used to validate whether people practices are adding value to the business. Coupled with a continuing need to save cost following the recent recession, only those programs that are able to prove their value are spared.
A storm is brewing. On one hand, organizations are expecting more from us as practitioners, to demonstrate the value of what we bring to the business. Yet on the other hand, people decisions are routinely made without the rigor and discipline they deserve. I believe that now is the time to take a hard look at the tools and techniques we employ and determine which ones have the right to be widely adopted in our organizations. Only then can we engage businesses about the value we bring them through improved people decisions.
In this book, I will take us on a tour of current people practices. This book diverges from an academic discourse on talent management by focusing on what those of us on the front line witness and advise our clients to adopt. I will lay on the line the potential benefits and drawbacks of various approaches, sometimes arguing that specific tools and techniques do more harm than good and should therefore be abandoned. More often, I will demonstrate that the tools and techniques are sound, but the ways in which they are applied are in drastic need of improvement. I passionately believe that there is an incredible amount of potential to improve the lives of employees and the organizations they work for, if we can focus our efforts on the right set of practices.
We will know that we have succeeded as practitioners when the employment relationship leaders share with their employees has improved. Like any other social relationship, both parties need to feel fulfilled and trust that they are moving in a common direction. The decisions leaders make about recruitment, assignment of work responsibilities, staff recognition, and discipline (among others) act either toward or against a strong employment relationship. We as practitioners can ensure that the best decisions are made by putting in place structures and techniques that heighten the quality and transparency of the information guiding their judgment.
The term person-environment fit has been coined to express the quality of the employment relationship. The fit between an employee and his or her workplace is said to be high when three conditions are met. First, organizations effectively apply the knowledge, skills, and abilities of employees to accomplish job tasks. Second, organizations fulfill the tangible and intangible needs of their staff. Third, employees feel that their efforts are coordinated and contributing toward a common purpose. A fuller account of the person-environment model is presented later in the book. For now, these three tenets provide an underlying structure to the book that will aid us in evaluating the contribution different techniques make.
In Chapter 1, we will look at how organizations identify and structure their expectations of staff performance and the type of workplace they cultivate. The discussion begins by reviewing the origins of job analysis, as characterized by Taylorism and the Human Relations Movement, followed by the arrival of competencies as the primary vehicle organizations use to set a benchmark for people decisions. I will argue that frameworks often fall short in delivering useful guidance, with content that is heavily slanted toward behaviors (ignoring skills or experience) and too generic in terminology (glossing over functional differences), resulting in employees focusing energy in the wrong places.
With the criteria set for what type of talent organizations are looking for, attention turns toward finding the talent that will meet these needs. Chapter 2 explores what companies are doing to promote an appealing “employer brand,” how they define an “employer value proposition,” and source the best possible talent available. Although some companies have a clear and effective strategy about how to attain top talent, more common are haphazard campaigns based on limited insight about what an employer can bring its staff. Offering the wrong type of incentives or over-promising on commitments makes for an unstable employment relationship.
Chapter 3 unpacks the first tenet of person-environment fit, specifically that organizations effectively apply the knowledge, skills, and abilities of their employees. We will look at the tools and techniques practitioners employ to identify the capabilities of staff, including ability tests, interviews, and job simulations. By using the criteria of reliability and validity as our guide, I will argue that more can be done to correctly identify the best candidate for the job.
Focus turns to the fulfillment of employee needs (the second tenet of person-environment fit) in Chapter 4. Practitioners today use a variety of psychometrics to identify the personality characteristics, motivators, and values of current and future employees. However, the quality and relevance of these tools vary greatly and, therefore, have the potential to misrepresent what an employee desires from his or her workplace. Without validation and exploration of what could be reasonably accommodated, too much is assumed about what drives and engages talent.
The last tenet of person-environment fit, where both parties feel that they are moving in the same direction, will be discussed in Chapter 5. The chapter introduces the term psychological contract, which represents the glue that binds employees to their workplace. We will investigate the various ways practitioners attempt to invest in the psychological contract, including raising self-awareness, coaching and mentoring, skills training and certification, and job rotations. I will argue that so-called development programs are often assessments in disguise, whereby the information gained about employees’ weaknesses can be used against them in future promotion decisions or job reassignments. Moreover, development has a tendency to focus on a narrow set of organizational priorities, which effectively build skills, but do little to improve the psychological contract and keep employees engaged in the long term.
In Chapter 6, we will look at what practitioners do to repair a broken psychological contract. There are many causes for a breakdown. For example, economic challenges can make for a more stressful workplace environment. Alternatively, the favoritism shown to employees engaged in high potential programs can cause a rift with those not selected for the program. Employees, too, can be at fault in breaking the psychological contract by failing to perform well in their jobs. Practitioners attempt to remedy breakdowns in the psychological contract by redeploying staff, preparing for change through succession planning, and introducing performance management systems. Yet, many of these initiatives fundamentally change the psychological contract from a relational to a transactional type, which can snowball into further breakdown and only works to prolong the inevitable loss of talent from the organization.
Each of the chapters is written in a way that allows you to dip in and out of the book, depending on what types of people decisions are of most relevance and interest to you. A table of contents by topic is presented for quick reference. I hope that this book challenges you to consider for yourself which practices will make for better people decisions in your own workplace. With a little luck and diligence, we might be able to declare that we have successfully found the best talent for our organizations, deployed them in the right places, and kept them very happy and productive. At least, this should be our ambition.
Chapter 1
Frameworks
Without having job criteria in place, there is simply no way of predicting with any degree of confidence whether your people decisions are fair and rational. Practitioners rely on job descriptions and talent management frameworks to combat the risks of poor people decisions, because when you start racking up all the direct and indirect costs of an unfilled vacancy or a poorly placed new hire, the costs are striking, especially for roles that are core to the business.
One of my clients put its business analytics team to the task of figuring out how much it costs to replace a front-line employee. These are not high level positions, but rather staff working in retail branches and call centers. By the time the analyst calculated the cost of advertisement, the time spent by the recruitment team to screen and interview candidates, the loss of productivity because the role was vacant, and the cost to induct a new employee, the total figure was a staggering $57,000 per vacancy.
You might be skeptical and think this sounds too high, but even if you accept that the cost is only half as high, the damage
