Staffing and Personnel - People

People make the organization succeed or fail.

People make the organization succeed or fail. Because of this we will put a limit on tolerance of moderate or poor producers. Experience tells that we kid ourselves into thinking that allowing the individuals to continue things will change. That's usually wrong. Basic character or personality faults and skill deficiencies most often don't get correct with time. However, fairness and compassion are necessary. Management should help the person preserve both dignity and employ ability.

All managers should have backup people who are potentially better qualified for their jobs than they are themselves. Not manager has the right to feel he or she has done a good job if a logical successor is not being trained and nurtured.

Every manager in the organization must make certain that individuals know what is expected of them, how their assignments fit into the whole, and how their performance will be measured. Each individual should have a set of goals and deadlines to meet. We believe strong organizations have strong goals. Once the goal is achieved, we always set the next goal higher.

Our system of rewards and penalties must be consistent. The payoff should always be for achieving results, not for making the effort. Those who perform well should get recognition and rewards. Those who don't must learn to expect limited reward, lesser responsibilities, and even dismissal.

We must be alert to misfits. Not matter how carefully people are screened or evaluated, misfits will show up. Quick decisive action is needed to weed them out. People always know who they are and draw negative conclusions about their managers who permit them to remain. Three types of misfits that are especially damaging to the organization are:

• those who don't have integrity or honesty to win trust, who don't give recognition to subordinates for ideas and accomplishments.
• those politicians who always have their finger in the air to see which way the wind blows, and who are interested more in who's watching then in just plain hard work.
• bullies who are just plain bastards to their subordinates.

ACTION POINT: Invest time and energy into the people.

Reviewing Progress

Once you see individuals in action in their new roles, you can offer guidance on how they can do things better.

Telling someone how to swim and them being able to swim are different things; it isn't until they jump into the water that you and they know whether they have understood your instruction. The same is true when you implement a new strategy. Once you see individuals in action in their new roles, you can offer guidance on how they can do things better.

Set aside time on a regular basis to meet with members of your team and review their progress on a one-to-one basis. Use this time to assess their performance against targets you have set an discuss any problems they are having in adjusting to their new role.

ACTION POINT: Observe action and review progress to keep change on track.

Guiding your Team

Your role is to be their "coach"

Some managers think that setting the strategic direction and preparing their team for change is sufficient, but to get the best out of your team you need to provide guidance as the change progresses. Your role is to be their "coach" -- to review their progress, help them to find ways to perform their new tasks better, offer encouragement and reward success.

Ask your self, am I supporting my staff in their new roles?

• Have I been clear in helping my team understand what needs to happen to deliver the new strategy?
• Have my team confirmed that they understand their new roles?
• Have I scheduled time to monitor the team as it move forward?
• Have I set aside time to make myself available to answer questions and to provide reassurance?
• Have I ensured that the organizational systems that are in place encourage the new behaviors necessary to implement the change, and will not drag the team back into their old ways?
• Have I devised ways in which to reward success?

ACTION POINT: Engage your team through coaching to provide guidance.

Overcoming Resistance II

Provide reassurance that the future, under the new strategy, will be better than the present.

Resistance to change can be expected. The following will minimize resistance to change.

• Provide information. Give detailed reasons for why the change needs to happen, and encourage question of the situation.
• Encourage involvement. Where possible, involve individuals in the development your strategy -- they are more likely to accept it if they have played a part in its creation.
• Engineer the situation. Create a "crisis" to encourage closer teamwork -- in crisis people usually stop silly arguments and work together on the main task.
• Provide training. Offer training and coaching where appropriate, so that all individuals are confident in any new roles they have to perform.
• Work with the group. Provide facilitation where group resistance is a problem, and work individually with members of the group.
• Tackle fear. Provide reassurance that the future, under the new strategy, will be better than the present.

ACTION POINT: Overcome the fear of change through involvement, training, teamwork and information.

Overcoming Resistance

Resistance can also stem from individuals asking "what's in it for me?" before thinking " why is it good for the organization?"

Change is often "logically" prepared by managers and leaders but responded to emotionally by staff. Negative reactions to change often result form a lack of understanding of shy it has to happen -- the need for the change may not have been sufficiently well explained or staff may have received misinformation through gossip or leaks. Resistance can also stem from individuals asking "what's in it for me?" before thinking " why is it good for the organization?"

In many organizations, there are political forces at work. Groups of people may have different priorities and will seek their own outcome rather than the desired outcome of the organization. If you don't have power to influence these groups yourself, try to win the support of those who do.

Some of your strategic decisions may result in some people losing their jobs. It would be easy to assume that those who didn't are automatically happy. However, some argue that this is not the case and that those who survive feel uncertain or negative about the organization (some refer to this as survivor syndrome), thinking: "If they let my friend go this time, will it be me next time?" What is certain, however, is that staff will make a judgement about how the change happened and whether you behave fairly. If they believe you did, they are more likely to continue to support you.

ACTION POINT: Understand that there will be negative reactions to change.