A few years ago Alan Davis wrote an article entitled “The Talent War – Is it Over?”. In this article, he used examples from military history to illustrate similarities with the Talent War.
Since Alan wrote this article, we have been through a deep recession marked by company closures, layoffs and hiring freezes. Although there is no shortage of unclaimed talent on the market, the competition for talent still exists. In fact, it may have intensified as the Public Sector becomes more attractive due to employment stability and better benefits.
The points Alan makes in his article are still pertinent today:
1. Generals vs. Business Leaders: HR Leadership succeeds by providing strategic vision and implementing long-term recruiting solutions.
2. Troops vs. Workers: Talent Acquisition is a business issue that requires Subject Matter Experts in recruiting.
3. Weapons vs. Technology: Technology is used by Strategic Recruiters to identify and develop relationships with a target pool of candidates.
4. Military vs. Business Intelligence: Business Intelligence is used strategically to locate and contact future talent.
5. Wars without End vs. Talent Wars: Talent Wars are won by companies who build relationships with high-potential future employees.
How does your organization rate in the competition to acquire top talent in this post-recession economy? Now might be a good time to review your war-winning strategies. If you would like to read the complete article, it can be accessed at: http://www.alandavis.com/pdfs/The%20Talent%20War.pdf
Showing posts with label Talent Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Talent Management. Show all posts
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Innovation means Effective Employee Engagement
As the recession drags on, although there is now some optimism building in the Canadian markets, many in the USA are projecting a later recovery into Q4, 2010. Due to the current economic outlook, organizations start to drive more cost sensitive approaches to investments, change, innovation and also increase their internal communication practices to keep valued employees informed of their near term business realities.
With increased tensions in the external markets, internal tensions naturally also rise. In more difficult times, leaders start to intensify their focus on performance and results.
Recruiters say the single most critical means of managing through a downturn is the engagement of employees - a term often used and equally elusive. In tough times, when morale is low and people are looking potentially over their shoulders, employee engagement often suffers and gets reflected on the bottom line.
Employee engagement, confidence and positive energy is one of the single most reliable indicators of business performance. The basic concept is simple, but the implications are anything but.
A recent survey by Hiring Smart shows that the top 16% of performers in a company generate about 60% of the organization's revenues, while the bottom 16% cost the company about 20% in revenues.
An estimated 23% payroll expenses is unproductive because of low engagement, with only 20% of employees considering themselves "fully engaged" at work.
Getting employees and talent engaged effectively requires a considerable investment in human capital investment in key strategies that enable employee engagement ranging from effective intranet communication, ease of knowledge sharing, sourcing talent on demand easily leverage searcheable profiles linked to process ownership areas, to leveraging effective leadership development and training support opportunities.
There are many factors that have to be planned out effectively that understand the support systems of talent at different stages of career growth with any given manager, team, job and organization.
Organizations that understand that top management and top performers are the talent that are going to carry you through the tough times.
Talent spotting is as much as an art as a science and smart business leaders value their HR leaders and place demands on them to ensure effective employee engagement practices and processes are in place. When it comes to developing high potential talent, leaders need to be grounded and connected to lowers levels in their organizations.
A good read for managers is Leaders at All Levels by Ram Charan to help managers who lack the skills to spot top talent.
In summary, tough times call for employees who are committed to generating results - however, the solution is not adding more pressure on the precious talented workforce but removing barriers, and setting up support systems that allow them to remain energized, focused and committed during difficult times.
With increased tensions in the external markets, internal tensions naturally also rise. In more difficult times, leaders start to intensify their focus on performance and results.
Recruiters say the single most critical means of managing through a downturn is the engagement of employees - a term often used and equally elusive. In tough times, when morale is low and people are looking potentially over their shoulders, employee engagement often suffers and gets reflected on the bottom line.
Employee engagement, confidence and positive energy is one of the single most reliable indicators of business performance. The basic concept is simple, but the implications are anything but.
A recent survey by Hiring Smart shows that the top 16% of performers in a company generate about 60% of the organization's revenues, while the bottom 16% cost the company about 20% in revenues.
An estimated 23% payroll expenses is unproductive because of low engagement, with only 20% of employees considering themselves "fully engaged" at work.
Getting employees and talent engaged effectively requires a considerable investment in human capital investment in key strategies that enable employee engagement ranging from effective intranet communication, ease of knowledge sharing, sourcing talent on demand easily leverage searcheable profiles linked to process ownership areas, to leveraging effective leadership development and training support opportunities.
There are many factors that have to be planned out effectively that understand the support systems of talent at different stages of career growth with any given manager, team, job and organization.
Organizations that understand that top management and top performers are the talent that are going to carry you through the tough times.
Talent spotting is as much as an art as a science and smart business leaders value their HR leaders and place demands on them to ensure effective employee engagement practices and processes are in place. When it comes to developing high potential talent, leaders need to be grounded and connected to lowers levels in their organizations.
A good read for managers is Leaders at All Levels by Ram Charan to help managers who lack the skills to spot top talent.
In summary, tough times call for employees who are committed to generating results - however, the solution is not adding more pressure on the precious talented workforce but removing barriers, and setting up support systems that allow them to remain energized, focused and committed during difficult times.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Employee Branding
For the first time, many talented executives and managers are experiencing first hand what it feels like as a job candidate during the recruiting process.
Interaction with job candidates is often not a courteous experience as phone calls, emails, keep in the loop communications are different to what they had experienced on the job...or thought was really happening in their own organizations.
Today, few candidates reach correspondence is acknowledged, calls returned - in some respects like a big black hole.
Either way your company's brand is being impacted daily by these recruiting candidates who could be a customer,supplier or an employee. Their perceptions of the HR organizations leadership in the employee recruiting experience is resulting in a shake-up for recruiting leadership talent and HR professionals.
Companies that are not ensuring every touch point experience in their culture is a memorable and rewarding experience suffer fools gladly and implications on their brand is below the iceberg but after effect will be significant.
A Stanford Business School study reports that SouthWest Airlines are role model. For one, they recognize employment candidates as not only careeer customers - but as also airline customers. Southwest's core principles of respect permeate its recruitment whre there is a focus on ensuring no applicant feels inferior or is rejected. Many of its job applicants have a better experiences being rejected than being hired by other companies. As a result, SouthWest gets the best people, and it shows in their superior financial results.
Companies have much more to gain by looking at talent and its diversity as a precious diamond that has sustainability value in the circle of life that we are in. Irrespective one reality rings true, if the experiences a company delivers to a prospective employee will influence their perceptions of the company both as an employer but also as a business they want to patronize and continue to do business with.
Employee Engagement Leadership is a key area for improvement in the majority of companies across NA ....business leaders often forget to think holistically and to create brand value against all Employee and Customer interaction touchpoints.
Time to wake up and look at Potential Employee moments as really customer moments of truth and calibrated from a growth & risk management perspective.
Interaction with job candidates is often not a courteous experience as phone calls, emails, keep in the loop communications are different to what they had experienced on the job...or thought was really happening in their own organizations.
Today, few candidates reach correspondence is acknowledged, calls returned - in some respects like a big black hole.
Either way your company's brand is being impacted daily by these recruiting candidates who could be a customer,supplier or an employee. Their perceptions of the HR organizations leadership in the employee recruiting experience is resulting in a shake-up for recruiting leadership talent and HR professionals.
Companies that are not ensuring every touch point experience in their culture is a memorable and rewarding experience suffer fools gladly and implications on their brand is below the iceberg but after effect will be significant.
A Stanford Business School study reports that SouthWest Airlines are role model. For one, they recognize employment candidates as not only careeer customers - but as also airline customers. Southwest's core principles of respect permeate its recruitment whre there is a focus on ensuring no applicant feels inferior or is rejected. Many of its job applicants have a better experiences being rejected than being hired by other companies. As a result, SouthWest gets the best people, and it shows in their superior financial results.
Companies have much more to gain by looking at talent and its diversity as a precious diamond that has sustainability value in the circle of life that we are in. Irrespective one reality rings true, if the experiences a company delivers to a prospective employee will influence their perceptions of the company both as an employer but also as a business they want to patronize and continue to do business with.
Employee Engagement Leadership is a key area for improvement in the majority of companies across NA ....business leaders often forget to think holistically and to create brand value against all Employee and Customer interaction touchpoints.
Time to wake up and look at Potential Employee moments as really customer moments of truth and calibrated from a growth & risk management perspective.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Talent Management: Satisfied Employees Innovate More Effectively
Talent Management is becoming harder and harder. CEO's world wide rank their top three business priorities consistently as Talent Management, Innovation, and Profitable Revenue Growth.
Positively influencing staff is one way to develop an environment and culture where people want to do their best and want to stay. This is critical to developing innovation capacity and depth of knowledge in the organization to continually experiment and evolve new ideas into new or current markets.
Success comes through people. If you understand what motivates people, you have at your command the most powerful tool for dealing with them to get them achieve extraordinary results. When companies are effective in satisfying their employees, employees stay longer, make a deeper commitment to the business, recommend ways to improve the company's products and services, and work harder to satisfy the customer.
In almost every survey of factors that motivate employees in the workplace, job satisfaction is at or near the top of the list, far surpassing pay and benefits. Creating a work environment that encourages rapid response to customers' needs and attentive follow-through is the key to leveraging the power of your service-profit chain. This is only possible when people are empowered to make decisions and are motivated to solve problems. Encourage employees to go beyond the literal boundaries of their jobs – to make suggestions for improvement – and you will gain not just a part, but the full potential of their contributions to the business.
The recent Randstad's 2008 World of Work survey, focused on the changes in the workplace as a result of the recession, specifically how the lackluster economy is impacting employers' and employer' expectations and demands. Likewise, it discusses the role of "employership" as a recession-proof practice that employers should incorporate into the work environment. The balance of this blog discusses this research report findings. Getting into the psyche of our employees is important in order to build a strong innovation culture. Two of the major failures in innovation is lack of leadership, and having an effective culture. Culture is all about people -their beahviors, values, norms, rituals, and the stories they share. When employees are satified, customer satisfaction increases, as does innovation capacity.
The Key findings:
- More employees say now is a good time to take on more work; fewer think it is a good time to look for a job that pays more;
- Employees’ job satisfaction is at its highest it four years;
-Fewer employees report flexible work hours, more paid time off and opportunity for advancement as important to keeping them happy on the job;
- Employees expect their companies to provide for basic needs such as health insurance; and
- Employees feel they deserve a share in company success, including bonuses based on company profits
An electronic copy of the survey report
Current Employee Outlook in North America
Fears of a recession have North Americans nervous about job security, and they are quickly understanding that compromise is a must in this lackluster economy, according to Randstad's ninth annual 2008 World of Worksurvey.
As once-plentiful job opportunities become scarcer, workplace expectations and demands are shifting and employee power is transferring back to the employer. Despite this, employee satisfaction is on the rise with the highest levels reported since 2004.
For the past five years, Randstad has tracked a trend of increasingly confident employees – switching jobs, taking risks and demanding benefits. These employees were emboldened by what seemed to be a strong economy in which jobs were plentiful and the right people were not. Today, employees are re-evaluating their own on-the-job performance and what is reasonable to expect from employers. Randstad’s survey suggests that, as the economy softens and good jobs are harder to find and keep, employees’ expectations are lowering and they are more appreciative of their current jobs.
As a result, employers are finding it easier to ensure employees’ happiness with less effort and investment than in recent years. Yet, Randstad cautions that securing a good balance is critical to long-term business success and suggests that now is the time for employers to incorporate the ongoing practice of “employership” into their work environments. Despite tightening budgetary constraints in the workplace, businesses should continue to invest in and focus on building professional relationships with their employees, developing employees’ skills, and recognizing the value that each individual brings to the organization -- just a few of many characteristics that create an atmosphere of employership.
“Even in a downshifting economy, it’s important for companies to stay focused on ‘employership’ and continue building highly-rewarding and productive relationships with employees who can make a positive difference in a company’s long-term success,” said Eric Buntin, managing director, marketing and operations for Randstad USA.
“Employership is recession-proof and employers must continuously encourage their employees to provide input on key business issues, think innovatively, and leverage their strengths to help create an organization where employees want to work and achieve company goals.”
Job satisfaction is on the rise
Feeling the pressure of a less secure job market, employees today want to guarantee that they are recession-proof at work. Since last year, more employees surveyed say now is a good time to take on more work, fewer think it is a good time to look for a job that pays more, and less are asking for help to lighten their own load at work. While employees are feeling the pressure of a less secure job market and added leverage is shifting back to employers, the Randstad survey tracked that employees’ job satisfaction is at its highest it four years.
Four major aspects of employee satisfaction have risen sharply in the past four years:
- Number of hours worked
- Opportunities to learn new things
- Amount of work expected to handle
- Level of compensation
Employees lower expectations, yet demand basics
Maintaining employees’ satisfaction may be easier for employers in the current economic climate as employees are expecting less from their companies. Fewer employees report flexible work hours, more paid time off and opportunity for advancement as important to keeping them happy on the job.
However, even in an economic downturn, employees expect their companies to provide for basic needs and feel they deserve a share in company success. While competitive pay continues to be important in keeping employees happy, it has dropped in importance from last year’s survey, indicating that employees understand that compromise may be unavoidable. Health insurance, the most critical, remains important, showing that even with economic pressures employees expect and require basic needs. Bonuses based on company profits have not eroded in importance, indicating that employees feel that if the company succeeds, they deserve to share in that success.
Employees Say What is Important to Happiness on the Job
- Competitive Pay
- Health Insurance
- Flexible Work Hours
- Bonuses Based on Profits
- Increased paid time off
- Opportunity for advancement
In today’s uncertain workplace, cultural and soft benefits are not as important as economic well-being begins to overshadow emotional well-being. Employees and employers alike view all 15 soft benefits noted in the survey as less important than in 2006, including such intangible benefits as:
15 Soft Benefits that Employees and Employers Say are Less Important Now Than in 2006
- feeling valued
- recognition & appreciation
- supportive environment
- leadership I can relate to
- being part of a team capable workforce
- lack of stress
- shared vision
- personal growth
- empowerment collective commitment to objectives
- sharp individual accountabilities
- fitting into culture
- platforms for collaboration
- rigorous performance management
Expectations vary among generations
Some of the steepest declines in employee expectations of benefits and job security have occurred in Gen X and Gen Y, the two youngest generations whose expectations are traditionally highest. In particular, competitive pay has declined among Gen X (70%, down 9 points) and Gen Y (71%, down 15 points) in the past two years, indicating that it is no longer as important to keeping them happy in their current jobs.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States on behalf of Randstad USA between December 14, 2007 and January 16, 2008 among 3,494 U.S. adults (age 18 and older), among whom 1,295 were employers and 2,199 were employees. The sample for employees consisted of U.S. residents who are currently employed full-time or self-employed in a company with at least five employees.
The employer sample consisted of U.S. business professionals who make or strongly influence strategic Human Resources decisions and have been doing so for at least six months. The employee universe is segmented into three categories: small (5-49 employees), medium (50-499) and large (500 or more) companies/organizations; and four generational categories born between the respective years: Gen Y (1980-1988), Gen X (1965-1979), Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and Matures (1900-1945).
The data from this survey was weighted to “match the characteristics of” and to remove potential biases so that the data is “projectable to the population of interest.” Propensity Score weighting, a proprietary weighting technique, was used to adjust for differences between the online population and the offline population to ensure that the data is representative of the general populations in question.
Concluding Comments
As corporations strive to boost earnings in an increasingly competitive environment, they inevitably turn their attention to the issue of employee productivity. When employees are unsatisfied with their current work situation, productivity decreases, tension builds in the workplace, and morale becomes very low.
Companies have known historically that morale affects productivity, yet management has struggled to come to terms with the factors that can create positive morale and an environment that attracts and retains workers and encourages them to produce. Many programs focused on enriching jobs and supporting self-directed work teams have proven to be effective.
General Electric has applied these concepts to its workplace and, subsequently, has become one of the most successful and most competitive companies in the United States.”
RHR has also found that employees are most likely to stay put when they are both satisfied with their jobs and also committed to the organization. The question then becomes: What constitutes job satisfaction and how can one gauge organizational commitment?
Job satisfaction consists of three core dimensions: meaningfulness of the work, felt responsibility, and knowledge of the results of work efforts. These components are enhanced through attention to five areas: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback.
Work is motivating when the employee perceives the enhancement of these job characteristics.
In summary, organizations that want to transform their business organizations and grow their talent to enable stronger innovation capacity will need to ensure they know how their employees are feeling about their work environments. Typically the attributes to watch closely for employee satisfaction in relationship to innovation capacity are:
- Collaboration and Team Work Skills
- Risk Taking
- Supportive Work Environment
- Knowledge Management
- Openness and Transparency
- Reward and Recognition
- Diversity
- Creativity and Experimentation
If you have any questions on this post, welcome a continued dialogue.
Positively influencing staff is one way to develop an environment and culture where people want to do their best and want to stay. This is critical to developing innovation capacity and depth of knowledge in the organization to continually experiment and evolve new ideas into new or current markets.
Success comes through people. If you understand what motivates people, you have at your command the most powerful tool for dealing with them to get them achieve extraordinary results. When companies are effective in satisfying their employees, employees stay longer, make a deeper commitment to the business, recommend ways to improve the company's products and services, and work harder to satisfy the customer.
In almost every survey of factors that motivate employees in the workplace, job satisfaction is at or near the top of the list, far surpassing pay and benefits. Creating a work environment that encourages rapid response to customers' needs and attentive follow-through is the key to leveraging the power of your service-profit chain. This is only possible when people are empowered to make decisions and are motivated to solve problems. Encourage employees to go beyond the literal boundaries of their jobs – to make suggestions for improvement – and you will gain not just a part, but the full potential of their contributions to the business.
The recent Randstad's 2008 World of Work survey, focused on the changes in the workplace as a result of the recession, specifically how the lackluster economy is impacting employers' and employer' expectations and demands. Likewise, it discusses the role of "employership" as a recession-proof practice that employers should incorporate into the work environment. The balance of this blog discusses this research report findings. Getting into the psyche of our employees is important in order to build a strong innovation culture. Two of the major failures in innovation is lack of leadership, and having an effective culture. Culture is all about people -their beahviors, values, norms, rituals, and the stories they share. When employees are satified, customer satisfaction increases, as does innovation capacity.
The Key findings:
- More employees say now is a good time to take on more work; fewer think it is a good time to look for a job that pays more;
- Employees’ job satisfaction is at its highest it four years;
-Fewer employees report flexible work hours, more paid time off and opportunity for advancement as important to keeping them happy on the job;
- Employees expect their companies to provide for basic needs such as health insurance; and
- Employees feel they deserve a share in company success, including bonuses based on company profits
An electronic copy of the survey report
Current Employee Outlook in North America
Fears of a recession have North Americans nervous about job security, and they are quickly understanding that compromise is a must in this lackluster economy, according to Randstad's ninth annual 2008 World of Worksurvey.
As once-plentiful job opportunities become scarcer, workplace expectations and demands are shifting and employee power is transferring back to the employer. Despite this, employee satisfaction is on the rise with the highest levels reported since 2004.
For the past five years, Randstad has tracked a trend of increasingly confident employees – switching jobs, taking risks and demanding benefits. These employees were emboldened by what seemed to be a strong economy in which jobs were plentiful and the right people were not. Today, employees are re-evaluating their own on-the-job performance and what is reasonable to expect from employers. Randstad’s survey suggests that, as the economy softens and good jobs are harder to find and keep, employees’ expectations are lowering and they are more appreciative of their current jobs.
As a result, employers are finding it easier to ensure employees’ happiness with less effort and investment than in recent years. Yet, Randstad cautions that securing a good balance is critical to long-term business success and suggests that now is the time for employers to incorporate the ongoing practice of “employership” into their work environments. Despite tightening budgetary constraints in the workplace, businesses should continue to invest in and focus on building professional relationships with their employees, developing employees’ skills, and recognizing the value that each individual brings to the organization -- just a few of many characteristics that create an atmosphere of employership.
“Even in a downshifting economy, it’s important for companies to stay focused on ‘employership’ and continue building highly-rewarding and productive relationships with employees who can make a positive difference in a company’s long-term success,” said Eric Buntin, managing director, marketing and operations for Randstad USA.
“Employership is recession-proof and employers must continuously encourage their employees to provide input on key business issues, think innovatively, and leverage their strengths to help create an organization where employees want to work and achieve company goals.”
Job satisfaction is on the rise
Feeling the pressure of a less secure job market, employees today want to guarantee that they are recession-proof at work. Since last year, more employees surveyed say now is a good time to take on more work, fewer think it is a good time to look for a job that pays more, and less are asking for help to lighten their own load at work. While employees are feeling the pressure of a less secure job market and added leverage is shifting back to employers, the Randstad survey tracked that employees’ job satisfaction is at its highest it four years.
Four major aspects of employee satisfaction have risen sharply in the past four years:
- Number of hours worked
- Opportunities to learn new things
- Amount of work expected to handle
- Level of compensation
Employees lower expectations, yet demand basics
Maintaining employees’ satisfaction may be easier for employers in the current economic climate as employees are expecting less from their companies. Fewer employees report flexible work hours, more paid time off and opportunity for advancement as important to keeping them happy on the job.
However, even in an economic downturn, employees expect their companies to provide for basic needs and feel they deserve a share in company success. While competitive pay continues to be important in keeping employees happy, it has dropped in importance from last year’s survey, indicating that employees understand that compromise may be unavoidable. Health insurance, the most critical, remains important, showing that even with economic pressures employees expect and require basic needs. Bonuses based on company profits have not eroded in importance, indicating that employees feel that if the company succeeds, they deserve to share in that success.
Employees Say What is Important to Happiness on the Job
- Competitive Pay
- Health Insurance
- Flexible Work Hours
- Bonuses Based on Profits
- Increased paid time off
- Opportunity for advancement
In today’s uncertain workplace, cultural and soft benefits are not as important as economic well-being begins to overshadow emotional well-being. Employees and employers alike view all 15 soft benefits noted in the survey as less important than in 2006, including such intangible benefits as:
15 Soft Benefits that Employees and Employers Say are Less Important Now Than in 2006
- feeling valued
- recognition & appreciation
- supportive environment
- leadership I can relate to
- being part of a team capable workforce
- lack of stress
- shared vision
- personal growth
- empowerment collective commitment to objectives
- sharp individual accountabilities
- fitting into culture
- platforms for collaboration
- rigorous performance management
Expectations vary among generations
Some of the steepest declines in employee expectations of benefits and job security have occurred in Gen X and Gen Y, the two youngest generations whose expectations are traditionally highest. In particular, competitive pay has declined among Gen X (70%, down 9 points) and Gen Y (71%, down 15 points) in the past two years, indicating that it is no longer as important to keeping them happy in their current jobs.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States on behalf of Randstad USA between December 14, 2007 and January 16, 2008 among 3,494 U.S. adults (age 18 and older), among whom 1,295 were employers and 2,199 were employees. The sample for employees consisted of U.S. residents who are currently employed full-time or self-employed in a company with at least five employees.
The employer sample consisted of U.S. business professionals who make or strongly influence strategic Human Resources decisions and have been doing so for at least six months. The employee universe is segmented into three categories: small (5-49 employees), medium (50-499) and large (500 or more) companies/organizations; and four generational categories born between the respective years: Gen Y (1980-1988), Gen X (1965-1979), Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and Matures (1900-1945).
The data from this survey was weighted to “match the characteristics of” and to remove potential biases so that the data is “projectable to the population of interest.” Propensity Score weighting, a proprietary weighting technique, was used to adjust for differences between the online population and the offline population to ensure that the data is representative of the general populations in question.
Concluding Comments
As corporations strive to boost earnings in an increasingly competitive environment, they inevitably turn their attention to the issue of employee productivity. When employees are unsatisfied with their current work situation, productivity decreases, tension builds in the workplace, and morale becomes very low.
Companies have known historically that morale affects productivity, yet management has struggled to come to terms with the factors that can create positive morale and an environment that attracts and retains workers and encourages them to produce. Many programs focused on enriching jobs and supporting self-directed work teams have proven to be effective.
General Electric has applied these concepts to its workplace and, subsequently, has become one of the most successful and most competitive companies in the United States.”
RHR has also found that employees are most likely to stay put when they are both satisfied with their jobs and also committed to the organization. The question then becomes: What constitutes job satisfaction and how can one gauge organizational commitment?
Job satisfaction consists of three core dimensions: meaningfulness of the work, felt responsibility, and knowledge of the results of work efforts. These components are enhanced through attention to five areas: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback.
Work is motivating when the employee perceives the enhancement of these job characteristics.
In summary, organizations that want to transform their business organizations and grow their talent to enable stronger innovation capacity will need to ensure they know how their employees are feeling about their work environments. Typically the attributes to watch closely for employee satisfaction in relationship to innovation capacity are:
- Collaboration and Team Work Skills
- Risk Taking
- Supportive Work Environment
- Knowledge Management
- Openness and Transparency
- Reward and Recognition
- Diversity
- Creativity and Experimentation
If you have any questions on this post, welcome a continued dialogue.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Leading Employees Towards Innovation
Innovation often brings to mind visions of white-coated laboratory technicians peering into microscopes or bespectacled engineers poring over design specs. But it might be more appropriate to visualize water-cooler chats, employees at keyboards or executive pow-wows as examples of innovation in action. After all, research shows that's where a lot of innovation actually occurs in organizations.
This is valuable insight for leaders, who have many options for encouraging innovative thinking throughout the organization.
The walk
To begin, if leaders want employees to become more innovative in their daily work, those at the top must be willing to demonstrate how that is done. A study from researchers in the Netherlands found that the leadership behaviors of "innovative role-modeling" and "providing vision" were among those that influenced both idea generation and the application of new ideas by employees. Jeroen P. J. de Jong (2007) of EIM Small Business Research and Consultancy and Deanne N. Den Hartog of the University of Amsterdam Business School conducted interviews in knowledge-based service companies and combed through the literature, finding that 13 specific leadership behaviors were linked with innovative employee behavior.
But that doesn't mean such behaviors are common in organizations today. In fact, leaders don't always "walk the walk" in regard to innovation, according to a global study of 293 senior executives by Oliver Wyman of Delta Organization & Leadership in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit ("Executives," 2007). The Global Leadership Imperative series found that more than half of respondents said their leaders failed to set a clear course for innovation or create the kind of environment that supports innovation. Furthermore, 68% said their leaders failed to facilitate idea generation. Without visible evidence from the top that employee innovation is, in fact, critical to business results, workers are unlikely to reach that conclusion on their own.
The Talk
Communication - both from outside the organization and within it - is another key factor in increasing employee innovation, according to the Netherlands study. Leaders who "talk the talk" can prompt innovative employee behavior. One way of doing this is by "organizing feedback" that comes from outside the company. For example, leaders can ensure that customer input or the results of new product trials are shared with employees.
Leaders can encourage internal communication through a variety of channels, and technology is playing a crucial role in facilitating these connections. A 2007 Best Practices in HR article draws from Lynne A. Robinson's book Trust Your Gut: How the Power of Intuition Can Grow Your Business, and it offers several suggestions ("13 Ways," 2007). Communication strategies that can help spark creative thinking in the workplace include cross-department gatherings that engage both creative and analytical types of employees, informal lunch sessions hosted by a named "chief creative officer," unstructured meetings that encourage playful thinking, and blogs or online communities for employees to offer ideas regarding the firm's products or services.
The work
Positive role models and strong communications are a good start, but employees need to be able to embrace innovation within the context of their daily jobs. The Netherland researchers found two ways that leaders can facilitate this. First, leaders must acknowledge employees' need for challenging work by assigning tasks that fit well with their skills and their individual stated preferences. Second, leaders must encourage employees to evaluate how things are done and prompt them to generate new ideas. Both of these leadership behaviors influence employees' idea generation, according to the study.
Employee idea generation doesn't always have to depend on traditional brainstorming, where any and all ideas are welcome. Experts from McKinsey & Company suggest that "inside the box" thinking might be more productive in some cases. A Harvard Business Review article describes how a more structured approach may actually work better for generating ideas (Coyne, Clifford, & Dye, 2007). Constraints can serve a useful purpose by focusing employees on exploring possibilities and alternatives in a systematic way.
The Perks
Last, innovative employee behavior is unlikely to continue for long if rewards are absent. Acknowledging innovative employee performance by giving rewards, providing employees with recognition and ensuring that sufficient time and money are available to implement new ideas are three additional leadership behaviors found to have a positive influence on employees' innovative behavior.
In summary, a leader's actions can do much to ensure that innovation becomes a natural part of every employee's workday. And a leader's own daily behavior can reinforce such behavior in the workforce, leading employees - and the organization - toward the level of innovation that truly provides a competitive edge.
Sources: Donna Bear: Leading Employees Toward Innovation
References
13 ways to inspire creativity and intuition in your workplace. (2007,
January 6). Best Practices in HR, 8.
Coyne, K. P., Clifford, P. G., & Dye, R. (2007, December). Breakthrough
thinking from inside the box. Harvard Business Review, 71-78.
de Jong, J. P. J., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2007). How leaders influence
employees' innovative behaviour. European Journal of Innovation
Management, 10(1), 41-63.
Executives fall short when leading for innovation, global leadership
study shows. (2007, December 12). Business Wire.
This is valuable insight for leaders, who have many options for encouraging innovative thinking throughout the organization.
The walk
To begin, if leaders want employees to become more innovative in their daily work, those at the top must be willing to demonstrate how that is done. A study from researchers in the Netherlands found that the leadership behaviors of "innovative role-modeling" and "providing vision" were among those that influenced both idea generation and the application of new ideas by employees. Jeroen P. J. de Jong (2007) of EIM Small Business Research and Consultancy and Deanne N. Den Hartog of the University of Amsterdam Business School conducted interviews in knowledge-based service companies and combed through the literature, finding that 13 specific leadership behaviors were linked with innovative employee behavior.
But that doesn't mean such behaviors are common in organizations today. In fact, leaders don't always "walk the walk" in regard to innovation, according to a global study of 293 senior executives by Oliver Wyman of Delta Organization & Leadership in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit ("Executives," 2007). The Global Leadership Imperative series found that more than half of respondents said their leaders failed to set a clear course for innovation or create the kind of environment that supports innovation. Furthermore, 68% said their leaders failed to facilitate idea generation. Without visible evidence from the top that employee innovation is, in fact, critical to business results, workers are unlikely to reach that conclusion on their own.
The Talk
Communication - both from outside the organization and within it - is another key factor in increasing employee innovation, according to the Netherlands study. Leaders who "talk the talk" can prompt innovative employee behavior. One way of doing this is by "organizing feedback" that comes from outside the company. For example, leaders can ensure that customer input or the results of new product trials are shared with employees.
Leaders can encourage internal communication through a variety of channels, and technology is playing a crucial role in facilitating these connections. A 2007 Best Practices in HR article draws from Lynne A. Robinson's book Trust Your Gut: How the Power of Intuition Can Grow Your Business, and it offers several suggestions ("13 Ways," 2007). Communication strategies that can help spark creative thinking in the workplace include cross-department gatherings that engage both creative and analytical types of employees, informal lunch sessions hosted by a named "chief creative officer," unstructured meetings that encourage playful thinking, and blogs or online communities for employees to offer ideas regarding the firm's products or services.
The work
Positive role models and strong communications are a good start, but employees need to be able to embrace innovation within the context of their daily jobs. The Netherland researchers found two ways that leaders can facilitate this. First, leaders must acknowledge employees' need for challenging work by assigning tasks that fit well with their skills and their individual stated preferences. Second, leaders must encourage employees to evaluate how things are done and prompt them to generate new ideas. Both of these leadership behaviors influence employees' idea generation, according to the study.
Employee idea generation doesn't always have to depend on traditional brainstorming, where any and all ideas are welcome. Experts from McKinsey & Company suggest that "inside the box" thinking might be more productive in some cases. A Harvard Business Review article describes how a more structured approach may actually work better for generating ideas (Coyne, Clifford, & Dye, 2007). Constraints can serve a useful purpose by focusing employees on exploring possibilities and alternatives in a systematic way.
The Perks
Last, innovative employee behavior is unlikely to continue for long if rewards are absent. Acknowledging innovative employee performance by giving rewards, providing employees with recognition and ensuring that sufficient time and money are available to implement new ideas are three additional leadership behaviors found to have a positive influence on employees' innovative behavior.
In summary, a leader's actions can do much to ensure that innovation becomes a natural part of every employee's workday. And a leader's own daily behavior can reinforce such behavior in the workforce, leading employees - and the organization - toward the level of innovation that truly provides a competitive edge.
Sources: Donna Bear: Leading Employees Toward Innovation
References
13 ways to inspire creativity and intuition in your workplace. (2007,
January 6). Best Practices in HR, 8.
Coyne, K. P., Clifford, P. G., & Dye, R. (2007, December). Breakthrough
thinking from inside the box. Harvard Business Review, 71-78.
de Jong, J. P. J., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2007). How leaders influence
employees' innovative behaviour. European Journal of Innovation
Management, 10(1), 41-63.
Executives fall short when leading for innovation, global leadership
study shows. (2007, December 12). Business Wire.
Monday, June 23, 2008
i4CP Survey Impacts Innovation Capacity
i4cp Survey Finds Over Half of Employers Lack Leadership and Education on Workplace-Diversity Matters
Based on Helix research, a core leadership behavior to collaboration capacity and innovation agility is based on diversity capabilities in creating innovation competency depth. For rich ideation processes to support diverse perspectives, opinions and hold without judgement requires appreciate inquiry skills and diversity appreciation know-how.
As CEO's globally espouse innovation --- the realities are there are bare bones in depth of collaboration core comptencies, of which diversity is a core diffusion skill to develop innovation resilence.
The recent study by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) found that 53% of companies do not sponsor diversity training in their organizations, 66% do not have specific diversity councils to serve as a watchdog on issues including race, gender, and sexual orientation and 77% do not have affinity groups in place to support minorities.
The study also found that 68% lack a high-level executive who oversees diversity initiatives. And 65% of respondents admit their organizations do not have a global diversity strategy.
“Many employers seem to think of diversity and inclusion as simply an EEOC compliance issue,” said Eric Davis, i4cp’s Associate Editor.
“Employers need to view diversity and inclusion as an important strategy for developing talent. Organizations embracing that concept are more likely to have top-down diversity policies, which include accountability.”
According to the survey, when diversity programs are in place, accountability for diversity strategies tends to start at the top. When asked how leaders are held accountable for driving diversity in their organizations, 31% of respondents said CEOs are subject to annual diversity reviews. Twenty-three percent of those surveyed said their CEO’s compensation is tied to how well the chief executive carried out the organization’s diversity strategy. However, nearly 20% of respondents say their top leadership is not held accountable for ensuring diversity.
Of those companies that have “diversity teams” in place, 39% say the teams devise diversity strategies for the company, and 33% percent of teams offer companywide diversity training and education.
The Taking the Pulse: Diversity and Inclusion survey – which polled 206 organizations – was conducted by i4cp, in conjunction with HR.com, in March 2008. The full results of the survey are now available exclusively for i4cp corporate members.
Based on Helix research, a core leadership behavior to collaboration capacity and innovation agility is based on diversity capabilities in creating innovation competency depth. For rich ideation processes to support diverse perspectives, opinions and hold without judgement requires appreciate inquiry skills and diversity appreciation know-how.
As CEO's globally espouse innovation --- the realities are there are bare bones in depth of collaboration core comptencies, of which diversity is a core diffusion skill to develop innovation resilence.
The recent study by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) found that 53% of companies do not sponsor diversity training in their organizations, 66% do not have specific diversity councils to serve as a watchdog on issues including race, gender, and sexual orientation and 77% do not have affinity groups in place to support minorities.
The study also found that 68% lack a high-level executive who oversees diversity initiatives. And 65% of respondents admit their organizations do not have a global diversity strategy.
“Many employers seem to think of diversity and inclusion as simply an EEOC compliance issue,” said Eric Davis, i4cp’s Associate Editor.
“Employers need to view diversity and inclusion as an important strategy for developing talent. Organizations embracing that concept are more likely to have top-down diversity policies, which include accountability.”
According to the survey, when diversity programs are in place, accountability for diversity strategies tends to start at the top. When asked how leaders are held accountable for driving diversity in their organizations, 31% of respondents said CEOs are subject to annual diversity reviews. Twenty-three percent of those surveyed said their CEO’s compensation is tied to how well the chief executive carried out the organization’s diversity strategy. However, nearly 20% of respondents say their top leadership is not held accountable for ensuring diversity.
Of those companies that have “diversity teams” in place, 39% say the teams devise diversity strategies for the company, and 33% percent of teams offer companywide diversity training and education.
The Taking the Pulse: Diversity and Inclusion survey – which polled 206 organizations – was conducted by i4cp, in conjunction with HR.com, in March 2008. The full results of the survey are now available exclusively for i4cp corporate members.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Recruiting the Right Talent
Recruiting the Right Talent
The number one priority for CEO’s globally is recruiting the right talent.
Securing optimal talent fit that embodies the knowledge, cultural values, and emotional smarts to get the job done continues to be a top of mind priority for organizations competing in the war for talent. Although we have all heard of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) not everyone has it. A few questions for reflection: Do you say what you think even if you know it will upset or hurt someone - even worse do you do this on email? Do you view people as basically good and well intentioned or are you always finding it hard to trust people and develop relationships over the long-term? Are you happy with life or are you constantly feeling the glass is half-empty? Can you develop sustaining and healthy long-term relationships or are people viewed as transactional experiences (like changing parts with little tolerance for ambiguity in life)? Depending on how you answered these questions you would either have a high EQ or a low EQ. Low EQ talent do not succeed well over the long term in their career roles, and are typically very poor managers as they create havoc in other’s lives and are not effective coaches to help people aspire to be the best they can be.
In today’s competitive environment for finding the best talent, Emotional Intelligence or EQ is more important for recruiting fit than technical skills. Smart people can grown and learn into a role - but if the EQ is not there - organizations will create cultures that are not aware of their emotions, know how to manage them or be aware of how their emotions impact the lives of others. When organizations recruit for emotionally intelligent leaders - managers and people simply do things much better!
The term EQ was dubbed after Daniel Goleman, psychologist and New York Times Contributor came out with his new book Emotional Intelligence. Although in the early days EQ was dismissed as a fad, companies have recognized the value of hiring and promoting emotionally superior workers, with the increased importance placed on leadership, team work, and culture fit. People with higher emotional intelligence know how to create and grow great teams - they are viewed as more human as leaders and they have a strong sense of heart and balance about life and its ebbs and flows. People often are hired due to their IQ - but what gets them to do better on the job is their EQ. Simple EQ questions are important to ask in recruiting that tests for peoples comfort in talking about their feelings.
Questions like: How are you feeling about looking for a new job in your life? When you are working, do you prefer to work on several tasks at once rather than focusing on just one? Do you find it easier to complete jobs if you work right to the deadline? Do you ask people for help if a task seems too hard or will you exhaust all options before asking for support? Do you prefer familiar tasks and consistency or do you prefer to have jobs that are constantly changing? Do you say what you think even if it upsets someone or do you look at conflict as an opportunity to learn and grow?
There are many good books on EQ on the market a few of our favorites are summarized. A good book for leaders is by Reldan Nadler, President of True North Leadership, Inc. and author of Leaders’ Playbook: How to Apply Emotional Intelligence - Keys to Great Leadership, as he shares ideas about Emotional Intelligence (EI), and puts its principles to work throughout this book to enhance your own business performance and that of your business team. Another good book for Project Managers is Emotional Intelligence for Project Managers: The People Skills You Need to Achieve Outstanding Results by Anthony Mersino.
There are recruiting tools that can help test and assess for emotional intelligence that help to identify people with enhanced skills - in today’s competitive world - hiring balanced leaders with both IQ and EQ will be a key success factor for enabling growth of organizations. As the talent pool becomes constrained, recruiting the right talent will intensify as an important leadership competency to develop. Even more importantly is for organization’s to have culture and strategy fit with their innovation growth objectives recruiting for EQ will be a competitive differentiator.
Check out
The number one priority for CEO’s globally is recruiting the right talent.
Securing optimal talent fit that embodies the knowledge, cultural values, and emotional smarts to get the job done continues to be a top of mind priority for organizations competing in the war for talent. Although we have all heard of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) not everyone has it. A few questions for reflection: Do you say what you think even if you know it will upset or hurt someone - even worse do you do this on email? Do you view people as basically good and well intentioned or are you always finding it hard to trust people and develop relationships over the long-term? Are you happy with life or are you constantly feeling the glass is half-empty? Can you develop sustaining and healthy long-term relationships or are people viewed as transactional experiences (like changing parts with little tolerance for ambiguity in life)? Depending on how you answered these questions you would either have a high EQ or a low EQ. Low EQ talent do not succeed well over the long term in their career roles, and are typically very poor managers as they create havoc in other’s lives and are not effective coaches to help people aspire to be the best they can be.
In today’s competitive environment for finding the best talent, Emotional Intelligence or EQ is more important for recruiting fit than technical skills. Smart people can grown and learn into a role - but if the EQ is not there - organizations will create cultures that are not aware of their emotions, know how to manage them or be aware of how their emotions impact the lives of others. When organizations recruit for emotionally intelligent leaders - managers and people simply do things much better!
The term EQ was dubbed after Daniel Goleman, psychologist and New York Times Contributor came out with his new book Emotional Intelligence. Although in the early days EQ was dismissed as a fad, companies have recognized the value of hiring and promoting emotionally superior workers, with the increased importance placed on leadership, team work, and culture fit. People with higher emotional intelligence know how to create and grow great teams - they are viewed as more human as leaders and they have a strong sense of heart and balance about life and its ebbs and flows. People often are hired due to their IQ - but what gets them to do better on the job is their EQ. Simple EQ questions are important to ask in recruiting that tests for peoples comfort in talking about their feelings.
Questions like: How are you feeling about looking for a new job in your life? When you are working, do you prefer to work on several tasks at once rather than focusing on just one? Do you find it easier to complete jobs if you work right to the deadline? Do you ask people for help if a task seems too hard or will you exhaust all options before asking for support? Do you prefer familiar tasks and consistency or do you prefer to have jobs that are constantly changing? Do you say what you think even if it upsets someone or do you look at conflict as an opportunity to learn and grow?
There are many good books on EQ on the market a few of our favorites are summarized. A good book for leaders is by Reldan Nadler, President of True North Leadership, Inc. and author of Leaders’ Playbook: How to Apply Emotional Intelligence - Keys to Great Leadership, as he shares ideas about Emotional Intelligence (EI), and puts its principles to work throughout this book to enhance your own business performance and that of your business team. Another good book for Project Managers is Emotional Intelligence for Project Managers: The People Skills You Need to Achieve Outstanding Results by Anthony Mersino.
There are recruiting tools that can help test and assess for emotional intelligence that help to identify people with enhanced skills - in today’s competitive world - hiring balanced leaders with both IQ and EQ will be a key success factor for enabling growth of organizations. As the talent pool becomes constrained, recruiting the right talent will intensify as an important leadership competency to develop. Even more importantly is for organization’s to have culture and strategy fit with their innovation growth objectives recruiting for EQ will be a competitive differentiator.
Check out
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