Cultivating High Performance in The World-Class Workers 2 of in Series of 3

Finding, Cultivating and Rewarding the "World-Class" Worker
(A Three Part Series)

Cultivating High Performance In The World-Class Workplace
by Michelene Malosh

Part 2:

In order to be successful - competitive and profitable - the world-class work organization must discover ways to manage their workforce successfully. In this article, the second installment in the three part series: FINDING, CULTIVATING AND REWARDING THE "WORLD-CLASS WORKER," we explore three major ways companies achieve consistent excellence from their workers:

1) by creating and sustaining an organization-wide CLIMATE (culture, environment) that brings-out-the-best in people,

2) the Big "P"-"Performance": by each supervisor/manager discovering and utilizing management practices, tools and techniques that bring-out-the-best performance in each individual employee, and

3) by achieving a balance between continuity (managing the present effectively) and innovation (continuously improving, adapting, anticipating and changing to position and propel you into the future.

In the first part of this three part series, we examined the world class organization, we looked at the common ingredients of these organizations, which include maintaining excellence in: leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, human resource development and management, effective operations, business results, quality products and services, quick response to consumer needs and market conditions, innovation, integrity and public trust, image and setting a "mark of distinction." Like with a championship race car team, the key ingredient in winning performance is not in the car, no matter how sleek looking or state-of-the-art, but rather in the skill of the performers, the driver - - AND equally important - the pit crew. Part one examined how a systematic selection process is important in OBTAINING a world-class workforce; this second article explores how a systematic approach in developing, managing and cultivating your workers creates a work environment that promotes and SUSTAINS excellence and continuous improvement.

1) In creating a organization where high excellence is the standard, deliberate efforts must be made to create a organization-wide "culture" that functions in a consistent and integrated fashion. All organizations have a "culture" but good ones are designed and maintained intentionally.

What is organizational "culture"? As explained in the recent publication by Ken Blanchard and Terry Waghorn in "Mission Possible: Becoming a World-Class Organization While There’s Still Time," "culture" refers to the norms of the organization, "the way we do things around here." It is a product of the group’s (organization’s) history and experiences. It is reflected in people’s behavior and language. An organization’s culture is deep and complex, and based on shared (and often unconscious) assumptions and beliefs of it’s members. Style of leadership is the primary driver in creating culture. It is a function of how decisions are made, communication flows, information is shared, motivation is generated and conflict is handled.

The importance and implications of culture for managers in an organization is to become aware of the current culture, decide what type of culture you want to establish and make the proactive and deliberate efforts to create your signature company climate.

What are some ways to get a gage on what influences the workings of your organization? If a stranger were to ask the people in your organization, "How are things done around here?" he or she would be swamped with stories and opinions. These would be pieces of the culture. If leaders would listen carefully to the talk going on in halls, parking lots, and rest rooms, they would gain valuable insights into the culture of their companies.

One company’s deliberate effort to obtain and utilize their employees ideas and perceptions about the state-of-the organization is Hecht’s Department Store’s "Break with the Boss" program. These meetings between management and line-employees provide the organization with valuable input for making positive changes and allow the workers to make valuable contributions, to be heard" (by their supervisors), and to know that their input counts!

Culture is reflected in the day-to-day workings of the organization but is driven by the leadership. Companies need to examine their leadership style and how that style promotes or inhibits what they are trying to achieve. Every manager has his or her own unique way of influencing others. At Commercial Union insurance company, Paul Rigney, Administrative and Human Resources Manager of the Mechanicsburg office, states that his company, from the top - down, shares common values that are verbally communicated, printed and displayed. Because the company collectively reveres "the trust, value and individuality of each worker," supervisors throughout the organization collectively practice "open-door" management. This shared open-door philosophy includes a regard and a regular practice of sharing information up-and-down and across the organization. And consequently, as a result of their increased information-base and perceived accessibity to their supervisor, employees are more "empowered" to work more independently and autonomously.

2) The output of our workers is achieved through their performance.
The key to ALL performance is in BEHAVIOR. The behavior of people is the only way anything is accomplished in business. Whenever an organization strives to improve quality, increase productively or boost creativity, it must ask people to change their behavior - to either 1) do more of something (a behavior), 2) do less of something, 3) eliminate something, or 4) do something new/different. Consequently, the one thing executives, managers and supervisors need to know the most about is human behavior .

Utilizing a systematic, deliberate performance management program is the way your organization can create a work environment that targets and rewards the behaviors that gets you the results that you want. Aubrey Daniels, performance management consultant and author of the book "Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement," states that to be successful, managers need to understand the basic, scientific laws that govern human behavior. "By identifying what reinforces the people in your company and skillfully managing those reinforcers, you can attain the kind of individual performance that adds up to great organizational performance."

At Camp Hill Shopping Mall, Boot Village (one of the largest western boot retailers on the East Coast), Regional Sales Manager Gordon Ehrlich has established a deliberate system at his stores for managers to utilize, that helps identify and track specific behaviors in efforts to boost sales performance of each sales associate. Each manager is equipped with training in the fundamentals of human nature and in developing their own "tool box" of techniques. "The competent, effective manager learns what motivates each individual employee who selects the appropriate tool that will best work for that person in the particular situation."

Three common tools in the tool box of motivation at Boot Village are: the carrot, the stick and the club. Most employees are motivated best by positive reinforcement (when a desirable behavior occurs, a desirable consequence immediately or soon afterwards occurs). The "carrot" is effective with the self-starter employee and works their best when they are challenged ("I dare you…") - and then positively reinforced. The "stick" works when supervisors are clear and specific with the behavior and the consequences ("If you do x, then I will do y"). Unfortunately, people sometimes require the threat of a negative consequence or a removal of a positive consequence to get them to change their behavior - "the club) - ("Unless you do z, I will have to x, such as terminate you). Remember, to follow-up any changed behaviors with positive reinforcements (such as with simple, basic, but often forgotten, verbal praise and recognition of actions) Don’t forget positively reinforcing attempts and efforts, along with results!

As Aubrey Daniels illustrates, "behavior is a product of its consequences." Supervisors need to utitlize their power to establish and effectively reinforce positive consequence to increase desirable work behaviors. And in any world-class operation, good communication skills are the fuel that propels the performance management system.

Besides establishing clear, specific target goals, supervisors must be able to translate and relay expectations to their employees very specifically, clearly and behaviorally and to differentiate and acknowledge those factors are in the not within the individual’s control.

Managers need to check: "Was I specific enough that the expected result, AND… the how, the resources, the amounts, etc. are clearly understood? Never assume that the correct behaviors/steps in "the result" can be inferred. When a store manager tells her sales associate "You need to improve your customer service" or "You need to approach customers better/more" - what does that mean? Entail? Why is it important? What is the positive result for the customer, for the store, for the employee?

Feedback is one of the most useful communication tools in managing performance. Gordon Ehrlich of Boot Village cites that daily, continuous feedback is critical for achieving goals and excellence in sales performance. Besides relaying specific expectations, feedback is a tool to reinforce good behaviors, to let people what is not working and to show them what they could do differently to be more effective. Feedback should be given in an objective, behavioral (non-personal) way. Managers need to be careful in using criticism in their feedback. "Criticism must be thought of as a checking account. You never write a check without first making a deposit. If you write too many checks (doses of criticism) without making a (positive) deposit, eventually your checks are no good." Besides using feedback to acknowledge and correct performance, Gordon states that managers should use feedback to increase their employees self esteem and help raise their beliefs on their capabilities (and thus to their performance). People never achieve more than they believe; Say "I can’t" and then you won’t. At Boot Village, managers allow staff to believe they are good and then show them (reinforce) that they are." As in anything, "success breeds success"!

3) The ability to simultaneously improve present performance and create a future through innovative efforts is the high water mark of all world-class work organizations. Without sufficient focus on the future, world-class companies recognize that even if they get better, they can still be put out of business by an unexpected change in markets, customer needs, or technology. Realizing that tomorrow’s customers are unlikely to resemble those of today, world-class companies are not only making efforts to improve today, but are busy dreaming about and creating what could be.

At AMP, Inc., the Harrisburg-based international Fortune 500 company that is the world leader in the manufacturing of electronic connectors and connecting systems, not only is technical research and development a critical business activity, but the continuing workforce skills development and performance management programs are also considered a vital part of staying competitive globally. Kathy Kieffer, Director Americas Human Resources Development (HRD) at AMP, describes the establishment of a new systematic performance management system at AMP Incorporated during the past two years. Part of the process has included benchmarking each job and identifying critical skills against best-in-class standards with other industries and companies from throughout the word. The foundation for all employee training then becomes identifying and developing those skills and competencies that are necessary for excellence - globally and in the future.

Ahead of it’s time (as most world-class organizations are), AMP long-ago established (and continues to upgrade) a corporate "learning organization" of opportunities and practices, which include: rotational job assignment programs for cross-training and multiple skills development; establishing partnerships with technical schools which allow - and encourage - employees to obtain (with total company cost reimbursement) advanced degrees and technical skills; and the purchase AND extensive usage of state-of-the-art technology to link managers in meetings and training sessions world-wide and to promote language and cultural skill development in the increasing global marketplace. Kathy says that the "performance management" philosophy at AMP has helped create company-wide shifts in management practices and thinking. Supervisors new view of "performance" has expanded to include the identification of the necessary skills and behaviors to achieve (excellence) results and the importance of establishing their own system of developing their staff’s skills and reinforcing desirable behaviors.

The secret to success in obtaining high level performance from your employees on a regular basis does not "just happen." You may haphazardly have a good crew of individuals who are self-motivated and produce good results… today. But "the only constant in life is change." And to stay competitive - and to challenge and get "the best" from your best, you need to be… systematic, deliberate, innovative, and - use common, but not so commonly applied - basic principles of human nature - psychology 101, in a deliberate way!

In the next installment, we will look at ways innovative managers and companies reward their employees for their excellence.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE:

Michelene Malosh is an independent training consultant in the Harrisburg area. She can be reached at 774-3735, or e-mail: MMalosh242@AOL.com.