hrpeople

Middle Managers Spread Thin as Organizational Structure Flattens

Erik Samdahl | i4cp — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:08:00 -0700

If leaders feel stretched today, it's only going to get worse in the future, indicates new research by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp). Finding structural efficiencies by expanding spans of control has become a necessity in the current economic climate. However, the i4cp study shows that flattening organizational structure doesn't necessarily result in a competitive advantage. While there are advantages, organizational restructuring may lead to greater stress, disengagement and burnout among middle managers.

The member-requested Organizational Structure and Spans of Control study reveals little difference between high-performance organizations and lower performing ones. Most companies are responding to the realities of the economy and won't see a competitive advantage from flattening their structure. Still, the shift represents a matter of competitive necessity and, in many cases, survival.

According to the study, leaders at all levels are dealing with larger teams than five years ago and many companies expect the number of reporting employees to increase in the future. Over 35% of managers in large companies already have 11 to 25 employees reporting to them, and 75% of companies expect those numbers to rise or remain the same in the future.

"Companies looking to further flatten their organizational structures need to weigh efficiency and agility gains against disengagement and burnout among middle managers - or all managers, for that matter," said David Wentworth, Senior Analyst at i4cp.

Middle managers are often the hardest hit since expanding spans of control at multiple levels of the organization exponentially enlarges the number of people they are both directly and indirectly accountable for managing. Middle managers, the key players for successful strategy execution, "report dramatically lower levels of contentment than their more senior colleagues do, as well as less of a desire to stay with their current employers," according to a 2009 McKinsey report.

Through its research, i4cp uncovered important benchmarking data for effective spans of control, which is now available to i4cp member companies. The benchmarks examine the average number of vice presidents, directors and managers based on organization size as well as the median spans of control for each of these management layers. This data is currently available to i4cp member companies via the Corporate Restructuring Knowledge Center.

For example, the study determined that the average number of management levels in large companies (10,000 employees or more), from the CEO down to individual contributors, is seven.

The i4cp Organizational Structure and Spans of Control study was conducted in August 2010. The full results of this survey are available to i4cp member companies in both report and Interactive Data format.

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What is the Future of HR?

Jay Jamrog | i4cp — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:01:00 -0700

Many years ago I was quoted in the infamous Fast Company article "Why We Hate HR." Even though the article is 5 years old, I continue to see a chorus of authors and HR naysayers who essentially say the same thing: HR is not strategic.

Despite the negativity, all of these articles make note of the fact that organizations today are aware of the growing importance of human capital and the need to leverage that asset to build and sustain a competitive advantage. Yet they typically criticize HR for not meeting that challenge, just as the Fast Company article did: "HR is the corporate function with the greatest potential - the key driver, in theory, of business performance - and also the one that most consistently under delivers." As the author pointed out, HR professionals "aren't particularly interested in, or equipped for, doing business." If true, that's a real problem for businesses.

Into this debate comes a steady chorus of so-called "experts" who counsel HR that, if they want to get the respect they deserve, they need to step up, get a seat at the table and become a full partner in the development and implementation of the business strategy. Although there is widespread acceptance of this approach, progress towards this elusive goal of becoming a strategic business partner has been slow.

Despite over 20 years of rhetoric devoted to this topic, today - according to recent i4cp research - less than one quarter of HR functions consider themselves to be strategic business partners. The number improves only slightly when we segment by high market performing organizations. But, even in these top organizations, only one third reports that they are full partners in developing and implementing business strategy.

This begs the question: Are the critics right about the HR profession, or is the goal of adding value by becoming a strategic business partner and getting a seat at the table the wrong strategy for HR? At i4cp, we work with many organizations where HR is truly respected for the value they bring to the business. So what are they doing differently?

Next: Keep Reading >>

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To answer that question we interviewed dozens of CHROs in high market performing organizations. When we asked about the goal of becoming a strategic business partner and getting a seat at the table, their responses were almost unanimous: They are tired of the subject. Indeed, they believe that trying to achieve the role of strategic business partner and complaining about not having a seat at the table is doing more harm than good because it sets up unnecessary expectations for the HR function that may be unachievable.

Instead, they point out that they are gaining respect and adding value by having a laser focus on the execution of the business strategy. And, at first glance, the data seems to support this approach. When asked about HR's role with respect to the business strategy, the top three responses were all related to implementing the strategy:

1. HR helps plan and implement the strategy

2. HR helps design the organizations structure to implement the strategy

3. HR help assess the organization's readiness to implement the strategy

Over half of the respondents in high market performing companies indicated that those three implementation roles were the most important for HR with respect to strategy to a high or very high extent. One of the interviewees suggested that HR holds a unique position in organizations today, a position that allows them to see all the various points of view (marketing, financial, operations and IT) and can play the role of consolidator of the perspectives. At that point they can facilitate the strategic discussion to find common ground.

So, what is the future of HR with respect to the business strategy? Is it as a strategic business partner? Or an implementer of the strategy after it is developed? Or is the future of HR to be a consolidator and facilitator?

Next: 10 Worst HR Practices >>

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The Transparency Test

Sharlyn Lauby | HR Bartender — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 10:52:00 -0700

A little while back, I talked about how transparency seems to have faded from our conversations both on and off social media. One of the reasons for this could be that we don't really know what to look for in terms of transparency. It got me thinking. How do we know if an organization is operating in a transparent manner?

So I started a list. Here's what I came up with:

No surprises. Not being open, particularly with regard to how money is spent, could be a dead giveaway. I'm not talking about the $4 spent on a box of staples, here. If you're involved with an organization that has a defined process for budgeting money, selecting vendors and expense allocations, chances are you should know all about commitments to these things long before someone signs on the dotted line.

Showing respect. This can take many forms, of course. I can say my doctor has no respect for my time when he makes me wait 90 minutes to see him (hmmm ... maybe he's not transparent). But, what I'm really talking about here is making an effort to do what's right for the customer, employee, volunteer, etc. If an organization is just doing whatever is easiest or it appears there's a hidden agenda behind their decisions, it's possible they aren't being fully transparent.

Being authentic. We all know that marketers love to sell the sizzle – build the hype. But, is all of it based on truth? After Apple released the iPhone 4G, it was reported the phone had some antenna problems. Apple's initial claim was that it was a software issue. After a media frenzy, it was discovered that indeed it was the antenna. If you're involved with an organization that claims to have your best interest at heart, do all of their decisions and actions support that claim?

Open communication. I've known organizations where their leadership team could only talk as a group – not individually. Seriously. And there are companies that have to justify their actions (spin doctoring) and almost always talk through a hired third party. If each leader in an organization can't openly address questions or issues from their customers or employees, it's possible they're being less than transparent.

This isn't an exhaustive list, of course. But it highlights some things we can all look for. Remember, we all have the power to embrace and support organizations that operate openly and show us the respect we deserve. And we also have the power to walk away from those that don't.

How do you define transparent behavior?

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Selection vs. Development Assessments

Dan McCarthy | Great Leadership — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:50:00 -0700

This post is written for the everyday manager, HR manager, coach, or consultant that doesn’t have the time or interest to learn about validation, reliability, confirmatory factor analysis, correlation coefficients, and adverse impact. However, you’re using assessments, and you know just enough to be dangerous. Oh yeah, that pretty much describes me. Maybe you too.

I’ve written about assessments for leadership development before. While there are lots of them to choose from, the common ones used for development tend to be 360 degree assessments (multi rater) and personality preferences (DISC, Kolbe, Hogan, FIRO-B).

Most of my work involves development assessments. That is, the manager takes an assessment, the results go back to the manager, and a coach helps to interpret the results and come up with a development plan.

Here is where I see managers and organizations get into potential trouble: they want to take that favorite development assessment and use it to make selection decisions. They may get a copy of the assessment from a naive or unethical HR manager or coach, or, they might just "ask" the individual directly for a copy.

In most cases, it’s done with good intentions. Managers want to make a smart hiring or promotion decision, so they are trying to learn as much as they can about the candidate. Also, if they do end up hiring the person, they can get a jump-start on their development.

I’m guessing some of you are already doing this, even if you’ve been warned not to.

So what’s the harm?

Here’s the problem:

I’ll start with the legal/HR stuff you’ve probably already heard: if it’s not tested for "validity" (it measures what it’s supposed to measure) and "reliability" (it’s consistent over time), you could get your #%* taken to court and sued.

A disgruntled candidate could claim that you used the results of that assessment to make your hiring decision and it was bogus. Therefore, selection assessments require a stack of research and are held to a much higher standard than your average free online personality assessment or horoscope. And let’s face it – if someone takes one of these things for development – and it’s bogus – who cares? However, if someone doesn’t get hired or promoted because or it, it’s a big deal.

Next: Keep Reading >>

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It’s been my experience that "we could get sued" doesn’t always stop a lot of maverick managers from taking risks. Well, good for you. So let me give you a more compelling reason: if you use an assessment that has not been "benchmarked" to the position you’re hiring for, you could end up making a stupid hiring decision.

That is, you really don’t know what the candidate’s assessment profile is telling you. You may end up favoring somebody because of personal preferences (or bias) - that have nothing to do with performing well in the job.

The concept of benchmarking is really pretty simple. It works better when you have a lot of incumbents already in the position you are hiring for. You just need to administer the assessment to the top 10 performers and the bottom 10 performers (without telling them that they are the 10 worst of course). Then, look for differences between the best and worst performers, and establish an ideal profile for the position. That way, you’ll identify the stuff that really matters for success in that specific job.

Make sure you have benchmark for each job, even if you’re using the same assessment. A success profile for an engineer looks very different than one for a sales role.

If a candidate falls above or below the ideal profile, it does not mean they couldn’t do the job – it just means it could be harder for them. If anything, it gives you an idea of what you need to poke at during the interview process.

Now, you could use the results of a selection assessment for development if you end up hiring the candidate. However, usually selection reports don’t include that kind of detailed information –you’ll need to purchase a development report for an additional cost.

BTW, for those of you that that are the extreme other end of the continuum - that is, that organizations should NEVER use personality assessments for selection - you're wrong. Most organizations use them, and as long as they are benchmarked (validated), it's perfectly OK. Except for the MBTI - which measures psychological type..., not personality. Like I said, just enough to be dangerous. (-:

Finally, a manager should never use the results of any one assessment – even one that’s properly benchmarked – to make a hiring decision. That’s just plain lazy and ineffective. Assessments should also be combined with good old-fashioned selection interviewing and reference checking.

I hope this helps demystify the difference between development and selection assessments. Yes, assessments are can be good tools for development and selection - just don’t get the two of them mixed up, or you won’t be doing yourself or your company any favors.

Next: Outrageous Hiring Practices >>

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Whatever Happened to Transparency?

Sharlyn Lauby | HR Bartender — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:39:00 -0700

You remember transparency, don't you? Sure you do! Everyone was talking about it several months ago. It came right along with being on social media and operating openly in our communications. The idea was, to be successful, particularly on social media, you needed to be transparent – or, open, honest, and respectful in your interactions with others.

Funny thing, though . . . I don't hear anyone talking about transparency anymore. I wonder why. Could it be that:

1. We're all just sick of the word. The word itself has been tossed around so much just hearing it makes us run screaming for cover. Then some trendy magazine claims the word is passé so we drop it like a pair of Crocs. But since being transparent is still important, we're continuing to hold individuals and organizations accountable for operating in an open and honest manner. Just, please, don't mention "that word" again!

2. We've tried it without success. Transparency was huge during the last big election and the word was used a lot by individuals running for office and the organizations supporting them. Yet, crisis of trust still frequently occur. And those businesses and even social media platforms we once thought were high on the transparency scale might not be living up to that reputation.

3. It's too much work to be transparent so we don't even bother to try. I'm thinking there are plenty of organizations that want the benefits social media participation offers without the hassle of being transparent. After all, there's money to be made. A little spin doctoring can't hurt. And who wants to be totally open and honest anyway? It will only hurt feelings and burn bridges.

Of course, if the reason transparency has faded from view is #1, that's okay. But, what if it's #2 or even #3? Should we give up on our expectation of transparency? Should we still welcome and engage with just anyone on social media even though they show no evidence of operating in a transparent manner? And if we do, is operating in a legal or ethical manner out the window next?

Maybe it's time we revisited the concept of transparency – if not at least the word. Let's take a hard look at the organizations we interact with, on and off social media. Renew our commitment to hold them accountable, demanding respect and open dialogue. After all, it's still our hard-earned money that sustains them. And if an organization fails our scrutiny, we need to then look at the organizations that support them, and maybe even the individuals involved.

Perhaps the reason the "T-word" has faded from view is because, after all this time and talk, we don't really know what to look for from the individuals or organizations we interact with. Maybe we need some sort of guide . . hmmm, I'm thinking there's another post in the works.

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5 Reasons Why Nothing Has Changed in Your Organization

Roberta Chinsky Matuson | HR Matters — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:52:00 -0700

Business leaders complain all the time that nothing seems to have changed in their organizations, despite their best efforts to make things happen. Yet they continue to do the same things and receive the same results. Well, it's no wonder why nothing has changed!

Here are five reasons why your progress may have stalled.

1. You have people on board who aren't pulling their weight.

If you've ever ridden on a bicycle built for two with someone who isn't doing much pedaling, then you know what it's like to try and move forward with someone who isn't pulling their weight. It's exhausting! Take a look around your organization and do an honest assessment. Who is peddling hard and who is coasting? Then make a commitment to remove those people who aren't doing much of anything. Now try moving forward again and notice the difference.

2. You've failed to invest in your firm or your people.

It's easy to complain how things are falling apart, yet you haven't made any investments in your company or your people in years. People are not going to become stronger managers and develop better relationships with your customers by osmosis. These are skills that need to be built and continually reinforced. Loosen your belt and start investing in your people. It shouldn't be too long before you begin seeing changes.

3. You have a hard time delegating.

It's difficult, if not impossible, to move your business forward when you are still in the middle of daily operations. You hired people to help you, right? Then let them do just that, and notice how much time you now have available to grow your business!

4. You really have no idea where you are going.

I recently experienced this myself when my husband and I were driving through Tuscany. Yes, the scenery was wonderful, but after driving past the same church three times within a two-hour span, it was obvious to me that we needed a destination, even if it was just a gelateria! You will never get to a specific place in your business if you don't have a destination in mind. It's a good idea to look at your business every six months or so. This will allow you ample time to make course corrections so you don't find yourself circling back to the place where you started.

5. You don't implement recommendations.

You surround yourself with smart people and you ask for their recommendations. Sometimes you even pay for this advice. Yet you never implement any of these recommendations. Is it any wonder that nothing has changed?

I understand that change is hard and that sometimes you'll experience even more pain before things get better. But in the end, isn't it better to have tried something than to have done nothing at all?

Next: 10 Mistakes Business Owners Make >>

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Hanging on to Health Insurance

Lorrie Lykins | i4cp — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:10:00 -0700

i4cp member Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of employer benefits, announced this week that a survey it conducted in June found that most U.S. employers (84%) "…expect to revisit their health care benefit strategy this year, following the passage of health care reform legislation."

That's not surprising in light of the persistent annual double-digit increases in health care costs and the near demise of institutions such as Ford and GM, which largely suffered from slow strangulation due to monster health-related costs of employees and retirees.

Something's got to give. And seeing how - for larger employers - the reform legislation's penalty for not providing health insurance to employees will be less costly than actually providing coverage, dropping the benefit may seem like the best bet and in some cases, the only way to survive. So revisiting the issue makes sense. What employers will ultimately decide to do is anybody's guess. But the idea that someday - not far from now - employer-sponsored health care coverage will be a thing of the past is not that far-fetched.

No way, you say? Trust me. Time will pass, dust will settle, things will change. Remember pension plans? Remember when it was acceptable to smoke indoors pretty much wherever you pleased? It's difficult now to imagine, but people used to smoke everywhere - in the movie theater, in the grocery store, in restaurants, the library, college classrooms, even in hospitals. The days when hospital workers tapped their cigarettes into the overflowing ashtrays found at most nursing stations were not that long ago; the last time I saw smoking inside a hospital was in the mid-1990s. But the tide of public perception turned, a social revolution took place and it will again when it comes to ideas about health insurance, health care and who should be responsible for it.

The Fidelity study found that almost half (49%) of smaller employers (500 employees or less) anticipate significant increases in health care costs in the short term, while just 25% of larger employers (500 employees or more) indicated the same concern. This is probably because no one really knows how things will shake out right now.

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"There is a lot of confusion out there about the real impact of the health care legislation and the accompanying costs," said Sunit Patel, senior vice president of Fidelity's Benefits Consulting services. "Depending on a company's strategy in designing its future health plans, cost increases can be minimized."

What will those cost-saving strategies look like? Employers will likely step up wellness programming to keep employees healthy and to help manage chronic issues, and many will likely opt for high deductible plans and HMOs. But that's only for now. The tension that's currently building feels like the last few seconds of a breath-holding contest. Who will be the first major employer to give in to the pressing weight of employee health coverage costs? Time will tell.

What's in it for employers who continue to offer health insurance? It's a factor in recruitment and retention of talent. And a healthier, happy workforce is more productive. But none of this may matter once the first Fortune 500 Company makes the decision to drop the benefit. Others will likely follow, and they'll do so swiftly. It will become, like the lean, cut to the bone staffs of many organizations these days, the new and permanent normal.

What changes does your organization plan on making to the health care benefits they currently offer? Has there been a serious discussion on dropping them altogether? Has this come up as a concern among your employees?

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Does HR Have to Keep it Confidential?

Alison Green | Ask A Manager — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:17:00 -0700

A reader writes:

I had a conversation with the HR Director about something happening in my department. She went to my boss with the issue, citing me as the source. This was not an official complaint by me, as we were not in her office but in the lunchroom. However, I considered conversations with HR professionals to be in confidence. Was I in error?

HR people aren't doctors or priests; there's no confidentiality statute and you shouldn't assume confidentiality when talking to them, even if you're at lunch. Even if you're talking to them when you run into them at the grocery store over the weekend.

HR is there to serve the company; their loyalty and responsibilities are to the employer. If they hear information that they judge needs to be shared or used to address a situation, their job obligates them to do that. A parallel: Imagine you're a computer programmer and you learn there's a serious bug in the software you're working on, but you do nothing. You'd be being negligent and not doing your job, right? It's the same thing with HR.

Now, in some cases, you can talk to HR in confidence if you explicitly work out an understanding of confidentiality before you share. But even then, it might not really be kept confidential. I've seen plenty of cases where a HR person judged that the best interests of the company required that the information be passed along, even after promising confidentiality to the employee.

Additionally, there are cases where HR is actually required to report things, no matter how vehemently the employee requests confidentiality: They have to report any concerns about harassment or illegal behavior, even if you beg them not to.

Now, should it be this way? Is HR in the wrong to operate like this? The reality is, HR is there to serve the interests of the employer. To the extent that they also serve the interests of the employees, it's in service of the larger goal of serving the company. For instance, they may do work on employee retention or morale -- but that's because it's in the employer's interests to retain good employees and to care about morale, not because their primary "clients" are employees. And similarly, if HR hears about, say, an incompetent or struggling manager, HR's job is (generally) to find a way to address it. They can't remain quiet if that would violate their professional obligation to the company.

Next: The Good and the Bad >>

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But there are good ways and bad ways of doing this:

Bad = letting an employee think something will be confidential but then sharing it anyway

Good = explaining to the employee that it can't be confidential and how the information will be used, and possibly agreeing to keep their name out of it to the extent possible (which may be zero, depending)

HR people (or managers, for that matter) who mislead employees about confidentiality not only are operating without integrity but are also pretty much guaranteeing that over time no one will trust them, respect them, or tell them anything.

But HR people and managers who are clear and direct about how they may need to use information -- and who don't promise confidentiality before knowing if they can really keep that promise, instead saying explicitly, "I can't promise you that I can keep what you tell me off-the-record; I don't want you to think something is private because I may end up being obligated to share it" -- are generally able to maintain trusting and professional relationships with those around them.

So back to your situation: Was the HR director in the wrong? It doesn't sound like you asked for or she promised confidentiality. You could definitely argue that she should have made a point of telling you that she would need to act on the information, but you could also argue that she assumed that was understood by virtue of you talking with her about it at all.

Overall, never assume confidentiality.

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What Happened to Honest Communication?

Carol Morrison | i4cp — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:50:00 -0700

We need to talk. Can there be any more gut-tightening phrase in our language? Just ask anyone who's married. Or in any sort of relationship, personal or professional. Any employee summoned to his supervisor's office with that phrase probably shows up simply because there's no handy exit between his desk and the manager's office door. Why do we put off honest communication - at home and at work - until it's so long overdue that it scares the daylights out of us?

Lots of reasons, probably. Some topics just aren't pleasant to discuss. Nobody wants to hear that they need to make changes, that they aren't living up to expectations or that they aren't likely to have a job if performance doesn't improve. Even if the news is positive, communication can derail. Maybe we are so immersed in our work that we just assume others know about projects or goals or outcomes. Perhaps we just don't know how to get ideas across constructively. There are many potential stumbling blocks.

Study after study conducted by i4cp point out the vital role that internal communication plays in achieving better business outcomes. Our High Performance Organizations study, for instance, found leaders' communication abilities rated much higher (in high-performing companies) than they did in lower-performing firms. When we researched succession planning, participants told us that communication issues were among the top-five challenges plaguing their efforts - significantly more of a problem for lower-performing companies than for their higher-performing counterparts. Our Developing Successful Global Leaders Survey confirmed that effective oral and written communication capabilities are among the competencies organizations focus on developing in up-and-coming global leaders. Those attributes also reflect a high correlation with success in leadership development.

Fact is, you could look at nearly every survey we conduct and find some reference or inference to the role communication plays in high-performance workplaces. What that demonstrates is that communication is a foundation element of successful organizations. There's a reason i4cp includes internal communication within the leadership domain. Savvy leaders know what a powerful tool good communication can be. These days, businesses need all the power they can muster. So take a look at the effectiveness of your organization's communication programs. If they aren't helping you power your company's success, then we need to talk.

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Just Do Your Job

Lance Haun | Rehaul — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:40:00 -0700

I love all of the discussion centered who should report to which department. Whether it is a HR department arguing they should be reporting to the CEO and they should have a seat at the table to recruiters arguing that they should be in any department except HR, it gives me a broad smile. Someone is building excuses for performance deficiency.

Now some of my colleagues who specialize in organizational development will tell me that bad organizational design will ultimately lead to performance deficiency. I won't completely dismiss that point but ride with me for a second because it is more than that.

Where I hear the excuse more than anywhere is when someone is going after HR or recruiting for not doing something they are supposed to be doing.

So I'll ask why they aren't following up with candidates in a timely matter, they point to an ATS and pine for a place under marketing where they can get respect and budget to implement a better one.

Or I'll ask why employee relations is completely reactionary rather than proactive and they'll mention that managers don't respect them because they report into finance or operations so their hands are tied.

These aren't organizational criticisms, these are excuses. If getting back to candidates is a priority, you get back to them. If employee relations is important, you make the call to be more aggressive. If you are absolutely getting no traction, you better be the squeaky wheel at every opportunity until the problem gets fixed. And until it gets fixed, you better be doing the best damn job you can do (even if it means working a little longer to compensate for it). And if it doesn't get fixed and it is literally keeping you from doing your job, it is time to move on.

That other option is complaining about organizational dynamics while the work you should be doing is left undone. It shouldn't be any option at all.

I've advocated increasing your influence in an organization. You should always be looking to do that if you want to change things up and be a disturbance (the good kind). But that doesn't always entail changing organizational structure or moving up to that seat at the table. Building influence is often more than just the title (though, in some organizations, the title is important). And no matter if your organization loves or hates titles, you've got to do your job before you gain respect in your company.

Period. End of story.

We all struggle with politics and roadblocks at work. The good ones find ways around them and get their job done. Sometimes those good ones can push hard enough to make their job a little easier. Others leave, only to find roadblocks awaiting them at their new home. The rest complain and find a way to make them not getting their job done someone else's problem.

Let's see how well that works out for you in the long term.

Quiz: Is HR the Right Profession for You?

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The Keys to Future HR Success

Mark Vickers | i4cp — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:09:00 -0700

Maybe you're proud of the sheer productivity of your HR department. Your ratio of HR pros to employees is lower than the industry average, most transactional HR activities are delivered via self-service, and you have a finely tuned shared-services center. Generally speaking, your HR function is a lean, mean efficiency machine.

Good for you. There's just one problem. By itself, it's not nearly enough.

This is one of the findings from the Future of HR study conducted by i4cp in partnership with the Center for Effective Organizations (CEO) at USC's Marshall School of Business. We found, for example, that having a low HR-to-employee ratio is not in itself a great predictor of market performance, though that story changes for very large, commercial entities. So, while it's smart to benchmark such ratios to gauge efficiency, they seem a lot less critical than some other HR characteristics, at least for organizations with 1,000 or more employees.

"Efficiency is a given in today's world," says Jay Jamrog, i4cp's Senior VP of Research. "Maybe it gets you a seat at the table, like table stakes in a poker game. But your HR department had better have some other qualities in addition to that if you want to become a real player at that table."

Like what? Think about what your organization needs most from its leaders. One of those critical competencies, as another recent i4cp study shows, is the ability to manage change well. Our new study suggests HR should be able to support leadership in this area.

Here's one piece of evidence: Respondents from high-market performing organizations were about 30% more likely than their counterparts from lower-performing companies to report that HR "drives change management" to a great or very great extent. We also found a significant positive correlation between corporate market performance and HR's role in this area.

But the ability to drive change is just part of the equation. HR must also provide the kind of HR data required to support change management.

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"There's often a lot of attention to measurement in HR that's about getting the data, running the right analysis and producing the right reports. But if you want to effect strategic change, you also need to have the right logic and the right processes. Not only do we want to tell a well-analyzed and well-measured story, but it needs to be a story that matters and it needs to be logically connected to the mission of the organization. No matter how good you are at this measurement stuff, if there isn't a connection to moving the organization, you run the risk of nothing happening," said CEO's Prof. John Boudreau, who co-presented an i4cp webinar on the subject.

A third characteristic of HR functions in high-performance organizations is that they tend to formulate a human capital strategy that's well integrated with the larger business strategy. This may seem like a no-brainer but the study shows that only a quarter of all respondents said this is true to a great or very great extent in their organizations.

"You want to perform better in HR?" asks Jamrog. "You need to get integrated and aligned. When we look at respondents who say HR is full partner in strategy development and implement, over half say such integration is strong in their companies. They bring a lot to the table."

Next: i4cp's 4-Part Recommendation >>

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Actually setting up the table rather than merely being present should be the ultimate goal for HR, says CEO's Prof. Ed Lawler. He describes this as coming in with ideas and input that shape strategy rather than being the reactive implementer. This is particularly true of organizations with a management style that relies on human capital for competitive advantage, Lawler says.

HR metrics are another key to success. Jamrog notes that there aren't significant differences between high and low-market performers in terms of the financial efficiency of HR operations, but high performers are considerably more likely to measure the business impact of HR programs and processes.

"Maybe you're never going to have perfect information on the business impact," says Jamrog. "It's impossible to be certain of cause and effect in a dynamic business system. But I think just making a serious effort to make these connections is a best practice."

i4cp's 4-Part Recommendation:

1. Collect the kind of data needed to manage change well. Much of this data should be regularly collected as a normal part of workforce planning. Another recent i4cp analysis found that - for strategic workforce planning - companies need more than just data on headcount, budgets, hires, terminations, retirements, etc. They should conduct SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analyses, determine key roles, and make headcount growth assumptions. They should also create a profile of the agility and resilience of their employees, their teams and their organization as a whole. This means having gauges of characteristics such as openness to change, persistence, ability to function under pressure, optimism, and technological skills.

2. Then help manage change. Where the data shows deficits, help build strengths. Johnson & Johnson, for example, has a change-management framework that includes creating a compelling vision, building stakeholder and leadership alignment, delivering communication, establishing measures of success, aligning systems to reinforce change, and enabling employees to learning new skills that they can apply at work.

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3. Integrate HR strategies with larger business strategies. HR needs to have a firm grasp of the organization's principle business strategies and ensure that HR strategies complement them. If, for example, a major business strategy is to move into more global markets, then HR should have a strategic initiative for helping leaders develop a set of competencies to operate successfully at a global level. Likewise, they have a clear understanding of best practices in the areas of global staffing, global training, and global information systems.

4. Measure the business impact of HR programs and processes. It's fine to track data such as the efficiency of your recruitment function, gaining an idea of how many interviews it takes to make a hire, etc. But, ultimately, this type of metric isn't establishing a strong linkage to business success. It's more important to measure factors such as the ability to retain the key personnel who add to the bottom line or the degree of alignment between key business strategies and key HR strategies.

Quiz: Is HR Right For You?

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10 Worst HR Practices

Roberta Chinsky Matuson | HR Matters — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:44:00 -0700

I've been in business for 13 years and have seen my share of mistakes made by business owners - many that certainly could have been avoided if they'd had a great human resources specialist to guide them. Here is my top 10 list of worst mistakes business owners make, along with advice on how to avoid following suit.

1. Failure to hire for fit.

Think about a job that you worked in that didn't work out. Was it because you didn't have the skills to do the job, or was it because your values did not align with the organization's? I'm betting most likely it was because you didn't fit into the culture of the organization. Hire for fit, train for skill, and you should be able to slash costly turnover.

2. Poor interviewing skills.

I recently had a former business owner tell me that he would hire people who volunteered to help him out at the events that his company was working at. These people wound up being "Mr. Right" for right now, but turned out to be some of his worst hiring decisions. Learn how to use behavior-based interviewing techniques to assess whether this should be one date or more of a long-term relationship.

3. Expecting employees to act like owners.

The only people who act like owners are people who have a stake in the business. If you want your people to act like owners, share the profits.

4. Tossing people into management based on seniority.

I've heard this story so many times I could repeat it without looking at the script. Employee number five has been in the department longer than anyone else, so this employee is promoted to management. It doesn't matter that he or she is not interested in managing people or that they don't have the qualities one usually seeks in a manager. This story never has a happy ending. Either the employees who are saddled with this boss get frustrated and quit, or the manager goes down in flames because they never really stood a chance. Hire or promote people who have the desire and the aptitude for a leadership role.

5. Dropping new employees into their chairs without any training.

I understand you may be hiring experienced people who should know exactly what to do, but the reality is that work gets done differently in every organization. Have a well-designed onboarding plan to smoothly assimilate employees into your organization and watch productivity of new hires soar!

Next: Failure to Manage Performance >>

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6. Failure to manage performance.

Please don't tell me you don't have a performance management process in place because that sounds like something only the big companies use. There is a reason they have these processes in place. People like to know what's expected of them and they also like to know when they are not meeting expectations so they can improve. Don't believe me? Ask your employees. That which gets measured gets done. If you want to maximize productivity, then manage performance.

7. Retaining poor performers.

I hear, "Well, this person really isn't working out" all the time. Really? Then why the heck are they still here? Start replacing your B players with A players and you will see performance improvements all around the organization.

8. Lack of structure.

Most entrepreneurs come from bureaucratic companies and vow to keep things loose in their own organization. Loose is one thing, chaotic is another. At some point you have to put a strong foundation in place in order to maintain or increase revenues. It will cost 10 times more to fix a mess than to prevent one from happening. Put the right structure in place so that you can focus on what you do best: growing your business.

9. Treated people the same.

Equal is not fair, yet owners often give everyone the same autonomy or pay increase, regardless of contribution or experience. Telling a top-performing three-year veteran employee that he or she cannot telecommute one day a week because it wouldn't be fair to others will do little to inspire additional commitment. Treat people like individuals. Reward those who deserve to be rewarded and be prepared to tell others why they are not receiving the same treatment.

10. Doing everything on your own.

If you can really do everything on your own, then why isn't everything getting done? I just outsourced a project that I knew was going to take me a full day to complete. This would take away from time I could better invest in marketing my services. Know thyself. Stop holding yourself back and use outside resources to strengthen your organization. In the end, you'll be glad you did.

You can avoid making all of these common mistakes by doing things differently. What are you waiting for?

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Simplify Everything in HR

Lance Haun | Rehaul — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 09:55:00 -0700

My buddy Chris Ferdinandi and I chat throughout the day about what's going in HR, social media and the world. Now I don't know about anybody else but I work from home. So I've got a crew of co-workers, colleagues and friends that I keep in touch with throughout the week. Chris is on that list for sure.

We always talk about ways to simplify processes, explanations and solutions. The fight for simplicity is difficult though because you're not only fighting against people who have skin in making things more complicated, you're also fighting against your own natural tendency to make things more difficult than they deserve.

So I'll tell someone that being great in HR is really simple. If you have great talent, get out of their way. If you don't, fix it or get out.

And then someone will ask me how do they get out of their no-win scenario using these principles. Like it's a game of stump me or something. Look, if you have a situation that is going to suck no matter what, pick a side and move on.

And people will ask me how to start a blog. So I'll tell them pick a platform, write and connect with people who write about the same things as you.

Then someone will ask me about SEO and specific platforms and comment systems and how to set strategy?

Someone will ask me the best way to do a resume. I'll tell them to compel the company to hire you by aligning your traits and skills with their need.

But then they will ask me about cover letters or typos. How many jobs or pages should it be?

Or someone asks me how to use Twitter. So I'll tell them to start an account, start tweeting and following other people who you think are interesting.

Questions are asked about timing, how often, how much, retweets and...

Step back for a second.

Figure out what works for you and do it. If that doesn't work, try something else. Or don't.

There's no set of "best practices" for your life. Stop over-complicating things and just live a bit.

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Are Your Managers Right For Employee Relations?

Lisa Rosendahl | Simply Lisa — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:22:00 -0700

"The number one reason for conflict is the need to be right."

The first time I heard this, I was an ROTC instructor by day and a graduate student by night. When I wasn't teaching leadership or hanging out by the Schuylkill River, I was grabbing nuggets of wisdom from my graduate courses.

I think of this nugget often with managers and employee relations.

The Beginning of the End

Managers who approach employee relations with a need to be right are all wrong. They approach employee relations as a zero sum game. They can't talk without spitting, consider without pacing, or see the forest for the trees. They gloat when a decision is in their favor and talk about quality of hire. They analyze employee attendance, work quality and engagement. They don't ever look to themselves for answers.

Reality Check

Good people do bad things and employees do not perform. It's a manager's job to address employee conduct and performance issues and there are workplace consequences for both. The consequences may range from a performance discussion with the manager to the loss of employment or something in between.

Good managers address conduct and performance issues with an eye towards changing employee behavior, not simply to prove a point. Good managers take feedback. A manager who won't take feedback or consider all options, maybe, just maybe, shouldn't be in that role.

Doing it Right

Employee relations done right means keeping the organizational eye on what matters most. What matters most is staffing an organization with people who perform and managers who treat people equitably and respectfully.

Employee relations done right means being responsive to employee issues, being prepared to support a case, and being open to consider all options. Employee relations done right positively impacts employee attendance, work quality, engagement, and organizational effectiveness.

There's a difference between needing to be right and doing the right things and while the final action taken may be the same, the road to get there is paved very differently.

Which road are your managers on?

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High-Performance Organizations View Interns as Long-term Investments

Erik Samdahl | i4cp — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:16:00 -0700

An often cited rationale for hiring interns is the prospect of having someone around to handle the grunt work no one else wants to do. But these days, many companies have more strategic goals in mind for their internship programs.

The latest study from the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) - the world's fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations - found that top-performing organizations are more likely to realize a return on their investment in internship programs by converting interns into full-time employees. Nearly a third of survey respondents (28%) said that more than half of their interns convert, compared to 12% of lower performing organizations.

The study, conducted on behalf of an i4cp Fortune 500 member company, also found that only half of the organizations that have internship programs attempt to quantify the benefits to begin with, though high-performance organizations are much more likely to do so (64%) than lower performing companies (38%).

This is not surprising, considering that high-performance organizations almost always do more to measure and quantify the strategic benefits of their efforts.

The Results:

Nearly half (47%) of high-performing organizations reported intern labor productivity as the main measure for quantifying the benefits of an internship program, while 45% said improved retention among full-time employees who were formerly interns is a significant factor. Only 27% of lower performing organizations reported that these measures were used to quantify the benefits of internship programs to a high or very high degree.

Among the top-performing companies, improving the productivity of other employees by distributing some of their tasks to interns was the least used metric (22%), whereas low-performing organizations were most likely to select this as a ROI quantifying measure.

The ROI of Internship Programs study, which was conducted in May 2010, is now available to i4cp members in both report and interactive data formats. The study also examined the costs companies account for in regards to internship programs, the extent to which interns are exposed to other parts of the company and the way in which schools are selected as sources of talent.

Quiz: Is HR the Right Profession for You?

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Handling Workplace Retaliation

Sharlyn Lauby | HR Bartender — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:14:00 -0700

Don't know the reason, but I've been noticing a lot of conversation lately about speaking up, giving feedback and all-around "conflict is healthy" talk. While I agree with most — if not all — of the conversation, I find that any discussion about putting disagreement on the table usually comes with questions regarding the consequences of doing so.

Employees want to believe they can provide honest feedback but are worried something bad will happen as a result — maybe they would get a negative reference or have their hours cut. So, I wanted to take this concern to the streets and ask some business leaders for their insights.

And who could be better to discuss this workplace challenge than Alison Green, author of the very successful blog Ask a Manager. As the former chief of staff for a Washington D.C. based non-profit, Alison has that real-life, in-the-trenches manager expertise, so I posed the question "What would you say to an employee who is afraid they will be retaliated against?"

Good managers WANT to hear feedback, including critical feedback. Because good managers are so committed to identifying ways the organization can do better, they're eager to get feedback and genuinely want to hear dissent. They don't get defensive or shut out differing opinions. They'll usually thank an employee for sharing complaints, and they really mean it. And the best ones will go out of their way to make employees feel safe about speaking up.

Now, if you have a bad manager, all of this goes out the window, and there's little you can do about it.

So the key for employees is to know what kind of manager they're dealing with — to observe how the manager deals with other employees, with bad news, with critical input — and to make decisions accordingly.

But the conversation about retaliation isn't just at the employee level. I hear stories all the time from managers who need to discipline an employee but are concerned that, if they do, the employee will file a complaint about them — whether that's to human resources or an outside agency. So I reached out to a couple more HR colleagues to get their take on this.

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Steve Browne, executive director of human resources for LaRosa's Inc., a Cincinnati based regional pizzeria, says managers need to understand "employees have the right to go to any agency they choose because they’re employees and you can’t stop them from doing that. However, to not discipline is a poor decision. If employees see someone who is ‘threatening’ getting away with poor behavior or performance, it will have more long-term effects than any action anyone says they’ll take. Supervisors who act in fear are like blood in the water to people who bully their way at work. Stand up to them and be consistent.”

Next: Continue Reading >>

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Robin Schooling, SPHR, a vice president of human resources with over 20 years of HR management experience in various industries including health care, banking and manufacturing agrees.

When contemplating ANY type of corrective action, be thoughtful - ensure the corrective action you are contemplating is appropriate in relation to the employee’s knowledge of expected behavior and performance, company policies, applicable laws/regulations (i.e. any “protected activity”), and in accordance with company precedence for similarly situated employees.

By following this evaluation step, you allow yourself the opportunity to evaluate the issue on its own merits – how would you handle it were you NOT thinking about the possibility of a complaint? I often maintain a written outline (word doc) of my decision points when contemplating a corrective action, which has proven to be very helpful when, months later, I need to recall how I moved from “Employee A’s Action” to “Decision to Discipline.”

So while we can calm the fears of our employees and offer advice to managers, the real key is creating a workplace that nurtures trust and open conversation. Cali Williams Yost, CEO of Work+Life Fit. Inc. and author of "Work+Life: Finding the Fit That's Right for You" suggests listening to your fear of retaliation and then testing it to make sure it's based on fact. Ask yourself the following questions:

Have you seen your manager retaliate against a colleague for asking for more flexibility? If the answer is no, then discuss your plan with your manager. If the answer is yes, you did see retaliation, then ask yourself, what were the circumstances?

Was it retaliation or was there a legitimate question of performance that would make your manager hesitant to approve flexibility? If you think it was retaliation, then reconsider presenting your plan and start thinking about finding another job. If there were real problems with performance, then move forward to talk with your manager.

Cali offers some tips for presenting a plan that will get the most positive consideration over on her blog. Be sure to check it out here.

Being in a position to offer suggestions, feedback and constructive criticism is essential to your organization's success. It's important for companies to create a work environment that encourages open dialogue. Managers must feel confident in their roles by setting proper expectations and holding others accountable. Employees need to be encouraged to offer ideas and opinions that will make the organization a better place to work.

It's time to move the retaliation conversation off the table, so the real work can begin.

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Examining Employee Turnover

Sharlyn Lauby | HR Bartender — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:21:00 -0700

The new talk on the street is that the number of people quitting their jobs exceeds the number of layoffs. I wonder if this is the first signs of the double and triple digit turnover that’s been predicted as the economy starts to improve. Any talk about employees quitting always prompts a conversation about the different kinds of turnover.

Bad turnover is the kind you don’t want to happen (naturally.) It’s when good people leave the organization. Usually for your competitors. People that took you forever to find. They did a great job.

Good turnover is when people you want to leave – finally do. Maybe they hung around because they’re set in their ways. Maybe it’s because you didn’t have the spine to fire them. Whatever the reason, they’re finally moving on.

But there’s a third kind of turnover that’s sort of a cross between the two. I call it “set them free” turnover It’s when you hire someone who is off the charts fabulous knowing they might only stay around for a short time.

A couple of examples come to mind:

If you’re a start-up organization, you might hire a rock star to get the company going. Usually that rock star is expensive from a compensation/benefits standpoint. But you need their experience. Once the company is up and running, the rock star moves on to their next opportunity.

Another example is an organization in trouble, they need someone with turnaround experience. The ability to work long hours and make tough decisions. They are there for the challenge (and possibly the bonus associated with turning the company around) but once that’s done…they’re outta here.

These are both situations where the turnover has mixed reaction. The people involved are top performers and have done an excellent job for the company. But you know the company no longer offers what attracted them in the first place. Don’t be afraid of letting employees leave because you can’t keep them happy. Just put the reasoning in proper perspective.

While turnover is a metric that all organizations should pay attention to, it’s important to understand what kind of turnover is taking place. Is your turnover the kind you want — or need — to be successful?

Leadership Trouble?
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The Importance of Recordkeeping

Sharlyn Lauby | HR Bartender — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:44:00 -0700

In the human resources world, we sometimes get on this kick about recordkeeping. It's boring, tedious and can translate into being labeled bureaucratic. But I read an article this weekend that reinforces the need for paperwork and proper recordkeeping.

The article was titled, "The Fisherman and the Tax Man." It's about British Petroleum (BP) requesting tax records from fisherman seeking compensation for losses created by the oil spill. Regardless of your feelings for BP and the oil spill, the request seems pretty logical: just document your losses then we can pay you.

But what if you were paid in cash? Or you didn't report the income? Whoops, Houston — we might have a problem. Now all of a sudden, paperwork is important.

If you're a business that does cash transactions, it's important to record those transactions. In fact, if you're not aware of it … you're supposed to record barter transactions as well.

I know it might be tempting to just pocket a cash gratuity or cash payment for services without reporting it as income. Not declaring the cash as income can come back to hurt you, like in the case of the Louisiana fisherman who can't prove their income to declare a loss. Or a bellman who can't prove to the bank he can afford the home he wants to purchase. And I've seen it happen all too often.

And it's not just about declaring income. As a consultant, I have to keep track of my expenses. It might sound sexy to say "I don't need a receipt". Or you don't want to take an extra 30 seconds to ask for a receipt. But when you own your own company…you need receipts. For just about everything.

Look, none of us want this oil spill to continue. And none of us want to see a person's livelihood negatively impacted by the spill or anything else. Yes, keeping records is boring. But it's necessary. Just do it. You never know when you'll need it.

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Best Airlines for Business Travel

Nealeigh Mitchell | HRPeople — Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The recession turned practically every carrier into a low fare airline; fancy flying was one of the first items chopped from businesses budgets.

But the economy is finally turning around. And in an effort to bounce back from billion dollar losses, airlines are offering all kinds of extras to woo corporate fliers.

So which perks would persuade you to pick one carrier over another? See how the most popular international fleets stack up.

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United Airlines

Cabin comfort: United’s business class passengers settle into a long-haul flight on fully adjustable ergonomic seats with lumbar support and leg rests. The airline is currently rolling out seats in international and business class cabins that lie completely flat when fully reclined. Travelers also receive a complimentary amenity kit featuring Murad products to help protect skin from travel stress.

Meals: Leave the $5 airport peanuts in the terminal. Passengers enjoy premium wines, ports desserts, fruit, cheeses, and a three-course meal. Some international travelers are lucky enough to be served local cuisines, including Japanese cuisine for travelers to Tokyo.

Entertainment: Premium cabin customers can catch up on films on a personal 15” widescreen video monitors with access to 150 hours of on-demand movies and TV shows. Some flights offer iPod and iPhone connectivity to play iTunes video. Plus, noise-reducing headsets drown out the snorers.

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Work: Most aircraft come with in-seat power outlets for your tech gadgets. Satellite phone service is available for a charge and customers traveling between New York and both Los Angeles and San Francisco (premium service flights) can surf the Web, and access corporate VPNs on their Wi-Fi enabled laptop or mobile device.

Frequent Flyer: United’s Mileage Plus program offers a decent list of partner airlines and partner hotels to its loyal customers. Plus, several car rental companies and credit cards are affiliated with the airline. You can earn miles with the United credit card, T-Mobile Wi-Fi service, or even by subscribing to a newspaper. The one catch is there’s an expiration date on accrued miles. Use them or lose them!

Next Page: Continental Airlines →

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Continental Airlines

Cabin comfort: Continental’s BusinessFirst travelers flying overseas to certain destinations can stretch out on a flat-seat bed, a roomier design that allows you to lie completely flat to sleep. An amenity kit filled with aromatherapy products helps you arrive fresh and revived after a lengthy flight.

Meals: Continental offers carefully select menus and wines for each country they serve, many times highlighting local specialties. BusinessFirst meal service includes a wide variety of delicious menu selections as well as premium wines and champagne. And don’t worry if your sleep schedule is off. The “Executive Meal Option" allows you to dine at anytime during the flight.

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Entertainment: That eight-hour flight will fly by with Direct TV, feature films and audio/video On Demand at your fingertips.

Work: Keep your laptop juiced up with a power port at your seat. Joining the Wi-Fi frenzy, the airline will be adding GoGo Inflight Internet to a handful if its Boeing aircrafts this Spring. The new wireless service will provide access on Wi Fi-enabled laptops and smartphones, and will offer similar speeds to wireless mobile broadband.

Frequent Flyer: Continental’s OnePass program partners with dozens of airlines and hotels, rental companies and mileage credit cards. You can even earn miles on France’s Amtrak rail travel. OnePass members earn a minimum of 500 miles per flight. Plus, reward tickets start at 20,000 miles instead of the usual 25,000.

Next Page: Delta Airlines →

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Delta Airlines

Cabin comfort: Business passengers rest easy on flat bed seats on certain aircraft in Delta’s fleet. Plus, you won’t miss a wink with premium pillows, duvets, and headrest to snuggle in. Extended bins allow rollerboard stowage for added legroom.

Meals: International five-course dining menus feature entrees from celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein. Wash one down with signature cocktails or a select choice of wines.

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Entertainment: Stave off boredom with complimentary movies, live TV, and video games. Passengers also have access to over 18 satellite networks and more than 3,700 MP3s. Don’t want to miss the best part of the movie with a trip to the restroom? Delta On Demand lets you pause and start your movie at your leisure.

Work: On Delta, you can tweet from your seat and get work done! In-flight Internet access is available on thousands of flights a day. In addition to laptops, Wi-Fi works with smartphones and other wireless handheld devices offered by all major U.S. providers. Keep your gadgets running strong with in-flight power adapters at your seat.

Frequent Flyer: Delta’s Sky Miles program offers 90 ways to earn miles. Delta also offers SkyMiles dining and hotels with even better rewards rates if you book ahead. The airline is a member of the Sky Team Global Alliance along with Continental and Northwest, with whom you can rack up miles as well.

Next Page: American Airlines →

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American Airlines

Cabin comfort: Can’t postpone a meeting until you land? Seats swivel so you can conduct business face-to-face. Electronically-controlled recline and lumbar support features in each chair makes for a comfortable ride. Plus, individual satellite phone at each seat keeps you connected. Sleep in peace in a fully flat bed and wrapped “Premium Cabin Duvet.” Plus, passengers are provided with an SpAA In Flight amenity kit, which includes two aromatherapy packets, comfort socks, eye shades, tissues, earplugs, and a pen.

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Meals: Menu designed by three world-class chefs on staff at American Airlines. Food and wine selection tailored to the route you’re flying. The airline’s “Dine Upon Request” option let’s you eat when you please.

Entertainment: Each seat has personal video system with on-demand library of 45 movies, 80 hours of TV shows, and 15 video games. An On-Demand library boasts 30 CDs & 14 channels of audio programming. Drown out the crying babies with noise-canceling headphones.

Work:Wireless Internet access on American's flights is available in the continental U.S. and to customers traveling to Mexico and southern Canada; however, coverage currently doesn’t extend 100 miles beyond the U.S. border.

Frequent Flyer: Like most airlines, reward tickets begin at 25, 000 with American’s AAdvantage program. The one catch is that there is no minimum number of miles earned on a given flight. They make up for it by providing dozens of ways to earn points, including opening up a line of credit at certain banks, donating to charities, and even activating a smartphone.

Next Page: Virgin Atlantic →

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Virgin Atlantic

Cabin comfort: Virgin Atlantic’s award-winning Upper Class Suite and Premium Economy cabin is as posh as it gets. Upper Class offers first class style at a business class price with amenities such as a reclining leather seat that folds into a fully flat bed with a real mattress! Pampered passengers can indulge in a massage or a manicure in a private treatment area. A novel lighting system that can go from dawn to dusk over the course of a flight reduces the effects of jet lag.

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Meals: Want your three course meal right after take off? No problem! Meals are designed so travelers can eat what they want, when they want. Everything on the Freedom Menu is individually and freshly prepared to your order and served up in style on fine china.

Entertainment: Get comfy in reclining seats with adjustable headrests, lumbar supports, and moveable armrests. Escape in your own private cinema with a seatback TV and a choice of with a huge choice of films, TV programs, and games. Some flights offer seats decked out with their own video games console with up to 35 games.

Work: Hop on your company’s VPN and check your email in flight on Virgin’s Wi-Fi system.

Frequent Flyer: Elevate members enjoy a pretty cushy reward program. Fliers earn points for every dollar you spend on your base fare, can redeem reward flight for as low as 2,500 points. Plus, they’ve got neat website where you can manage your miles with ease.

Make that monthly trip to Shanghai a lot more bearable by finding the best airline that fits your needs. Carriers are constantly rolling out promotions and slashing fares to compete for your business. With a little research, you're bound to get the best bang for your buck when flying the much-friendlier skies.

How to be Accountable and Hold Others to it

Dan McCarthy | Great Leadership — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:44:00 -0700

This is a story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it.

Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.

It ended that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

- Unknown

Does this sound familiar? What kind of workplace situation does this remind you of?

The topic of accountability has been such a hot topic for the last decade, it’s almost turned into just another corporate buzzword. However, for some reason, the word still seems to be a lightning rod when it comes to leadership development.

It’s a word with a lot of arms and legs. It’s often used to describe:

- a personal value (someone who is accountable)

- something you do to others (hold them accountable)

- and something that an organizational entity should be or isn’t (e.g., there’s no accountability in government).

For leaders, accountability starts with looking in the mirror. Being accountable is our ticket to earning the right to hold others accountable.

When someone else screws up, we tend to blame it on their personal characteristics. However, when we screw up, we tend to blame it on external circumstances. It’s a cognitive bias social psychologists call “fundamental attribution”. Neither serve us or others well as leaders.

What does it mean to be accountable as a leader? Let’s just say I know it when I hear it. It sounds something like this:

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- “I made a mistake”

- “I screwed up”

- “That’s on me, and no one else”

- “No excuses”

- “I’ll do it – it’s mine”

- “I got it”

- “I’m already on it, it’ll get taken care of”

- “I’ll make sure everyone gets regular status reports”

I also know what it doesn’t sound like… it doesn’t sound like:

- Whining

- Finger pointing

- Blaming

- “I’ll try”, “maybe”, “I’ll do my best”

- Excuses, excuses, and more excuses

- A victim

- Insincere, rehearsed, b.s. apologies

Next: What Can Leaders Do?

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Leaders can start creating a culture of accountability by being accountable. However, being a role model isn’t always enough to help someone else be accountable. As leaders, we often need to hold others accountable. In order to do this, we need to:

1. Establish expectations

Without expectations, managers and employees both end up frustrated and disappointed. It’s important to clearly describe what “good” performance looks like, and what it does not look like.

2. Gain Commitment

Without commitment, we get compliance – or even resistance. Don’t assume you have someone’s commitment just because you’ve discussed it with them. Watch out for those phases like “I’ll try”, or “I’ll do my best”. Ask for and listen to people’s concerns. Help them overcome their obstacles, explain the benefits, and help them figure out what they need to achieve the goal. Ask: “Do I have your commitment?”, and “What needs to happen in order for you to commit to this?”

3. Inspect what you expect

“Inspection” sounds like a dirty word, indicating a lack of trust or micromanaging. It’s really not – following up shows that it’s important, you care, and you’re there to help remove obstacles. Inspecting also provides an opportunity to give praise for progress towards a goal. In time, hopefully, your employees will learn how to proactively provide progress reports. Let’s face it, these days, we all have all kinds of competing priorities. Even with good intentions, it’s easy for things to slip. Inspection and follow-up make sure the really important things don’t fall through the cracks.

4. Provide feedback and consequences.

Feedback lets someone know how they’re doing. If expectations are not being met, then they need to know about it, as well as how to get back on track. If expectations are being met or exceeded, then they need to hear about that as well. If performance consistently is below expectations, then there needs to be consequences. Without consequences, there is no accountability. If you follow this process consistently as a leader, and role model accountable behavior yourself, you’ll create a culture of accountability and “no excuses” within your team or organization.

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