01 2 l Fa l
7
Fall 2017 CEO Greg Harmeyer
MATTERS
STRATEGIC CHANGE
Editors Sarah Ehrnschwender Kaitrin McCoy
p02 Big, Bad Change
Design Mike Hasselbeck Ada Kuang Kayan Moussoba Amanda Rapien
p04 Game Your Change p06 This Is Your Brain on Change
Production Allie DeCraene Phone 859.415.1000
ORGANIZATIONAL EVOLUTION
Email hello@tier1performance.com
p08 Transform Your Culture
Website tier1performance.com
p10 Embracing the People Side of Innovation
Facebook TiER1 Performance Solutions
p12 Choose Your Own "A-Thon"
YouTube tier1performance Twitter @TiER1says Instagram @tier1performance TiER1 Performance Solutions is an award winning, employee-owned consulting firm that designs and delivers custom solutions that improve organizations through the performance of people. Copyright 2017
Contents
LinkedIn TiER1 Performance Solutions
TALENT DEVELOPMENT p14 Train Less, Do More. What the DCF? p16 Want Onboarding That Drives New Hire Productivity? p18 Redefine High Performance p20 Find Your Joy
Greg
For the past 15 years, we’ve had the unique opportunity to collaborate with many of the world's best companies on helping them realize their potential and become the best they can be—through their people. From the work we do each day, we gain insights, new ideas, and innovative ways of looking at people and their performance. We’re launching Performance Matters as a collection of the best of what we're seeing, thinking, and working on, bound together on a periodic basis to share with you and your organization. We believe that high performance in organizations is a result of the collective capability and talent of people who act in the right roles, align in a structure and system that works towards a shared objective, and operate in a cohesive culture that builds trust and advances a clear mission. Integrating all that is a complex, iterative process that constantly changes as the organization evolves. It takes art, science, and very clear thinking to navigate through that complexity and find the best ways to take steps forward. We hope our first print issue of Performance Matters sparks ideas for you on how you can advance your own team and its performance. And we invite you to reach out to us and engage in the conversation around high performance. It is through these conversations that we will all learn and grow, closing the gap between the performance and the potential of our people, organizations, and communities. We look forward to hearing your thoughts, ideas, and reactions to this issue.
MESSAGE FROM GREG / PG 1
MESSAGE FROM
Meow!
RESISTANCE TO CHANGE IS NO FAIRY TALE, SO LET’S USE NEUROSCIENCE TO REWRITE THE STORY. Once upon a time, there was a company that had happy employees and mediocre business results. One day, the company announced a big change that would enable improved growth and profitability. Even though a healthier company meant more stability and increased opportunities, the employees freaked out and refused to adopt the change. The end.
by Leia McKinnon
As silly as this story seems, it doesn’t sound too far off from reality. People often resist change, even when they have something to gain from it. Why are people so afraid to let go of the past and explore new beginnings? Why do we habitually resist things that are new or different?
I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of change resistance. It’s a people problem, which makes it also a business problem. Companies spend millions of dollars each year on projects designed to change some aspect of their business. They invest time, resources, and energy to evolve, improve, and grow. However, if they don’t properly manage resistance, it can limit the effectiveness of their solutions and impact their ability to achieve a positive return on their investment. Change resistance manifests itself in many ways; it can look like anger, non-compliance, even apathy. We’ve all experienced resistance in one way or another, and I’m sure we could tell some interesting stories about how we’ve personally resisted change (or how our friends, colleagues, or spouses have). Yet, the story I want to tell is quite a different one. This story can help you understand how to help your people overcome the threat of change and embrace change instead.
For this story, we have to go way, way back to our evolutionary roots. Neuroscience tells us that all human beings experience a physiological reaction to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. Our brains evolved over time to scan our environment for anything that seems out of the ordinary. When we identify something as different than what we expect, our brain labels it as a “threat,” automatically triggering our fight-or-flight response. One of my favorite examples of threat identification is from the movie Office Space, when a company brings in a team of consultants for job-task analysis. Upon arrival, the consultants—who are both named Bob—sequester themselves in a conference room and begin interviewing employees one by one about their jobs. They ask pointed questions like, “What would you say that you do here?” The camera then pans to the nervous employee sitting across the table with a worried look on their face and sweat rolling down their forehead. The perceived threat in this situation are the Bobs. Panic spreads across the workforce as everyone’s fight-or-flight responses kick in. Employees huddle around the water cooler wondering what their motives are; as they speculate, the rumor mill is born. You’re probably familiar with the concept of fight or flight. What you might not know is that when our brains push us into this survival mode, our ability to
produce rational thoughts is impaired. Cognitive functions like problem solving and creativity decrease because our brain is preoccupied by the threat. These fight-or-flight responses coupled with decreased cognitive function are the real culprits for why many people respond to change with resistance, even when the change is in their best interest..
Rewrite the Story of Change Luckily, this is not the end of the story. There are some very simple things that you can do to minimize change resistance within your organization. Now that you understand the neurological factors that influence resistance, let’s explore the situational factors that are within your control to rewrite the story of change. When employees resist change, you can almost always count on three situational factors at play. 1. They were surprised by the change and may not fully understand it. 2. They feel angry or upset because they feel like something is being done to them, rather than with them. 3. They focus more on the perceived loss rather than the potential gain.
So, what does all of this mean in terms of change management? RULE
1
The #1 rule of change management is no surprises. When people are surprised, their survival instincts kick in, and their cognitive abilities decline. Consider using a structured approach to change that’s designed to anticipate and overcome resistance through a series of just-in-time solutions. By leveraging neuroscience and human behavior, you can anticipate the journey and minimize the impact of surprises along the way. RULE
2
Make sure to close the gap between what employees expect to happen and what actually happens. The bigger the gap, the more stress and disruption your people experience. To close the gap, communicate the expected benefits of the change early and often with truthfulness and transparency. This reduces their sense of loss and refocuses them on the positive outcomes that will result from the change.
RULE
3
Deploy the right intervention at the right time to provide people with adequate time, information, and support to help them adapt and adopt a new way of working. Engaging people who are impacted in the solution design, implementation planning, or as a change champion makes those people more willing to advocate, support, and adopt the change. (Now that’s a good story!)
about the author Leia McKinnon is a Principal Change Management Consultant and the Market Consulting Director for Denver. She loves applying brain-based principles to behavior change and helping employees deliver business value through exceptional performance. When she’s not helping clients improve performance, Leia enjoys hiking, cycling, and skiing in the Rocky Mountains with her husband and two kids.
S T R AT E G I C C H A N G E / P G 3
The Threat of Change
A
company wanted to roll out a new system across their organization that touched everyone, changing the tools they used and the processes they followed to complete their tasks. This would fundamentally change the roles of many employees. Yet, after a year of attempting to engage people in the change, when the system went live, no one knew what they were doing. People were frustrated, fed up, and unproductive. The rollout failed.
"There’s really no getting around it: change is hard"
This story probably feels eerily familiar. Maybe you’ve experienced something similar firsthand, or someone you know has. There’s really no getting around it: change is hard. That’s especially true when the success of your business depends on successfully rolling out change across an organization and making sure everyone is ready by go live.
Want to make organizational readiness fun and measurable? Incorporate games.
by Caitlin Robie, Dustin Shell, and Rich Marmura
We’ve analyzed the barriers to change and the various touchpoints between an organization and an individual on their journey to readiness. And we’ve discovered a way to successfully roll out a change and make organizational readiness fun and measurable. The Answer? Gamify Change Adoption Pairing social game mechanics with change management best practices and behavioral science can lead to a fun, measurable, and integrated approach that gamifies change adoption and organizational readiness. What we’ve learned from gamifying change is organizations can use five design principles to inspire change in their people.
Five Design Principles
1. Make it relevant to your audience.
2. Make it an experience that fits into the performer's life.
3. Make it optional with rewards that matter.
4. Make it competitive to create community.
5. Make it measureable to quantify readiness.
There’s a lot of noise and content in the workplace. Cutting through all that noise is tricky but necessary for inspiring others to participate. The trick is to make the desired change relevant to your people’s interests, goals, and responsibilities. Infusing learning with game design tactics pulls people toward your message. Inviting people to participate and providing them with choices gives them ownership over their journey and the overall narrative. When people want to participate because they see the importance and feel the relevance to their lives, engagement soars.
2. Experiences Most employees juggle jobs, families, and other responsibilities At work and beyond, they spend their time on tasks and activities that fit into their lives, and ignore ones that don’t. By following game design principles, you can craft accessible experiences that make it easier for people to engage in change. Break down large tasks into digestible experiences that are short, easy to absorb, and crafted to fit someone’s learning style and work environment. (Bonus points for also providing people with opportunities to practice the desired behaviors.)
Game on
3. Rewards Change can bring about negative emotions. People may feel out of control, uneasy, and overwhelmed with the new skills and tasks to manage. A gameful way to alleviate those feelings is creating a voluntary experience that people want to be part of, then rewarding people for participating in different ways. Tailoring rewards to people’s preferences engages different types of people in the organization. Motivate ambitious employees with leaderboards and friendly competitions; checklists and daily challenges to complete are perfect motivators for people who love crossing things off their to-do list.
4. Community Change can be an isolating experience. Yet successful change requires an entire community to work together toward a common end goal. Incorporating competitive and collaborative game mechanics help create a social community that alleviates fears and provides a support system for people to learn from. It can also facilitate conversations with management around the behavior change. Incorporate team-based competition and leaderboards so that teams depend on each other to win and succeed.
5. Measurement Worried whether everyone is really adopting the change? Take a cue from game designers and incorporate realtime data to gain immediate visibility into your organizational adoption rate. Comparing the progress of one business unit to another lets teams adjust their efforts as needed. It can also spotlight individuals who are truly championing the effort. Plus, when leaders can pinpoint readiness and engagement levels across the organization, they can mitigate potential performance issues. Quantifying organizational readiness builds confidence that everyone will be ready for the big day. Make everyone’s progress toward readiness visible and personal to motivate people to work toward the end goal.
How will you make change measurable and fun at your organization? If you want to learn more about these game design principles, download the Gaming Your Change whitepaper at potential.tier1performance.com/game-your-change.
about the authors Caitlin Robie is a Senior Solutions Change Management Consultant. She’s passionate about all things change management, and she’s successfully partnered with clients to design and execute communications and change management strategies for large system implementations. Caitlin is also a skilled researcher. In her spare time, Caitlin loves cooking food that makes people smile (and eat!). Dustin Shell is Director of Innovation at TiER1. He loves people, learning, and technology… in that order. He is passionate about combining his expertise to help people do their best work and fulfill their personal and collective potential. When Dustin isn’t designing innovative solutions, he enjoys creating music, consuming a TON of books, and spending time with his wife and daughters. Rich Marmura is a Senior Gamification Consultant based in Pittsburgh. He’s passionate about technology and how it can be used to enhance lives. Rich has a strong background in designing, developing, and managing video games, toys, and amusement park attractions. When not building the next great game, Rich loves spending time with his wife, son, and dog.
S T R AT E G I C C H A N G E / P G 5
1. Relevance
THREE TIPS FOR USING NEUROSCIENCE FOR BETTER CHANGE MANAGEMENT. Do you wish you could read someone’s mind? If you’ve ever led an organizational change, you’ve probably wanted to know exactly what your stakeholders are thinking. As far as I know, mind-reading technology is not yet available to us. Thankfully, we do have the next best thing: neuroscience, the scientific study of the human nervous system. This ever-growing field continues to expand our understanding of the brain and provide insights into how humans think, feel, and behave. Given its focus, it’s no surprise that neuroscience is now being applied to change management.
People are rational—and emotional—and impulsive. OK, quick science lesson. The human brain is the product of millions of years of evolution. It continually adapted and evolved over time to survive in constantly changing circumstances. Because of these evolutionary developments, the brain is often described as three brains in one.
Neocortex or Human Brain Develops language, is capable of vast learning, conceives of time, and plans for the future. It also mitigates the impulses of the primitive and limbic brains.
The following insights and accompanying tips won’t make you a mind reader, but they may help you become a mind translator—someone who understands what the brain thinks when faced with change and knows how to work with the brain to better facilitate change in an organization.
Limbic or Social Brain Developed in mammals to survive in a social world, such as bonding with a mother and cooperating with members of a tribe. It senses fairness and passes judgment.
Primitive or Reptilian Brain The oldest part of the brain that controls the body’s vital functions; it’s adept at sensing threats and danger.
by Jordan Rickard
Tip When planning any change, understand that you’re dealing with three brains in one person, and each brain has a different trigger. So, be sure to minimize surprises (primitive), be as equitable as possible (limbic), and create meaningful opportunities for people to conceptualize the future state (neocortex). This approach will reduce the impulsive and emotional responses of the primitive and limbic brain. It also encourages the adaptable and selfregulating capabilities of the neocortex.
Your brain uses 20 percent of your total energy every single day. To help conserve energy, the brain hardwires repeated behaviors so they become automatic, rather than making the brain “work” to complete them (which would use up precious energy). When a person learns to do something, such as typing on a keyboard, their brain develops connection points across the brain that enable their fingers to tap out letters, words, and sentences. Repeat this over and over and that person no longer has to “think” to type. Now, imagine the QWERTY keyboard is replaced with a newly designed keyboard that requires a new way of typing. The brain doesn’t like this; it invested lots of energy to enable the old way of typing. So, the brain releases noxious neurochemicals when a person attempts the new behavior, such as using the pinky finger to hit the spacebar. The brain is screaming: “Stop! That’s not how we do this,” because it wants to stay in autopilot and conserve energy.
Tip
People’s brains must develop new neural connections to enact new behaviors. This is physically draining work. Change programs must account for the time, space, and resources people need to get their brains wired for the future state.
1. Start with an idea that needs change.
2. Remember that change is hard work.
about the author
Mental models are hardwired too. Jordan Rickard is a Strategic Change Consultant based in Chicago. He has a passion for helping people and organizations navigate strategic change to become more effective, creative, and sustainable. And when he’s not providing change consulting, Jordan loves to read, write, travel (18 countries and counting), and spend time with his wife and kids.
Just like behaviors, a person’s mental model, or way of thinking, is hardwired in their brain as well. Contradictions to a mental model can be a major energy drain on the brain. To save energy, the brain either ignores the inconsistent information or seeks out confirming information. It also sends strong, pleasureinducing neurochemicals when a person confirms their way of thinking. Neuroscientists have a saying for this: “They only hear what they want to hear.”
Tip
Communicating change is a two-way street. Help your people to articulate the new organizational framework for themselves. Otherwise, their brains will either ignore the new message or only hear the parts that confirm how they already think.
3. Over time, change starts to make sense.
Neuroscience helps you translate resistance. It’s tempting to assign negative labels to people’s resistance to change: fear, stubbornness, backward thinking. When you view resistance through the lens of neuroscience, you can translate that resistance into something more human: avoiding danger, demanding fairness, protecting finite energy resources. These characteristics enabled the survival of our species. By learning how the brain functions, change practitioners can become mind translators who work with the brain, not against it, to better facilitate change.
4. When done correctly, everyone enjoys!
S T R AT E G I C C H A N G E / P G 7
Brains hardwire repeated behavior.
Clients
often ask for a best practices roadmap to create a culture of innovation, accountability, and ownership. While each organizational culture journey is unique, these best practices will help guide you on that journey.
1. Assess your culture.
Transform your culture by Tom Rausch
Before beginning any journey, it’s a good idea to understand your starting point. Issue a short survey (no more than 3–5 questions) across your organization that asks your employees about three kinds of values: 1. Values that are important to them 2. Values they see being expressed in the current culture 3. Values they believe will take the organization to the next level This survey should provide you with a detailed understanding of the personal motivations of your employees, their experience within your organization, and the direction the organization should be heading. You can use the survey data to generate meaningful conversations about the roadblocks and cultural levers that will propel your organization forward.
2. Engage a culture dialogue. After collecting and analyzing the survey data, engage in a dialogue about your findings. Include a wide cross-section of employees at all levels, functions, and locations in the conversation.
A great dialogue begins with an easy-to-understand presentation of the survey findings. Be transparent during the presentation, sharing good news as well as problems uncovered. You can then facilitate a discussion aimed at identifying two or three cultural elements or focus areas that might bring about the desired cultural transformation. Example focus areas could include leadership development, innovation, or recognition.
5. Update HR practices.
Through your dialogue, you’ll identify the right culture elements to focus on. From there, identify the desired behaviors that employees can easily understand and model. These desired behaviors will become your organization’s behavior promises.
To ensure buy-in across the organization, integrate the behavior promises and metrics into performance reviews, promotions, and hiring practices. You’ll want to fill your organization with people who share your cultural values. Hiring, rewarding, and recognizing people for embracing and embodying your culture values is essential to sustaining your desired culture.
For example, let’s say your organization wants a stronger culture of accountability. You might choose the following behavior promises: • Holds self and others accountable for behavior and results • Seeks, embraces, and freely gives constructive feedback • Freely admits mistakes, and works to fix them and learn from them
4. Create a culture measures dashboard. A culture measures dashboard is much like any other scorecard. The goal is to keep it simple and choose metrics that employees believe they can impact. The metrics should include minimum and stretch targets, and not be too easy or difficult to reach. Once developed, each team should have access to the culture measures dashboard and be included in developing the best metric for their team. For instance, a metric for caring might focus on customer satisfaction scores. A metric for leadership development might be gleaned from employee engagement scores. Align culture values, behaviors, and metrics so that everyone can understand their impact on the culture.
ER O RI OMNAANLC E E VM RN S / O R G AP N I ZFAT O AT L UTTEI O / P PG G 9 9
3. Create behavior promises.
6. Communicate, always. Although it’s number six on this list, communication efforts must begin right from the start for any cultural transformation. As soon as you announce your first culture assessment, explain your increased focus on consciously managing organizational culture. Communication should be more than one-way, top-down pronouncements (although top-level commitment is critical). Make a long-term commitment to an ongoing and deep dialogue that welcomes and encourages input from all levels of the organization.
7. Reassess culture regularly. Commit to reassessing your culture every 1–2 years. If you follow the first six best practices, you should find that your culture is moving in the right direction. You’ll discover what works well, what belongs in “maintenance mode,” and what new initiatives are needed to move your culture to the next level. You can then repeat the process over again, tweaking and adjusting behavior promises, metrics, and HR practices. Organizations mature and develop in a similar pattern to individuals, and creating a vibrant and engaging culture is a lifelong journey. It’s also one with great rewards!
about the author Tom Rausch is a Principal Consultant for Organizational Evolution and Culture Change. Prior to joining the TiER1 team, he founded Leadership Beyond Limits, where he helped CEOs improve team cohesion while developing a high-performance culture. Tom’s expertise lies in creating sustainable and scalable transformations across global enterprises.
A Q&A with three TiER1ers about innovation and trust. By Dustin Shell
I’ve been thinking a lot about the people side of innovation lately. There’s so much focus on idea generation and capture, design thinking methods, and lean startup talk, it’s easy to lose sight that behind every innovation is people! It begs the question: What’s the people side of innovation and how do we empower people to innovate? Seth Godin once said, “No organization ever created an innovation. People innovate, not companies.”
I think it’s time for organizations to own their role in innovation where people, not products or processes, are the focus. Owning the people side of innovation can seem daunting. I reached out to fellow TiER1ers Jerry Hamburg, Danny Hoyt, and Amy Fox to get their perspective on how the people functions of organizations can foster innovation and growth. Some of their insights may surprise you!
Jerry Hamburg: Organizations need a clear view of how they create and capture value: an unfiltered, unvarnished look at what they’re trying to do and who they’re trying to serve. Amy Fox: Often, L&D and HR operate in their own silo, so how they look at things is from that mindset. Just being successful in your role in those areas is about being able to think like the business.
Talk about being successful. What should success look like for organizations that want to innovate? AF: It’s about L&D, HR, and change departments being extremely business savvy and really leading with the mindset or the frame of how the business relates to success and numbers, and really being able to think and act like they’re internal clients. Danny Hoyt: You’ve got to define success. Everybody asks me, “How are we going to show success? What are the methods?” Unfortunately, when we think of the notion of success, we automatically subconsciously harken back to what the normative definition of Western success is—the acquisition of or access to capital of all kinds. That’s the default definition of success. If you reframe the notion of continual transformation and ongoing development as core components to the company’s success and growth in ROI, then it’s a really short step to tying ROI to learning and innovation.
OK, so I’ve got the right mindset for innovation and I’ve defined success for my organization. What’s next? JH: It’s hard work keeping an open and curious mind. But the really hard work comes when we step into that frame toward possibility. Most people are comfortable keeping small frames that serve their worldview, and even more people are comfortable staying on this side of the frame, that side that is known and safe. But innovation requires two actions: opening the frame and walking through it. Mindset and leadership. And leadership is activated by courage. The courage to believe you can make a difference.
What role does trust play in an organization wanting to become more innovative? DH: It’s huge. At times, there’s a real disconnect between the C-suite and their direct reports telling them everything’s rosy, and then what’s happening in the trenches. JH: Trust is a big, bold thing, and there’s two sides of it: Trust in myself and trust in somebody else. Trust is the central prerequisite for followership.
Without trust, there’s not true followership. On the side of the person who is the leader, there is trust in themselves. There’s trust in their thinking. They have risen to a level in their development where they believe in themselves. That’s the two places trust exerts the most force.
How can organizations foster trust to empower innovation? DH: It’s not even that executives have to “walk the walk”; they’ve got to communicate in a motivated and sincere way on a regular basis why their people are important to them and what is important for their organization, so that people start knowing that this is an ongoing innovation company that says, “You are in the process of becoming, as we all are.” AF: When you’re building a relationship and you want to establish trust, you have to have a really open mind, and that’s sometimes hard to do. It takes time. If I think about the people that I’ve started to really trust, in every situation, they’ve really wanted to hear and wanted to be a good listener. I feel like everybody says that, but if everybody could practice that, I think we would have a completely different result.
about the author Dustin Shell is Director of Innovation at TiER1. He loves people, learning, and technology…in that order. He is passionate about combining his expertise to help people do their best work and fulfill their personal and collective potential. When Dustin isn’t designing innovative solutions, he enjoys creating music, consuming a TON of books, and spending time with his wife and daughters.
Owning the people side of innovation. If you’re ready to embrace your role in helping the people in your organization innovate: Start with trust. Few companies realize how much their culture impacts their ability to innovate. A lack of trust can get in the way of break-through thinking, risktaking, and radical collaboration. When we trust, we share openly, create connections, and explore new possibilities together. Redefine success. There’s something cultural about having things perfect. Be relentless in your pursuit of the journey. Help your people value the process of learning and becoming the better version of themselves. When people understand that failure is expected, they’re likely to try things that will surprise and delight. Widen your frame. When we silo our thinking and goals, we limit our potential and our people. Innovation is intrinsically linked to learning, technology, and change. Function is fiction! Imagine what might happen if you shed your title to furiously focus on the needs of your business and your people. What new possibilities exist? Step through the frame. I can’t help but think of Steve Jobs’ famous quote: “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” It takes courage to shed a title, do something that might step on toes, or make you feel vulnerable… that’s why few do it. This is your opportunity to distinguish yourself and be a leader. There’s also an opportunity for all of us to be better followers of those leaders who take the first step.
O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L E V O L U T I O N / P G 1 1
How should organizations start on the journey toward being innovative?
CHOOSE YOUR OWN “A-THON” by Andy Erickson
REPURPOSING HACKATHONS TO SUIT ANY BUSINESS CHALLENGE. When you hear the word “hackathon,” you probably see a pretty clear image in your head: a room full of coders, fueled by adrenaline and energy drinks, working into the night to come up with the best application. And you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. But recently I’ve been considering whether the traditional definition of hackathon can be opened up a bit—rather, a whole lot. Last year, I helped facilitate 10 or so hackathons for a health technology company. Technology companies are full of people who know how to develop software, yet don’t get to play with the cool new stuff in their fields during their day jobs. So, these hackathons brought people within my client’s company into teams with other people they might not normally work with. The client got a great cross-pollination effect across the company as people saw what everybody else was doing, met new people, made new connections within the organization, and got opportunities to think more innovatively and create solutions they wouldn’t normally get to do in their 9-5 jobs.
What struck me, in reflecting on this recent win, was how universal a hackathon could be. Those same desires—thinking innovatively, creating new solutions, meeting new people within an organization, doing something outside the normal job— exist for everyone, not just coders. What if we redefined hackathon to see how it could solve other business challenges, even ones that don’t involve technology? We could think of them as learning events, totally open-ended and adaptable to suit different business needs. They could be totally cross-functional, bringing together process people, and systems people, and business people, and talent people. The sky’s the limit. So, are you ready to find out what type of event can best help you innovate and solve your top business challenges? Follow our guide.
TECHNOLOGY
STRATEGY
TALENT
H
TECH
What’s your competition look like?
R
We’re the popular choice
B
TEAMWORK
Is it a lack of buy-in or a breakdown in process?
Are your people, systems, and processes on the same page? Totally
B
Not so much
A
MY PEOPLE
YOU BET
Do they follow the right process?
Do your people adopt and follow them?
PEOPLE
Super competitive
PROCESS
Who’s impacted: your people or your clients/customers?
Is your strategy supported by your systems and processes?
Developing new tech, or bringing people up to speed?
O R G AP N ER I ZFAT O RI OMNAANLC E VM O AT L UTTEI O RN S / PG 13
PEOPLE
Hiring and developing talent, or fostering teamwork?
Yep
B
Always
B
Oops
A
Ehhh...
A
NOT YET
S
MY CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS Do you own every step of the customer experience
No buy-in
A
Yes
Q
Process breakdown
S
No
B
H
S
Q
HACKATHON
SOLVE-A-THON
QUAL-A-THON
Focuses on software development and computer programming to produce prototypes and proofs of concept. Hackathons are the top choice for quickly producing software technologies for various business applications.
Gets to the heart of any business problem in a matter of days to quickly iterate a new solution. With Solve-A-Thons, you can get insight from internal SMEs ASAP, rather than wade through normal processes.
Connects the dots between work done inside the company and the people who are impacted by it: the customers. Qual-A-Thons are a great option for identifying setbacks, delays, or general frustrations with customer service.
R
A
B
RECRUIT-A-THON
ALIGN-A-THON
BLANK-A-THON
Highlights the unique talents, resources, and capabilities of a company to help draw vital talent. Recruit-A-Thons show potential new hires what it’s like to work with talented people at an innovative company.
Creates opportunities to get everyone on the same page, speaking the same language, and following the same best practices. Align-A-Thons can align people, processes, systems, and tools to one vision.
We’ve identified five of the most common A-Thons, but it’s by no means an exhaustive list. Let us know what A-Thon you create and how it helped you address your unique business challenge!
about the author Andy Erickson is a Senior Solutions Consultant at TiER1. He loves to bring out the best performance in people, showcasing the value they bring to their work (and unlocking that value for their organization). In his spare time, Andy enjoys spending quality time with his wife and three daughters and tinkering under the hood of his car in the garage.
When it comes to training people, we try to operate under the mantra of “do unto others as you’d have done unto you.” Who wants to spend hours learning how to point and click on a screen that’s pretty intuitive to begin with or that you’re only going to access twice a year? That’s why we use something called the DCF analysis method to make strategic decisions about what needs to be trained, what doesn’t, and what needs extra attention.
TRAIN LESS, DO MORE. WHAT THE DCF?
The Degree of Difficulty, Criticality, and Frequency (DCF) Matrix is a really effective and efficient decision-making tool for determining what needs to be formally trained and what type of intervention is most appropriate for that training. The DCF analysis method uses three criteria—Difficulty, Criticality, and Frequency—to determine if procedures should be trained formally or informally. Filtering training content through this decision tree is an effective way to rank importance of tasks, eliminate unnecessary seat time, and reduce training costs. The decision-making process is broken down into four steps:
WHEN IT COMES TO TRAINING, REMEMBER THE GOLDEN RULE:
DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU’D HAVE DONE UNTO YOU. by Kerry Headley and Anna Oskorus
STEP
Evaluate the Difficulty level of the content to learn/perform. Rate as Low, Average, or High.
STEP
Evaluate the Criticality of the task to the role. Rate as either Yes or No.
STEP
Evaluate the Frequency level of the task. Rate as Low, Average, or High.
STEP
Decide to Over Train (OT), Train (T) or No Train (NT).
NO
D E C IS IO N
NT
AVERAGE
YES
HIGH
NO
YES
LOW
MED
HIGH
LOW
MED
HIGH
LOW
T
NT
NT
T
NT
NT
OT
T: Train | NT: No Train | OT: Over Train* NO TRAIN: Use informal training options (such as training guides, quick start guides, print support materials, or online help) to support performance on the job as needed.
NO
MED HIGH
OT
T
LOW
MED
HIGH
LOW
MED
HIGH
NT
NT
NT
OT
OT
T
Kerry Headley is Managing Director at TiER1 with extensive experience designing eLearning programs, instructor led training, system and process documentation, and EPSS systems. In addition, she leads TiER1’s market development. And when she’s not optimizing learning solution value, she plays golf as often as she can.
*The need to Over Train may also be a good indication that supplemental training aids, job aids, electronic performance support systems (EPSS), etc. may also be warranted.
TRAIN: Use formal training options, such as instructor-led training (ILT), eLearning, or webinars to prepare audiences prior to using the system.
You can document the DCF analysis on an Excel spreadsheet and detail tasks and people/roles that perform those tasks. This spreadsheet then becomes an artifact that can be referenced throughout the training initiative and post training as a reflection tool.
YES
OVER TRAIN: Use a combination of formal and informal options to deliver training prior to using the system and to reinforce performance on the job.
A DCF analysis is not for the faint of heart. It’s an investment of time at the front end, but it’s well worth it when you see how much time you can save for your performers overall. You’ll be able to streamline the training process for them and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your programs—and that will make everyone happy.
Anna Oskorus is a Principal Learning Consultant who is passionate about helping people learn. She has significant experience in consulting, learning strategy, instructional design, and education. She loves spending time with her son. She might surprise you with her ability to juggle…both literally and metaphorically.
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FR E Q U E N C Y O F P E R FO R M A N C E
C R ITIC A LLITY
DI F F I C ULTY
about the authors
Whether you’re hiring 500 people or just five, you probably have an onboarding program (and for good reason). Great onboarding creates higher engagement1, increases productivity, improves retention2, and impacts the connection to purpose, people, and values3. Yet, as organizations work to improve their onboarding experiences for new hires, I’ve seen this scenario played out many times. It's Emily's first day at a new job and she has back-to-back meetings from 9-5. She's given a 100-page binder to use as a reference tool throughout onboarding. Emily gets a tour of the office from her “onboarding buddy,” an employee who doesn’t believe in the company's mission. Emily’s manager asks her to complete a compliance checklist, on top of four more days of meetings. Emily goes home tired and unsure of what's to come. To take their onboarding to the next level, Emily’s organization updated their onboarding program with a web app to aid new hires.
PROBLEM SOLVED—MAYBE. There are lots of trendy onboarding upgrades, from a new app to an onboarding session held at the beach. But trendy onboarding doesn’t guarantee increased productivity (and it’s not always the most cost-effective choice). So how do you create a great onboarding program that enables your people to be productive sooner? Whether you opt for trendy or traditional, incorporate these four factors in your onboarding: 1. Autonomy, 2. Tools and resources, 3. People, and 4. Measurement. by Grant Simmons
1 Barrett Rose & Lee, 2010 2 SHRM, 2010 3 SuccessFactors, 2014
PROVIDE THE RIGHT TOOLS AND RESOURCES. GIVE THEM AUTONOMY. Highly structured onboarding (with back-to-back meetings all day) can leave newcomers disoriented and overwhelmed, which isn’t a great first impression. On the flip side, autonomy, or the freedom of external control, enables newcomers to take charge of their transition and manage their time. More autonomy often equals faster growth and higher retention. A study conducted at Cornell University found that, compared to businesses using command and control management, businesses that gave employees autonomy grew four times faster and experienced only one-third of the turnover. Autonomy in onboarding: •Provides clear and simple guardrails, so folks don’t get stuck or make big mistakes early. •Divides information into personalized goals (instead of large tasks) that enable newcomers to manage their transition. •Gives newcomers choices, not processes, in determining their onboarding schedule.
New hires receive plenty of tools. Sometimes these tools are overwhelming, too trendy, or not the right fit for their onboarding journey. (Remember Emily’s 100-page binder?) The right onboarding tools: •Are user-friendly, easy to find and navigate, and enjoyable to use, creating a great user experience. •Provide powerful indicators of progress, giving newcomers insight into their onboarding journey. •Engage new hires in their learning experiences, teaching them about the company, the team, and their role. When giving your newcomers tools and resources, empower them to use their autonomy to pick the right tools for them (and explore some that might be a better fit down the road).
CONNECT NEWCOMERS WITH GREAT PEOPLE. When new hires feel welcomed and accepted starting on day one, they tend to create lasting relationships beyond their manager. But too often, organizations connect their newcomers with the wrong people, including low performers and non-impact leaders.
Creating strong social connections for your newcomers is important for retention. As humans, the more social connections we have, the harder it is to leave those connections4. Plus, the more people that your new hires can leverage during their transition, the better you can enable their autonomy. To help new hires feel welcomed and accepted: •Provide networking opportunities to connect newcomers with your existing team. •Connect them to high performers, key leaders, and other newcomers. •Ask current employees or recent newcomers to create a list of the top five people to get to know. Then, help new hires meet those people during their first months.
performance metrics for measuring a new hire’s progress, communicate those expectations to your newcomer often.
EMPOWER YOUR NEW HIRE PRODUCTIVITY. The best onboarding solution will fit for your company and culture and will serve your new hires well. No matter what format you choose, you can improve the newcomer experience by giving them greater autonomy, providing effective tools and resources, connecting them with great people, and helping them measure their performance. This allows your new hires to own their progress, do their best work, and stay with your organization longer.
MEASURE THEIR PERFORMANCE. To help your newcomers successfully manage their progress, help them measure their performance starting day one using meaningful metrics based on autonomy, tools and resources, and people. •Autonomy: progress towards onboarding goals •Tools: proficiency of tools being used •People: quantity and quality of interactions with others These are just suggestions; you're the expert on which metrics make sense in your organizational culture and business context. Once you find the right 4 The Academy of Management Annals Vol. 2, No. 1, 2008, 231–274.
about the author Grant Simmons is a Talent Development Consultant at TiER1’s Denver office. With experience in global talent management, learning, and organizational development, he's passionate about improving the performance of people. In addition to talent consulting, Grant loves to compete in triathlons, teach at University of Denver, and spend time with his wife and two daughters.
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Autonomy increases engagement by allowing newcomers to manage and take charge of their onboarding experience. When new employees are given autonomy, they become active participants in their onboarding, instead of passive contributors. (And active participation typically means higher engagement overall.)
Experience Driven
SIX PRINCIPLES THAT CAN EMPOWER HIGH PERFORMANCE AT YOUR ORGANIZATION by Jerry Hamburg & Danyele Harris-Thompson An investment in onboarding communicates your commitment to help your people succeed. Yet, we’ve found making that investment successful requires six performance principles for you to consider. Those principles are being experience driven, leader led, strengths based, brain focused, culture calibrated, and performer centered. You can use these performance principles as a framework to ensure your onboarding is holistic and effective. (Bonus: Each principle works for just about any performance solution you can design.)
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Performance at the moment of need is vital. Creating an experience to deliver at the moment of need helps people behave and act differently for the right reasons. The experience of learning is just as important as the content. When Navy divers learned one skill in a dry setting and another in a wet setting, their ability to recall and transfer knowledge differed greatly depending on the environment they learned in. So, be sure to include role- and context-specific content like scenarios, situational learning, and hands-on activities.
Brain Focused
4
People are complex and messy—yet, neuroscience can teach us about how our brains process information. By leveraging how the brain works best, we can create memorable and effective experiences. For instance, our brains devour glucose. Don’t ask people to process for eight hours straight; they’ll be totally spent. Another neuroscience no-no? Including too much content. Context is king. Rather than listing fact after fact, weave a narrative through information. That’s brain-focused onboarding.
Performer Centered
2 3
Leadership matters. By empowering leadership behaviors at all levels of the organization, individuals can define a reality aligned with the organization’s desired state.
All work starts with people. Great organizations are comprised of good people performing together at their best. Aligning values and beliefs at an individual level can drive engagement, which drives behaviors and, ultimately, performance.
We subscribe to leadership qualities, but the most important one is living the standard or ideal you promote. Organizations go in the direction of their leaders. Leadership can engage and excite new hires—so use the opportunity to connect them to the organization before they get busy with their everyday work.
Start by developing an empathetic mind. This means putting the person first and putting their needs equal to what’s best for the organization. This goes against conventional wisdom. But this mindset will draw out the very best in people, ultimately benefiting the organization.
Culture Calibrated
Strengths Based
We believe in culture as a strategy. But the ideal Marine Corps culture might not work in the Peace Corps. Finding the right calibration helps get people to where they want to be.
When people start with what they’re good at, they feel strong, capable, and ready to tackle any challenge. That builds momentum and positive ROI, so it’s a win-win for individuals and organizations. Helping people understand why they were hired, what strengths they bring to a team, and how the team will use those strengths helps people see how they contribute to the team’s success.
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It’s important to make sure the solution fits the culture. Don’t have an onboarding strategy that is overly procedural and constrictive if you’re trying to encourage a culture of innovation!
about the authors
Danyele Harris-Thompson is a Principal Change Management Consultant and Strategist with 15+ years' experience developing people-centered solutions that help organizations achieve their goals. Danyele is relationship-focused and loves to check in with former clients. When not designing high-performing solutions, Danyele enjoys spending time with her sons.
Jerry Hamburg is Vice President of Solution Services at TiER1. For over 20 years, Jerry has crafted and led results-driven performance solutions in talent development, organization effectiveness, knowledge/learning systems, and strategic change for more than 100 clients, including Fortune 500 companies and non-profits. He loves helping people do their best work.
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Leader Led
Applying these performance principles when you design your next solution—whatever that may be—can ensure a holistic solution that allows your performers to perform at their best. To learn more about these principles, download our whitepaper at potential.tier1performance.com/redefine-high-performance.
Joy
Find your
about the author
Susan Devlin is a Senior Solutions Learning Consultant at TiER1. She loves creating effective learning solutions, especially when she gets to write for her clients or maximize a team’s talent. When not at work, Susan enjoys spending time with her family, watching high-quality TV dramas, and singing.
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FOUR POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY PRACTICES TO HELP YOUR TEAM FLOURISH.
Workplace stress is everywhere, and it’s expensive. The American Psychological Association estimates that more than $500 billion and 550 million workdays are lost each year because of job-related stress. And that’s not to mention the health problems (physical and mental) that stress can cause. Luckily for us, positive psychologists have been studying ways of reducing stress and increasing our joy. Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes us flourish as human beings. Mind work is like body work. You won’t become fit with one trip to the (mind) gym. But over time, you can rewire your brain to feel better. Here are four practices based in positive psychology that you can start doing today.
Meditation
Gratitude
Strengths
Philanthropy
Meditation is a powerful antidote to depression. A 2014 Johns Hopkins University study showed meditation to have as strong an effect for treating depression and anxiety as antidepressant medication. If you’re looking for a simple way to get started, check out free apps such as Calm or Headspace.
Since starting a habit of meditation a year ago, I’ve found that I’m happier and I appreciate living my life. I’ve been cultivating my sense of joy and peace even further by actively practicing gratitude.
When it comes to self-improvement for you or your team, do you typically focus on overcoming a weakness? Well, self-improvement through the lens of positive psychology looks a little different. If we learn about our strengths and leverage them more in our work and play, our happiness level (and productivity) can increase.
When it comes to developing a sense of meaning, helping others can have a lasting positive impact. When you do something for another person, the reward centers of your brain are activated. The impact is magnified if you match your giving with something you are passionate about, or if you volunteer using your strengths.
Research on the CliftonStrengths assessment has found that, when an individual can identify and understand their strengths, they gain self-confidence, become more productive, make positive life choices, and improve interpersonal relations.
Philanthropy also provides physical benefits. Studies show that volunteering can lower our risk of depression and Alzheimer’s disease. Depending on what you do while volunteering, you can also burn more calories. A 2005 report from Stanford University found that people who volunteer live longer (and probably happier) lives.
I started meditating regularly about a year ago. Meditation is the simplest, and most difficult, thing I’ve ever tried to do. You sit in a chair, close your eyes, focus on your breath, and don’t think. It’s much easier said than done, but it has had a powerful impact on my health. I’ve seen a marked difference in my ability to focus, my stress level, and my general sense of well-being.
Practicing gratitude is simple, yet powerful. Write down five things you’re grateful for every day. It may seem Pollyannaish, but just the practice of looking for the positive on a regular basis retrains your brain. To bring gratitude into the workplace, begin team meetings by sharing what you’re thankful for about the team or project. This will set the stage for more productive collaboration.
This magazine only scratches the surface of our performance-related content. We really geek out on this stuff, and we’d love to share our thinking with you.
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TiER1 Performance Solutions is an employee-owned consulting firm that designs and delivers solutions in the talent development, strategic change, and organizational evolution space. Our award-winning solutions help improve organizations through the performance of their people to build a better world.