Embrace the Feedback

Posted on by Meg Bear

I’m always fascinated with the way that HR labels things. Whether it is a chart, a report, a box on the “9box,” or a rating model, it doesn’t take long to notice a trend.

There are very few “bad” labels in an HR report. This is a group that really cares about your self-esteem.

They don’t want to label you as an underachiever or bad at your job – nope — you are misaligned talent.

I’m all about job fit, but part of job fit is getting real with yourself about where you are good and where you are not.

What about those parts of the job that are less about skill and more about hard work?

Where is the affordance for feedback about the fact that you might be skilled, but you might also be lazy or having an attitude problem that is bringing down the whole group?

In the end, I think the hesitation to say anything specific and constructive impacts the reputation of the whole function. I would like to encourage HR leaders to jump into the feedback topic with a more honest approach. Spare me the euphemisms and help my leaders have those tough conversations.

Give them words.

I’m fine that you make sure that they are not hurtful, but don’t wash out the meaning in that process. Feedback is tough and it is tricky, but to get results, it must be understood.

This blog was originally posted on TalentedApps.

The Leadership Cop-out, the Employee Hot Potato

Posted on by Meg Bear

Dan was talking this week about how real leaders do the right thing, even (or especially) when it means that you have to let a poor performer go. You all know that I’m a big believer in job fit. Finding a role that leverages your strengths is critical for success. For some, finding the right role can be a process of trial and error, using our failures to course correct is a part of personal growth. Sometimes coaching and role adjustment can turn a lack-luster performer into a star. But we all know that there are times when the problem is not just job fit, it is job attitude.

When an individual has a negative attitude you are dealing with a cancer that impacts the whole team. It is the job of the manager to resolve the situation quickly and fairly. Too often, weak managers resolve their situation by creating an employee hot potato. These disgruntled employees find themselves sharing (and often compounding) their negative attitudes across multiple groups as they bounce from manager to manager, each too weak to take action.

Moving performance problems around the organization is one of the worst kinds of management cop-outs. It is not honest for the individual, and it is not good for the company. It is not leadership, it’s cowardly.

I am well aware that the process of resolving performance problems takes considered thought and diligence. Even when attempting to do the right thing, it is often not black and white. We all want to make sure we have given enough chances to the employee and have done our best to coach them to improvement. I would not want anyone to take this process lightly. I would just like to encourage you all to make sure you are honest with yourselves that you are not perpetuating performance problems in other groups because you are too lazy to deal with them yourself.

If you are not sure, get help from your HR team. HR professionals can support you through the tough job of coaching the team member to acceptable performance or terminating. It is the role of HR to make sure that the process is fair for the employee, the impacted team, and the company.

Repeat after me, no more employee hot potatoes!

 

This blog was originally posted on TalentedApps.

Succession Planning – Better Without the Ion?

Posted on by Meg Bear

Those of us who follow the Talent Management investment curves know that Performance Management and Succession Planning are hot trends right now. Companies are attempting to leverage their workforce as a competitive advantage and both of these areas had technology innovations in recent years. 

Of course, as is often the case with trends, there are companies that have a plan first and leverage technology to solve it, and there are companies who start with a solution and attempt to figure out the problem.

This leads to many wanting to call into question the whole idea. 

Personally, I think that the point of succession planning is really not for succession at all. Most often C-suite changes are made when a company needs to “fix” something. When this is the case, companies will most likely want to look outside the four walls for new ideas.

Succession planning is useful in the case of a long-known retirement. Of course, planned retirement-based successions are often exceptions, especially in North America. In an attempt to avoid having people throw out the baby with the bathwater, I would like to suggest that you still need succession planning for two key reasons.

  1. Emergencies 
    In the unfortunate situation that something unexpected were to happen, having a well-established succession plan can help avoid additional disruption in the short-term. An excellent example has been given of Brokaw stepping in to fill the shoes of Tim Russert during the election.

  2. Developing bench strength
    In my mind, here is where the real value can be had. If you look at your succession initiative as a broader discussion about bench strength and development alignment, you can get a lot bigger ROI for the exercise. Using a succession discussion to analyze several layers of your organization against readiness can help you build development plans, define workforce planning initiatives, and bring to light top talent within your organization. 

So for those who wonder what all the hype is in succession planning, I encourage you to take a longer view of the process than just the tactical (or the competitive) approach. Use this emerging trend to help you to provide more value to the strategic needs of the company. Don’t just plan for succession, plan for success.

 

This blog was originally posted on TalentedApps.

HR Transformation — Are We Sick of it Yet?

Posted on by Meg Bear

I’ve been thinking about HR Transformation for quite some time and I’m starting to wonder how we can move on from HR transformation to “Beyond HR” when we never actually transformed in the first place. 

I have some concern that maybe we are just distracting ourselves to avoid actual measurement and accountability. Are we witnessing a real desire to change the role of HR or are we just a manifestation of Corporate ADD?

It’s an OD problem, no, it’s a recruitment (excuse me — talent acquisition) problem, no, it’s a performance management problem, wait, it’s a succession planning problem, no, I think it’s a web.20/community problem. And don’t even get me started on the idea that it might be an analytics problem!

The more I study this market and talk to companies attempting to truly transform their organizations, I come to realize that it is, and always was, a leadership problem. I know I risk a good ducking here, but I believe that chasing the latest software fad without real vision and leadership will fail. Not dissimilar to how a weight loss program that doesn’t involve diet and exercise will ultimately fail for you (it might work for someone else, but it will not work for you, trust me on this one!).

So, where to start and what to do? First and foremost, you need to find leadership. Hopefully you can find that leadership in yourself, but if not there, find someone who has it first. Once you have acquired the will to lead, then you can begin to benefit from the flywheel effect and realize results. 

If you cannot find the will to lead, I suggest you stop now before you spend important resources and energies on the hard part of a transformation (the starting) and never actually receive the benefits of the work. At the risk of stating the obvious, I also suggest you use the same philosophy for your holiday (or post-holiday) diet plan. 

Quit spending your time trying to find the silver bullet out there, you know that it doesn’t exist. Instead, first analyze your own capabilities and then look to see how you can use technology to implement your vision.

This blog was originally posted on TalentedApps.