Welcome to the June 22, 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. 

Register for CriteriaOne online or call 717.291.4640.

What's Inside:

1.   67 Percent Of Managers Do Bad Job Managing Poor Performers

"And poor performance isn't limited to employees who interact with customers. Think about it. If companies were effectively managing employee performance, consumers would receive consistently high levels of service. Unfortunately, that's not the consumer experience." (Gallup Management Journal, June 12, 2003)

Most Fortune 500 companies don't realize how much time and money they're spending on human resources, according to Hewitt Associates, a global human resources services firm.

A new report from Hewitt shows that HR costs have grown an average of 6 percent a year for the last five years, and are currently $2,436 per full-time employee. This amounts to more than $100 million a year in HR expenses for an average Fortune 500 company. In addition, HR is now spending nearly half of its time (43 percent) on administration and service.

Hewitt’s survey of 129 major U.S. companies shows that although they rely heavily on performance plans to determine employee pay increases (66 percent) and bonuses (47 percent), few organizations measure whether these performance plans are positively impacting their business. Instead, many organizations simply measure their success by tracking whether paperwork is submitted on time (44 percent) or if their employees are satisfied with the program (36 percent). Meanwhile, nearly a third (30 percent) don’t measure the success of these programs at all.

Hewitt’s study also shows that as many as 84 percent of companies don’t believe their employee goals are fully aligned with their business goals. Organizations say improved managerial competency is critical in enhancing this connection. In fact, nearly three-fourths of companies believe their managers’ ability to coach employees toward goals requires the greatest improvement (73 percent), followed by their ability to have effective performance-based discussions and make related decisions (72 percent). Moreover, 67 percent of companies say their managers do a bad job handling poor performance, and another 73 percent believe their managers are not skilled at building high-performing teams.

Source: Hewitt Associates website

2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #416 to #418

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

Fact #416: Recruiting is on the rise. In the March (2005) Spherion Job Transition Index, more thirty-five percent of working adults say they are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months. In a poll by the Society of Human Resource Management and CareerJournal.com, 48 percent of respondents are actively searching for new job and 33 percent are passively receptive to new job opportunities. And in a survey by ExecuNet, 61 percent of employed executives are not satisfied with their current jobs.

Fact #417: As more Baby Boomers reach their 50s, the number of "seniorpreneurs" will continue to climb. By 2020, there will be 118 million Americans aged 50 and older – 31 million more than today. These individuals will be healthier and more active than today’s seniors. More significantly, Boomers will continue to define themselves by what they do. Therefore, many will not want to be “retired,” per se. In response, many of them will create new businesses, as well as new opportunities for other businesses that are savvy enough to market to them. This explosion of new small businesses will be crucial for keeping the U.S. economy growing during the demographically weak period from 2011 to 2022.

Fact #418: According to a report in USA Today, 5.6 million Americans aged 50 and older are now self-employed. That’s an increase of 23 percent from 1990. The same trend is unfolding in Canada, where the fastest-growing sector of the small business market consists of businesses started by people aged 55 and older.

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. "Learn to Job Fit Employees - Hire Competence, Drive Performance"
Only a six seats left.

Learn how to: .

Special Fee for The Total View readers - save an $500 off our registration fee of $1695. Your fee of only $1195 from each company plus 3 days of training, workbooks, free assessments valued at $1300. Learn to identify competencies, complete a job analysis and interpret behavioral, values and personality assessments and build a structured behavioral interview.

The next Train-the-Trainer will be held from August 3-5, 2005 in Lancaster PA. Register a 2nd person** from your company at no additional cost.
Register for CriteriaOne online or call 717.291.4640.

4.  Online Self and 360 Competency Assessments

Janus Performance Management System is tailored to match individual needs by developing the competencies that are most relevant for every job.

Janus provides a comprehensive, step-by-step planning design to help manage this process effectively.

Janus not only provides a suite of goal setting and appraisal forms and templates to help this action planning process, but also helps to ensure that all reports are in plain language, complete, comprehensive, and easy-to-use.

The 36 Janus Critical Core Competencies are based on the principles of the Balanced Scorecard.

Learn more about effective performance management.

5.   CoachView

CoachView reports provide information that will assist a manager or coach in understanding an employee's unique profile. It also provides each employee with a better understanding of him or herself.

The report provides insight into the employee's personality profile and important work related characteristics such as their:

• Leadership Style
• Preference for change
• Approach to Conflict
• Approach to Self-Promotion
• Preference for Salary or Commission
• Approach to Listening
  - and more.
  

CoachView is intended to assist the coaching or mentoring relationship by providing a starting point for meaningful discussion about an employee's values, needs and objectives. Further, the report assists the Coach in asking pertinent questions and providing relative feedback and ideas that are tailored for the employee.

CoachView was specifically designed to provide general work related information that will initiate a positive and effective coaching or mentoring experience.

CoachView produces two unique reports: one for the coach and one for the employee/mentee.

6.   Managing the Generation Mix

No doubt about it: The newest diversity issue in the workplace is age diversity. Many organizations have finally figured out how to recruit young talent only to watch them drive down a collision course with seasoned employees over issues like work ethic, respect for authority, dress code and every work arrangement imaginable. And they're not sure what to do about it.

The fact is, generational conflicts are not merely a matter of young versus old. They mirror critical business issues every organization faces as it transitions from the workplace of the past to that of the future.

Managing the Generation Mix will help you place your multi-generational team on the course to collaboration.

Syndication available - call us.