February 2, 2011

Edited and Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Published by Success Performance Solutions.

What's Inside this issue of The Total View:

1. Great Minds Think Alike (Except When It Comes to Innovation)

2. Workforce Trends

3. What Motivates Employees

4. Annual Performance Reviews Simplified!

5. Leadership Guide and Workbooks for Managing Geeks, Geezers & Googlization!

Great Minds Think Alike (Except When It Comes to Innovation)

"Great minds think alike" - I don't know how many times I've heard that in my life. In fact, I probably spoke those very words dozens of times.  But new research is questioning how effective sameness is as a competitive strategy.  One recent study suggests that similar minds might make management easier, but it doesn't breed innovation.   

IBM learned that lesson over a decade ago. In the 1980s they had an ad that said "Great minds think alike." IBM changed their ways.  They eventually changed the ad to "Great minds think unalike."   

Unfortunately many other organizations, and especially the managers within them, still see the same light. They still tend to hire people who think like them.  They build teams of people who agree with them too.  Individuals who challenge them or the status quo are hushed and encouraged to give up their personal identity for the good of the team.  Diversity is rhetorically supported at hiring but in practice it is often just an effort to meet quotas.   

An article published in Inc. magazine highlights a recent study, which set out to discover how employee diversity within workgroups affects the group's overall performance.  According to Bill Swann, a professor of psychology at University of Texas at Austin where the study was completed, groups with members who "externalized their personal identities" (i.e. students who expressed individuality) were more successful than groups with members who tended to downplay their personalities. 

A few experts offered advice how diversity within a company can be used as a strategic advantage to "creates better innovation, better products, and ultimately, a better company." 

1. Culture. Before an organization will reap the rewards of a diverse work environment, it's essential to have an infrastructure set up that not only supports diversity, but also celebrates it. You just can't offer training and expect change.  Diversity must become part of the organization's DNA. 

2. Hiring.  Creating a successfully diverse work environment that fosters innovation comes down to one thing: hiring the right people. It's important to find out what that person values, and how they, as an individual, can bring a specific skill set to the organization. 

3. Diversity. Diversity can be a loaded term, filled with connotation about race and gender, but that's not always the case. Personality, talent, and experience are also important traits to consider when creating a diverse work group. And an increasing challenge and opportunity is age or generational diversity. By integrating the experience of Baby Boomers and Generation X with young technology-savvy Millenials, process can be improved and productivity increased with diverse perspective and new skills.  

Workforce Trends

The Bureau of Labor Statistics keeps tabs on companies' recall expectations, and the data shows that 47 percent of companies that had mass layoffs expected to recall some workers, the highest expectation of recall reported over the third quarter in the last eight years.

Source: The Fiscal Times

For more  workforce and hiring trends, visit Perfect Labor Storm website and Perfect Labor Storm blog.

What Motivates Employees

Business values and motivators determine the "why" of human behavior.  
 

For managers, Business Values and Motivators answers the nagging question - How can I motivate my employees?  
 

For employees and individuals looking to re-energize their careers, the Business Values and Motivators report helps them understand what they value most.  As people, we tend to value certain viewpoints positively and judge others negatively.   How we value or judge determines our motivations and provide us with our sources of energy or conflicts and stress in our personal and professional lives.
 

What are Business Motivators? Read more.

Annual Performance Reviews Simplified!

Save time, increase productivity, and eliminate hassles when administering employee performance reviews with HReviewer.

Ask any manager what he or she hates most about the job and you'll often hear "performance reviews."   That's why we've created HReviewer.

We recognized a huge gap in the performance evaluation market between paper forms and online performance management. 

HReviewer is a user-friendly, centralized online solution to streamline and improve the annual, semi-annual or periodic review for small to medium sized organizations. It's convenient and very affordable too.  Our goal was simple: to help take the hassle out of getting managers to complete performance appraisal forms and giving employees more frequent feedback. 

The system comes with a library of competencies, an easy to use form creator, at-a-glance dashboards and reports, and a built-in reminder system to help HR track down managers when reviews are due....or past due!

More about HReviewer or Email us to schedule a FREE demo. 

Just Released!  Leader Guide and Workbooks for Managing Geeks, Geezers, and Googlization

Start the New Year out right. The leading edge of Baby Boomers start turning 65 in just a few weeks. Make 2011 the year of managing successfully the wired, the tired, and technology!

For the first time in history, four generations are co-mingling in the workplace. Capitalizing on each generation's strengths is a must. Minimizing generational clash points is a necessity. Keeping each generation engaged and motivated is critical.

Learn more....

Consultants and Trainers?  Contact us about our reseller and certification program.