Managing Multi Generations – Week 11- Vicki Young

Managing Multi Generations – Week 11- Vicki Young

This week after reading, the articles on how to manage your top talent, and how to manage generation x, y and the baby boomers. I thought of interviewing Christopher L. Link the Executive Director Region Manager for Morgan Stanley seemed like the next logical step. I wanted to gain perspective about how to manage different types of employees and if needed how best to cultivate these employees talents.

Mr. Link’s organization, Morgan Stanley is a Morgan Stanley is a financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management, and wealth management services (Morgan Stanley, 2012). Mr. Link has over fifteen years experience in the financial services industry. He has held the position of bank teller up to Senior Vice President of Business Banking in numerous financial organizations. Christopher has been with his current organization for three years where he manages a team of twenty-seven direct reports spread out over fifty-nine offices in the state of California. I interviewed Christopher for this week’s assignment to get his perspective on the challenges of managing multiple different age groups.

VY: Our class readings this week focused on the challenges of managing different employee age groups such as; generation x, y and the baby boomers. Do you see this as a challenge?

CLL: “No, not at all. All of my financial account representatives are professionals at the top of their game. I do not treat any of them any different because of their age.”

VY: How do you motivate your team of employees? If one of your employees were a top performer, how would you motivate them to continue to give their all to your team and the organization?

CLL: “One of the primary ways is fear. First off, I expect more than most people are willing to give. One of the first questions I always ask in the first interview of a perspective team member, assuming that the person is qualified, is whether the person belongs on this team. The reason I ask this question is that in the financial services industry everything we do is totally measurable. If the employee is not a person who is not in the top fifty percent of any measurement that is applied to them, then they do not want to be on my team. But, if this is something the employee is and the employee wants to work harder, to work smarter, to adapt and to do better in every instance of their position than that employee wants to be on my team.”

VY: Does Smith Barney, as Martin & Schmidt mention in their article, have a Talent Development Program?

CLL: “They do, at the moment; I can’t remember the name of it.”

VY: That is OK. In Meister & Willyerds, article” Mentoring Millennials” the authors describe different mentoring styles. Who was your mentor or mentor(s)? Have you ever been a mentor?

CLL: “I have had many over the years. The best piece of information I ever received from one of my mentor’s was the three things that you have to remember every Monday morning.

1. Do you like the organization you work for?
2. You have to respect the person you work for.
3. You have to be in the right position that your talents are suited for.

If for any of these three things, you do not answer yes then you or your employee may need to look for another position.
As far as mentoring employees, I can tell you a story of a team of two financial advisers that I recently worked with Dale and Craig. These men are in their mid fifty’s and I inherited them after their manager left the company. The first thing I did as their manager was set up a “business analysis” meeting with the pair. At this meeting, I examined the men’s professional strengths and weaknesses and I told them that if they continued working the way they have been that they would be out of a job. I then helped them restructure how they performed their jobs and now after working with them for the past year and a half. Dale and Craig are now one of my top performing teams”

VY: What incentives do you give your team members or does your organization give your team members for performing well?

CLL: “The cash incentive a paycheck or the psychological paycheck; my team is the best and I as a manager am a reflection of my team. I am only as good as my team. As a performer and a producer, I don’t ask my team to do anything I have not done myself. As far as the organization is concerned there is a compensation structure for the members of my team.”

VY: How do you manage so many people across the state?

CLL: “I have constant communication with all of my team members. I talk to each of them at least every other day and every four to six weeks we have a face to face meeting.”

This was a difficult interview because although the readings for this week were very interesting I don’t believe that any of them were practical or based on any real world experience. They were all theory. Mr. Link and his experiences reinforced this concept. Every time I attempted to ask him about an example from the readings, he stated that this was not how it actually worked.

References:

Meister, J.C. & Willyerd, K (2010, May). Mentoring millennials. Harvard Business Review, 1-4. Retrieved from http://www.usc.edu

Martin, J. & Schmidt, C (2010, May). How to keep your top talent. Harvard Business Review, 1-8. Retrieved from http://www.usc.edu

Erickson, T. (2010) The leaders we need now, Harvard Business School, pp. 1-5.

Morgan Stanley, (n.d.). About Morgan Stanley. Retrieved from http://www.morganstanley.com

Week 11 -- Application Assignment - H. Martine

This week's readings, focusing on employee satisfaction and retaining high-contributing employees, were really interesting, as was the video Dr. Pade posted from Harvard Business. When reading through Nohria, Groysberg, and Lee's piece, I learned "to define overall motivation, we focused on four commonly measured workplace indicators of it: engagement, satisfaction, commitment, and intention to quit" (p. 2). Additionally, there were references that employee satisfaction was highest in 2009, during the economic crisis. Based on this fact, I was interested in what the current levels of employee satisfaction are, and I found the 2012 Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement Survey from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).

What I found most interesting about this survey that is yes, indeed, employees today are more less satisfied overall with their current job (81%), than they were in 2009 (86%), during such a rough economic downturn. My best guesses as to why this statistic has dropped is that in 2009, many employees were simply thankful to have a job, despite pay cuts and extra workloads. Additionally, it's possible that more millennials are in the workforce now, three years later, than they were at that time, and perhaps millennials' high expectations for a job have made them less satisfied with their current, starting positions.

The survey also found that employees rank their engagement with their company as only moderate -- a 3.6 on a scale of 1 to 5 -- and that engagement is a metric that the SHRM has only gathered and measured for two years. While engagement seems to be a new thing for employers to study, we do know that there are five things that contribute the most to the engagement of an employee: accomplishing your work/meeting your goals; relationships with coworkers; opportunities to use your abilities at work; your individual work contributes to the organization's overall business goals; and your relationship with your immediate supervisor.

Interestingly, the study also ranked five things as most important to job satisfaction, and two of those overlap with those items that are most important for employee engagement: the opportunity to use your skills and abilities, and the relationship with your immediate supervisor. However, the study made a point to state that engagement "may or may not be aligned with employee job satisfaction." My hypothesis as to why they stress this is that there is a lack of data at this point on engagement to make any type of solid argument, nor proof, that one leads to another. But, it seems that there is some type of correlation.

References:
Victor, J., et al. (2012). "2012 Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement: How Employees are Dealing with Uncertainty." Society of Human Resource Management. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Documents/SHRM-Employee-Job-Satisfaction-Engagement.pdf

Week 11 Application - Erin Spaulding

This week while traveling for the holiday I searched for inspiration on the topic of rewards and motivation. On my Southwest Airlines flight I picked up the November issue of Spirit Magazine and found an article by President and CEO Gary Kelly. Kelly (2012) wrote that Southwest Airlines is “not a company of planes but a company of people.” Kelly went on to share he is not only thankful for loyal customers but also loyal employees (Kelly, 2012).   To get more details and a different perspective, I interviewed Jason Pitts an employee with Southwest.

Jason shared that many Southwest employees, over 37,000 across the country, think they have great benefits like a 401k match up to 8% and full health, dental, and vision.  Many Southwest employees are unionized and get salary increases based on years of service however there are many other perks that keep employees engaged. Employees and their families fly for free on the airline and on partner airlines and have the opportunity to earn more flight for friends and family with the more hours they work. In addition to regular perks there are added recognition events. “This year I will hit my 10 years of service and go to a big gala with the senior leadership,” Pitts said. “I will be recognized for my service and get a plaque. I also happen to get a jump in pay due to my union contract” (Pitts, 2012). In addition, Southwest throws annual “Spirit Parties” and “Message to the Field” events where they rent out theme parks or entire streets in Vegas for their employees and their families. These events also provide employees with recognition for outstanding work and the option to speak with senior leadership about questions or input they may have (Pitts, 2012).

Ryan and Deci (2000) write about the spectrum of motivations from intrinsic to extrinsic and for many rewards different motivations come into play. “I think that all employees are motivated differently” Pitts (2012) shared. “I think I am mainly motivated by the fact that the job has to be done and if I work enough I will qualify for extra benefits” (Pitts, 2012). This type of motivation is probably somewhere in between external regulations and identification motivation, two types of extrinsic motivation. This is due to the need to fulfill the job and comply with the regulation (external regulations motivation) and and the employee’s personal goals to work towards the benefits (identification motivation) (Ryan & Deci 2000; Pitts, 2012).

Pitts (2012) shared a few other ways that Southwest tries to involved employees in the profit of the company. One way is by the constant reminder on all paychecks “Deposits Made Possible by Your Southwest Customers” (Kelly, 20120; Pitts, 2012). The second way of engaging employees in the overall business is through profit sharing (Pitts, 2012). “Profit sharing is when Southwest takes a percentage of profits every year and gives a portion to each employee” (Pitts, 2012). In the example Great Little Box by Heymann & Barrera (2010), the company shared profits every month with employees so they could see the immediate effects of their work. With a company as large as Southwest I would think it would require more time and attention to share profits every month rather than every year. However, they do lose the benefit of the immediacy of the reward. According to Pitts (2012), the immediacy does not matter as much as the fact that Southwest “care enough to take care of employees in that way.”

References

Heymann, J., Barrera, M. (2010) Engaging Employees in the Company's Profits and Their Own, Harvard Business School, pp. 1-28

Kelly, G. (2012, November). Thank you. Southwest Airline Spirit.

Pitts, J. (2012, November 24). Interview by E Spaulding [Personal Interview]. Southwest airlines employee rewards.

Ryan, R., and Deci, E. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology. No. 25, pp. 54-67

Nicole Palacios: Week 11 Application Assignment

In a recent poll, it was found that 77% of employees believe Millennials have a different attitude toward responsibility than older workers (Millennials’ work ethic, 2012).  The article expressed that a common worry amongst managers is the challenge of finding ways to engage Millennials in the workplace and also figuring out how to bridge gaps between the age groups within the workforce.  It has been described as a “changing of the guard” (Millennials’ work ethic, 2012) as Millennials start to climb the professional ladder and older employees are beginning to retire.

This week’s readings discussed rewards systems and motivation in a variety of areas. The readings also helped me to examine the pros and cons of the programs and systems set in place to motivate employees. Sometimes the programs meant to reward individuals may do just the opposite. How can this be avoided?

I found the article “Mentoring Millennials” really interesting because I happen to fall into that category. I agree with most of what the authors say in explaining the thought process of Millennials, and how as a group, have shown qualities of wanting success quickly and desiring to be engaged consistently (2010). I also understand how those qualities can be perceived as Millennials being "lazy" or "entitled," by older employees who have worked for companies for over 30 years and probably have never shown up  late to work in their life. I often would hear my dad complain about "the young kids," and their poor work ethic. I cringed to think that I may have possessed some of the qualities of "the young kids" at his work.

In the journal article “Motivated Millennials Provide Hope,” Olson and McGee explain that industry leaders have concerns about the next generation and how career oriented Millennials actually are (2008). Six communication students were selected to attend Counselors Academy Spring Conference to create blog posts surrounding the key points of each day.

Olson and McGee describe the setting as being a unique educational opportunity because few internships and entry-level jobs allow access to senior leaders, much less the ability to interact with them on such a close level. The conference provided a rare chance for the students to gain insight into career paths in greater depth. For the older generation, it allowed them to see the eagerness and knowledge of which the students had… and provided them hope that the younger generation would prove to be successful leaders.

The interaction of older and younger employees is similar to that of the “reverse mentoring” that Meister and Willyerd mention (2010) where a lower-level employee was coupled with a senior executive to mentor. The authors describe that the pairings ended up being mutually beneficial, as younger employees learned the facets of a more senior position and raised their profile among the firm, while the older mentees learn to understand the newer generation that they may not have had the opportunity to work firsthand with otherwise.

This type of mentoring may be something that more companies should look into. It seems that all members of the workforce can learn from it and grow professionally and perhaps even personally. It can also help to retain Millennials and earn their loyalty since their needs are being met in unique styles of teaching and mentoring.

References

Covert, K. (2012). Millennials' work ethic questioned; and they largely agree with that assessment by older workers, survey says. The Vancouver Sun, E7.

Meister, J., & Willyerd, K. (2010). Mentoring millennials. Harvard Business Review, 17-20.

Olson, M., & McGee, Brian. (2008). Motivated millennials provide hope. PRweek, 11(39), 8.

Week 11 Application Assignment - Cathy Williams

TGI(B)F?

In recognition of Black Friday, one of the most important days of the year for retailers that count on the holiday season to take their accounting books out of the red and into the black, and our recent readings about Walmart/Bharti, I thought this week’s topic was an opportunity to explore employee motivation and retention at the country’s largest retailer (National Retail Federation, 2011, para. 1). With 2.2 million employees worldwide – and 1.4 million in the United States (Walmart, n.d., para. 2) – it is no surprise that one unified employee narrative is difficult to confirm. Advanced media reports anticipated a massive employee walkout this past Friday, and subsequent media coverage has declared the effort a resounding failure, offering it as proof that the vast majority of employees are happy with their jobs.

Supporters of Walmart’s practices – whether employees, management, stockholders, or media columnists – point to the various benefits the company offers its employees as legitimate and sufficient (Featherstone, 2008, para. 1). Neff (2011) discusses Walmart’s employee perks in terms of...yes... what they deliver to Walmart and its consumer brand partners, not what they offer the employee, basically implying that Walmart employees are viewed more like potential customers rather than corporate assets (para. 1-5). On the other hand, the Walmart website suggests that employee benefits are not altogether lacking, given that the company offers these benefits to millions of individuals (Walmart Benefits, n.d., para. 1-3). Perhaps 10% off on fruits and vegetables, a free Sam’s Club membership, stock purchase options, and medical/dental/vision are equitable compensation, even if employees are footing a substantially higher percentage of the insurance costs than other retail outfits (Walmart, n.d., para 1-3; Featherstone, 2008, para. 3). Walmart recently added a tuition subsidy to its benefits package (with only one choice of an online, for-profit university). Although it is easy balk at the 15% tuition reimbursement rate, it appears that the retailer is committed to raising the education levels of its workforce (Quinn, 2010).

Despite its critics, Walmart seems to offer a package that addresses on, at least some level, each of the “four drives hardwired into our brains” that impact employee motivation (Nohira, Groysberg, & Lee, 2008, p. 2). Although customizing a boutique package like that of Great Little Box would probably be impossible for this large-box retailer, Walmart offers employees “exclusive discounts on travel, entertainment, and stock purchase plans” (drive to acquire), “free confidential counseling” (drive to bond), “the chance to grow and build a career” (drive to comprehend), and “listens to all associates” (drive to defend). Whether or not it actually satisfies these needs may depend as much on the individual worker’s attitude as the material delivery of each of the benefits.   

Piecing together a portrait of Walmart’s policies regarding motivation and retention may be challenging, but a few numbers help tell the story. Heymann and Barrera (2010) discuss the Towers Perrin study that found over a one-year period high levels of employee engagement improved, and low levels of engagement declined, respectively, by 19.2% and 32.7% for operating income; 13.2% and 3.8% for net income; and 27.8% and 11.2 $ in earnings per share (p. 1). The study also found that at high-engagement companies turnover rates were lower, with 51% of an engaged workforce committed to staying on the job (Heymann & Barrera, 2010, p. 2).

How does Walmart stack up? Walmart’s operating income* from 2010 to 2011 increased by 6.4%; while this is not a decline, it is less than half of the average found in the Towers Perrin study (Walmart Financials, n.d., para. 1; Heymann & Barrera, 2010, p. 1). The company’s net income* increased 11% during the same period; again, better than a decline but far below the average of the Towers Perrin study (Walmart Financials, n.d., para 1.). Earnings per share clocks in at about the same, an increase of 11% as compared to the 27.8% increase found at companies with high employee engagement (NASDAQ, 2012, para. 1). Employee turnover also misses the mark, with Walmart clocking in at a 50% turnover rate (Featherstone, 2008, para. 5).

The numbers suggest that Walmart needs to make significant improvements in all areas of employee motivation and retention. A recent study by the Demos organization found that Walmart would only need to raise by prices by between 7 to 15 cents per shopping trip in order to provide its low-wage employees with a $25,000 annual salary, a great place to start in terms of improving compensation (Ruetschlin, 2012, para. 38).

How likely is this to happen?  Greenhouse and Barbaro (2005) made an internal Walmart memo public that articulated Walmart’s position on employees. In the memo, “Susan Chambers, the senior vice president of benefits, expressed concern” about the expense of long-term employees (seven years or longer) despite that they “are no more productive” than employees with less seniority (para. 2).

Ironically, Chambers’ official title is executive vice president of Walmart’s People Division. How do I know? She’s still at the company.... Black Friday, indeed.

Featherstone, L. (2008, June 27). Wage against the machine: If Costco’s worker

generosity is so great, why doesn’t Wal-Mart imitate it? Slate. Retrieved http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2008/06/wage_against_the_machine.html

Greenhouse, S., & Barbaro, M. (2005, October 26). Wal-Mart memo suggests ways to cut

employee benefit costs. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/business/26walmart.ready.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Heymann, J., & Barrera, M. (2010). Engaging employees in the company’s profits and

their own: Why everybody wins when  you provide incentives to your low-level employees. Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder: Creating Value by Investing in Your Workforce (pp. 1-25).  Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.

NASDAQ. (2012, November 23). WMT revenue & earnings per share (EPS).  Retrieved

from http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/wmt/revenue-eps

National Retail Federation. (2012, July). 2012 top 100 retailers. NRF Stores.

Retrieved from http://www.stores.org/2012/Top-100-Retailers#.ULLelKWeBwZ

Neff, J. (2011, November 28). Sleeping giant at Walmart wakes its vast workforce:

Measures to motivate, mobilize staff are opening up opportunities for consumer brands. Advertising Age. Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/news/walmart-motivating-mobilizing-workforce/231210/

Nohira, N., Groysberg, B., & Lee, L.E. (2008, July). Employee motivation: A powerful

new model. Harvard Business Review, 86(7), 78-85.

Quinn, M. (2010, June 3). Wal-Mart gets creative on employee retention. Inc. Retrieved

from http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2010/06/wal-mart-worker-retention.html

Ruetschlin, C. (2012, November 19). Retail’s hidden potential: How raising wages would

benefit works, the industry and the overall economy. Demos.org. Retrieved from http://www.demos.org/publication/retails-hidden-potential-how-raising-wages-would-benefit-workers-industry-and-overall-ec

Walmart. (n.d.). Benefits. Retrieved from http://careers.walmart.com/company-benefits/

Walmart. (n.d.). Culture. Retrieved from

http://corporate.walmart.com/our- story/working-at-walmart/culture 

Walmart. (n.d.). Financials. Retrieved from

http://www.walmartstores.com/sites/annualreport/2011/financials.aspx

*Although not cited, the Merrill Lynch “How to Read a Financial Report” was very helpful!

Week 11 - Application Assignment : LeiLani Lemle-Macias

“If we take as a given that a motivated workforce can boost company performance, then the insights to human behavior will felp companies and executives get the best out of employees by fulfilling their most fundeamental needs.” (Nohria, Groysberg, Lee, 2008)

 

This week I interviewed Sharon Grove, LADWP’s new General Manager of the Customer Service Division.

1.      Do you think that motivating employees is important? Why or why not?

Yes, people spend much of their life at work, so making it a place where positive energy is created and people are motivated affects the whole organization

2.      In which ways does your organization motivate its employees?

a.       Recognition for successful jobs

b.      Inclusion in higher level meetings for exposure

c.       One on one meetings with key department leaders to understand and have input into the direction of the organization

d.      Employee focus groups for input into improvements

e.       Sense of empowerment that their suggestions matter requires that when we do implement employee suggestions, they are told about it and thanked

f.       When customers recognize a job well done, that recognition is shared with leadership

g.      Customer service week and other external recognition theme thanks front line employees for doing their jobs well

3.      One way to motivate employees is with a reward system. Does your organization have a reward system in place? If so, what is it?

a.       Reward systems are in the above answer

b.      We also compensate employees for unused sick time to motivate them to be at work

4.      Another way to motivate employees is through the organization’s culture. How does your organization’s culture affect motivation?

a.       We have a culture of inclusivity, and of managing changes as something that is positive and rewarding, instead of having to keep doing things the same way

b.      We continue to move employees through the organization through promotion to have good knowledge transfer and good leadership training

c.       We offer a management development program for our MEA union

d.      We offer various training for all employees

e.       We send employees to conferences so they understand what is going on in other areas of the industry

5.      Job design (jobs that have important roles in the organization and are meaningful) also motivates employees. How does your organization design jobs that a meaningful and foster a sense of contribution to the organization?

We don’t focus specifically on job design because it’s more about leadership and challenge your employees to see outside any one design and look out for how to structure our roles to better serve our customers

6.      Increasing transparency, building trust, and emphasizing fairness through performance management and resource allocation processes help motivate employees. In what ways can your organization achieve this?

You can’t do any of these things without having the shadow of the leader. Unless the leader can consistently exhibit these qualities, the processes won’t stand up to what employees expect. These must be met first to then create a motivated workforce.

 Having a rewards system in place helps organizations motivate employees. Employees like to feel appreciated, empowered and that their opinions/suggestions are being acknowledged and considered. I also spoke with Helen Forbes, GM of Fairfield Marriott in Anaheim and she stated, “The best way to motivate an employee is to ask them.” I thought this statement is factual. What may motivate one person may not motivate another.

 

References

 

Nohria, N., Groysberg, B., and Lee, L. (2008) Employee Motivation: A Powerful New Model, Harvard Business Review, pp. 1-7 (full article)

Dayna Morgan_Week 11 Application Assignment

Over half of the employee population in my organization is mid to late fifties (with “widget” jobs) so they are extrinsically motivated by the pension contributions and the healthcare options that the company provides (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Since it’s an aging population, employees are focused on benefits such as their retirement and healthcare.

Currently, the company contributes 14% of an employee’s pay into a pension account and money is budgeted and allocated to each employee to purchase their medical, dental, and/or vision plans.

Although, this sounds like a key motivator to many, the younger employees are extrinsically motivated for different reasons. They value the resume equity of their position and plan to use it to elevate themselves to a better paying job elsewhere which directly ties to Martin and Schmidt’s argument that companies need to keep it’s employees engaged (2010).

Yet, in both instances, employee engagement is very low.  The older employees complain that they “do” the same job every day and since they are so vested with the company that they are “sticking it out until they retire” while younger employees feel that upper management fails to support professional growth (Moore, 2011).

Inherently, it has effected customer service to our clients and stagnated major projects. Rather than help employees finding meaning in their work (Moore, 2011) the company considers it an incompetence issue and has re-structured departments several times within a year reinforcing the lack of desire and motivation of performance.

Ryan, R., and Deci, E. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology. No. 25, pp. 54-67

Martin, J., and Schmidt, C. (2010). How to Keep Your Top Talent. Harvard Business Review, pp. 3-9

Moore, K. (2011, July 6). Wharton's Cappelli On Careers[Video file].Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLmgEWw7kxM&feature=autoplay&list=UUOxcxiUNpYv7NPbxpBobVlg&playnext=1

Week 11 Application Assignment – Steve Tatum – Shaping the Future

At Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (SSC) we depend heavily on a steady influx of talented professionals that can help improve our competitiveness and meet customer demand. That's why leadership is continually focused on improving the quantity and quality of the talent pipeline -- from cultivation and employee engagement through the timely deployment of critical skills -- essentially all the workforce issues addressed in this week’s readings.

Employee engagement is a top priority, especially during the cyclical downturns in our industry (like the one we are now experiencing).  As stated by Heymann and Barrera, “when the economy is doing poorly, the threat of turnover is naturally reduced; however, employee engagement remains essential to having higher productivity than competitors” (2010, p. 3).

And there are several other dynamics influencing our workforce strategies as well. The aerospace workforce continues to age while the number of new, eligible graduates with engineering degrees continues to shrink.  As a result, our leadership is shifting from a generation that “built major institutions, most patterned after models that made sense at the time they were constructed -- pyramidal, hierarchical, based largely on command-and-control” (Erickson, 2010, p. 5) -- to new leaders that are able to operate and respond effectively to a “complex, rapidly changing environment” (Erickson, 2010, p. 5).  Other company’s objectives related to this week’s readings include:

·         Improving and leveraging our gains in diversity and inclusion

·         Enhancing top talent acquisition and deployment
·         Enhancing knowledge sharing and talent management

While SSC’s Human Resources team has embraced these challenges and implemented a number of initiatives to address them, there is much work to be done and course corrections will likely be necessary.  For example, the Communications organization has emphasized rotational assignments across the Corporation to enhance talent development.  However, one of the best practices identified in How to Keep Your Top Talent, is to “forget rote functional or business-unit rotations; place young leaders in intense assignments with precisely described development challenges” (Martin & Schmidt, 2010, p. 4).

In summary, SSC faces some real challenges in the years ahead as our government customers attempt to navigate dynamic global conditions and face tremendous budget pressures.  Given the many changes occurring in our business environment, the question we must address is:  Are we developing a motivated workforce that can boost company performance? (Nohria, Groysberg & Lee, 2008).  The insights offered by this week’s readings on rewards and motivation can help steer us in the right direction.

References

Erickson, T. (2010). The Leaders We Need Now. Harvard Business Review, 88(5), 62-66.

Heymann, J., Barrera, M. (2010). Engaging Employees in the Company's Profits and Their Own, Harvard Business School, pp. 1-28

Martin, J., & Schmidt, C. (2010). How to keep your top talent. Harvard Business Review, 88(5), 54-61.

Nohria, N., Groysberg, B., and Lee, L. (2008) Employee Motivation: A Powerful New Model, Harvard Business Review, pp. 1-7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 11 Application Assignment – Sheila de Vera

For this week’s application assignment, I interviewed Sophia Garcia, program manager at WIC (Women, Infants, Children) about how she motivates and uses rewards systems on her staff of 26 employees.

What are your responsibilities at WIC?
WIC is a supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children. It is a federally funded public health nutrition program serving the low income population. We educate the community on healthy eating and provide breastfeeding support and education. Programmatically, I develop and implement nutrition and breastfeeding education activities.  Fiscally, I am responsible for developing and maintaining the budget. I am also responsible for managing professional and paraprofessional staff. I collaborate with other community organizations involved in nutrition and physical activity so that our efforts are greater.

Why do you like working there?
I believe in WIC’s mission of providing nutrition education, breastfeeding support and education, and health care referrals to the community identified as high risk (low income, less likely to have medical insurance, seek health care, higher risk for chronic disease and lower education).

What motivates you to perform your best?
Program goals - we have a monthly caseload we need to meet. We are monitored to ensure we are meeting our caseload. Our caseload is tied to funding, so if we do not perform at a certain level, the program is at risk of losing federal funds. I also have a personal desire to do my best. I value hard work. I gain new experiences and skills and grow as a person, professional and personally, when I push myself to do my best.

What do you think motivates your staff to perform?
Their salaries, their value in helping moms, children and families in the community and their contribution to our program goals are drivers that motivate my staff.

How do you use rewards systems to motivate your staff?
As a county entity we do not have the means to provide monetary rewards such as bonuses, gym memberships etc. However, the county has a salary step increase that employees can earn as long as they have a satisfactory annual performance evaluation.
In my program, I use staff recognition. Along with my team of supervisors we recognize staff that provides excellent customer service both to clients and their fellow co-workers. To motivate my staff I also try to empower them by providing staff with the knowledge and tools to do their job. I give them opportunities to gain new skills and projects/tasks to apply the skills. I find that this helps with job satisfaction by indirectly increasing motivation and morale.

I also try to include staff in many of the program decisions I make by asking for their feedback and solutions. I encourage workgroups that include front line staff since to give the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns since they are the ones who will likely feel the impact of the changes that are made.

How do rewards systems affect morale and productivity?
I see that it increases only temporarily so it needs to be on going. I incorporate team building activities regularly into our bi-monthly staff meetings to help keep the momentum.

In the “Employee Motivation: A Powerful New Model” article, the authors described 4 drivers that affect motivation: the drive to acquire (goods, experiences), the drive to bond (feeling of belonging), the drive to comprehend (to understand the world around us), and the drive to defend (protect our loved ones, our ideas). How are you addressing these drivers amongst your staff?
Acquire goods, experiences: Like I said before, I try to give my employees the opportunity to gain new skills and projects that will allow them to apply these skills.

Feeling of belonging: I am open to staff feedback on program decisions and want them to communicate their solutions on how to improve processes here.  I also want them to see the impact of their contributions.

Understanding the world around us: I try to address this by discussing our mission and goals for the program and how each one of us contributes to meeting the goals. Also, I am transparent with staff and share what is relevant to them whether it involves program issues or fiscal/funding issues. I feel that the more informed they are the better they can perform.

Protecting loved ones, our ideas: I make a concerted effort to encourage my staff to have a say in how the program functions.  I have to develop policies and procedures and by asking for staff input and feedback it allows them to voice their ideas.  It is my responsibility to manage the program so that we are performing at the required level to avoid a reduction in funding and staff. 

References

Garcia, S. (2012, November 24), interview.

Nohria, N., Groysberg, B., and Lee, L. (2008) Employee motivation: A powerful new model.          
     Harvard Business Review.  pp. 1-7

Week 11 - Application Assignment- Tihanna McCleese

When it comes to motivating employees, sure there are “quick fix” methods to jump-start morale around the office.  The theories offered in this week’s readings sound good but are they practical and helpful in keeping the motivation alive day after day?   Can an organization ever truly ensure that each and every person is reaching his or her maximum productivity all the time? 

Answering these questions reminded me of what Spitzer (1995) says in his book, “SuperMotivation”.  In the book, Spitzer claims that ‘demotivators’, unless eliminated will negatively affect employee performance more than anything.  He defines ‘demotivators’ as factors in the workplace that can slow productivity.  ‘Demotivators’ can include office politics, stringent rules and regulations, hypocrisy, and internal competition (Spitzer, 1995).  Such factors, in my experience, often cancel out every well-planned effort to motivate employees, and sour them to the point of no return.  I firmly believe that demotivators may be to blame for motivation efforts failing in many companies. 

While I do agree that meeting the four drives as outlined by Nohria, Groysberg, & Lee (2008) as ‘acquire’, ‘bond’, ‘comprehend’, and ‘defend’ will positively promote employee performance, I argue that any and all demotivators must first be demolished, along with incorporating communication, empowerment, and recognition into the workplace. 

Integrating employee motivation into the company culture is a long-term commitment and it involves the entire organization (Spitzer, 1995).  It’s a huge task that merits close and constant examination of every department and strategies should touch every employee from the top down.   But despite it being a huge commitment, it’s a small price to pay when considering the benefits.   Employee motivation is a proven method of building company loyalty while increasing productivity.

References:

Nohria, N., Groysberg, B., & Lee, L. (2008).  Employee Motivation: A Powerful New

     Model, Harvard Business Review, pp. 1-7.

Spitzer, D. (1995).  SuperMotivation:  A Blueprint for Energizing Your Organization     

     from Top to Bottom, American Mgmt. Assn.