Managing Organisational Performance

There cannot be a CEO or a Divisional Manager anywhere who doesn’t believe that the performance of their organisation could not be enhanced, if only their employees displayed a greater sense of teamwork and motivation.

Yet having accepted that it is they who need to take the initiative to bring this about, any initial enthusiasm quickly wanes, as they grapple with other issues and the management of the business itself. Developing greater teamwork is perceived as a ‘nice to have’ issue not a ‘must have’.

Most managers regard teamwork and its development as a separate issue to business management. They do this because when they think of teamwork, the things that come most immediately to mind are the interpersonal factors that characterise teams and team members – high levels of motivation, respect for and trust in one another, constructive conflict, innovation etc. And so the logic goes, that to develop such characteristics requires a separate program to be run in parallel with the ‘normal’ program of running the business. Consultants are hired, programs are devised, large sums of money are spent – but with what result?

At best, such team building programs lead to the establishment of pseudo teams – workgroups that display the appearance of teams but not the substance. And in the final analysis, it’s the substance – improved organisational performance – that is the only worthwhile result.

The fundamental flaw in the management logic is that teams and teamwork can be created and once established, uplift in organisational performance will result. This is not the case.

The three things that lead to the development of teamwork and the establishment of real teams have nothing directly to do with the team characteristics referred to above – but everything to do with the achievement of the organisational objectives.

For workgroups to develop into teams, they need a:

• Common purpose
• Common goal
• Common approach

Let’s take each of these factors in turn.

The workgroup’s common purpose should be expressed not only in the context of the workgroup but also in the context of the organisation as a whole.

The above common purpose is an activity and as such cannot be measured. Therefore, the common purpose has to be expressed in terms of a common goal. The common goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, a result and time related (SMART).

Note that achievement of the common goal involves every member of the workgroup, is related to the common purpose of the workgroup and of the company as a whole, and is a goal to which workgroup members may relate and over which they have control.

The workgroup’s common approach covers such issues as who does what, meeting schedules and agreeing on subsidiary objectives or milestones.

Since the purpose, goal and approach is one shared by all members of the workgroup, mutual accountability is a rational consequence and mutual accountability leads naturally to the development of trust, motivation and commitment – those characteristics that turn workgroups into real teams of substance.

Adopting this strategy over the more traditional approach that treats the development of teams and teamwork as a discrete program has enormous advantages.

• Management’s focus remains on the management of the business. Managers are not being asked to do anything extra – they are being asked to work smarter by realising the potential of their staff.
• By developing a common purpose and a common goal for each workgroup in the manner suggested above, organisational alignment will be much improved.
• Insisting that each workgroup have a common purpose, goal and approach will lead to a very significant rise in workgroup effectiveness.
• United by the above three factors, there is a much greater likelihood that workgroup members will develop teamwork, and display the characteristics of real teams.
• Resources are not diverted to a separate program of ‘team development‘.

There is just one missing component to the above and that’s the need to measure. You cannot manage what you cannot measure.

There is a fair degree of cynicism surrounding the traditional ‘team/teamwork development program’, which is justified. Such programs are expensive, time-consuming to administer, based on false logic and ineffective in the long term. Yet no one would disagree that a small group of people working together can accomplish more than a similar number working as individuals.

So the message is simple. Successful organisations and successful workgroups have an enduring focus on performance and, in the process of setting and achieving performance goals, teamwork develops as a consequence. But like so many management concepts, it’s the implementation that’s complex.

Guest Author

Graham Haines is principal consultant of Plans To Reality. Graham has a Joint Honours Degree in Law and Economics from Durham University and a Grad. Dip. Ed from Melbourne University. He is both a Certified Management Consultant and a Certified Practicing Marketer. In addition to his consulting activities, Graham has taught marketing and management at a tertiary level and written over 150 articles for specialist press and his own web site. He can be contacted via Email: ghaines@planstoreality.com.au or Visit: http://www.planstoreality.com.au

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Putting A Stop To Workplace Conflict

When was the last time that you or someone in your team had a disagreement, misunderstanding or conflict? How much are these workplace conflicts costing you in wasted time, energy, effort, lost productivity and lost revenue? Are you tired of spending so much time and energy addressing conflicts rather than growing your business?

Most workplace conflicts arise from misunderstandings and disagreements due to differences in personality and communication style. Some conflicts arise from lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities or from preferential treatment of one employee over the rest. Conflict can even arise because one employee overreacts to another employee’s comments or behaviour, as well as between a business owner and customers, suppliers and alliance and business partners. Regardless of how the conflict arises, addressing it quickly is critical to your business success.

Think about the impact workplace conflict can have on the morale of your team, their attitude when dealing with customers, and the impact on your revenue and business results. Unresolved conflict between two or more staff members, can result in the rest of your team taking sides, which has the potential of dividing your team and reducing team effectiveness.

The most dangerous part of that dynamic is that a lot of the disharmony will occur “under the radar”. Over time, this can subtly sabotage the team’s performance and your business results. This is why it is critical to work through issues, however small, as soon as they arise. If you ignore them and hope that they will go away, chances are they will come back even bigger or in some other form.

Here are seven steps to assist you to put a stop to workplace conflict, to assist your team to refocus on doing their jobs, as well as assist you to refocus your energy on growing your business:

1. Resolve any past emotions (eg. anger, sadness, fear, hurt, guilt, etc.), self doubts and limiting beliefs. For as long as these are unresolved, other people will be able to ‘push your buttons’. You will find yourself easily overreacting to other people, which will affect your communication and relationships with others, and your performance.
2. Understand what motivates your team suppliers, customers and partners, their preferred ways of communicating, their values and drivers. Then learn to communicate your message effectively, taking their preferences into account. This way your message will be heard loud and clear every time, and you will minimise disagreements and misunderstandings.
3. Be clear about your vision, goals, expectations, roles and responsibilities and those of the people around you. Agree and communicate these with everyone in your team, including your employees, customers, business partners and alliance partners. This will avoid much stress, disagreement, confusion, duplication of effort, errors, rework and under-performance.
4. Have clear agreements around roles, responsibilities and communication so that everyone in the team understands what is expected of them, and the type of behaviour that is appropriate.
5. If anyone in the team disrespects these agreements, ensure that they are aware that their behaviour is inappropriate and put a stop to that behaviour immediately. If the behaviour is not stopped it will recur and will become harder to address, as any lack of intervention will send the message that the behaviour is ‘acceptable’.
6. Work through issues, however small, as soon as they arise. If you ignore them and hope that they will go away, chances are they will come back even bigger or in some other form.
7. If you find yourself having challenges with addressing the above or if the conflict persists or recurs, call a professional to assist you with creating lasting harmonious workplace relationships.

Just imagine how much more focused and productive you and your team will be once you put a stop to workplace conflict. And how big a boost this will have to your business results and success!

Author Credits

Dr. Vesna Grubacevic is the Founding Director and Performance Transformation ExpertTM with Qt. She is the creator of breakthrough behavioural change techniques, holds a PhD, a BEc and has over 27 years’ business experience, including working directly with CEOs, senior executives and their teams to assist them to create exceptional results. For more techniques on fast tracking your business success and for your FREE gifts, visit http://www.qttransformation.com/ today, call Dr. Grubacevic on (03) 9653-9288 or email her at vesna@qttransformation.com

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Why High Performing Teams Don’t Perform

Ever wondered why ‘High Performing Team‘ training often does not produce ‘High Performing Teams’?

The training says, “An all star team beats a team of all stars any day”. This fundamental flaw causes the failure of high performance team training. It puts high performing people against high performing teams, as if you have to make a choice.

In this case, you can have your cake and eat it too. You do not have to choose between high performing teams and high performing people. You need to choose both for either to work effectively.

Reasons why teams don’t perform

Four key reasons why teams do not perform are:

1. The team is more important than the individuals –  If the team is more important than the individual, staff engagement will fall, as people do not feel that their individual contribution to the team is valued. In this scenario, training is directed at the team. This can lead to under-skilling of the members of the team that will seriously affect the ability of the team to perform.
2. The individual is not playing as part of a team – In the other extreme, if the individuals are more important than the team, the focus will be on individual achievement. The challenge with this is that people focus on their achievement at the cost of other people. This can lead to the “team” pulling in different directions at the same time and hence the team burns up a large amount of energy pulling against each other.
3. The team lacks focus – A lack of focus will also hinder a team’s performance. Imagine a soccer team trying to score if it did not know where the goals were! Workplace teams often have exactly that situation. Goals are not clear or are constantly moving. In some cases, goals even conflict with each other. This will also occur where the team does not have a clear understanding of its purpose, strategy and goals.
4. The team lacks an effective leader – A team will flounder without a leader clearly guiding the team in a single direction. This person does not have to tell the team what to do, but does need the skills to facilitate decision making in the team so that the team continues to travel in a single forward direction. They must be able to clearly sell a common theme for the team, using a common language, to be effective.

Recognising when teams don’t perform

Do you know whether your team is performing? This may sound like a strange question to ask. Teams often do not have clear direction, nor clear measures of how they are performing. Even if they do have measures, they usually measure outcomes, rather than reviewing the team itself and its efficiency.

If the team is more important than the individual is, you are likely to find low engagement and missed individual KPIs. High turnover, high unplanned absenteeism and low morale will generally result from low engagement. If you do not currently track these, they are good indicators to show how the team is performing.

If the individual is more important than the team, you will generally see individual KPIs met. This will, however, be done with a large degree of frustration. There are unlikely to be shared goals and your people will talk with a different perspective on the same topics. The team will miss their KPIs on a regular basis if they are not also the individual’s KPIs.

If the team lacks focus, it will also tend to miss the team KPIs (that is if there are any team KPIs). The lack of team KPIs will contribute to poor team performance. The manager’s KPIs usually then become the team’s KPIs by default. The manager does not communicate these clearly and so the team becomes frustrated trying to hit what appears to be a moving target.

Rectifying teams that don’t perform

The first step to rectifying team performance is to recognise that the team is not performing. This can be done by reviewing team and individual KPIs and using a balanced team scorecard. Being able to measure the team performance is vital to an effective improvement process.

Once you can measure the performance level, you can use a balanced team scorecard to help you identify key areas to concentrate on to improve the team. Put in place the activities and training to rectify the gaps and then re-measure.

When measuring team performance you need to measure the activities and training that you put in place as a way of getting some quick wins for the team. If all the KPIs and measures are focussed on longer term measures (lag indicators) it will take too long for the team to see that they are working together to improve.

High performing teams do not have to be a myth. High performing teams can be high performing. It takes effort focussed on the functioning of the team, the individuals in the team and the team goals & objectives. As you measure these, monitor, feedback and correct in a continual cycle you can see your team become a high performing team.

Guest Author

Brad Cork, The People Expert, Improving People. Brad can help you get the most out of your people. Contact Brad on 0425 335 659 or brad@improvingpeople.com.au to find out how! To download a complimentary one page report on each of the six great keys to getting the most out of your people please visit http://www.improvingpeople.com.au.

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Are Performance Reviews Dead?

Performance reviews are essential to increase employee engagement and staff performance, but they do need to be structured in a way that fosters engagement. How can an organisation achieve that?

Performance reviews can be a high stress situation for employees as sometimes pay, promotions and benefits can rely on the outcome. In high-stress situations we are rarely at our best and we may close down our conversational capabilities and be hesitant about speaking up if we don’t agree with feedback from a manager.

Annual performance reviews under these conditions are not sufficient to ensure true personal growth of an employee. Clear communication is needed from both parties in order for a review to be a catalyst for change in an employee’s behaviour.

The two most common mistakes made when conducting a performance review are:

1. Managerial attitude – The mistake managers often make is to see performance reviews purely as a process or a ‘tick the box’ exercise. To make performance reviews effective and valued, managers need to invest time in developing a relationship with the employee that is built on trust. To do this, managers need to be able to conduct effective workplace conversations by listening with interest and engaging in regular dialogue with staff. Managers need to wholeheartedly believe in both the relationship with the employee and the performance review outcomes in order for them to be effective.
2. Regularity – Annual performance reviews as a stand-alone method are not enough. Managers should provide feedback as often as is required, highlighting areas for improvement as development opportunities. It can be a quick two minute conversation to let an employee know they are doing a good job, or a scheduled meeting to discuss how an employee could do a task more efficiently the next time around. A once a year conversation is not enough to engage employees and make them feel valued.

Now that you know what’s wrong with performance reviews, what are some habits and tools to use to increase effectiveness?

Enhance conversation skills

There are a number of tips to keep in mind to increase conversation skills, such as:

• Set clear expectations
• Ensure there is agreement on those expectations
• Seek clarification as necessary
• Don’t avoid conflict, as it may then become a bigger problem later on
• Think before you speak
• Always remember to listen

Conversations are at the base of everything we do, but not every organisation sets expectations around effective conversations between managers and employees.

Relationship, relationship, relationship

The quality of the relationship is the strongest factor in the effectiveness of a performance review. A good relationship provides the foundation for giving feedback which empowers and motivates employees and accelerates the learning process.

Individualise reviews

No two employees are the same, and while you may have hired them for the same, or similar, roles, each person will have a different skill set which adds value to the organisation. This should be recognised and taken into account when assessing someone’s suitability to a role. Individual skill sets should be embraced by managers and discussed regularly. The performance review process is an opportunity to work through all factors to a point where both employee and manager are happy that all the variables have been taken into consideration.

Foster a learning environment

A workplace conducive to fostering learning outcomes is one where ideas from everyone – from the junior to the CEO – are respected and employees have access to resources and training to allow them to increase their capabilities. Leaders with strong coaching skills can aid the encouragement of a learning environment in the workplace, leading to greater engagement and staff motivation.

Performance reviews can increase positive business outcomes and support growth within an organisation if they are prepared strategically, keeping the above tips in mind.

Guest Author

Julie Parkinson, Director, The Institute of Executive Coaching. The Institute of Executive Coaching works with organisations to provide innovative leadership and coaching support to improve the performance of individuals, teams and organisations. Since 1999 the Institute has trained more than 2,500 coaches and become known as one of the region’s most respected executive coaching, coach training and leadership development organisations. All of the Institute’s services are designed on the key principles of the Institute’s mission to empower people to fulfil their potential and develop the leaders of tomorrow. http://www.iecoaching.com/

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Motivate Like A Master… Without Spending A Cent!

No matter what industry you’re in, motivated and engaged employees are critical to success. Here’s how to motivate like a master – without spending a cent!

Successful managers spend a significant portion of the day working to develop their team’s skills, improve morale, and drive higher levels of performance. (And if you’re not focusing on these key areas, you should be.)

So how do you motivate your employees to achieve more? Most leaders turn to monetary or tangible rewards. After all, money is a great employee motivator, right? Wrong.

While it is important that your compensation plan helps effectively attract and retain great employees, numerous studies show that recognition is a much better retention tool and performance motivator than money.

A survey by a major staffing company found the top reason employees leave an organisation isn’t because of pay issues but because they feel they aren’t recognised and praised for their work.

The key to developing – and maintaining – a highly engaged and motivated team is to use intrinsic motivators, not extrinsic motivators.

What’s the difference? Extrinsic motivation is a reward: a pay rise, a cash bonus, a gift – in other words, a tangible reward for performance given to the employee. (While it sounds harsh, I often think of extrinsic motivators as bribery.)

The major problem with most extrinsic motivation programs is that the programs have to be continually repeated, and any motivation they initially produce wears off.

And it gets worse: if overused, what at first seemed like a great reward quickly becomes an expectation instead of a reward, with the result that the effectiveness of the incentive – and employee performance – flattens out.

To make a bad situation even worse, if the program is discontinued – as it should be if it’s not producing results – employees may see the cancellation as a “takeaway” and lose interest in their jobs.

There’s a better way, and cheaper, way to motivate your employees. It’s called intrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation comes from inside a person: it’s the sense of achievement, responsibility, job satisfaction, purpose, involvement, empowerment, ownership – all the things that make an employee feel that what they’re doing makes a big difference in their lives and in the organisation itself.

If employees feel what they’re doing is insignificant, they’ll feel insignificant; if they feel their work is valued, they in turn feel valued.

Sound complicated? It’s not. The easiest way to provide intrinsic motivation is to say, “Thank you.” Recognising your employees with comments like, “Well done,” or, “Great job,” creates a greater and longer-term effect on employee motivation than providing a cheap reward that’s quickly forgotten. Best of all, in most cases intrinsic motivation doesn’t cost a cent.

What are the benefits of recognising employees through intrinsic motivation? I’ve worked with dozens of companies in the last few years, and in each case effective intrinsic motivation produced these results:

• Improved morale – Both at the employee level and at the team level
• Increased productivity – Employees who feel good about their jobs and their performance tend to perform at an even higher level
• Lower absenteeism – Employees who feel they’re important to the organisation look forward to coming to work
• Higher retention rates – Intrinsic motivators lead to better employee/supervisor relationships, increased engagement, and employees who feel valuable to the organisation – and want to stay with the organisation
• Improved bottom-line results

Here are simple and effective ways to recognise and engage your employees:

1. Praise – Recognise your employees for a job well done. Say, “Thank you,” at the end of the day. Praise your employees for doing a great job. Catch them doing something well – and tell them how well they did. When possible, make your praise public; gather your team together for a moment and celebrate an accomplishment. Spend your day looking for and recognising great performance.
2. Development – Consistently train your employees (and not just the high performers): increase their skill base, prepare them to fill in at the next level, or make temporary assignments to different departments.
3. Promote from within –  An internal promotion not only recognises the employee involved, it also ensures that others know that advancement is possible. Make sure employees know what skills they’ll need to take that next step, and make sure you provide them with the resources to gain those skills.
4. Create informal leadership roles – Leadership roles, even temporary ones, create a higher sense of engagement and recognition. Find ways to create informal leadership roles for your employees: leading a small project, training new employees, giving facility tours to visitors, or sharing experiences from a training seminar or inter-departmental assignment with the rest of the team.
5. Track – and post – key performance metrics – Make sure employees know how they – and the department – are performing. Post results, discuss improvement needs, and most importantly, celebrate accomplishments. Make sure what you measure is in line with your company’s goals; not only will you improve performance but your employees will better understand their place in, and importance to, the organisation.
6. Communicate – Employees in almost every company I’ve worked with say they don’t receive enough communication: formal, informal, written, verbal – you name it. Your employees want to hear what’s going on – and just as importantly, they want to share their ideas, their suggestions, and their concerns. Most managers feel they’re communicating enough; most employees disagree. Start communicating more today.

And that’s just a start. It’s likely you already have a few reward and recognition programs. Before you make any changes, gather your management team and list all of the extrinsic and intrinsic motivators you have in place. Not only will they have great ideas, they’ll also feel more engaged.

If yours is like most organisations, chances are your list of extrinsic motivators will be longer. If so, institute more intrinsic motivators so that there is at least a balance between the two. Better yet, put more intrinsic motivators in place; you’ll reduce your costs and create higher-performing work teams.

Once you’ve developed your ideas as a management team, discuss them with your employees, especially if measurable performance targets are involved.

Employees are truly motivated when they work towards goals that mean something personally to them, and that they had a hand in creating.

If it’s appropriate, negotiate quantitative goals with your employees. Make the goals a challenge to reach but still attainable, and provide regular feedback.

Remember, don’t just reward your employees; recognise them for their achievements, for their contributions, and for their role in the team.

And most importantly, say, “Thank you,” as often as you can. You – and your bottom line – will be glad you did.

Guest Author

James Adonis is Australia’s leading expert on employee engagement. He shows companies how to reduce staff turnover, engage Gen Y, and win the war for talent. Sign up for James’ FREE newsletter Love Your Team: Employee Engagement Newsletter Contact James via Phone: +61 2 9331 2465; Email: james@jamesadonis.com or visit his Web site: http://www.jamesadonis.com

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Recognising The Traits Of Outstanding Employees

Great employees are reliable, dependable, proactive, diligent, great leaders and great followers … they possess a wide range of easily-defined – but hard to find – qualities. A few hit the next level and are remarkable, possessing qualities that may not appear on performance appraisals, but nonetheless make a major impact on performance. Forget good to great – what makes a great employee, remarkable?

Here are eight qualities of remarkable employees:

1. They ignore job descriptions – The smaller the company, the more important it is that employees can think on their feet, adapt quickly to shifting priorities, and do whatever it takes, regardless of role or position, to get things done.When a key customer’s project is in jeopardy, remarkable employees know without being told there’s a problem and jump in without being asked – even if it’s not their job.
2. They’re eccentric – The best employees are often a little different: quirky, sometimes irreverent, even delighted to be unusual. They seem slightly odd, but in a really good way. Unusual personalities shake things up, make work more fun, and transform a plain-vanilla group into a team with flair and flavour. People who aren’t afraid to be different naturally stretch boundaries and challenge the status quo, and they often come up with the best ideas.
3. But they know when to dial it back – An unusual personality is a lot of fun … until it isn’t. When a major challenge pops up or a situation gets stressful, the best employees stop expressing their individuality and fit seamlessly into the team. Remarkable employees know when to play and when to be serious; when to be irreverent and when to conform; and when to challenge and when to back off. It’s a tough balance to strike, but a rare few can walk that fine line with ease.
4. They publicly praise – Praise from a boss feels good. Praise from a peer feels awesome, especially when you look up to that person. Remarkable employees recognise the contributions of others, especially in group settings where the impact of their words is even greater.
5. And they complain privately – We all want employees to bring issues forward, but some problems are better handled in private. Great employees often get more latitude to bring up controversial subjects in a group setting because their performance allows greater freedom.Remarkable employees come to you before or after a meeting to discuss a sensitive issue, knowing that bringing it up in a group setting could set off a firestorm.
6. They speak when others won’t – Some employees are hesitant to speak up in meetings. Some are even hesitant to speak up privately.An employee once asked me a question about potential layoffs. After the meeting I said to him, “Why did you ask about that? You already know what’s going on”. He said, “I do, but a lot of other people don’t, and they’re afraid to ask. I thought it would help if they heard the answer from you”. Remarkable employees have an innate feel for the issues and concerns of those around them, and step up to ask questions or raise important issues when others hesitate.
7. They like to prove others wrong – Self-motivation often springs from a desire to show that doubters are wrong. The kid without a college degree or the woman who was told she didn’t have leadership potential often possess a burning desire to prove other people wrong.Education, intelligence, talent, and skill are important – but drive is critical. Remarkable employees are driven by something deeper and more personal than just the desire to do a good job.
8. They’re always fiddling – Some people are rarely satisfied (I mean that in a good way) and are constantly tinkering with something: Reworking a timeline, adjusting a process, tweaking a workflow.Great employees follow processes. Remarkable employees find ways to make those processes even better, not only because they are expected to … but because they just can’t help it.

Guest Author

Jeff Haden learned much of what he knows about business and technology as he worked his way up in the manufacturing industry. Everything else he picks up from ghostwriting books for some of the smartest leaders he knows in business. Visit http://www.blackbirdinc.com

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10 Issues That Concern Your Employees And Productivity

Work-related concerns have an equal – sometimes greater – effect on employee productivity. Even the issues of just one staff member often can affect the performance of a team or department.

Why employee concerns affect productivity

Employee concerns always affect productivity, positively or negatively. Occasions when their concerns have no effect are rare and possibly non-existent. This is not a psychologically complex reality. Most managers have seen tan
gible effects of personal, if not professional issues, affecting employee performance.

Employees find new boyfriends/girlfriends, get married, receive their college or graduate degrees, or have other wonderful events occur, and their productivity tends to improve.

Conversely, people face divorce, foreclosure, the loss of a parent, issues with children, or a variety of other personal issues, and their productivity declines, for at least the short-term.

Concerns that are satisfied by management for just one team member can often uplift the performance of the whole group. On the down side, should management not address concerns of even one team member, performance of that employee – and possibly the entire team – typically suffers.

The obvious conclusion: Management should address any concerns that employees have to maintain continuity of performance. Certainly, at times, the answers that management must provide are not what the employee wanted. Yet, their concerns were addressed and efforts made to resolve these issues.

How to determine employee concerns

Management sometimes maintain that they didn’t address employee concerns because they were unaware that one or more issues existed. While this statement may be true, it is imperative that management stay aware of employee concerns so they can address them before small issues become major performance detractors.

How can they do this? Just ask. As long as your staff have the security of knowing that they will not be punished or criticised for being truthful about their concerns, they normally will be honest – sometimes brutally honest. But, that is good news. Simple surveys or requests for suggestions or concerns have proven to be sufficient.

The top 10 issues that concern your employees

Surveys indicate that the following issues are the most common employee concerns in a cross section of all industries. These are not listed in any particular order of importance, as people have different concerns when in different situations.

1. Higher salaries and compensation 

   Surprise! Few managers should be surprised by this concern.

2. Benefits programs 

   This is another very common – and understandable – concern of employees. To limit turnover and increase retention, management typically tries to offer the best benefit program they can afford. Should programs fall short of ideal, management should communicate their dedication to make benefits the best they can be.

3. Pay increase guidelines 

   This concern might initially surprise you. Compensation guidelines are normally in place for most larger companies, those with unionised workforces, and government agencies.However, most businesses are classified as smaller companies and it appears that this group often lacks this employee feature, generating confusion and concern from staff.

4. Favouritism 

   This important concern may be related to item number three. Most senior management would dispute this concern, but they may be forgetting one important item: perception.Your company may be diligent in prohibiting favouritism, yet the perception of this failing, or the possibility of its existence, remains a concern of employees.

5. Pay equity 

   While this concern may appear to relate to the above two issues, employee feedback indicates that it stems from a different source. Employees want to feel secure they are earning compensation equal to those who are in similar positions and have comparable experience.

6. The human resource department 

   Most HR professionals are aware of this employee concern. Contemporary workers want and expect their HR departments to be fountains of knowledge about a myriad of issues (benefits, compensation, corporate plans and goals, legal and insurance issues, positions to be open in the future, etc.).

7. Excessive management 

   Sometimes called “over management” or “micro-management”, this concern relates to employees feeling that their every activity is separately managed and little judgment or freedom is permitted.

8. Inadequate communication 

   Has anyone heard this concern before? Employees have a need to believe they are “in the loop” by having as much information as possible on employer plans, goals, dreams, news, etc.

9. Over-work 

   Employees are often afraid that their efforts and high performance may only result in management asking them to do more for the same compensation. Extra efforts should be rewarded by additional compensation (if possible) and/or a sincere “Thank you” at a minimum. Concern addressed.

10. Workplace conditions and cleanliness 

    Management is sometimes caught off guard when advised that this concern consistently appears. But, upon reflection, it is perfectly logical. With more and more people committed to improved health and quality of life in general, it is not surprising that there is deep interest in their workplace’s physical conditions.

It is important to remember that these items are concerns, not necessarily complaints. Senior management in most companies regularly satisfy these and other employee concerns. This compilation of many statistics, however, does display the most common items of interest to the general workforce.

Asking your staff to advise you of their concerns gives management the opportunity to address issues of importance to their employees. Studies indicate that addressing employee concerns – regardless of the answers – is the most important activity.

Management displays their sincerity, their own concern, and their respect for their workforce. Making an honest attempt to address employee concerns typically results in improved staff performance.

Guest Author

Kelly Services is a global recruitment company, operating in 37 countries delivering temporary and full-time recruitment and HR/Recruitment Outsourcing and consulting.

Republished from CEO Online – your online business resource – www.ceoonline.com. Get valuable business tips and easy-to-read articles delivered direct to your inbox. Register NOW for your copy of CEO Online’s FREE e-newsletter: http://www.ceoonline.com/subscribe/

Generation Y: Are They Even Worth The Hassle?

“That’s it. I’m only going to hire Baby Boomers from now on… Gen Y are just too much hard work”.

It seems that many managers and business owners have reached breaking point with Gen Y. This younger generation, after all, rarely hangs around in a job for long enough to warrant the financial and time investment of training. What’s more, they have a sense of entitlement and a brash self-confidence that is less than endearing to many older managers.

Gen Y: they have been the topic of countless articles, research papers and books in recent years. Workplaces and employers in every sector are finding this group a great challenge to recruit, motivate and retain. This younger generation seems to operate by a different set of rules. Their concept of patience, respect and work ethic can seem bewildering at best and insulting at worst. Is it any wonder then that many managers are asking if Gen Y are really worth the hassle?

Sure Gen Y may pose some challenges to work with. Sure they may have an approach to the real world that can sometimes seem less than realistic. And yet, this group is a generation of confident, well-educated natural networkers. They are innovative, flexible, tech-savvy and most important of all, at home in the modern era. It is, after all, the only era they have ever known.

Clever managers are recognising that Gen Y are indeed an excellent source of creativity, innovation and a competitive edge. Rather than seeing this group as a challenge or a source of frustration, these managers are seeing the potential of engaging a generation who have a fresh perspective, boundless energy and a keen desire to get runs on the board as quickly as possible.

If you are keen to join the ranks of those that are engaging rather than estranging Gen Y, the following three keys should help:

1. Put relationship before role

   Gen Y are a connected generation. Community, relationships and a sense of belonging are at the core of both their online and offline identities. They have typified the old phrase ‘I don’t care how much you know, till I know how much you care’. Managers that can build a strong relationship and genuine rapport with their Gen Y staff will find that this will indeed be the key to gaining commitment and loyalty from this group. They will not be loyal to companies or corporate mission statements, but they are loyal to people and relationships. A far cry from the power and control days of management, those in authority can no longer rely on creating a separation between themselves and those they lead. If you want to build rapport with Gen Y, two tips; be authentic, and be interested. They don’t want you to be like them, they want you to be you. Walk your talk, be transparent, have some fun at your own expense and Gen Y will love you for it.

2. Focus on outcomes not process

   If outcomes are all about why we do what we do, then perhaps process could best be described as how we do what we do. Of course, while both the why and the how are necessary for organisational performance, many organisations fall into the trap of focussing on process over outcomes. They become so obsessed with structure, lines of authority, rules, policies, benchmarks and KPIs, that they lose sight of the reason these processes were put there in the first place. Process itself is not the enemy, but process that seems disconnected to outcomes is. The biggest turn-offs at work for Gen Y are unnecessary structure, excessive bureaucracy and suffocating red tape.

3. Give regular positive feedback

   Recognition is that all powerful motivator. It’s the one thing that babies will cry for, grown men will die for… and Gen Y will work for. Positive reinforcement is the best and perhaps the only way to bring out the best in the people we lead. Look for and ‘catch’ employees doing the right thing and then reward it, rather than ‘catching’ people doing the wrong thing and then punishing it. This principle is certainly a key to engaging Gen Y.Use positive affirmation, recognition and encouragement with this younger generation and watch them thrive. Two quick tips when doing this; recognise them in person (don’t just send an email), and recognise them in public (they love to be singled out in front of their peers and colleagues).

Engaging Gen Y employees may seem like a lot of hard work. It will certainly require an investment of time and energy and a willingness to change and adapt. However, those managers that can embrace the challenges of working with this group will reap the benefits of a younger workforce that is energetic, switched on and hungry to get ahead.

Guest Author:
Michael McQueen is a leading authority and sought-after presenter on the topic of Understanding & Engaging Generation Y.

Republished from CEO Online – your online business resource – www.ceoonline.com. Get valuable business tips and easy-to-read articles delivered direct to your inbox. Register NOW for your copy of CEO Online’s FREE e-newsletter: http://www.ceoonline.com/subscribe/

Tips For Successful Performance Reviews

The following 10 tips are designed to help you prepare for your next performance review process.

Most managers will tell you that they don’t look forward to the annual performance review season. It’s not hard to see why. Reviews are time consuming, they can often take hours to prepare for and many of us have had little or no formal training in facilitating a performance management process, let alone delivering sensitive feedback in a constructive manner or conflict resolution.

Relax. With a little bit of preparation and a positive attitude, you’re certain to learn a great deal about your team and more importantly yourself.

The golden rules

Before we look at the 10 tips below, there are a few golden rules of management that overlay the entire performance review process and in fact successful management techniques in general.

1. Remember that your employees are probably just as anxious about the review process as you are.
2. Like you, your team members have feelings and may from time to time show emotions at work.
3. Treat your employees with the same respect and courtesy that you would expect from your manager.

1. Establish the right mind-set – If I asked you to rate your level of satisfaction with your company’s annual performance review process, how would it fare? If you’re like most managers in most organisations, it probably doesn’t rate highly on the list of tasks outlined on your position description.For your performance reviews to be a success, it is imperative that you go into the process well prepared and with a positive frame of mind. To do this, you need to take a step back and see the process for what it really is; an opportunity for you to spend time with your team so that you can uncover ways to improve their performance and satisfaction. Why is this important? Well, if your team members are happy, they’re more likely to perform better and less likely to leave your organisation. With happy, committed and more productive staff, your life as a manager can only get easier.

   We know for a fact that an employee’s manager is the number one reason for employees seeking alternative employment. With this in mind, the performance review process is your opportunity to learn more about your team; specifically what motivates them, what new challenges they’re looking for and how your needs (i.e. a stable, productive team) and theirs (i.e. personal development and career path) can align. Happy team members really do stay!

2. Remember, reviews are a two way street – As mentioned earlier, managers have typically viewed employee performance reviews as an opportunity to point out all the things an employee’s “stuffed up” over the previous 12 months. Warning: If this is your approach, it’s a sure fire way of increasing staff turnover and damaging employee morale and trust.Savvy organisations have long been using the performance review process to find out how their managers and indeed the organisation can lift its game. By allowing the employee to have their say about where they feel the company or manager could improve, they are also more likely to accept comments about their own performance gaps and areas they need to develop over the next 6 to 12 months.

   A small caution for all managers when hearing feedback about your own performance: sit back and listen to the team members comments – take it all on board. Do not jump down their throat in your defence as this will defeat the purpose. Instead, try to ask probing questions, “can you give me an example of that so I can better understand?’ ‘How do you think I/we could handle that better in the future?”. Acknowledge their comments, “‘I appreciate your comments on that.’ ‘I’m sorry you feel that way.'”

3. Take time out to prepare – A large percentage of managers I speak with only spend 10 minutes on average preparing for an employee performance review. Often this is done 5 or 10 minutes before their next review meeting.If you’re looking to get maximum value out of your review process you need to make time to prepare. Block out at least 1 hour in your calendar for every team member and if possible leave the office to do it; you need time to think about each team member without the normal day to day interruptions. Talk with your manager if you don’t think your current workload or schedule will allow for that to happen and ask for assistance in covering for you during this time.
4. Talk with other people before the review to source other opinions – Performance reviews have traditionally been very insular. That is, they have been based on the opinions of two people – the manager and the employee. If you don’t already, try talking with some other people such as your fellow managers, the employee’s peers and even their subordinates. Try to do this at various stages throughout the year so it doesn’t look like a last minute effort.We know that when feedback is obtained from multiple sources:
   • Employees are more likely to accept the feedback as accurate
   • Managers feel more comfortable discussing the perceptions of ‘many’

   If obtaining the thoughts of other managers, subordinates and peers is a little difficult in your organisation, there are a number of online performance review tools that can facilitate the collection of information from multiple sources. This is often referred to as 360 degree or multi rater feedback.

5. Prepare an agenda and communicate this to employees in advance – It is vital that you have an agenda for the review meeting: a road map that includes the things you intend to cover off. Having an agenda will convey to your team that you are treating the performance review process seriously and that there will be some structure to the conversation. It is particularly useful to provide each employee with the agenda several days before their review and that you encourage your team to add agenda items that they’d like to discuss. Understanding what is on the mind of your employees before the review meeting will help you to be better prepared.  No surprises.
6. Stay on track – It is possible that the review meeting may get a little heated. Conversation may also head in a direction that takes you out of your comfort zone or is non work-related. The minute this happens, excuse yourself [interrupt] and reiterate that you only have an hour now so whilst this issue is of obvious importance, it might be best to get back to the agenda given there are other important issues to get through. If required, the point of contention can be addressed in another forum at a later point in time.To minimise the likelihood of this occurring, make sure you keep the conversation work-related at all times and don’t ever criticize or blame team members directly.

   If you can’t reach consensus on a particular issue, always go back to the agenda and move on. The agenda is your friend; you just need to remember to refer back to it when required.

7. Start and finish with positive feedback – They say that as a rule of thumb, you should give 5 pieces of positive feedback for every 1 piece of negative or constructive feedback. Whilst this may be a little difficult to do in some cases; what it does indicate is that the overall theme or flavour of your review needs to be positive.Always start off by thanking the team member for their contribution over the past 6 or 12 months. Regardless of what you’re about to say, you have to remember that they have turned up for work more often than not over the past 365 days and that they have probably spent more time sitting at their workstation than they have with their family. Scary but true.

   Ensure that you finish the meeting off on a positive note. The following point about action items will help you to do this.

8. Create a list of action items – One of the main complaints employees have of the performance review processes is that nothing ever seems to change after the review.  In fact you can hear these sentiments echoing around the corridors of almost every organisation in the land, “I just spent an hour and half talking about the same stuff I talked about last year and nothing ever changes”. It’s easy to see how employees can be skeptical of the performance review process.Managers have historically left the performance review process and immediately become ‘busy’ again with their own day to day tasks.

   Like any serious business meeting, it is important that you take notes during the meeting. At the end of the meeting, recap the content of the meeting back to the employee; ask them whether you’ve missed or misunderstood anything. Spend 5 or 10 minutes at the end of the performance review meeting to brainstorm the top 5 key action items that can form the basis for that employee’s development plan over the next 6 to 12 months.

   Make sure you spend 5 minutes to brainstorm the top 2 action items for you as their manager to walk away with. This will demonstrate to the employee that you’re also serious about continual improvement and making their life at work better.

9. Have the team member agree on the action items and next steps – So you’ve created a list of action items. The next step in the process is to get the employee to agree and more importantly commit to the action items; that is to treat them seriously. Before leaving the meeting, seek verbal confirmation that the employee understands what was discussed and that they are comfortable with the proposed action items.The final piece of information to convey to the employee in the performance review meeting should be to advise them that you will be typing up notes from the discussion and booking in three half hour ‘catch ups’ over the next 12 weeks to ensure momentum is maintained and the next steps are on track. This is best done in a more relaxed environment; say at a coffee shop over a drink, breakfast or even lunch. Don’t underestimate the power of taking your team out of the office for a meal or a drink.
10. View this as the start of the process not the end – Many managers walk away from the performance review meeting and leave the conversation back in the meeting room. This is only the start of a 12 month program designed to improve the performance and satisfaction of your team.When you walk out of the review, schedule in at least 3 catch up sessions over the next 12 weeks. Once you have completed all of your performance reviews, block some time out of your diary once again to finish off the performance review process. This will include typing up the notes from each review and reviewing each action item to ensure you know what is expected of you as manager. Type up your action items as well and if you’re brave enough (and you’re not breaking confidentiality or trust to do so) stick them up on the wall in your office so that you are looking at them every day.

    As a rule of thumb, you should allow at least 30 minutes per employee for the post performance wrap up.

Guest Author:

Founded in 1999, Onetest’s goal is to provide a more effective and economical way to recruit talented people for your business.

Republished from CEO Online – your online business resource – www.ceoonline.com. Get valuable business tips and easy-to-read articles delivered direct to your inbox. Register NOW for your copy of CEO Online’s FREE e-newsletter: http://www.ceoonline.com/subscribe/

Poor Performance – It’s Time To Bury The Walking Dead!

You can receive varying levels of service. The service at one company I dealt with recently was exemplary, whilst the other could best be described as zombie like. A large percentage had ‘died’ many years ago, the problem was no one told them to go home and ‘get buried!’. Zombie like service exists everywhere, maybe even in your organisation. Take charge, grab your shovel and bury them now!

What can you do about it?

I believe in organisations today there are four categories of people:

1. New Recruits
2. The Battle Scarred
3. Walking Zombies
4. Engaged Employees

Understanding where your people fit will enable you to support and encourage them, or maybe just get on with it and ‘bury’ them.

New Recruits

New Recruits are simply that, new people to your organisation, who are usually young or fresh to the workplace. They are keen to learn and be part of the team, they want to contribute to the success of their team and the organisation.

Not only that, they are keen to better themselves and look for opportunities to shine and stand out in the crowd. They do this by going the extra mile in service or productivity and generally are willing to tackle any challenge presented to them in the workplace.

These people are easy to nurture and with little effort, will maintain this happy and productive demeanour for as long as you support them in their role. Over time, these people will progress across to the Engaged Employee category.

The Battle Scarred

The Battle Scarred are people who have been attacked or hurt in some way, either by their boss or colleague(s) at work. Like someone in a battle, they will call out in their pain and will tell anyone who stops by to listen, to all their trouble and woes. Deep down these people still like their job and the organisation, it’s just that they have been attacked by someone and come off second best.

A typical example is when someone is overlooked for a promotion or a plum project role within the organisation. Sometimes their hurt is the result of their own action or inactions in the workplace.

These people can recover and be helped into the Engaged Employee sector by some recognition of their hurt or anger. A caring manager will take the time to listen to this person and coach them back to either New Recruit or Engaged Employee status. The Battle Scarred can recover quickly, if identified, and can be saved.

Walking Zombies

Walking Zombies are people who have been battle scarred and never recovered. Often they have been hurt and when they cry out for help and get no response, they get bitter. They employ “work to rule” campaigns, the problem being they make their own rules as part of this campaign. These people not only have a poor attitude, they do their best to share that attitude with others and even recruit others in the team to their cause.

They are like a viral infection, hard to cure yet often hang around for a long time before you can shake them off. These people continue to turn up for work even though they loath the experience. Amazingly, if these people are moved on, they often return with a new lease of life and report that they should have left the organisation ages ago.

Engaged Employees

Engaged Employees are the people who wake up on Monday mornings and say “I’m going to work today” and have a smile on their face. They find their job or career fulfilling, challenging and fun.

The reason these people love their work is because they usually have a worthwhile contribution to make and they are appreciated for their contribution. Their team leader or manager listens and hears their suggestions and takes the time to encourage and compliment them for their efforts.

Moving from Battled Scarred or Zombie to Engaged Employee

So you have some Battle Scarred or Walking Zombies in your team, what can you do with them? If they are Battle Scarred there is a good chance you can quickly resurrect them to New Recruit or even Engaged Employee status.

Take some time to catch them doing something good and praise them extensively for it. Sit down with them and talk about the vision for the team and reinforce where they fit in to the team and how their contribution is essential to the success of the team. Review their performance agreement and focus on achieving simple goals together.

Is it possible to change a Walking Zombie to an Engaged Employee? In my experience, the best treatment for these people is to ‘put them out of their misery’. Termination is always a good option for these people. You will be doing them a favour and may even give them a new lease of life to begin again in a new organisation.

I can hear some of you groaning already, “but it’s so hard to sack someone!”. Of course it takes some effort, but think about the effort and the cost of having a Walking Zombie on the team, spreading the virus of discontent and lethargy.

Guest Author:

Lindsay Adams, Teamocracy. There are many organisations that provide training, but Teamocracy is fully committed to providing more than just training. We are willing to consult with you to clarify what you are trying to achieve.

Republished from CEO Online – your online business resource – www.ceoonline.com. Get valuable business tips and easy-to-read articles delivered direct to your inbox. Register NOW for your copy of CEO Online’s FREE e-newsletter: http://www.ceoonline.com/subscribe/