Manager Hr Advice – HR ADVICE CENTRE

Smart Hiring Practices

Have you ever been charmed by an applicant? Hired a friend or family member and been disappointed? Kept poor performers long after they should have been asked to leave? Added up the costs of making a poor hiring decision?

Why is our gut feel about people such a poor indicator of success? Most of us want to like the people we meet: We naturally look for positive attributes and try to see a fit where one may not exist. However, in hiring, it is important to reduce our subjective opinions and develop better predictors of future success.

Research tells us that past behaviour is one of the most reliable predictors of future behaviour. Using techniques to uncover past behaviours — a behavioural-based process — will enable you to successfully recruit new team members who can perform well in the job and who fit your organizational culture.

The process begins with the development of a well-researched position description and culminates with a behaviourally-based interview process.

Create a well-researched job description

To create an effective job description, define:

Where the position fits into the larger organization
The outcomes of the position and the tasks required to produce them
The physical requirements of a job
The mental attitudes, unique skills, and competencies required
The expected performance standards

The two types of competencies are technical and behavioural. We tend to hire people based on their technical competencies — how long they have been doing a particular task, how much training they have, whether they are qualified in a particular skill, and so on. However, we tend to terminate people based on their behavioural competencies — how they act on the job. To determine your preferred behavioural competencies, make a list of the personal attributes of your top performers or others who have performed well in the job that you are filling. What were they like? Describe their style, values, and attitudes. Now you are beginning to develop an understanding of their behavioural competencies.

Job descriptions should be linked to performance — what the new employees are supposed to do and the standards by which they will be measured.

Ask yourself, “If my hires perform well, what results should we see? How could we tell if they were effective?” Now you are beginning to craft some useful performance measures. Ask the right people the right questions

Recruitment is the process of encouraging the appropriate applicants to apply for the job. Make sure your recruitment process reaches a wide audience. Don’t discount the importance of social media: Many jobs are advertised on Facebook and Linked-In, as well as online sites like Craigslist and CareerBuilder.com. Research the sites that might draw the best applicants for your opening.

In your job advertisement, be very specific about the competencies you are looking for. If you are looking for a high-energy individual who is self-reliant, able to work independently, and make quick and accurate decisions, then say so.

When you interview, don’t be fooled by a charming and friendly applicant. Be prepared with a process that helps you understand how an applicant has responded to key situations in the past.

It is very important to ask the same questions of each applicant to provide consistency between applicants and increase the validity and reliability of the interview. Develop a list of questions, keeping them short and realistic. Design questions that ask for examples of past behaviour. For example, “Tell me about a time you had to deal with a really difficult customer. What did you do and what was the outcome?”

For each question you develop, make sure you have also determined what you believe is an accurate or effective answer. Judge your candidate against what you have decided is the kind of answer that fits your organization.

Be careful not to use leading questions, as this may prime applicants to give you the answers they think you want. An example of this is: “We think it is important to call customers by their first name. What is your approach to addressing customers by name?” Avoid trick questions or hypothetical questions like: “Where do you see yourself in five or ten years?” These have little bearing on a person’s ability to do the job, unless you are scoring them on creative thinking.

Finally, always respond to all applicants, even if it is just to say that you received their résumé but have chosen other candidates for an interview. Remember, every step of the application and interview process reflects on your company and a chance to build or tarnish your reputation. The recruitment and selection process should demonstrate your professionalism at every turn.

Real-Time Performance Reviews

Too many bosses are so fearful of conflict or hurting people’s bad behaviour and poor performance even when it’s detrimental to the organization.

On the list of things that are done for all the wrong reasons in organizations, performance reviews would have to near the top.

They end up being “Check the boxes” exercises that have little influence on performance because they take place after the fact the typical performance review is the equivalent of landing an airplane and asking, “Now, where are we?” It’s a little in the game for that question.

One of the worst things about reviews is the use of numerical values to rate performance. You have probably met more than one manager who refuses to give the highest rating to anyone using the excuse, “I don’t believe in giving perfect scores.” Recently an employee of a major corporation related the bizarre example of this attitude he experienced in his most recent performance review. After the end of the evaluation, his manager said. “Nobody scores that high!” and then proceeded to lower the employee’s scores.

If the scale is 1 to 5 and no one ever gets a 5. then that means you ‘re a lousy manager. Why can’t the people who report to you ever hit the mark? What’s sad is that the boss who is afraid to acknowledge that someone has met or exceeded expectations never understands why people quit trying to meet or meet expectations, If you never give 5 (or even a 4) when it’s deserved, you create a culture where 3 becomes your standard of excellence. Mediocrity is not only acceptable, it’s as good as it gets.

On the flip side is the failure to let someone know that they’re just not getting the job done. Too many bosses are so fearful of conflict or hurting people’s feelings that they ignore bad behaviour and poor performance even when it’s detrimental to the organization. Once people understand that no one will ever call their hand when they fail to meet expectations, the tail starts wagging the dog. Guess what happens when a supervisor gives a 3 or a 4 when the employee deserves to be shown the door? Pretty soon you end up with a group of employees that makes the three stooges look competent.

The annual review is not going to go away, but the real performance review should be taking place in real time every day. Good or bad performance needs to be recognized immediately and consistently. The manager’s role should be like that of a fight instructor. The employee’s role is like that of a student. The instructor and student fly side-by-side.

CLEARLY DEFINE EXPECTATIONS

First there has to be a flight plan with clearly defined expectations. To establish the plan, as manager you should ask your employees to complete a list of expectations of their job from their perspective. This should include what they believe their responsibilities are and what authority they possess. You should do the same from your perspective, Then, set up a discussion to reconcile the two lists until both are in agreement. You also need to learn what the employees believe they need from you to successfully do their job.

MEASURE BEHAVIOUR, VALUES, AND SKILLS

As well as establishing these expectations, you should complete assessments to measure behaviour, values, and skills required for the job. Then your employees should complete corresponding assessments to see how they compare. This establishes a benchmark that helps you understand their strengths and helps you understand how to capitalize on these strengths. It also identifies areas that need strengthening. It’s important to remember that the employees have to be a good behavioural fit for the job. No amount of coaching can remake people into something they are not.

COMMUNINCATE CONSTANTLY AND CONSISTANTLY

Now, that there is a fight plan in place. It is your responsibility to provide a system and process for constant and consistent communication. You have to coach the employees, not just evaluate their performance to keep the plane on course. In my first job out of college, my sales manager called me every Monday morning. His questions included: “What’s going on?” How are doing? What can I help you with?” This provided him with what he needed to know to help me do my job. It provided me with the help I needed do my job.

PROVIDE SPECIFIC FEEDBACK

When employees meet or exceed expectations. tell them they are on course. Be specific. There is nothing in the world that will inspire them more to keep doing a great job than to hear from the boss that you are doing a great job. The only exception is when those words are either insincere or untrue.

When employees fail to meet expectations, you need to tell them that they are off course again, be specific. If they don’t hear what you need to improve on, the only assumption to make that they are doing what you should be doing — or you don’t care what they do. I know of a case where employees describe their manager as a wonderful person but do not think he is a good manager. They like him but dislike working for him because he gives them no direction. They feel like they are flying blind. This creates a high level of anxiety for the employees and the manager.

CHOOSE YOUR DIRECTION

Employees need and want direction. How and when it is done is what makes the difference — for the employee, for the boss, and for the organization. Like flying a plane, reviewing performance should be a matter of constant course adjustments. If you wait until the end of the flight to make adjustments to the course, you will always be disappointed with where you land. Worse yet, someone else will probably be sifting through the wreckage to figure out why the plane crashed.

Why Emotional Intelligence is Important

For most people, emotional intelligence is more important then one’s intelligence to attain success in their lives and careers. As individuals, our success depends on our ability to read other people ‘s signals and react appropriately to them. Therefore, each one of us must develop the mature emotional intelligence skills required to better understand, empathize, and negotiate with other people, particularly in our global economy. Otherwise, success will elude us in our lives and careers.

“Your EQ (emotional intelligence quotient) is the level of your ability to understand other people, what motivates them and how to work co-operatively with them,” says Howard Gardner, the influential Harvard theorist.

UNDERSTANDING THE FIVE CATEGORIES OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

1. Self-awareness:

The ability to recognize an emotion as it happens is the key to your EQ Developing self-awareness requires tuning in to your true feelings. If you evaluate your emotions, you can manage them. The major elements of self-awareness are:

Emotional awareness: your ability to recognize your own emotions and their effects
Self-confidence: sureness about your self-worth and capabilities

2. Self-regulation:

You often have little control over when you experience emotions. You can, however, have some say in how long an emotion will last by using a number of techniques to alleviate negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, or depression, often recasting a situation in a more positive light. Self-regulation involves:

Self-control: managing disruptive impulse
Trustworthiness: maintaining standards of honestly and integrity
Conscientiousness: taking responsibility for your own performance
Adaptability: handling change with flexibility.
Innovation: being open to new ideas

3. Motivation

To motivate yourself for any achievement requires clear goals and a positive attitude. Although you may be predisposed to be negative, you can with effort and practice, learn to think more positively. If you catch negative thoughts as they occur, you can re-frame them in more positive terms, which will help you achieve your goals. Motivation is made up of:

Achievement drive: your constant striving to improve or to meet a standard of excellence
Commitment: aligning with the goals of the group or organization
Initiative: readying yourself to act on opportunities
Optimism: pursuing goals persistently despite obstacles and setbacks

4. Empathy

The ability to recognize how people feel is important to success in your life and career. The more skilled you are at discerning the feelings behind other’s signals, the better you can control the signals you send them. An empathetic person excels at:

Service orientation: anticipating, recognizing, and meeting client’s needs
Developing others: sensing what others need to progress and bolstering their abilities
Leveraging diversity: cultivating opportunities through diverse people
Political awareness: reading a group’s emotional currents and power relationships
Understanding others: discerning the feelings behind the needs and wants of others

5. Social skills

Developing good interpersonal skills is crucial to success in your life and career. In today’s cyber culture, you can have immediate access to technical knowledge. Therefore, you must possess a high EQ to better understand, empathize, and negotiate with others in the global economy. Among the most useful skills are:

Influence: wielding effective persuasion tactics
Communication: sending clear messages
Leadership: inspiring and guiding groups and people
Change catalysis: initiating or managing change
Conflict management ability: understanding, negotiating and resolving disagreements
Ability to build bonds: nurturing instrumental relationships
Collaboration and co-operation: working with others toward shared goals
Team building: creating group synergy in pursuing collective goals

How well you do in your life and career is determined by both IQ and EQ. IQ alone is not enough; EQ also matters. In fact, psychologists generally agree that among the ingredients for success, IQ counts for roughly 10% (at best 25%); the rest depends on everything else-including EQ. A study of Harvard graduates in business, law, medicine, and teaching showed a negative or zero correlation between an IQ indicator (entrance exam score) and subsequent career success.

Tips for Conducting Employee Evaluations

Employee evaluations are among the most difficult staff management aspects of any supervisor’s job. Even if you’re a seasoned professional accustomed to conducting regular performance reviews, judging your employees’ performance and communicating your findings to them can be stressful – especially with anxious employees. And if you’re new to the job or the company, being the “newbie” who delivers feedback can pose an extra challenge.

It’s important to recognize employee evaluations for what they are: opportunities to have a dialog about progress and performance in a one-on-one setting. They’re valuable tools that allow supervisors to acknowledge improvements in an employee’s performance, as well as his individual contributions to a company’s success. When necessary, it’s also the time to discuss areas where an employee could improve and offer suggestions to do so. An employee gains insights into his supervisor’s perception of his performance and receives acknowledgement for his achievements. This is his chance to discuss strengths and weaknesses, and to see how his progress fits into his overall professional goals.

The Evaluation Procedure

Though frequency and methods vary from company to company, evaluation procedures generally consist of three steps:

gathering and recording performance data
evaluating that data
communicating findings to the employee

As a supervisor, you possess the key to making evaluations a success: superior communication skills. It’s your responsibility to lead the conversation and ensure its tone is optimistic, objective and open in order to foster a cooperative atmosphere that allows both parties’ points to be expressed effectively.

Evaluation Tips

Some companies provide supervisors with strict guidelines on performance evaluation; others allow managers to implement those techniques they deem most fit.

Whatever the situation, you can streamline your procedure and make it more effective.

Decide on an evaluation system. Depending on your field, employees’ performance measurements may vary from sales numbers and production output to customer satisfaction ratings and client retention. Determine the most telling aspects of performance assessment for the situation and decide how, and how often, to gather data. For example, if you’re a sales manager, you can keep daily records of each employee’s sales and review them each quarter.
Let your employee know she’s being evaluated. Always inform the employee that she’s being evaluated. Explain to her what aspects of his performance are under review; how you will gather data; and how often you will evaluate.
Keep records diligently. Most companies have tracking systems to record certain aspects of performance such as sales or project completion. However, you can also note numerous small and large things on a daily basis. Did a certain employee provide a solution to a problem that had the rest of the team stumped? Did he go out of his way to finish a monthly report on time? Did she work effectively with another colleague to develop a more streamlined workflow? Keep a weekly or monthly file on each employee with notes on both positive and negative observations.
Ensure the evaluation is an accurate reflection of the entire term. When you track an employee’s performance and review your files on a regular basis, you’ll be in a better position to present a comprehensive review with accurate feedback during actual evaluation meetings. Don’t make the mistake of focusing solely on the last week or month before the meeting.
Don’t let personality get in the way. Whether you get along with the employee or not, you should never let personality differences get in the way of an objective assessment. You should review only behaviors, actions and performance. Whether you appreciate the employee’s sense of humor or shyness is irrelevant. Maintain a professional attitude and present your findings in an objective manner from the company’s point of view. If you observe yourself or the employee becoming frustrated, upset or angry, reiterate the objectives of the review, suggest a short break and resume the meeting when both parties are calmer.
Keep the tone constructive. Negative feedback is never easy to deliver or receive, so deliver yours in the most positive manner possible. Refrain from comparing the employee’s performance to that of a colleague; instead, use company goals as a benchmark.
Leave room for dialog. A performance review isn’t a one-way street. Allow the employee to his voice concerns and observations, as well as his short- and long-term objectives. In addition, ensure there’s room for the employee to add to your review if necessary. For example, if you’ve omitted to note actions or achievements the employee valued highly, make sure he has room to communicate them. When both parties understand what achievements the other values and what the respective goals are, it becomes easier to determine an effective workflow.

A smart supervisor knows how to get the best out of her people at all times. With a strategic approach to employee evaluations, you create a win-win for your company’s objectives and your employees’ careers.