Employees

Performance Management: Motivation by the Experts

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igor kisselev/Shutterstock

Through our training and development studies, we have learned that motivation is a critical component for on-going employee learning. If there is nothing that provides motivation for employees to learn, then professional development, productivity, and growth will not happen. Motivation can be both positive (reward driven) or negative (error driven), but in either case it provides the prompt for an employee to alter their job-related performance.

HRM Online provides a Human Resources perspective on effective motivation in the context of performance management processes.

Click here to watch a video of Human Resources panelists discussing effective motivation-based performance management strategies.

As noted by the experts in the video, part of culture of continuous learning is a culture of continuous conversation. Employees want to know how they are progressing in their jobs and they look for more than just monetary rewards in order to feel valued in the workplace. As such, it is critical to teach leaders how to have discussions regarding on-going employee development.

The simple motivation of a one-time monetary reward wears off quickly and is often forgotten by the next payday. To counter this, each of the professionals in the video provides a perspective on the value of an ‘always on’ communication focus, and a relationship-based approach for effective employee motivation and performance management. Furthermore, the panelists note that while there is a trend to have only goal focused (‘feedforward’) interactions with employees, people still want to know from their direct manager what was successful in the past and what was not. In order to shape the future in a different way, employees learn from what they have or have not done successfully, and they want to hear this from the person they report to.

Talking to employees may be easy; having effective conversations with them may be much more challenging. However, the result is value that stems from both the motivation and the reward of positive relationships.

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. Which one motivates you the most in a working environment — effective working relationships, or annual monetary rewards? Explain your rationale.
  2. Why are structured performance ratings important in a regulated industry or profession?
  3. As an HR practitioner, identify four motivational elements from the video clip that you would include in an effective performance management program.

Time for Disruption

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iQoncept/Shutterstock

To paraphrase Heraclitus, change is the only constant – nothing stands still. This, it would seem, is true of the theories that shape change-management itself. With the evolution of technological innovations, we have left behind ‘traditional’ change paradigms and have moved into the realm of data-based disruptors impacting organizational change.

Disruption embraces a tumultuous approach to existing business practices. It turns traditional practices on their heads, through the rapid implementation of technology-based systems. Disruption leads to the destruction of the old ways in order for new ways to take root and grow.

As disruptors impact all levels of organizational strategy, Human Resources must react and respond constructively in order to overcome any of the destructive elements. Simultaneously we must push for new, creative approaches in HR’s technology-based new world.

Canadian-focused HR disruptors are explored in a round table discussion posted by Human Resources Director Canada.

Key messages arising from this panel discussion include the impact of the ‘want it now’ customer, which translates into the ‘want it now’ employee. Human Resources must be adaptive, nimble and mobile in order to meet the challenges of all consumers including those within our own workforces.

Disruptors are here and they are carving the path for Human Resources planning and strategy. According to the experts, as Human Resources practitioners, we cannot be tethered to the past because that is an anchor leading to organizational death and destruction.

Today’s disruptors must be perceived as agents of freedom compelling us forward into the constant of ongoing change.

Best to embrace it. Here it comes!

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does the term ‘disruptors’ mean to you as an HR professional?
  2. How does the perception that employees are customers shape your own approach to working as a Human Resources professional?
  3. What does the Human Resources department need to do in order to meet the demands of the ‘want it and want it now’ approach from customers and/or employees?

Millennial Movement

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If there is one consistent thing when looking at workforce patterns, it is that the millennial generation is on the move.  However, how that movement is perceived seems to be a bit of a glass-half-full/glass-half-empty view.

GIF with caption, " I don't want to freak you out, but I may be the voice of my generation".
Source: alastairadversaria.wordpress.com. The above content constitutes a link to the source website.

A recent article in the Huffington Post provides us with survey-based information related to the high patterns of millennial workers wanting to quit their jobs.

Click Here to Read the Article.

The Canadian HR Reporter also posted an article recently that looks at the rationale behind the high rates of workforce movement for the millennial crowd.

Click Here to Read the Article.

As HR practitioners, we have a choice as to how we capture the challenges and opportunities offered by these millennial created patterns. The known benefits of a staid and stable post-millennial workforce may be just that, offering a steady flow that is predictable, unchanging, and perhaps, a bit dull.  It should be no surprise that the millennial workforce is vibrant and full of movement. This is a generation that is young, well-educated, and connected to the virtual world in a way that has never been seen before.  It certainly seems that the decision to move to the next best thing, for a person of the millennial generation, comes at a faster rate when existing things like career limitations or organizational values based fit are no longer comfortable.

Should we hold this generation back or let them go, knowing that this millennial pattern too, shall change?

Discussion Questions:

  1. As an HR professional, how does the statistical information about millennial workforce patterns assist in HR forecasting?
  2. If the patterns for millennial workforce movement are accurate, then a) What types of HR activities would be least effective for retention purposes? and b) What types of HR programs would be most important and effective to have in place?
  3. How does the survey information, including the identification of age/generational categories, reflect your own career experience or expectations?

Needs Analysis: Keep it Simple

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Very often, organizations get caught up in over complicating and over analyzing what employees need or want.  As with most things, the more complicated a process is, the more opportunity for misunderstanding, miscommunication, and missing the mark.

Source: Ivelin Radkov/Shutterstock
Source: Ivelin Radkov/Shutterstock

This is definitely the case with needs analysis related to employee learning.  We hear how important it is to drill down into the core of an organizational psyche so that we can prepare and respond to multiple employee challenges through various analytical methodologies.  It does not have to be so complex.

Click here to read the article.

In this article, there are three simple questions to ask employees about their work life, including the very powerful but simple question, ‘What do you want to learn this year?’ . Simple questions can provide an abundance of responses.  The answers to simple questions will give us a wealth of material that we, as HR Professionals, can work with in order to provide appropriate learning tools to fit what employees tell us they need.

Asking questions should be the easiest part to creating understanding about what employees need.  Making sure we respond to what employees tell us they need is where the real challenge lies.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How would you respond to each of the three questions from this article in your current (or past) work environment?
  2. What types of responses from these three questions would indicate employee satisfaction?
  3. What types of responses from these three questions would indicate employee dissatisfaction?
  4. What tools would you use in the workplace to ask employees these three questions?
  5. What is the biggest risk to an employer when employees answer these three simple questions?

Getting a Pulse on Employee Engagement

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From the HR Practitioner’s perspective, it is very important to be able to assess and measure a range of employee activities.  The most common method of employee related data collection is through an annual employee engagement survey.

Hand drawing heart
Source: Jacek Dudzinski/Shutterstock

Many of us spend a lot of time sending out the surveys; waiting for employee responses; sending out prompts to remind employees to respond; collecting the data; analyzing the data; writing reports about what we think the data means; and then, finally, coming up with recommendations that we hope will address the issues.  The process and the methodology for all of this is usually electronic and should be efficient; however, the reality and timing is not always on the mark.  When all of the data collection and report writing is complete, it is usually time for another annual survey and the process starts all over again.

Maybe it is time to pitch the long and drawn out annual employee engagement survey. If your organization is not doing annual employee surveys at all or if the annual surveys are stopped, how else can the HR practitioner assess and evaluate what employees are thinking about their workplace?

 

The Director of Customer Happiness at OfficeVibe was interviewed recently on the CBC radio network. He offers a short and sweet approach to employee engagement activities.

Click Here to Listen to the Interview.

It seems that sending out annual surveys could be a thing of the past if the future relies on constant and meaningful employee engagement strategies.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are metrics?
  2. What are the specific metrics that provide good indicators for employee engagement?
  3. What are privacy concerns related to the collection of data from employees?
  4. Do you agree that a weekly ‘pulse’ survey would be an effective way to gauge employee engagement?
  5. Would you recommend a product like ‘OfficeVibe’ to your employer? Why or why not?
  6. What are some of the risks involved in employee engagement surveys?