Shock and Awe - SuccessFactors Stays Hardcore with "Stack Ranker"...

A couple of months ago, I explored the outward facing culture of SuccessFactors in a post called SuccessFactors - You're Hardcore, But I Love You Anyway.  The post explored the rationale that SuccessFactors gave for a reduction in headcount that looked to be a layoff.  When asked about a reduction in headcount, SuccessFactors didn't take the usual approach of talking about a layoff, they instead presented the following - "The headcount reduction was not a layoff. We eliminated low performers and we eliminated a group associated with a vertical focused area that did not produce results"

I had mixed feelings about that.  Part of me thinks its dicey to throw the phrase "low performers" and the concept of group elimination together, because I think any time a company shutters an entire project or division, there are usually employees of above average and even excellent quality who get caught up in the move.

Translation - some of it might be your fault as a company.  You can have the wrong strategy or market as a company, and the talent you recruit can get impacted by that.  

Still, I respect the fact that SuccessFactors would spin their culture as being hardcore for performance management, even in their own operations.  That means they're passionate about the space, even if they're being reckless in potentially sharing flawed performance data on those impacted.

Need more proof that SuccessFactors is hardcore?  See the recent press release on a product they like to call "Stack Ranker", which is kind of like marketing a paddle as a "butt buster". Here's a taste straight from the SuccessFactors press release:

"Stack Ranker enables companies to:

-- Visually Rank Talent -- Instantly identify top-ranked players so that managers can optimize teams by motivating and cultivating their best people. With Stack Ranker, managers can give rewards to top employees that deserve extra recognition, or quickly identify low performers to let go when faced with tough layoff decisions.

-- Go Beyond Performance Reviews -- Stack Ranker expands the formal review process by capturing new characteristics for a more holistic assessment. Users can incorporate factors like criticality of the role into ranking or other criteria to serve as tie-breakers.

-- Assess Everyone at Once -- Quickly assess an entire team across critical competencies and criteria in real time -- all in one place. Side-by-side rating promotes more accurate relative assessments.

Stack Ranker more tightly integrates performance management into everyday business decisions, helping managers and leaders to make informed, empowered choices about their workforce," said SuccessFactors CEO Lars Dalgaard. "Now, more than ever, in these tough economic times, companies need immediate access to team performance, to reward and recognize top performers or to ramp up or down as necessary. Stack Ranker easily helps managers make that happen."

Stack Ranker...  Need any more data that shows SuccessFactors is the aggressive kid on the playground?  By introducing a feature/product during the down economy that uses terminology directly associated with a process of identifying those who might be impacted by a layoff, the company leaves little to the imagination.

Brilliant marketing or the equivalent of MTV's "Road Rules" in the talent management space?  As always, I guess the market will decide.

Comments

[Suzanne Rumsey]

Hmmmm... Well, it is consistent with Lars' declaration that "We will increase worldwide productivity by 50 percent and help change the world by making it a more accountable and a more meritocratic place to work, where promotion and pay is based on performance, not politics," reads one of Dalgaard’s founding principles from 2001.

Remember, Lars is also the guy who invited Jack Welch to a company meeting, and has compared himself to Jack. Stack Ranker sounds like a page right out of Jack's GE management handbook, since GE is known for stack ranking its employees and regularly shaving the bottom 10%.

Whether or not the tool will be truly effective will depend, I think, entirely on the criteria different companies use to rank their employees. I have not yet seen the product, but I would assume that organizations can define the various ranking criteria (really, no different than how someone would identify a high potential using a data-driven method...).

What worries me, though, is that such a product might foster an over-reliance on both technology and criteria, and take the "human" out of the equation completely. When I work with clients on talent assessment processes, hands down the most effective element are the conversations that leaders have - face-to-face - about the talent, sharing each others' perspectives, learning about different parts of the business and how different employees truly contribute or not. This is what I worry gets lost with a tool like Stack Ranker - the technology becomes the process, rather than supporting it.

[KD]

Sue -

Good points. I like the products and the approach, but I think the aggressive marketing is either a) brilliant, and serves to move the industry forward, or b) a over-reach to sell in a down economy that will harm SF from being seen as a serious provider long term. Haven't made up my mind which - perhaps a little of both...

Good comment from "Coach HR" as well on the previous SF post, which I believe she meant to put here. Check it out on the right hand navigation....

KD