TM - April 2008 - (Page 39) Similarly, companies focused on individual employee development do not wait until the end of a year to reward employees with bonuses or raises. Instead, they offer frequent, informal recognition and praise customized to what motivates an individual most effectively. For example, SAP Americas, the U.S. subsidiary of German software company SAP, established a multitiered, values-based recognition program to encourage managers and peers to reward performance throughout the year. The program is based on recognizing and rewarding employees for demonstrating the company’s core business values. Managers are provided with a list of predefined reward choices — ranging from movie tickets to trips to designer handbags — and can select from that list based on their employees’ unique preferences. Customize Career Development Career development paths should not presume all employees have the same sense of how their careers are to play out. Career development is no longer a linear phenomenon. It may involve organizational cross-jumping or job experiences that take an employee away from the mother ship for a time. Instead of narrowly defined HR policies that define lockstep, linear career paths, HR staff at Procter & Gamble encourage managers to work with employees to define their ideal destination jobs anywhere in the company and to create plans to help them get there. At Nike, the movement of employees across functions and divisions as they mature is seen as especially valuable, both to the individuals and the company as a whole. Line managers get together periodically to identify new stretch opportunities for their people or where experiences in other parts of the organization might benefit them based on their unique strengths and interests. The process was originally targeted only at leadership candidates, but many divisions have adopted it to support all employees. Customize Learning People learn in different ways, and different learning experiences are more appropriate for different roles and environments. Enterprise learning departments must continually explore ways to engage employees with the right content, in the right form, at the right time. For example, Health Partners, a nonprofit HMO, encourages managers to help employees choose learning that best meets their needs and preferences. Options include classroom-based training, simulated role-playing programs, e-learning, books and one-on-one coaching. Other organizations use line managers to help employees structure experience-based learning paths. This approach increases the need for managers to become learning coaches, not just project managers and supervisors. The Coventry Building Society, a savings and loan institution in the United Kingdom, moved five of its 50 call-center employees into full-time manager-coach positions. In this new role, the manager-coaches provide two hours of coaching each week for every employee by listening to calls and providing immediate feedback and suggestions for improvement. Although the number of people taking calls went down, the call center’s performance went up. Technology research firm Forrester also encourages this close learning relationship by pairing a novice with an experienced manager in an open, transparent work environment so newcomers can improve their competence through day-to-day observation of an experienced mentor or coach. Active manager involvement is key to creating customized talent management solutions for an increasingly diverse workforce. Companies that successfully engage line management in talent issues may do the following: April 2008 talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com 39 http://www.TalentMgt.com
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