Coaching & Mentoring for Better Performance

09 October 2013, Singapore: I would like to share this article that focus on coaching and mentoring for better performance ... aka "performance coaching". This article is written by Amie Martin from Demand Media. The article focus on how small business can benefit from coaching and mentoring but the concept is still applicable from professional managers and team leaders.

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The success of your small business is largely dependent on the talent surrounding you and their loyalty and commitment to your mission. Coaching and mentoring may foster both once you understand the subtle differences between coaching and mentoring and make your own commitment to support either or both efforts.

Annual Performance Evaluations

Both coaching and mentoring go beyond the traditional annual employee evaluation, which is typically given from the top down and may be summarized as follows: Here is what you did well, here is what you didn't do well, here are your goals, and see you next year. The traditional evaluation model leaves an employee with feedback and an entire year to falter or rise on her own. Coaching and mentoring, on the other hand, is more relationship based and involves ongoing or periodic interaction between an employee and her supervisor, coach or mentor --- these roles may overlap --- leading to talent nurturing and growth and preventing an unnecessary time lapse between annual evaluation feedback.

Coaching and Mentoring

Both coaching and mentoring involve one-on-one, active, ongoing participation between the leader and student in a partnership. Though the terms are often used interchangeably, there are differences between coaching and mentoring. Coaching is result- and task/project-oriented; it's often short term and assigned. Mentoring, on the other hand, is a long-term commitment with a broader range, including guidance toward professional education and career choices; the relationship is usually organic. Both have value to business organizations of any size, but mentoring is specifically valuable in small businesses with high and long-term retention, where a subject-matter expert takes a novice under his wing and both guides and inspires him throughout his growth in the business.

Benefits

Talent and knowledge base are keys to small-business success, but they may slip through your fingers if employees meeting these criteria move on to other ventures. Either coaching or mentoring may significantly and positively impact employee retention. Though there are differences between the two roles, both may foster company commitment and loyalty and contribute to the reduction of turnover, recruitment and repetitive training of new employees. The partnership mentality of coaching or mentoring may lead to employees feeling more like teammates in your business, which, in turn, may increase their motivation. Once an employee is personally, as well as professionally, invested in your mission and you can continue to foster it and his growth, it can meld with your business and you can both reap rewards.

Considerations

Coaching and mentoring takes time. If you recognize the potential rewards, allow your potential coaches or mentors within your business the time away from other responsibilities to foster the necessary relationships and cross-training to fulfill the commitment.

Strategies and Techniques for Mentoring and Coaching

09 October 2013, Singapore: After a half day of meeting on the topic 'Global Compliance Review' - I received a telephone call from a colleague that there is opportunity for my CoE to develop an in-house Coaching and Mentoring course under the WDA-WSQ. This prompted me to share this article from by Stacy Zeiger of Demand Media. People who worked with me know that I am a true believer of these strategies / techniques ... especially in (i) celebrations and rewards; and (ii) collaboration. Happy reading ....

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Mentors and coaches may be professional consultants brought in from outside a company to provide new insight or perspective or else veteran employees who work to train newer employees. The strategies mentors and coaches employ have the potential to motivate employees and increase productivity. A company should seek out mentors and coaches who are not afraid to be honest with employees in the interest of improving the company.

Setting Goals

Setting goals provides employees with something definite to work toward and has the potential to increase productivity in the workplace. Mentors and coaches help employees create realistic goals. These individuals may also analyze employee performance and help employees set goals to improve areas of weakness. Throughout the process of reaching a goal, mentors and coaches provide motivation and feedback to encourage employees to keep on track.

Providing Feedback

In some companies, employees complain that they rarely receive feedback about their performance. Mentors and coaches help provide that necessary feedback. Positive feedback reinforces strong behaviors in the workplace and provides workers with motivation to keep working hard. Constructive criticism addresses areas of concern and offers suggestions for improving performance. Consistent feedback from mentors and coaches not only helps improve employee performance, but it ensures employees are not caught off guard when disciplined for poor performance.

Celebrations and Rewards

Celebrations and rewards help motivate workers. As employees reach goals in the workplace and make improvements to their performance based on constructive criticism, mentors and coaches should take the time to reward employees and celebrate their achievements. Celebrations and rewards will build respect for the mentor or coach and help employees see that the individual is not only there to criticize but also to share in employee success.

Collaboration

Mentors and coaches provide someone for new employees to collaborate with as they begin working with a company. These individuals help employees learn to navigate an organization and how to complete tasks effectively. Additionally, mentors and coaches may be called in to work with a team project, help keep team members on the same page and make sure they communicate effectively.

Top 100 Universities: Where CEOs Received Their Education

05 October 2013, Singapore: Received an interesting email from one of my LinkedIn HR Group about the top 100 universities where most CEOs graduated from. If you want your children to be a potential CEO, maybe you should send your children to attend one of the university in the list.

 Alma Mater Index Global Executives 2013

(click the link) 

Practical Leadership: Building Teams, Coaching and Mentoring

03 October 2013, Singapore: Today at work, there was a lot of discussion and agreement about the new learning & development model proposed by me (as the manager in-charge of CoE for Org Development) to corporate. One of the component include the topic of supporting managers and supervisors to be a "practical leader". It is always easy to recommend strategies ... the hardest task is to transform the strategic 'concept' into reality and 'application'. For that to happen, you need to conduct secondary research on the topic, develop it into presentation material that is easy for transfer of knowledge ... once that happen ... it can also be converted into communication toolkit.

Having that in my mind, I would like to share with you ... my 'secondary research' on the following  .... please click the link for details.

• 8 Ways to Build Collaborative Teams
• CIPD Mentoring Factsheet
• Managing Teams for High Performance
• CIT - Why Co-Active Coaching?
• Seven Ways to Coach Your Employees
• Blog Strategic 360s: What is Coaching?
• Best of HBR Emotionally Intelligent Leadership
• CIMA - Mentoring & Coaching: An Overview
• Seven Steps to Coaching Your Employees to Success
• What Your Need to Know About Coaching Services?

Understand Your Negotiation Style: Collective Bargaining Agreement

01 October 2013, Singapore: Today, a close friend of mine shared this negotiation model with me. She mentioned that it is useful as it helped her understand the negotiation styles adopted by the Union ...

(source: Calum Coburn - 2010 - Negotiation Conflict Styles)

Resources: If you want to read the online article - please click the following link Conflict Model - Typical Behaviours

Who is Gen Y Ideal Boss ...

30 September 2013, Singapore: Today, a casual conversation with my former HR Team Lead started me to think what characteristic Gen Y is looking in their boss ... search the Internet and found this research from Hays Group

(source: http://social.hays.com/hr/talent-acquisition/who-is-gen-ys-ideal-boss/)

This would mean that coaching and mentoring will be an emerging skills / competencies required by supervisor or manager. They will need to brush-up in this competency.

Survey on Gen Y ... and Workforce Generations

29 September 2013, Singapore: Received an email from Hays Group Insight Forum ... if prompted me to share the following resources about Workforce Generations ... 

According to Hays Group, research shows that Gen Y desire flexibility. Money isn't everything for Gen Y. In fact, 49% rated flexible working hours as one of the most attractive of all rewards and benefits available.

(source: http://social.hays.com/hr/talent-acquisition/gen-y-desire-flexibility/#%21)

Other Online Resources:

• Website: Singapore Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP)
• TAFEP Publication Related to Gen Y
• http://www.weknownext.com
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/rawnshah
• http://rtc.umn.edu
• http://cmsreport.com
• http://www.psychologyfoundation.org
• http://www.kenblanchard.com

Tips on Talent Retention by Alan Collins

28 September 2013, Singapore: Yesterday my colleague who is in-charge for one of our HR Center of Excellence (CoE) prompted me to share this article on retaining top talent in an organization. This article was written by Alan Collins - his tips is very straightforward ... don't need a PhD to understand it.

1.  Make sure your “A” players report to great managers.

The number one thing any company can do to retain great people is to put them under a great manager.  If you can’t do anything else, make sure you do this! It’s been proven that your all-stars don’t leave organizations as much as they leave…poor managers. A great manager knows how to build strong relationships with his or her people through first, their example, then through open, accurate, and consistent communications. Great managers are courageous, encouraging and inspirational. They also stretch and grow their people. A superstar working under an “encourager” who is helping to bring out their best will NOT want to leave.

If you can’t reorganize and put your best people under a great manager right away, then make sure you bring one into their life as a mentor.  If you do this, you’ll want to follow up regularly to ensure that there is consistent contact between these two individuals and that the mentoring relationship is  working for both.

2.  Go to your best people right now and do a pre-exit interview (aka Stay Interview).

Don’t wait for them to get a call from a headhunter or to come to you saying that “I've decided to quit.” Be proactive and ask them in a one on one: “What are the factors that will cause you to stay?” Ask them to warn you if they become unhappy.

The more you can personalize and customize your retention strategy, the more chance you’ll have of keeping your top people. Obviously, if you have organization with 3000 “A” players you can’t devise 3000 different A-player retention programs, but you can do your best to reach all employees through their managers.

The more you and your senior managers can personalize strategies to each of your superstars, the stronger your retention results will be.

3.  Verbally ask them to rate their current job on a 1-10 scale on the factors below…and then ask them what corrective steps could be taken to raise any problem scores to a 10.

• My job provides honest, frequent two way communication
• My job provides challenging exciting work
• My job provides opportunities to grow and learn
• In my job, I know my work makes a difference
• In my job, I’m recognized and rewarded for my performance
• I have some degree of control over my job

4.  Ask them to describe their ideal job or where they would like to be in 1-2 years.

Then work with them to develop a plan to get them there…TODAY!

5.  Tie pay to staying with the company and their performance results.

You may not have total control over this — but give this your best shot! Money is never the only reason that people leave.  Generally leadership screws up something first… then money begins to get their attention.

Fix the job first or address their career concerns and then if you give them more money tie it to their results so that they don’t end up staying…”well paid but dissatisfied and uncommitted!”

6.  Develop programs that bond them to affinity groups.

One of the hardest things to do is leave in a job where many of your close friends also work.  By developing affinity groups (sports, professional groups, play, ethnic, gay and other shared interests) you help build bonds with your top employees beyond just their job. And these bonds are difficult to break.

7.  Sponsor programs for their spouses, friends and kids.

Though these programs you positively penetrate their personal lives. You subtly recruit more ambassadors  (namely their spouse, partner, friends or family) to your team working on your behalf to keep them in the organization. During their personal time at home, you want these people saying to your high performing talent: “You work for a great organization, why would you ever consider leaving?”

8.  Develop a list of “motivators” for each employee you want to retain.

Non-monetary motivators are powerful but most managers are not aware of what motivates an employee. As an HR pro, help your managers develop a list for their best people that they can use to keep them satisfied.

Let me give you an example, when the Bulls were playing against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, one of my finance directors gave his two tickets to see this sold out game to one of his high performing financial analysts (and her boyfriend) who are both big Laker fans.

He asked that she not disclose to anyone else at that he had given away his free Gatorade tickets to the game because I didn't want others to feel slighted.  However, he did want to make this high-potential, indispensable member of his staff to know that he thought highly of her and to encourage her to stay with us to build her career with our company.

Some managers would scoff at this practice, saying you should treat everyone the same. I disagree. Obviously, everyone in your organization deserves respect. But, as a business person first, you should consider it acceptable to invest the most in assets that will return more to the organization… like high potential people. This manager didn't have enough Laker tickers to give to everyone, and he did want a  future leader of his team know she was valued and that he was going to take care of her. This is what it takes.

By working with your managers to ensure ensure they know the motivations of each member of their staffs you are adding tremendous value to your organization’s retention efforts. Being able to leave at five o’clock to see their child in a school play may work for some employees, but it may not work for another employee who wants two extra days of vacation to run in the Chicago Marathon. Or another who may want to go a technology conference in Florida.

9.  Use “pulse surveys.

If you have a large number of HR clients or they’re geographically dispersed, work with your managers to do periodic e-mail surveys of them to get a “pulse” of about how their people feel about the organization. This helps to identify new issues and pain points.

To sum up, obviously, you won’t save 100% your top people by following these recommendations. However, the secrets of keeping high-potential individuals on staff and not lose them to an 5-10% pay increase are very simple.  Treat people right. Develop them. Build their career. Challenge them. Make them feel special. Let them know where they stand longer term.  Make sure they’re paid well.

Sample: Organizational Climate Survey (aka Employee Engagement Survey)

26 September 2013, Singapore: Today, I was doing some analysis on my company employee survey and it prompted me to recall the first diagnostic tool developed by me in September 2003. Back then it was labelled as "Organizational Climate Survey Form" but I guess now days it is better known as "Employee Engagement Survey".

The questionnaires were divided into 5 sections: - 

• Management and Leadership Style
• Communication and Trust
• Training and Development
• Rewards, Recognition and Career Path
• Clarity of Roles, Flexibility and Challenging Job

All the questions were designed to be "positive" and I adopted a five scale rating: -

• 1 = Poor
• 2 = Need Improvement
• 3 = Meet my requirements
• 4 = Exceeded my requirements
• 5 = Excellent
• N/A = Not Applicable

Back in 2003, there wasn't any budget for online and I had to administer it manually and the only automation for me was using MS Excel to generate the 'spider' web for me (see Exhibit 1). It was manageable as the headcount was about 60 people.  

Exhibit 1: Sample of the Organizational Climatic Survey "Spider Web"

Listed below are samples of the survey questionnaires

SECTION A : MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP STYLE

1. Employees are encourage to take initiative and make decisions on their own.
2. Our employees have a high respect for the current management team.
3. We have to go to our supervisors to get approval on things that we should have responsibility for.
4. Although employees of some companies are just a name and number, around here everyone is important and has a lot of responsibility.
5. The standards are high and management sees to it that employees turn in a quality performance.
6. HOD often sit down with subordinates to discuss performance, growth and development
7. Management allow employees to focus 100% of their time / energy towards their job.
8. There is co-operation and teamwork among the management team.
9. We are managed by objectives and results.

SECTION B: COMMUNICATION AND TRUST

1. The organisation's goals are clearly communicated to all employees.
2. We understand the organization's policies and procedures and apply them fairly.
3. Communications are very healthy among employees and between management and employees.
4. Employees get constructive feedback to help them improve their performance.
5. Employees trust one another and there is co-operate around here.

SECTION C: TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

1. Training given to employees are fair and justifiable.
2. My training needs has been identified and made known to me.
3. Training has been made available to me, to up-grade my skills & knowledge.
4. Employees receive adequate training (i.e., classroom training, on-job-training).
5. Management is committed to the training and development of employees.

SECTION D: REWARDS, RECOGNITION AND CAREER PATH

1. There is recognition for doing a good work around here.
2. It's easy to get ahead and advance around here if you have the skills and experience.
3. Our employee benefits package (hospitalization, insurance, retirement, etc.) is very attractive.
4. Raises, promotion, and other rewards are given in proportion to our performance.
5. Employees will get recognition for their efforts.
6. Career development & opportunities are very good here.
7. With regard to pay and advancement, I could do very well here.
8. Employees felt that working here is very satisfying & enjoyable.

SECTION E: CLARITY OF ROLES, FLEXIBILITY & CHALLENGING JOB

1. Employees are clear of the expected standards of work / performance.
2. Job assignments and performance criteria are well defined and understand by all.
3. Employees have a high degree of commitment to the work they are doing.
4. Employees have to work hard to meet the organization standards of performance.
5. Employees know exactly what is required and have the freedom to do it in the best way.

Note: If you want to adopt it for your organization, please contact to me at eleutherius.liew@gmail.com 

Best Practice: Assessment Center (AC)

20 September 2013, Singapore: Came across this article by Linda Brenner, MD of Designs on Talent, LLC. Listed below were extracted from her white paper entitled "Don't Train Them - Assess Them". 

For details of the whitepaper - Click Here

AN OVERVIEW OF ASSESSMENT CENTERS

For years, data has shown that companies which report effective and accurate succession management processes were significantly module in turn assesses a number of key skills or behaviors that are deemed critical to the business strategy, and success, of the organization.

Assessment centers are single or multi-day programs which companies typically use for selection and development. Such programs help streamline the identification and rapid training and development of high potentials by immersing participants in a series of simulated activities that surprise, challenge and test. Just like real work does to us every day. Assessment centers have traditionally been used for senior leaders, high potential managers and leaders of critical functional areas — such as Sales or IT.

The most effective assessment centers for developing leaders are grounded in a company’s or a position’s leadership competencies. Each module in turn assesses a number of key skills or behaviours that are deemed critical to the business strategy, and success, of the organization. Participants have multiple opportunities throughout the program to demonstrates their skills in areas such as

• Innovation
• Ability to leverage technology
• Influencing
• Strategic problem solving
• Business acumen
• Customer service

There is no one “standard” or “right” assessment center. The programs are made up of a compendium of different modules or elements, which often include all or some of the following:

• Virtual In-Box
• Role Play
• Case Study
• Interview
• Psychometrics
• 360° Feedback

When individual performance in each module is measured and analyzed as a data set, these exercises provide organizations with objective information outlining trends in these business- critical behaviors: who’s got them, who’s lacking them, and where training resources should be focused in order to drive targeted development for individuals or groups.

Assessment  centers  provide  intense,  pivotal experiences from which emerging leaders can learn and grow. After all, isn’t that what we’re hoping for when we pair someone up with a “buddy”  or  mentor?  We  hope  that during the time with their partner they’ll experience something momentous  from  which they  can develop. But it doesn’t always happen that way; a training buddy might just have the partner help out in random areas and observe unimportant happenings.

An assessment center, however, ensures that a targeted employee will not only experience one significant business challenge but many in a short amount of time. Coupled with post-pro- gram personalized feedback and development, those learning are magnified and the impact they can have on one’s personal effectiveness can be considerable. Further, when the feed- back and development is immediate or next-day, we believe that it can be even more powerful. The nuances and challenges of the experiences are fresh in the mind of the participant, enabling them to recall the situation and think about the specific application of the feedback.

Assessment centers have many strengths: (a) They can measure complex attributes, (b) they are seen as fair and “face valid” by those who participate in them, (c) they show little adverse impact, (d) they predict a variety of criteria (e.g., performance, potential, training success, career advancement).

– Gaugler, Rosenthal, Thornton, & Bentson, 1987

Best Practice: 360 Feedback / Assessment

19 September 2013, Singapore: Last night I went thru' my 360 feedback assessment report. To my surprise, I rated my self lower than my superiors, subordinates, peers, and internal customers. This is the story behind this short article ... the article is about best practice of 360 feedback. Thanks to Halogen Resources Center for the information.

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Effective 360 degree feedback for a panoramic view of performance

It can be tough for a manager to have a complete picture of their employees' performance. 

To get a broader, more objective perspective on employee performance, strengths and areas for development, multisource feedback is essential. 

Why 360 feedback works

360 degree feedback can provide a fairer representation of the employee’s performance. It helps managers and employees better understand strengths and weaknesses as perceived by peers, team leaders, mentors, subordinates, or even external stakeholders, such as customers and suppliers. 

Who can benefit from 360 degree feedback?

• Employees who work shifts
• Employees who work in a different location than their manager
• Employees who don't work closely with their manager (e.g. work on projects or teams)
• Anyone in a leadership role
• Anyone who is looking to advance in their role or move to another role 

Supports better performance appraisals

360 degree feedback, included as part of your performance appraisal process, helps make feedback and ratings broader and fairer, and helps managers and employees better identify areas for development. 

Great for leadership development

360 degree reviews are an invaluable tool for assessing the performance and potential of current and future leaders. You can gather multisource feedback from peers, superiors, customers, suppliers, mentors, even staff, to get a broader understanding of a leader's performance and the areas where they need to develop. 

Increase employee engagement and retention

360 degree feedback tends to better engage employees in the performance management process and their own development, because they:

• view the feedback they receive as broader and more objective
• have a voice in the evaluations of others 

Keys for success

• Be clear on your purpose for gathering 360 degree feedback and communicate it to all participants (ratings or development)
• Train evaluators in how to rate performance and give feedback
• Automate the process so feedback gathering, consolidation and analysis is painless

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Book Review: The Human Side of Change Management

18 September 2013, Singapore: One of my first book on change management was "The Human Side of Change Management by Timothy J. Galpin (1996). I brought the book in 1998 while doing research for my MBA thesis. Until today, the change management model (see figure 1.1) advocated by Galpin is still very applicable... "Don't judge the book by its cover".

If you are interested in change management - I recommend you read this book as it will give you a very strong foundation in human change management ... happy reading!