360-Degree Feedback

The 360-degree feedback tool was originally used to determine professional development needs, but quickly gained popularity as a performance appraisal tool. The 360-degree review aims to provide employees with feedback on their performance from those above, below, and at the same level in the company. With managerial support, employees are expected to analyze the feedback to identify their strengths and weaknesses and then develop a … [ Read more ]

Robert Morison, Tamara Erickson, and Ken Dychtwald

Many of today’s midcareer workers are well educated and have retained their love of learning. They know that increasing their skills will raise their chances for personal and professional advancement. However, many find themselves too busy for extensive education and training; personal development time comes at the sacrifice of other responsibilities, both on the job and off. And some people, especially those who have reached … [ Read more ]

Start Finding Tomorrow’s Leaders Now

Too many executive teams are neglecting to have thoughtful discussions about their leadership pipelines. Yet forward-thinking organizations know they need leaders and a leadership succession plan that deliver results.

Kenneth R. Brousseau, Michael J. Driver, Gary Hourihan, and Rikard Larsson

Most organizations have management development programs in place, and some have multitiered programs. But generally, the tiers are differentiated by the amount of training given, without reference to any fundamental shift in the way managers must think and lead. Such programs fail to take into account the different behavioral demands that accompany different levels of responsibility.

The Psychology of Executive Coaching: Theory and Application

“For coaches interested in learning how we got to where we are, or developing their coaching skills, this a fascinating read. As well as dealing with the psychological fields of the person-centred approach, cognitive psychology, family therapy and systems thinking, hypnotic communication , social psychology and the existential stance the difference between coaching and counselling, lessons from the athletic coaches, ethics in coaching and making … [ Read more ]

Detecting Hidden Bias

According to analysis conducted by a Harvard University-led research team, it is entirely possible that you are biased-and that you don’t even know it.

Such hidden biases can be disastrous for the employees who suffer as a result of them; they also can damage businesses by leading managers and employees to make flawed business decisions in a number of areas, including hiring, promotion, training opportunities and … [ Read more ]

Robert Hogan, Gordon Curphey, and Joyce Hogan

Researchers routinely find that 60 to 75 percent of the employees in any organization-no matter when or where the survey was completed and no matter what occupational group was involved-report that the worst or most stressful aspect of their job is their immediate supervisor.

Monica Belcourt

Some HR managers resist measuring their work. They argue that HR activities cannot be measured, since outcomes such as employee attitudes or managerial productivity are impossible to calibrate meaningfully or precisely. They assert that they cannot control the labor market. But the finance department cannot control the inflation rate, and the marketing department has little control over the product quality. Yet each of these departments … [ Read more ]

Spotlight on Dick Grote

In this issue of Spotlight, Dick Grote speaks to editor Sarah Powell about the difference between standard performance appraisal and ‘forced ranking’ and the reasons why forced ranking is so contentious.

Fifty Behavior Based Interview Questions

This list is a great jump-start for conducting a successful and revealing inverview. These questions will help you move beyond the basics and create a more accurate picture of a candidate’s communication, leadership and problem-solving skills.

Effective Layoffs: How and When to do Them

This article provides a long list of common problems that occur during and after layoffs. Topics covered include:
– Planning and strategy
– Who does it
– When it is done
– The layoff process itself
– Selection criteria
– After layoffs are completed

Stephen J. Drotter, Ram Charan

Hiring an outsider masks the hard truth that a company has not developed a pipeline of leaders from among its ranks who can step in and manage the bigger challenges of the day.

Position evaluation: A versatile tool for organization analysis

A Relative Organization Chart based on Position Class is an excellent starting point for organization analysis. It helps identify possible organization and human resources issues as well as give a clear picture of relativities among positions. From this starting point, companies have a clear idea of what issues require further investigation and what information is necessary before informed decisions can be made. With Position Evaluation, … [ Read more ]

Gifts That Keep on Giving

Keeping valued employees is a key part of your job. So what can you do to recognize a job well done when money is tight?

Samuel Johnson

People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.

Good Job – Kind of, Sort of

Jim-Bob strives to be on time for meetings. Myrtle keeps improving her accuracy. What’s wrong with these word pictures of employee performance? If they’re part of a formal performance review, they send mixed signals – signals that could come back to haunt you in lawsuits. Here’s how to make your employee performance reviews accomplish their goals.

Jim Robbins

We spend four months per year on the budget process, but we hardly spend any time talking about our talent, our strengths and how to leverage them, our talent needs and how to build them. Everyone is held accountable for their budget. But no one is held accountable for the strength of their talent pool. Isn’t it the talent we have in each unit that … [ Read more ]

Personality Assessment in Candidate Screening: How and Why It Works

One of today’s hottest topics in HR is the role and value of personality testing. It is science, art, or just plain voodoo? This HireDesk interview calls on one of the world’s most respected researchers in workplace personality assessment, Dr. Robert Hogan, and one of the country’s most experienced labor and employment lawyers, Jeffrey Ross, Esq. Learn why these experts believe the detractors of workplace … [ Read more ]

The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy, and Performance

Providing the tools and systems required for leading a “measurement managed” HR architecture, this important book heralds the emergence of human resources as a strategic powerhouse in today’s organizations.

Three experts in the field outline a powerful measurement system that highlights the indisputable role HR can play as both a prime source of sustainable competitive advantage and a key driver of value creation. They draw from … [ Read more ]

Roger Martin, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Robert I. Sutton

The logic behind the use of options as managerial incentive is flawed once you consider what behaviors are actually rewarded. Roger Martin, Dean of the University of Toronto’s business school and one of the co-founders of the strategy consulting firm Monitor, noted the problems of mixing the measuring and rewarding of performance in an expectations market – the stock market – with the measuring and … [ Read more ]