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The Dos and Don’ts of Creating Training Materials

by Susan Otto,  retired from Training-Modules.com, LLC

No matter what jobs, positions, or responsibilities we have, sooner or later we are usually asked to train someone on how to “do it.”  And, if we are asked often enough, or if the procedures are complicated, now might be the time to document the material we use to train.

Over the years I have created a few dos and don’ts that I have found to be useful when creating training materials.

First, remember that we’re training adult learners. Adults like to have “hands on” experiences. Stop lecturing. Turn off the PowerPoints. Let’s just “do it” as Nike says.  Roll up your sleeves and begin, providing lots of opportunities to practice in order to create the desired outcomes and results.

Okay, okay…you have a PowerPoint presentation already prepared…well, go back through it and see how you can make the content more interactive. In other words, if the learners know part of the content, rather than lecturing them, ask them to share what they know. For example, if they are aware of the reasons employees are not providing input to a process, ask them to share it. Don’t tell them what they already know. Besides, you might actually hear something you didn’t know!

Make your training interactive. Include activities and “games,” such as role plays, case studies, large and small group discussions…you get the idea. There are tons of books and websites available to peruse when on this quest. And you can always join NASAGA’s discussion board at www.NASAGA.org and ask the various experts what they would suggest.

Remember, adult learners come to training classes with experiences and expertise that should be tapped into during the training process. If adult learners link the learning with past experience, they remember it.

Tell the learner what they really need to know. If they want to know the history, background, evolution, etc., then they’ll ask. For now, give it to them straight…and only give them what they need to know. In most cases, time is of the essence. Most of us don’t have time for the “nice to knows.” However, do consider notating the extra information in the facilitator guide.

Give the adult learner a job aid or a participant guide. And, no, I don’t mean a copy of your PowerPoint presentation. In other words, give them something that will be of value to them during the training process and can be used as a reference back on the job. And, remember, the facilitator guide should provide talking points that further enhance the participant guide content.

If you know the material “inside and out,” then you probably don’t need to write a “detailed” facilitator guide. Wrong! That’s the issue. You don’t need a “detailed” facilitator guide, but if you were hit by a bus tomorrow, would someone else know what to do and say? If not, then you better start documenting more of your knowledge. Oh, and be sure to have someone read it later. What is clear to you, may be clear as mud to someone else. Besides, the fastest way to get promoted is to have someone who can competently perform your job!

When you think you’re finished, check:

  1. The flow of the content. In other words, is the order logical?
  2. The amount of detail used to explain how to facilitate the activities, simulations, and games.
  3. The start times, stop times, and breaks.

What most of us know, and seem to forget when creating training for others, is that training should be fun…yes, you read that correctly. When you think of the training that you really, really enjoyed, was it fun? You betcha! Let’s “do” make training fun!

do's and dont's

Copyright 2007 Training-Modules.com. All rights reserved. While you may copy this publication, its content may not be modified. You may, and are encouraged to, share the publication with others who may benefit from receiving it.

If you have any questions or would like to share your comments with Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com), you can contact us at info@strategicHRinc.com.

Strategic Planning…Goal Setting…Are You Still on Track?

by Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR

Do you remember how much time and energy you put into setting goals for yourself and/or your business earlier this year? Do you even remember what those goals were? What actions have you taken toward accomplishing them?

Each year, January 1 is a milestone that forces me to establish both my personal and business goals for the year. Whether you have a strategic plan for your business/department or personal goals/resolutions, it is exciting and motivating to set them but very easy to put them on the shelf and forget about them until next year. According to research by Tom Terez, only about one in five individuals make a resolution each year AND actually keep it. Why do so few actually realize their goals?

There are many reasons that we lose sight of our goals within even just a few months of setting them. Here are the top 10 reasons that I have found are why most of us fail to meet our goals:

 #10 Lack of long-term motivation

January 1 really motivates us to want to set goals to help us improve something (i.e. lose weight, increase sales, reduce turnover) over the coming year. But shouldn’t there be another holiday about every three months for the purpose of saying “how are you doing” on your goals and resolutions for the year? So, until I am able to get Hallmark to create this holiday filled with lots of cards to remind us, we have to set our own milestones.

#9 No thought put into goals

Many individuals let the pressure of the new year force them to set goals. Unfortunately, this results in goals that didn’t have much thought put into them. Therefore, they are not accurate, realistic, or on-target.

#8 Too many goals

Too often, our list of goals quickly becomes a long list of to-dos that completely overwhelms us and ends up lost after just a few weeks of creating it. You can probably only accomplish between 3 – 6 goals a year depending on the scope of those goals. Remember, most goals involve some sort of change and it takes at least 30 days to change a behavior!

#7 Unrealistic

How often have you heard someone tell you their New Years resolution or business goals and knew right away there was no way that would ever happen? It is great to be optimistic and confident but your goals have to at least be attainable or you will definitely lose the energy and motivation to complete them. A goal is only realistic if you can control the outcome because it is based on your own skills, knowledge, or abilities and cannot be impacted by outside factors beyond your control.

#6 Not specific

Each goal will need a detailed and specific plan of action. To create these steps, I find it helpful to think about these five things: what result, outcome, or benefit do I hope to obtain from reaching this goal / objective? What is going to prevent me from reaching it? Who or what resources can help me to reach it? What will be the specific steps that I will take to accomplish the goal? And finally, how will I know I got there or how will I evaluate or measure it?

#5 Not measurable

This last component “how will you know you got there” is often neglected. This is the measurement part of the goal. Be sure you are able to measure whether or not you have reached your goal.

#4 Never committed to in writing

Brainstorming goals is great but not enough. You’ll need to write down your goals being as specific as you can so you know what you need to do and when to accomplish a goal. Plus, try to prioritize your goals and actions so you know what is most important and must be done first, second, third, etc.

#3 Side tracked

The day to day of our lives and/or jobs is so busy that we often forgot about our goals. This is probably one of the most popular reasons why goals fail. But, many times we are sidetracked by the things that are not going to help us get where we ultimately need to in the long run. And, if we would just review our goals every time this happens, it will help us maintain focus and stay on track.

#2 Failure to celebrate your accomplishments

We are all human and we love the feeling of knowing we succeeded at something. But, when we set a goal and actually accomplish it, we basically just “check it off” and move on. You need to celebrate these accomplishments. If it was a group goal, make it a group celebration – pitch in lunch, ice cream at 3:00, etc. If it was a personal goal, do something special for yourself – relax for 30 minutes, get a massage, talk a walk, write yourself a congratulations note, etc.

#1 Failure to re-evaluate goals

You might be saying, why are we talking about how to set goals when we should be evaluating them. Once you’ve set your goals, they are not cast in stone. There is no law that says you can’t adjust them. And, things do change so you should review and revise them as needed. Part of the goal should include milestones (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually) to evaluate your progress on the goal and revise if things have changed. Plus, how often do we dive into creating new goals before even evaluating how well we did at meeting our past goals? We have to know how we did in the past in order to determine what we need to do in the future to reach our ultimate goals. THEN, we can begin planning.

So, whether it is a strategic plan or your own personal goals, most goals are established to help you get from where you are today to where you want to ultimately be. The goals are the actual steps you’ll take to reach that ultimate future. To set your goals, you need to find out where you are now, where you want to be, and how you are going to get there. And, constantly re-evaluate and revise as needed.

So, grab your goals that you set earlier this year. Review them against these top ten reasons why they may never be accomplished. Then decide if they need modified based on these reasons or even changes that have happened in your business, economy, etc.? Did you write them specific enough so you know what you need to accomplish and when? And, how do they measure up so far.

Now, be sure you celebrate your accomplishments and be sure to revisit your goals on a regular basis between now and December 31 and especially before you reset your goals next year.

Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant is President of Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com). If you have any questions or wish to share your comments, you can contact Robin at Robin@strategicHRinc.com.

Six Sigma 101

by Debbie Hatke, MA, SPHR

Everyone by now has heard of Six Sigma; even if you don’t know what it is. If you’re a recruiter, you’ve probably seen it listed on resumes quite frequently. But what is Six Sigma? If you are an HR practitioner, chances are you haven’t been exposed to this concept in much detail, but you should be.

Six Sigma is akin to the Total Quality Management movement of the 1980’s. You might remember – Deming, Juran, Quality Circles, Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Continuous Process Improvement (CPI). These are all concepts that are associated with Total Quality – the idea of improving overall quality in the workplace by making incremental quality improvements or maintaining quality standards. Six Sigma more or less looks at quality in more detail; statistical detail if you will. It focuses on the number of defects that might occur in a product and works to reduce those defects. In fact, the term Six Sigma refers to the desire to shoot for near perfection – defined as no more than 3.4 defects per million items produced; that’s 99.9997% accuracy.

While you might think that being 99.9997% accurate in terms of producing a quality product or providing a service sounds a little lofty, when you stop to look at the numbers it becomes apparent why companies are so concerned with a Six Sigma level of quality. In a recent class provided by the NHRA of Cincinnati, Paul Gormas, of the International Society for Six Sigma Certifications, explained it this way: accepting an accuracy level of “only” 99% would mean tolerating about 20,000 lost pieces of mail per hour or living with no electricity for 7 hours each month (and many of us living in the Greater Cincinnati area know from September 2008 how that might feel). If that isn’t an eye-opener, imagine having one of the 5,000 incorrect surgical operations that might occur each week if held to only a 99% accuracy level – no thank you!

In addition to taking a more statistical approach to managing quality, Six Sigma takes the quality movement a step further by demanding cultural change – which is where HR comes in. By looking at people processes, Six Sigma changes those elements of a process that result in defective products. This often involves changing how employees work and requires an organization to address the needs of its customers; both internal and external. Six Sigma works to reduce variation in product (defaults) by using standardized processes, specific metrics to measure progress and unifying the organization in terms of the processes, metrics and language used. Human Resources, because of their expertise in facilitating cultural change, is instrumental in achieving success with Six Sigma.

Six Sigma projects revolve around the activities of a Team. In most organizations a Quality Counsel will identify Six Sigma initiatives that the organization should attempt to tackle based on need. Someone at the executive level typically sponsors the initiative and forms a Team. A Six Sigma Project Team will have a business sponsor, a process owner (typically the supervisor), a team leader (who is a black belt) and project members (who are green belts). The Team may also have other resources involved (such as HR or Finance) who would require Six Sigma knowledge at a yellow belt level.

Now about those belts… If you’ve paid attention to Six Sigma “speak” you’ll notice that the different rankings of individuals skilled in Six Sigma seem to relate to the rankings achieved in Karate – signified by belt colors. Team members learn roles and techniques needed for Six Sigma transformation in varying levels:

  • A “White Belt” individual has been taught a high level overview of Six Sigma and how it works. When beginning a Six Sigma program in an organization it’s a good idea to educate employees on the overall process and a White Belt is where to start.
  • Someone with a “Yellow Belt” is considered a subject matter expert. These might be individuals who work in HR, IT or Accounting. They have a specific knowledge about an area that might not be of primary focus on a Project Team, but bring specific knowledge about their function or area.
  • A “Green Belt” is usually earned by a project member. They need to have a good grasp of the Six Sigma concepts to be productive in Team discussions.
  • Team leaders are “Black Belts”. They have learned Six Sigma techniques of facilitation in great detail. Black Belts are trained in change management and are taught the leadership skills needed to run a successful Project Team.
  • “Master Black Belts” are individuals who are authorized to teach other Black Belts. They can also mentor and oversee projects. They have a deep understanding of the statistical needs of the Project Team.

Despite the seemingly stair-step design of the different belts, it is not necessary to progress through each rank to earn a Black Belt. A Team Leader can be trained as a Black Belt without going through the other training.

Six Sigma is very methodical and there are set methods for laying out the issues and developing solutions. Once all the players are assembled, it is up to the Project Team to identify and define the stated problem and work through the various Six Sigma exercises and metric analysis to come up with a resolution. HR can be very helpful either as a Project Team member or simply as an ancillary resource in accomplishing the goals of a Six Sigma project.

Perhaps now you have a better grasp of exactly what Six Sigma is, what the different belts signify and how they come into play within the Project Team. Remember, Six Sigma can be applied to any organization and to any area of an organization from manufacturing to IT. How will you use it in HR? Stay tuned to learn more…

Debbie Hatke, MA, SPHR is a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant and Talent Strategy Manager with Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com). If you have questions or comments about this article, you can contact Debbie at Debbie@strategicHRinc.com.

Clark Schaefer Strategic HR's wheel of HR Services, including HR Strategy, Recruitment, Training & Development, Benefits & Compensation, Communications, Employee Relations, Recordkeeping, and Health, Safety & Security

Performance Management: The Individual Strategic Plan

Performance management has become an ever-increasing critical tool to success for businesses. Within the last year we have experienced both a booming economy as well as a recession; a historically low unemployment rate combined with massive layoffs and business closings. But the bottom line to all of this is people! AND, we are human and as such are typically much more productive when we have clear goals, expectations, and feedback.

“Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where-” said Alice
“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
     – from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

If you have had the opportunity to attend one of my strategic planning sessions, you’ve seen me use this quote in reference to developing a company or department’s strategic plan. But, a strategic plan is a waste of time and effort if it does not get communicated and tied to the performance of all employees through Individual Strategic Plans. Whether this is a formal or informal process depends a great deal on your particular organization.

Let’s start with the informal process… If your organization can effectively communicate and link the strategic goals of the organization to each individual’s goals AND regularly provide feedback to an employee, then you may be able to succeed without a formal performance management tool. Even with an informal process, you will need to develop a system with specific checkpoints to be sure the communication is constant and two-way to ensure that the employee is on-track and getting both positive and constructive feedback in a timely manner.

If the world were perfect, I would encourage everyone to use an informal process; however, time seems to get the best of us. Without a formal process, goals are unclear at best, and feedback is rare. To facilitate a process that is successful for both the employee and the organization, a formal performance management system can “work for you.” A well-designed performance management system should make your job easier not more cumbersome.

To begin developing a system or any new program or initiative, I like to use Development Dimension International’s (DDI) six Checkpoints for Implementation:

1. OUTCOMES — What results am I looking for?

For your performance management system, you’ll need to think about what you hope to gain from the system. For example, increased productivity, improved retention, increased employee morale, and improved communications.

2. BENEFITS — Why is this important? (Payoff — What’s in it for me?)

Both the company and the employee need to know why they are doing this in order to feel ownership for the system. Your organization may see the benefits as some of the outcomes listed above, as well as a method for linking individual performance to the organization’s performance. Individuals may see it as a way to continue to develop and grow with the organization while adding value back to the company. Remember, growth opportunities and meaningful work are two of the top reasons employees leave their jobs.

3. BARRIERS — What might prevent me from being successful?

In order to ensure the success of your system, you need to anticipate any barriers and identify what you will do to prevent or minimize the impact of those barriers. Some examples may be: resistance to change, time constraints, or lack of management support.

4. SUPPORT — What resources are available?

You’ll need to clearly identify what resources or individuals are available to help you develop and implement the system. Once you have identified your resources, you’ll want to include them in the process as much as possible in order to obtain their buy-in and benefit from what they can offer. Some examples of support are: top management, employees, expert consults, other organizations, budget, and customer needs.

5. APPROACH — What steps must I take to achieve my goals? (Be specific — who, when, duration, etc.)

By identifying the outcomes, benefits, barriers, and supports, you will be better able to begin mapping out the approach for developing and implementing your performance management system. Some questions you may want to consider include:

What exactly do you need formalized to help facilitate goal setting, feedback, and documentation?

Many times organizations assume performance management is the evaluation at the end of the review period. However, an effective performance management system begins with the development of a performance plan at the BEGINNING of the evaluation period. This performance plan or individual strategic plan is a living document that may need updating throughout the plan year.In general, systems should include both competencies and goals. With most of my clients, we develop a group of core competencies or behaviors that mirror the values of the organization. Plus, we develop individualized goals for each employee that are tied to the goals of the business.There are many canned and customizable systems out there that can help you identify what you want to include in your system. To help you generate ideas, you may want to seek samples from other companies or resources (i.e. Performance Appraisals: A Collection of Samples by SHRM Information Center ~$35.00 or Performance Impact by KnowledgePoint). Be sure any piece of information you include on the form adds value rather than creates work for others. Plus, be sure the form is a tool not a rule!

How often do you need to formally discuss goals and feedback versus informally?

Like your business plan, a performance plan is a living document and the goals and feedback should be ongoing and constant. However, it often takes a formal get-together for this to actually happen. If your organization is not one to proactively meet throughout the plan year, then a formal meeting, even if short, should be arranged at least quarterly to ensure an employee is getting timely feedback and still supporting both their individual and the organization’s strategic plan(s). Plus, if you summarize this quarterly meeting your end of the year review will be a breeze.

Who needs to be trained on performance management and coaching?

We all could benefit from training on performance management and coaching. Even if you are the best manager, a refresher on performance management simply helps you continuously grow as a proactive manager. Formal training can also help ensure all managers are working with the same set of tools, including assistance with the seeming struggle about how to be a manager and a coach at the same time. Learning what has been successful and not successful with others will help everyone in the organization succeed.

What will you do to involve both employees and management in the process?

Employees and supervisors will not take the time for performance planning and reviews if management does not support it. Management has to realize the value added (i.e. increased productivity, improved morale, retention) of performance management and demonstrate their support of the system to all employees. This may require involving a key management player in the development and implementation of the system.Like management, employees will be more encouraged to take the feedback and direction of performance management seriously if they are involved with the development of the system. To do this, you can either survey employees to identify their needs or include them in a team tasked to evaluate and develop a program. COMMUNICATE!!!

How will the system be tied to compensation?

Of course, any system is going to be much more open and honest when there is little or no connection to pay. The catch is, that you need to have some way to measure employee performance, in order to provide performance based increases. You’ll need to develop a clear philosophy and supporting policy for merit increases. Because this will depend on your budget and values, each organization may have a totally different philosophy and policy on pay increases. By making this policy clear and communicating it up front, the link to compensation will have a better chance of being both objective and effective.

6. EVALUATION — How will I know when I’ve reached my goal?

Too often this last checkpoint in implementation is skipped. It is very important for you to constantly evaluate your program. Some ways you can do this is through focus groups, employee surveys, or interviewing management. The key is to schedule it and just do it!

Remember, you don’t want your employees feeling like Alice did in Alice in Wonderland. You need to be sure you are communicating the expectations and goals of the organization and tying them to each employee’s Individual Strategic Plan in order to realize success. Whether this is a formal or an informal process doesn’t matter as long as you are doing it!!

Thank you to Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, President and Founder of Strategic HR for contributing to this Emerging Issues in HR.

If your organization could use help to develop a successful performance management system, contact us.

Image of our Wheel of HR Services, with a focus on Employee Relations.

Performance Management: The Individual Strategic Plan

by Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR

Performance management has become an ever-increasing critical tool to success for businesses. Within the last year we have experienced both a booming economy as well as a recession; a historically low unemployment rate combined with massive layoffs and business closings. But the bottom line to all of this is people! AND, we are human and as such are typically much more productive when we have clear goals, expectations, and feedback.

“Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where-” said Alice

“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

     – from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

If you have had the opportunity to attend one of my strategic planning sessions, you’ve seen me use this quote in reference to developing a company or department’s strategic plan. But, a strategic plan is a waste of time and effort if it does not get communicated and tied to the performance of all employees through Individual Strategic Plans. Whether this is a formal process or informal process depends a great deal on your particular organization.

Let’s start with the informal process… If your organization can effectively communicate and link the strategic goals of the organization to each individual’s goals AND regularly provide feedback to an employee, then you may be able to succeed without a formal performance management tool. Even with an informal process, you will need to develop a system with specific checkpoints to be sure the communication is constant and two-way to ensure that the employee is on-track and getting both positive and constructive feedback in a timely manner.

If the world were perfect, I would encourage everyone to use an informal process; however, time seems to get the best of us. Without a formal process, goals are unclear at best, and feedback is rare. To facilitate a process that is successful for both the employee and the organization, a formal performance management system can “work for you.” A well-designed performance management system should make your job easier not more cumbersome.

To begin developing a system or any new program or initiative, I like to use Development Dimension International’s (DDI) six Checkpoints for Implementation:

  1. OUTCOMES — What results am I looking for?
    • For your performance management system, you’ll need to think about what you hope to gain from the system. For example: increased productivity, improved retention, increased employee morale, and improved communications.
  2. BENEFITS — Why is this important? (Payoff — What’s in it for me?)
    • Both the company and the employee need to know why they are doing this in order to feel ownership for the system. Your organization may see the benefits as some of the outcomes listed above, as well as a method for linking individual performance to the organization’s performance. Individuals may see it as a way to continue to develop and grow with the organization while adding value back to the company. Remember, growth opportunities and meaningful work are two of the top reasons employees leave their jobs.
  3. BARRIERS — What might prevent me from being successful?
    • In order to ensure the success of your system, you need to anticipate any barriers and identify what you will do to prevent or minimize the impact of those barriers. Some examples may be: resistance to change, time constraints, or lack of management support.
  4. SUPPORT — What resources are available?
    • You’ll need to clearly identify what resources or individuals are available to help you develop and implement the system. Once you have identified your resources, you’ll want to include them in the process as much as possible in order to obtain their buy-in and benefit from what they can offer. Some examples of support are: top management, employees, expert consults, other organizations, budget, and customer needs.
  5. APPROACH — What steps must I take to achieve my goals? (Be specific — who, when, duration, etc.)
    • By identifying the outcomes, benefits, barriers, and supports, you will be better able to begin mapping out the approach for developing and implementing your performance management system. Some questions you may want to consider include:
      1. What exactly do you need formalized to help facilitate goal setting, feedback, and documentation?
        • Many times organizations assume performance management is the evaluation at the end of the review period. However, an effective performance management system begins with the development of a performance plan at the BEGINNING of the evaluation period. This performance plan or individual strategic plan is a living document that may need updating throughout the plan year.In general, systems should include both competencies and goals. With most of my clients, we develop a group of core competencies or behaviors that mirror the values of the organization. Plus, we develop individualized goals for each employee that are tied to the goals of the business.There are many canned and customizable systems out there that can help you identify what you want to include in your system. To help you generate ideas, you may want to seek samples from other companies or resources (i.e. Performance Appraisals: A Collection of Samples by SHRM Information Center ~$35.00 or Performance Impact by KnowledgePoint). Be sure any piece of information you include on the form adds value rather than creates work for others. Plus, be sure the form is a tool not a rule!
      2. How often do you need to formally discuss goals and feedback versus informally?
        • Like your business plan, a performance plan is a living document and the goals and feedback should be ongoing and constant. However, it often takes a formal get-together for this to actually happen. If your organization is not one to proactively meet throughout the plan year, then a formal meeting, even if short, should be arranged at least quarterly to ensure an employee is getting timely feedback and still supporting both their individual and the organization’s strategic plan(s). Plus, if you summarize this quarterly meeting your end of the year review will be a breeze.
      3. Who needs to be trained on performance management and coaching?
        • We all could benefit from training on performance management and coaching. Even if you are the best manager, a refresher on performance management simply helps you continuously grow as a proactive manager. Formal training can also help ensure all managers are working with the same set of tools, including assistance with the seeming struggle about how to be a manager and a coach at the same time. Learning what has been successful and not successful with others will help everyone in the organization succeed. 
      4. What will you do to involve both employees and management in the process?
        • Employees and supervisors will not take the time for performance planning and reviews if management does not support it. Management has to realize the value added (i.e. increased productivity, improved morale, retention) of performance management and demonstrate their support of the system to all employees. This may require involving a key management player in the development and implementation of the system.Like management, employees will be more encouraged to take the feedback and direction of performance management seriously if they are involved with the development of the system. To do this, you can either survey employees to identify their needs or include them in a team tasked to evaluate and develop a program. COMMUNICATE!!! 
      5. How will the system be tied to compensation?
        • Of course, any system is going to be much more open and honest when there is little or no connection to pay. The catch is, that you need to have some way to measure employee performance, in order to provide performance based increases. You’ll need to develop a clear philosophy and supporting policy for merit increases. Because this will depend on your budget and values, each organization may have a totally different philosophy and policy on pay increases. By making this policy clear and communicating it up front, the link to compensation will have a better chance of being both objective and effective. 
  6. EVALUATION — How will I know when I’ve reached my goal?
    • Too often this last checkpoint in implementation is skipped. It is very important for you to constantly evaluate your program. Some ways you can do this is through focus groups, employee surveys, or interviewing management. The key is to schedule it and just do it!

Remember, you don’t want your employees feeling like Alice did in Alice in Wonderland. You need to be sure you are communicating the expectations and goals of the organization and tying them to each employee’s Individual Strategic Plan in order to realize success. Whether this is a formal or an informal process doesn’t matter as long as you are doing it!!

Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant is President of Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com). If you have any questions, wish to share your comments, or your organization needs individualized help developing a successful performance management system, you can contact Robin at 513-697-9855 or Robin@strategicHRinc.com for more details.

Clark Schaefer Strategic HR's wheel of HR Services, including HR Strategy, Recruitment, Training & Development, Benefits & Compensation, Communications, Employee Relations, Recordkeeping, and Health, Safety & Security

Resources at Your Fingertips for HR Professionals

by Linda Gravett, PhD, SPHR and Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR

“Where can I find information about…???” This is probably the most frequent question both of us receive from HR practitioners.  Therefore, this article is dedicated to sharing with you as many resources as we can think of that you may find helpful now or in the future.

Human Resources Management Books

Have you read any of these?  Many of these human resources management books will be helpful to you in no matter what type of organization you work:

        1. Built on Trust by Arky Ciancutti and Thomas Steding
          • This book describes how a high-trust organization can achieve competitive advantage. Techniques are provided to move the culture away from one in which managers rule by fear. 
        2. Creating a Culture of Competence by Michael Zwell
          • This book addresses concrete ways to assess an organization’s overall level of competence in relation to strategic objectives.  The author shares methods to ensure that employees and managers are working at full capacity to achieve the organization’s mission.
        3. All Crisp Publications
          • These are the “50-minute” series that provide content, worksheets, exercises, case studies, and more on any topic you could imagine ranging from multi-rater feedback to performance management to retention to selecting and working with consultants.  For a complete list, vist their website here.
        4. First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
          • This totally irreverent book will shake up traditional management paradigms.  The authors describe characteristics and approaches, which are common to all great managers.  The approaches usually fly in the face of conventional wisdom.  The book is based on two Gallup studies that spanned 25 years.
        5. Fish!  A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen
          • This unique book tells the leadership story as a fable, describing a workplace where employees have energy, passion, and joy.  The authors provide some common-sense ideas to help people really get connected to their work, coworkers, and customers.
        6. HR Champions by Dave Ulrich
          • This is the ultimate tool to help you strategically align your human resources function with the business.  Ulrich provides many tools and case studies throughout the entire book to help you deliver a value-added human resources function.
        7. HR How-to…Employee Retention by Jennifer Carsen, J.D. 
          • This is a wonderful, easy to read book with TONS of ideas and suggestions for retention, recruitment, work/life balance, employee opinion surveys, and much much more. 
        8. Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, M.D.
          • If you haven’t read this book, you must.  It’s a quick and easy way to help your organization effectively deal with change in a productive and successful manner.
        9. Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?  Inside IBM’s Historic Turnaround by Louis Gerstner
          • This account of IBM’s strategy for becoming a real player in the world of technology in the 1990’s is excellent.  The author describes how IBM went from being a comfortable but inflexible giant to a company with organizational agility and vision.

General HR Online Resources

You will find these general human resources websites contain a great deal of information including facts, best practices, tools, and more:

      1. Better Work Place Now
        • This site provides ideas and tools for creating workplaces that truly bring out the best in people.  If you haven’t seen Tom Terez’s work, you need to check out his website.  There are many free tools and resources to help you with your workplace.  Plus, his monthly newsletter is wonderful.
      2. Crisis Management International
        • This site will help you in identifying foreseeable risks, preparing for threats and hazards, and responding if an incident occurs. 
      3. Strategic Human Resources, Inc.
        • Quick, customized, answers to your human resource management questions in seven key areas:  Management Practices, HR Audits/Startups, HR Development, Managing Diversity, Compensation, Executive Coaching, and Employee Relations.  This is a fee service but your first question is FREE.
      4. Fast Company
        • On this website, you will find articles and resources on leadership, strategy and innovation, Internet and technology, education and resources, careers, human resources, marketing and branding, and sales and customer service.
      5. HR.com
        • This is a very comprehensive site containing information, resources, products, and services to help you with your human resources issues in eight areas:  Compensation and Benefits, HR Information Systems, HR Management, Labor Relations, Legal, Organizational Development, Staffing, and Training and Development.
      6. HR Guide
        • This site provides you with a magnitude of links to other human resources websites.
      7. HR Hero
        • This will become an excellent employment law resource for you with quick answers to your employment law and management questions as well as news, laws, advice, and tools.
      8. HRM Guide
        • The HRM Guide Network includes free articles and features on key human resources issues, research, and books.
      9. HR Next
        • This site provides free access to hundreds of informative articles and useful tools.  Plus, if you select to be a paid subscriber, there are even more resources available to you.
      10. HR Tools
        • This is a virtual human resources department providing a number of online resources including news and toolkits for staffing, HR Compliance, training and performance, benefits and compensation, and safety.
      11. Inc.
        This website contains articles and resources on business management.  They also offer many free email subscriptions that include excellent tips and resources sent directly to you if you subscribe.
      12. My Work Tools
        • Do you need a business tool?  This site provides sample business tools to help you complete specific business tasks related to human resources (i.e. performance reviews), marketing, legal, finance, training, and more. Plus, you can submit your tools and earn a profit when someone buys them.

Compensation & Benefits Online Resources
Too often, we need quick access to compensation and benefits data for comparison purposes.   Below is a list of online compensation and benefits resources:

  1. Benefits Link
    • Benefits Link provides employee benefits compliance information and tools.
  2. Benefits News
    • This is another great employee benefits site for news, links, and more.
  3. Economic Research Institute
    • This site offers many salary surveys, software, and other products.  Also, if you select “free analyst resources” on the top navigation bar, you’ll be taken to page of free information including links to MANY other free and paid “salary sources and surveys”. 
  4. National Compensation Survey
    • This website is a summarization of the annual survey by the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics including data on local, regional, and national occupational earnings; quarterly changes in employer costs; annual employer cost levels; and incidence and provisions of employee benefits.
  5. Salary.com
    • This website provides compensation information including the ability to request the average salary for a title in a specific location.
  6. Wage Web
    • This is another good site for salary data.  Some of the information is provided for free, but you can subscribe to get even more data.
  7. World at Work
    • This is the website for the professional association for compensation, benefits, and total rewards.  In addition to membership, this site provides links, resources, and news related to compensation.

Human Resources Development Resources

When you need assistance with a training and development project, you may find some of these resources beneficial:

  1. American Society for Training & Development
    • This is the website for the professional association providing resources on workplace learning and performance issues including information, research, conferences, publications and more.
  2. HR Hub
    • This is an excellent resource for human resources related products, suppliers, and news including free newsletters, free trade publications, and online training.
  3. Performance Assessment Network
    • This is a web-based system that you can use to assist you with the distribution, administration, and analysis of professional assessments, tests, and surveys.
  4. International Telework Association Council
    • This site provides research, educational events, publications, and information about telework. Plus, the organization assists businesses and the public in optimizing the advantages of working remotely.

Legislative Online Resources

“Is it legal to…?”  When you have a legal question, you may find some of these resources helpful in determining the solution to your issue:

  1. AHI Employment Law Resource Center
    • This is a compliance resource center that includes publications and reports on various legislative issues.
  2. Employment Law Information Network
    • This is a free legal resource that contains information on federal and state laws including news, articles, forms, policies, an employment lawyer directory, and discussion forums.
  3. Fair Measures 
    • On this site, you will find management law training programs and online policies and checklists to help both employers and employees avoid costly lawsuits.
  4. Job Accommodation Network
    • This site provides free information about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) including job accommodations and the employability of people with disabilities.
  5. Legal Information Institute
    • This is a collection of state legal materials for the fifty states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico including constitutions, statutes, regulations, and judicial opinions.
       

Recruiting Online Resources

This number of recruiting resources available online is unlimited and constantly changing. Below are a few sample resources that you may find helpful if you have any recruitment needs:

  1. Advantage Services, Inc.
    • This site provides pre-employment background checks for large and small companies in the U.S. and Canada including verification of employment, education, references, professional licenses, driving records, drug screening, credit history, civil history, criminal background checks and more.
  2. CareerBuilder
    • This site contains a job posting board and resume bank.
  3. Dice
    • This site contains a job posting board and resume bank for technical positions.
  4. Flipdog.com
    • This site contains a job posting board and resume bank.
  5. Human Resources Careers
    • This site contains a job posting board and resume bank for human resources positions.
  6. Monster.com
    • This site contains a job posting board and resume bank.
  7. Recruiters Network
    • This site contains multiple free resources to help you with recruitment.
  8. Recruiter Resources
    • This site provides a comprehensive list of job posting boards and resume banks plus multiple other resources to help you in recruiting.
  9. Search Firm
    • This is a free directory of executive search firms around the world specializing in over 50 particular areas of interest, including biotechnology, legal, healthcare, technology, marketing and telecommunications.

As we learn everyday, the resources available online and in print are growing and changing daily.  Hopefully, this list will give you a start to some of the available resources.  You may want to save a copy of this list and continue adding to it as you identify more resources.

Robin Throckmorton, M. A., SPHR, a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant is President of Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com). Dr. Linda Gravett, Ph.D., SPHR is with Gravett & Associates (www.Gravett.com). If you have any questions or wish to share your comments, you can contact Robin at Robin@strategicHRinc.com.

Image of Strategic HR Wheel of Services highlighting Communications

Unleashing Employee Potential Through Competency-Based Job Descriptions

by Linda Gravett, PhD, SPHR

How many times have you heard statements like these from your employees?

“I have no idea what my official job duties are.” 
“My job description mainly says ‘other duties as assigned’.” 
“I’m evaluated on things that aren’t even in my job description.”

If you’ve heard these complaints much too often, perhaps the time is right for your organization to develop competency-based job descriptions.

A competency-based job description has one significant feature that traditional job descriptions do not possess. In addition to listing duties assigned to a position, the skills and behaviors required to successfully perform these duties is also included. This feature does the following:

  • Enables recruiters to fully describe job requirements
  • Helps supervisors adequately explain areas for improvement during reviews
  • Lets employees understand skills they must acquire if they’re interested in other positions within the organization

Here’s how competency-based job descriptions are used on a practical basis:

Employees are often told that communication skills are important. Does that mean written, verbal, body language, or all of the above? An example of communications competency components that I’ve helped one of my clients identify is:

Communications

  1. Negotiating – dealing with others in order to reach an agreement or solution; for example, consensus building
  2. Persuading – dealing with others in order to influence them toward some action or point of view; for example, recommending an innovative solution to a problem
  3. Instructing – expanding knowledge or skills enhancement, in either a formal or informal setting
  4. Interviewing – conducting interviews directed toward some specific objective; for example, interviewing job applicants
  5. Routine Information Exchange – giving or receiving job-related information
  6. Public Speaking – making formal presentations before internal or external audiences
  7. Writing – writing and editing concise, clear letters, reports, articles, or e-mails
  8. Effective Listening – actively engaging in conversations in order to clearly understand others’ message and intent

Employees are often advised how important it is to be a “team player.” The supervisor may have a definition of a “team player” in mind that is vastly different from that of the direct reports he or she supervises. This was the case with another client who developed this set of statements to describe teamwork:

Teamwork and Collaboration

  1. Establishing Rapport – establishing and maintaining a good rapport and cooperative working relationship with all members of the organization
  2. Taking Initiative – showing flexibility in joining ad hoc teams and taking on extra responsibilities when required
  3. Choosing Communication Methods – effectively selecting the appropriate communication method to fit the situation
  4. Involving Others – involving coworkers and direct reports by sharing information through reports, meeting, or presentations
  5. Soliciting Input – asking for input from others through reports, meetings, or presentations
  6. Respecting Others – treating others with respect, regardless of position or function
  7. Influencing – using relationships to influence others to take risks for the good of the overall organization
  8. Facilitating Brainstorming – initiating brainstorming sessions when required to ensure that team members are invested in team activities and decisions

I don’t recommend that an organization use a “canned” approach toward developing competencies. Your organization’s Mission and Vision statements are the starting point to develop competency-based job descriptions. Why does your organization exist? How does your organization want to do business in three years? five years? What skills and behaviors must your employees have in order to successfully carry out the Mission and Vision? I advocate the company leadership taking time out to address these questions, with the input of Human Resources, to determine the unique set of competencies the organization requires.

I believe you’ll discover that a core set of competencies will be required organization wide. For example, one of my clients concluded that Communications, Teamwork and Collaboration, Research Skills, Innovation, Problem Solving, Coaching, Developing Goals and Objectives, and Leadership were all required to some degree. As an employee moves to the manager and executive level, the scope, impact, and level of sophistication increase. One size (job description) does not fit all.

For my clients that are now using competency-based job descriptions, there have been some clear advantages and some implementation challenges. The advantages are:

  1. Lower turnover because of better matches between applicants and jobs
  2. Less ambiguity during performance reviews because supervisors can provide more concrete examples of expectations
  3. More clarity about skill sets required for career development throughout the organization

Change is not easy to accept, even when the change will be beneficial to individuals and the organization. Some supervisors prefer room for subjectivity in hiring and promoting decisions. It’s so much easier to check a box for “Initiative” and “Dependability” than to think about specific behaviors and how those behaviors demonstrate competency. Those same supervisors, however, desire much more specificity when their review time rolls around!

I recommend that cross-functional, multi-level focus groups work together to develop the competency components – following the leadership’s articulation of the core competencies required for the organization to survive and thrive. I’ve found that this promotes buy-in and encourages employees to start developing a new language to describe how work gets done.

If you decide to move toward competency-based job descriptions, don’t forget to revise your performance reviews so they’re parallel. The competencies and their components on each individual’s job description should reappear on the performance review. Employees that I’ve talked with really appreciate the consistency!

Dr. Linda Gravett, PhD, SPHR is with Gravett & Associates (www.Gravett.com). If you have any questions or wish to share your comments with Linda, you can contact her at Linda@Gravett.com.