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Does Employee Development Work?
You might think that’s an odd question given how much time and money companies spend on it. However, they rarely go back and examine whether or not performance improved or what they can do to ensure that it does next time. Why is that? Part of the reason is that...
“Hey, can you hear me up there?”
Tom Varian asked me to comment on how to assess employee attitudes towards their leaders and how to develop personal connections between employees and CEOs and other leaders, with whom they may never personally interact. It’s an interesting topic and brings up a few...
Assessment Success: Eye of the Beholder
Many actions have unintended consequences. Assessment programs are no exception. When conducting assessments for development, most companies are looking to provide useful feedback to employees and to get them on the road to performance improvement. But other things...
Surveys – Confidential or not?
Some surveys (like 360s or those that measure employee engagement) are conducted in confidence, meaning that you only share group level data, and not individual responses, with others. Other surveys, such as those given to customers or asking group members for...
Tying it All Together
No good HR process occurs in a vacuum. For instance, valid selection techniques impact recruitment strategy (are we bringing in the people who can do the job?) and training (what are the skills and abilities we’ll hire for and which ones will we develop?). The...
Leaving so Soon?
While the heated talk about a "war for talent" has come back into vogue, retaining people (good, bad and indifferent) can be a struggle. In analyzing your turnover situation, it is critical to look at 3 factors for people leaving: External. These include things that...
360 Degree Feedback
I am often asked to help companies implement multi-rater (aka 360-degree) feedback. This is a process where a person rates him/herself on a set of competencies along with his/her direct reports, boss, peers, and sometimes customers. Theoretically, seeing...
Setting and Managing Expectations
Listen, no one wants to be stuck in a dead-end job. Organizationally, it makes sense that employees who don’t see any opportunities to advance or use their skills in the future are going to be less satisfied and turnover at a more frequent rate than those who do. ...
Creating Employee Engagement
Much has been said about the "new" employment contract. Companies theoretically agree that employees are not going to stay very long but somehow figure that if they are treated well (e.g., provided with training and interesting work) the people may agree to return...
What Does Assessment Do For You?
A recent journal article called into question whether performance really does look like a bell curve. You know, the distribution of anything that is flat towards the ends and fat in the middle. I have some quibbles with the article, particularly whether we would...
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