BLI Workplace Solutions

First-Time Managers Are Not Ready

2012-01-19T13:47:00.000-08:00

During the past few years, my company has studied the readiness of individuals to step into a managerial or supervisory position. A majority of frontline leaders said they had a difficult time making the transition from a non-management role to a first-level manager. Only 57 percent said they possessed the leadership skills needed when they first stepped into a management role. As expected, the most common areas of struggle relate to core managerial competencies: coaching, communication, decision-making and delegation/empowerment.

Most organizations are wise to this issue. According to a 2010 report from Bersin & Associates, "HR leaders rate their first-line managers as their 'least ready' workgroup, even less capable than their entry-level employees."

There are three big reasons this is happening.

• All parties involved need better insight into an individual's readiness. The individual, his or her manager and the organization have blind spots when it comes to accurately understanding the individual's strengths and development needs. With hundreds or even thousands of existing and potential frontline leaders, it can be difficult for organizations to get more than a superficial read on an individual's managerial readiness. Organizations can obtain more information about an individual's readiness by a variety of methods, including behavioral interviews, 360s and in-depth assessments.

• Knowing someone's development areas is not enough. According to my company's research, less than one-third of frontline managers say that they have agreed to a specific, written development plan with their manager. About one-quarter of frontline managers say that they have enough time to devote to their development. Organizations need to put better processes in place to ensure that development planning occurs and that individuals have sufficient time and accountability to complete their development plans.

• They need more support and guidance from their manager. About half of frontline managers say that their managers have the knowledge and tools to support their development. Less than two-thirds say that they get sufficient feedback from their managers. The most discomforting thought is that less than 60 percent believe that their managers are committed to their development. To overcome these beliefs, organizations have to do a better job of providing the frontline manager's manager with the skills needed to nurture him or her.

There is evidence of new leaders being thrown into the deep end and left to either sink or swim. That's hardly a "best practice"—especially when there is so much that can be done to prepare leaders to take on such a new job.

SOURCE: Bradford Thomas, Development Dimensions International, Pittsburgh, May 19, 2010

Are You a Good Interviewer?

2012-01-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

It seems that a lot of people experience difficulty with the interviewing process and this often results in a less than satisfactory result. In my experience, most of this is due to lack of preparation which, in turn, leads to inadequate execution. Given the high costs associated with poor hiring decisions, a little preparation pays huge dividends.

Here are some guidelines:

1) Develop an 'ideal profile' for the position. It is critical that you know what you are looking for before you can effectively find it.

2) Review the job duties. Carefully study the written job description, accountabilities and expectations. Formulate questions that will provide you with a thorough evaluation of the candidate.

3) Set specific objectives for the interview. You want to determine whether or not the candidate understands the job functions and has the documented experience in delivering what is expected. Ask yourself ..."what do I need to know when the interview is over". Also, keep in mind that candidates will sometimes 'enhance' their qualifications or experience. Your job is to get a true, honest evaluation of the individual.

4) Ask questions that uncover specific behaviors. You are interested in knowing how the candidate responded in the past to a variety of situations that are directly related to the position applied for. You want to know specifically what was done and what the results were. Remember that 'the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior'.

5) Ask for clarification if the candidate is vague. You want specifics that are verifiable with a phone call to his or her previous place of work. Always be prepared to say "I see. Tell me more". You want to get an indepth understanding of the candidate in light of the positions requirements.

6) Use the 'echo technique'. This is effective in eliciting a more complete response. With this technique, you respond to a candidate's answer or comment by repeating what he or she said. For example, if the candidate says "I'm good at problem-solving", you say "so, you're good at problem-solving" (and sit back in your chair waiting for a response). This may result in an awkward silence and that's OK. The candidate will feel obliged to tell you more.

7) Take notes. You want to be able to compare the candidate's qualifications, answers and comments with your documentation of the 'ideal candidate'. You can quickly see where there are deviations from what you are looking for, and where the candidate is a good fit.

8) Stay objective. Don't start relying on your 'gut feel' or your intuition. Once you start doing this, you are looking at the candidate through 'rose-colored glasses'. Just because you think people are 'nice' and you may enjoy them socially, doesn't mean they are right for the job. In fact 80% of 'gut' hires are poor fits.

9) And last, but certainly not least, conduct THOROUGH referencing. Once again, prepare, prepare, prepare. Ask questions that will verify education and past experience. Ask questions that will validate the candidate's stories about past behavior and results. Ask questions that will confirm your perception of the candidate's character and values. Ensure that your referencing is comprehensive, leaving no stone unturned. Many a bad hire is based on inadequate referencing. The decision is important, so spend the time.

If you pay attention to these few, but important, guidelines, you will have confidence in the interview process and you will come to valid conclusions about the candidate and his or her 'fit' for the position.

Stay tuned for many more of workplace solutions!

Engaged Employees Deliver 20 - 35% extra

2012-01-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

An organization is only as good as the base unit ..... that is, the individual person actually producing the goods or services. Given this, corporate goals must be aligned with individual goals and metrics should be all about yield or output per employee. Emotionally engaged employees constitute a key factor that drives sustainable growth.

Facts:
- Engaged employees deliver 25-30% extra
- Engaged employees take 35% less time to manage
- Only 29% of the workforce is actively engaged
- 52% are not engaged (doing the minimum and collecting a paycheck)
- 19% are disengaged (actively undermining the organization's efforts)

Other considerations:
- Employee engagement alleviates workplace stress and promotes work-life balance
- There is a significant correlation between how a company manages its people and business success
- The most significant key to employee engagement is the relationship with an immediate manager

The message is clear. Effective leadership drives employee engagement. Employee engagement drives company success.

Pay attention to the 'base unit' and your organization will soar.

Empowerment is critical to quality management

2011-04-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

Organizations that include employee empowerment in their total quality management initiatives are twice as likely to see significant improvements in products or services.

Top quality companies enhance decision-making at all levels, redesign jobs or work groups to address customer needs, give employees the authority to act when necessary to meet customer expectations, and provide strategic information to employees at all levels.

It is not surprising that organizations that report improvements in products or services also report better results in finance and operations. Companies that empower their employees report improved profitability, lower internal costs, fewer errors, and increased employee morale. Empowered organizations also report that there is a positive impact on suppliers to pursue greater internal empowerment and quality improvement, and to be more responsive to customer needs.

This positive impact on the entire supply chain results in increased efficiencies and vastly improved quality of products and services all around.

Costly sleep disorders ... do you have one?

2011-04-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

There are more than 100 different sleep disorders. Some of them include:

Insomnia - an inability to fall asleep

Narcolepsy - sudden and unpredictable attacks of sleep

Apnea - the inability to sleep and breathe at the same time

Sleep disorders cost industry billions of dollars each year in terms of lost productivity, medical bills and industrial accidents. Human error due to sleep loss and fatigue have contributed to some of the most spectacular and disastrous accidents in history.

The situation is getting worse rather than better, even in light of increased knowledge in the area. North Americans are becoming increasingly sleep deprived because workers tend to put in longer days with greater stress. Because alertness on the job is crucial to top performance and productivity, no amount of motivation and training will combat poor performance associated with fatigue.

So pay attention to your sleep patterns and be alert to signs of fatigue among your co-workers. Making others aware of the impact of sleep disorders could not only save your organization huge amounts of money, but could also save you from a serious or debilitating accident.

Don't tolerate harassment!

2011-04-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

Harassment at work is a fairly common problem. Whether based on sex, race, personality, physical attributes, or whatever, it needs to be addressed forcefully and in a timely manner. While addressing the problem with prevention is the best policy, many times employers still run into problem employees. Reporting harassment is in the best interest of the company, and all of its employees, so that they can address the issue and remedy the situation.

Before we start talking about how to deal with harassment, it’s important to define exactly what harassment is: harassment is anything in word or deed that results in someone feeling significantly uncomfortable. This can be something as insensitive as a co-worker asking if you got ‘any’ over the weekend, to your boss belittling you through words or actions, to overhearing racial or sexual jokes, to making comments about the way someone walks or looks, etc., etc.. There are no bounds to what can be offensive or embarrassing. Harassment can be subtle or blatant and it’s not a condition experienced by any particular demographic.

Here are a few tips for dealing with the harasser:

• Tell the person that his/her behavior makes you uncomfortable and that it’s inappropriate. Tell them that the behavior must stop immediately.

• If the harassing behavior does not stop, start keeping a written journal of incidents. Write down what happened, what was said to you, and how you chose to deal with it at the time and why. Also note the date and the time of the incident. Keep this journal in a very safe place.

• Tell someone. Start with the Human Resources department. If you work for a small company and there is no HR department, or there is no real defined person in charge of HR, then go to your boss. If he/she is the harasser, then go to that person’s boss. If your boss is the owner, and there is no HR department, then make a formal complaint to the Labor Board in your city. Above all, do not keep things to yourself. Remember, you have done nothing wrong, and you have the right to work in a safe environment free of harassment.

• If you’re retaliated against, don’t put up with it. Retaliation can be very subtle. It might be a one-on-one meeting where your boss or co-worker threatens you and/or your job, or you may find yourself with too little or too much work to do, to name a few examples. If this happens,document it in your journal, and go back to whomever you spoke to the first time and report the retaliation. Continue to do so for as long as it continues. Don’t let up on the abuser. Tell him/her to stop it immediately. Don’t discontinue reporting, even if it appears that no one is listening to you, or even if they tell you to stop. You have the legal right to report the retaliation, any further harassment, and to work in an environment which is not hostile. Remind anyone of that if they attempt to thwart your efforts.

2011-02-27T17:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a question .... what is your biggest stressor at work?