How to Figure Out Which Managers Are Net Positive to Your Culture in 1 Question...

Capitalist Note - re-running this favorite since many of us are still in the planning stages for the new year regarding the best way to evaluate and improve lots of things - including culture.  Don't overthink the questions and tools at your disposal... see comments for more gold....

There's lots of talk about how to build the best culture possible at your company.  Regardless of how you define your culture, you can figure out what your team members really think, and what they want culturally by asking the following question:

"If you could pick any manager (other than the one you're working for) in the company to work for (regardless of functional area), who would it be and why?"

It's a no BS question on what people want out of your company. Culture isn't defined by workspace, by free lunches/soda or by the stuff you put in the onboarding packet.  Those things help to attract and are nice to have, but they quickly become entitlements.

You are not the car you drive.  You are not your khakis.

You lose control of your culture once your managers take delivery of talent in the new hire process.  At that point, an employee's experience with your culture is heavily influenced by their day to day interactions with their manager.

"If you could pick any manager (other than the one you're working for) in the company to work for (regardless of functional area), who would it be and why?"

Ask the question.  My bet is if you do it and review the results in a group of manageable size, you'll find some common names popping up all over the place.  Employees talk.  They know who's good with people, who's fair and who has a nice balance between business results and development of team members. 

Ask the question, and then look at the names that come up repeatedly.  Look at their style and philosophy, then figure out how to push, prod and train your other managers to embody some of the qualities you identify.

The question doesn't lie, and it releases the employees responding from saying, "I'd take my manager"...  Because we all know that's the politically correct answer.

Ask the question.

Retention of HiPos: You Don't Have to Tell Them They're HiPo to Retain Them...

I'm pretty much on the record in favor of telling high potential employees (HiPos) that are part of a formal succession plan that "they're on the list".  John Sullivan gave 20 reasons last week over at ERE why releasing the names in some fashion makes sense.  It's a good list, if a little long.  The length makes it comprehensive, so check it out.

But - what do you do if you agree with the concept of telling people they're on the list, but your culture won't allow it?

You don't have to tell the HiPos that they're part of a Succession Plan to retain them long-term.  But doing nothing - having no special plan for the HiPo - is a sucker's play.

Bottom line - you better run, not walk, to pair the HiPo with someone that gives a #### about their development and about keeping them at the company.  For some companies, that might mean a formal mentoring program.  For others, it might mean a customized development plan that gives the HiPo some access to training that others don't get.

Yes, Dorthy...  Both mentoring and customized development plans are common components of Succession Plans.  You can run the programs and include people without the formality of telling people they're on a list.  But you're really telling them by including them in these types of programs.  Still, stopping short of telling people that they're part of a list is the preferred approach by many.

The bigger question is this...  The small to medium size company in America generally doesn't have a succession plan, nor do they have a formal mentoring program or the availability of customized development plans and the dollars it take to run them.  What do those HR pros do?

Match the HiPo up with someone who cares, preferably their manager or the skip-level director.  Talk to them about what "being interested" looks like.  Conversations about what the person wants to do, special projects to develop them and an eye on accelerated comp goes a long way.

Informal Succession Planning = Giving a ####.  Just a little bit.  If you don't care enough to recognize the HiPo in some way, then you get what get. 

Innovation That's "Good Enough": What Can Your Team Attack in a Day?

I've written a good bit in the past regarding the concept of "good enough" - how products and services that solve simple pain often get used more than products with a greater degree of complexity. Complexity is often the enemy of actually getting people to "use stuff".

If you agree with that statement, then doesn't it make sense that you would force teams to ship features and services around your product in the shortest time possible?   Give teams more time, and what creeps in?  Usually more features, complexity and a drop in usability.  They had more time to think about the possibilities.  What did you expect?

That's why I was interested to see this post by the folks at Sonar6, a performance management software company based in New Zealand.  They recently held a FedEx day focused on "shipping" a new feature based on a day's work via cross-functional teams in the Sonar6 HQ.  Here's a breakdown from their site:

"The other week the Auckland office had a crack at our first ever Fedex Day.

Loosely based on Atlassian’s Fedex day, the idea is to pick a project that can be delivered in a day, and then spend the day – just the one – doing it. Projects don’t have to necessarily be 100% complete or highly polished when the deadline hits, but they should be presentable. Cross-functional teams are encouraged, as is working on something you wouldn’t usually get to play around with.

Ours went a little something like this…

Thursday afternoon Everyone met to present their ideas and expectations were high. Proposed projects ranged from loading screens and interactive customer maps to product specs and database overhauls:

Kai and Xavier proposed building a game that would draw review information from Sonar6 and make it easier (and more fun!) for managers to track team progress and review completion.

Bobby, James and Craig planned to restructure the internal Sonar6 Helper Tool, making it easier for everyone in the company to get customer information and see what’s happening inside the software."

Game changing products/features from a day's development time?  Probably not, but it sure seems like that type of activity helps a company build muscle related to the discipline it takes to develop new features quickly and be brave enough to ship them before they're "perfect". Whatever that is.

Revenue generated by FedEx day at Sonar6- next to 0.

Message sent on discipline it takes to create features that are "good enough" and get shipped quickly - priceless.

Tiger Blood, Tiger Mom and Managers Who Care Enough to Make You Cry...

From a reader a while back who took the time to send me a nice note waxing poetic regarding why we don't see the equivalent of Tiger Moms in the workplace:

"Why was there such an uproar about boundaries and parenting styles for kids, as if it’s BAD to be a Tiger Mom, when clearly it gets results? – Her daughter was just accepted to Harvard.
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailycaller/tigermothersdaughteracceptedintoharvard). I’m constantly telling my sister she’s not strict enough (and her kids will end up in a community college somewhere), because of course, I don’t have kids and it’s easy to be an armchair quarterback. 

When I coach managers, most of the time I notice that they are more Panda Dad than Tiger Mom. In other words, they are way too soft in their 360s, in their expectations, and in their accountability. Maybe that’s because I work in Government, but that’s what I’m seeing. On the other hand, there are lots of managers that try to be a Tiger Boss and use Shame as a Stimulus, Isolation as Focus, and Public Insult as Feedback. So, while I think that kids need boundaries, and employees need tough goals, does anyone need abuse? That’s where the Tiger Mom thing goes awry, in my book. On the other hand, the Tiger Mom is nothing if not engaged, and I don’t see a lot of involved or engaged managers in my neck of the woods. How does that work? Does engagement = abuse and Panda Boss = softie? I agree – it’s tough to get your arms around."

Some great stuff in that note:

"Hey Sis, if you don't start doing more, your kids are going to have to go JUCO" (I know a lot of great folks who went to JUCO, but hey, she's trying to make a point..)

"Shame as Stimulus, Isolation as Focus, and Public Insult as Feedback".

Wow...As Jim Rome would say in the SmackOff - "Rack 'em"!!!  I love readers who really think and want to work it out and trade ideas...

So what about it - how do you be a "Tiger Mom" in the workplace, with your direct reports, without being that guy (or gal)?  In the workplace, I think the key to being able to be hard on your people really comes down to one thing - your people have to have a sense that you (the manager in question), while being a b#tch to work for, ultimately have their best career interests in mind.  If I know that you're hard on me, but when push comes to shove you are ready to promote my career and help me achieve a lot personally (even at the risk of losing me), I'm generally going to view you being a Tiger Boss with a different view than I would if I had the perception it was all about you.

Hard on me all the time + big promoter of my career = Tiger Boss getting away with a lot of abuse to his/her direct reports.

And remember, like Tiger Mom Boss once said: "No, you can't go to the prom movies, but you can drive by there on the way to Kaplan Learning Center Kinkos.

And I'm out...

Tuition Aid Programs: They Look Great on the Company Brochure, But Are Hard as #*#* to Use...

Hi Kris - 

I'm a benefits manager in Atlanta and I'm looking for some best practices related to Tuition Aid Programs offered by companies across America.  What do you have for me?

-J

-------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Hi J - 

Thanks for the note - I browsed around for a bit and didn't find anything very interesting... My experience would tell me the major program components that serve as levers to differentiate a tuition aid program would be the following:

1. The amount available annually - $$$
2. What's eligible for reimbursement - what type of programs qualify for reimbursement?  Wide open or only job related?
3. Eligibility - how long do you have to be at the company to get the benefit?
4. Performance Required for Payback - do you need an "A" or a "B" to get reimbursed?  If so, how are non-traditional classes treated?
5. Payback agreements - How much time do you have to be with the company until you clear the requirement to pay back the reimbursement granted by the program? 1 year, 2 years?

I think the last point is the most important lever.  Tuition Aid is one of those things that looks great on the company brochure, but it's hard to use.  People have kids, are trying to live their lives, etc., so only the most ambitious take advantage of the program.  With that in mind, looking at traditional penetration rates of the program is the best practice when trying to budget, and payback agreements will help give your leadership some piece of mind that the folks who use the benefit are the ones most likely to stay.

Easy to promote, hard to use.  A cynic would call it the perfect company benefit - drives positive good will but most folks will never utilize it ...

Sorry I can't help more than that - and remember...stay thirsty my friend.

DATELINE OMAHA: Raise Your HR Game By Thinking Like a Money-Hungry VP of Sales

Tim Sackett and I were in Omaha on Tuesday to speak at HRAM, the Omaha area chapter of SHRM.  Topic - Raise Your HR Game By Thinking Like a Money-Hungry VP of Sales.

Slide show appears below, as does the session description for our talk at HRAM.  Good times.  Great SHRM chapter.  Thanks to all the good folks at HRAM for having us.

Want to be more like a VP of Sales as an HR Pro?  Check out the slides, then do like Tim did in Omaha and get a massive upgrade to the midsize rental we were counting on.  Picture appears below...

That's right - that's the "upgrade" from midsize he negotiated.  Classic.  

Email and RSS subscribers - click through if you can't see the presentation below...

Coffee's For Closers:  5 Ways to Elevate Your HR Game By Thinking Like a Money-Hungry VP of Sales

True Story:  HR Pros Kris Dunn and Time Sackett don't dislike salespeople...They LOVE salespeople and think HR needs to be more like a high-octane sales organization to generate the best possible results.  In this session, Kris and Time identify the 5 hardcore sales tactics with the greatest upside to HR pros, then proceed to outline how you can put the tactics in play in your HR practice.  The result is a road-map of how to make your HR practice function more like a results-driven Sales organization, featuring a sales contest with the following prizes:  First prize: A new Cadillac Eldorado. Second Prize: A set of steak knives.  Third Prize: You're Fired.    
 
We kid.  But you get the idea.
 
Need more details?  In htis HRAM keynote, Kris and Tim will roll out some of the usual ways that HR pros get played as victims, including the following gems:

     Your Softness - Being a victim of someone else's unreasonable expectations;
     Being Poor/Position of Weakness - Having no Budget for new tools the HR team desperately needs;
     Handling Snakes - Dealing with slippery types who talk in elusive circles;
     No Status/Without Clout- Not having the influence necessary to create necessary change; and
     Nice Gals/Guys Finish Last - Having difficulty getting buy-in during difficult conversations.

Does that sound like your average week?  Are you tired of feeling like a victim repeatedly in these circumstances?  Good - because Kris and Tim will outline your pain, then tell you what a money-hungry VP of Sales would do in each of these circumstances since he's unconstrained by emotions like feelings, guilt or the expectation that he's there to make others feel good.
 
Translation - you don't want to be the VP of Sales, but you can learn from him.  

White Guys Screaming at the Camera in Unrestrained Rage = Company Website Gold....

Suit and tie.  Check.

Diverse set of employees looking like they're thinking about the 5-Year strategic plan.  Check.

White guys screaming at the camera in unrestrained rage.

Hold up...

How many boring pictures can you put on your corporate website related to employees?  Most of us plug in some stock photos and that's it.   We take zero chances and we get what we deserve - a site that makes us look like 100,000 other employers.  Add a boring job description with 100 essential job duties and congrads - no one can tell you from the accounting firm down the street.

What if you did something different?  Think that would interest candidates related to your employment brand?

Take a look at the two photos below.  Which company would you be quick to click through to?

If it's me, I gotta know who the company is that let the white guys scream at the camera and put it on their site.  White guys are beside the point, diversity would be great as well.  Entertain me.  Make me care.  

Passion and personality is required.  Check out the guys at Talent Anarchy related to the last picture because they're interesting, and straight outta Compton Omaha. 

How Do You Collect Ideas? Think!

I commented on a blog post today over at HRU Technical Resources - one of the primaries at the firm is Tim Sackett, who's a friend of mine and a gold-level blogger at Fistful of Talent...

Anyway, my comment was meant to be snarky in response to a member of Tim's team starting up her blogging career, and wondering if she had enough to say (among other things).  My comment:

"Hi Amanda -

Welcome to the digital world.  Just keep a small notepad tucked in a pocket protector like Tim, and you'll have more than enough ideas to fill up your blogging goals....

KD"

Ha-ha.  Reminds me of a great scene in Fight Club (How's that working out for you?  How's what working out?  Being clever...)

Anyway, as it turns out, Tim gets all the blog comments and sends me the following note:

"Dude –

Funny thing – I have a little flip notebook I keep on my desk, just for those inspirations! Hater. 

T"

Tim even sent me a picture of this notebook, appropriately titled "Think" (pictured to the right).  The only thing that could have made it better was if it had an exclamation point behind it...

"Think!"  More of a call to action from my point of view...

But one thing this brief exchange reminded me of was that I generally flow in and out of being systematic in capturing my most creative ideas.  Sometimes I'm a notebook guy, sometimes I'm the digital guy, etc. 

Sometimes I really suck at making sure the A-list ideas I have are captured.

How do you do it?  Do you have a pad titled, "Think!"?  Do you email yourself?  More importantly, how do you put that stuff to action?

I gotta get better at this part of my life.  I'm thinking about having Tim order two next time he's at the "Think" store.  Seriously.

Capitalist Definitions: "Lick The Cookie" at Your Company...

licking [ˈlɪkɪŋ] the [thē] cookie [kk]

1. To stake your claim, real or otherwise, on a unit of property, thought or idea within an organization in a manner where no one else can use the object or thought in question.

Explanation from a Fortune article on Steve Balmer and Microsoft:

"Inside Microsoft it's known as "licking the cookie." That's when a group within the company, typically Windows, declares its intentions to work on a feature or a product, thereby preventing others within the company from taking it on. Often it makes sense for Windows to own a project, says a former Microsoft manager who still does consulting work for the company, but it also slows down development at a time when tech companies can scarcely afford to be piggy.

Others talk about what a few former employees call the "made men" -- those who earned their bones during the 1990s when Microsoft was riding high and now can do no wrong, even as they bungle decision after decision. "You want to innovate in mobile?" said a former top Microsoft engineer named James Whittaker before leaving to take a job at Google. "Then deal with the made men who run the relevant cartel. And if they don't like you or your idea, your innovation goes nowhere."

Nice.  Happens all the time outside of Microsoft as well.  Some relatively harmless ways people inside your company currently "lick the cookie":

1. Reserving conference rooms they don't need.

2. Swooping in like Vultures on the tech tools that a departing team member leaves at their cubicle.

3. Taking a piece of cake from the kitchen that you're not sure when you'll have time or the appetite to eat.

And some more counterproductive cookie-licking ways that probably cause your company to move backwards:

1.  Managers saying that key people on their team are unavailable for promotion or lateral moves - they're just too important.

2.  Managers moving in within a matrixed environment to engage associates on projects that they may or may not need their help on.

3.  Being territorial and saying or acting in ways that suggest you're the only one who can do a certain job.

4.  Knowledge hoarding so you can't effectively be replaced - damn the cost to the business.

5.  Spending budget on things you don't need so you get the same budget amount next year.

6.  Anything product related similar to the Microsoft example...

Call someone out on licking the cookie today.  They deserve it.

What did I miss?

Ask the Capitalist: Can I Have the Managers Use 360 Results For Performance Ratings?

Dear HR Capitalist:

I’d love a post where you weighed in on the value of 360 feedback with the following parameters (my preferred approach).  I am running into people who want managers to be able to view results and consider them during performance review time.  My position is that employees will not seek out feedback from key stakeholders who perceive a need for improvement if he/she thinks the manager will see the feedback. 

My preferred process:

•       Employee chooses raters, not manager.

•       Only employee and 360 process facilitator see the actual detailed results report

•       Employee must provide a summary and action plan to her boss (and staff)

•       Separate from annual performance review process –development focus only, ensures a “safe” process

•       Report results not used in determining rating or salary increase

•       Action plan however can be used to formulate the PPRD development objective

Just curious on your thoughts from any angle on this topic – general effectiveness/value, separating the process from annual perf review etc.

Debbie from LA

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Hey Debbie - 

I think your thoughts regarding the danger of using feedback collected during a 360 process to drive performance ratings are on the money.  The bottom line, which you know, is this: If the 360 process drives performance ratings, etc., it can quickly turn into a cloak and dagger type process where everyone knows what is at stake, which can make a couple of things happen:

--People can come out with the daggers and hurt people they don't like personally, or

--People will avoid giving real feedback to those with developmental opportunities that they like personally because they don't want to hurt them.

Either way, by using 360 data in performance reviews, the process is DOA in my eyes.  Same goes for using it for input into salary increases.

Couple of other notes on your preferred approach... I'd be careful of letting the employee alone pick who gets the opportunity to provide feedback.  My sense is that they'll avoid individuals that they think will be harsh to them and thus the data won't be as informative as it otherwise could be.  I'd prefer an approach that allows the manager, who should have an eye towards who relies on the employee for things in the organization, to have input and be able to make some calls with the employee on who the survey goes to.

One thing I'm on the fence about is the ability of the manager to see the report on the employee.  The risk you run is even if you tell the manager they can't use that data on a performance review, they'll still be influenced by it.  That's too bad, because if you're going to expect your manager to act as a coach, the data and reactions from others is a great tool.  Maybe they'll get that from the summary from the employee, maybe they won't.

Final thoughts - simplify that sucker.  Don't do 30 items.  Question the need for ratings at all.  Get simple feedback the team member can learn from.  Check out this book for more thoughts on simplifying many, many things in your talent platform.  I'd buy the book if you don't already have it.

Good luck with the process!

KD