GenY and the Performance Review


Today I am pleased to have Kyle Lagunas from Software Advice as our guest blogger. Thanks Kyle for contributing to our blog!

The workforce is changing. Just as a company would adjust its business model to a changing market, organiz

ations must rise to meet the needs of the new kids on the block: Generation Y. One of the biggest questions posed to HR professionals has been, “Can Gen Y handle performance reviews without the sugar coating?” The answer is yes.

Some analysts have dubbed us “trophy kids,” and believe we grew up being rewarded for our endeavors regardless of scale or success. Many believe we cannot handle life in a less-than-adoring work environment. Contrary to popular belief, though, we don’t need our hands held or our egos stroked daily. It’s important for leaders and managers to understand things from our perspective, so they can get the most out of our performance reviews.

Here’s how we see it:

1. We don’t get it. You say performance reviews are important, but they are executed so poorly. Dust off your thinking caps, modernize your reviews, and capitalize on your most valuable asset (your people).

2. Lose the sugar coating. You weren’t the only ones suffering through the recession. Our idealism, though strong, has been tempered. If our performance can improve, give us strong, actionable feedback with measurable goals.

3. Connect with us. Regular feedback doesn’t have to be complicated. If you don’t have an instant messaging client in your office, get one. They’re a great tool for maintaining informal lines of communication (which we love).

4. Positive reinforcement isn’t a bad thing. Whoever demonized trophies should think again. Rewarding good performance can be as simple as an “Atta boy!” or “You go girl!” sent via email--and they go a long way in giving Gen Yers a sense of accomplishment.

To read this article in its entirety, check it out the Software Advice’s blog:

5 Things to Make Your Performance Appraisals Rock!


Now more than ever performance metrics are becoming more and more visible. As companies demand high performance from their talent, performance metrics are critically important in determining who is performing and who is not. The recession has forced managers to get every ounce of efficiency from their staff as budgets were tightened and slashed.


Pre-recession we viewed performance management as the "necessary evil." Now, we are needing to rely on performance data but we are discovering that the data may not be valid and reliable. Often times, we are using the same appraisals that we used five or ten years ago. Employees have a huge need for feedback especially Gen X'ers and Y'ers. With managers needing performance data and employees needing feedback, it just makes sense to make sure the performance process is updated and improved.

Here are 5 suggestions to make your appraisals rock:

1. Identify your organizational competencies that are critical for your success. This process is relatively easy by collecting data on what knowledge, skills and talents are needed to drive your organizational strategy forward. Include these competencies in your appraisals.

2. Make sure job responsibilities that are rated are relevant to the jobs being rated. Sometimes this means creating multiple appraisals for different job families. With talent management systems, this process is relatively easy. Employees need to see the linkage between their job and how they are rated.

3. Include a goals/objectives section that can be weighted accordingly. Goals are critical to strategic execution and without a tracking mechanism STRATEGY will fail. Yes, I said i...fail. Many times strategy stalls at the top of the organization because all employees do not know what their role is. By cascading goals all the way down, you can track and make course corrections as necessary.

4. Train managers on giving feedback and rating scales. Make sure managers understand the rating scale. In other words, what does a "5" look like? What are the behaviors associated with a "5" performer? We call these calibration sessions. Also, not all managers are great at feedback especially when its not positive feedback. Training managers on how to coach, mentor, and give job related feedback is critically important in making the process effective. I believe managers are critical in the process...they can make it, or break it.

5. Automate your process. With so many talent management systems available today, it is relatively inexpensive to automate the process. By making it less paper intensive and more about "performance conversations" the better the impact.

Those are my five, now tell me yours...

What Do Experts Say About Human Resources Changing Role?

The experts have looked at HR over the past 10 years or so very critically. They have criticized HR for not focusing on the reason they all really have jobs, PEOPLE. They have also looked at HR to be a leader in moving the mundane issues they deal with to outsourced providers such as benefits administration, HRIS, hiring, service awards, and programs like that. They have also viewed HR as a slow moving profession in the area of strategic human capital investment, business acumen and strategic planning. 


I agree with them in all these areas as well as defining the following areas:

  • Outsourcing of human resources, as a profession, will go into the billion dollars range to service providers like BeneFlex and IBM
  • HR people will need to collaborate with line managers in identifying potential leaders as they focus on the human capital aspect for which they have been criticized. Emotional intelligence and diversity management will continue to gain importance especially in the C-Suite area.
  • Hr will have to find the right HR response to rapidly developing/changing industries as globalization continues to drive business direction.
  • Hr will need to be faster, smarter, and more efficient in internal consulting services holds the key to success in many industries
  • Human resource competencies play crucial role in organizational success and the hiring CEO needs to look beyond his/her current thinking on the value and contribution HR will make to the organization.
  • HR cannot rest on its laurels, they have to continue to build win after win to show their real ROI to the organization, and 
  • HR needs to know the business inside and out to add that value. 
So if HR does not move fast to change in our ever changing business environment, there will be no HR in the future. You can take that to the bank for an old HR pro. 

What Makes Good Journalism?

Journalists and others concerned about the status of the news industry in North America and Europe keep arguing that we are getting poorer journalism because of the economic state of the industry. But when you ask them “what makes good journalism?” they find it nearly impossible to articulate the concept.

Those trying to articulate the elements good journalism tend to use comforting and immeasurable platitudes and to describe it through attributes based on professional practices: pursuit of truth, fairness, completeness, accuracy, verification, and coherence. These are not a definition of quality, but a listing of contributors to or elements of quality practices. Each attribute alone is not sufficient for good journalism and degree to which each contributes is unclear.

In practice, most of us settle on identifying journalistic quality by its absence or by its comparison to poor or average quality journalism. Thus we know it when we don’t see it or we describe by giving examples of excellent journalism.

Other industries are far better in establishing their definitions of quality. If you ask what is quality in washing machines, the answer is that it quality machines clean clothing more effectively, operate quietly, are safe, and are durable and reliable. All of those can be measured by specific indicators of dirt and stain removal, water and energy use, noise decibels generate, user injury rates, and breakdown rates. A quality manufacturer strives for better performance on those measures, provides effective support and service, handles feedback and complaints well, and strives for high customer satisfaction.

The reason quality journalism is difficult to describe is because it involves a body of practices and the mental activity that goes into those practices. Good journalism results from the information gathering and processing activities, PLUS the knowledge and mental processes applied to it.

It is thus labor intensive; it involves collecting, analysing, structuring and presenting information. The best journalism comes from knowledgeable and critical individuals determining what information is significant, backgrounding and contextualizing it, and thinking about and explaining its meaning. It is a creative and cognitive activity. It is difficult to articulate what makes good creative and cognitive activity and nearly impossible to measure these mental processes. Thus, we are forced to use surrogate measures of quality journalism.

Good journalism involves engaging language and fluid prose, but it is not merely a well written and good story; it is not necessarily evident in stories that make the most popular list of stories or are most shared on social media. Good journalism involves stories that have import, impact, and elements of exclusivity and uniqueness; it wrestles with issues of the day, elucidates social conditions, facilitates society in finding solutions to challenges, and is independent of all forms of power. Good journalism is rational and critical; it is infused with scepticism, but not cynicism.

Although it is difficult to effectively measure such attributes of quality journalism, it should be much easier to define and identify quality journalism providers. There are some surrogate and attribute measures available to rate them, such as the percentage of total costs devoted to editorial costs, the amount of serious news content, the percentage of content originated rather than acquired, the amount and handling of errors, levels of reader satisfaction, and brand reputation.

In the end, however, the question of what makes good journalism has to be answered by answering the queries: Good or valuable to WHOM? Good or valuable for WHAT? Only then can one begin to establish direct measures that determine the effectiveness of journalism in achieving those objectives.

Susan Spencer on Essentials for Women in Business

A Wharton interview with Susan Spencer on women and essentials in business. This is a must see.  

HR Innovations Conference Recap: Day 1





Yesterday, I presented and attended the "HR Innovations" conference hosted by the Performance Institute in Washington, DC. This conference is geared to the public sector and has some very interesting sessions.

I found some common themes in today's sessions. Effectiveness, efficiency, performance and strategy were key topics. Today's discussions had a different focus than previous conferences that were also geared to the public sector have had in the past. I have to assume that the recession has forced our public entities to move from a culture of "status quo" to one of "high performing and service focused." I think the reasons are clear, our government and educational institutions have slashed budgets, smaller workforces, and potential outsourcing and privatizing of "usual" government services.

So, with all that said, it was refreshing to hear HR professionals from many government organizations discuss strategy and metrics. Just like in the private sector, some agencies are ahead of others, some agencies have a clearly articulated strategy, others do not. But, I see it is a new day on Public Sector Street. Accountability and performance are now being expected just as it is in the private sector. I know in my home town in Atlanta, GA our mayor has a platform of change around performance and accountability.

I believe there is room for best practice exchange between the public and private sector. In each sector there are pockets of excellence. I have noticed that certain areas of the public sector seems to have a better grasp on data analysis and data visualization where the private sector has a lot of experience in the areas of increasing performance, in particular "pay for performance."

If one issue was burning for the Federal Government, it had to be performance management. They struggle with getting rid of non-performers and redeploying staff due to a shift in competency requirements. With changes in strategy with incoming administrations, competencies are subject to change on a frequent basis.

I was asked a very good question...

How do you keep talent engaged and deployed according to their skill sets with changing priorities in a government environment?

What do you think? We have some best practices from the private sector that may help...please let me hear YOUR thoughts and opinions.






Is HR About People Anymore?

Our profession continues to have more in-depth business responsibilies associated with the board room that detract us from our core area of responsibility, people. Our human capital sometimes gets lost in that matrix because we have a harder time balancing the board room and the work areas. What we all have to remember is "people are our business". The true HR professional has to strike that delicate balance between business and people all the while remembering who our customers are, "the people". Our board room is where the people are too.

Turning a Wide Eye

So you’ve monitored your brand for a while, you understand how to draw and apply conclusions you’ve drawn from the data you’ve gathered but you sense that there’s something missing. One thought crosses your mind – what are others doing in this space, or lets take it one step further – what exactly are your competitors doing in this space? You might be driven by curiosity or you might be driven by the annual benchmarking report, whichever it might be you’ll quickly find a lot of value in monitoring the wider industry conversations including your competition.

Making use of social data to understand your competition is important for several reasons and may at the most basic level help you benchmark a brand’s marketing, communications and general perception against that of others in a similar space. In addition to this, the data can provide insight into competitor activity online, the way in which other products are marketed in social media, online service innovations and how they speak to or with their own customers within social networks. All of this is invaluable information that you can slice and dice and think of incorporating or avoiding in your own business.

Before diving into a competitor analysis you will need to consider the right competitors to measure. You may intuitively think of your closest competitors which is a useful start, however, you should also look into third party data sources to gain a complete view on what companies, products and services compete in your market, at similar price points, or perhaps have just launched. You should also consider non-branded competitors: in banking, for example, brands compete against other uses of money – investments, pension products and so on. Remember that extra data points really add value to any and all of this analysis, though: revenue figures, advertising spend, awareness of discrete marketing campaigns, etcetera, complete the picture – correlations and causations should underlie the data returned from social systems.

Doing an industry wide assessment of the space you operate in can also help uncover up and coming competitors, ones that you may not have identified in a traditional competitor analysis. Based on this you can make predictions about what is likely to develop in the market place. Be sure to take a step back however and consider where your client is in a wider context; why does brand X have a particularly strong presence in your market? Is it due to obvious factors like a high traditional marketing spend or a strong set of social presences? Can you replicate their success? Perhaps no one in your market is particularly successful in social channels; in this case there’s a first mover advantage waiting there for you to take! You’ll be surprised at the opportunities you might uncover when you move beyond monitoring just your brand. Chances are you’ll uncover information that you didn’t actually know you were looking for but will go a long way towards giving you a competitive edge.

By Olivia Landolt Marketing and Community Manager

Metrics...Check! Anyone Using the Data?















We all know the drill. You spend time creating your HR metrics that matter to your organization and then you send them out to management and they hit with a gigantic thud. I had one conference attendee tell me this story:

"I spent 24 months developing and HR scorecard, I sent the new scorecard out to our management team with a "return receipt" on the email. I had 2 managers out of over 40 to actually open the email. WOW!"

I hear stories like this all the time. We get so proud of our metrics that we forget to assist our managers in the "what do I do with this information" piece. The simple answer is to take action on the data. If we don't take action then why would we be measuring anyway?

In my experience the best way to get managers to pay attention to metrics that (should) matter is:

1) Make sure the data is relevant to the end user
2) Make sure the data is displayed in a way that is easily understandable and meaningful
3) Have action planning meetings regarding the data
4) Make sure you articulate the WIIFM proposition to the manager
5) Tie performance data to the metrics that need to be improved (that gets their attention)

Think about this scenario. You are tracking employee engagement and customer satisfaction by department. In your analysis you determine that departments with the lowest turnover have the highest employee and customer satisfaction scores. In looking further you determine that these departments are also the most productive. Let's just say, that you send out the data and it looks something like this:








I think you may get a reaction like, "So, what am I supposed to do?"

But, what if you sent out something like this:

By analyzing your recent customer, employee, turnover and productivity data, we have learned that:

By decreasing your average turnover by just 1%, doing so will increase your customer and employee engagement scores by 10-12%, which in turn will increase your location's productivity by 14%.

To assist you in the root cause of your turnover we have determined through exit interview surveys that you are losing employees due to long work hours and non flexile work schedules. HR is now reviewing policies to assist you in retaining your employees which will in turn increase your productivity.

The above sure is better than a lot of rows and columns...I'm just sayin'

Writing With Skill

I Tweeted "If you can't articulate the business case, don't expect the funding" on Twitter today as a reminder to all HR executives. Truer words have never been said, especially by Jason Averbook who initially Tweeted this. HR executives and middle HR managers focus so much on effective verbal communication that they easily forget the real fundamentals of effective written communication. Today's way of communicating through VM, social media outlets and text messaging have hindered our overall communication skills. And the bets are on that as the next generation to sit in your seats will be less skilled than you. Think about that!!!  


There was an article in the Business section of the Atlanta Journal Constitution this past Sunday, June 5th, talking about the failure of individuals today to really be effective writers. And if you cannot write effectively with significant skill then you will not make it to the top levels of the HR pyramid. The article sites the following things to consider when you sit down to write a memo, policy statement, presentation to the board, letter, email, etc: 
  • think about your audience and the appropriate format (email, letter, handbook revision).
  • Proofread your work carefully - which I do not because I rely on Spell Check - not a good thing.
  • Be clear -don't rely on technical jargon or acronyms.
  • Be concise - it is important that you write a 1 page executive report as well as other short reports.
  • Stay professional - no need to expound on this bullet point.
  • Be comfortable with revisions - as someone to review your work before you publish it.
  • Cite references where appropriate.
Remember, it is not the readers job to determine what you are trying to say, it's your job to make it clear.  

partially paraphrased from the AJC by Joyce E.A. Russell

Why HR? And Why Now?















I am asked to speak and teach quite frequently for graduating college students and continuing education students. Most of the time, I am asked to speak on a topic that goes something like this:

Why should I get in HR?
How do you get in HR?
Is HR going away?
Why did you get into HR?
What is next for HR?

Why I get asked these questions, I will never know. Maybe it is my passion for my profession. I am a "glass half-full" kinda girl, so I try and see the positives in life, people and work. Maybe that is the reason, they know I won't come in and tell them all to find a new major! :)

So, I guess my message to students is that NOW is a great time to enter HR because I do feel a shift coming and I do see progress into the world of "HR gets it." I believe our profession is at an important crossroads where "value" and "transactions" intersect. I see more and more HR professionals going down "value" street. Some will argue it is a little too late. I happen to think the recession forced HR to think and act differently. I see progress everyday in my work and my interactions with my fellow colleagues and students.

Here are some specifics that I base my opinion on:

1) Our company led a strategic bootcamp in Atlanta a few weeks ago. It was an all day event spent working on linking organizational strategy to HR activities. It was awesome. I saw HR professionals from some of our biggest companies, from government and education and small business, roll up their sleeves and really get the "hard-stuff." The conversations were awesome and each person was truly speaking the language of their business.

2) I see a lot of interest around metrics and analysis from HR professionals. As this work is my passion, I see the demand rising for this type of knowledge. Our C-Suite demands data and HR is gearing up to deliver. Brilliant!

3) Gone are the days just talking about being strategic and business partners and table sitters. I am so glad as I was so tired of those conversations. I now hear conversations around real business topics like how to drive strategy and how to make sure the workforce is as productive as it can be. Love it!

So my message is this...Go into HR but go in with a business perspective. Lead the change, and make a difference. People being productive at work is the end game and HR can impact whether that gets done....or not!



The HR Turnaround Specialist or Maintenance Specialist?

Many HR professionals look at themselves as maintenance people but there are a choice few that see themselves as turnaround specialists. Keeping everything status quo is what most HR professionals would do when going into a new company. Those choice few see this as a great opportunity to really excel when they are faced with broken down systems, dysfunctional teams, poor management, benefits that have not been looked at for years, unfunded pensions, decreasing revenues, and poor to market products. Think of yourself as a turnaround artist when you go into a new company. Look at this new job as an opportunity to start with a clean slate and begin making your mark.  Here is what you should do think about, do, change, or move when you get settled into your new role:

  • review the benefit contracts and dissect the costs against claims and historical experience. Call in a trusted actuary to review the details of the contract, funding, and measure against local or regional increases;
  • assess the talent flow-in and recruiting process and streamline as needed or replace particular broken areas and make sure you have a solid applicant tracking system. Also make sure social media recruiting is in the mix;
  • assess the talent within the organization with particular emphasis on senior and middle management groups. Make sure the right people are in the right spots. Don't be afraid to bring in new people and in some cases people you know and trust;
  • make sure that the senior team are all on the same page with the CEO;
  • Make a quick determination on the HR staff's talent and what value they bring to the business;
  • Streamline with the VP of Product Management the go to market process and the internal development process of new products both hardware and software. You ask why should you do this, well because you are a business partner and should be involved in as aspects of the business;
  • determine if IT is a help to the organization or hindrance, and if the latter, make the appropriate changes;
  • meet with the CFO and get a handle on the budgets and talk through the issues you need to address from a financial prospective;
  • Make sure you have all the appropriate systems in place to add value to the organization; and
  • finally but not last of course, survey the organization to see where HR has missed opportunity and what their prospective is and adjust as necessary;
  • conduct brainsteering sessions with senior management. 
I hope this helps those who move into new company roles. Send me an email to expand on these issues at wgstevens2@gmail.com.

Organizing Innovation — Making the Invisible Visible

Some of you may remember the connect the dot painting color books kids used to have; there was no color on the page, just a series of dots that when connected by a wet paint brush revealed a picture defined by different colors. When I was five I thought it was magical, yet someone had thought through the underlying design that allowed a new picture to emerge.

How do leaders and managers organize innovation? While some might say innovation is not to be over-engineered (or it could stifle creativity), there is clear need for a process that connects the elements that contribute to innovative breakthroughs and their implementation. Elements desirable in company cultures today include collaboration, recognition, diversity, and empowerment (google searches on these terms bring up 33 million to 184 million results) — but how are all those incorporated into a process that develops innovation by design?

Price Waterhouse Coopers' report "Demystifying Innovation" connects the dots on business strategy and implementing innovation. To grow markets more than 2% a year radical innovation is required; PWC found that 43% of CEOs in pharmaceuticals, entertainment and media industries feel their greatest growth will come from new products and services. Nearly 40% of CEOs in PWC's study said they expect innovation to be co-developed, through collaboration with outside partners, customers and talent.

The intensive focus on new products and services requiresworkforce planners to identify strategic roles around those new products and services and critical competencies from talent who contribute to innovation. A process to develop innovation and critical thinking to drive a business strategy forward are organizational competencies every company needs. 
Creating conditions where talent can be close to the customer identifies pain points and changing demands. When innovation is a cultural value, it is driven by leadership ethics and recognition of talent who contribute to new thinking. 

Tapping people's creative process engages talent; a can-do culture of open-mindedness and questioning creates a reputation for being innovative and an employer of choice. Philosophers Socrates, Euripides and Descartes said, "question everything" and even comedian George Carlin reminded us we have forgotten to question. Asking "why?" and "why not?" can be the genesis for innovation. As leaders we can ensure those questions get answered.

Author: Joy Kosta
Human Capital Institute Blog, Friday 6/3/11