Today we look at some interesting commentary on the state of the talent force (I positively detest the term ‘human capital’); some new and some seriously old.
Companies frequently hire from the outside based on the idea that new blood is good for the organization, but is it?
According to Wharton management professor Matthew Bidwell, “external hires” get significantly lower performance evaluations for their first two years on the job than do internal workers who are promoted into similar jobs. They also have higher exit rates, and they are paid “substantially more.” About 18% to 20% more.
Have you wondered if the job market will ever turn for more than the young tech-enabled? Maybe not quickly enough, but time does move on and demographics will not be denied.
A Human Capital Zeitgeist, is emerging as companies big and small are getting smacked with the realization that talent management is SO critical to competing in a volatile marketplace, they might actually have to throw a bit more respect at the “human” in the human capital equation.
This demographic time bomb isn’t new; it was recognized more than a decade ago, but managers’ ability to recognize, attract and retain talent has escalated dramatically, with the economic crash more like an attack of hiccups, than an actual change.
McKinsey declared the start of “the war for talent” in 1997. It has turned out to be a more or less permanent conflict. Revisiting their earlier work in 2001, the management consultants stated: “The war for talent will persist for at least the next two decades. The forces that are causing it are deep and powerful. The war for talent is a business reality.”
Do you believe that happy employees perform better? Not everyone agrees, although I freely admit I’m on the pro side of that argument.
Productivity measures across national economies have captivated the attention of policy makers and executives alike. Ultimately, though, the source of productivity is the individual knowledge workers who get things done every day. And the evidence is clear: People perform better when they’re happier. OR Happy employees tend to enjoy the status quo so much that they might resist changes to it. This is hardly a recipe for success in today’s world, where agility and embracing change are essentials for success.
Of course, no discussion of productivity can take place without including Elton Mayo and the Hawthorne Effect. Impressive experiments, since they are as relevant today as they were nearly a century ago.
What he found however was that work satisfaction depended to a large extent on the informal social pattern of the work group. … He concluded that people’s work performance is dependent on both social issues and job content.
Finally, no commentary on people and the workplace would be complete without something on the Millennials; the demographic the media and pundits keep insisting are completely different from preceding generations—but are they really?
“For the past 12 years, I have studied the so-called generation gap through empirical research, and have found that stereotypes of millennials in the workplace are inconsistent at best and destructive at worst.” –Jennifer J. Deal, senior research scientist, Center for Creative Leadership
Way back in 2006 Tom Rath wrote a book called Vital Friends, in which he discusses the vital role friends play in our overall health, happiness and well-being.
“A vital friend could halve your chances of dying of heart disease; speed healing; and reduce your chances of getting cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and certain cancers.”
Now fast forward to 2012 where for many loneliness is rampant in spite of having dozens, hundreds or even thousands of Facebook friends and a similar number of followers on Twitter.
The isolation that is a hallmark of loneliness impacts people at work; after all, human emotions can’t be turned on and off like water faucets and some researchers are finally focusing on that.
Executives and managers might be surprised to learn that employees who have best friends at work are seven times more likely to be engaged in their jobs — and, if they have at least three vital friends at work, 96% more likely to be satisfied with their lives.
Loneliness is easily fixed, unlike depression (they are not synonymous)—all that is required is a friend.
This is important to you as a manager, since loneliness affects productivity and creativity.
What can you do?
Encourage better communications.
Provide an avenue for your people to connect in a relaxed atmosphere, whether at work or a more social get together.
Create a buddy system as part of your on boarding efforts.
But the most important action you can take is to pay attention to your people and not assume the problem will fix itself.
IdeaPaint is the perfect gift for your team, your kids (teens to toddlers), yourself or anyone with a smooth surface that’s just sitting there. And you can pair it with magnetic paint for a truly useful fun result.
I found the ultimate gift for your favorite gadget nut or workaholic at Mashable, but you’ll have to wrap an IOU, because the EXOdesk isn’t actually available until next year. But I doubt they will mind waiting for a tabletop computer with 40 inches of high def space where you manipulate virtual objects by touching and dragging them around. It’s only $1,299, which may sound pricey, but is downright reasonable when compared to Microsoft Surface 2.0 at nine grand.
There is much talk about the need for “cultural fit” when hiring and rightly so, since being in the wrong culture is equivalent to a fish out of water.
But does fitting require total acceptance? Does it mean agreeing 100% with every value and the way each is implemented?
It’s not nitpicking; bad hires are only one outcome of a bad fit between candidates and corporate culture; bad cultural fits are also the culprit in most screwed up M&A.
Actually, there are many similarities between hiring one person and acquiring/merging two companies—no matter how complementary the skills, technology and experience, cultural incompatibility typically leads to disaster.
While culture may not seem obvious when acquiring or hiring, due diligence and good interviewing is eminently capable of identifying and exploring it.
The problem is that managers often ignore cultural differences, because they believe they that their culture is ‘right’ and those joining will change—much like the people who marry “in spite of [x],” believing that s/he will change because s/he loves me.
Today is my birthday and I’m not working (I wrote this on Sunday).
From the time I was old enough to understand that my birthday was the day of MY birth, my special holiday, I refused to go to school on April 26.
No matter where I worked I’ve always taken my birthday off.
I never lied about it and even mentioned it during my interviews. I said I was happy to work weekends, Christmas, other holidays, but not on my birthday.
Surprisingly, they all agreed.
So it’s not surprising that when I started RampUp Solutions part of the culture was no one worked on their birthday; nor did they have to ‘make up’ the time off.
Over the years many executives have explained to me why giving people their birthdays off was a bad idea; here are their arguments and why they are wrong.
Too expensive – not when viewed as a recruiting, productivity and retention tool. It was surprising how many people viewed having their birthday off as a deal-breaker when interviewing.
Disrupts work flow – 95% of work can be scheduled to avoid a birthday and employees are the first to recognize the other 5%.
Other employees would be jealous – these execs and mangers just didn’t get it. They saw this as a perk for “stars” or “professional staff,” as opposed to everybody, totally missing the point.
Think about it, it’s one of those little things with enormous ROI.
And while you’re thinking, please have a piece of cake and drink a birthday toast to me.
Happy Birthday to ME
(No, there are not enough candles, in case you are wondering:)
Here’s a fun fact that’s a great conversation starter, or ender, depending. Do you know who the largest employer in the entire world is? The Indian railway system with more than a million employees.
If that goes over well try this one. What is the most productive day of the workweek? Tuesday.
Speaking of productive, think about Henry Ford. His name invokes images of production lines, the Model T and a new mobility for America. It should also remind you of backyard BBQs, since Ford also invented charcoal briquettes.
These days it takes a real gaffe to discomfit a company—if you can do it at all. How times have changed. When Scott Paper Company first started manufacturing toilet paper they were too embarrassed to put their name on the package.
Cost cutting by the airlines isn’t anything new. In 1987 American saved $40K; doesn’t sound like a big deal until you know that it was done by using one less olive on each salad served in first class.
Here’s a tidbit that would cut deeply into consultant revenue if management actually used it. The average company saved over $7,000 for each employee suggestion that it enacted. Of course, first they have to believe it.
Today wraps up in enough irony to include a bow on the package.
Did you know that the original owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer?
Pizzled is a cross between puzzled and pissed and it’s what people get when forced to work in a Triple A Culture.
RAT culture, on the other hand, leaves employees engaged, motivated and productive.
RAT means rational, authentic and transparent.
Rational actions that make sense to your people and rational communication that doesn’t employ emotion to manipulate them.
Authentic eliminates BS, yours and all those who report to you, and stays consistent, stabilizing everybody
Transparent is saying clearly what you mean, doing what you say and holding everyone to the same standard—no exceptions.
RAT culture is always a top-down function imposed by any manager at any level on those who report directly or indirectly. Sadly, it is almost impossible to enable or enforce RAT culture up through the organization.
Assuming you have RAT MAP, RAT culture is satisfying to build, because it means
doing what comes naturally;
not having to remember what you said or did to stay consistent, because it was the truth;
creating a working environment that’s full of sunshine instead of sh*t where people can grow and excel; and
where fun, happy, productivity and success are the norm.
Finally, propagating RAT culture is profitable—not just for the company, because of high productivity, and your people, because of goals reached and dreams fulfilled, but for you as you’ll see from your reviews, the ease with which you hire and the pleasure you take in what you’ve accomplished.
So forget pizzled and go RAT, you won’t be disappointed.
Today we look at some interesting commentary on the state of the talent force (I positively detest the term ‘human capital’); some new and some seriously old.
Way back in 2006 Tom Rath wrote a book called Vital Friends, in which he discusses the 
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