Talent Assessment
Performance Edge

Explaining Away a Lack of Success

Posted on January 17th, 2012

It’s been a rough couple of years.  It looks like were not completely out of the woods yet either.  In the companies that we work with here at ROI, we see lots of people who are grateful to have jobs, but feel run down, exhausted and wondering if there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Given this, it’s easy to let them off the hook by pointing to all the things that have prevented them from being successful or from meeting targets.  The article linked below from Manufactures Tech calls this “failing elegantly.”  It’s a great phrase.  It reminds me of Nixon’s “ withdrawal with dignity.”    It has been a couple of years that have kicked us hard.  But explaining away our inability to meet goals, even when some of it is true, just sets us up to miss again.  Allowing us to look around and point out all the reasons we didn’t make goals makes it easier to try a little less.  A more productive approach is to treat each poor period as  a “game tape” to be reviewed and see if we missed anything.  It takes a strong leader and a smooth facilitator to get people engaged in this kind of conversation, but it worth the effort to create a culture where0 workers go into each new situation eagle-eyed for hidden opportunties and not-yet-seen barriers.

 Link

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Gainful Employment Rules and Financial Aid

Posted on January 10th, 2012

The US Dept of Education has finalized their “gainful employment” rule for institutions providing training and education.  The rule is set to go  into effect July 1, 2012.  In brief, the rule is designed to prevent educational institutions from setting students up with enormous debt loads and little opportunity to pay them back.  The rule does this by monitoring the payback rate of students from individual institutions.  The idea is to prevent “diploma mills” from encouraging students to enter programs, pay for them with government sponsored financial aid, and then providing either inferior education or misleading information about employment opportunities post-graduation.  Institutions that fail the test limits will lose access to government sponsored financial aid. Given the reliance of some for-profit education institutions, it will be very interesting to watch the effect that it has on the business of secondary education.  There have been numerous, highly visible articles recently on student debt, so it’s unlikely to be come an unpopular bill.

A fuller explanation can be found in this Wall Street Journal article here.

Filed under: Careers, Demographics | No Comments »

Shaping Tomorrow’s Workforce

Posted on November 2nd, 2011

Whether we like it or not, current economic conditions are shaping the way that workers of the future will think about their careers, relate to their employers and commit to work itself. It’s clear that our views of work, career and employment are strongly affected by what we see through our parents as we grow up. The struggles that every generation of workers endure, the decisions they make and the excesses they exhibit all make an impression on their children. If your parents grew up during the depression, you were more likely to lock down one job and hold on to it no matter what. Even if you didn’t like what you did you didn’t complain or put your livelihood at risk (the Silent Generation.) If you watched your parents follow the rules and wait for their turn to advance, you were more likely to rebel and push for your own advancement and benefit (Boomers.) And…. If you watched your parents over-commit to their careers and personal benefit, you were more likely to find something that let you get along with less personal investment so you could pursue personal interests (Gen X.)

I know this is over-simplified and does not describe everyone, but there is a clear pattern. Each generation of workers tries to:

• Fix some behavior/value/view that they saw as a mistake of their parents
• Lessen some excess or over-focus
• Add something that they felt the previous generation missed or ignored.

So what does this mean for the future? An entire generation is watching their parents deal with rates of unemployment that are consistently higher than the past. Those just entering the workforce anticipated a high rate of retirement for older workers, and consequently more opportunity for their own chance to take on high levels of responsibility.  Unfortunately, as people are now working longer out of need, these opportunities lessen.

A recent article in the Economist described this in some detail, primarily in countries with situations more dire than the US. The article examines the effect of high youth unemployment in areas such as:

• Welfare cost of sustained unemployment
• Crime
• Likelihood of future employment
• “Wage scars”
• Social/family/living arrangements

Rather than go into it here, the full article is worth the read. What to do? Keep encouraging your kids to work, or volunteer if work is not available. Keep making the link between education and future quality of life. Find ways to help youth find the value of their own efforts through small businesses (remember lawn cutting?) or updating by teaching them how to apply their technical knowledge to help others. Never fall back on “why…. When I was your age.” Persistence trumps talent much of the time, so encourage and provide opportunities for them to get results through their efforts.  Despite any struggles of our own, teaching that there is inherent value and satisfaction in work is important both for our youth and for their future employers.

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The Ebb and Flow of Technology in Hiring

Posted on July 20th, 2011

“Reach Out and Touch Someone”. Are you old enough to remember the Ma Bell tagline that helped make phone service part of everyday life? Most of us aren’t, the line itself seems to hang on. In researching this piece, I found that the tagline itself is credited to the communications guru Marshall McLuhan.

As the internet became part of how we do things, job posting boards became a primary tool of corporate recruiting. Lots of breadth (maybe not so much depth sometimes) and a way to be visibility for your jobs. A recent article in the WSJ pointed out the decline use of job boards by recruiters. Apparently for all of their reach, they end up not being all that efficient. Having to screen so many unqualified applicants doesn’t improve how quickly good, solid candidates get hired. In addition, theirs an inviting element to more personal approaches as well as the opportunity to get to candidates early. Once someone has posted their resume online, you are already in strong competition for them with everyone else.

By getting to them earlier and more personally, you have the chance to engage them in a more thoughtful look at your business.
So perhaps that phone call still works after all.

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Leadership Assessment Rebounding

Posted on June 12th, 2011

According to a survey at the Wall Street Journal the use of external assessments for leadership roles is up again after a very weak 2010. The numbers state that 72% of surveyed companies use some sort of executive assessment as part of their process for hiring and promoting executives. They note that this number is double what it was last year. They don’t mention that the number has historically hovered right around 70%. So rather than rapid growth, we’re seeing a return to normal levels after a not-unexpected dip.

Their are two changes that appear to be riding along with the rebound here at Rogala & Orr. First- many of our clients are looking to more tightly integrate our executive assessments with internal HR processes. Rather than a “bolt-on” activity, there is a desire to more tightly link communication, measured characteristics and output flow with better defined internal HR processes. Second- we are seeing more requests for follow-through coaching of successful candidates. Part of our process has always been to provide feedback to those hired. In many instances we’ve provided on-going coaching, but it’s been on an as-requested basis. We continue to have clients ask us to integrate a 3, 6 or 12 month coaching relationship as an expected part of the assessment/feedback process. It makes sense and is showing solid results in terms of ease of entry and how quickly important issues are addressed.

Assessment has always been a useful tool for bringing on new executive talent. It’s encouraging to see that many companies also seek to apply what’s learned in the assessment process to key outcomes tied to the individual.

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“Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe on skilled labor

Posted on May 12th, 2011

An eloquent description of the need for more focus on supporting skilled labor training and apprenticeships by Mike Rowe (link below). In a talk before the U.S. Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, he lays out a personal description of where we are with the skills gap in skilled trades. We have high unemployment, but a shortage of 450,000 skilled trade workers. Most skilled tradesmen currently are over 50 years of age. My favorite line, “In a few years an hour of plumber’s time will cost more than that of a psychiatrist.” Nicely put.

Link to video

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Yeah, But What’s the Job Really Like?

Posted on April 29th, 2011

We read job descriptions all the time here at Rogala & Orr. Any time we assess a candidate we like to know what our client thinks the job will be. It’s good practice. At the same time, many job descriptions are dry, bullet-pointed lists that don’t sound like much fun. The job ad post for a reporter role at the Sarasota Herald Tribune (link below) is classic. I wish I could write like this.

Link to Ad Post.

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New Role? No Rules? Whaaa?

Posted on April 18th, 2011

Only 1 in 10 people receiving promotions say that they received any training for the role.  Typically, they report to the new role and are expected to automatically understand the requirements.  You’ve been promoted because management believes that you’ll figure what to do.  Moonie the Magnificent (Link), one of our favorite performers, does a Rennesaince Faire act where the only words uttered are a single “DON’T SCREW UP!” Lots of promotions feel like that.  You’ve been given the vote of confidence and expected to figure it out.  So how do you get off to a good start? Here’s a quick list to keep in mind:

• Talk to as many people as you can.  Your new boss, your staff, your customers (internal and/or external) and any company functions with which you will intersect.  Get their view of your groups strengths and weaknesses.  As about the working relationships between your group and others.  Pay most attention to what your boss is expecting.  If you see conflicts between his/her goals and what you are hearing from others, talk it over.
• Look for a couple of quick, easy wins.  If you can fix something that everyone agrees is a problem, they’ll know that you’re listening and that you care.  Off to a good start!
• Assess your own skills.  Chances are that you were chosen because of a perceived match between the job and your skills.  Don’t let it go to your head.  Figure out where you need to shore up your own skills.  Ask for training, study on your own or do anything to improve.

Remember- part of what spells success as you take a step up is your ability to assess new situations and adapt your approach/skills/style to meet those needs.

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Congrats! You Now Manage Your Ex-Peers!

Posted on April 11th, 2011

It’s a common issue.  Your manager moved on, you applied for the open position, were chosen and now get to manage the people that used to be your peers.  A recent article in the Wall Street Journal described the common issues that one faces in this situation.  They are:

• Discipline
• Delegation
• Former peer who also wanted the job
• Balancing professional and personal relationships
• Building credibility with new peers

We won’t repeat all of the details here.  Click on the link at the end of this post to read the original.  Our experience here at Rogala & Orr suggests that there are a couple of factors that help one be successful when in this position.

First, people who always knew that they might someday step up to managing their peers tend to transition more successfully.  Knowing that they might have to deal with the above issues helps them to manage their peer relationships in such a way that there is no baggage when they step up.  They’ve acted just a bit more professionally than average, they’ve treated their jobs responsibly and left no trail of embarrassing “road stories” with their peers.  So they limit any misperceptions that peers might have about them operating at a higher level.

Second, they tend to bring their peers along with them as they step up.  They know what their ex-peers think about their jobs, the company and the way they’ve been managed.  Making an attempt to fix obvious problems builds credibility with the new direct reports.  It show’s you listen and take people’s thoughts seriously.  As long as a new manager keeps the company’s bottom line in mind as they address issue, everyone wins.

As with any change, seeking out those who have gone before and listening to what they have to say never hurts.  Most managers who have to oversee their old peers will lose a little sleep worrying about doing it well.  Losing a bit of sleep is fine.  It shows that you care about the impact you make.  Learning from the experience of others will let you target your efforts a bit more easily.

Link to original article.  Click Here.

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Leadership Feedback Loops

Posted on March 11th, 2011

I was  reading a recent WSJ article titled “Five Signs That You’re a Bad Boss.”  (Link to article) My SEO friends tell me that lists get lots more hits than not, hence the title.  The article provided the popular “Experts say…” as a way to lead off the list.  The list wasn’t bad (I’ll provide it below) but the most useful point was that people perceived as bad bosses often don’t realize it.  They roll along thinking that their staff is at least moderately happy with them, while people grumble in the background.

How to avoid this?  Create some sort of feedback loop to keep you informed on how your staff view you.  Easiest- just ask them.  Tell them that your door is always open and ask them individually what you might do better to help them do their job.  Asking them as a group won’t usually get you an answer so keep it personal.  Also- 360 survey’s?  Can’t hurt.  If you’re lucky you’ll have a peer who interacts with your group regularly, or a trusted staff member who will tell you the truth.  If so, use these people as a low-key way of monitoring the impact that you make.

This list from above?  Here goes:

• Most of your emails are one word long
• You rarely talk to your employees face-to-face
• Your employees are out sick- a lot
• Your team’s working overtime but still missing deadlines
• You yell

I can’t say that I disagree with them, but I’m sure there’s more.  Well, enough writing… time to go connect with some people.

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