HR Articles – Belbin’s Team Roles

November 19, 2008 at 7:27 pm (HR Articles, TD and OB)
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Belbin’s Team Roles

How understanding team roles can improve team performance . . .

When a team is performing at its best, you’ll usually find that each team member has clear responsibilities. Just as importantly, you’ll normally see that every role needed to achieve the team’s goal is being performed fully and well.

But often, despite clear roles and responsibilities, a team will fall short of its full potential.

How often does this happen in the teams you work with? Perhaps some team members don’t complete what you expect them to do. Perhaps some team members are not quite flexible enough, so things ‘fall between the cracks’. Maybe someone who is valued for their expert input fails to see the wider picture, and so misses out tasks or steps that others would expect. Or perhaps one team member become frustrated because he or she disagrees with the approach of another team members.

Dr. Meredith Belbin studied team-work for many years, and he famously observed that people in teams tend to assume different “team roles”. He defines a “team role” as “a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way” and named nine such team roles that underlie team success.

Creating More Balanced Teams

Belbin suggests that, by understanding your team role within a particular team, you can develop your strengths and manage your weaknesses as a team member, and so improve how you contribute to the team.

Team leaders and team development practitioners often use the Belbin model to help create more balanced teams. Teams can become unbalanced if all team members have similar styles of behavior or team roles.

If team members have similar weakness, the team as a whole may tend to have that weakness. If team members have similar team-work strengths, they may tend to compete (rather than co-operate) for the team tasks and responsibilities that best suit their natural styles. So you can use the model with your team to help ensure that necessary team roles are covered, and that potential behavioral tensions or weaknesses among the team member are addressed.

Tip 1:

Belbin’s “team-roles” are based on observed behavior and interpersonal styles.

Whilst Belbin suggests that people tend to adopt a particular team-role, bear in mind that your behavior and interpersonal style within a team is to some extent dependent on the situation: It relates not only to your own natural working style, but also to your interrelationships with others, and the work being done.

Be careful: You, and the people you work with, may behave and interact quite differently in different teams or when the membership or work of the team changes.

Also, be aware that there are other approaches in use, some of which complement this model, some of which conflict with it. By all means use this approach as a guide, however do not put too much reliance on it, and temper any conclusions with common sense.

Understanding Belbin’s Team Roles Model

Belbin identified nine team roles and he categorized those roles into three groups: Action Oriented, People Oriented, and Thought Oriented. Each team role is associated with typical behavioral and interpersonal strengths.

Belbin also defined characteristic weaknesses that tend to accompany the team-role. He called the characteristic weaknesses of team-roles the “allowable” weaknesses; as for any behavioral weakness, these are areas to be aware of and potentially improve.

The nine team-roles are:

  1. Action Oriented Roles:

Shapers (SH)

Shapers are people who challenge the team to improve. They are dynamic and usually extroverted people who enjoy stimulating others, questioning norms, and finding the best approaches to problems. The Shaper is the one who shakes things up to make sure that all possibilities are considered and that the team does not become complacent.

Shapers often see obstacles as exciting challenges and they tend to have the courage to push on when others feel like quitting.

Their potential weaknesses may be that they’re argumentative, and that they may offend people’s feelings.

Implementer (IMP)

Implementers are the people who get things done. They turn the team’s ideas and concepts into practical actions and plans. They are typically conservative, disciplined people who work systematically and efficiently and are very well organized. These are the people who you can count on to get the job done.

On the downside, Implementers may be inflexible and somewhat resistant to change.

Completer – Finisher (CF)

Completer–Finishers are the people who see that projects are completed thoroughly. They ensure there have been no errors or omissions and they pay attention to the smallest of details. They are very concerned with deadlines and will push the team to make sure the job is completed on time. They are described as perfectionists who are orderly, conscientious, and anxious.

However, a Completer-Finisher may worry unnecessarily and find it hard to delegate.

  1. People Oriented Roles:

Coordinator (CO)

Coordinators are the ones who take on the traditional team–leader role and have also been referred to as the chairmen. They guide the team to what they perceive are the objectives. They are often excellent listeners and they are naturally able to recognize the value that each team members brings to the table. They are calm and good-natured and delegate tasks very effectively.

Their potential weaknesses are that they may delegate away too much personal responsibility, and may tend to be manipulative.

Team Worker (TW)

Team Workers are the people who provide support and make sure the team is working together. These people fill the role of negotiators within the team and they are flexible, diplomatic, and perceptive. These tend to be popular people who are very capable in their own right but who prioritize team cohesion and helping people getting along.

Their weaknesses may be a tendency to be indecisive, and maintain uncommitted positions during discussions and decision-making.

Resource Investigator (RI)

Resource Investigators are innovative and curious. They explore available options, develop contacts, and negotiate for resources on behalf of the team. They are enthusiastic team members, who identify and work with external stakeholders to help the team accomplish its objective. They are outgoing and are often extroverted, meaning that others are often receptive to them and their ideas.

On the downside, they may lose enthusiasm quickly, and are often overly optimistic.

  1. Thought Oriented Roles:

Plant (PL)

The Plant is the creative innovator who comes up with new ideas and approaches. They thrive on praise but criticism is especially hard for them to deal with. Plants are often introverted and prefer to work apart from the team. Because their ideas are so novel, they can be impractical at times. They may also be poor communicators and can tend to ignore given parameters and constraints.

Monitor – Evaluator (ME)

Monitor-Evaluators are best at analyzing and evaluating ideas that other people (often Plants) come up with. These people are shrewd and objective and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision.

Monitor-Evaluators are critical thinkers and very strategic in their approach. They are often perceived as detached or unemotional. Sometimes they are poor motivators who react to events rather than instigating them.

Specialist (SP)

Specialists are people who have specialized knowledge that is needed to get the job done. They pride themselves on their skills and abilities, and they work to maintain their professional status. Their job within the team is to be an expert in the area, and they commit themselves fully to their field of expertise. This may limit their contribution, and lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture.

Figure 1: Belbin’s Team Roles

Action Oriented Roles

Shaper

Challenges the team to improve.

Implementer

Puts ideas into action.

Completer – Finisher

Ensures thorough, timely completion.

People Oriented Roles

Coordinator

Acts as a chairperson.

Team Worker

Encourages cooperation.

Resource Investigator

Explores outside opportunities.

Thought Oriented Roles

Plant

Presents new ideas and approaches.

Monitor – Evaluator

Analyzes the options.

Specialist

Provides specialized skills.

How to Use the Tool:

The Belbin Team Roles Model can be used in several ways: You can use it to think about team balance before a project starts, you can use it to highlight and so manage interpersonal differences within an existing team, and you can use it to develop yourself as a team player.

The tool below helps you analyze team membership, using the Belbin team roles as checks for potential strengths and weakness.

Use Belbin’s model to analyze your team, and as a guide as you develop your team’s strengths, and manage its weaknesses:

1. Over a period of time, observe the individual members of your team, and see how they behave, contribute and behave within the team.

2. Now list the members of the team, and for each person write down the key strengths and characteristics you have observed. (You may also want to note down any observed weaknesses).

3. Compare each person’s listed strengths and weakness with the Belbin’s descriptions of team-roles, and note the one that most accurately describes that person.

4. Once you have done this for each team member, consider the following questions:

· Which team roles are missing from your team? And from this, ask yourself which strengths are likely to be missing from the team overall?

· Is there are prevalent team role that many of the team members share?

Tip 2 – Prevalent team roles:

Among teams of people that do the same job, a few team roles often prevail. For example, within a research department, the team roles of Specialist and Plant may prevail. A team of business consultants may mainly comprise Team Workers and Shapers. Such teams may be unbalanced, in that they may be missing key approaches and outlooks.

If the team is unbalanced, first identify any team weakness that is not naturally covered by any of the team members. Then identify any potential areas of conflict. For example, too many Shapers can weaken a team if each Shaper wants to pull the team in a different direction.

5. Once you have identified potential weakness, areas of conflict and missing strengths, consider the options you have to improve and change this.

Consider:

· Whether an existing team member could compensate by purposefully adopting a different team role. With awareness and intention, this is sometimes possible.

· Whether one or more team members could improve how they work together and with others to avoid potential conflict of their natural styles.

· Whether new skills need to brought onto the team to cover weaknesses.

Tip 3:

Remember not to depend too heavily on this idea when structuring your team – this is only one of many, many factors that are important in getting a team to perform at its best.

That said, just knowing about the Belbin Team Roles model can bring more harmony to your team, as team members learn that there are different approaches that are important in different circumstances and that no one approach is best all of the time.

Regards,

Pinal Mehta

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HR Article :- Promote From Within to Create Employees Loyalty

November 15, 2008 at 2:30 pm (HR Articles, TD and OB)
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A company can generate increased employee loyalty by always looking first to promoting from within, rather than hiring from the outside. The advantages are clear: when employees realize that they are valued, and that they have long-term potential for advancement within their company, their loyalty and commitment will be strengthened.

In many small businesses, a few key employees keep the ball rolling. These individuals are usually highly dedicated, intelligent and experts at their jobs. But human nature is such that few people remain comfortable doing the same thing repeatedly. Dedicated employees often feel the need to expand their scope of responsibility. They want to learn new skills. And they want to feel that they are growing. One of the best ways to meet these needs is to give employees the opportunity to move upward in the company, achieving greater respect, increased salary and expanded responsibility.

Consider these tips before placing a want ad:

When a new position opens up, always evaluate in-house talent first before looking outside. Seldom will a current employee fully possess the experience and qualifications that could be found in a new hire. But by closely examining the abilities and desire of current employees, you may find someone who can be trained easily for the new position. This will save you time and money — and you’ll end up with an employee who already knows the ins and outs of the company. When you can promote in this way, you’ll create an exceptionally dedicated employee — and send a ripple of dedication through all other employees as well.

Establish pre-designated career paths. When employees know from their first days of interviewing with the company that they can achieve their career goals without changing jobs, you’ll have loyal workers.

When searching for people to promote, take suggestions from other employees. You may not be able to spot the hidden talent under your nose, but employees in the trenches know who has what it takes to move upward in the company.

Create relationships with trade groups, seminar companies, local schools and colleges, and other educational organizations to provide ongoing training for your employees. Offer to pay, or at least partially pay, for this training. Successful small businesses usually have employees who are able to multi-task.

If you contract work to outside vendors, see if these tasks can be assigned to current employees. This will help them expand their responsibilities, and could provide an avenue for in-house career advancement.

During routine employee performance evaluations, ask employees if they are interested in taking on additional responsibility. Doing this makes it easy for employees to discuss their goals.

Stick with your career-path commitments. If you waver, hiring from outside when a qualified employee was already on staff, you’ll undo all your efforts along this line. Exceptions are, of course, when a highly specialized or top executive position needs to be filled. Even so, explanations should be given to current employees so they understand and accept the decision to hire from outside.

Regards,

Pinal Mehta

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HR Article :- Five Ways to reduce staff resentment when hiring new employees

November 15, 2008 at 2:27 pm (General HR, HR Articles, Labor & Employee Relations, TD and OB)
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Most small business owners think of their employees as a family. But there are times when this family feeling is tested, especially when new employees are hired. It’s only human nature for current employees to feel threatened when new employees are brought in: Is my job in jeopardy? Will a new employee be made my superior? Will my salary be reduced? These questions and others are natural and inevitable–although they will seldom be voiced aloud. In today’s Workshop, contributor Jeffrey Moses lists five ways small business owners can help reduce employee anxiety when new hires are announced.

Bob Adams, author of Streetwise: Small Business Start-Up (Adams Media Corporation, 1996) includes the following thoughts about reducing employee resentment when hiring new employees:

1. Communicate with existing employees before hiring takes place. Employees at a small business are often a close-knit group, with most having strong attachment to the company and the company’s management. These employees should be told what positions will be filled, in which department new hires will work and whether supervisory positions are being filled or created. This is the first and most important step in reducing employee resentment.

2. When hiring will directly impact the job description or responsibilities of current employees, they should be assured that their positions are not being undermined or threatened in any way. If an employee has been doing a good job, say so–and make sure that the new hire realizes that the existing employee is a valued member of the team.

3. If youÆre hiring supervisory positions, be sure to make the position available to current employees first. If you don’t give existing employees the chance for advancement, you’ll lose their confidence.

4. When new hires become part of a team or department, give the existing members of the team input into the actual hiring decision.

5. Never simply assume that once a new employee begins working, there will be no added friction within the company. Talk with veteran employees regularly after new hires begin work. Don’t let too much time go by without finding out if employee resentment or anxiety is building.

Regards,

Pinal Mehta

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HR Tool :- Six Exercises to Sharpen your Focus

October 20, 2008 at 10:41 am (HR Articles, TD and OB)
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One reason many people have trouble remembering something is that they don’t make a clear picture of what they want to remember, because they don’t pay enough attention in the beginning. The crucial first step to remembering anything is to PAY ATTENTION. You have to first take in the information in order to put it in your short-term or working memory and later transfer it to your long-term memory.

Naturally, you can remember all sorts of things without being particularly attentive, as unconsciously you are absorbing information all the time and much of this stays with you, even if you are unaware of it. But, this casual absorption of information can be a hit-or-miss proposition. While you may take in much of this information unconsciously and may later remember things you didn’t realize you had even learned, to improve your memory you have to consciously pay attention. This approach is sometimes referred to as being “mindful” as opposed to operating on automatic.

Certainly, you want to continue to keep most everyday processes in your life automatic, since you need to do this to move through everyday life; you can’t try to pay close attention to everything you do, since this will slow you down. Yet at the same time, you can become more aware of what you are doing on automatic and you can focus more closely on some usually automatic activities. Then, you can better remember what you want to remember, such as the names of people you meet at a business mixer or trade show.

Learning to Pay Attention

The following exercises are designed to help you pay closer attention to what you do.

Creating a Memory Trigger to Increase Your Ability to Focus

When you’re in a situation where it’s particularly important to remember something, you can remind yourself to pay close attention by using a “memory trigger.” This trigger can be almost any type of gesture or physical sign—such as bringing your thumb and forefinger together, clasping your hands so your thumbs and index finger create a spire, or raising your thumb. Or you could use a mental statement to remind yourself to pay attention. Whatever signal you choose, it’s designed to remind you that it’s now time to be especially alert and listen or watch closely, so you’ll remember all you can. If you already have a signal you like, use that, or use the following exercise to create this trigger.

Get relaxed, perhaps close your eyes. Then, ask yourself this question: “What mental trigger would I like to use to remind myself to pay attention?” Notice what comes into your mind. It may be a gesture, a physical movement, a mental image, or a word or phrase you say to yourself. Choose that as your trigger.

Now, to give power to this trigger, make the gesture or movement or let this image or word appear in your mind. Then, as you make this gesture or observe the image or word, repeatedly use this gesture for a minute or two, and as you do, say to yourself with increasing intensity: “I will pay attention now. I will be very alert and aware, and I will lock this information in my memory so I can recall it later.” This process of using the gesture and paying attention will associate the act of paying attention with the gesture.

Later (either the same day or the following day if you are beginning this exercise at night), practice using this trigger in some real-life situations. Find three or more times when you are especially interested in remembering something, and use your trigger to make yourself more alert. For example, when you see something you would especially like to remember (such as someone on the street, a car on the road, etc.), use your trigger to remind you to pay attention to it. Afterward, when whatever you have seen is gone, replay it mentally in as much detail as possible to illustrate how much you can remember when you really pay attention.

Initially, to reinforce the association with the sign you have created, as you make this gesture, repeat the same words to yourself as in your concentration exercises: “I will pay attention now. I will be very alert and aware, and I will lock this information in my memory so I can recall it later.” Then, look or listen attentively to whatever it is you want to remember.

Repeat both the meditation and the real-life practice for a week to condition yourself to associate the action you want to perform (paying attention) with the trigger (raising your thumb, etc.). Once this association is locked in, continue to use the trigger in real life. As long as you continue to regularly use the trigger, you don’t need to continue practicing the exercise, since each time you use the trigger, your attention will be on high alert.

Then, any time you are in an important situation where you want to pay especially careful attention (such as a staff meeting or a cocktail party with prospective clients), use your trigger, and you’ll become more attentive and alert.

Using a Physical Trigger or Motion to Keep Your Attention Focused

To keep yourself from drifting off while you are listening to something or to keep your mind from wandering while you are observing or experiencing something, you can use the trigger you have created or any gesture or physical signal to remind yourself to pay attention to what you are hearing or seeing.

For example, every 20 or 30 seconds, click your fingers softly, move a toe, or move another part of your body as a reminder. Once you decide on the trigger, practice this signal to make the association with paying attention by repeatedly making this gesture and after that focus your attention on something. Then, that gesture or motion will become your trigger to pay attention.

After a while, should your attention drift away, simply repeat the trigger to bring you back to attention again.

Using Clear Memory Pictures or Recordings to Improve Your Memory

Another way to pay closer attention is to make a sharp mental picture or recording of the person, place, or event you want to remember. This process will also help you with the second phase of the memory retention process, where you encode this information using visual imagery or sounds. But this first phase is what picks up the information in the first place, much like using a camera or a cassette.

A major factor in poor remembering is that often we don’t make this picture or recording very well. As a result, we may think we remember what we have seen, but we don’t. Courtroom witnesses, for example, often recall an event inaccurately, although they may be positive they are correct. Accordingly, before you can recall or recognize something properly in the retrieval stage of the process, you first must have a clear impression of it.

One way to do this, once you are paying careful attention, is to think of yourself as a camera or cassette recorder, taking in completely accurate pictures or recordings of what you are experiencing. As you observe and listen, make your impressions like pictures or tape recordings in your mind.

It takes practice to develop this ability, and the following exercises are designed to help you do this. At first, use these exercises to get a sense of how well you already remember what you see. Then, as you practice, you’ll find you can remember more and more details.

The underlying principle of these exercises is to observe some object, person, event, or setting to take a picture, or listen to a conversation or other sounds around you. Then, turn away from what you are observing or stop listening and recall what you can. Perhaps write down what you recall. Finally, look back and ask yourself: “How much did I remember? What did I forget? What did I recall that wasn’t there?”

At first, you may be surprised at how bad an observer or listener you are. But as you practice, you’ll improve—and your skill at remembering will carry over into other situations, because you’ll automatically start making more accurate memory pictures or recordings in your mind.

An ideal way to use these techniques is with a mental awareness trigger. Whenever you use that trigger, you will immediately imagine yourself as a camera or recorder and indelibly impress that scene on your mind for later recall.

The next three exercises are designed to give you some practice in perceiving like a camera or cassette recorder in a private, controlled setting. The fourth exercise is one you can use in any situation to perceive more effectively.

Looking at Things More Accurately

This exercise will help increase your powers of observation.

Look at something in front of you that has a lot of different things in it. These can be different objects, people who are mostly stationery (i.e., sitting down, not a bustling crowd), scenery, and so forth. Or use a picture of such a scene. Then, stare at this scene for about a minute, and as you do, imagine you are taking a picture of it, as if your mind is a camera taking a snapshot. As you do so, notice as many things about the scene as you can. Pay attention to forms, colors, the number of objects or people there, the relationship between things, and so on.

Then, look away from that scene, and try to recreate it as accurately as possible in your mind’s eye. As when you looked at the scene, notice the forms, colors, number of objects or people, and the relationship between things.

Next, to check your accuracy, without looking back, write down a list of what you saw in as much detail as possible.

Finally, rate your accuracy and your completeness by rating your observations. To score your level of accuracy, designate each accurate observation with a +2. Score each inaccurate observation with a -1. Score each invented observation with a -2. Then, tally up your score and note the result. To score your level of completeness, estimate the total number of observations you think were possible in the scene and divide by the number of observations you made, to get your completeness score.

As you continue to practice with this exercise, you’ll find your score for both accuracy and completeness should go up.

Listening to What You Hear

This exercise will help you become more aware of what you hear and help you listen more completely and correctly.

Tape a short segment of conversation or some sounds on a tape cassette. You can record this from an ongoing conversation, from a television or radio program, or from ambient sounds on the street around you. Tape for 2 to 3 minutes.

Then, while you are taping or later when you play back the recording, concentrate on listening as intently and carefully as possible. Imagine you are a tape recorder that is recording every bit of conversation clearly and accurately. Either way, as you are taping or playing back the recording, really listen. Perhaps form images in your mind as you do.

At the end of the recording, try to recall the conversation or sounds in as much detail as possible. Perhaps imagine yourself as a tape recorder playing this back. Additionally, try to remember what you heard in sequence as best you can.

To check your accuracy, write down a list of what you heard in as much detail as possible. You needn’t write everything down word for word, but write down enough to indicate the gist of each thought or statement. Then, play back the tape, and review how complete and accurate you were.

Finally, rate your accuracy and completeness by rating your recall of the conversation. To score your level of accuracy, designate each accurate recollection with a +2. Score each inaccurate recollection with a -1. Score each invented recollection with a -2. Then, tally up your score and note the result. To score your level of completeness, estimate the total number of recollections you think were possible in what you heard and divide by the number of recollections you made, to get your completeness score. Give yourself 10 bonus points if you got everything in sequence; 5 bonus points if you got most things in sequence. Finally, total and divide this result by your estimated number of total sounds, statements, or phrases for your percentage rating.

As you continue to practice with this exercise, you’ll find your score for both accuracy and completeness should go up.

Seeing Like a Camera; Listening Like a Cassette Recorder

This exercise will help you observe or listen more accurately and completely in everyday situations.

You can use this technique wherever you are—it’s especially ideal for parties, business networking meetings, and other important occasions where you want to be sure to remember things accurately. Also, you can use this technique to practice and sharpen your skills when you’re waiting in line, traveling in a bus, in a theater lobby at intermission, and in places where you are waiting for something to happen.

Simply imagine you are a camera and snap a picture of what you see. Or imagine you are a cassette recorder picking up a conversation. Or be a sound film camera and pick up both.

Afterward, turn away or close your eyes if convenient, and for a few seconds, focus on what you have just seen or heard. If you have taken a picture, visualize it intently in your mind’s eye and concentrate. What objects or people do you see? What colors or details do you notice? What furniture is in the room? What are the people wearing?

Then, look at the scene and compare your picture with what you see now. What did you leave out? What did you add that wasn’t there? What details did you observe incorrectly? The more you do this, the more complete and accurate your picture will be.

If you have tried to listen like a cassette recorder, replay what you have heard in your mind. What did people say? What sounds did you hear around you? You won’t be able to actually hear these conversations or sounds again, but you can get a sense of how much detail you were able to pick up. The more you practice, the more fully you will hear.

If you have imagined yourself as a sound film camera, review both the pictures and sounds.

Experiencing an Object

This exercise will help you become more aware of what you see and help you perceive more completely and correctly.

Place a common object or group of objects in front of you (such as a collection of objects from your desk, a painting on your wall, an advertisement or picture from a magazine, a flower arrangement in a vase). Stare at the object or group of objects for about a minute, and notice as many things about it as you can, such as its form, texture, color, design, pattern, and so on. Be aware of how many objects there are, and catalog the names of all the objects in your mind.

Then, remove the object, or groups of objects, so it is out of sight, but continue looking at the spot where it was, and imagine the object(s) as still there. Try to recreate what you saw with as much detail as you can.

To check your accuracy, write down a list of what you saw. Then, look at what you observed again and see how accurate you were.

To chart your progress each time, score the total number of observations you think were possible (this will vary with each observer), and score each of your accurate observations with a +2. Score each of your inaccurate observations with a -1, and your invented observations with a -2. Finally, total and divide by your estimated number of total observations for your percentage rating.

As you continue to practice with this exercise, you’ll find your rating will go up.

By Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D

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HR Article :- Managing the Star Performer No One want to work

October 17, 2008 at 10:55 am (HR Articles, HR CaseStudy, TD and OB)
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Behold the star performers! Able to surpass goals without breaking a sweat, quick to grasp new organizational missions, brighter than 90 percent of their colleagues, these special employees are technically superior to, well, even their superiors.

But like most superheroes, star performers may have a dark side. What if the best, fastest employee has a few quirks that set the rest of the team on edge? Is it worth poisoning a culture to retain an employee whose behavior isn’t consistent with the organization’s values? And if a star performer is truly outperforming his or her peers, how can the talent manager justify redirecting his or her behavior?

Tiziana Casciaro and Miguel Sousa Lobo – authors of the Harvard Business School study “Competent Jerks, Lovable Fools, and the Formation of Social Networks” – said people who like each other typically share similar values and ways of thinking, making it difficult to generate fresh ideas. Further, most individuals avoid skilled but unpleasant colleagues, leaving competent jerks’ expertise untapped.

The authors contend most employees would rather work with someone less competent because that person may be more pleasant, more open to other’s ideas and more willing to share their own. They may even be perceived as more trustworthy.

Talent leaders might consider the following tips to help solve star-performer issues:

1. Hold employees accountable for what they do and how they do it.
Rick Lepsinger, president of OnPoint Consulting, understands firsthand how difficult dealing with star performers can be. Ed* generated nearly triple the revenue of his peers but treated people badly. Lepsinger was hesitant to address this issue because of Ed’s performance. But not acting sooner was a mistake because Ed was a gossiper who damaged morale and other employees’ productivity.

“As soon as I became aware of the behavior and its impact I should have told Ed, ‘I love your work, but your treatment of others is not how we do things around here. Your behavior needs to change immediately,’” Lepsinger said.

How employees treat one another is as important as their revenue-generating ability. Lepsinger said the key to managing employees like Ed who are top producers but who poison the team culture is consistency and holding them accountable for their behaviors, as well as their performance targets.

“Managers must be willing to risk losing the employee,” he explained. “To not hold everyone accountable for their behavior undermines the company’s values and turns them into meaningless platitudes.”

2. Recognize team performance, not just star performance.
Top performers often get recognition that can overshadow the hard work of others who supported them. To address this, develop a team-based performance-recognition system.

“When someone helps another person, that person should be acknowledged and thanked,” said Executive Coach Lauren Sontag. “Sometimes the star performer may need to be reminded of the long-term benefits of sharing credit, rather than taking full credit.”

3. Use 360 tools as a feedback mechanism.
Star performers need to know they will face consequences for negative behavior. Using 360 tools is like holding up a mirror so the star performer can see the results of their actions. It is equally important to have direct feedback sessions with star performers so they know the exact consequences of not changing their behavior.

4. Ensure star-performer criteria are known and shared.
That criteria is based on the cultural norms of each company. Ted Elias, director of talent management at TIAA-CREF, has helped others face this challenge.

Elias once consulted with Sandy*, a star performer who came from a large, results-driven, hard-charging pharmaceutical company. Sandy moved to a nonprofit organization that valued relationships first, results second. She is still struggling to adjust her style to her new environment. “My challenge is to help Sandy understand the new norms of the organization and what it will take for her to excel in this environment.

“Sandy’s company should ensure that ‘relationship orientation’ is identified as a leadership value, and it should articulate where ‘driving for results’ stands relative to other values,” Elias said.

5. Set expectations of appropriate behavior for all employees during the selection process.
Some selection processes include conducting assessments to determine if the candidate is a team player, how he or she reacts to recognition, as well as coaching ability.

6. Hold managers accountable for helping the star performer change his or her behavior.
Most star performers are excellent at what they do. But like Lepsinger, sometimes managers are reluctant to hold them accountable for unacceptable behavior.

Christine Birnbaum, director of organizational effectiveness at New York Life Investment Management, said, “Even if an employee does the work of three people, they may need to change their behavior, or it can be a career ender for them. Some managers used to say, ‘Well, that’s just how she is.’ That justification is no longer accepted. The manager is accountable for communicating this through performance appraisals, ongoing coaching and individual development plans.”

Birnbaum worked with a senior star performer who had a habit of unmercifully attacking others if their performance was not up to his standards. Rather than focus on aspects of the employee’s performance requiring improvement, the star performer would berate the employee, use unnecessarily harsh and inappropriate language and create an antagonistic environment.

“I went to his manager to make him aware of this behavior and indicated this needed to be addressed immediately,” she said. “I also emphasized that the manager was accountable for working with the individual to change their behavior.”

7. Pay attention to interpersonal skills.
Star performers often have come up through the ranks by producing, producing, producing and churning stuff out – and neglecting the grooming of their interpersonal relations.

“In general, they are not mean people, but they may not relate well to colleagues, and then don’t understand when their career stalls,” said Sontag. Further, at some point technical expertise is assumed and leadership skills become more important.

How do you help star performers understand they need to create relationships? “Frankly, it usually takes them running into walls for awhile,” said Sontag. “I help coach them by ensuring they know who their stakeholders are and who is important in their career. In some cases, I put a greater priority on social activities, such as lunches with business associates, and less of a priority on e-mails as a way to communicate. I literally help them regiment their social interactions.”

8. Isolate the star performer’s role.
Consider modifying the person’s role to become more of an expert, individual contributor or one-person function. Ensure the new role will highlight the star’s best qualities and will minimize a negative impact on the rest of the organization. Again, be sure to communicate why this change is happening by emphasizing the star’s good qualities and developmental needs. Without this direct feedback, the star’s glow may eventually fade.

Sometimes, talent managers need to hit ‘em in the pocket book. It can be tempting for a star performer to ignore unflattering feedback when he or she is bringing in a tremendous amount of revenue. After giving direct feedback to a star performer, sometimes the manager needs to cut the bonus and, again, explain why.

9. Encourage a star performer to fail.
Star performers literally can be trapped by their accomplishments. When people don’t know something, they often are more open to learn. But when people know something quite well, they are often invested in being an expert. That can be limiting.

Encourage the star performer to take risks, try new assignments, jobs and work styles.

During her June Harvard University commencement speech, J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, said, “The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gist, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.”

Being smart, exceeding goals, creating unique strategies and surpassing performance expectations is not enough.

The star performer also should have superior interpersonal skills and a keen awareness of how his or her actions impact others.

[About the Author: Susan Kushnir is an organizational development specialist for the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.]

Regards,

Pinal Mehta

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HR Loyalty:- Employee Loyalty

October 15, 2008 at 4:05 pm (HR Articles, TD and OB)
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You’d never consider hiring an illiterate person to work as a journalist, a technophobe to work in IT, or a hypochondriac to work in a medical centre.  Yet so many people get promoted to management positions without the one core characteristic that determines managerial success – a love of people.  And therein rests one of the biggest causes of staff disloyalty:  managers who don’t lead from the heart.

The same principle plays out in the harshest heartbreak of all – cheating.  If we look at the top reasons why husbands cheat on their wives or vice versa, we’ll see that each one of these is also a major reason why employees cease being loyal to their bosses.

Lack of Attention: Neglected partners are more likely to be unfaithful.  Similarly, if you don’t spend enough time with your employees, whether it’s via coaching, caring, communicating, or consulting, they’ll feel unloved and the result will be a resignation.

Getting Even: Some people cheat because they want revenge.  To get loyalty, you first have to give it.  The majority of staff turnover is precipitated by some kind of shock which acts as the last straw that finally causes an employee to just give up.

Unsatisfied Needs: A partner can be swayed to stray if something essential is missing from the relationship, such as intimacy.  As a manager, failure to identify and meet your employees’ needs, whatever they might be, will lead to disengagement which is a precursor to turnover.

Loss of Interest: Infidelity can occur when the cheater is unhappy with changes in their partner, such as an altered physique or attitude.  At work, if change occurs and you haven’t taken the time to get your employees’ buy-in, they’ll move on to an employer who bothers to make an effort.

Incorrect Fit: Sometimes two people just aren’t meant to be together.  Likewise, there are some employees who simply aren’t suited to be in your team.  There’s a cultural incongruence which should have been picked up during your recruitment process.

I’m not defending cheaters.  But what I am saying is that the more you understand the reasons why people cheat, the easier it is to create a relationship that’s less likely to end in a break-up.  Ditto at work.  The more you understand the real reasons why your employees resign, the less likely they’ll be to break away from your organisation.

By James Adonis

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Did You Know?

Only 25% of employees feel that their companies have any loyalty towards them and yet 56% of employees feel loyal towards their employers in return.

Source: Randstad

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Seven Ways of Employee ROI

October 14, 2008 at 3:48 pm (HR Articles, TD and OB)
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It’s no secret that the economy isn’t exactly booming right now. More people may be looking for work, but that doesn’t mean that they are the right people for your company. Instead of viewing employees as expendable, businesses should focus on getting the best return possible on the workforce they already have.

Employee retention is a very big issue and it always will be, regardless of the state of the economy. After all, the key to long-term growth and productivity is a workforce that’s familiar with your company and in sync with its goals. A workplace should excite and motivate employees, so they’ll want to stay around. And that means creating an environment that challenges people and helps them grow not just as employees, but as people.

Here are some ways organizations can foster the kind of growth-oriented workplace that will survive and thrive, even during a downturn:

* Forget Monetary Incentives: Focus On Relationships. Even if you can offer them, fat salaries and bonuses, more vacation time, and other perks will not increase employee loyalty. Instead, they tend to tie people to your company in the same manner that one trains a dog to stay in the yard—until, the people across the street offer a bigger, juicier bone. Creating a culture in which good relationships are valued gives employees a profound and rewarding reason to come to work every day. Only through relationships can people change and grow…and personal growth is a requirement for survival in our increasingly complex world.
* Help Employees Find their “Familiars.” What is a familiar? Simply put, it’s an emotional state we return to again and again. It is a feeling that holds tremendous power over our choices, relationships, and careers. Rooted in our families and our upbringing, the familiar is a feeling that we unconsciously reproduce, sometimes to our benefit, but often to our detriment. For instance, the eldest child of a large family might have grown up having to subrogate her needs to the needs of the younger children. Perhaps she was told she was selfish for asking for things for herself. It is no mystery that as an adult she is frustrated at work and has trouble communicating her needs to her boss. Her familiar—the feeling that she doesn’t really deserve to ask for anything—is reproduced in her work environment, where she is unable to assert herself.  You can help your employees tremendously by learning about familiars and encouraging them to identify—and subsequently diminish—their own.
* Seek Employee Input. A big part of creating a growth-oriented workplace is to constantly question your employees. “Did you notice what you did there?” “Why do you think you said that?” “I noticed that when your position was challenged in the meeting, you didn’t defend it—why do you think you backed down?” Creating a “question culture” will help employees identify their familiars. It will raise performance expectations throughout the company. It will train employees to think carefully about how they do their jobs and ensure that they have sound reasons for every decision they make.
* Encourage Conflict and Confrontation. Yes, you read that right. Conflict and confrontation are rarely pleasant, but they are the very definition of teamwork. They are also necessary to create growth relationships. The purpose of the workplace is not to make everyone happy—it is to grow people to their maximum potential. The enormous popularity of consensus decision making/negotiation, participatory management, and self-directed work teams is a sign of our unhealthy quest for comfort above all.
* Provide Honest, Caring Feedback. Keep the lines of communication open by continually telling your employees how they are doing. A relationship without honest feedback is a “mutual toleration society.” Unconditional acceptance—in both personal and professional relationships—is actually a form of abandonment, because it robs the other party of the most important catalysts for growth and change. (Hence the reason the feedback is labeled “caring”).
* Practice the Art of Self-Disclosure. Feedback cuts both ways; you want your employees to provide it to you as well. One way to do so is through self-disclosure. If you want to turn a stagnant employee relationship into a growth-oriented one—or start a new relationship out on the right foot—share your feelings first. This is a big risk because you don’t know how the other person will respond; you must be prepared to deal with any type of reaction you receive. But it’s a risk worth taking because you can learn a lot from your employees. Self-disclose often and you’ll model the kind of relationships you want to encourage in your company.
* Form An Accountability Group. Many people fear receiving or giving feedback because they don’t want to show weakness or cause discomfort to someone else. Put them in the right setting, however, and they may be willing to become involved. In an accountability group people give and receive feedback, create action plans based on that feedback, and hold group members accountable for implementing their plans. I have found accountability groups to be amazingly effective in helping clients overcome debilitating work and personal problems. Done correctly, they can lead individuals and organizations to transform themselves from the inside out.

I am certain that the actions detailed here will increase your company’s productivity. People who are personally and professionally fulfilled make better employees—it’s that simple. But the big reason to implement these strategies has more to do with tomorrow than today. Creating a work environment rich with opportunities for self-discovery is an investment in the future of your company. Begin now, and when the economy rebounds, your employees won’t leave you for greener pastures. Why would they? Your organization will be meeting needs far more compelling than a weekly paycheck.

[ An abstract from an article publish by Joan McCarthey, CPO - Human Consultancy Inc, in Human Capital Magazine]

-Pinal Mehta

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HR Story : Change our Vision

October 13, 2008 at 2:51 pm (HR Stories, TD and OB)
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There was a millionaire who was bothered by severe eye pain. He consulted so many physicians  and  was  getting  his  treatment done. He did not stop consulting galaxy of medical experts; he consumed heavy loads of drugs and underwent hundreds of injections.
But the ache persisted with great vigor than before. At last a monk who has supposed to  be  an  expert  in treating  such patients was called for by the millionaire. The monk  understood  his  problem  and said that for some time he should concentrate only on green colors  and  not  to fall his eyes on any other colors. The millionaire got together a group  of  painters  and purchased barrels of green color and directed that every object his eye was likely   to   fall   to   be   painted   in   green   color   just   as  the  monk  had directed.
When   the   monk  came  to  visit  him  after  few  days,  the  millionaire’s  servants ran with buckets of green paints and poured on him since he was in red dress, lest their master not see any other color and his eye ache would come back.  Hearing  this  monk  laughed said “If only you had purchased a pair of green spectacles,  worth  just  a  few  rupees, you could have saved these walls and trees and pots and all other  articles and also could have saved a large share of his fortune.
You cannot paint the  world green.” Let us change our vision and the world will appear accordingly. It is  foolish to shape the world, let us shape ourselves first.
Let’s change our vision..!!
- Anonymous

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