|
T+D June 10 // Work-Life //
|
|
Make New Friends, but Keep the Common Sense
By Aparna Nancherla
|
|
Colleagues often grab an afternoon coffee break together to chat, but are friendships in the workplace typically smiled upon by leaders? Apparently they are. Forty-nine percent of managers reported that they support and encourage the development of friendships in the workplace, according to a Randstad survey of 1,017 employed U.S. adults age 18 and older. Meanwhile, only 29 percent of nonmanagers reported that their workplace supported the development of these relationships.
“As managers, we often think that if we’re not blocking friendships, then we must be supporting them,” says Eileen Habelow, senior vice president of organizational development at Randstad. “I think what employees are looking for is how companies facilitate [the development of workplace friendships]. Do they openly encourage it? Do they even set up opportunities for it?”
Managers also took a more positive stance than nonmanagers on how they felt about friends in the workplace. Forty percent of managers considered a stronger commitment to the company a benefit of workplace friendships versus only 28 percent of nonmanagers. Similarly, 38 percent of managers reported increased productivity as another potential perk versus only 26 percent of nonmanagers.
Habelow was surprised by the fact that managers felt more optimistic about the gains of workplace friendships than nonmanagers. Managers often err on the side of protecting the company from liabilities but even though they did note these concerns, they still felt that office friends could be good for the business, she says.
Indeed, more managers than nonmanagers saw a downside to workplace friendships (17 percent versus 10 percent). Specifically, they reported that workplace friendships could create conflicts of interest (41 percent versus 33 percent) or cause discomfort to other employees (33 percent versus 22 percent).
The study also found that opinions on workplace friendships differed between generations. Thirty-one percent of baby boomers felt that workplace friendships can make others feel uncomfortable, versus only 21 percent of Gen X workers and 19 percent of Gen Y workers.
“The workplace in the United States has gotten a lot more relaxed over the last 30 years,” says Habelow. She also notes that baby boomers are in a different life cycle than Gen X and Gen Y workers, and might not be as actively seeking a social life within their career circles.
The survey also looked at how the work-life balance of socializing is being blurred because employees are being asked to work longer hours in the wake of layoffs and pay freezes. Thirty-nine percent of respondents said that their family knows their friends from work, and 32 percent said they discuss personal matters with their workplace friends. But another 37 percent felt it smart to keep their personal and professional lives separate.
In terms of helping companies figure out where they stand on this ambiguity, Habelow advises that organizations think about what behaviors they want to reward and recognize. She says that companies should weigh the benefits of workplace friendships within their own culture because standards vary from business to business. It’s more dangerous for them to make a blanket statement of overtly supporting or discouraging all friendships in the workplace, she says.
Back to TOP
|
|
T+D jun 10 //Sales Training //
|
|
Barriers to Appropriate Sales Training
By Brian Lambert
|
|
More than 45 percent of the 400 sales trainers, sales executives, sales managers, and salespeople surveyed in an ASTD market research study believe time constraints to be their greatest challenge. Difficulty in measuring the success of the training course was the second greatest challenge.
Sales trainers, sales managers, and sales executives all agreed that time constraints represented their number one challenge. This seems logical given the shift in business models due to the rapidly changing economy. Time constraints can often lead to a more reactionary activity-based approach to driving sales results. The challenge becomes juggling short-term activities with long-term strategies where often the winning formula has to do with quality of activity, not quantity of activity.
Many respondents believe short-sighted management focus, as well as a lack of management buy-in, to be a major challenge in their ability to deliver appropriate sales training. Sales learning professionals may feel less tied into the corporate mission and vision, as well as doubt their own job security if they perceive their work as less important than others. Managers and senior leaders should be honest and open with sales learning professionals about their ability or inability to support the project portfolio.
Interestingly, salespeople, sales trainers, sales executives, and sales managers cite getting motivated to receive appropriate sales training as their least significant challenge (3 percent). This statistic should be encouraging to sales learning professionals and sales managers. Positive motivation toward sales training may help salespeople find more creative ways to fill the gaps in the training they receive (for example, coaching from others, finding a mentor, or attending training on their own). Additionally, this level of motivation may point to an interesting fact—that most salespeople are open and receptive to sales training and getting better, especially in a down economy.
Based on this insight, it would appear that the timing has never been better for sales training. This tough economic situation is forcing sellers to take inventory of their personal knowledge and skills while looking for ways to stay ahead of the competition. While the perception of lack of support and management buy-in may be a reality, sales learning professionals can provide sales training that solves the time management problem. A very effective and inexpensive way to facilitate sales training is through the creation of new tools, checklists, and job aids that salespeople actually use with their customers. By providing actionable work products to sales-team members, action-based learning can flourish.
Back to TOP
|
|
|
T+D June 10 // Feedback//
|
|
Taking the Formality Out of Performance Reviews
By Alexandra Bradley
|
|
The thought of impending performance reviews sends chills down the spines of both managers and employees alike. No one actually wants to do them, and yet, year after year they must be done. However, a recent survey shows that the benefits of performing successful performance reviews can often make the initial anxiety worthwhile.
ReviewSNAP, a web-based performance management system supplier, recently surveyed 100 people to gain employees’ insights into their performance evaluation processes. “The purpose of the survey was to find out what percentage of organizations are lacking some of the most important aspects to performance management processes (for example, communication or goals),” says Chris Arringdale, director of marketing and customer relations at ReviewSNAP.
According to the survey, only 45 percent of individuals feel that their managers consistently communicate to them about their performance throughout the year and in between review periods. The survey also found that while employees leave their performance review meetings understanding their goals, very few think about those goals or reviews during the following year, says Arringdale. “It’s extremely important to communicate with employees throughout the year on how they are doing and what they need to work on to help them reach their goals.”
The survey also revealed that
- 57 percent of respondents feel like the reviews are effective in helping them and their co-workers to grow professionally.
- 62 percent of respondents believe that the feedback in their reviews leaves them with a clear understanding of their role in helping to meet the company’s goals.
- 46 percent of respondents do not feel that their organization has or follows a pay-for-performance culture, but 69 percent feel that employees who are rewarded deserve it.
For many respondents, when asked what words came to mind when giving or receiving a performance review, they said: “time consuming,” “frustration,” “dread,” “burden,” “headache,” and “pain.” Some positive responses included “beneficial,” “important,” and “opportunity.”
So what can leaders do to enhance their current performance review processes? “Having web-based tools—such as 360-degree feedback, unlimited reviews, and journal entries—have proven successful in helping to increase employee productivity because they are aimed at making it easy to better align employees’ responsibilities with clearly definite goals and track performance on an ongoing basis versus once or twice a year,” suggests ReviewSNAP President Dave Arringdale.
Chris Arringdale also suggests that managers take a more proactive role, creating company directives and initiatives that focus on employee feedback throughout the year and not make performance reviews seem like just a formality. “The improvements start at the top,” he says. “The employees reaching their goals and taking the performance review seriously are a result of the manager not treating the reviews as a formality and communicating throughout the year.”
Back to TOP
|
|
T+D June 10 // Fast Fact //
|
|
Job Hunting Begins in Earnest
|
|
Despite the fact that 78 percent of workers believe this is the worst job market they’ve ever seen in their careers, workers of all ages are beginning to explore new job opportunities according to a new study by Adecco Group North America.
Gen Y workers are most ready for change, according to the online survey of more than 2,200 people 18 years of age and older. Compared to 2008, the number of Gen Y workers starting a new job search rose from 14 percent to 30 percent, and more than half plan to go on (or have gone on) a job interview. Thirty percent of Gen X, 29 percent of baby boomers, and 22 percent of workers 61 years of age and older (Silent generation) have gone on or plan to go on an interview for a new job in 2010.
Only 9 percent of Gen Y employed adults are willing to accept a pay cut to keep their jobs compared to about 1 in 5 from other generations (baby boomers [22 percent], Gen X [22 percent], or Silent [15 percent]). In the survey, Gen Y indicated that they plan to be knocking on the doors of their competitors once the economic upturn begins, and more than 71 percent of the adults between the ages of 18 and 29 say that they are at least somewhat likely to look for new jobs in 2010.
“These findings should be an eye-opener for employers who are so focused on cost containment that they are losing focus on retention,” says Bernadette Kenny, chief career officer of Adecco Group North America. “In good times, companies focus on how to keep their best and brightest talent, and this becomes more important in bad times. Younger Gen Y employees bring a lot of new ideas and skills to the table, they are a generation who likes to be challenged, and if they lose this at their current job, they are not afraid to seek it elsewhere.”
Back to TOP
|
|
T+D June 10 // Infograph //
Technology-Based Learning Has Limitations
In a study of more than 230 organizations, Novations Group found that organizations are delivering technology-based learning methods both in response to budget constraints as well as changing learner preferences (younger generations have a preference for accessing learning in on-demand, bite-sized formats).
Back to TOP
|
|