If we created the ideal workplace, it would look like this
We know the business case for increasing employee engagement but let’s consider a fresh perspective. Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies, globally one of the largest I.T. outsourcing firms, says HCL achieved this position by putting employees first and customers second. He says: the first question is “what is the core business of any corporation?” […]
Performance appraisal: dump it or fix it?
“Perhaps no talent management process is more important or more reviled than performance management.” Effram & Ort, 2013 In one of the most viewed documents on the web, Netflix, the streaming company with over 2,000 employees, revealed it has no mandated system of performance assessment. While this caused a flurry of interest, going process-free seems […]
Four quick ways to improve your employee rating scale
The spring 2014 Employee Outlook Report from CIPD found that one in three employees feel their performance management process, and the communication from their managers, is unfair. If you think you might be in the same boat, taking another look at your performance rating scale is a simple way make improvements. The most familiar rating […]
Why traditional performance management may be hurting your engagement — and what you can do about it
Why traditional performance management may be hurting your engagement — and what you can do about it Today, plenty of experts and studies confirm what we already know: traditional performance management is broken. But it’s not just slightly flawed. It’s seriously damaged. So much so, that it’s actually creating disengagement and turnover — exactly the […]
Don’t believe the Accenture ‘end of appraisals’ hype
Accenture’s recent decision to abandon the annual performance review looks on the surface to be a bold and progressive move, which has been well received throughout the business community. A “massive revolution” is how CEO Pierre Nanterme described the decision, but is it all just smoke and mirrors? The truth is that annual performance reviews […]
A ‘no manager’-alternative to yearly appraisals
I used to dread having my yearly appraisal. Looking back on them, I’m struggling to remember an appraisal that I walked out of having either developed or learnt something new about myself. It always seemed to me that it was more of a game as to who was having the least fun; me or my […]
From performance misery to performance joy?
“Once a year [I] share with you what I think of you. That doesn’t make any sense. People want to know . . . am I doing all right? Nobody’s going to wait for an annual cycle to get that feedback,” Accenture CEO Pierre Nanterme told the Washington Post last week. And with these words Accenture’s 330,000 employees breathe […]
Does Accenture’s move mark the end of appraisals?
I was delighted to see an article in last week’s Independent confirming that, one of the world’s largest companies, Accenture, will be putting a stop to holding the annual appraisal review. Accenture CEO Pierre Nanterme told The Washington Post that the company, which employs 330,000 people around the world, is preparing to halt a performance review process […]
Five choices to extraordinary productivity
The dramatic increase in the power of technology means that it’s never been easier to accomplish great things.Yet paradoxically, these same technologies can make it harder than ever to do the things that are important to us. It’s a paradox that lies at the heart of the on-going productivity debate. Every day we’re faced with […]
Are your work habits messing with your brain?
It's Neuroscience Learning Month on HRZone. You're reading one of the pieces that's been written to help you develop a sound understanding of why neuroscience principles are important to business, and a basic understanding of how you can apply them effectively. There's loads more content going live over the month to help you on your way, […]
Is perseverance more important than intelligence?
Intelligence, or a person’s cognitive ability to understand and deal with complex problems in a rational and purposeful way, is undoubtedly a huge asset in the workplace, and is crucial in dealing effectively with work demands and challenges. However, in today’s fast paced environment where the speed of change is dizzying, intellectual horsepower is insufficient […]
How to stay sane at work
1. All development starts with self-awareness. The greater the level of self-awareness, the more personal change is possible and the more that it will stick. Make sure that management and leadership development is more than education and knowledge acquisition. Build in a self-discovery component and encourage reflective learning that places the prime responsibility for development […]
HR – please stop thinking in ‘years’
No names, no job titles, no companies. HR After Dark features totally anonymised opinion pieces from HR professionals, consultants and industry commentators. No holds barred, no censorship, nothing but raw opinions on issues that matter to HR. When the lights go down, HR After Dark comes out to play. See it all here first. Want […]
Good management to successfully plan yearly appraisals
The article title might, perhaps, give away all-too frequent problems in HR. Let’s try starting with a question: is (good) performance something that is managed, or something that is led? I would strongly argue the latter – good or great performance is not something that comes from being firmly in control as much as it […]
Five ways HR can develop innovation cultures in large companies
Ask any CEO and they’ll tell you that innovation is vital to a company’s long-term success. In fact, a recent IBM study (IBM, 2010) of over 1,500 global CEOs found that ‘creativity’ was the number one most important capability for achieving their ambitions. Yet many large companies will secretly admit they don’t have the capabilities […]
Four deadly mistakes of 360-degree feedback
If you Google the term 360-degree feedback, you’ll get over 17 million results, many of which offer insights ranging from the blindingly obvious to the banal. While 360-degree feedback can be a highly beneficial process, it does need some care to get it right. HR teams must therefore look beyond the basics. In particular, you […]
‘Myopic management’ jeopardising long-term growth
There is a “crisis in management” across UK businesses that is threatening the country’s global competitiveness, a hard-hitting report has claimed. The Commission on the Future of Management and Leadership, founded by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Management and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), has warned that “myopic management” is a “millstone around the neck” […]
NHS toolkit launched to better link staff pay to performance
An online toolkit has been launched to help place more emphasis on linking pay to performance in NHS organisations. The resource, by NHS Employers, will provide advice, support and best practice examples, and forms part of the Agenda for Change (AfC) framework, which was introduced in 2004 and covers one million NHS staff. Changes were […]
Employee goal-setting – why not?
Why do so many employees start out so well – highly focused on their ambitions within the company – and then, after a year or so, become just one-more drone in the workplace? Listless, time-serving, unambitious and uninterested. Other than the attrition of time and familiarity, what is it the sucks the enthusiasm and appetite […]
Do we still need managers?
We will always need managers – but we can become much smarter about defining what they do. The case of Zappos In November 2013, Zappos, the online retailer launched a bold management experiment. Its CEO, Tony Hsieh, announced that the reporting hierarchy and job titles would be abolished, and replaced with a self-organizing model called […]