DRIVING BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN THE NEW
WORK ENVIRONMENT
Gail ThakararJune 2014
AGENDA
• Changes in the Labor Market• Driving Performance & Retention Through Employee
Engagement• Driving Performance in the New Work environment
CHANGES IN THE LABOR MARKET
CHANGES IN THE LABOR MARKET
• Geographically Dispersed Workforces• Higher Volume of Information• More Matrixed Organization Structures• Generational
CHANGES IN THE LABOR MARKET
WORKPLACE CHARACTERISTIC
VETERANS1922-1945
BABY BOOMERS1946-1964
GENERATION X1965-1980
GENERATION Y1981-2000
Work Ethic Respect Authority,Hard work, Company first,Seniority
Workaholics,Desire quality,Question authority
Eliminate the task,Self reliantWant structure & direction,Skeptical
What’s next,Multitasking,Tenacity,Entrepreneurial
Work Is: An obligation An exciting adventure
A difficult challenge,A contract
A means to an end
Leadership Style Directive, Command & control
Quality Everyone is the same,Challenge others,Ask why
Remains to be seen
Communication Formal memo In person Direct, Immediate
E-mail,Voicemail
CHANGES IN THE LABOR MARKET
WORKPLACECHARACTERISTIC
VETERANS1922-1945
BABY BOOMERS1946-1964
GENERATION X1965-1980
GENERATION Y1981-2000
Rewards &Feedback
No news is good news.Satisfaction in a job well done
Money. Title. Recognition.Give me something to put on the wall
Sorry to interrupt but how am I doing? Freedom best reward
Whenever I want it. Meaningful work
Motivated By Being respected Being valued and needed
Freedom and removal of rules
Working with other bright people
Work/Life Balance Keep them separate
No balance ‘Live to work’
Balance ‘Work to Live’
Balance – It’s 5pm - I’ve got another gig
Technology is: Hoover Dam The microwave What you can hold in your hand, PDA, cell
Ethereal –intangible
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
WHAT IS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT?
•“The extent to which employees commit to something or someone in their organization, how hard they work, and how long they stay as a result of that commitment.”*•CLC research demonstrates that increased discretionary effort is a direct prediction of improved performance
CLC survey of 50,000 employees found:•Engaged employees perform 20% better•87% less likely to leave the organization•1 in 10 employees are fully disengaged•No high-engagement or low-engagement groups•Engagement levels determined by company strategies and policies•Emotional engagement is 4 times more valuable than rational engagement
*Defined by Corporate Leadership Council
20 MOST EFFECTIVE LEVERS OF EFFORT MANAGER IMPACT
1. Connection Between Work & Organization Strategy
2. Importance of Job to organization Success
3. Understanding of How to Complete Work Projects
4. Internal Communication
5. Demonstrates Strong Commitment to Diversity Yes
6. Demonstrates Honesty & Integrity Yes
7. Reputation of Integrity
8. Adapts to Changing Environments Yes
9. Clearly Articulates Organizational Goals Yes
10
Possesses Job Skills Yes
MOST EFFECTIVE LEVERS OF DISCRETIONARY EFFORT
MOST EFFECTIVE LEVERS OF DISCRETIONARY EFFORT
20 MOST EFFECTIVE LEVERS OF EFFORT MANAGER IMPACT
11. Sets Realistic Performance Expectations Yes
12. Puts the Right People in the Right Roles at the Right Time Yes
13. Helps Find Solutions to Problems Yes
14. Breaks Down Projects into Manageable Components Yes
15. Accepts responsibility for successes & failures Yes
16. Encourages & Manages Innovation Yes
17. Accurately Evaluates Employee Potential Yes
18. Respects Employees as Individuals Yes
19. Demonstrates Passion to Succeed Yes
20. Cares About Employees Yes
MAXIMUM IMPACT ON DISCRETIONARY EFFORT
EMOTIONAL RATIONAL
Source: CLC Employee Survey
The impact of rational commitment is much smaller
DRIVING BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN THE NEW
WORK ENVIRONMENT
26%16%
35%
15%
17%
33%
59%67%
32%
Revenue Expectations Cost Pressures Headcount
Increase
Stay the Same
Decrease
EXECUTIVE EXPECTATIONS
Source: Business Barometer Quarterly Report, CEB Finance Leadership Council, Q3 2012
PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYEES EXPERIENCING AN INCREASE IN WORKLOAD IN THE PAST 3 YEARS
Source: CEB, CLC, HR High Performance Survey, 2012
• Understand the most important changes taking place in the new work environment and the implications for employee performance and productivity
• Identify the necessary new skills and competencies for employees to be productive and determine how best to quickly build them across the workforce, and
• Adjust management approaches and target technology investments to better enable high performance
TO ACHIEVE PROFITABLE GROWTH
• Frequent Organizational Change– more and frequent– greater financial uncertainty– organizational downsizing
• Interdependent Work– cross-function or departmental work groups– matrix reporting relationships– Geographically dispersed workforce– Team-based work
• Knowledge Work– New information technology– More non routine work– Greater information availability
UNDERSTAND THE NEW WORK ENVIRONMENT
HIGH PERFORMER CHARACTERISTICS NEW COMPETENCIES – DRIVERS OF PERFORMANCE
Adapt to Change Organizational Awareness (3)Self-Awareness (5)Proactivity (6)Learning Agility (9)
Work Collaboratively Teamwork (2)Influence (7)Technical Expertise (10)
Apply Judgment Prioritization (1)Problem Solving (4)Decision Making (8)
NEW COMPETENCIES: DRIVERS OF PERFORMANCE
Source: CEB - High Performance Survey
Target Technology Investments to the Evolving Needs of Knowledge Workers & Collaborative teams•Build back from employee needs, not just broad business needs•Identify and use early adopters to redefine technology needs•Fix data accessibility and usability•Create collaboration platforms to make immediate , in-the-moment interactions easy•Provide a wider array of analytic application
TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS
EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE SCORES CANNOT PREDICT BUSINESS UNIT PERFORMANCE
Source: CEB, CLC, HR High Performance Survey, 2012
Business Unit-Specific Average Employee Performance Score
MODEL OF HIGH PERFORMANCE
Individual Task PerformanceAn employee’s effectiveness at achieving his / her individual tasks and assignments
+
Network PerformanceAn employee’s effectiveness at improving other’s performance and using other’s contributions to improve his or her own performance
Enterprise ContributionAn employee’s effectiveness at his / her individual tasks, contribution to others’ performance, and use of others’ contributions to improve his / her own performance
Business Unit Outcomes•Profit•Revenue
=
THE ENTIRE WORKFORCE MUST DISPLAY ENTERPRISE CONTRIBUTION
Source: CEB, CLC, HR High Performance Survey, 2012
Percentage of Employees
High Individual Task and Network Performance (High Enterprise Contribution)
High Individual Task Performance Alone
FOUR IMPLICATIONS FOR COMPETENCY MODEL DESIGN
1
2
3
4
Prioritizes Tasks:Prioritizes activities to fulfill job description and manager directs work
Builds Connections:Increases the number of, and maintains strong, personal relationships
Knows Formal Organization:Understands business basics and the formal structure and mechanics of the organization
Receptive to Change:Displays openness and willingness to change behavior in response to new situations
From: To:Prioritizes Contributions:Prioritizes activities based on organizational goals and self-directs work
Understands Peers’ Motivations:Coordinates one’s work and performance with that of others to achieve mutual outcomes
Understands Organizational Context:Understands the informal structures and decision-making processes of the organization
Initiates Change:Identifies problems or opportunities for changes and implements solutions when appropriate
TO DRIVE BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN THE NEW WORK ENVIRONMENT
• Design jobs and roles that provide:– Clear guidelines for network responsibilities, not just
individual responsibilities– Boost manager effectiveness at facilitating and
advising not filtering– Design roles to facilitate critical relationships, not
tasks
• Improve Critical Competencies:– Update competency models to reflect fundamental
changes in how employees’ prioritize their contributions, work with others, understand the organization and initiate change
– Tailor core competency models for critical employee segments
– Incorporate customer input to improve the relevance and impact of competency models
– Consider the needs of specific business lines and customize the relative importance of behaviors for each specific group
TO DRIVE BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN THE NEW WORK ENVIRONMENT
TO DRIVE BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN THE NEW WORK ENVIRONMENT
• Performance Management Systems– Update current performance management
approaches to better align with changes in the nature of work
– Orient talent investments toward improving individual task and network performance
– Focus on shifting all employees, not just a handful of ‘A-players’ to higher enterprise contribution to achieve breakthrough performance
QUESTIONS?
