Do you have a defined career path?

  According to a paper published by the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) one of the things that is creating the divide between the poor and the middle class is a lack of clear career path.  In a paper published by Laura Dresser and Joel Rogers,  claims that part of the issue with the current economic inequality is that jobs are now based on informal social networks and that clearly defined career paths and clearly defined job skills inventories are not as prevalent in today's work environment as they were in WWII manufacturing facilities.

Dresser and Rogers claim that the career ladder has collapsed due to job redesign, cross-functional training and over-all de-structurization of the work process. 

While I agree somewhat with Dresser and Rogers' assessment, I see a disturbing trend.  The trend is taking the accountability for a career path off the employees.  It seems that frequently people are expecting others to map out their life course for them.

For example, I was sitting in an English class about a year ago and the students were explaining the topics for their term papers.  One of the students stood and talked about how she felt that whoever decided what each job was worth should hold that job before deciding on what wage that job should earn.  She was under the mistaken impression that some government agency was responsible for setting wages.  The teacher agreed with her and them proceeded to ask the class who had been paid what they thought they should be paid.  I was the only person to raise my hand. 

The teacher was shocked that I raised my hand and asked me how I had been paid what my labor was worth.  It seemed an odd question to me.  I had gone to the firm I was working for at the time and showed them how much money I had saved them in the past year.  I asked for a percentage increase based on what I had made for the company and negotiated a better wage for myself.

A career path is my accountability.  It should not rest on a government agency.  It should not rest on a company's shoulders. The interesting thing is that  the paper by Dresser and Rogers outlines several companies who became partners with their employees.  Together the employer and employee mapped out options that would meet the needs of both.  Together they excelled and became industry leaders.

Interesting...when I take accountability for my life and choices I end up in the career and on the path I outline.

Performance Appraisals

How does a company decide on the best method of performance appraisal?  How do top level managers and others know and trust the information that is given in a performance appraisal?

I crave feedback, but I HATE performance reviews.  In most of the companies I have worked for, the performance appraisal was based on one incident or outstanding event that really didn't capture what I did day to day.  In one of the worst performance appraisal systems in my career I wasn't even rated on what I did in my job, but on a predetermined set of company goals (most of them dealing with how I interacted and marketed to outside clients)  I was an Administrative Assistant and so I didn't interact with outside clients on a regular basis.  I dealt with vendors and internal clients.

What if instead of the annual performance appraisal, in every meeting there was a brief survey filled out about the meeting and the roles everyone played.  Were the participants prepared? Were they on time?  Did they participate / contribute? Were the goals for the meeting reached?   Was there progress on projects or have the same 5 projects been on the agenda for the last year? There could even be a brief survey when projects are completed and when one-on-one meetings are held.  Those surveys could be entered into a dashboard and compiled so that the annual performance appraisal is a compilation of all these little performance appraisals.

Trends could be watched and when an issue is consistent then correction could take place before the problem worsens.  The people that work most closely with individuals would be able to leave immediate feedback and that would eliminate the huge packets that are filled out for 360 degree feedback.

What would some of the drawbacks to instant review be?

Interviewing...a necessary evil?

I was confidently scared as I prepped for my first job interview. I was 16 and was interviewing to be a summer receptionist. I knew I could do the work, but could I sell myself to a principal of a new Jr. High school?

I put on my best dress and paid extra attention to my make-up and hair.  I planned my time so that I arrived 10 minutes early and brought my references with me just in case he asked for them.  My knees were shaking as I opened the glass double doors and I swallowed hard.  The head secretary greeted me and took me down a long hallway to an office.  She opened the door to introduce me.  I thought a meeting was just getting out, what I realized very quickly was that the meeting was just getting started.

Six people were sitting in a semi-circle in front of me.  They each introduced themselves and then started asking me questions.  I felt like I was being fed to the lions.  I had prepared for a one on one interview.  Here I was faced with a panel of people all older and wiser than I was. Terrified doesn't even begin to describe what I was feeling. The interview seemed to go on forever. The internal conversation was almost bad enough to drown out the next question. "I wish my clothes were more stylish." "Why did I say THAT?!?"  "What if they think I can't do this job?"

Flash forward several years, this time I am on the other side of the table.  Remembering that first awful interview I prep all my candidates.  I let them know how many people will be in the interview, the entire interview process and how long they can expect to wait until they hear something from me.

I still hate the interview process.  Two or more people sitting in a room, with their best face forward dancing around qualifications and political correctness, trying not to come across as desperate.  Is there a better way?

This is the digital age.  I can talk to old friends and find new ones without ever meeting face-to-face.  I can tell you how well a store is doing in the customer returns and customer service departments without ever walking into the store. The internet is a wonderful tool, but it still only shows a persona not the person.
 
 One company I worked for narrowed down the resumes to the most likely candidates and then asked the other people in the department if any of them had ever worked or heard of the candidates.  That seemed to work well.  As I recall, a couple of high candidates were thrown out of the mix when others in the company had worked with them and not had a very good experience.

In the end the top two candidates came in for a short salary negotiation and a walk through of the department.  That was one of the shortest interview processes I have ever been involved with and the people that were hired loved the company and were a good fit.   Isn't that what the interview is supposed to do anyway?

Oh...and if you are wondering I did get the receptionist job.  It was a great job with some really great people.

Equal Opportunity Employer

• Is Equal Opportunity Employment really equal?  
• How does a firm guarantee that the hiring process is not biased? 
• How does a firm guarantee that once an employee is hired, biases will not be present in the employment process?

I once worked for a company many years ago that would openly make promotion decisions based on whether an employee had a family and was the sole breadwinner for his or her family. 

A man was more likely to be promoted because he was considered the breadwinner, and a more loyal employee because of "his responsibilities" for his family.  At the time I was young and inexperienced, and their decision-making process seemed logical to me.  The company went out of business shortly after I (a woman, and not the sole breadwinner for my family) left for a better opportunity.  Enough said. :)

Trends in Human Resource Management

These come from Fundamentals of Human Resource Management (3rd edition)

Changes in the age of the workforce is changing the way companies work with their employees. More than 1/2 of the workforce is older than 40.  How does a company make sure that the knowledge base is passed onto the younger workforce?  How important is transferring the knowledge base?

Knowledge is important, but with digital knowledge bases and collaboration at every level of an organization the knowledge can be acquired quickly.  What is important to gather from the older workforce is the interpersonal skills missing in the younger workforce.

A couple of things that stood out to me while I was reading...

Coca-Cola only thrived when there was a shared vision and values. Traditional and non-traditional communication was key. Until a company is willing to come together, they will flounder and not be as effective as a company that has a shared purpose and commitment.

A CEO and Board must be willing to communicate across all forums and outlets, electronic and otherwise.  Communication is key.

As a CEO I am in charge of creating the vision, I am the keeper of the vision, Employees must be empowered within that vision with latitude to create a better company than I could imagine. When I stop listening to my employees I lose out on the best knowledge base in the world.  Together we create a synergized company.

Questions to answer:

• What is the best way to create a multinational company that values diversity and still creates synergy and cohesiveness?
• What benefits can I give my employees that will integrate their personal lives and their work lives into one whole?  Is integrating personal and work life healthy or is it better to separate out the hemispheres of life?
• What is the best mix of flexible and traditional work scheduling?  What personalities thrive under traditional work scheduling?  What personalities thrive under flexible scheduling?
• Is there a way to transition people from being uncomfortable with directing their lives and company to being comfortable?  What is the key?