For example, survey after survey in the past few years has shown that job disengagement is on the rise, costing employers a small fortune in wasted opportunity. How much is disengagement costing your business in cold, hard-earned cash? There’s a way to calculate it.

One popular but incorrect myth is that “You can’t measure talent.” That may be true in the art world, but talent in the business world is demonstrated in skills such as personal accountability, time management, problem solving and other highly desirable traits that can in fact be measured. If your business is still hiring candidates based only on a resume and a favorable interview personality, you may have to wait until performance results are in to be confident that you’ve hired someone with a high potential for becoming a superior performer. But hiring managers without the time or budget to waste on unnecessary employee turnover are using talent assessments that give reliable indicators when candidates have what it takes to ramp up to speed quickly and connect their inner motivations to a sense of satisfaction on the job. Are you taking advantage of research-based technologies that simplify your search for right-fit talent?

Calculating return on investment has never been easier. What would the bottom line difference be to your business if your high potential employees were identified and developed into superior performers who can reliably achieve the numbers your business needs for growth? How soon will an investment in targeted skill training pay for itself in revenue-generating results? Moving from surviving to thriving in the post recession economy will depend on having a clear picture of where the business truly is now and what the next step should be.

Every business has its own distinct needs. Call your Value Added Associate for help with TTI Metrics software that can clarify the answer to “How do we get there from here?”

1. Employees always leave managers, not jobs. Wrong. Employees leave jobs even when they like and respect their manager because the fit between their talents, interests and skills isn’t good enough to give them quality of life on the job. In fact, struggling in a job where you spend Sunday night dreading going to work on Monday morning is a dead giveaway of a poor job fit. All jobs have a unique profile of distinct skills, attitudes and behaviors that are required for best performance, just as people have their own unique profile, too. When a person is matched to a job that requires the combination of behaviors, skills and attitudes that come naturally to them, achieving superior performance isn’t a struggle, it’s a challenge they can win.
2. Our superior performing employees may secretly be waiting for the economy to open up more jobs, so they can find another job with more money and opportunity than we can offer them right now. In the present economy with budgets so tight that raises and incentives have been cut almost across the board, employee surveys show that this is absolutely true. But it doesn’t  mean you can’t deepen your superior performers’ bond to your company. Savvy employers are investing in professional development that helps them develop talent from within. By doing this, they help current employees improve their performance now, while preparing them for upcoming leadership roles. People understand that budgets are tight right now, but when they see their company’s willingness to develop their skills, they recognize it as a vote of confidence in their potential and their value to the organization. Nothing says “We’ll give you a raise when we can” like investing in an employee’s career development now.
3. If my company asks me to take an assessment, it must mean they think I’m not good enough to do my job and they want an excuse to fire me. If you said that nothing could be further from the truth, you’re right. Just as employees are slow to leave a good job right now, employers are realizing that it’s much more cost effective to mine the talent they already have rather than to start from scratch with someone new. Using assessment reports is a strategy that smart companies are using to build bench strength so they are ready when business picks up. If your employer has asked you to take an assessment, congratulations! You’ve been identified as an employee with high potential to become a superior performer or next-generation manager.
4. Behavioral and values assessments are NOT like personality tests. If you agree with this statement, you’re right. Behavior and values assessments are statistically validated ways to see what a person’s natural style is for communicating on the job, how they like to manage their workflow, how they respond to a changing work environment, and what aspects of the job can make it deeply satisfying beyond the paycheck. Using assessment reports to identify a person’s strengths is a great way to make sure the company is deploying an employee in the right job to play to their strengths and develop more.
5. Managing other people to achieve peak performance is only possible if you’re a really accomplished, experienced manager with a long track record of success, or a manager with too much time on your hands. If you recognized this thought as so outdated that it’s last millennium, you’re right. In the age of research validated job benchmarks and assessments, it’s possible to pinpoint exactly what a person’s workplace strengths and weaknesses are. Smart companies are using the latest technology, available online, to not only generate an assessment they can review with the employee, but to ‘prescribe’ professional development modules that the employee can use anywhere they have access to the internet. Managers can review performance goals and contribute suggestions online, too, without having to micromanage either performance or professional development.

Contact your TTI Value Added Associate for help streamlining performance management and improvement on any budget.

When budgets were especially tight this past year, smart companies rewarded heavily burdened employees with bonus paid time off. Whether it was a half day, a full day, or a chance to plan for leaving early on Friday afternoon, these companies showed they really cared about taking the “mean” out of lean times.

But boosting morale in a consistent, meaningful way is a day-in, day-out way of life for businesses who want to retain valuable talent. Here are some best practices from the champions:

• Communicate honestly & clearly about where the company is headed and what management is doing to get there. Give employees a choice of ways to submit questions and give feedback to management. Conduct an employee survey to find out what their current perceptions and concerns are. Address their concerns.
• Don’t shy away from difficult conversations. Your silence leaves a void for gossip and (probably inaccurate) speculation, while your straightforward honesty builds trust and credibility. Respond to employee questions, even when you have to admit you don’t know the answer or have made a mistake that requires a course correction.
• Show employees how their role fits into the big picture. Connect individual, group and departmental goals to company goals. Connect company goals to the mission and potential to positively impact stakeholders and the industry at large. This underscores daily activities by connecting them to the team’s shared effort to achieve outcomes and makes work more meaningful in the process.
• Apply fair, consistent and transparent policies in the workplace. Don’t selectively allow certain people to, for example, borrow company equipment for personal use, bring dogs or kids to work, or sidestep dress codes unless everyone can. Have a policy for telecommuting and flexible scheduling that is based on a logical evaluation of roles and tasks, not preferential treatment for individuals. If some employees have earned extra privileges through performance, be sure that the reasons (and the way others can earn the same privileges) are clearly understood.
• Be respectful. By all means acknowledge when an employee has made improvement in an area where they’ve struggled, but be sensitive to their feelings by giving reinforcement in private when appropriate.
• Show appreciation publicly. Make it a point to praise employees for a job well done in front of their peers and customers, but be sincere or don’t bother. Everyone else’s baloney-indicator works as well as yours does. And there’s no need to limit positive feedback to an employee of the month program. Just as it takes (depending on which marketing expert you listen to) 3 - 7 repetitions for a person to absorb a message or recognize a brand name, it takes multiple messages for employees to really believe that you see and value their contributions. Remember that your frequent, honest praise for a job well done establishes a foundation of respect between you. This is the foundation that will give employees the confidence to feel safe discussing areas where they need improvement.
• Deliver development opportunities. Professional development is a vote of confidence in their abilities and an investment in employees’ career progression within your company. They recognize both, and the bonus (beyond improved performance here and now) is that the company will have a healthier internal talent pool to draw from as growth opens up new positions.
• Offer a sense of ownership. Invite employees to make suggestions for better ways to get the work done.Really listen. Then give them responsibility for integrating a good idea or process into the job. Adults appreciate being treated with respect for their abilities and judgement. At the same time, over-extended managers need to strengthen the “delegation muscle.” For example, use a performance management and development process that actively involves employees in decisions about enhancing their competencies.
• Allow choice & control when you can. Being micro-managed should be the consequence of a pattern of poor decision-making, not a standard operating procedure. Preferred “best practices” should be established because they are clearly connected to results, not based on one person’s whims. Look for opportunities to give employees healthy autonomy over their personal work space and processes, as long as they are not in conflict with company values.
• Align business practices with core values. Really make working at your company something to be proud of. “Walk the talk” is just another way to say “Have integrity.” It means that the values your company claims on the company web site or in documents are in fact visible in its actions toward employees, customers and vendors.

Managers and their teams thrive in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust. An assessment of the entire group provides a team motivators and behaviors report that shows at a glance where the group’s strengths and potential lie. For more information, contact your TTI Value Added Associate.

High functioning teams share goals that drive day-to-day activities. Their mutual self-interest greases the wheels of collaboration, but trust is the solid ground they ride on. Capitalizing on their energy and motivation so your team is productive requires that they collaborate freely, and for that, people need to trust each other.

Trust is based on a history of honest relationships. Do people at your company talk directly to a person when they have an issue with them or just complain about that person to someone else? Teams are subtly strengthened or gradually divided by the way simple, everyday differences are communicated.

Unified teams have integrity, demonstrating honesty through actions. Having integrity means that what an individual says and what they actually do are consistent with each other. Can your team count on one another to do what they say they will do?

Teams that operate in the absence of trust are guarded, and by necessity more cautious about everything they say and do. Communication becomes a way to defend and protect oneself, avoiding risk rather than reaching for results. The consequence for your business is more of the status quo, instead of the collaborative risk-taking that exemplifies off-the-charts growth.

Harnessing their inspiration and creativity depends on employees being able to trust each other and their managers. Groups innovate when they are comfortable sharing ideas, exploring “What if…?” and can rely on each other to keep the process moving. They need to feel safe discussing “what’s not working” in the context of exploring ways to make it better. If ideas are often met with cynicism and viewed as a waste of time (“Don’t bother, it’ll never be considered”), you may be missing out on great contributions.  Are individuals viewed with respect for taking the initiative to pitch ideas, regardless of the outcome?

The answers to these questions are a good indicator of whether your company is already recognized as a creative industry leader or one that follows trends set by more innovative competitors. When trust levels are high, so is the potential that the talented people you’ve hired will coalesce to become a powerful team.

Crucial interpersonal skills such as personal accountability and effective communication are enhanced with TTI’s Performance DNA Development Plan, and the team’s true potential comes into focus when you use team behavior and motivator reports.  For more information, contact a TTI Value Added Associate.

Forward-thinking companies are taking on-boarding of new employees seriously, because it’s one of the best ideas to be refined in recent years. A superior on-boarding process initiates success in two areas: retention and performance. However, reaping the rewards of a comprehensive on-boarding program requires that you absolutely must make sure you use a selection system that only allows you to hire people who truly fit the job and the corporate culture. Imagine the consequences if you mistakenly hired an inferior performer and then implemented a process that will make sure they don’t quit!

A proper selection process starts with identifying subject matter experts (SMEs) who really understand the job in question. The SME’s first task is to identify the key accountabilities for the job. This process requires a facilitator to assure that key accountabilities are real and void of any individual biases. If the job could talk, it would identify the key accountabilities objectively and without bias.

Key accountabilities do a better job of demonstrating the reason the job exists than old-style job descriptions do, and they are a much more clear way to identify expectations to an employee, too. Once a manager sees how effectively they communicate the job to a new employee, they will see how obsolete job descriptions have become. In fact, since key accountabilities make it easy to recognize the skills, behavior, knowledge and motivators required to accomplish the job results, they make it easier to hire and train for superior performance, too.

This process empowers a company to define the ideal candidate for the job, including:
Education
Certifications
Experience
Ideal behavior, skills and intrinsic motivators

With a process in place to promote longevity within your company, you can once again address an on-boarding system. The best practice is to have the new employee complete all payroll, insurance, and company policy information prior to the actual start date. The new employee’s work station must be ready on Day 1, with equipment such as their desk, chair, computer and phone in place. As much as possible, the work station should be prepared with access to the initial set up information they will need for tools such as voice mail, computer log in, and phone and email distribution lists. This assures that you get your new employee off to a positive and fast start, and the first day can be spent focused on establishing a foundation for performance.

The key components of the on-boarding process for their first day will be:

Introduction to management and colleagues
Manager and new employee discussion:
Key job accountabilities
Skills and behavior required by the job
Corporate culture
New employee’s current skills and any skills that must be developed to do the job
How best to communicate and manage the new employee
Creating and prioritizing a personalized development plan
A plan to hold the new employee accountable for building necessary skills
Assign a mentor to the new employee to assist the on-boarding process
Schedule a meeting between the new employee and senior management

This on-boarding process was developed and refined over a period of years. It not only ensures a company’s ability to select and keep superior performers, it also contributes to attracting top talent by helping to brand the company as the best place to work in its city or industry. Over a 24-month period, tracking the use of this system demonstrated impressive results: it filled 96% of open positions and retained 98% of those hired and on-boarded with this process.

For more information on the system, please contact your TTI Value Added Associate or call 800 869-6908. To learn more, read TTI’s White Paper “Moving High Potential into Star Performers”.

Supervising a team used to be the bulk of a manager’s job, but today they are increasingly tasked with helping the company respond to changing market conditions. There are new avenues for connecting with customers, technologies to monitor results data, and managers must help integrate them into current strategies. Combined with ongoing client contact and the day-to-day complexities of business, managers are kept fully occupied. Yet, somehow they must fit in the pressing responsibility of helping individual staff members plan their career path.

Developing today’s high potential employees into tomorrow’s managers doesn’t have to be a burden on supervisors. It’s possible to move employees forward with an optimum blend of solo learning, one-on-one supervision and classroom style group events.

For example, when an employee has completed an assessment that profiles their unique mix of skills, it’s easy to identify the lowest-score skills as the ones to address. If their assessment process also matched them to a benchmarked job, it will supply a gap report that shows any discrepancy between the skills they have and the ones they need to boost performance in that job. Armed with that information, the manager and employee can decide together which skills will best prepare the employee to step up to the next level.

Some aspects of employee development lend themselves to customized online trainings that truly enhance the learning experience. TTI University Online Rx is a program that addresses each skill with its own stand-alone training to be completed via the internet whenever and wherever makes the most sense for the individual employee. Each component centers learning on ways to continue developing a certain skill over time, with suggestions for action and understanding. Because they are prescribed in the context of job performance and career progression, they are perceived as relevant, purpose-focused training. Employees are more receptive because they have the option to reflect on and revisit each skill program as they prefer and to work in privacy.

Smart managers will allow the employee a range of choice about the order for working on skills. The beauty of component-style skill training is that it satisfies employees’ desire for self-direction, makes them accountable for learning and lets them choose a comfortable pace. Because it can be conveniently accessed at any time or place, it encourages efficiency. Time that could have been lost to delays or schedule changes can be used to foster growth.

The manager is now free to spend one-on-one meeting time hearing what the employee has learned and discussing its application to actual on-the-job experiences. Employees get the professional encouragement they need, and the manager/employee relationship is supported in a way that results in better performance for both. That’s important because while today’s superior performer may be tomorrow’s manager, companies may find the executive leadership they need in the future among star managers in their own backyard.

To learn more about how industry leaders are paving the way to overall growth and profit by developing the next wave of managers and leaders, read TTI’s white paper, “Moving High Potentials into Star Performers.”

]]> http://www.ttidisc.com/people-energizing-people/2010/06/june-pep-1-backyard-stars/feed/ http://www.ttidisc.com/people-energizing-people/2010/05/are-you-running-around-in-square-circles/ http://www.ttidisc.com/people-energizing-people/2010/05/are-you-running-around-in-square-circles/#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 20:52:16 +0000 admin http://www.ttidisc.com/people-energizing-people/?p=72 Moving at high speed, trying to get more and more done. Thankfully, economic indicators show us headed toward blue skies again.

Have you been running around the same bases week after week, assuring that the essentials are under control? The urge to concentrate exclusively on crucial, immediate concerns can be overwhelming, but it’s a mistake that can hinder growth. No matter how busy you are, strategy matters.

The economic slowdown compelled organizations to reverse the gradual creep of costly, unnecessary complexity, and that’s good. But it has also meant weathering the storm with a smaller staff, and that’s been a challenge. To drive results going forward, leaders must be equipped to keep every employee on track. With all the re-sizing, restructuring and belt tightening, it’s very possible that many, if not all, of the roles at your company have changed. Make sure that the opportunities on the horizon don’t dissipate into chaos because of cloudy communication and altered roles.

This is an opportunity for clarification, one that can improve your team’s performance and lend momentum to achieving goals. There are day-to-day tasks and projects required to meet those goals. Use a patented process to benchmark jobs at your company and establish the key accountabilities for each position. It’s the best way to communicate revised performance expectations to everyone on the team and ensure that nothing critical gets lost in the shuffle.

The simplified version of strategic planning is knowing what results you need to accomplish and having an action plan to produce them. Benchmarking jobs, identifying key accountabilities and defining priorities is a good foundation for your leadership plan. Getting through the recession requires a unique recovery plan for each business. There are already signs that some companies are doing a better job of rebounding than others.

If you need to be strategic without spending a lot of time, call your Value Added Associate for help getting and keeping everyone moving in the right direction.

Staffing starts with recognizing intelligence and evaluating relevant prior experience, but people aren’t just two dimensional; they have a unique mix of skills, attitudes and talents. Each individual brings a range of valuable qualities to the position. They also have internal motivations, often unconscious, but these affect job performance just the same. Learning more about what makes them tick will help you bring out the best in your employees.

Some assessments are based on limited factors that will result in a limited perspective of your talent pool. Be sure you are gaining multiple insights into your employees’ performance potential. Complete the picture using TTI’s validated tools to measure behavior, world view, personal skills, emotional intelligence and attitudes and values. These components provide a view of the total person and will inform your decisions about how to best increase their effectiveness.

How can you be sure to make the right decisions in matters that affect employees? Use a patented job benchmarking process to objectively identify what each job calls for, especially since some positions may have changed over time. By accurately defining what it takes to do the job well and using a complete view of the employee, you get a quality match. Then review professional development options such as job coaching and guided self-management tools to generate vigorous performance.

Rely on your TTI Value Added Associate as a strategic resource to help make the most of your staff. As a member of your brain trust, they are trained to expand your toolbox and your vision. Equipped with a broader perspective and patented tools, you’re ready to make adjustments that bring big results.

To benefit from an informed perspective on staff development, restructured jobs or a realigned team, contact your TTI Total Solutions Provider.

Here’s the story of how one company is leveraging their employer brand to grow revenue and staff in 2010, while another has unwittingly let income slip away with fleeing talent.

#1 - Outdated Thinking: Left in the Dust

Company # 1 was unconcerned about their employer brand in 2009. After all, jobs are in short supply, right? This company prides itself on an ‘old school’ approach.

The hiring process takes longer than some employees stay with the company. Without the insights that job benchmarks and employee assessments provide, management relies on months of resume reviews and interviews to select new employees. This inefficiency wastes management time and results in a staff with little diversity or breadth of skill sets. Candidates often find another job before the hiring process is over.

Investment in technology is mistakenly viewed as optional. Company #1 is always the last to get on board with marketing trends, and their revenue stream reflects it. Employees who suggest making even small investments of resources in advancements are actively discouraged.

There is no investment in staff development. The longer employees stay, the more outdated their skills become, and they know it. Costs are routinely managed by delaying the replacement of exiting staff for 4 - 6 months. Years of high turnover have resulted in weary employees who must expend precious energy to train a revolving door of new hires and then shoulder a heavier load when they quit.

Only top management is generously compensated. Raises are minimal for everyone else. Salaried workers are expected to work regular weekly overtime throughout the year without recognition, including additional nights and weekends 5 - 6 times a year.

Once on board, employees realize that the culture is more like a punitive parent/child relationship than one of mutual respect. When friends ask, employees warn that this is not the company to work for. Undervalued, they correctly assess this employer’s brand as undesirable.

#2 -  Leaders in a Down Economy: The Enlightened Company

Knowing that the economic downturn has been stressful even for those who are still employed, the leadership at Company #2 took decisive action to recognize employees’ needs when planning the strategy for 2009.  It started with “looking at the view from their chair,” as the CEO put it. “We realized that even though they had a job, many of their loved ones didn’t. We were sensitive to the secondary effects the downturn was having on them.” Here’s what the company did - and didn’t - do:

They didn’t cut 401-K contributions or holidays. In fact, they awarded raises. A lean year did mean temporarily suspending the company bonus program and delaying staff expansion, but management clearly communicated this as a temporary part of the strategy for weathering the downturn. They wisely chose to outsource projects rather than ‘piling on’ staff. Since employees weren’t overextended, morale and productivity stayed up. Employees, many of whom were hearing work horror stories from friends, were grateful, and that goodwill flowed naturally to customers.

They allocated budget for staff development and technology integration. While many employees are holding their breath until they can jump ship, these employees are making substantial progress in their careers because the employer recognizes the value of helping motivated employees to upgrade their skills. Staff feels valued and up to the challenge of growing the business in 2010. Why should they leave? The grass is greener on this side of the fence.

They looked for low cost ways to reward performance. Employees who achieved sales call goals were given paid time off as an incentive.  Stars were given internal recognition, and the ‘free time’ bonus was the right to leave work at 2 pm on the following Friday, scheduled in advance so employees could make plans. It didn’t cost any additional out of pocket expense, but it did buy substantial goodwill.

Humanitarian or philanthropic involvement was instituted one day a month for those who enjoy giving back to the community, with staff choosing the charitable activities close to their hearts. Participation was truly voluntary.

They minimized potential losses of both talented employees and their productivity by using behavioral style and motivator assessments to hire people into the best fit position. When employees are in the right job, they are happier and more likely to stick around. And employees are in the position where they can have the biggest impact on the bottom line.

How did it turn out? At Outdated Company #1 revenues are substantially down, and they just lost one of their all-time top performers. Despite consistently overachieving financial goals and consistent overtime on nights and weekends, she was badgered for arriving 2 minutes late. Imagine the exodus that will happen at this business when the economic climate changes.

At Enlightened Company #2, things are looking up. They’ve restored the bonus plan and 2010 sales are already on track to match their second best year ever. After promoting from within, they’ve increased the staff by 22%, thanks in part to current employees and business associates who highly recommend them. They are likely to achieve their goal of being widely recognized as one of the best places to work in their region. The CEO advises, “Give careful thought to your Employee Value Proposition. Always know in your heart that you’re doing right by employees.”

Have you already made mistakes by cutting costs like staff development? If you have, call your TTI Value Added Associate for an evaluation to see how you can position your business as an employer of choice.

©2010 Target Training International, Ltd.

When your business is ready to grow, will your employee value proposition motivate star performers to join your staff and convince the ones you have now to stay on board? High turnover is equated to low stock value, with a proven connection (up or down) of 30%, so losing key staff now is a costly mistake. It’s vital to create an employment experience that inspires talented employees to stay on board long after the downturn has passed, and you can manage this without breaking the bank.

If your staff is like many others, widespread job losses and other economic fallout has deeply affected their personal and professional lives in ways they can’t control. Now more than ever, leaders must clearly communicate the plan for moving the company from a survival to a growth mode in the post-recession economy. Staff need to understand in very specific terms how their own individual actions in the coming months can lend momentum to the company’s financial turnaround.

Guide employees to access new levels of performance in a supportive, energizing environment. It starts by maximizing productivity and minimizing potential loss of talent with the use of behavioral and values assessments. Validated assessment tools insure that you have each staff member working in the position where they can make their best contribution to the bottom line.

Next, offer opportunities for professional development that move them through specific steps to the next level of effectiveness. In addition to boosting earnings, it gives employees a much-needed shot of optimism. Staff recognize that professional development offerings are a concrete ‘vote of confidence’ from the employer. With budgets for raises and bonuses curtailed, they are acutely aware that this is evidence of an employer’s will to provide professional advancement despite a down economy.

Current employees are the backbone of your employer brand. Inspire them to spread good word of mouth about the company by examining your employer brand appeal from their perspective. Access to superior performers outside your company will also require a strategy that appeals across generations, leveraging all the communication channels available.

Having a great employer brand needs to be an ongoing HR focus. It calls for a mind set of awareness about how your business is perceived from inside and outside, and a commitment to improve and maintain a favorable brand. To learn more about the factors that create and influence your employer brand download our white paper, Employer Branding: Winning the Post Recession Competition for Talent.

Have you already made mistakes by cutting costs like staff development? If so, call your TTI Value Added Associate for an evaluation. See how you can position your organization as THE employer of choice in your area.