by Triangle Performance Staff | Feb 12, 2008 | Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
I was recently asked by a junior colleague about how to make some required (read: “sleep-inducing”) training “more fun.” As someone who facilitates leadership development, I get this sort of thing frequently.
Unfortunately, the answer is NOT clown noses, gag gifts, and kooshie balls (is that how you spell that??).
Fun CAN be part of training, but it takes a highly skilled trainer to have both sufficient subject knowledge and adequate facilitation skills to pull it off effectively. “Being funny” in front of a room doesn’t equate to making a training event meaningful. (more…)
by Triangle Performance Staff | Feb 8, 2008 | Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
Nestling warm and sleepy in your company, like the asp in Cleopatra’s bosom, is a department whose employees spend 80% of their time on routine administrative tasks.
Nearly every function of this department can be performed more expertly for less by others.
Chances are its leaders are unable to describe their contribution to value-added except in trendy, unquantifiable and wanna-be terms – yet, like a serpent unaffected by its own venom, the department frequently dispenses to others advice on how to eliminate work that does not add value. (more…)
by Triangle Performance Staff | Feb 7, 2008 | Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
This is a common question, when considering compensation. The key here is not so much “how much,” but remaining consistent with your approach.
In compensation parlance, this is called your “compensation philosophy,” and includes a consideration for wanting to lead, lag, or match the market in general. In other words, do you want to — generally — pay more than the market median, less than that median, or pretty close to exactly that market median. (more…)
by Triangle Performance Staff | Feb 6, 2008 | Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
A recent article in Workforce magazine revealed that the Society for Human Resources Management, or SHRM (pronounced “SHERM”), is a $95M enterprise with — better sit down — almost $170,000,000 in financial reserves! $170M buckos.
That ain’t chump change.
Yet here we are, 2008… and the vast majority of the profession still spends time and emotional energy on why managers can’t do this, why they ‘must’ do that, and telling the shop guys to take down their girlie calendars.
Not that these things don’t have some value. They do. It’s just that, if we’re hanging our hat on compliance, don’t be surprised when we start looking like buggy whips to senior managers.
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by Triangle Performance Staff | Nov 27, 2007 | Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
I have clients and colleagues frequently ask about various pc- and web-based performance management systems. I won’t name them here, but you probably know of many of them (the systems, that is).
They claim to streamline and better process performance management reviews, scheduling, and responsibilities. They even go as far as to provide some assistance to tongue-tied managers unable to bring adequate wording to bear in the their review — another subject altogether, I won’t get on my soapbox just yet — to further take the effort out of performance management.
To this, I have two comments:
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