Human Resources

Business owners typically don’t like to do employee reviews. They can feel overwhelming to prepare. Some of the businesses I work with use systems that score performance in a variety of categories. Others want me to let them off the hook to do them (I don’t let them, I promise), others try to postpone them as long as possible, and some just don’t know where to start. Start here: employee reviews and compensation increases do not go hand in hand! Unfortunately, in many companies, the review happens once a year and occurs in tandem with compensation increases. But what happens when because of your business conditions, the economy, the employee’s performance or for any other reasons, there will be no increase. Does this mean that you don’t do a review? Of course not. Feedback is important – your employees need to know how you think they are doing. If you evaluate there are performance issues, the annual review shouldn’t be the first time an employee hears about it. But we’ll save that topic is for another day. As important, you need to know how they think they are doing. You can skip a long list of categories to rate by using this 4 question format. Ask your employee to answer these questions prior to the review and give to you. Then, when you answer the questions also, you can use their answers as a baseline and create the framework for your discussion:

• How are you doing?
• What are you most proud of since your last performance review?
• What is your biggest challenge right now?
• How can I help you?

Your employee will identify his/her own strengths and weaknesses and in many cases will be much harder on himself/herself than you would ever be! This makes it easier to provide your input. You’ll be coaching to get the behavior you desire rather than criticizing.

The first time you try a process like this it might seem as though it is too simple to be effective! But after a few times, it will become a low-stress, high-return habit (you’ll be growing as a leader). And you’ll notice the benefits immediately. You’ll both have more clarity about your company goals and how they need to be achieved.

Remember, you are providing feedback to your employees because you want them to succeed. I bet you’ll find this format manageable enough to use on a regular basis to give and get performance feedback from your employees. Let me know how it goes!

1. Let’s Trust Each Other – I want us to be able to trust each other. Without that, we won’t have the solid foundation to weather all that’s ahead of us. I accept the fact that I need to earn your trust and will work to do so. Please demonstrate to me that my trust in you is well placed.

2. Be Fair – In two major areas, compensation and accountability. I expect to be fairly compensated. And maybe you do have your favorites, but we shouldn’t be able to guess who they are (especially if it isn’t me!). Just be sure to hold everyone to the same standard of accountability and I’ll be satisfied.

3. Be Dependable – As my manager, I need to know I can depend on you. For lots of things. Will you provide me with the access to info I need when I need it, or will I have to ask again and again? Will you have my back when challenged by others in the company or are you looking out for yourself regardless of what is happening? Most importantly, do you do what you say you’re going to?

4. Involve me – I’m not expecting to be involved in every decision or aspect of the company, but I try to be the expert in what my role is here. Ask me! Let’s collaborate! Will you genuinely include my opinions or thoughts in your decision making process, or will you solicit my opinion and consistently ignore it? I will catch on to what you do and react appropriately.

5. Teach me – Introduce me to new ways of thinking, learning, understanding and doing my job. I want to grow with the company and grow into a new and more challenging role. I’m not asking for expensive week-long training on theory, but the world is changing faster and faster, and each day, I should be learning something new. The problem is I think I don’t have time so you need to nudge me in the right direction. I want interesting work, and I know one way to accomplish this is to keep my perspective fresh and open to new ideas.

6. Give me feedback - Not just on my annual review, but on a regular basis. No, I don’t mean you have to pat me on the back for everything I do, I just want you to confirm I’m on the right track, or that something I accomplished really made a difference to you and the company. On the days when things don’t go so well, be tactful. Please review the problem with me in private rather than at the staff meeting. I’ll be more open to the lesson learned, and can save face if I need to.

7. Respect me and my time – I really do want to feel valued and appreciated and hope that my actions reflect that. Please read the reports you ask me to compile, respond to my emails, return my calls, and let me finish my sentence after you’ve asked me a question.

8. Share your vision – I want to be part of something bigger and like the idea that we are on the path of a well thought out plan. I want to make sure I am working on the right things and taking the action that makes a difference. I know we’ll have to adjust and adapt that plan along the way, but making sure we understand where the company is going will build the loyalty and teamwork we need to get there.

9. Resist Micromanaging – Give me the result you are looking for, get agreement from me for what the “deliverables” and timetable need to be, and then let me do it!

10. Be real – I know you are busy, may feel stressed, and have to deal with many things that I don’t. But once in a while, the real you is great to see.

Business owners want to start strong in 2011 and here’s how employees can make a difference:

Top 10 Boss Messages for Employees in 2011 (and in 2012 and…)

1. Please be on time – When arriving to work and to meetings. I know you have many things to take care of in the morning and things feel kind of crazy and overscheduled during the day, but we count on you to be on time.
2. Be dependable and be prepared – I’ve hired you in this role because everything I know about you so far says you can do it. Give me evidence every day that I made the right decision.
3. Consider my responsibilities - Maybe you think I change things for change’s sake. I don’t. I’m working hard to keep our organization successful to protect our jobs. My responsibilities include being aware of what’s happening in our industry and sometimes that means we have to change the way we do things. Remember, it affects me too!
4. Take care of your personal business on your personal time – That means take or make a personal call only when it is absolutely necessary. And please, no posting your Facebook status, tweeting or texting during the day. Stay off EBay and surf the internet when you get home. We need, expect, pay for and deserve your full attention and dedication while you are here.
5. Be enthused! – I want you to love what you do and be the best at it. Remember it’s always ok to ask for help. If you need training or some other resource to be more effective, please let me know! Will you be willing to learn on your own sometimes? I can’t promise I can always give you exactly what you need, but telling a co-worker instead of me won’t get you very far. And we’ll both get frustrated otherwise.
6. Be a leader to those around you – I’m not asking you to take charge all the time (unless you want to!), but be a positive force on your team and help keep everyone moving in the same direction. When you are encouraging to others, it creates a better environment for all of us.
7. Listen – To each other, to our customers, to our vendors and suppliers, and to me. We all have ideas, comments, opinions and thoughts about this business. Let’s stop and really listen to each other. I promise to do the same.
8. Dress the part – pay attention to what’s appropriate for our work environment. Please don’t make me have to bring this to your attention. But I will.
9. Take responsibility – for the good and the bad. Share your successful results and we’ll celebrate. Skip the blame game when things don’t go so well. Most everything can be corrected. Do what you say you are going to do within the time frame you gave me. You are part of our culture of accountability.
10. Understand I do value you – your contribution makes a difference.

And what do employees want to tell the boss? That list later! What do you think?

When we keep learning, we keep growing. Sometimes, as business owners or executives, we think there are some ideas that are ‘all set’. And we never revisit the belief to see if it still works. To grow as leaders, we may need to consider ‘unlearning’ a few of those things. Here are a few leadership thoughts to get over that I’ve adapted from Stephen Wiehe, Sciquest:

1. Leadership is a process. Leadership is a behavior, not a process. We lead people and manage their activities. A process implies a routine set of repeatable steps, but true leaders continually lead others by what they do in any particular circumstance —not by what they say. Stop worrying about choosing exactly the right words, and think about how you act. Everyone’s watching.

2. A leader needs to always be ready with the answer. Better to be ready with a great question and be far more productive. Questions allow for clarification. Asking for input doesn’t make you weak – it gets you closer to what you need to know!

3. Great ideas come out of debate and conflict. Here’s my take on this – healthy conflict is a myth. Conflict creates situations where people take ‘sides’ or ‘positions’ and then all communication stops. Asking questions will drive more positive interaction than having to protect your ‘turf’. Asking questions gets you closer to finding out what you need to know, remember?

4. A leader needs to maintain power and authority. Wrong. Give power and authority away every day. Isn’t this the most liberating news you’ve heard today? One way to give away authority is to ask for feedback (here’s the asking questions idea again). If you as a leader are willing to receive that feedback, you’re teaching others how to receive it. Remember actions speak louder than words. (Everybody is still watching!)

5. A leader mandates change. Only in a crisis – but at all other times, it’s a slow, process of gaining buy in by asking questions, allowing questions to be asked, and dealing with that change openly and honestly. Let people understand the ‘why’ behind the change and then get out of their way while they implement it.

Simply start by ‘unlearning’ today!

It’s About Time!

The big question in your business life is this – “What can you and only you do in your business that if done well will make a real difference?” This is a great question to ask yourself when you want to improve your overall effectiveness. The next question to ask is what are your highest value activities? Again, it’s about spending time on the things that matter most, not items that live on your ‘to do’ list. Rather than making a ‘to do’ list, consider making a ‘what matters most list’. Expect changes in how you look at what you think you have to do when evaluated this way. A final question to ask is what is the most valuable use of my time right now? This keeps your priorities in check and the low value activities off your list.

Answering these questions keeps you moving toward your goals and objectives because they help keep you in control of what you do.

The single most important driver in business success is finding, training and retaining the best people. Many businesses are wondering when the right time might be to start hiring again. News reports are peppered with stories of companies who intend to hire this year, and I’ve seen an increase in hiring activity in the local business community. Of course companies that stay focused know that the process for recruiting is an activity that never stops.

Many of the smartest business people I know tell me how difficult it is to ‘find good people’. I’m betting if you’ve been in business for any length of time, you’ve hired people who are great. I’ll also bet you’ve had the experience where the brilliant person you interviewed seems like a completely different person once they’re working for you. Does hiring success have to be this spotty?

Don’t get me wrong: there are no magic formulas for complete hiring success, but there are specific things that you can change or add to your process that will help you identify the ‘A’ Players.. Until you get this right more often, you’ll continue to suffer the consequences of employee turnover: low morale, interruptions in customer service and missed sales opportunities. And worst of all, you’ll continue to feel like you have to do everything in the business because you can’t find ‘the one’.

So how do you find these ‘A’ Players? First, look at your hiring process. You need to know who you’re looking for. Then, take a look at your organization, even if your organization is only you at the moment. See what needs to be done to improve your results. Notice that I’m asking you to start by looking at the big picture and job functions. What do you need to accomplish?

Next write a job description. Be exact. What are all the duties and responsibilities? The more specific you are now, the fewer misunderstandings you’ll have in the future. What characteristics, experience and skill set will the successful candidate possess? You also need to decide how to value this position. How much does it pay? There are many, many people who are looking for work. Get top talent for the dollars you intend to pay.

Many business owners find that as their businesses grow, jobs evolve based on what the person they’ve hired likes to do, not what the position description calls for. This can create a lot of confusion and dysfunction in an organization that’s in growth mode. A written job description can serve as the basis for future performance reviews and help keep the person doing the job they were hired for. I’m a big believer of writing something once and using it in multiple ways! In all cases, I believe you’re looking for someone who will have the work ethic, attitude and aptitude for the job that needs to be done, as set in the job description.

Where do you look for candidates? You can choose from sophisticated, integrated job websites, industry specific recruiters, newspapers, and networking. Many positions today are filled through networking. Once you decide to hire, your job is to set your ‘hiring filter’ in high gear and add this objective to your list when attending any networking event. What top talent is there in front of you?

So you’ve done all the prep work and now the resumes start coming in. This is where the real work begins. Break it down into phases:

· The resume review – You are looking for the applicable skills and experience you identified in the job description. Select those who meet your standards. Those who don’t should receive a polite note letting them know they were not selected. It’s polite business, and you’d be amazed at how many candidates will thank you for responding. Most companies don’t do this. You’ll stand out if you do.

· The phone screen – Write 5 or 6 specific questions you will ask each candidate. This is to start to get to know this person. This is also where you are eliminating people who do not meet your requirements. Be tough, fair and polite – you don’t want to waste your time or theirs. Listen more and talk less – you are looking for ‘A’ players. Ask questions that require specifics, not opinions.

· Behavioral assessments – There are a number to choose from. I use assessments with all of my clients hiring projects (the larger companies that I work with use a combination of them) and I wouldn’t want to conduct a search without them. They’ll help you to refine your search by helping you to identify behavior styles, traits and skills the successful candidate should possess.

· The first interview – Prepare in advance and write specific questions to be asked of all candidates. Again, seek experienced based answers, not opinions. If you google ‘common interview questions and answers’, you’ll get over 25 Million websites to choose from! Always ask some questions that are unexpected to help get a truer picture of the prospective employee

· The second interview and even third – These interviews are for your final candidates. Only two or maybe three get here. Here’s where you formulate individualized questions designed to learn more about the candidate.

This hiring process takes time and focus in any economy. But having a system like this will allow you to hire a person who has demonstrated an ability to do the job you want him or her to do. Is it perfect? No, but it moves you away from a subjective to an objective process that can be duplicated.

Once you implement a system like this, your company’s success comes from your ability to identify and hire real talent. You’ll pull ahead of your competition, and have the resources to deliver quality on all levels to your customers. Are you up to the challenge?