It’s 2021 And We Still Set Our Employees Up for Failure

It’s 2021 And We Still Set Our Employees Up for Failure

by | Mar 25, 2021 | Blog, Employees

It’s 2021 And We Still Set Our Employees Up for Failure

 

It is not uncommon for organizations to set unrealistic goals for their employees with little to no resources to achieve business targets. And when the employee fails to deliver on targets, managers typically blame the employee for not meeting the objectives instead of looking inward to check if internal processes provided enough resources for employees to meet the expectations. This is a big management problem that often results in what Mansoni and Barsoux called The Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome.
 
The outcome of this is that affected employees continue to underperform and they’re perceived to be mediocre. So they’re perceived to be weak performers just because they’re performing below the expectations of their managers. This triggers major performance issues that become a self-fulfilling prophecy where affected employees continue to underperform due to extensive supervision from managers, lack of trust, disconnection, and eventual frustration which multiplies down, on and on, and

unintentionally to hurt employees performance and their motivation. Apart from the Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome, there are other ways managers may be setting up their employees for failure. Here’s how;

Q

Restricting their ability to collaborate

Collaboration involves working together with a shared goal. Improved team collaboration ensures that projects are delivered faster through a continuous delivery pipeline network and feedback loop that facilitates good communication. Additionally, improved team collaboration also ensures greater quality assurance because your employees are empowered to see the full scope of the projects they’re assigned to. However, despite these benefits of employee collaboration, lots of organizations are still hampering the free flow of information and hence collaboration among their employees. You may be hampering collaboration among your employees if your employees have to go through too many requests to get the job done. Additionally, ‘siloed’ teams, lack of automation, and limited visibility are factors that restrict employee collaboration. When you do this, you’re setting up your employees for failure.

Expecting too much from your employees

Some projects will fail if you do not provide enough resources for your employees to achieve stated goals. By resources, we do not only mean financial resources but also peer-level support, feedback, and communication support. Also, if your team is spending more time in the stress zone than they’re spending in the productive zone then you’re setting them up for failure. It usually starts by making everything a priority, which means that nothing is a priority. Ultimately your employees’ stress level continues to increase and ultimately they get burned out.

Unclear Goals

This is one of the commonest ways organizations set up their employees for failure. Clear goals help your employees perform efficiently and effectively. The goals must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). There are many other ways to implement and measure goals, so the SMART methodology is only one of several.

 

No matter what methodology you choose, your goals must be capable of being broken down into actionable steps which must be communicated to all employees. Unclear goals result in your employees never completing their work, missing deadlines, and could even result in employee burn-outs from doing repetitive, unproductive, and directionless tasks. The outcome of an unclear goal is a failure.

Conclusion

Proper goal-setting and an environment conducive to growth are some of the most important ways of setting your business up for success. Breakdown your company’s goals into actionable objectives and ensure that these goals are appropriately communicated to your employees. Also, build a strong organizational support system by ensuring an appropriate work/life balance. Businesses should also invest in continuous development programs for their employees and they should be provided with the necessary tools and resources to fulfill their roles.

 

Keep a pulse on progress by implementing regular conversations with the team member to gain feedback and insight on the current set of objectives. It’s your job as a leader to ask questions and be proactive in looking for areas where your team might hit the proverbial speedbumps.

 

References

https://hbr.org/amp/1998/03/the-set-up-to-fail-syndrome

 

The Importance of Creating Workforce Mobility

The Importance of Creating Workforce Mobility

by | Feb 28, 2021 | Blog, Workforce Mobility

As organizations are looking for ways to become more agile, and as the demand for a more collaborative workforce grows faster, companies are also looking for ways to get the best out of their workforce. Increasingly, the workforce today has become not only more globally distributed but has also become more digitally connected.

Converging lines of evidence have proven that companies that invest in employee collaboration and teamwork will boost productivity five times more than organizations that do not invest in it. Hence, an agile workforce is a productive workforce and one of the key characteristics of an agile workforce is a mobile one.

There is no better time to embrace workforce mobility than now. The purpose of this article is to provide the importance of creating workforce mobility and how it is important for your business continuity.

Here are some of the importance of creating workforce mobility.

Workforce Mobility Is Critical for Your Business Continuity

The COVID-19 pandemic is currently shaping how organizations view workforce mobility. HR managers have realized that employee mobility should be part of their organization’s continuity planning and resilience strategy. The pandemic forced many companies to switch to remote work which is expected to be a new normal in the future.

The pandemic brought some widely ignored organizational questions into the spotlight. For instance, how do you backfill a resource shortage during a pandemic or because of sick leave?

Additionally, how do you handle critical functions when

employees, have limited work goes due to new added responsibilities such as career development programs or childcare?

The answer is obviously in a workforce mobility plan that automatically fills the gap in their talent inventory of skills. This approach ensures that you build a workforce that brings out the best in people through agile, strong, and dynamic communities.

Boosts Employee Productivity

Employees are increasingly looking out for jobs that will boost their work-life balance. Converging lines of evidence have proven that 80% of workers believe they feel some kind of stress at work Moreover, more than
42% of these feel they need some form of stress management help. Hence, most employees have poor

work-life balance and this affects their productivity on the job. However, with employee mobility in place, your staff can work from anywhere, and when they can work from anywhere, they can deliver more. This ultimately results in happier employees and hence better performance.

Broader Talent Pool

Workforce mobility encourages access to a wide talent pool across anywhere in the world. Having the ability to hire talent from anywhere in the world expands your talent pool and enables you to deliver business results faster. Having access to the best talent at any point enables you to adapt and respond quickly to market demands and meet unforeseeable circumstances.
Additionally, an agile workforce is built from having employees’ new roles where they can discharge their duties based on their skills and motivation.

Skilled Workforce Ready to Get The Job Done

A business culture built around workforce mobility empowers employees to work based on what they want to do, tailored to their needs and ambitions. Additionally, this boosts employee retention and gives them a sense of autonomy over their career journey. Also, employees are empowered to experience more

learning opportunities that will add value to their lives with a higher sense of fulfillment. The ultimate result of this is a motivated, skilled workforce that is readily available for any task no matter the circumstances and business challenges that come your way. Additionally, this builds a greater sense of responsibility and more value and trust.

Conclusion

There is no better time to take advantage of workforce mobility than now. Mobile workers will continue to grow to the point that it may even become the future of work. Workforce mobility enables organizations to hire the best talent regardless of location. Additionally, workforce mobility enables you to build a large talent
pool where there is no defined place where an employee must be every day.
Why HR Should Monitor the Company’s Financial Health

Why HR Should Monitor the Company’s Financial Health

by | May 5, 2020 | Blog, Financial Health

If you ask most business professionals, the financial health of the company is the responsibility of the finance and accounting department. However, there is absolutely something to be said for HR at least being aware of the company’s financial situation and its overall health. As the realization grows that employees play a critical role in a company’s financial success, more businesses are changing
the way their departments function.
The result is a cross-functional monitoring solution that allows HR efforts to be aligned with the company’s finances and its accounting systems. No longer are employees considered
expenses, but as value-added assets that offer:

Creativity, knowledge, and problem-solving skills

Production and output for the business

Innovative and dynamic skill sets aimed at contributing to revenue and profits

As every company knows, you are only as good as your people. However, it is only more recently that companies are actually embracing and cultivating this mantra. As a part of the process, businesses must realign their HR efforts and accounting systems so that monitoring can be done from the right departments and for the right organizational goals and metrics.

Human Capital Management

In technical terms, treating employees as assets is referred to as human capital management. In order to effectively incorporate this into your HR department and get their efforts aligned with the financial side of the business, there are three major steps that you should take:

1

Revisit the company strategy and incorporate practices, goals, and guidelines for better development and management of “human capital”.

2

Develop and implement a streamlined recruiting program that is in line with your new company strategy.

3

Develop new success metrics and create better employee retention programs.
Any business that does these three things will typically see more success in their overall profits as a result of investing in their most valuable asset: their people.

Turnover is Eating Profits and No One Realizes It

According to research, it costs as much as 200% more than what you were paying an employee to recruit and train their replacement. So many companies can’t figure out where they are losing so much money, even when business is good, and yet their employee turnover rates are through the roof. A lot of people understand the concept of turnover and its financial impact in theory but lack the understanding of how that actually translates to day-to-day profits and expenses.

The financial impact of high turnover includes new recruitment and training costs, administrative expenses, and potential client losses. The human impact on the business will result in lower morale and less motivation, along with higher stress, which results in decreased productivity. Thus, your bottom line is dealt two major blows when you don’t have a strong human capital management and employee retention plan in place.

See For Yourself

Take a look back through your company’s HR expenses for the past six months, even. Look at how much was spent on recruiting, screening candidates, training, and administrative tasks related to hiring—you might be surprised at the amount. If you’re looking for profits, your HR department is sitting on plenty. Integrate and realign to cash in on them and improve your overall HR operations at the same time.

Resources

https://www.hcamag.com/us/specialization/leadership/why-hr-should-monitor-the-companys-financial-health/218232
https://sfmagazine.com/post-entry/june-2016-the-intersection-of-hr-and-accounting/?utm_content=bufferba24e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

Don’t Overlook the Mental Health of Your Remote Team

Don’t Overlook the Mental Health of Your Remote Team

by | Apr 24, 2020 | Blog, Remote Team

Remote work is changing the way that people do business. Right now, it’s saving a lot of jobs and keeping several businesses afloat in a time when almost the entire world is shut down in some capacity. Professionals and organizations are issuing warnings to employers regarding the potential mental health risks of remote workers, especially given the current situation. Many people are working remotely who would otherwise be in an office environment or a more socially engaging setting. The people who are working remotely aren’t necessarily choosing to do so, which is bringing to light a few concerns that need to be addressed.

Pros for Some, Cons for Others

Remote work is changing the way that companies do business, and the fact that so many have been able to make the transition during the COVID-19 epidemic is putting pressure on the industry to reevaluate and reconsider the roles of many employees. However, working at home is not for everyone. While some may enjoy mental health benefits from being restricted from the stress of an office setting, others who typically thrive in a team environment will struggle.

This is why managers and team leaders must check in with all remote employees regularly. The new work schedule should include regular communications with employees, team meetings, and one-on-one sessions that allow employees to express their concerns, struggles, and other needs that they may have about their remote position.

Isolation and Burnout

Because of the nature of remote work, there are two main areas that employers will want to keep an eye on isolation and burnout. As mentioned above, some people enjoy the freedom of being left to their own devices and working in the peace and comfort of their own homes. Others need social interaction and human engagement throughout the day, and therefore may experience things like:
  • Anxiety or depression
  • Struggling to focus or complete tasks
  • Inability to focus
  • A general feeling of being withdrawn or not feeling like a part of the team
On the other end of this spectrum, there are the people who work hard and never stop, which at the office is one thing. In the remote setting, however, where your office is literally always there, this can be dangerous. Some people struggle to maintain a normal schedule and feel compelled to work at all hours of the day and night, even if it isn’t expected of them. What’s worse is that some companies may actually expect this from some of their remote workers.

Expected or not, it leads to one of the biggest employee turnover issues: burnout.

The Solution

Although every business will have their plan for addressing mental health, those managing remote teams should focus on things like:
  • Regular check-ins (individual and team)
  • Wellness and “mental health” days
  • Encouraging separation of work and personal life
  • Assisting with setting objectives and goals
  • Flexible working schedules and hours
  • Encouraging breaks and time of
Employees are your responsibility as a manager or team leader, and their mental health is just as important as their job performance. Make sure you’re paying attention.
Resources
https://fowmedia.com/mental-well-being-of-remote-employees/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/onemind/2020/03/17/when-home-becomes-the-
workplace-mental-health-and-remote-work/#31467e041760