Resolutions 2011: Avoiding these 6 HR-myths

Photocredit: http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/2010/07/on-streetheat-wave-new-york-city.html

Found at CEB Views, author Srikanth Seshadri (via Willem Scheepers)

“It is imperative that firms hold on to their best employees, not only when labor markets are stretched and the war for talent is raging but in recessionary times as well.”

“Continual investment in retaining and engaging key employees will not only help you weather the worst of the storm but also positions you well to take advantage of the upturn before (and more effectively than) any of your competitors.”

“Myth 1: ‘Compensation is the Key Driver of Employee Engagement’

Reality: Compensation is the most important reason why an employee chooses one firm over another. However, as long as compensation is within an appropriate market range, additional compensation is not one of the main drivers of employee engagement.

Fact: More than 44% of employees worldwide indicate that compensation is the main reason why they chose a particular job.

Must Do: Equip your managers with tools, resources, and talking points that not only improve their qualities as managers but also help them diagnose the true reasons for employee disengagement.

Myth 2: ‘Most High Performers Are High-Potential Employees’

Reality: While almost all high-potential employees are high-performing, the reverse is not true. High-potential employees must have: 1) the skills to be successful at a higher level, 2) the aspiration to be promoted several times, and 3) the desire for a long-term career at your company, not one of your competitors.

Fact: Only 29% of high performers are actually high-potential employees. The two most common reasons why they are not are: 1) They have the ability, but not the aspiration—they don’t want to make the necessary trade-offs in their life to be promoted several times, and 2) they have the ability but not the engagement to be successful—they will make the necessary trade-offs but they prefer to make them at a different company.

Must Do: Expand your assessment process of potential high-potential employees to measure their engagement and aspiration levels. At a minimum, include these criteria if you are collecting nominations from managers for high-potential programs.

Myth 3: ‘The Performance Review Is the Most Important Part of the Review Process’

Reality: What matters more than the formal review is what happens in between reviews.

Fact: Effective delivery of fair and accurate informal feedback can improve employee performance by almost 40%.

Must Do: Encourage managers to provide feedback between performance reviews through coaching, tools, and e-learning modules.

Myth 4: ‘The Best Business Leaders Are Great At Inspiring Employees’

Reality: While inspirational leaders do get better results than those that aren’t, the business leaders who consistently get the best results are those who are better at resource allocation – at ensuring the right employees have the right resources to do their jobs.

Fact: In a global study of 8,000 business leaders, the best at resource allocation outperform their colleagues by 26% on key workforce results (e.g. retention) compared with peers. In contrast, inspirational senior leaders outperform their peers by only 14% on the same results.

Must Do: Work with business leaders to ensure they include the needs of their workforce in all business plans. Specifically, these plans should include hiring rates, training needs, development plans, and retention strategies.

Myth 5: ‘Employees With Different Jobs Want Different Employee Value Propositions’

Reality: While there are differences between employees in different functional areas, EVP varies far more across different regions.

Fact: In a survey of more than 300,000 employees, more than 70% of the variation in the criteria they look for in a potential employer is due to geography; function accounts for less than 15%.

Must Do: Vary and adjust your EVP based upon the countries in which you operate, rather than tailoring your employment brand to meet the needs of specific functions.

Myth 6: ‘Firms Must ‘Buy or Build’ Business Leaders to Improve Leadership Performance’

Reality: Most business leaders already have the skills to be successful in a variety of situations. The challenge that most have is in determining how to apply their capabilities to ever evolving situations.

Fact: In a global survey, when evaluated by their own managers, more than 75% of business leaders were rated “highly effective” at the most important competencies; less than 5% were rated “ineffective” at the same competencies.

Must Do: Shift resources away from expensive and intensive development programs designed to build new competencies for business leaders. Instead, focus on development activities that allow leaders to apply their existing competencies in new ways.”

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