Who Coaches Your Coaches?
Posted on | February 21, 2012 | Comments Off
In some ways, the end of the review cycle is like the end of the holiday season. All the ceremony, decorum and protocol get packed away in boxes and sent to the attic, not to be seen again until the following year. Often, the lessons learned, the resolutions, the improvement plans and the passion for “change” go with them. In early January, mangers with the best of intentions set forth to coach struggling employees, and employees with sweeping ambitions place themselves in the hands of responsible mentors and nothing really happens.
This isn’t just because of momentum or the pull of daily obligations. It’s often because managers, despite their intentions, don’t actually know how to make employees better. They know how to get things done (or they wouldn’t be mangers). And they know how to hire, fire, and delegate. But can they teach? Can they coach? Can they drive actual changes in productivity?
Training and Performance Improvement: Three Considerations
1. If your managers find themselves repeating the same bullet points to the same employees during every review cycle, it’s time for some formal training. And as with any training plan, the first step is all about data. Gather the data you need and find out where your manager deficits are. Who needs to know what? Where exactly are the weak links in your performance improvement process? Find out who needs help with what. 360 reviews and management assessment surveys are a great way to gather these metrics. Monitoring employee performance scores by manager and over time is also a great way to pick out areas for improvement. Software suites like emPerform come standard with a 360 survey tool AND real-time reporting.
2. In-house training is an option, but if you’ve been relying on in-house training for years and nothing has changed, it’s time to bring in some fresh ideas. Outsource your training needs to a reliable firm with the expertise you need. To find such a firm, exercise your magical HR powers and get cracking. Conduct in-depth research, use your contacts, and exercise your judgment. A training program may have plenty of credentials, but if it isn’t a cultural match for your office, keep looking.
3. Stay focused on the ultimate goal. Make sure your final choice is data-driven, and watch carefully for changes in productivity and actual results. If your managers don’t respond to a training program or don’t find it relevant, find out why they feel this way. Solicit feedback at all levels, and stay flexible. Use your software resources (like CRG emPerform) to track analytics, maintain productivity records, and keep an eye on signs of real growth.
Tags: performance management > performance managers > training leaders > training managers
Upcoming Webinar: The Secrets Behind Personality Testing – Improving Employee Performance and Communication by Understanding Personalities
Posted on | February 15, 2012 | No Comments
What do companies that use personality testing know that you don’t? On March 28th, CRG emPerform and HCI.org are presenting a FREE Webinar that looks at personalities in the workforce. Participants will learn the basics behind personality assessments and how an understanding of employee’s personalities can lead to increased engagement, better performance and communication, and overall workplace satisfaction.
Employees are most effective at work when their strongest personal traits are engaged. Understanding the science behind personality traits is essential for companies and managers to properly engage and develop an optimized workforce.
**BONUS**: Participants will be given a coupon code for a free personality test to learn more about themselves and help them develop a ‘vocabulary’ for speaking about personality in the work place.
Webinar Details:
Date: Wednesday, March 28th
Time: 2PM EDT – 3PM EDT
Register: Click here to register.
Presenter: Bert Goos – CEO Online Talent Manager.
Bert brings a unique combination of twenty five years’ experience in assessing and developing human potential and the performance of leaders and high potentials in public and private companies.
Bert designs and delivers Executive Assessment and High Impact Leadership program to assist organizational and business leaders to create and implement solutions to a growing complex and demanding environment. He is an entrepreneur and inspiring author and speaker who applies his knowledge about human potential to teaching businesses to develop and maintain long term relationships with stakeholders. He has worked with leaders in international companies in the Netherlands in a variety of industries. In 2002, Bert founded Online Talent Manager, a web application that delivers development tools and personality testing in order to better human capital management. Online Talent Manager boasts more than 30 psychological tests developed with Andre Tjoa and Richard Still, based on the competing values model of Robert Quinn, that is used by more than 100 clients.
Registration for this webinar is on the HCI.org website.If you are already a member of HCI.org, please log in to register for the webcast. If you are not a member, you will need to sign up for a FREE HCI.org membership, this will only take you a moment to fill in the required information. Once you have confirmation of your membership, you will be able to register for this complimentary webcast.
Tags: employee performance management > free webinar > HCI event > personality assessments > talent management
When appraisals are THIS easy to complete – it’s ok to fall in love.
Posted on | February 14, 2012 | No Comments
Loving
appraisals hasn’t always been easy. The annual process is dreaded and unappreciated by many – especially those tasked with executing it. Keeping track of who has finished what, trying to compile results, chasing after employee and manager paper trails…what’s there to love? We have some good news for lonely appraisals. emPerform’s online, customizable software suite is bringing some much needed love into the mix.
So go ahead – Fall in love with your talent management software.
emPerform’s powerful and proven software suite can simplify and streamline performance management and save LOADS of time and effort conducting employee appraisals.
Fully configurable appraisal forms include file attachments, task & email integration, real-time status reports, offline synchronization, unlimited approver levels, custom rating scales, content libraries, and much, much more! emPerform gives you the tools to get your appraisals completed properly and on time.
And that’s not all. emPerform is more than appraisals. At no extra cost, you are given the tools you need to align, develop, reward, and retain your talent force with a winning performance management toolkit:
- succession planning & the nine-box
- compensation management
- goal management
- 360 reviews & online surveys
- reporting & analytics
- and more!
Let us show you how easy it can be to start loving your talent management software. Contact us to schedule a live demo or to get pricing.
Following Through After the Review Cycle
Posted on | February 9, 2012 | No Comments
No matter the details of your data gathering process, the value of your employee review system can only be measured by its contributions to overall productivity. In other words, your reviews are only as good as your ability to follow through. Data doesn’t provide solutions. It only points the way. And data can only help us if it shapes actions that benefit the enterprise.
So what does this mean for those who make a living developing and refining HR protocols? How can masters of data collection make sure their skills are being put to optimal use? And how can HR professionals make sure that department managers are taking reviews to heart, following through on coaching plans, making performance improvement plans (PIP) work, and walking chronically under-performing employees toward the door?
If you know your review data is valuable and accurate, but you need to ensure follow-through, here are a few considerations to keep in mind after the review cycle ends.
1. Make sure managers are held accountable for employee performance. Under-performers are often kept on the payroll for a host of reasons; including their relationships with managers and the intangible benefits they bring to the office. But if managers can’t bring these employees up to speed or take coaching efforts seriously, it’s time for HR to intervene. Schedule regular meetings with managers who aren’t following through, and keep the pressure on. Don’t let measurable performance shortcomings slip through the cracks.
2. Make sure high performers receive every reward they have coming. Don’t allow managers to put off promises or conversations about promotion opportunities, and make sure the spirit of a reward matches the letter. Most important, make sure managers benefit when their employees shine. When coaching efforts succeed, the coach deserves some of the credit.
3. Make sure the pressures you apply and the PIPs you put into action after the review process are all backed up by measurable data. Talent Management Software systems like CRG emPerform can help to keep your performance records accurate, your facts straight, your criteria measurable, and your follow-through efforts on track.
Tags: emPerform > Employee Evaluations > performance appraisals > talent management
Performance Management Resolutions that Managers and HR Should Strive to Keep
Posted on | January 25, 2012 | No Comments
Three important technology trends left their mark on the world of human resource management in 2011, and all three are poised to gather even more strength during 2012. Each trend brings a corresponding set of recommendations for managers and HR professionals in almost every field. If you keep only three New Year’s resolutions this year, these should probably have a place on your list.
Trend #1: The rise of offsite data management and software as a service (SaaS) provision for HR
Call it cloud computing, offsite enterprise resource planning, application service provision, or whatever you like. But no matter the terminology you use, HR data management and software applications are moving offsite. For a flat, manageable fee, most software service providers can help companies manage their data and systems with high processing capacity and low risk. This year, if you haven’t conducted a thorough review of your software capabilities and found a way to access vital software and applications using the cloud (an offsite service provider), it’s time to start. Make sure your applications are up to date, and find a provider that can take care of your infrastructure so you don’t have to.
Trend #2: Social media is real, and it’s here to stay
Experts are beginning to agree: Social media is actually a thing. It’s not just for kids, and it’s taking on a powerful, if not vital, role in staffing and hiring efforts across a wide range of industries. If you’re still conducting your recruitment process without any attention to social media, it’s time for a change. This does not mean screening potential candidates by looking at their Facebook pages. It does mean using Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin to gain a wide and targeted audience for job postings and bolster your company’s workplace brand.
Trend #3: Strong HR efforts are founded on strong data
More than ever, HR efforts are driven by reliable data. Effective human resource management will always acknowledge an unquantifiable element of human nature, but most HR managers now know that strong data means better planning, better control, and higher productivity. The right software applications and data gathering tools, like CRG emPerform, can help you get ahead and stay ahead when it comes to staffing, evaluations, and policy development.
Tags: employee appraisals > employee performance > HR software. SaaS > HR trends for 2012 > talent management trends
How is your Company tracking its biggest expense – people?
Posted on | January 16, 2012 | No Comments
How are you tracking and optimizing your biggest expense? More than a third of organizational costs are associated with employee compensation and training – and yet few organizations are properly tracking the return on their largest investment. Now more than ever, executives are working with HR to build a stronger workforce and a healthier bottom line.
- it is estimated that only 59% of employee work-time is productive due to lack of management and clear objectives
- at a minimum, turnover costs an average of 25% of an employee’s salary – and this figure can be upwards of 400% of a senior executive’s salary
- the average organization is forfeiting over $1 million per year in untapped potential
It’s time to get strategic about performance management, especially when technology exists that aligns, develops, rewards, and retains employees for increased performance, better decision making, and clear insight into the execution of organizational objectives.
Imagine being able to see the performance health of your entire organization by simply clicking a button. Imagine being able to execute a proper pay-for-performance program. Imagine knowing who your future leaders are today so that you can plan for the future. Imagine being able to develop and retain a workforce of top-performers that will give your company an edge – emPerform does that and so much more!
emPerform’s online talent management suite includes the tools needed to go beyond appraisals to automate and streamline performance management; including:
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Start measuring today – click here to request a free, no obligation demo of emPerform or contact us for pricing.
Watch the NEW emPerform Product Tour Video
Posted on | January 13, 2012 | No Comments
If you think you’ve seen emPerform…you haven’t seen anything yet. Watch the NEW emPerform Product Tour Video and get a better look at how emPerform can help to quickly and easily automate your performance management processes.
So take a break, sit back, relax, and watch the 10 minute emPerform Tour. Click here to view.
Tags: emPerform > employee appraisals > HR Software > product tour > Talent Management Software
Reviewing New Employees: Giving Valuable Feedback Using Minimal Data
Posted on | January 6, 2012 | No Comments
Annual review season is in full swing, and most of the experienced managers and long term employees on your staff have been through the process before and know exactly what’s expected of them. Self-evaluations are being typed up and edited as we speak. And managers are looking out over their flocks of direct reports, assessing the progress of each individual, choosing coaching strategies, and coming up with ways to reward top performers.
But what about those mysterious entities, those blank slates with no clear record of accomplishment or struggle and no documented performance issues of any kind?
New employees who have been on board for fewer than six months can be challenging to evaluate, but managers dismiss these challenges at their peril. The first review can have a defining impact on an employee’s relationship with a company, and even if your managers have nothing to say, they’d better come up with something fast, and they’d better recognize that the stakes may be higher this year than they’ll ever be in the future.
Tact and foresight will play key roles during a new employee evaluation. Remember that the company may see the new hire as probationary, but the employee likely views the company in the same light. If she’s criticized more harshly than she expects, or confronted with drummed up negatives as well as positives because the protocol requires a balance, this may sow seeds of demotivation that can be hard to weed out later. By the same token, praising her wildly for showing up every morning may give her a false sense of her manager’s expectations.
Most of the time, employee reviews are based on a set of relatively objective truths, and the truth can free a manager from some of the human 
uncertainty involved in effective coaching, discipline and motivation. But new employees come with very few objective truths. So you’ll need to make the most of every performance metric you’re able to gather. Your review software can help. Choose a system, like CRG emPerform, that can help you collect and analyze data points across a wide variety of objective criteria. Start the analytic and record keeping process the day the employee joins the firm, and a few weeks or months down the road, you’ll be ready for a review that’s data-rich, productive, and meaningful.
Tags: employee reviews > HR Software > new employees > onboarding > talent management
Realistic Goal Setting
Posted on | December 20, 2011 | No Comments
In an ideal world, the hiring process would be so flawless and efficient that every employee would be perfectly suited to their position and would have a complete understanding of their role from day one. Growth within the company would happen naturally, and as an employee gained the trust and confidence of his/her superiors, their responsibilities would increase at a proportional rate.
In reality, employee growth often happens in fits and starts, with a vast increase in one area often accompanied by stagnant skill acquisition in another. The pace and direction of an employee’s contributions can vary, and some of her greatest contributions can be among the most difficult to measure. Just like the evaluation process, the goal setting process is best approached with a dose of common sense and an understanding of the flexibility of human nature. As long as managers and employees keep the process meaningful and realistic, goal setting can be vital to employee growth and company productivity.
Here are a few common circumstances that can derail realistic goal setting. If you see these things happening, take control of the process and steer it back on track.
Employees are being compared to an unexamined standard. Employees need to meet and exceed expectations. But how are these expectations established? What is the gold standard, how is it measured, and how often is it reviewed and changed?
Employee resources are not being considered during the evaluation and goal setting process. Are employees working with limited tools under circumstances that undermine performance? If the answer is “I don’t know”, find out. Goals are realistic only when resources are taken into account.
Employees are being compared to each other, and nothing else. What productivity measurements are standard for the industry? Your geographic area? Research this before putting goals in place.
Performance is excellent but growth is slow, or vice versa. Often the most productive employees don’t Read more
Tags: emPerform > employee goals > employee performance > human capital management > manager goals > realictic goals
Are Your Managers Naughty or Nice? Using 360 Reviews to Assess Management.
Posted on | December 13, 2011 | No Comments
‘Tis the season for appraisals and assessments. It’s a magical time of year when all of the company’s elves are formally evaluated for their performance over the past year (or past few months – depending on the frequency of evaluations) and the jingle jangle of SMART goal setting can be heard for miles.
It is the perfect time of year for employees on the ‘Nice’ list to be rewarded for their talent and contribution to company success. It is also a time for corrective action to be taken to address any ‘Naughty’ elves who have fallen short of performance expectations. But as the elves busy to engage in a fair and consistent review process – what about the managers, the “Santas”, who are completing your assessments and reviews? What do they get to find in their stockings? And how are they graded, not just as employees, but as bosses?
It is no Holiday fable that a strong management team is the backbone of any company. “Nice” managers (the ones who are effective, productive, trustworthy, and diplomatic) should know how they’re coming off as coaches and leaders. And they should be rewarded and acknowledged for the skill sets that only their employees have a daily opportunity to see. Some of the most vital talents a manager can bring to a company aren’t always visible from the top down. Likewise, in a purely top-down review process, managerial shortcomings are often overlooked, leaving abused, confused or otherwise unsatisfied underlings with their voices unheard and these shortcomings uncorrected.
Don’t let bad Santas place a drain on year-round company productivity. This year, consider a 360 review process that Read more
Tags: 360 reviews > evaluating managers > human capital management > manager assessments > talent management
