Page 28 - MetalForming December 2012

Best Practices
By Bob Dobrowsky
Leading Change: A Focus on Human Resources
The world of work changes con- tinuously. Because of this reality, companies must think about their human-resources-related chal- lenges, and lead the charge to address areas vital to your viability and suc- cess. These include:
• Performance measurement and management;
• Doing more with less; and • Employee morale.
Performance Measurement and Management
Successful companies tend to follow best practices in performance man- agement. Regardless of the number of employees or the age of your business, we recommend implementing at least some of the following practices. All have been shown to improve performance and increase a company’s bottom line.
Align individual goals with key busi- ness objectives. Individual employee goals should roll up to achieve depart- mental goals, which achieve organiza- tion-wide goals. Make high-impact goals realistic and specific. Effective goal setting describes individual behav- iors and results that directly contribute to organizational success. These goals provide the roadmap employees can follow to contribute to the company’s success.
Identify and define job competen-
Bob Dobrowsky is a part- ner with the Cleveland office of Plante Moran, PLLC, and is one of the leaders of the firm’s Ohio Manufacturing and Distri- bution practice. He has been delivering profes- sional services to private- ly held companies for the past 21 years. Bob has
authored the annual PMA Benchmarking Report since 2003, serves as a member of the board of directors for PMA’s Cleveland district, and has pre- sented at various district level meetings. www.plantemoran.com Bob.Dobrowsky@plantemoran.com
cies critical for success. A competency model describes a specific combination of knowledge, skills and characteris- tics important for success. Competen- cy models serve as a roadmap for keep- ing leaders and employees on course. Leadership competencies, for exam- ple, call out key success factors such as leading change, business acumen, developing others and agility. Use these competencies to inform and align orga- nizational initiatives such as leader- ship training, hiring new staff and pro- moting existing staff.
Provide specific and continuous performance feedback. Performance feedback proves most effective when targeted and timely. Best-in-class
organizations offer balanced perform- ance feedback continuously through- out the year. Equip supervisors with practical and specific tools and training to increase their skills and confidence in providing feedback to employees. The biggest barrier to performance feedback: resistance by managers to give it, largely because they lack the required skills or tools.
Doing More With Less
It’s common to hear employees and organizations discuss how they must “do more with less.” As an alternative, successful organizations explore how they can “do things differently.” Here are a few best practices.
Do Your HR Practices Measure Up?
Award each “Yes” answer one point and each “No” or “I don’t know” answer zero points.
A score of:
12–15 means that your organization reflects best-in-class policies.
8–11 suggests that while your company currently uses several best practices, some
fine-tuning is in order.
4–7 implies HR practices require close evaluation.
0–3 should trigger an immediate call to a human-resources consultant for help.
Performance Management and Measurement
1. Do you conduct employee-performance studies at least annually?
2. Do employee goals link directly to organizational objectives?
3. Have managers been trained to rate and provide feedback to direct reports?
4. Do employees have specific goals for the year?
5. Do you have 90 percent or more of your employees’ performance-appraisal forms
completed at the end of the performance year?
Doing More With Less
1. If the workforce has shrunk, have you modified processes accordingly?
2. Do employees have accurate job titles?
3. Do leaders have the skills and tools required to lead employees through change? 4. Do employees have the skills, training and tools to achieve their goals?
5. Do employees clearly understand their roles and responsibilities?
Employee Morale
1. Are employees actively engaged in devising solutions for key organizational challenges?
2. Do you believe that your top talent will stay with the company?
3. Do employees feel that they are taking on a fair amount of work, rather than
too much or too little?
4. Would your employees say that you have the right staffing levels to get the work
done?
5. Do most of your employees feel positive about their workplace?
26 MetalForming/December 2012
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