-hire, train and develop a new employee is easier said than done. It requires time, money and energy, making good talent something you just can’t afford to lose.

There are succession planning tools that you can integrate into your performance management process to help keep you on your toes when it comes to any unexpected, internal turbulence, as well as prepare you for the long-haul.

 

When implementing a succession planning tool, consider the following:

Performance Reviews. You should be able to easily tie-in your annual appraisals to your succession plan so that HR and managers can draw from performance history of employees through past reviews.

Best practices. Consider a tool that incorporates the Nine-Box Talent Matrix. This is an industry best practice that will give you visibility into your internal talent and allow you to identify top individuals in your organization that have the potential to meet new challenges.

Development Plans. According to Linkage, one of the most common mistakes when it comes to succession planning is that companies fail or neglect to execute individual development plans for their employees. Make sure you are using a tool that allows you to link in development and training so you can cultivate your talent.

Gen X and Y. In a recent article, author Cheryl Cran of “101 Ways to Make Generations X, Y & Zoomers Happy at Work” discusses the idea of “generational succession planning.” When thinking about succession planning it’s important to take into account the wants and needs of the ‘up-and-comers’, also known as the future of today’s organizations. As Cran puts it, “To foster effective transitions, companies need to create an environment attractive to Gen X, Y and Zoomer generations.”

 

In short, companies need to “get smart” about retaining and developing their talent. In today’s day and age, you can’t afford to not incorporate some sort of succession planning tool into your business plan.

Warning: Failing to do so can be harmful to both the short and long-term health of your organization!

 

 

The Benefits of Automating Employee Reviews
Performance Reviews August 11, 2010 0

The Benefits of Automating Employee Reviews

The Benefits of Automating Employee ReviewsIf you’re an HR professional still going through a manual process come appraisal time, the idea of employee performance reviews may leave a sour taste in your mouth. Why? Simply put: a paper-based solution is no longer the logical solution.

There’s a reason why paper-based systems can have a bad rep and why even the mention of the word “review” may be followed by a whole lot of huffing and puffing from employees. If you’ve ever been a part of a tedious and inefficient manual appraisal process, then you probably know what I’m talking about.

… and I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way!

If you’re already using an automated solution, then kudos! But if you’re stuck under a mound of paper-work come performance review season, then maybe it’s time to take that process and throw it in the trash (literally). After all, in a world where everything is automatic, why should performance reviews be an exception?

An automated solution can transform the “dreaded” appraisal process into a manageable and even pleasantly positive experience. Here are a few things you may want to consider:

 

Paper-free equals hassle-free

Paper methods are usually time-consuming and vulnerable to human error. With an automated solution, long over are the days of lost appraisals, chasing down employees and manually tracking a paper process.

 

Time is money

Implementing an automated solution considerably reduces time spent executing an appraisal process from start to finish. The result? An increase in ROI and the ability to focus on other important HR deliverables. By automating a potentially labour intensive activity you’ll save yourself multiple headaches, increase productivity and become more efficient as a department.

 

Keep it central

Automating employee reviews helps make the process easier on everyone, HR management and employees included. A web-based system keeps everything in one central place, making it easy to track the review process as it moves along and ensure it remains on schedule.

 

Align and track goals

Use automated software to align employee goals to those of the organization and give them a clearer understanding of how their own goals fit into the company as a whole. Easily track the progress, and help grow, develop and retain existing talent through goal-setting.

 

If you are part of an evolving organization, a manual process may not cut it. An automated solution can open up the doors to a whole new world of possibilities; succession planning, 360 reviews, pay for performance… the list goes on (but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, we’ll save those topics for later)!

With all of the possibilities an automated solution brings to you as an HR professional, we can’t find any reason not to automate.