TM - May 2008 - (Page 32) recruitment & retention assessment & evaluation compensation & benefits performance management learning & development succession planning Skills assessments can help employees understand which skills they need and help managers create a development and reward plan to facilitate employees acquiring those skills. Assessments also can help upperlevel management evaluate its leadership abilities. Michael Dell, founder of Dell computers, realized the importance of a skills assessment firsthand. Through the results of a survey asking employees to evaluate him as an executive, Dell found he was viewed as impersonal and emotionally detached from the workforce. formance management systems need to be designed so appropriate rewards are given to individuals according to their performance. Pillar Four: Effective Feedback When managers set goals, they need to keep in mind the difficulty of the goal is a key determinant of performance. When goals are set too low, individuals settle for low levels of performance; conversely, when goals are set too high, people give up because they do not believe they can succeed or they cheat to give the impression of success. Goals that are achievable but challenging should be the objective as they are the most motivating and produce the highest levels of performance. An essential factor in effective performance measurement and management is immediate feedback. All too often, this major piece is missing from organizations’ efforts to manage their employees’ performance. Too many managers wait until the annual appraisal to give employees feedback. The importance of ongoing, immediate feedback is captured by the typical employee comment: “It does me no good to learn now what I did wrong eight months ago.” The ability to manage performance often is the major differentiator between organizations that produce adequate results and those that truly excel. As a result, he met with his top management team and admitted he is very shy and can appear aloof and unapproachable. Dell promised every manager in the company he would change, and he kept reminders around his office to continually reinforce his commitment. This sent a message that performance improvement is expected and should be standard operating procedure for everyone in the organization — the CEO included. Pillar Three: Manage Motivation Motivation is the capstone to performance. The most skilled individuals in an organization tend to perform at high levels and exceed expectations only if they are properly motivated. High levels of motivation require directly linking success to employee-valued rewards. When discussing motivation, it is important to distinguish between internal and external rewards. Internal rewards can be personal feelings of competency, achievement and self-esteem. External rewards are tangible things employees value, such as praise from a manager or a salary increase. In order for individuals to realize internal rewards, they need performance feedback. Sometimes their performance results are obvious. In other cases, workers can only see the impact of their behavior on work when the organization provides constructive feedback. External rewards should be large enough so employees feel their efforts are worthwhile, appreciated and are helping the organization fulfill its mission. Thus, per- Information from individuals’ skills assessments needs to become a matter of record in the organization. The best way to do this is to have an intranet-based system that profiles each individual in the organization, including information about their knowledge, competencies, performance goals, development objectives and work histories. SAS, a privately owned software company, has an extensive skills database to help managers analyze the fit between the organization’s present skills and the skills it will need in the future. This helps them manage change as well as assess how likely it is SAS can make specific changes. A Crucial Challenge That Pays Off Having an effective performance management approach is clearly not simple, but it is necessary. It requires that a number of pieces come together to create a cohesive system to direct and motivate individuals, teams and organizations to perform effectively, while being supported by comprehensive information and reward systems. If an organization depends on talent for its competitive edge, an effective performance management system for all employee levels is not optional — it is a must. Edward E. Lawler III is a professor of business and director of the Center for Effective Organizations at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California and author of more than 40 books including Talent: Making People Your Competitive Advantage. He can be reached at editor@ TalentMgt.com. 32 May 2008 talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com http://www.TalentMgt.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TM - May 2008 Talent Management - May 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Make the Connection: Effective Employee Evaluations Vacation: The Benefit Many Employees Don't Take The Four Pillars of Managing Performance Transform Talent With Deeper Skill Specialization Mentoring's Role in Succession Planning Graybar: Supporting a Long-Term View of Talent Management American Diabetes Association: On a Mission to Improve Employee Health Taking the Talent Pulse: What Drives High Potentials? American Systems Employees Earn a Piece of the Pie Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential TM - May 2008 TM - May 2008 - (Page Intro) TM - May 2008 - Talent Management - May 2008 (Page Cover1) TM - May 2008 - Talent Management - May 2008 (Page Cover2) TM - May 2008 - Talent Management - May 2008 (Page 1) TM - May 2008 - Talent Management - May 2008 (Page 2) TM - May 2008 - Talent Management - May 2008 (Page 3) TM - May 2008 - Editor's Letter (Page 4) TM - May 2008 - Editor's Letter (Page 5) TM - May 2008 - Contents (Page 6) TM - May 2008 - Contents (Page 7) TM - May 2008 - Contents (Page 8) TM - May 2008 - Contents (Page 9) TM - May 2008 - Human Performance (Page 10) TM - May 2008 - Human Performance (Page 11) TM - May 2008 - Leading Edge (Page 12) TM - May 2008 - Leading Edge (Page 13) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 14) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 15) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 16) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 17) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 18) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 19) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 20) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 21) TM - May 2008 - Make the Connection: Effective Employee Evaluations (Page 22) TM - May 2008 - Make the Connection: Effective Employee Evaluations (Page 23) TM - May 2008 - Make the Connection: Effective Employee Evaluations (Page 24) TM - May 2008 - Make the Connection: Effective Employee Evaluations (Page 25) TM - May 2008 - Vacation: The Benefit Many Employees Don't Take (Page 26) TM - May 2008 - Vacation: The Benefit Many Employees Don't Take (Page 27) TM - May 2008 - Vacation: The Benefit Many Employees Don't Take (Page 28) TM - May 2008 - Vacation: The Benefit Many Employees Don't Take (Page 29) TM - May 2008 - The Four Pillars of Managing Performance (Page 30) TM - May 2008 - The Four Pillars of Managing Performance (Page 31) TM - May 2008 - The Four Pillars of Managing Performance (Page 32) TM - May 2008 - The Four Pillars of Managing Performance (Page 33) TM - May 2008 - Transform Talent With Deeper Skill Specialization (Page 34) TM - May 2008 - Transform Talent With Deeper Skill Specialization (Page 35) TM - May 2008 - Mentoring's Role in Succession Planning (Page 36) TM - May 2008 - Mentoring's Role in Succession Planning (Page 37) TM - May 2008 - Mentoring's Role in Succession Planning (Page 38) TM - May 2008 - Mentoring's Role in Succession Planning (Page 39) TM - May 2008 - Graybar: Supporting a Long-Term View of Talent Management (Page 40) TM - May 2008 - Graybar: Supporting a Long-Term View of Talent Management (Page 41) TM - May 2008 - American Diabetes Association: On a Mission to Improve Employee Health (Page 42) TM - May 2008 - American Diabetes Association: On a Mission to Improve Employee Health (Page 43) TM - May 2008 - Taking the Talent Pulse: What Drives High Potentials? (Page 44) TM - May 2008 - Taking the Talent Pulse: What Drives High Potentials? (Page 45) TM - May 2008 - Taking the Talent Pulse: What Drives High Potentials? (Page 46) TM - May 2008 - Taking the Talent Pulse: What Drives High Potentials? (Page 47) TM - May 2008 - American Systems Employees Earn a Piece of the Pie (Page 48) TM - May 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page 49) TM - May 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page 50) TM - May 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page 51) TM - May 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page 52) TM - May 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page Cover3) TM - May 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page Cover4)
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