Is Aligning Your Company Culture with the Employees Important? – Three Tips

The culture of any company is the cement that holds the organization together.  A culture that is effectively integrated into the company, where all employees are held accountable for its adherence, along with a rewards program that supports the agreed upon culture will add value to the company.   A fractured culture erodes confidence in the products and services a company sells and can lead to serious long-term challenges for the HR professional and leadership team.

HR professionals should consider implementing these three recommendations to support the successful implementation of a culture based upon the mission statement of the company, the values of the organization and the strategic vision of the leadership team.

Communicate Your Mission to the Stakeholders

Creating a cohesive organization based upon shared values will allow your employees to be make the transition from just viewing their role as just a job to a career with the organization.  The value of examining your company’s mission statement will ensure that the mission is aligned with reality and current practices.  Communicating the agreed upon mission statement to employees, customers, vendors and shareholders will ensure that all stakeholders subscribe to these principles.   

Hold Managers Accountable for Living the Company Values

An increase in stakeholder loyalty can boost profits and productivity; however, this is predicated upon the managers and the leaders of the organization being held accounting for “living the values” of the company.  Research has shown that ethical managers that communicate these shared values will lead to greater profitability and growth.   According the Gallup Business Journal (June, 2013) work units in the top quartile in employee engagement outperformed bottom-quartile units by 10% on customer ratings, 22% in profitability, and 21% in productivity

Employers today want to understand how they can secure more support from their employees.  On-going management and accountability based upon the vision, mission and vision will make it easier for the HR professional and the leadership team to determine how to best execute the strategy for the future.

Tie Pay and Performance to the Adherence of the Agreed Upon Values

We all know that what gets measured gets managed with success.  Performance reviews are a great tool to tie the successful communication of the mission with the success of the leaders.  If the executive team has a vested interest in the process and are measured on their success of tying their decisions to the published values; this measurement will add accountability to the process.  While tying pay, accountability and performance is not a guarantee of success the outcome with be more probable.

Is On-going Professional Development Important?

Professional development and the opportunity to learn and grow are very important for the HR professional and business leader.  Learning best practices will allow for managers and individual contributors to understand what is happening not only in their industry but in other industries as well.  The cross-transfer of technology and new management practices and techniques will enable the HR professional to try out new and innovative programs at work.  Professional development and training programs should focus on two key training strategies:

Business, Revenue and Sales Growth Training

 

Creating a high performance environment will allow your employees to make the transition from selling a product or service to selling a solution.  The value of making this transition will ensure that sales practices and processes are consistent yet meet the needs of the customer.  In HR, while the “sales” component is typically not external, key to attracting external talent is the ability to “sell” the company and the culture.

Employee Satisfaction & Loyalty Training

An increase in employee loyalty can boost profits and productivity.  Research has shown that engaged employees lead to greater profitability and growth.   Allocating training dollars to a manager’s budget can reduce turnover, improve product knowledge and diagnose any performance issues of key employees.  Creating a high performance culture of learning will identify the strengths and weaknesses of the individual.  Allocating the resources to bridge the performance gap will create a culture of loyal employees.

Employers today want to understand how they can secure more creativity and support from their employees.  On-going training will allow for the manager to determine how to execute the best strategy from the employee’s perspective by enriching their jobs and assisting them with fine-tuning their skills.

Over the next several months the Society of HR Management, the NGLCC, The California HR Conference sponsored by PIHRA and Arizona SHRM will be hosting their annual leadership conferences across the nation.  These premier organizations will explore progressive HR programs and new technologies.  Conferences provide an excellent venue for HR professionals to network with other business partners from across the United States and the world.  You are encouraged to attend these professional development learning opportunities to increase your knowledge and skill level.

Is the Performance Management Process Broken?

Each year millions of companies across the county go through the process of reviewing employee performance, ranking their employees against their peers then communicating their strengths, weaknesses in face-to-face discussions as a way to motivate staff and presumably to improve productivity.   The question is should this process continue or is it such a failure that this key management tool should be discarded and a new way of evaluating performance be developed?

Using our employee engagement survey tool as the backdrop to this question the data suggests that the process is not broken but the way the process is administered and communicated needs to be fine-tuned to better reflect the current workforce.

What is a Performance Review?

First of all, let us define what a performance review is and why it is such an important tool in managements toolbox.    The performance review is a mechanism to document an employee skill level based upon a clear understanding of the duties and responsibilities of the job and the results expected.  The performance review is a unique way for management to motivate and maximize performance and productivity, as well as outline career goals and expectations.  It also facilitates a ranking mechanism for management and is an excellent way to provide succession planning services.

What is the Manager’s Role in the Process?

The manager’s role in the process is to properly set the stage to ensure the success of the discussion as well as encourage employee motivation and engagement for the future.  The manager must discuss the job, standards and expectation and summarize their subordinate’s strengths and weaknesses by providing specific examples of successes and challenges in their performance.  Highlighting these areas in generalities will not support the specific areas for improvement that the employee faces nor will it support the overall rating.  In our survey data our respondents indicate that they want a timely review, that is layered with specifics and offers them a path to improve.  The respondents also indicate that they want to seek agreement with their manager on the performance improvements desired and work in an environment where the company will support their professional development.  Where managers fail is that they are not prepared for the discussion, do not provide specifics and are unwilling to hold their direct reports accountable.  Successful managers also need to let their employees know that they have a responsibility in the performance process as well.

What is the Employee’s Role in the Process?

The employees need to come prepared with a self-review so that they can provide honest feedback about their performance.  They should also be prepared to express their short term and long term goals and what they expect from their manager over the next performance review cycle.  If there are any ambiguities with respect to the job, standards or expectations they should be addressed during the performance review discussion.  Finally, if improvement is necessary both the manager and the employee should come to a mutual agreement on what is expected in the future.

Where Does the Process Fail?

The process will often fall short when several key principles are not adhered to by the manager and they include the manger not being honest about their employee’s strengths and weaknesses.  It is often easier to just gloss over the employee’s substandard performance than it is to address the challenges and work with the employee to make them successful.  The survey data suggests that it is easier for managers not to hold people accountable.  Also, managers will often not tie pay and performance but rather take the approach that all employees should receive the essentially the same merit increase regardless of performance.  Once again this may be the easiest path; however, it does not recognize contribution and excellence on the job.  The merit increase program administered through an effective compensation strategy can motivate those employees that are high potentials and successful.

Key to a successful performance review process are managers being honest and prepared and recognizing the differences in the performance of their subordinates.  Employees need to have an attitude that is open to improvement and learning in order to further develop their skill-set.

What is a Key Indicators Report in Human Resources?

As we move into the fourth quarter one idea for the Human Resources department is to provide an annual Key Indicators Report to the leadership team.  This report would summarize the Human Resource activities over the past year along with establishing goals and objectives for the organization for the next 12 months.  In essence, this is a performance review on the function.  What would the sections of the Key Indicators Report include?

Benefits Plans

Each year HR departments examine the benefit plans to ensure that they are at market and are meeting the needs of the employees and their eligible dependents.  This section of the report would include the costs associated the each benefit and the changes that were implemented.  Typically the benefits offered by the company are often one of the key drivers of retention.  With a detailed analysis of the plans offered, along with the expenses associated with each plan, management can be in a better position to determine if the benefits are in alignment with the company’s long term strategy.  Additional examples would include the dollars associated with the 401(k) employer match and soft benefits such as a gym membership or an EAP.

Compensation

Pay and rewards are key elements for also retaining staff.  Each year HR department evaluate the salary ranges, job descriptions, pay and incentive plans.  As part of a Key Indicators Report this section would evaluate the merit increase program to determine if those employees that receive the highest performance ratings are also receiving the largest percent increases.  A simple matrix evaluating pay and performance can be created to summarize the performance process correlating that with pay.  Additional examples to include in this section with be a summary of any changes to the incentive plans, any modifications to the performance review document or process as well as examining the merit increase program to project future labor expense.

Talent Management

Turnover is very expensive for companies today; particularly in a tight job market.  As part of the Key Indicators Report this section would evaluate the number of employment requisitions filled over the past 12 months and the source for finding talent, any associated expenses filling positions as part of a search process and the use of temporary services.  This evaluation will also assist management in finding how many days it takes to replace a position and identify if there are any trends in with respect to turnover.

Leadership Development

Employee development is critical in today’s job market and this section of the report should include the training programs offered by the company, the number of employees that participated in company-sponsored training programs and the outcomes as a result of allowing employees to participate in professional development. Employees who enjoy their job and are satisfied with their career are more engaged and aligned with the business.  Engaged employees who believe that the company is willing to invest in their development will also remain at the organization longer which can result in less turnover.  Elements of this section of the report would include an analysis of the programs offered, the costs associated with the training and the needs analysis that was conducted in order to determine what programs would be of benefit to the staff.

Finally, the report should be presented to the leadership team in person to stress the importance of the Human Resources function over the past fiscal year as well as looking to the future.  This opportunity to review past accomplishments can also lead into a discussion of the future budget, programs and additional headcount to support the needs of the organization.

What are the Key Traits Displayed by Engaged Employees?

Top-performing organizations understand that employee engagement with the business is a key driver of business success. Satisfied and engaged employees are productive and customer focused.  Engaged employees care about the future of the company and are willing to invest time, energy and effort to support the strategic direction and vision of the company.  Engaged employees tend to produce greater results, have higher productivity, and remain with the company longer.  As a result, organizations possessing high levels of satisfaction and engagement are more likely to be financially successful.  Based upon our employee survey data outlined below are the key attributes that engaged employees demonstrate.

Demonstrate Satisfaction with their Career

Satisfaction with one’s career is a key driver of an engaged employee.   Employees who enjoy their job, are satisfied with their career progression, successfully contribute to the success of the company and are more engaged and aligned with the business.  Engaged employees will also remain at the organization longer which can result in less turnover.  This directly impacts the bottom line.

Are Decision Makers

The ability to make decisions and be held accountable for those decisions builds trust between the employee and the leaders of the company.  Challenging employees to take risks empowers and engages staff.  Building trust between management and staff allows for those closest to the customer to make decisions that are based upon the current reality and typically results in more satisfied customers.  Engaged employees are “take charge” individuals and are willing to take calculated risks.

Possess Excellent Communication Skills

The leaders of the organization need to be able to communicate the vision, values and mission of the company.  Their efforts in sharing the strategy result in an informed employee base that understanding the successes and future challenges that the company may face.  Leaders also need to listen to the employees and process the information in such a way that allows for all employees to contribute to success of the company.

Problem Solvers

Engaged employees examines problems and working with the team is able to provide a solution either independently or as part of a team.  Engaged employees encourage a team approach to problem solving as a way to better support the customer.  They will also seek out problems and view them as an opportunity and a challenge.

Finally, engaged employees are committed to their organization’s goals and values, they are motivated to contribute to organizational success, and are able at the same time to further enhance their own sense of purpose.