The Total View is written and published each Wednesday by Ira S. Wolfe, founder of Success Performance Solutions. (Yes, Ira writes every article, every week!)

Ira S. Wolfe ©2003 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

To learn more about Success Performance Solutions or read back issues of The Total View, visit our website at www.super- solutions.com.

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The Right People Yield Expected Results
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No one disputes that it is time to take aggressive actions to manage costs and maximize productivity. But to maintain or increase productivity with fewer people requires that every employee have the right skills and behaviors. "Lean and mean" has no tolerance for employees who don't pull their weight and whose costs outweigh their productivity.

In a market where global competitiveness is driving prices down but the costs to produce products and services keep rising, managers must make sure that every dollar allocated to acquiring and retaining talent is invested properly. This goes from hiring only the people that share your organization's values to converting every training and coaching dollar into high-impact results that drive performance and profitability.

In the 1970's David McClelland, a renowned Harvard professor and an expert in motivation and achievement, directed research to explore the ingredients of superb job performance and in 1973 published "Testing for Competence Rather than Intelligence". In this paper "he proposed that a set of specific competencies distinguished the most successful from those who were merely good enough to keep their jobs."

Since then many organizations have attempted to hire, promote and train employees based on competencies. What many have failed to do however is identify and differentiate the skills and behaviors that are proven predictors of success. Too often, managers are enamored with intelligence, education, charisma, and personality only to discover too late that many top candidates can barely swim when they were expected to walk-on-water.

In an article in the Financial Times (October 12, 1994), Richard Donkin and McClelland analyzed what differentiated superior performers from those who missed and barely met expectations. They concluded that "value-adding" qualities in an individual are not totally related with academic achievement. They indicated that, from a cost effectiveness stand-point, it Is better to hire for core motivation and trait characteristics and develop knowledge and skills. Chris Dyson, a colleague of McClelland explained, "you can teach a turkey to climb a tree, but it is easier to hire a squirrel."

While more and more organizations begin to imbed competency modeling into their performance management infrastructure, an October 28, 2003 Wall Street Journal story reported that several businesses are requiring SAT scores to screen and qualify candidates. How absurd. The SAT is designed to predict performance in the first year of college, and that's it. Moreover, SAT results are typically at least five years old when an examinee enters the job market, so even if the scores were relevant to a professional position, they would be outdated by the time a person applies for that job.

Academics and consultants as far back as the 1920s have attempted to identify key competencies. They have relied heavily on past behavior as a predictor of future performance. McClelland expanded the practice of competency modeling to include the abilities, skills, behaviors and personal characteristics that impacted individual experiences and how superior performers perceived critical events.

In 1972 he wrote, "if you want to test who will be a good policeman, go find out what a policeman does. Follow him around. Make a list of his activities and sample from that list in screening applicants."

Revealed through the practice of competency modeling are four benefits that help organizations manage costs and maximize individual productivity:

As the economy begins to turn the corner, employees will begin to churn again, just like the late 1990s. It is time to inventory your talent and implement plans for retention and replacement.

Success Performance Solutions is a leading authority in competency identification, employee evaluation and integrated performance management.

Start with our proprietary competency identification analysis and then manage individual performance by linking employee performance to business profitablity - online, real-time.

Contact us today for a CriteriaOne (r) talent audit.

Perfect Labor Storm Alerts # 21 to #25
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Fact #21

Fact #22

Fact #23

Fact #24

Fact #25

A growing number of retirees must be supported by the production and income of relatively fewer workers. This is called the dependency ratio, or the ratio of the elderly population to that of the working age.

The Workforce is changing. How will recruitment, retention and benefits need to change to keep up? Schedule Perfect Labor Storm Expert, Ira Wolfe, for your next meeting or keynote.

How Well Will They Fit?
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The newest generation of CriteriaOne behavioral assessment instruments is online, all the time. CriteriaOne DISC includes an easy to read report and our Style Wheel that shows individuals and managers how individuals fit in a job and relate to different customers and team members.

The CriteriaOne DISC Behavioral Style Indicator reports on how individuals prefer to respond to problems, people, pace and procedures. Each report contains reports on:

Versions include Individual, Manager, Interview Assistant. Introductory offer - All reports cost less than $60 each- volume discounts available.

Get both the CriteriaOne DISC and Business Values and Motivators for only $99.

View the Style Wheel here! Perfect for behavioral interviewing, team building, customer service and sales training.

2003 Job Fair Survey - Employees on the move
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If there is even a lick of truth that employees will stick with their jobs if they like their supervisor, then employers should stand up and take notice.

Despite the doom and gloom of the jobless recovery you read about almost daily, employees are still out there actively looking for the better opportunity. Over 700 of the 1000-plus job seekers who attended the September 2003 Lancaster (PA) Chamber Fall Job Fair completed an anonymous and confidential survey. The survey was sponsored by Success Performance Solutions, a Lancaster (PA) workforce management and employee selection consulting firm.

To receive a full report of the survey, Click here for the 2003 Lancaster Chamber Job Fair Survey.

Sponsoring a Job Fair? Why not survey your job seekers and exhibitors. Excellent for providing market research to your exhibitors and press coverage on the results. Contact Ira S. Wolfe at 717.656.4632 for special Job Fair pricing.

Just released! Job Fair Survey press release with key findings.

An Employee Incentive System that Finally Works
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Have you ever promoted an employee into a position for which he or she wasn't qualified?

Have you ever lost a good employee because they needed more from their work?

Have you ever paid out a bonus to an employee who didn't deserve it?

We are pleased to introduce Pathfinder IPM (tm), an online integrated performance management system.

Benefits of Pathfinder IPM:

Take the hassle out of employee evaluation. Please type "Pathfinder" in the comment box and indicate the best time and day to contact you.

Take the mystery out of employee motivation >>>>>>
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Learn what values your employees bring to your workplace. Learn what values are necessary to keep your employees motivated. Business Values and Motivators measures how people value: