Being strategic is sort of like the weather--everybody talks about it, but nobody does anything about it. Here, San Francisco State University professor John Sullivan gives some examples of actions that he says have proven to be strategic.
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ere are what John Sullivan (in his new book)
lists as some of the actions workforce management professionals can take that
are "a little bold."
Integrate your managers through metrics -- Managers
often work independently and fail to share best practices among each other.
By offering each individual manager on the management team an incentive, based
on the overall performance of the management team, you can encourage managers
to cooperate. By tying managerial performance together with a common bond, you
can encourage top managers to help improve the performance of the below-average
managers.
By asking employees to rate the quality of their own
management and then rewarding managers with high scores, you can also encourage
managers to play closer attention to their people management practices.
Bad management-identification program -- One of the
primary reasons that employees quit their jobs is the bad management practices
of their direct supervisor. Develop a program that can identify "bad managers,"
and then develop strategies for fixing these managers, transferring them back
to more technical jobs, or releasing them.
Measure and reward managers for good people management -- Managers
who practice good people management have the most productive employees. Unfortunately,
most firms have no measurement system for assessing individual managers on how
they manage their people. Human resources should send a clear message to individual
managers that managing people is important by developing a system for rewarding
managers for great people management.
Off-cycle actions -- Going "against the grain"
might seem unwise on the surface, but in some cases, it can lead to being the
first or the only competitor in the field. For example, if the economy is down
and no one is recruiting on college campuses, you might find that if you actively
recruit, you might get some "superstar hires" that you would have
had little or no chance of getting when everyone else was going full speed in
college recruiting. Yes, this means creating open positions when the company
is not doing well, but it might also mean that you will be able to "explode"
out of the box better than your competitors can when the economy improves.
There are other off-cycle actions; for example, intensifying
retention programs even though your turnover rate is currently very low. Most
employees expect special treatment when they know there is a high demand for
their talent. This off-cycle approach is so effective because, when you pay
attention and recognize employees when it's not needed, employees tend to appreciate
it more. In addition, when the job market improves, they might just remember
how well you treated them when you did not have to.
Reward results in human resources -- Human resources
managers must be recognized and rewarded for their results in maintaining a
competitive advantage over the organization's competitors. Human resources lags
woefully behind in the use of incentives for its people and programs, however.
Combining metrics with significant bonuses for performance can have a dramatic
impact on human resources productivity.
In particular, rewards should be offered to all if
human resources meets its overall goals. Incentives are also effective for recruiters,
generalists (if their business unit achieved its goals), and those in leadership
development. It does not take much; as little as a five percent bonus will improve
performance by significantly more than five percent. A note of caution, though;
bonuses must be tied to numerical results, not subjective terms like "merit"
or leadership.
Reward cooperation -- Human resources is known for having
functional silos; this runs counter to the goal of developing a competitive
advantage. In order to ensure that human resources functions work together,
human resources needs to develop a common metric and reward that crosses all
critical human resources functions. This way, human resources professionals
are given incentives to work together.
Prioritize programs -- It's not important to be great
in every area, just in critical ones. That means that human resources must identify
which programs and processes are critical to the firm's success and focus on
maintaining a competitive advantage in those areas.
Shifting resources -- In addition to prioritizing programs,
human resources leadership must ensure that human resources budget and time
allocations continually shift from low priority human resources programs to
high priority ones.
Employment brand -- One of the areas that is critical
if you are to build a competitive advantage is the organization's "brand"
as a good place to work. Because most human resources departments spend little
time and effort on building a brand, this is an area where it is relatively
easy to provide a competitive advantage.
Managers are your "delivery system" -- It's
important to remember that supervisors or line managers "deliver"
a great deal of a firm's people management services like policy interpretations,
performance assessment, and motivation. Although human resources does deliver
some information directly to employees, most of that is filtered or redefined
by line managers. As a result, it is important for human resources to realize
that the primary delivery system for people-management services is the manager.
Human resources must accordingly design its programs
based on the strengths and the weaknesses of the delivery system the manager.
It is not enough to develop a human resources program; it must be pre tested
utilizing managers in order to see if what you intended actually will filter
through to the employees.
Human resources advisory group -- Like most other functions,
human resources tends to be isolated from outside criticism. To counter that
insularity, human resources should put together an advisory group to provide
critical input and ideas, and to act as "beta testers." The group
should include line managers, individuals who hate bureaucracy, individuals
from finance, and some other diverse thinkers. Ask this group to be critical
of everything you propose and offer suggestions in order to make your programs
easier to implement and more strategic.
Competitive intelligence -- A significant side benefit
of doing a competitive analysis between firms is that you frequently gain competitive
intelligence information about the operation of their people-management programs.
This information can be used to improve existing programs so that you can leapfrog
over your competitors. Cooperate with the competitive intelligence staff within
your own business units and piggyback on their processes and sources.
Experimentation -- Constantly try new things in every
area of human resources on the assumption that you can't beat them if you don't
act differently. Rapidly drop the ones that don't work. Run pilot and test programs
to see if great "ideas" really become great "programs."
On demand -- Human resources has a bad habit of offering
"flavor of the month" programs to managers. Flooding managers with
programs that they don't want can be a tactical error that can result in a lot
of wasted resources on "unwanted" programs. A wiser approach is to
first identify manager needs and provide information to managers about programs
and services that you could provide. But only offer new human resources programs
after managers request or "demand" them. Proof that managers really
want a human resources program is typically if they are willing to fund it.
Develop a "most wanted" list -- A "most
wanted" list is an element of a recruiting strategy that espouses asking
your key managers which individuals working at competitors that are "to
die for." By identifying the specific individuals you want to hire, by
name, at the beginning of the hiring process, you take a good deal of the "chance"
out of the recruiting process.
Pre-identifying targets allows you to focus a significant
portion of your recruiting time and resources on convincing a relatively small
number of "highly desirable" individuals to come to work with your
firm. And the net result is that you can, first, really "wow" your
managers and, second, you can increase the effectiveness of your firm dramatically
by bringing in these "high-impact" individuals.
Hire to hurt -- Identify key individuals at your competitors
who, if they were hired away, would significantly hurt your competitor. Look
at competitors as you would a sports team with no backups in crucial positions.
Be sure and exclude people who are easily replaceable in the marketplace or
who have a strong "second" who can step in easily. Ask your current
employees who formerly worked for your competitors to help you identify these
key individuals.
Benchmark to recruit -- Call the top firms (or piggyback
on others at your firm who are actively benchmarking) to benchmark their best
practices. Use that benchmarking process to identify and build relationships
with potential recruiting targets.
First day of hire, ask, "who else is good?" -- When
you hire someone from a competing firm, it is essential that you use that opportunity
to gather the names of employees from their former firm who you might want to
recruit. Ask the new hire who else at the firm is really good or will soon be
good, as well as who is undesirable. Ask new hires (and reward them) if they
will help you in recruiting top talent from their former employers.
Pre-need hiring -- Hire people in key positions before
there is an urgent need. If you wait until someone leaves a key job, that means
that there inevitably will be a delay before the new hire is up to speed. This
can dramatically slow your time to market. Hire people before they are needed
so they can ramp up their skills and be ready when you need them. Calculate
the learning curve and the time-to-fill periods, and use that to determine when
to "pre-need" hire.
On-site professional seminars -- People who continually
learn and improve are the type of talent you want to recruit. These are the
same kind of people who regularly attend seminars. By holding professional seminars
on your site, you can physically draw them to your premises while simultaneously
improving your organization's "brand."
When they arrive you can excite them with your facility,
get them to meet your people, and show them your cool projects and tools all
under the guise of helping them learn to perform their current job better. Bring
in outside experts as speakers in order to draw them in. Invite potential hires
to speak along with your own top employees. Demonstrate to attendees that your
firm and its employees are on the leading edge of knowledge.
Invited open house -- An "invite a friend to work"
program has a simple premise. Any organization needs to get candidates "in
the door" in order to have a real chance of closing the sale. Car dealers
and realtors have used this strategy for decades. A "bring a friend to
work program" gets potential candidates to come to your facility and talk
to your team. It targets employed but "passive" job seekers who wouldn't
apply for a job but might come to an event to see what it's like where "my
friend" works.
"Bring a friend to work" is a high-touch
variation of the traditional employee referral program. It differs from traditional
"open house" programs (that are open to the public) in that individual
employees invite people they know on a professional basis and who have the competencies
the organization needs. If the "friend" is hired, the employee gets
the standard referral bonus.
Who is at risk of leaving? -- Instead of guessing who
is going to leave the organization, it is better to take a proactive approach
in identifying who is at risk of leaving. Possible strategies include searching
the Web for your own employees' resumes; placing a blind ad to see if your own
employees apply; or asking other workers to identify who is "looking."
Also consider hiring an executive search professional to tell you who is a prime
candidate for other firms, who is looking, and who is safe. By getting real
data and outside opinions, you increase the odds of identifying the correct
individuals who truly are at risk.
Challenge plans or learning plans -- One of the top
reasons employees leave a job is that they are not challenged in their current
job. By giving each employee an individual challenge plan, employees can continue
to grow and learn. A challenge plan would include new projects, tasks and presentations
in front of management. Managers and employees both could choose from a list
of "tried and true" challenges if they are unsure of what might challenge
them.
Pre-exit interviews -- Instead of waiting until someone
quits, it pays to be proactive and ask key employees why they stay By identifying
what keeps them in the job and at your organization, you can reinforce the positives
and eliminate what frustrates them the most. Interviews should be held every
six months for employees who are at risk.
Re-recruit -- Superstar employees often leave because
they are courted and praised by outside recruiters. Managers must remember to
do the same periodically in order to reduce turnover. Why wait until recruiters
call and "sweet talk" your top talent? Every six months treat your
employees as potential recruits and "re-do the deal" to re-energize
and excite them.
Blocking tools -- In this aggressive world, managers
must anticipate large scale raiding by competitors. Managers must develop "blocking
tools" in order to protect the organization's talent resources. These tools
include anticipating competitors' actions through competitive intelligence,
developing a blocking team, re-recruiting top talent, offering "stay-on"
bonuses, and doing a competitive analysis of the raider. Other blocking strategies
might include tools to make it difficult for competitors to identify your top
talent, to know your pay ranges, and to find your weaknesses.
Attention plans -- Many employees desire recognition
and attention. One-way to systematically ensure that key employees get exposure
is to develop an individual "attention plan" for each of them. Ask
the employee what kinds of exposure he or she wants, and plot out a plan to
insure it happens. Attention areas might include committee assignments, presentations,
write ups, chances to be a team leader, meetings with the CEO, and meetings
with members of the board of directors.
Post exit interviews -- Many people fail to give the
real reason for leaving a job because they fear potential retaliation by their
manager in the form of a bad reference. If, however, you postpone the interview
until three to six months after the termination, the chances of getting a candid
reason for leaving increase dramatically. Use an independent market research
firm to identify why employees have left, what the salary differential is at
their present job, and even if they're interested in returning.
Change the players -- Even when sports teams win championships,
the next year they frequently change more than 10 percent of their team. Teams
change their players in order to stay fresh or to adapt to the changing competition
or environment. Unfortunately, such high turnover rates are quite unusual in
business. If you are trying to be strategic, a low turnover rate could be a
big mistake, especially if you have poor hiring practices, weak training, or
ineffective incentive and motivation programs. My advice to managers is that
"if you continually lose the game, change the players."
Drop the "deadwood" -- Improve people productivity
by dropping the deadwood. Instead of giving everyone a second and third chance,
run the metrics to see if investing in poor performers has a higher return than
getting rid of the poor performers as soon as it becomes obvious they aren't
performing. Instead of crying "we might get sued," quantify the real
risks of lawsuits. Develop "no-fault divorce" approaches to termination
in order to encourage managers to drop bottom performers quickly.
Bench strength (back-fill) plan -- In a time of high
turnover, it's increasingly essential to have a strategy for identifying and
developing individuals who can take over if an employee leaves. A "bench
strength" plan differs from traditional succession planning in that it
only covers replacing key jobs within a single department. It is not a company-wide
succession plan. Individual managers are held responsible (and are rewarded)
for developing at least one individual to fill every key job.
Redeployment -- Quite often businesses reduce their
productivity not because they have the wrong people but because they have good
people in the wrong job. This is especially true in businesses that are undergoing
continuous rapid change. Initially placing an "innovator" in a business
unit, for example, might have been a wise move when the business was in its
early growth stages. Once the business has transitioned into a commodity business,
however, it makes more sense to move the "innovator" out and into
another business where "innovative ideas" can be put to better use
this can have more of an impact as well.
Rather than waiting for the employee alone to figure
out where his or her own best internal job placement should be, a better approach
is for human resources and managers together to proactively identify and move
talent from areas of relatively low return to jobs with a higher return. This
process is known as proactive intra placement or redeployment.
Targeted succession plans -- Targeted succession plans
are narrowly focused strategies for ensuring that individuals are available
to fill vacant key positions. They also tell key employees in advance that they
have a future at the organization. Targeted areas often include major software
implementation efforts and product development teams. Most succession plans
fail because they are too broad and cover too long a period of time. Targeted
plans allow the focus and forecasting to be more narrowly applied with the goal
of increasing the accuracy of the planning.
Corporate headcount "fat" assessment plan -- Rather
than learning at the last minute that the organization needs to do a layoff,
establish a set of assessment tools that will let you know in advance
where headcount may be excessive. Monitor ratios, such as output per employee,
employees to managers, overall department headcount to productivity, and overall
labor costs per unit of output, to identify possible "fat" areas.
What should I pay? -- Salary surveys can be out of date
by the time they are published. If they are, you run the risk of "under
offering" top candidates. In order to improve the accuracy of your offers,
it is critical to capture the "other" offers that each of your new
hires and applicants have in order to confirm what the competitive offers really
were. You should also ask your current recruiters and outside executive search
professionals what the real market rate is.
Pay for performance -- Increase productivity by changing
the way you pay people. Shift from the "money distribution department"
to a function that provides incentives to productivity and the behaviors that
increase it. Place a significant emphasis on, and allocate resources to, non
monetary rewards and recognition. Identify and educate managers on which kinds
of pay, recognition, and incentives have the most impact on productivity per
dollar spent.
Measure and reward increasing productivity. Increase
the percentage of every worker's pay that is "at risk" based on his
or her output, because there is evidence for most jobs that, as you increase
the percentage of an employee's pay that is at risk, performance increases.
"More of/less of" motivation list -- A simple
way of identifying what employees want more of in their jobs (and what they
want less of) is to ask each employee what job and environmental factors they
wish to have increased and decreased. Done quarterly, this process gives managers
a chance to understand what employees want. Surveying employees and new hires
about what motivates them helps managers better understand how to keep them
excited. Topics should include what frustrates you? What challenges you? What
are your learning goals?
You do not have the right to remain silent -- This is
a tool that explains the shared responsibility that an employee has in his or
her own management and motivation. You must educate each employee (begin on
the first day) that employees have a shared responsibility to help their
managers and the organization understand what motivates and frustrates them.
Employees are also asked about their aspirations and the key aspects of their
"dream" job. Two way communication needs to be established at the
very start so employees understand they have an important role in educating
their manager about what excites and challenges them.
Develop an employee "balance" sheet -- In
addition to assessing the economic impact of programs, some managers find it
helpful also to provide employees with an assessment of their individual economic
impact. One way to do that is to give each of your key employees an employee
balance sheet at the end of each year. This sheet compares the economic value
of the employee's output with the cost of salary, benefits and training. This
format encourages workers to be more aware of their economic impact to the company.
Employee learning plan -- One of the main reasons that
people either accept or quit a job is their rate of learning. Top professionals
demand the opportunity to learn continuously. By asking each top performer about
their learning goals and how they learn best, managers can develop individualized
learning plans to ensure that the employee learns at a speed necessary to excite
and stimulate them.
Parallel benchmarking -- Benchmark the best practices
in related or parallel industries that traditionally implement advanced programs
faster than your industry does. Learn from the advanced programs and processes
of other disciplines, industries or geographic regions. For example, I once
developed an incredibly fast "speed of hire" process for a Fortune
100 company based solely on information gathered from "fast lube"
and fast food chains. I studied the existing processes throughout human resources,
but they were all slow, so there was really little to learn.
Part of any strategic approach is being aware of the
best practices that exist outside your discipline. In particular, disciplines
of finance, marketing, PR, and decision sciences are frequently ahead of human
resources in metrics and program development.
Where top performers learn -- In a fast changing world
it is essential that everyone is continually learning. Unfortunately, in a fast
paced world there's often little time for traditional learning. One way to speed
up the learning process is to provide employees with "presorted sources."
By asking top performers directly which resources
they use to learn quickly (e.g., what sources have top performers utilized
and found effective), human resources can relatively easily identify which sources
are effective and which sources have little value. Then provide this "best
practice" learning list to managers and employees so that they can begin
learning the same way that the company's top performers do.
Virtual learning networks -- A learning network is a
group of individuals that exchanges information and ideas in real time. By sharing
reading and learning, members can learn faster and from each other. Normally,
a learning network consists of four to 10 individuals with a passion for learning.
Information can be exchanged through e-mail, fax, telephone, in person, or by
a combination of approaches. Information that might be exchanged includes best
practices, problems, articles and more.
There are three basic types of learning networks:
e-mail, fax and telephone. In the first two types, a problem, article or proposal
is sent to the group for comment. Ideas and criticisms are given and the results
are summarized and sent to all (or to all who participated). Telephone groups
use conference calls and hold roundtable discussions.
COMMON "STRATEGIC ERRORS" OF HUMAN RESOURCES
DEPARTMENTS
Now that you've seen a list of provocative and innovative
strategic human resources ideas, it's time to consider the opposite. After conducting
an audit of human resources department operations, it is common to find the
following errors or omissions:
Not measuring or rewarding managers for great people management.
Not tracking management satisfaction with human resources.
Not allocating resources to human resources in line with strategic goals.
Treating all employees and business units the same in recruiting and other
human resources functions.
Not having a feedback loop to learn and revise the human resources processes
when things don't work (i.e., bad hires, bad promotions and losing key individuals).
Failing to do zero based budgeting to critically assess existing human resources
programs, and then dropping the weak ones.
Promoting managers based on technical skills rather than their people skills.
Having no formal non monetary motivation team compensation.
Not including on the job training and job rotations as an essential element
of the development function.
Using the same target pay percentile for all jobs and business units when
clearly all jobs do not have the same business impact.
Having no formal retention department or program.
Only using cost based and no qualitative human resources metrics.
Having few transfers to and from line management.
Having no periodic measurement of individual human resources and business
knowledge.
Having no periodic human resources audit.
Not developing and continually running "what if?" scenarios to
ensure there is a plan "B" for the entire range of possible problems.
Failing to develop human resources programs that cannot be easily copied
by competitors.
Hiring human resources staff without business or line experience.
Not coordinating human resources plans with other business functions to
ensure a coordinated effort.
Failing to ask new hires why they considered and accepted the job in order
to determine which organization efforts had any direct impact on their decision
(pay, training, benefits, career Web site, etc.).
Not having new human resources programs assessed by someone with "fresh
eyes" and by managers that hate human resources.
Failing to measure human resources response time and on time service delivery.
Failing to assess the value of the human resources department's "brand
name" and market share.
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