by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Apr 5, 2014 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics
The troops eat first.
In earlier times, this was a simple axiom, borne of logic: First came the horses, then the troops (foot soldiers), then the officers. Over time, it was shortened to simply, “the troops eat first.”
I would suggest that it’s just as relevant today as then, though for different reasons.
Leadership effectiveness simply means “Take care of your people — especially the good ones — so they won’t have to do it themselves.” I often tell C-level managers that “someone has to look after the well-being of your solid performers.” If you don’t do it yourself, the employee has to. Usually with the help of an outside friend, headhunter, or someone with influence and priorities other than yours.
Make sure they are “fed.” Developed, mentored, and given ample opportunity. Not necessarily a big, cumbersome, formal effort, but something that clearly shows them that, “Hey, I’m looking out for you — no need to look elsewhere for development & growth.”
The troops eat first, el generale…
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Mar 19, 2014 | Brazen Leader, Miscellaneous Business Topics
I’ve had several clients and colleagues ask about impending
staffing challenges; more specifically, what happens when opportunities for key
performers are appearing in ready form?
We are staring down the barrel of impending poaching
opportunities. Most efforts at reorganization and such have distilled talent
down to key performers; Now, other firms are going after them.
It’s coming… What
to do? Some things to consider:
- Anybody who tells
you money doesn’t matter… well,they’ll lie about other things as well. Money isn’t a prime motivator for most; it’s
seldom even a satisfier, but it can be a dissatisfier… People expect to be
paid what they are worth, and if another, reasonable organization offers them
25% more, your pay is the issue.
Fix it now. Get
market lines on your compensation, and act proactively – it’s simply too late
after they’ve received an offer.
Once and employee receives an offer, you’re on borrowed
time. Even if you convince them to stay
for the moment.
- YOU know they’re
good, but do THEY know that YOU know??
Top performers know they are top performers. Not necessarily egotistic, they do, however,
have solid self-awareness. The question
most have is, “do you recognize the value that I bring to this
organization??” “Do you give
me the recognition that value deserves??”
And not just money; there’s personal recognition, peer
recognition, intangible rewards, and professional development investments. All of these tell top performers that you
know they are top performers..
- Ask Them! To quote Tom Peters, “This company had a
unique way of communicating; they talked to each other!” Want to know what those top performers really
need? Do something really whacko and ask
them. That’s right, plain, simple
English. “Say, Top Performer, I’ve
been wondering. You do such a good job
around here (remember, s/he knows this already), I wanted to make sure we were
taking care of you properly. What can we
do so you will continue to really, really like working here for us?”
Top performers are generally reasonable; you won’t hear
“double my salary,” or “give me 10 weeks of vacation.” You may hear, “Well, I’d like to spend
some time working in R&D;” or “I was hoping to start my MBA, but
I’m not sure if the schedule will work…”
Then, to coin a line from Picard, “Make it so.”
Keeping top performers isn’t nearly as difficult as we
sometimes think it is. It’s a function
of being aware of their value, and ensuring that THEY are aware of our
knowledge of their value. Then, do right
by them. That’s your best bet in
immunizing them against the coming poaching epidemic…
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Feb 14, 2014 | Brazen Leader, Miscellaneous Business Topics
An article in a recent Wall Street Journal once again extols the virtues of getting rid of performance reviews. It’s written, of course, by a career academic and author who fancies himself a consultant as well.
Therein lies the problem. I have no problem with academics, per se. I just want them to remain in academia. It’s when they venture out into the real world that their distorted perceptions and laboratory theories fall apart.
Someone need to lock those guys up, before they do real damage to some unsuspecting company.
In summary, this gown-wearing, tasseled professor believes that performance reviews have no impact on measurement, pay, development or, in fact, performance.
And perhaps, given his limited, myopic experience, that’s been true. And I’m certainly not one to claim that all performance reviews are of great value. Some aren’t. Sometimes managers, untrained and unprepared, fail at the effort. Sometimes, we don’t communicate regularly enough to prepare them for success.
But to paint all performance management with the same “ineffective” brush is, well, just plain stupid. Well-trained managers, managing performance in a well-thought process, can create a higher-performing organization than would ever occur if we were all left to our own devices.
You would, of course, have to spend some time in the real world to know that. The real reason for this article in the WSJ? The proposed alternative:
“Performance Previews”
That’s right, an entry piece to introduce–in all likelihood–this pointy-haired ivory-tower resident’s new book. Didn’t see that coming.
More consultant-speak and fads. Yes, that’s what we need…
Not.
But that’s just me.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Jan 30, 2014 | Brazen Leader, Miscellaneous Business Topics
Training is
essential for success—always has been, always will be. But like everything
else, not all training is created equally. Nor is there one-size fits
all when it comes to employee training (leadership, technical, interpersonal,
whatever). Some things to consider…
- Don’t dump
into training. In the short term, an employee will only rise as high as his or
her trainer. Put an idiot in charge of training, and don’t be surprised when
you’ve got intellectually challenged drones rolling off the assembly-line.
- Segment or
modularize training. It’s true that “the brain can only absorb what the butt
can endure.” Thinking you can sit a plebe in a classroom setting (or technical
training scenario) for five straight days and them actuallylearn
anything, well, that evensounds stupid. Create useable, absorbable
chunks of homogeneous learning. Send ‘em out, and let them try it on for size.
Bring ‘em back and try some more…
- Don’t train on
anything unless you’re certain it’s a training opportunity. If an employee’s
job is to press the big red button when the big black dial reaches “10,” and
they don’t, it’s likely not a training challenge. We frequently confuse
training needs with corrective actions, and sometimes even discipline. They are
neither. Training is for—and only for—demonstrated skills shortfalls.
Olympic athletes
need training; professional actors and musicians need training. Even the best
professional sports players in the world need training. It’s only in business
where we think, “…nah, she’ll be ok. She can just learn by watching Bob.”
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
But that’s just me…
KB
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Jan 20, 2014 | Brazen Leader, Kevin Berchelmann
Someone asked me recently if (a) the ethics in human resources are becoming suspect, and (b) if ethics can really be taught to anyone.
My first reaction, of course, was to nearly scoff at the “ethics” question, thinking that frequently, our profession may even OVER-think the ethics component in an otherwise common-sense situation.
Then, I gave it some more thought…
Typically, when people start in HR, they view their roles as more employee-centric; part ombudsman, part “good cop” manager-surrogate. They enjoy doing things that enhance “morale,” “feel-good,” and create perceived contentment within the organization, regardless of these things’ real value to their firm.
Then, we expect them to grow into “business partners.” Never mind the ludicrous nature of that moniker, the fact is they are ill-prepared. Their stereotypical nature of nurturing, consensus, and conflict-avoidance is clearly at odds with the profession’s emphasis on strategic contributions.
In trying to meld the two, I do believe ethics are sometimes abrogated, or at least marginalized by HR professionals. Believing they know what managers “want,” they may be too eager to deliver that, versus spending the time, angst, and conflict to drill down to actual “needs.” In not trying to be a “typical HR person,” they may skirt those very things that allowed them to perform ethically.
A common “compliment” these days to an HR professional is to tell them that they don’t ACT like one… this implication is that they are less intrusive, less employee-centric, and less prone to slow things down for appropriate process management (e.g. “compliance”).
Just my thoughts.
Lastly, of course ethics can be taught. Ethics is a topic, a subject matter. It can be taught to anyone with the desire and ability to learn. Ethical BEHAVIOR, however, is something different. Just like you can teach law to criminals, you can teach ethics to the unethical. Just don’t expect behavior changes.
Remember, you can’t train for integrity and work ethic, and you can’t fix stupid.
But that’s another post…
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | May 28, 2011 | Brazen Leader, Human Resources, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
According to the DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 12.5 percent of wage and salary workers were union members this year, unchanged from the year before. Union membership rate has continued its steady decline, from a high of over 20 percent in 1983.
Some additional tidbits:
— There are nearly 15.7 million union members
— Over 70% of all union members are public/government employees, including civil service, fire, police, teachers, etc.
— Private industry union membership remains less than 8%.
— Black workers were more likely to be union members than were white, Asian, or Hispanic workers.
— Men were more likely than women to be union members.
— Workers in the public sector had a union membership rate more than
four times that of private-sector employees.
The largest numbers of union members lived in California (2.4 million) and New York (2.1 million). Just over half of all union members in the U.S. lived in six states — California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and New Jersey — though these states accounted for slightly less than one-third of wage and salary employment nationally.
Texas, though having the second-largest number of employees, had less than one-fourth as many union members as New York, despite having nearly 1.5 million more wage and salary employees.
So, that’s all good, right???
Though unions are certainly weakening in private industry, don’t fall asleep at the wheel just yet. The news of their death has been a little exaggerated.
For instance: “Change to Win” is a new coalition of seven unions (UNITE HERE, Teamsters, Laborers, UFCW, United Farm Workers, Carpenters, and SEIU. The “Change to Win Federation” was created in late 2005 when those unions split from the AFL-CIO over disagreements in spending — the AFL-CIO was focusing on politics and legislation, while the newly-formed Federation believes the focus should be on grass-roots, aggressive organizing, via targeted corporate campaigns.
The Change to Win plan of attack created at their recent convention in Las Vegas calls for an unprecedented organizing campaign aimed at “core industries” of the member unions. The Change to Win unions already represent workers in each of these industries, and include:
** Transportation
** Distribution
** Retail
** Construction
** Leisure and hospitality
** Health care
** Property services
** Food production and processing
The Las Vegas gathering created local multi-union teams that will work together to increase union density in each of these “core” industries on a local or regional basis.
This “Change to Win Federation” also announced multiple targeted organizing drives at the convention. According to news reports, these priority campaigns included a company-wide corporate campaign led by the UFCW against a meat packing company to compel union recognition at a pork processing plant in North Carolina. The union has twice been rejected by the employees at that plant in NLRB-conducted secret ballot elections, and thus the union is reverting this time to the corporate campaign strategy to force “top-down” organizing.
New Tactics
Given free choice on union representation, exercised via secret ballot elections, employees reject unionization almost half the time. Because of this, unions have turned to a “less-friendly” approach, called the “corporate campaign.” Here, union organizers tries to pressure company executives to submit to the union’s demands. They attempt to force recognition via a “card check” instead of the normal election.
Get a load of this: One UNITE HERE union official dismissed the democratic election process spelled out by the NLRB, saying that “there’s no reason to subject the workers to an election.” Another union official actually said, “we don’t do elections.”
Incredible. Simply incredible.
So, “they could never convince me to accept union demands,” eh?? Some tactics they use include:
* Filing charges with the NLRB, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor (OSHA and wage-hour complaints), and other agencies that regulate the employer’s business.
* Filing class actions and other lawsuits alleging various trumped-up violations, discrimination, etc.
* Pressuring banks and other lenders, and others within the financial community, with threats of union boycotts against those lenders.
* Picketing at the homes, clubs, private gatherings and offices of corporate executives and board members.
* Purchasing stock and attending shareholder meetings to challenge top executives and board members regarding various policies.
It can get messy. As always, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Regardless of dirty tactics, unions will only work for strongholds where they believe they can effect publicly noticable change. We can immunize ourselves by simply managing. Manage your companies well, including proper oversight of policies, procedures, and practices that directly impact your employees. Remember that “details matter” to rank and file employees, and not every economic downturn or business cycle needs to be placed on their backs. It means remembering that almost 90% of your employees live paycheck-to-paycheck, so small percentages really do matter.
Pay attention and manage your business. Though I don’t subscribe to the axiom, “Companies get the unions they deserve,” I do believe that good managers can prevent unions — under any circumstances.
Stay focused…
