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Four Essential Tactics for Optimising Organisational TalentIntroduction The state of the economy is unfortunate, but now more than ever you have the opportunity to optimise your organisational talent. While you may not be able to avoid some cost-cutting measures, it's important not to fall into some of the common traps that will put you at a disadvantage when the economy turns around. The bottom line is that you need to know your human capital inventory well enough to make the best decisions, and you have to be brave enough to take make personnel upgrades when the opportunities present themselves. Our researchers have identified four essential tactics for optimising your organisational talent. These are:
This paper elaborates on these four essential tactics. 1. Remove your chronic underperformers A Common Scenario You've probably seen this before: Jenny is a nice person who doesn't make a lot of waves, but she just isn't very good at her job. She's been moved around and has been given many chances, but she just doesn't have what it takes to be effective. Well, spring is here, and it's a good time to clean house. First, identify your least-effective employees. Then determine if they are chronic low performers; if they are in jobs that don't fit them; or if they have ineffective managers, insufficient training, or too few resources. You need to be honest with yourself, though. They may be nice people, but if they can't or won't add sufficient value then you need to make the tough decision to let them go. If you keep them then your marginal-to-top performers no longer have an incentive to go above and beyond average job performance; they see that mediocrity is both tolerated and accepted. 1. Do you have the data to support your decisions? These decisions are best made when supported by facts instead of opinions. There are many assessment tools that provide objective data for determining if an employee is a chronic underperformer or the victim of other circumstances that can be overcome. 2. Lose your bad apples The T.O. Syndrome Here's another scenario that is probably familiar: Terrell Owens is a talented wide receiver, but he is also a chronic bad apple. He has become a divisive distraction on every team he's played for. Do you have bad apples on your team? These people may have some talent, and they may even be good at their jobs, but do their bad attitudes, negativity, and troublemaking behaviours really make them worth keeping? In these times, it is essential to get rid of them. Now more than ever you need team players who are on board with the program. We're not advocating breeding a group of "yes men." The devil of implementing strategy is in the details, and you need people to speak up when they sense that something isn't right or that something is missing. But they need to do so in the spirit of making the organisation better. Have you considered the collateral damage? Research shows that people assimilate to their environments, which means that poor morale is contagious. Gallup estimates that actively disengaged workers cost the American economy up to $350 billion per year. Bad apples distract your productive employees and negatively impact productivity. When all is said and done, even a high-performing employee who has a bad attitude and no desire to be a team player will cost you much more than he or she is worth. Swallow hard and show her the door. 3. Uncover your hidden gems Low Cost + High Potential = Mother Lode! Once you have made necessary reductions and redeployments, begin tapping into your richest resources. Is your organisation utilising its talent to its fullest potential? They are called "human resources" for a reason! Make use of the resources you have, using a process for prospecting within your departments. According to an ASTD research study, most organisations focus on talent management for senior executives and high potentials, but this narrow focus thwarts talent upgrade efforts. In order to upgrade talent company-wide, employees in all positions should be audited and considered. Diamonds in the Rough This will help you identify who has the DNA and the desire to be a future leader in the organisation and who has petered out. You will have better insight into an employee's long-term value to the company while giving him the chance to develop the skills and experience he needs in order to shine. Do what it takes to give your employees great opportunities and build loyalty in the process. Assessment instruments are extremely effective for helping you sift through five tons of debris to find that two-carat diamond. Do what it takes to give your employees great opportunities and build loyalty in the process.
The Folly of Hiring Freezes The notion of a "hiring freeze" is a ridiculous concept since you should always be on the lookout for the very best people you can find, regardless of whether they are internal or external recruits. Times of change and uncertainty present unique opportunities for organisations. The supply of talent has never been so abundant or so affordable. There are large numbers of sales, finance and technical professionals trained at Fortune 500 companies looking for work. These people may not be right for every organisation, but they often bring advanced training, know-how and contacts. It Costs Very Little to Look and Talk It costs very little to assess and interview qualified candidates. This is especially true when you're redesigning jobs to drive efficiencies in the organisation. Although hiring outside candidates is usually perceived as a high-risk activity, the value of an outside candidate is that she doesn't have a preconceived notion of how things were done in the past. The Bottom Line The bottom line is this: You have a unique opportunity. You can lower overhead while increasing efficiency and productivity. Dr. Jac Fitzenz, CEO of the Human Capital Source said, "Gaps in [the organisational fabric] are opportunities for someone to step in and make a difference in the way the fabric is rewoven." Those whom you keep should be made to feel that they are the chosen ones. The Formula for Success By strategically retaining your worthwhile employees, you increase the likelihood of keeping them with you for the long haul while also raising their levels of accountability and the clear expectation of visible results. Combine this with some strategic outside hires and you have a formula for success. Gaps in [the organisational fabric] are the opportunities for someone to step in and make a difference in the way the fabric is rewoven. ‘Dr. Jac Fitzenz, CEO of the Human Capital Source' 1. Remove your chronic underperformers
2. Remove your bad apples
3. Uncover your hidden gems
4. Never stop your hunt for high quality outside hires
___________________________________________________________ As you create your strategic workforce plan and work to optimise the talent currently available in your organisation, you will find yourself needing to reorganise your business and redeploy your employees. The key to this is communication. The following report demonstrates the differences in the ways that C-level employees and non-C-level employees perceive change, and offers ways to get everyone on the same page. _______________________________________________________________
Selection Strategies for Reorganisation, Redeployment and Recovery
Introduction In today's economy, nearly every organisation faces pressure to reduce waste and run at peak efficiency. For many, this means eliminating positions that don't add sufficient value to the organisation, and either eliminating or redeploying people in those roles. The climate in the organisation becomes tense as these changes take place, and the stakes All of this is compounded by our country's new administration, which will likely propose changes in workplace regulation, making it much more difficult and costly to terminate an underperforming employee. Given the importance of this issue, our study had 4 objectives:
Research Methodology Profiles International researchers conducted a comprehensive review of organisational design and talent management practices to identify over 50 "best practices" in the context of organisational restructuring. We then asked several experts to rank order their top 20 best practices from this list. From this, we determined our "Top 10" best practices list. From these "Top 10" best practices we designed a brief 10-question survey to poll our clients on how well they believed their organisations followed these practices and how well they would be prepared for a major reorganisation and redeployment event. Our research included nearly 800 participants from multiple industries. Over 30% worked in companies with more than 500 employees, and over 50% had a director-level role or higher. This large sample enabled us to segment the response data into two groups-C-level participants and non-C-level participants-to identify trends and measure discrepancies. Our findings highlight some considerable differences between these two study groups on nearly every dimension we measured. This heightened concerns that the C-suite may be out of touch with what is actually happening on the front lines as it relates to reorganising and redeploying talent in the midst of change. Part 1: Top 10 Selection Best Practices 1. Know how each job supports your organisation's key objectives.
Q1: We know how each job supports our company's key objectives. C-Level: 82% Certain Non C-Level 75% Certain There is a large gap in perception between C-level executives and the managers on the front line. Organisations may be behind the curve if job designs have not changed along with the revamped plan of action. It is quite common for executives to make changes in strategy, but the message gets diluted as it gets passed down. And it takes more than just communication to truly affect strategic change. Managers and employees need to know what they need to do differently, and they need to be trained to perform their new duties. Even more, new goals should be set that align behaviours and priorities with the new directions and objectives. Q2: We consider internal candidates before opening opportunities to external candidates. C-Level 70% Certain Non C-Level 72% Certain This was the only question where the non-C-levels were more certain than the C-levels, but this isn't necessarily positive. We encourage our clients to always hire the best person for the job, regardless of whether he or she is an internal or external recruit. Times of change and uncertainty present unique opportunities for organisations. The supply of talent has never been so abundant or so affordable, and it costs very little to assess and interview qualified candidates. This is especially true when you're redesigning jobs to drive efficiencies in the organisation. Although hiring outside candidates is usually viewed as a high-risk activity, the value of an outside candidate is that she doesn't have a preconceived notion of how things were done in the past. Q3: We have objective evaluation criteria based on known outstanding performers in that job. C-Level 50% Certain Non C-Level 44% Certain The significant difference in perception here could highlight a training or communication issue. It is not unusual for senior executives to sponsor the purchase of competency studies or assessment instruments. But these programs need to filter down through the organisation, and the hiring managers who will be using the tools need to be trained to realise maximum benefit for the organisation. The data also suggests that many organisations don't take advantage of "peak performance models" when selecting job candidates. If you want to make better hiring decisions, first identify the characteristics of top performers in the job. "A study of 20,000 newly hired employees showed that 46 percent of all new hires fail within 18 months." Leadership IQ Then use these criteria to help you evaluate candidates for the position. This is far superior to merely "hiring with your gut". Q4: Our compensation is competitively based on current market rates for the job. C-Level: 72% Certain Non C-Level 58% Certain This was the question that showed the largest gap in perception. The C-levels think they're paying competitive wages, but most employees vehemently disagree. This is often because the C-level looks at the employee's fully loaded costs while employees only consider their base salaries. Make sure that employees understand the full breadth of their total compensation package; base salary is usually only about 60% of this amount. It is critical to provide compensation commensurate to what employees can earn in similar positions if you want to keep your workforce motivated and to attract top talent. Organisations can compete in many areas-work environment, benefits, growth opportunities-but expecting top performers to stay with you because you offer these things is not realistic if they can earn significantly more money doing a similar job elsewhere. Q5: We apply a consistent selection process to all candidates. C-Level: 68% Certain Non C-Level: 64% Certain There is a modest difference between the two groups, but both provided an overall low score. If an organisation answered this question as "certain," then its selection processes are considered objective and fair. Objectivity and fairness are important, not only because they're appropriate, but because legal challenges to employee selection standards are expensive and can create considerable negative PR for an organisation. Remember when WalMart was the poster child for unfair employment practices? To their credit, they did a masterful job of cleaning up their act. The best employee selection process ensures that selection standards are job-related, validated and standardised. An ounce of prevention will definitely be worth a pound of cure in the future. Q6: We include key stakeholders in our employee selection process. C-Level: 68% Certain Non C-Level 64% Certain There is a modest difference between the two groups and an overall low score. Key stakeholders are those affected, for better or worse, by our operations, those who have an interest in what we do, and those who influence what we do. That includes almost everyone, but a big-tent approach is profitable: Inc. Magazine reports that "organisations with more effective hiring systems rank higher in financial performance, productivity, quality, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and retention." Q7: We train our interviewers in our employee selection process. C-Level: 55% Certain Non C-Level: 48% Similar to question #3, the significant difference in perception here could highlight a training or communication issue. Again, senior executives commonly sponsor the purchase of hiring systems and aids, but the tools and training don't resonate as strongly with the hiring managers who will be doing most of the interviews. Once an organisation determines that it wants structured interviews-those in which questions and tasks are chosen beforehand, and those that are designed to ensure consistency-it is imperative to train and coach the interviewers. The process is more likely to go smoothly if interviewers understand it, buy into the reasoning behind it and know what to do. The unstructured interview is weak for purposes of selecting the best candidates. The unstructured interview is weak for purposes of selecting the best candidates. Q8: We give our interviewers guidance to help them probe deeper into a candidate's suitability. C-Level: 54% Certain Non C-Level: 48% Certain Similar to question #3 and #7, the significant difference in perception here could highlight a training or communication issue. The more startling point is that interviewers are more often than not left to their own devices when it comes to interviewing and selecting the best candidate for a job. According to Leadership IQ, a firm that provides research and executive education to top companies, a study of 20,000 newly hired employees showed that "46 percent of all new hires fail within 18 months." This happens not because the new employees lack technical skills, but because they are not coachable, have the wrong temperament, are not motivated, or demonstrate other problems "that never get assessed in the interview." To catch these mismatches, screening interviewers need expert coaching to help them look beyond technical skills and ask the right follow-up questions. Q9: We conduct comprehensive reference and background checks on job candidates. C-Level: 70% Certain Non-C Level: 64% Certain This question resulted in a modest difference in perception between our two groups. Leaders might view reference and/or background checks as a bother when they "know" someone is right for a position. But employment experts estimate that almost one-third of all resumes contain false or exaggerated information. According to a Purdue University newsletter, falsified information consists mostly of expanded dates to cover employment gaps. Background checks are quick and inexpensive. And in this day and age where trust and integrity are so important to a high-performing organisation, it seems inexcusable that anyone-especially those in the C-suite-would allow their organisations to overlook this step. Q10: Our orientation process for newly hired people helps them become productive faster. C-Level: 51% Certain Non C-Level: 49% Certain There seems to be quite a bit of agreement on this question-both groups express a high degree of uncertainty around the organisation's ability to accelerate the productivity of new hires. A Bersin & Associates/Randstad case study shows that productivity measures increased by 25 percent among employees who participated in an on-boarding training program. On-boarding is a process, and, like any other process, it should be well documented, strictly followed, measured, and refined for continuous improvement. This gives the employee positive momentum, increases her enthusiasm and her odds of success, and helps her make a more significant contribution to the organisation faster. Summary: Selection Strategies for Reorganisation, Redeployment and Recovery Essential actions for reorganisation and redeployment
Aligning your organisation with a new strategic direction
Regardless of the amount of effort you put into redeploying current talent, there's no denying that outside hires can be amazing assets to your organisation
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