Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Talent Management and Development

We provide full service talent management and talent development consulting services. Read our blogs in this category for stories and best practices from real clients and real research.

Building Culture When There’s No Building: Remote Workforces
Even with today’s technology, many people have a hard time wrapping their minds around the concept of a virtual company. When someone asks me where Horizon Point’s office is located and I respond that we are a virtual organization, I often get some puzzled looks.

Their first question is usually “If you don’t have an office, where do you work?” And that’s often followed up with something along the lines of “Don’t you miss interacting with other people?”

Truthfully, I’m always interacting with people, including co-workers, clients, fellow HR professionals, and other members of the community. I just don’t do any of that from a central location. Depending on the day my office is at home, at a client site, in my car, or even at Panera Bread.

Virtual organizations have unique challenges when it comes to creating a sense of company culture. How do you get your employees around the water cooler when the water cooler doesn’t exist and even if it did, your employees aren’t there to congregate?
1. Clearly define your company’s mission and core values. Make sure employees know the organization’s mission and core values, speak to them often, and ensure your employees actions are guided by them. Recognize employees when they exemplify your organization’s mission or core values.
2. Take opportunities to bring your team together, whether in-person or virtually. If your employees are all local, hold regular meetings with the entire team to talk about what’s going on in the company or plan social events to bring them all together. If they are spread out, hold virtual meetings regularly. Give them opportunities to get to know each other and build a sense of teamwork. Come together at conferences, workshops, or other work-related events.
3. Recognize employees for a job well done. Remote employees still need feedback and recognition. Give them a call to congratulate them or thank them, send them a card in the mail, or even send out regular recognition emails to your staff.
4. Be there when they need you. Virtual employees can’t just come knocking on your office door when they need help, but you can ensure that you’re there when they need you. Be prompt in responding to their calls or emails. Take the initiative to check in with them regularly. Don’t ever make them feel like you’re too busy to give them your time and attention.
5. Encourage them to lean on each other. Another way to help build teamwork is to encourage your team to support each other. If an employee comes to you with an issue and you know another member of your team has expertise in that area, connect the two and encourage them to work together to resolve the issue.
Communication is key to building company culture, whether your employees are all under one roof or spread far and wide.

For more on remote workforces, read our blog It Doesn’t Matter How and Where Work Gets Done. The Death of Office Space, Office Hours and the Employee-Employer Relationship.
October 9, 2018
Can You Really Reduce Turnover?
Guest blog written by: Steve Graham

Conversations around reducing employee turnover, also known as talent retention, have been around since work began. Even though the topic is not new, the challenges facing employers and their approaches to reducing turnover is. Generational attitudes about how long a person remains at one job has dramatically shifted. For decades, people identified a career or found a job and they stayed with one employer until retirement.

One reason for this shift in tenure, is how the modern career path is navigated. Many of the foundational thoughts on “career” do not apply in today’s workplace. According to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review , by psychology researcher Tania Luna and international executive Jordan Cohen, said “ Modern employees are suffering from their belief in the “career myth,” what they describe as “a delusional belief in the outdated idea of linear career progression.” Luna and Cohen explained, “People today can no longer rely on an outdated system of career advancement — one that presumes employees will be given incremental chances for career advancement along with raises and title changes.”

These shifts in career management and view of careers have created new challenges for the modern workplace in reducing turnover. Some may argue about the importance of emphasis on talent retention, as a result of these changing attitudes about work and career. Having a talent retention plan as part of an HR strategy is well advised. What is most important is ensuring your strategy and the approach addresses the new thinking about careers and the modern workplace.

Understand that people will leave no matter how well developed your talent retention strategy, your benefits, perks, work-life-balance, etc. People move on and understanding this reality will enable a better-prepared workplace for reducing turnover. Experts argue over the key driving factors that cause turnover, and likewise, there are a lot of opinions on what helps reduce turnover.

Turnover factors can be unique to an organization and industry sector. There are common methods in reducing it that can be applied to almost any work environment. The goal of preventing turnover is not a reality. Reducing turnover should be the focus. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) provides benchmarking data on turnover. They have found, regardless of industry type or bias, employee job satisfaction and engagement factors are key ingredients of successful employee retention programs. In a recent SHRM study, Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement: The Doors of Opportunity are Open research report, employees identified these five factors as the leading contributors to job satisfaction:
1. Respectful treatment of all employees at all levels of the organization.
2. Compensation and benefits.
3. Trust between employees and senior management.
4. Job security.
5. Opportunities to use their skills and abilities at work.
*Source: SHRM, Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement: The Doors of Opportunity are Open research report

Related to factor five above, finding purpose is essential in creating an environment that promotes talent retention. People who approach work with a purpose are more likely to be engaged and receive value in what they do, therefore, helping to reduce turnover. Provide a work environment that allows people to find purpose and contribute at their highest levels.

Having leaders with a servant approach can help cultivate purpose-friendly workplaces. Zoe Mackey, of Berrett-Koehler Publishers, in her article titled: Why Servant Leadership Reduces Employee Turnover Rates said, “Adopting servant leadership can be an important part of the solution. After all, servant leadership is based on the foundational idea that learning to serve those around you helps them achieve their greatest potential. Who wouldn’t want to work for a boss like that?” By creating a sense of community and strong foundation of trust, reducing turnover using a servant leadership approach works.

People will not find purpose unless they are allowed to grow. That is why a focus on career development helps reduce turnover. The Association for Talent Development (ATD) has extensive information on career development’s influence in reducing turnover. A recent article from ATD stated, “Career development also can help with retention because employees can develop a sense of loyalty for employers who are willing to invest in them. Likewise, when it is time to hire new employees, career development programs can be attractive to job-seekers.” The sense of value to the employee is a driver in loyalty. This is an important piece in talent retention.

Turnover is never fun, but it is a reality. Shifting your strategy to better align with the needs and attitudes of the modern career path is the first step. Make it hard for people to leave your organization by offering them outstanding value and return on their investment in working for you.

About the Author:

Steve Graham serves as vice president for marketing, HR business partner and college instructor. He holds graduate degrees in management and higher education. As a life-long learner, he has additional graduate and professional education in executive and professional coaching, health care administration and strategic human resource management. Steve is also the Founder and President of Valiant Coaching & Talent Development, LLC.

He is a certified HR professional with The Society for Human Resource Management, certified coach with the International Coach Federation and a Global Career Development Facilitator. His professional memberships include: The Society for Human Resource Management, the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, Association for Talent Development and International Coach Federation.
September 20, 2018
Bullying Doesn’t Just Happen at School: Workplace Bullying
I recently saw an article about a nine year old boy in Denver who took his own life after being bullied during his first four days of school. My youngest son is eight and I can’t imagine him ever feeling like his only choice is suicide.

When my oldest was in elementary school he was bullied by another child at his daycare. While he has always been a very headstrong child, the bullying continued to the point where he had put up with enough. Together we sat down with his martial arts instructor, who is phenomenal at working with children to tackle such hard issues, and he helped us to formulate a game plan on how to handle it. With his help, my son was able to show his bully that his words weren’t having the effect he was aiming for, and eventually the two actually became friends.

Bullying isn’t limited to children. A survey sponsored by the Workplace Bullying Institute in 2017 showed that a staggering number of U.S. workers experienced bullying in the workplace.
- 5 million U.S. workers reported experiencing bullying in the workplace
- Women experience bullying, from both women and men, at a much higher rate with 65% of male bullies targeting women and 67% of female bullies targeting women
- 61% reported that they were bullied by a boss
- 25% reported that their employer did nothing while 46% reported that their employer conducted a “sham” investigation
Bullying in the workplace has an impact on the organization as well, including increased turnover, loss of valuable talent, decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and even the risk of litigation. So how can employers minimize these risks?
1. Have a well-defined Harassment Policy. Workplace bullying is a form of harassment. While most bullying may not be illegal, that doesn’t make it okay. Make sure your Harassment Policy includes workplace bullying. Train your leadership on what bullying is, how to conduct themselves to set the example, and how to handle it if an employee reports bullying. Review your Harassment Policy with all new hires, and annually with all staff.
2. Have and follow a formal investigation process. Your policy should include information on how reports will be handled. Determine who will conduct the investigation, how it will be conducted, and make sure your findings are well documented. Do not ignore reports of bullying and do not put off investigating those reports.
3. Take proper action to eliminate the behavior. Once you have completed a thorough investigation, determine what action needs to be taken to make the bullying behavior cease. That could be anything from a documented verbal conversation with the accused up to termination. If the accused is not terminated, monitor the situation to ensure that the actions have in fact ceased. Do not assume that it has and let it go.
4. Promote a workplace that welcomes diversity, inclusion, and a difference of opinions. Work hard to promote an organization that encourages teamwork, uniqueness, and freedom to communicate- even when what an employee has to say may go against the grain. Pay attention to where there may be breakdowns in this and work to build them up. Host company functions that encourage employees to get to know each other. Provide new employees with mentors who can help guide them and integrate them into the organization. And have an open door, where employees feel comfortable voicing concerns or issues. And again, take those concerns or issues seriously because not doing so leads to a breakdown of trust.
5. When needed, provide employees with outside resources to help them cope. I’m a huge proponent of Employee Assistance Programs. If you have one, make sure both the accused and the accuser are provided with that resource. If you don’t have an EAP, there are other resources available to employees that may help them. You never really know why someone bullies, or what is going on in the mind of someone who is being bullied. Sometimes it takes a trained professional to assist them.
60.5 million is a staggering and unacceptable number. Bullying is not an inherent trait, it is a learned behavior. Just as I aim to teach my children acceptance and kindness, employers can aim to promote those values in throughout their organization as well.

Below are some additional resources on bullying:

www.stopbullying.gov

https://www.apaexcellence.org/resources/special-topics/workplace-bullying

https://www.employmentattorneyla.com/blog/2016/05/workplace-bullying-online-anti-bullying-resources-for-employees.shtml
September 6, 2018
6 Ways to Design Your Performance Management System Around Company Values
“….In other words, only 10 percent of organizations have be goals (what Andy Stanley means by a set of values that guide our decisions) effectively integrated in their daily practices. Mind you, many organizations write about their mission, vision and values in their annual report, but that’s only lip service unless those be goals are integrated into their recruiting, training, evaluating and promoting. How can an organization claim that its be goals are important when none of its leaders’ performance evaluations or pay is based on adhering to those values.”

I was recently in a meeting talking about performance management systems, when a colleague told our mutual client that the company she saw do this best was one of her former employers. She said all people related practices and decisions were designed around the company’s core values.

She said, it was hard trying to explain to the unemployment office that someone was terminated for “a core values violation”, but they did it every single time because a core values violation was the only reason anyone was ever fired.

Yet as the quote above states, very few people design their performance management system and practices around values, even when we find that doing things this way, well, adds tremendous bottom line value (pun intended):

“The surprising thing is that it has been proven that companies with be goals (values) do better financially over time. If you don’t believe me, read Built to Last by Jim Collins, in which he demonstrates empirically that companies with an unchanging set of core values and behaviors (be goals)- while still being open to changes in their day-to day practices (do goals)- outperform those that don’t have this attribute.”

So how do you integrate values into performance management?

6 Ways to Design Your Performance Management System Around Values

First, clearly define your set of values and the competences/behaviors that demonstrate living these values. You can use a case study approach we described in an earlier blog post to design values and tie behaviors easily to them.

Your employee handbook should be designed around values. The values- be goals- should be stated first and examples of how to live the values should be given. Company policies should be linked back to values. It should be more focused on we do this here or we behave this way here, instead of a running list of what not to do.

Take the handbook case further by designing videos that illustrate actual employees living the company values. You can embed these videos into your handbook and/or use them on the first day of onboarding to facilitate a discussion about company values.

If you have a formal performance appraisal system, the dimensions should be your values. Use a three-point scale – meets, does not meet, exceeds – and again give behavioral based examples or anchors to show what it would mean to meet, exceed or not meet expectations.

Design your rewards and recognition system around company values. One of our former clients does this through an annual all company values awards ceremony where peers nominate people for values awards. At the event the winners are announced and given a gift that directly relates to the value the person demonstrates. They become the values champion for that year and help others grow in living the company value they demonstrate so well.Another client does this through quarterly values awards that are also peer nominated. The company owner presents the winners with the award by giving them personalized gifts based on the winners “favorite things” that have been gathered when they are hired.
If you have another system- whether it is formal or informal, integrated through tech system or not- make sure it is structured around values.

If you think you need to fire someone or put them on a plan for performance improvement, consider how their poor performance relates to a violation of your core values. When you talk with them about performance improvement or termination, describe the reason for doing so in terms of the value(s) that have been violated. Designing any PIP forms or tools you may have around values can help facilitate this.

If it is hard to do any of these things around values, you most likely don’t have a comprehensive set of values in place and you may need to reconsider what is lacking as it relates to things that warrant rewards for great performance and the opposite for poor performance.

How do your company values help you be successful?

Like this post? You may also like:

What are Company Values and How do you Create Them?

A personal account of performance management that works… and doesn’t

Experiences Over Stuff: The Better Rewards and Recognition Strategy

The Changing World of Work: Is the Policy Going to Die?
May 22, 2018
How to Move Your Goods to Greats
Our previous post, “Leaders, Focus on Moving Your Middle – Play Offense, Not Defense”, emphasized the importance of focusing on moving your middle majority to high performers.

But how do you do that? How do you get your good players, or your B players, to become A players?

They all can’t be converted, but those who have usually have a leader that:

1. Sets high expectations. This comes in the form of setting challenging goals and holding people accountable to them.

2. After high expectations are set, the leader then provides Assurance and Confidence. This involves saying things like, “I know we’ve set challenging goals, but I know you are capable of achieving what we’ve set out to do. This is why I’ve given you responsibility to do this.”

3. Finally, Direction and Support is provided. This involves:
- Being approachable and available when needed.
- Providing stretch assignments to help the individual grow.
- Creating exposure to risks and failure. As a leader, you should expect failure and help people be comfortable with it coming. This could include asking people when you meet with them regularly about how they failed during the week. This shows you expect it and you want to know what was learned from it.
When a leader can successfully set high expectations, provide assurance and confidence as well as direction and support, it leads to increased self-awareness for an individual.

This then allows for authenticity to be shaped through hard work, determination and challenging assignments.

Finally, and most importantly, you’ve then done what leadership is all about. You’ve modeled how leaders create more leaders – completing the full circle of equipping someone else to move others (not just themselves) from good to great.

How do you grow people to become star performers?
April 24, 2018