When codifying their desired culture, companies also formulate core values including the corporate governance/ethics issues expected of each employee. Even so, economic crime occurs in various companies and often this is not an isolated incident only.
In February’s issue of Shanghai Business Review, the nuts and bolts of economic crime in China were covered along with advice on how businesses can protect themselves. Key ideas presented include:
• Ensure that ethical culture emanates from the top,
• Provide regular training with real world scenarios,
• Establish a confidential hotline for whistleblowers,
• Make a public example of wrongdoers,
• Investigate reasons behind employees’ refusal of a promotion, employees’ unwillingness to take holidays for fear of replacement (possibly exposing a scam), and employees’ access to files that are unnecessary for their job,
• Introduce control systems to prevent a “Fraud Triangle” (motivation, opportunity, and rationalization), and
• Talk with customers to ensure that employees are conducting themselves ethically.
Notably, all of these activities fall underneath the field of HR. Indeed, HR’s job is to establish guidelines for ethical behavior and constantly reinforce them. However, overcoming a systemic problem with unethical behavior by leaders in certain industries (e.g. health care) or countries (e.g. China) may be out of HR’s reach and relates more than anything to Don Quixote’s Fighting Windmills. Nonetheless, I believe HR’s responsibility for designing a strong ethical culture translates into their partial responsibility for economic crime.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
CNY Resolution: Walk the Talk
In 2008, financial rewards will continue to be the company’s chief weapon in the War for Talent.
Nonetheless, employers’ competition for talent based on compensation is as dreadful as market competition based on price. Undercutting prices can lead to an increase in market share in the short-term; however it can impact the profitability in the long-term. Comparable, companies can successfully lure talent, but may have difficulties to gain their loyalty and commitment over the long haul.
DDI’s Retention Drivers and Employee Commitment Model confirms that monetary incentives have a short life. Employees particularly fall prey to higher financial rewards (tangible elements of EVP) from a competitor, when they feel dissatisfied with the level of leadership, growth opportunities, and culture (intangible elements of EVP) at their current company. Thus, talent can be successfully attracted with EVP tangibles but must be retained with EVP intangibles.
So, to stop this vicious cycle of turnover, companies should design a distinctive EVP and actually walk the corporate talk of “employees are our greatest assets”. Surely this could be a valid Chinese New Year’s Resolution.
A Happy Year of the Rat!
Nonetheless, employers’ competition for talent based on compensation is as dreadful as market competition based on price. Undercutting prices can lead to an increase in market share in the short-term; however it can impact the profitability in the long-term. Comparable, companies can successfully lure talent, but may have difficulties to gain their loyalty and commitment over the long haul.
DDI’s Retention Drivers and Employee Commitment Model confirms that monetary incentives have a short life. Employees particularly fall prey to higher financial rewards (tangible elements of EVP) from a competitor, when they feel dissatisfied with the level of leadership, growth opportunities, and culture (intangible elements of EVP) at their current company. Thus, talent can be successfully attracted with EVP tangibles but must be retained with EVP intangibles.
So, to stop this vicious cycle of turnover, companies should design a distinctive EVP and actually walk the corporate talk of “employees are our greatest assets”. Surely this could be a valid Chinese New Year’s Resolution.
A Happy Year of the Rat!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Personal Impact Map
The rise of job branding clearly shows that companies are unable to communicate to their employees how each and every one of them creates value.
Thus, only a few employees can share bottom-line accomplishments like increased revenues, decreased costs, increased prices, increased product/service quality (so that it leads to one of the previous three) or efficiency improvements (better, faster, cheaper) during their tenure.
The vast majority of the workforce does not even believe they make a difference let alone their performance or lack thereof can have an impact on the company’s profits. As a result, when applying for a new job, many applicants have difficulties specifying their achievements.
Managers should start changing this reality by helping employees develop a personal impact map. Together with HR professionals, they should undertake job redesign to create positive benefits, better outcomes, or further progress toward employee career goals.
As a result, each employee will understand how specific activities that he or she performs contribute to the organization’s vision. They will also better recognize their accomplishments.
Lastly, job branding and personal impact mapping can act as catalysts for meaningful and purposeful jobs across the board.
Thus, only a few employees can share bottom-line accomplishments like increased revenues, decreased costs, increased prices, increased product/service quality (so that it leads to one of the previous three) or efficiency improvements (better, faster, cheaper) during their tenure.
The vast majority of the workforce does not even believe they make a difference let alone their performance or lack thereof can have an impact on the company’s profits. As a result, when applying for a new job, many applicants have difficulties specifying their achievements.
Managers should start changing this reality by helping employees develop a personal impact map. Together with HR professionals, they should undertake job redesign to create positive benefits, better outcomes, or further progress toward employee career goals.
As a result, each employee will understand how specific activities that he or she performs contribute to the organization’s vision. They will also better recognize their accomplishments.
Lastly, job branding and personal impact mapping can act as catalysts for meaningful and purposeful jobs across the board.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Candidate Value Proposition ?
Recently, a Candidate Value Proposition (CVP) has been recommended to position a company on the job market more effectively and attract talent more successfully. I do not follow the logic of this concept because CVP inherently misses the value-transfer.
CVP probably has its roots in a (Customer) Value Proposition (VP) (marketing) and an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) (HR).
While VP is the sum total of benefits which a vendor promises that a customer will receive in return for the customer's associated payment; an EVP is the sum of everything employees experience and receive while they are part of a company for meeting expectations, exhibiting desired behavior, and producing results. Furthermore, just as VP targets customers and prospects; EVP focuses on both employees and job candidates.
CVP seems thus to be obsolete and possibly confused with 4 P’s of Marketing and the AIDA sales process.
CVP probably has its roots in a (Customer) Value Proposition (VP) (marketing) and an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) (HR).
While VP is the sum total of benefits which a vendor promises that a customer will receive in return for the customer's associated payment; an EVP is the sum of everything employees experience and receive while they are part of a company for meeting expectations, exhibiting desired behavior, and producing results. Furthermore, just as VP targets customers and prospects; EVP focuses on both employees and job candidates.
CVP seems thus to be obsolete and possibly confused with 4 P’s of Marketing and the AIDA sales process.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Talent Pivot Points
In the book, “Beyond HR: The New Science of Human Capital”*, Boudreau and Ramstad show how HR can evolve to fulfill its potential as a source of strategic advantage.
The authors reviewed what they termed the “Peanut Butter Approach” used by HR in respect to HR strategies; the essence of which is equality and maximizing the company’s investment in its workforce by providing the same incentives, engaging all employees in the same way, and applying HR initiatives equally across the workforce.
Boudreau and Ramstad recommended that HR needs to develop and implement a differentiated and optimized approach to managing human resources. To support their line of thinking, they appraised principles of production and marketing and its relevancy toward HR. For example, the former does not let every machine run at maximum capacity, but optimizes output. The latter on the other hand, focuses on differentiating between customer segments and exposing only certain customer segments to maximum advertising. Just as marketing professionals will ask what customer segments will make the biggest difference to the company’s strategic success, HR professionals should ask where the improvements in talent performance make the biggest difference to the company’s strategic success. Those places are referred to as talent pivot points and are identified using talentship process. The authors then distinguish between vital and pivotal positions using examples of employees at theme parks: “character”, wearing a costume of a cartoon character, and “sweeper”, cleaning; and at the airline: “pilot” and “gate agent”.
The “character” and “pilot” are both vital positions for strategy execution and performance must be maintained at a specific and consistent level.
On the contrary, the “sweeper” and “gate agent” are pivotal since a small difference in performance can make a big difference to customer. Employees in these positions have a lot of opportunities to interact with customers and so may innovate at their own discretion to create great customer experiences.
HR professionals and all employees should think over what specific employee duties can make the biggest difference to the success of their organization. Whatever responsibilities those may be, these talent pivot points must be included in job descriptions and measured in employees’ performance appraisals.
* Boudreau, John W. & Ramstad, Peter (2007). Beyond HR: The New Science of Human Capital. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
The authors reviewed what they termed the “Peanut Butter Approach” used by HR in respect to HR strategies; the essence of which is equality and maximizing the company’s investment in its workforce by providing the same incentives, engaging all employees in the same way, and applying HR initiatives equally across the workforce.
Boudreau and Ramstad recommended that HR needs to develop and implement a differentiated and optimized approach to managing human resources. To support their line of thinking, they appraised principles of production and marketing and its relevancy toward HR. For example, the former does not let every machine run at maximum capacity, but optimizes output. The latter on the other hand, focuses on differentiating between customer segments and exposing only certain customer segments to maximum advertising. Just as marketing professionals will ask what customer segments will make the biggest difference to the company’s strategic success, HR professionals should ask where the improvements in talent performance make the biggest difference to the company’s strategic success. Those places are referred to as talent pivot points and are identified using talentship process. The authors then distinguish between vital and pivotal positions using examples of employees at theme parks: “character”, wearing a costume of a cartoon character, and “sweeper”, cleaning; and at the airline: “pilot” and “gate agent”.
The “character” and “pilot” are both vital positions for strategy execution and performance must be maintained at a specific and consistent level.
On the contrary, the “sweeper” and “gate agent” are pivotal since a small difference in performance can make a big difference to customer. Employees in these positions have a lot of opportunities to interact with customers and so may innovate at their own discretion to create great customer experiences.
HR professionals and all employees should think over what specific employee duties can make the biggest difference to the success of their organization. Whatever responsibilities those may be, these talent pivot points must be included in job descriptions and measured in employees’ performance appraisals.
* Boudreau, John W. & Ramstad, Peter (2007). Beyond HR: The New Science of Human Capital. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Friday, January 25, 2008
New Intelligence
Generating intelligence through cross-departmental learning can help your HR department transition from a traditional to strategic approach.
Marketing wisdom and departmental know-how can be applied by HR departments in the following ways:
• It is less expensive to retain high performing employees than to attract new ones just like it is less expensive to keep a customer than to attract a new one
• Employees and managers just like customers do not have needs--they have problems. They do not sit down and think 'I've got a need'. Instead, they experience problems and hence seek solutions to these.
• Every employee is mildly dissatisfied with their employer just like every customer is mildly dissatisfied with a product and/or service.
• Applicants are very smart and will often wait for companies to outbid each other in hopes of receiving a higher salary just like customers are smart and will wait around for a lower price in the market.
• Failure to coordinate HR functional activities results in a lost opportunity and meager business impact just like failure to integrate multiple media in an advertisement campaign will yield poor results.
• Just like marketing, HR creates impact gradually, not immediately. Strategic HR results emerge over time, not overnight.
• Just like marketing efforts must occur continuously, treating employees as valuable assets must occur regularly and often.
Marketing wisdom and departmental know-how can be applied by HR departments in the following ways:
• It is less expensive to retain high performing employees than to attract new ones just like it is less expensive to keep a customer than to attract a new one
• Employees and managers just like customers do not have needs--they have problems. They do not sit down and think 'I've got a need'. Instead, they experience problems and hence seek solutions to these.
• Every employee is mildly dissatisfied with their employer just like every customer is mildly dissatisfied with a product and/or service.
• Applicants are very smart and will often wait for companies to outbid each other in hopes of receiving a higher salary just like customers are smart and will wait around for a lower price in the market.
• Failure to coordinate HR functional activities results in a lost opportunity and meager business impact just like failure to integrate multiple media in an advertisement campaign will yield poor results.
• Just like marketing, HR creates impact gradually, not immediately. Strategic HR results emerge over time, not overnight.
• Just like marketing efforts must occur continuously, treating employees as valuable assets must occur regularly and often.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Adopting Marketing Practices in HR
How would marketing professional address HR challenges and problems?
Using marketing practices and principles, marketing professionals would set the following priorities in the HR department:
• Continually track shifts in the external environment, learn quickly, and then adapt HR strategy to the changing business world.
• Develop an employer brand identity.
• Target the message and develop creative slogans and memorable job advertisements.
• Segment employees based on performance (high versus low performers) and management level.
• Give high priority business units, programs, or high potentials special treatment.
• Differentiate the retention strategy and avoid running with the “herd”.
• Stay in touch with employees and managers without being viewed as a pest.
• Collect employee data (e.g. surveys, polls) and analyze what employees think.
• Build better tools to enable efficient and effective communication between employees and HR.
• Do not focus on the HR program but instead concentrate on its benefits - how the HR program can benefit the business?
• Solicit feedback at the end of each HR program–can you improve anywhere?
• Measure the effectiveness and return on investment of the recruitment campaigns, training interventions, any other HR initiatives.
• Ensure that all managers, management systems, measures and rewards work together "in unison".
• Communicate to others in dollars, the universal business language.
Addressing HR using a marketing/sales perspective can strengthen organizational learning and bring forth synergies.
Using marketing practices and principles, marketing professionals would set the following priorities in the HR department:
• Continually track shifts in the external environment, learn quickly, and then adapt HR strategy to the changing business world.
• Develop an employer brand identity.
• Target the message and develop creative slogans and memorable job advertisements.
• Segment employees based on performance (high versus low performers) and management level.
• Give high priority business units, programs, or high potentials special treatment.
• Differentiate the retention strategy and avoid running with the “herd”.
• Stay in touch with employees and managers without being viewed as a pest.
• Collect employee data (e.g. surveys, polls) and analyze what employees think.
• Build better tools to enable efficient and effective communication between employees and HR.
• Do not focus on the HR program but instead concentrate on its benefits - how the HR program can benefit the business?
• Solicit feedback at the end of each HR program–can you improve anywhere?
• Measure the effectiveness and return on investment of the recruitment campaigns, training interventions, any other HR initiatives.
• Ensure that all managers, management systems, measures and rewards work together "in unison".
• Communicate to others in dollars, the universal business language.
Addressing HR using a marketing/sales perspective can strengthen organizational learning and bring forth synergies.
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