How Employee Opinion Surveys Relate to Employee Engagement

Posted on October 19, 2009 by robertahill

My first response to how employee opinion surveys relate to employee engagement is – not well. If you knew me a little, you might find it funny that I should say that. The truth is that attitude surveys and satisfaction are often negatively correlated. Why? Because the organization is in poor heath in the first place.

This is going to date me. I designed and delivered my first employee
climate survey in the early 80's. I was employed as an internal
organizational effectiveness consultant in a multinational High Tech
firm. I like to think that we did a pretty good job of it. Not the
survey itself . . . it was pretty routine and mundane. We considered
it part of a planned intervention for organizational development. The
approach we took was as a jumping off point with employee groups to
work with them to identify areas that they would like to see changed or
improved. We also asked if they would like to participate in working
groups to make recommendations. It worked well enough that follow-up
survey results consistently improved and I was invited to present a
paper at the company HR symposium a few years later.

A good overview from Jack Welch on what needs to in place before doing
an employee survey can be found at the Fist Full of Talent Blog: Employee Surveys – Good Tool or Corporate Noise? Depends on the Questions and Follow Up…

Last month, I had the pleasure (and it was a pleasure) of working
with a government division where management was (is) serious about
addressing the issues raised in the climate survey that had been done
throughout the government. Using some of the same principles from my
"youth" I put together a process that I hoped would address their needs
and fears. It all started with a bunch of numbers and charts that they
had in front of them. Most people feel a little intimidated with the
math. On top of it – numbers may not lie but statisticians? That's
another story.

I was once again reminded of all the challenges of attitude surveys:

The
questions and language
The
point in ti and the timing
The economic, social, and political environment
The purpose
The
topic
The message in the communication strategy
The
observer’s state of
being
The analyst's own bias
The
context

Just like with any assessment, I have to constantly remind the reader that it is JUST
data – and it is "meaningless" on the surface. It is just information
until context is applied. That is why responding to surveys takes a
lot of time. Before even trying to "do something" it is necessary to
determine the priority areas. That usually means what is important to
your employees – not just management. One of the ways that this is
best accomplished is by the appropriate use of Focus Groups.

Unfortunately, like my client in the government, employee surveys are
connected routinely every set number of years. Worse, the results take
six months to get posted publicly for all to see. There is no strategic or generic corporate plan on how to address the results.

Marcia Xenitelis makes a great point in her blog post earlier this month "Employee engagement in tough times":

So what about employee engagement surveys? I say save your organization the tens of thousands of dollars they cost and invest your time in a well thought out change management strategy…

In her article, she goes on to outline five steps of a good change management strategy. She starts with recommending that you begin with real business data. She makes some other good points but they are beyond what I am writing about here.

Rigorous and transparent follow-up is the key. This takes courage, commitment and time. It means listening without getting defensive. It means, as a manager, sticking your neck out and letting staff take
pot shots at you – EVEN though they may want to help make things better. To be transparent means that the organization and all the members have to be vulnerable. However, if you are willing to embark on this endevour the rewards for everyone are great.

How is my client doing? Well more time is needed. Each manager shared the results with their staff and outlined what the four working groups had initially laid out as a plan of action. They asked for employees to participate on the working groups and most importantly they established specific targets to achieve and a way to measure improvement at a set date. I am optimistic.

Audios: Ed Schein on Career Anchors and Phillip V. Olsen on Proscan

Posted on March 28, 2009 by robertahill

Andrew Neitlich founded The Executive Think Tank in 2008. So it is a new site but he has loaded up a good starting point for resources. On of his recent additions is an interview with Ed Schein that I enjoyed. While it has been about 6 years since I last used Career Anchors, I often recommend it to others. It was a great refresher for me.

Ed Schein, legendary developer of the extremely popular Career Anchors assessment tool, provides an overview of the anchors that define your unique combination of perceived career competence, motives, and values. He also explains some of the subtleties of when to use this tool, and when not to.

Go here to see Career Anchors Online version.

Proscan is another assessment that has been around for 30 odd years. If you have seen it or as you listen to the recording, you will definitely notice some similarities with various versions of DISC. I know about this tool as one of the products offered by PDFWorks.

Phil Olsen describes the power of the ProScan Assessment, which is a reputable and statistically validated tool for helping us articulate our strengths, understand where our natural self is having to adapt to the environment, and discover stress points in our work and personal lives.

The Marketing Clarity Test – How this applies to clarity for clients as well.

Posted on February 28, 2008 by robertahill

Many readers of this blog are independent professionals and so I thought that I would share a small "test" from someone who I have enjoyed reading over the years: Robert Middleton’s More Clients. Middleton has some wonderful resources of which quite a few are free at Action Plan Marketing.

While there is no scientific validity to these kinds of checklists, they can be very useful in focusing attention and then action items not only for ourselves but our clients. Like more rigorous assessments, they present data in an accessible form that can be analyzed and applied. If you are considering using any assessment I encourage you to ask yourselves how intuitive is it. Complexity and the need to professional interpretation is not as useful for clients if the administrator is doing the work. The individual where ever possible should be creating his or her own meaning.

The problem with using assessments is not in understanding the "results" so much as application and the question: "What does this mean for me, here today, now AND what do I need (if anything) to do with this new knowledge.?" Most of the time people generally agree with what comes out from the instrument but never take the time to analyze it in a practical manner. As a coach, this might mean integrating the information from a tool over a number of sessions and drawing connections back to the data.

Meanwhile enjoy this little test:

==========================================

The Marketing Clarity Test

==========================================

How well do you do on the "Marketing Clarity
Test"? Score yourself five points for excellent, four for good, three for
fair, two for poor and one for abysmal. Highest possible score is 25.

1. Your service (or product) is so clearly defined that
you can explain what it is and the need for it, in one or two sentences, when
someone asks you what you do.

2. You can clearly define who your ideal clients are,
both demographically and psychographically. You know who they are and how you
can reach them.

3. Your marketing messages (such as an Audio Logo,
headlines on your web site, titles of articles, names of talks, etc,) all
clearly communicate what your service is and who it is for.

4. All of your marketing materials, from your business
card to your web site, expand on your marketing message and explain in more
detail the benefits and advantages of your services.

5. Through your marketing messages and materials, you
make a "call-to-action" or offer that clearly directs a prospect to
take an action that will lead them to purchasing your services.

Interpreting your score:

25 – 21 -
Excellent – You have clients on a waiting list

20 – 16 – Good
- You are attracting good clients consistently

15 – 11 – Fair
- Getting clients is somewhat of a struggle

10 – 6 – Poor
- You find it very hard to attract clients

1 – 5 -
Abysmal – Clients are running away from you

How do you score and what are you going to do about it?

The More Clients Bottom Line: To a great degree, your
success in attracting clients is correlated to how clearly and consistently you
communicate about your business.

How clear are you when communicating about your business?
What do you need to improve? If you dare, list your
score. Please share on the More Clients Blog.

www.actionplan.blogs.com

© 2007 Robert Middleton, All rights reserved. By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing.
Please visit Robert’s web site at www.actionplan.com
for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional
service businesses.

Question: Is there a direct ROI from assessments?

Posted on January 25, 2008 by robertahill

Perhaps I am missing something but I really don’t see any
valid correlation between ROI and Assessments in general EXCEPT for recruitment
purposes. Then it really is a test and you can tie your choices from the
assessment directly back to some other measurement tools of success. But
think – so let’s say a child takes some sort of learning test and discovers or
confirms that they are in fact dyslectic. There is no value in the test
unless the information is used in another program. Would the learning
challenge have been discovered otherwise, who knows. Do the results help
in designing an intervention, probably. So an assessment can lead to a
focus of attention but it is NOT a stand alone.

Behavioral and even competency assessments are tools to use to
gather information and measure. It is the program or how this data is
used that is important. I have read two studies one on EQ but BOTH had
training and coaching involved after the assessment. When the assessment
was taken again sometime later, the “results” had improved but it was still
required to determine what kinds of results (not just changes on the part of
the people) was expected by the organization. Team performance
assessments like Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions which I also use, might have greater
success assigning ROI but I don’t have any data at this time.

As for behavioural or preference type assessments (Platinum,
Disc, MBTI), there is no right or wrong so ROI isn’t really as relevant –
despite what one might be told. However, the use of an assessment as a
tool (as I mentioned above) and then used in a program to enhance skills or
whatever AND then measured in changes could be used for some kind of ROI.
In simple terms – assessments should never be used alone. The question is
do they enhance the results or add to the program that is being used. The
value of assessments is more anecdotal at best – unless a real test.

Onboarding and Employee Satisfaction

Posted on January 10, 2008 by robertahill

This time last year, Sirota Survey Intelligence released the following news release: Regardless of Their Ages, Most Workers Lose Enthusiasm For Their Jobs After Six Months

Many managers erroneously believe there are major differences between generations in what people want from their jobs. New survey data just released by Sirota Survey Intelligence, specialists in attitude research, further debunks this myth.

The data support Sirota’s previous findings that differences one finds at work between older and younger people are largely a result of tenure not age
and older employees (e.g. those ages 25-34 and those 55 and older), both groups show a sharp decline in their satisfaction from their first year of employment 69 percent in each case to 54 percent and 53 percent, respectively, among those with 2 to 5 years’ experience.

Even among younger and older employees (e.g. those ages 25-34 and those 55 and older), both groups show a sharp decline in their satisfaction from their first year of employment 69 percent in each case to 54 percent and 53 percent, respectively, among those with 2 to 5 years’ experience.

Sirota examined the overall satisfaction expressed by 64,304 workers in employee attitude surveys the firm conducted for their employers. The study focused on an important element of satisfaction equity, or being treated fairly with respect to the basic conditions of employment.

"Company culture or how management treats employees, and management’s attitudes and behaviors toward workers determines how much of a downturn in enthusiasm there will be," said Douglas Klein, president of Sirota Survey Intelligence.

"Older employees start new jobs with the same hopefulness as younger workers. They have the same fundamental needs as younger employees," Klein added. "Their level of enthusiasm depends on how well their needs are met as they move through the various stages of their employment life cycle," he concluded.

"Just 14 percent of organizations have enthusiastic work forces, where more than 75 percent of employees are satisfied overall, and less than 10 percent are dissatisfied," said David Sirota, chairman emeritus of Sirota Survey Intelligence and co-author of "The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit By Giving Workers What They Want," (Wharton School Publishing). Sirota examined the overall satisfaction expressed by 64,304 workers in employee attitude surveys the firm conducted for their employers. The study focused on an important element of satisfaction equity, or being treated fairly with respect to the basic conditions of employment.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Sal Vittolino
Buchanan Public Relations
(610) 649-9292 X 102

I have notice in the last few years an increasing movement to providing support (often coaching) to important new hires as well as the move towards a greater use of testing in recruitment. While both of these strategies may be worthwhile, the study above indicates a need for a more systemic and holistic approach. It would be wise of companies to fully understand their own culture and then to assess the values of the organization. Retention remains a key issue not just for the cost to the organization, the waste of a new employee but the overall erosion of morale through out the company.

The Pros and Cons of On-line Assessments

Posted on October 30, 2007 by robertahill

"Objective: Assessments are a tool that
should not be used to hijack the client’s agenda but information to help
create a framework for change."

Pros:

~ Ease and convenience
~ Driving costs down
~ The output is slick and appears more credible
~ Much easier to complete in our virtual and geographically dispersed world
~ Using an automated system through the internet creates a broader capacity ot
offer multi-rater and 360 degree assessments that require other individuals
data to be tabulated.
~ Despite concerns to the contrary – actually provides greater confidentiality
~ Using an automated system through the internet creates a broader capacity ot
offer multi-rater and 360 degree assessments that require other individuals
data to be tabulated.

Cons:
~ We get sloppy and expedient and don’t "follow" the process.
~ One third of our clients do not like anything that is on-line and will resist
(so don’t push it).
~ Anybody can get access and this increases the odds that the process and
results will be abused.
~ The output is slick and may appear "written in stone". This can
create defensiveness in clients.

Overall,
I do believe that the advantages of using online systems outweigh the disadvantages. This is ONLY true
if the coach or trainer has not been properly trained and fully understands how
to use the assessment appropriately and ethically. At Assessments Now, I am
committed to helping others do so – even when they choose to work with
assessments we do not offer.

How reliable are personality tests?

Posted on June 28, 2007 by robertahill

According to a 2001 study by the American Psychological Association, personality tests are just as effective at predicting outcomes as medical tests, though not clinical in nature. "The use of personality assessments, especially when used in hiring, selection and promotion strategies has an immensely positive effect on the corporate user," said Birkman-Fink.

One study showed that 89 percent of HR professionals felt that pre- employment personality testing had a positive effect on their company. Personality testing may be even better than hard skills assessments for assessing job fit and placement, news which is staggering to some.

CCH® HR MANAGEMENT — 02/16/07
Personality testing appears to be the future of the staffing industry

Behavioral testing will become more widespread and routine this year, the Staffing Industry Report has predicted in its annual "Top Ten" trends and predictions for 2007. "Behavioral testing continues to be the premier way for staffing and executive search firms to distinguish themselves from the competition," said Sharon Birkman-Fink, President and CEO of Birkman International, creators of the Birkman Method(R) for personality assessment. "Ensuring client satisfaction by providing candidates with the right overall personality fit in addition to a basic skills match, is a great way to encourage repeat business in a competitive environment."

Two key trends support the prediction that staffing and executive search firms will further integrate personality testing into their recruitment processes this year. An increasing body of research supports the validity and predictive value of personality testing as a useful employment tool, and the acceptance of this fact is leading to the application of this powerful heuristic in organizations of all sizes.

"Behavioral testing will be used more by staffing companies to make the best match for their clients," predicted the Staffing Industry Report, arguing that "it’s critical to make the best cultural fit, as well as quality fit."

Question from a Reader: Price markup

Posted on February 26, 2007 by robertahill

You suggested a mark-up of about 100 – 150% on assessments. Is this still true when pricing 360-degree feedback?

I have to say that this simple little question ended up taking me on a whole different track. Why? To begin with, the 360 degree feedback assessment processes is far more involved – in preparation, administration, debriefing and overall skill required.

A simple answer to this question is "YES". Take the actual wholesale cost to you of the instrument (include all costs) and mark it up 100-150%. Simple Right? Wrong. The trick is to price your service or package including the assessment. As coaches, we generally don’t offer an assessment to a client by itself. We want to be able to help our clients understand the information and use it as a leverage to get the results they want.

Pricing your retail cost is not too difficult – pricing the service is. You need to build in how much of your time and value added there will be in the process. The final price should include: the retail cost as you have determined, the cost of your time for whatever debriefing process you feel is necessary and the cost of action planning sessions – if that is what you want to offer.

What makes 360-degree assessments entirely another species? Although all of the issues remain similar, the complexity is exponential. Bottom line – you REALLY need to know what you are doing. The odds of doing damage to the client are far greater than with a simple behavioral type of instrument. Having a basic of the following is, in my view, mandatory:

~ understanding of competencies and performance management
~ statistics for dummies (basic principles and analysis)
~ ability to conduct structured interviewing
~ practice in questioning techniques
~ if customizing, experience in survey design
~ sound project management skills

If you are fully competent and experienced in delivering 360 degree feedback to your clients, this is a truly value added piece and you may want to consider how you have valued your time and costing structure in the first place. Don’t get caught up in mark-up issues. Figure out the real time and effort and value that you provide and price the whole process accordingly. In my experience, any full 360 degree assessment (even the less expensive ones) can not be done properly (including a debriefing session(s) but not action planning) for much under $1,500.

Don’t let that put you off entirely. Start with a simple assessment that might have some multi-rater capability to get your feet wet. We think our flagship product, The Platinum Rule, is
perfect for this. At Assessments Now, we have partnered with a couple of others who know this area well and can help you get started if you are convinced that this is the way for you.

Case Study - Culture and Compency Change

Posted on February 21, 2007 by robertahill

Case Study 2 – Changing Demands and Competencies

You have been working with John for about four months. His goals have been
clearly around moving up in his company â he is the Assistant Branch Manager of
a mid sized bank. In the past, John had completed the MBTI and you originally
worked through his results. You yourself are not trained in MBTI but you did
want to know what it all meant to him. John reports out and agrees that he is
an ISTJ.

He comes with a new issue
he wants to work on. John has just attended a managerâs retreat where they were
told that the future competencies of Branch Managers will include stronger
interpersonal skills, commitment to service and inspiring leadership abilities.
John isnât sure what this means to him and is beginning to wonder where his
strengths could best be utilized. He is feeling rather stressed out. You were
wondering if this might be a good time to introduce an assessment.

Questions for comments:

What considerations would you have?
Which assessments would you offer and why?
How would you introduce the concept of taking an assessment?

Case Study – The Assessment Junkies

Posted on January 23, 2007 by robertahill

I have been toying with the
idea of how to get the input from you the readers on your suggestions and
ideas. As a long time teleclass leader with Coach Inc and often doing their
Assessments Module, I have developed a few case studies. All of which are based
on real clients but with changes to protect confidentiality. They are short and
sweet. I am more than willing to share my own thoughts and what I did do —
but only after some comments from others. I hope that you will go to the first
case, read it and give us all your own “two cents” worth. I have included some
questions to stimulate discussion. Thanks. This one is the first that I wrote for the
module.

Case Study One – Joan,
The Assessment Junkie

You have
just started working with a new corporate client. Joan works in strategic
planning for a major retail firm and has recently moved into her first formal
role as a manager of professionals. Her goal for coaching is to learn how to
bring build a high performance team. Joan goes on to suggest that some
personality testing might be something she wants to do with the team members.
You ask her if she has taken any types of assessments in the past and what has
her experience been. Joan tells you that she loves personality tests and has
completed many through the various organizations with which she has worked. You
ask her if she remembers any specifically. Joan says, “ I’ve taken the MPDI and
another one that has four types – driver, analytic and two others. Oh yes, then
there was this color one. I’m a red. I know that I am an extrovert, if that
helps. They all seem to say the same thing. Hey, but they are fun and a good
way for my team to get to know each other better. Maybe you could tell me how
they are all connected and recommend which one I should use with my team.”

Questions for your comments:

1. What are the ‘red flags’ for you?

2. How would you approach this request?

3. If Joan insists on using an assessment tool, how would you respond?

Assessments Today

A uniquely neutral forum to help understand "personality" assessments. My resource for coaches, trainers and consultants to discuss, critique and debug myths. A service of Assessments Here Portal.

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