Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Performance Management

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 on Performance Management.

The Conundrum of Incentive Pay
I know of two people who have left their job in the last year because they felt like they were slighted when it came to how their company handled incentive pay. Both of them- one working for a global behemoth of a company and one working for a family start-up- were promised things when it came to incentive compensation and then the rules were changed on them in the middle of the game, thus slighting them in pay they felt they were entitled to.

And I can think of one company owner who is a friend that has tried and tried to come up with an incentive plan for her business development people that works, only to come out with frustrating results in that the intent didn’t drive the desired outcome. In some cases, it drove the exact opposite.

Incentive compensation is tough. It’s why many companies avoid it all together. But I can’t give up on the fact that tying at least part of pay to outcomes and results that contribute to a company’s bottom-line, and the hard workers pocket all at once, aren’t a good thing.

Here are some things that stand in order to do incentive pay well:
1. Align any incentive plan with your company values that drive everyday behaviors. This should dictate that an incentive to perform is not an incentive to cheat. Be like Southwest Airlines, not Wells Fargo.
2. Combine incentives programs with overall social recognition that includes monetary and non-monetary rewards for a job well done. As a Globoforce blog post states:
In 2012, Aberdeen surveyed more than 300 sales organizations to understand how best-in-class organizations motivate their sales staff. Recognition for a ‘job well done’ scored higher than any other non-cash incentives, including competitions, learning & development, and team-based financial compensation. Further, Aberdeen found that best-in-class companies are more likely to indicate that internal recognition for positive performance results is a vital motivator for sales success.

And this-

“Just remember that your sales people are human, too, and crave recognition and appreciation beyond the basic comp plan.”
1. DWYSYWD- Do what you say you will do. This means if you say you are going to pay x amount out for doing or achieving y, then do it. If you screwed up and didn’t figure out beforehand how this affects your bottom-line, its your fault not your employees’. Of course, this should be tempered with stating that incentive compensation structures are not indefinite in nature, because markets and situations change. However, when you communicate a plan to your employees you should let them know when this structure “expires” so to speak or is subject to review and changes (most likely on an annual basis) to be clear on expectations of payouts.
Like this post? You may also like:

Corporate Recruitment Incentive Programs from Fistful of Talent

Meaningless Core Values – A Dangerous Liability
February 28, 2017
HR Santa Clauses focus on the Employee Experience

Whether you like it or not, the Christmas season really starts the second Halloween is over. I walked into Target a few minutes after it opened on November 1^st(like at 8:01 a.m. because we were out of dog food and the dog was hungry) and it had been transformed into a Christmas shopping wonderland. Where has Thanksgiving gone?

With Christmas marketing screaming at all of us to buy a lot of stuff most of which we don’t need, I’m beginning to think about how to make Christmas meaningful for my almost six and two and a half year old without turning them into materialistic hoarders.

In thinking about this, I’m drawn to a concept that I’ve been hearing a lot about in HR circles and that is the importance of the employee experience. Many people in human resources and talent management are seeking to shift the conversation about employee engagement to one that is centered on employee experience.

At work, this means focusing on meaningful, positive and memorable experiences for employees. Whether it is the company picnicor how the employee logs on to his or her 401K portal to view their assets, it should be an experience. It can be seen from the experience generated when someone requests time off to how that person’s immediate supervisor interacts with them. As these examples illustrate, the focus on experience encompasses the mundane HR relevant tasks (and let’s face it, sometimes those “experiences” are the most frustrating, which can decrease satisfaction in a hurry) to the key leadership decisions and behaviors that drive an organization to be considered a best place to work.

Whereas I’m somewhat thinking the whole focus experience instead of engagement is really just a different word to describe the same thing, I’m beginning to see through the value in a focusing on experience in order to make Christmas meaningful for my children. Maybe experience is what drives the engagement. And focusing on those interactions or experiences is the means, which leads to the end- aka- engagement.

So, this year, as my husband and I prep to make Christmas magical without turning our kids into entitled brats, we plan to have a gift for each of them under the tree that then ties to a more important experience for them. And a personalized experience at that. For example, my son loves Legos, so his gift and experience is shaping up to look like a new Lego set with a “gift certificate” to Lego world in Atlanta for us to experience as a family. My guess is he will remember the trip to Lego world far longer than he will remember the set of blocks given to him under the tree. Just like his time at Lego camp, which uses Legos to focus kids in STEM- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math- learning at school once a week will shape him more than the actual physical toy and will help him to more fully enjoy and engage in school and learning.

And maybe focusing on experiences will help us all put some thanksgiving back in the holiday season by avoiding the time spent shopping for stuff. And just maybe, some thanksgiving can be restored in your organization by a higher level of employee engagement through focusing on the employee experience.

What one HR process do you need to view from the lens of the experience it creates for employees? Does the way you do it now lead to a more or less engaged staff?

Like this post? You may also like: The HR Metric You’re Not Measuring (But Should Be)

November 15, 2016
The name of the game is FREEDOM: How innovative companies motivate, get, and retain the best…
“The competition to hire the best will increase in the years ahead. Companies that give extra flexibility (freedom) to their employees will have the edge in this area.” Bill Gates
I can’t neglect (since I missed the window over the 4th) to make sure to make a point about freedom during our nation’s birthday month. And as by coincidence or actually, by what really makes a whole lot of sense, you can’t talk about what drives innovation without talking about freedom. America is a country that was built around the concept of freedom.

Despite a presidential campaign grounded on “Making America Great Again,” it is the most innovative country in the world as measured by producing goods and services that people value (as measured by GDP). It is also still a country where many desire to immigrate, and though I’m not citing fact now, I will venture to say that many of them desire to come here precisely because they will have freedom, including the freedom to innovate.

And, since I can’t resist the urge to make a slight political commentary here, a country grounded in freedom is what gives Mr. Trump the freedom to say that America needs to be great again and gives citizens the right to show their support of this by their vote. This is precisely what makes America great. Not the idea of building a wall.

And freedom is what grounds innovative organizations.

Why? Because giving people freedom leads to this cycle:
1. Trust. Freedom is the way you behaviorally demonstrate to people that you trust them. When people are trusted, they feel free to:
2. Experiment. A/B or split testing is something the most innovative companies do all the time. Because everything can’t be known, trying it more than one way and seeing what works better- what the customer prefers- leads to better results.
3. Fail (more often than not). If I saw anything across the literature that was vital to innovation it was room to fail because it leads people to:
4. Learn. As the Innovator’s Dilemma emphasizes over and over again – “The strategies and plans that managers formulate for confronting disruptive technological change, therefore, should be plans for learning and discovery rather than plans for execution.” Learning can also come from getting it right instead of failing, but often the biggest breakthroughs come through some kind of failure in the beginning.
5. Grow. Growth occurs at the individual level and then collectively at the organizational level in terms of profits.
Much of the literature uses the word “autonomy” or “flexibility” for “freedom” and this autonomy, as you see in Drive couples with finding mastery and purpose in the workplace to create motivation.

So how do we create this freedom in the workplace that allows for this cycle to take place, leading to innovation?

Here are some ideas to create freedom from some of the best innovation hubs:
- 3M allows its employees to spend 15% of their time to work on their own projects Guess where post-it notes came from? Yes, from the 15%. Other innovators do likewise. Google has used a 20% standard.
- Nike experimented with a T-shirt factory in Mexico giving workers in a specific plant more freedom by letting them help set production targets, form their own teams, decide how work should be accomplished and allowed them to stop production if they thought they saw problems. Production at this plant was found to be twice as high as at another similar plant that was tightly controlled.
- Flex-time and work from home and telecommuting arrangements are becoming widespread and cater to people’s desire for freedom in how and when work gets done. Most studies show these arrangements increase productivity.
- Some companies are going as far as to eliminate setting limits on vacation or paid time off.
- Decision making is being pushed down to the individual or employee level. Managers don’t make the decisions, the ones closest to the work have the freedom to do so.
How do you allow for freedom in the workplace? What results have you seen?

What scares you about giving people freedom in the workplace? Why?
July 26, 2016
A personal account of performance management that works… and doesn’t

My take on performance management is quite different than it was 10 years ago. I once worked for a company that basically rewarded all employees for their continued employment, and performance was not really taken into consideration when we all received a 5% raise. Regardless of how fabulous of a job I was doing or how not-so-fabulous my co-worker in the cubicle over was doing, we both received the same reward. This was not motivating me to be a better employee nor was it motivating for my mediocre colleague.

Fast forward well over a decade. Not only has the world of work changed in many ways, so has my career and thoughts on performance management. As I reflect on this past year with Horizon Point Consulting, I think about what has been motivating. What have I enjoyed? What have I really not enjoyed? As I’m asked to reflect on these things in preparation for plans for another year with HPC, I’m so very thankful for an employer who seeks my input and is genuinely concerned about how I see my career moving and my ideas for furthering our mission.

First, I will say, my personality is that of a planner and one that needs plenty of notice concerning a change. When I think about what has been most stressful this year, I would have to say it was my very first week on the job. I was given a project that involved computer codes and website administration. I thought, what have I gotten myself into? I was stressed to the max to say the least, but I completed the project and am thankful for the learning opportunity it provided. I’m also thankful for an employer who asked me how I liked working on this and other work concerning marketing and website management. When I shared how stressful it was for me and that it just wasn’t what I felt was the best use of my time where my strengths are concerned, my employer listened and began thinking of better ways to get those projects done.

I’ve learned so much this past year. The ability to select what professional development I wanted to do was wonderful. I’ve received three credentials and am working on completing a course to be an instructor for one of the courses we offer. All of this was so rewarding.

I’ve also been motivated by the type of work I get to do. I especially love the program development and one-on-one coaching I do. And, of course the commissions that come along with some of the projects are always motivating.

In the end, what matters most is that I have career that I love and have the flexibility to get the work done when it best fits my schedule. That’s huge for a mom of two and allows me to do my best to live out my mission statement:

I will strive daily to present the best version of myself to clients, family, friends and others. I will work to empower others and help them in their journey to lead better lives.

What are your thoughts on performance management? Are they in line with how your current employer sees performance management?

October 27, 2015
How Simulated Work Environments Can Drive Performance in the Classroom, and Ultimately the Workplace
Continuing with our theme this month, we wanted to reflect on performance management in another arena – the classroom. After all, students are future employees and shouldn’t performance management in the classroom prepare them for performance management in their future careers?

First, I want to share a thought from a local employer when asked about industry needs concerning current and potential programs that are developing the future workforce. The quote reads:

“While there appears to be attention given to communication and employability (skills), these areas remain our greatest problem. We are looking for hard working individuals with a strong work ethic that do not have to be reminded of the basics, like showing up for work on time.”

With that in mind, why not consider simulated work environments in school classrooms? Creative Teaching Site shares the following concerning simulations in the classroom:
- They simulate an activity that is “real”, and so it can be said that they are “virtually real”. They simulate the activity so well that there is little difference between the simulated environment and the real one, and the same kind of learning experience can take place.
- They are “hands-on”, involving students so they become participants, not mere listeners or observers. Students learn better from their own experiences than having others’ experiences related to them.
- They are motivators for learning. Student involvement in the activity is so deep that interest in learning more about the activity or its subject matter develops.
- They are tailored to the student. When simulations are designed specifically for their audience, they can take developmental requirements into consideration.
- They are inspirational. Student input is welcome and activities are designed to encourage students to enhance the activity by contributing their own ideas.
- They are developmentally valid. Simulations take into account the students’ developmental level.
- They are empowering. Students take on responsible roles, find ways to succeed, and develop problem-solving tools as a result of the interaction.
I love that the last bullet points out that students take on responsible roles. This ties back in to the concern voiced in the quote from our employer mentioned earlier. When students are empowered to make decisions and take on responsibility, they are becoming prepared for their future roles as employees.

What are your thoughts on simulated work environments in the classroom?
October 27, 2015