Welcome to the April 6, 2005 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

Did you miss the April 5, 2005 edition of the Wall Street
Journal? Check ou the Career Journal interview
with Ira S. Wolfe.

What's Inside:

1. Three Motivation Mistakes Managers Make

I. Too much emphasis on pay, benefits, and perks:

The Saratoga Institute reports that 88% of employees voluntarily leave their jobs for other reasons, such as misalignment of mutual expectations, person-job mismatch, insufficient coaching and feedback, perception of poor career-advancement prospects, work-life imbalance, and both distrust toward and low confidence in senior leadership. Still, most managers refuse to acknowledge the "push" factors, preferring to see the "pull" factor of more money as the prime motivator.

The truth is, both push and pull factors come into play, but companies make a big mistake by hanging their employee-retention strategies solely on the easier-to-manipulate tangible factors of more pay, better benefits, and flashier perks. It's not that these factors are unimportant; they're very important. In fact, most employers of choice typically offer better pay and benefits than their competitors. But what sets them apart are positive, caring cultures where most managers know how to provide the everyday coaching, feedback, and recognition that keep employees engaged.

II. Blindly following other companies' best practices:
One of the disadvantages of reading Fortune magazine's "100 Best Places to Work in America" list each year is that we become so enamored of great employers that we think their best practices will work equally well for our companies. Sometimes they do, but often they don't.

The best employers thoughtfully match their cultures, benefits, and management practices to the needs and desires of their workers. FedEx gears its workplace to the short-term work-experience needs of younger part-timers, while American Express focuses on long-term career development with a strong emphasis on gender equity. SAS Institute has created an employment brand that says, "Come to work for us and enjoy a campus-like environment, and have a life outside of work." This software-development company is famous for its 3% turnover rate in an industry where 20% is the norm.

Most companies can't-or won't-invest the up-front dollars to do what SAS has done. The good news is they don't have to. But by asking their particular workforce what they most want and need, companies can usually provide what it takes to keep employees-and keep them engaged.

The danger of benchmarking against others in your industry is that it may keep you from tailoring an innovative benefit or practice to meet the needs of the 20% of the talent that's creating 80% of the value in your company or department.

III. Failure to train managers and hold them accountable:
Studies of employee turnover consistently show that the direct supervisor builds or destroys employee commitment. Yet, how many companies select executives for their ability to manage people, train them in effective people-management skills, and then hold them accountable? You could probably count those on the fingers of one hand.

Many employers of choice carefully monitor their managers' voluntary-turnover rates, new-hire retention rates, and employee-engagement survey scores, and reward those who score highly with bigger bonuses. Managers with low scores get lower bonuses and are called into meeting with their superiors, which may lead to more training, coaching, reassignment, or termination.

In other words, smart companies know that as the competition for talent heats up, they can no longer afford the luxury of another bad manager.

Train your managers with Managing to Excel - 12 four-hour modules focused on the 12 critical managerial competencies.

2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #386 to #388
http://www.perfectlaborstorm.com/facts.html

Don't miss day-to-day updates on Perfect Labor Storm. Save the Perfect Labor Storm blog to your favorites.

Fact #386:   One in three American workers says he or she has been a victim of some type of verbal assault at their jobs. (Source: Compas, a public opinion and customer research company, November 2004)

Fact #387:  Twenty-two percent of those surveyed about workplace bullying had seen company property damaged or thrown. Another 7 percent had been attacked physically at work. (Source: Compas, a public opinion and customer research company, November 2004)

Fact #388:  What workplace bullying evidence Americans have seen in the workplace

       33 percent: Yelling and verbal abuse
       22 percent: Equipment damaged as a result of rage
         7 percent: Physical violence.
     

(Sources: Workplace Bullying & Trauma Institute and Compas)

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - Only $7.95.

3.  Recognize your employees - great managers do it every day.

Studies show that recognizing employees for their good work is one of the most effective ways to motivate them. So why don't more managers say "thank you" or give praise?

The Organizational Recognition Assessment for Managers measures beliefs and expectations, past and current experiences, and organizational variables that influence your managers' use of recognition.

The 54 statement, self-scoring assessment provides feedback in six dimensions that have a significant influence on why managers use or don't use recognition:
- Impact on performance
- Beliefs about recognition
- Ability to do recognition
- Passion for recognition
- Organizational support for recognition
- Organizational context for recognition

Organizational Recognition Assessment for Managers - Pack of 5 - Only $49.75

4. Customer Service Excellence - Close isn't good enough

At 211 degrees, water is hot.
At 212 degrees, water boils.
With boiling water, comes steam.
With steam, you can power a train.

As with sports, close is not good enough in customer service.
Professional golf tournaments are comprised of four rounds of 18 holes played over a four-day period. There are four major tournaments each year - The U.S. Open, The British Open, The PGA Championship, and the Masters.

The average margin of victory between 1980 and 2004 (25 years) in all tournaments combined was less than three strokes - less than one stroke difference per day. From 2000 through 2004 (five years), the winner across all tournaments took home an average of 76% more in prize dollars than the second place finisher (before endorsement and other dollars.

Source: (212: The Extra Degree, S. L. Parker)

5. SELECT employees with the Right Work Attitudes

A pre-employment screening tool to identify work-related behaviors such as Absenteeism, Honesty, Positive Service Attitude, Accountability, Frustration Tolerance, Acceptance of Diversity, Multi-tasking and more.... plus a Validity Check and Integrity Index. Each customized report includes a step by step interview guide including recommended interview questions. SELECT is available on-line, by fax, or by purchasing software for on-site licensing.

7. We've Moved!
Success Performance Solutions has a new home as of March 1. Our new address is 2137 Embassy Drive, Suite 218, Lancaster, PA. Our phone number is 717.291.4640 and new fax is 717.427.2020. Of course, our online home remains the same at www.super-solutions.com.

Syndication available - call us.