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Rewarding Results for Maximum Performance: Part 2 of the Successful Workplace Series

This is part 2 of the series referencing the original post, 5 Steps to a Successful Workplace.

We often gravitate towards training as a means to improve performance in organizations, however there are several non-instructional interventions that can be implemented to improve productivity and prompt employees to meet defined organizational goals. One such intervention is an employee incentive program.

Incentive programs are used to reward results among employees. It is estimated that incentive programs can boost performance by as much as 44%. That’s an impressive number, but it is only achievable if an organization properly designs their incentive program, implements it and measures its overall return on investment.

Incentive programs to reward results should not be created just for its own sake. There must be justified reasons for creating an incentive program and there are at least five conditions under which they work best:

  1. Current performance is determined to be inadequate
  2. The cause to poor performance by employees is related to deficiencies in motivation
  3. The desired level of performance can be quantified in some fashion (for example, increase sales by 20%)
  4. The desired level of performance (a goal) is achievable
  5. The focus on encouraging certain behavior is not in conflict with other performance goals that are expected of the target audience as part of their daily routine

If these conditions are present and can be met, you can get started with designing your incentive program by doing the following:

  1. Gain the support of upper management. You must have their endorsement and feedback
  2. Be sure the incentive program aligns with the company’s mission, vision and values. Make sure the program is not counter to any goals or objectives the company is currently concentrating on
  3. Set a budget for the program and stick to it
  4. Promote the incentive program to right target audience

No two incentive programs are necessarily alike. So, make sure one person or a small group manages the incentive program and be flexible when running the program. You’ll likely encounter unforeseen issues that need to be resolved and you should be willing to make changes when necessary that are fair and equitable to the employees participating in the incentive program. Keep an open channel of communication and remember you won’t be able to motivate everyone through the program. Stay focused on the positive outcomes and you’ll likely see increases to employee performance.

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By Justin Beller – September 29, 2010

Setting Business Goals and Objectives: Part 1 of the Successful Workplace Series

In the days ahead we will be taking a closer look at the actions and qualities businesses need in order to create a successful workplace. This is part 1 of that series referencing the original post, 5 Steps to a Successful Workplace.

Whether it is training or any kind of initiative that is to be implemented in an organization, setting clear goals and objectives should be top priority. It is the basis under which all actions stem. Objective, actionable plans in business make sure those charged with carrying out actions have a course to follow and a target to reach.

In business there is a popular acronym that one can follow to help form effective goals and objectives – SMART

  • Specific – Clearly define what it is your organization, or the people in your organization, are to do. This is no time to be vague or ambiguous. If you used a term like, “Increase sales”, it’s not very clear. Instead, it is better to say, “Increase sales by 20% over last quarter.”
  • Measurable – Establish clear procedures to track and monitor progress. Use this process and the information gathered from it to determine if it is necessary to alter your plans or to continue as planned.
  • Attainable – This is being honest with your intentions. If you set out to reach a specific goal, does your organization have the resources or time to make it a reality?
  • Relevant – If a group of people are given a goal to achieve, is it meaningful to them? Is it in context to their roles? If not, chances are they will not be motivated to work toward the goal or support it.
  • Timely – The proposed goal must have a completion date. When a goal is not time-bound, the sense of urgency is not there and the efforts to support it will likely fall by the wayside.

Forming goals and objectives does not have to be difficult. Using the SMART formula is probably your best tool and one that will help toward producing the results you are looking for to make your workplace successful and competitive in today’s economy.

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By Justin Beller – September 27, 2010

5 Steps to a Successful Workplace

One of the keys to being an effective manager is to have an approach and philosophy that is consistent and visible to your staff. In fact, every business should take the time to establish a management philosophy for all supervisors and managers to follow.

Below are some rules for managers to follow to create a successful workplace.

  1. Create common goals for management and staff: Define the desired outcomes for your business/department/workgroup. Ensure the outcomes are measurable and the justification is clear. (link)
  2. Reward results: Try not to focus on the time spent on a project. Instead, reward an employee or team that produces excellent results in a normal workday. (link)
  3. Encourage balance: Many businesses want to be the number one priority of their employees. However, if an employee gives up family, friends or hobbies to be at work they will burn out quickly. If you encourage balance during normal workloads, your staff will be more likely to put work first when really necessary. (link)
  4. Hold your teams accountable: Be sure you treat your employees like the adults they are. Excuses and complacency should never be tolerated. By holding workers accountable, most people will step up their game. (link)
  5. Provide continuous feedback: Many companies function based on annual reviews. However, this is a long time for an employee to go without knowing how they are doing. Mix positive feedback with areas of improvement all throughout the year. This will help them take the steps needs to excel. (link)

Applying these rules will create a work environment where people will prosper and deliver the results you are looking for.

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By Justin Beller – September 23, 2010

Review: Learning 2.0 for Associations

On Twitter I recently shared a resource of more than 25 free e-learning books available for download. One e-book in particular caught my attention, and I thought it would be interesting to write a review for this blog.

Learning 2.0 for Associations is not necessarily an e-book. It’s actually a well written report that provides an overview of the tools that have emerged as of late in the Web 2.0 revolution and how they apply to learning in organizations. It is not an in-depth technical view of the tools, rather it assumes the reader has a solid grasp of the web, knows how it works and is able to conceptualize how these tools facilitate learning.

As a practitioner in the field of training and development, I appreciate the report’s attempt to trace how we’ve gone from Learning 1.0 (one to one traditional instruction) to Learning 2.0 (one to many). Today’s learning, driven by Web 2.0, not only allows instructors to teach more people than ever before, the social aspects enable students to serve as teachers guiding, supporting and providing feedback to their fellow students.

What I learned from this report is that Web 2.0 does not facilitate learning in and of itself. They are tools that enable or enhance the learning experience. The trick is to select the right platform for the appropriate learning situation.

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By Justin Beller – August 5, 2010

Instructional Design Is Not Dying, but Rapid E-Learning Tools Aren’t Helping

A recent “Tweet” on my Twitter account of a blog post I found generated a lot of traffic and discussion around whether or not the field of instructional design is suffering due to the popularity of rapid e-learning applications like Adobe Captivate or Articulate’s Engage and Presenter.

It’s not that rapid e-learning tools are entirely replacing trainers or instructional designers. They are, however, becoming a preferred choice of developing and delivering training in the corporate world. Their ease of use and overall cost is relatively low compared to the more traditional forms of training. Nevertheless, these software applications are merely tools and in the hands of inexperienced instructional designers or subject matter experts tapped as trainers, they are ineffective.

Instructional designers  have their place in the training process as they analyze and validate training needs. With their knowledge of adult learning and how to maximize the potential of each learner, they can organize and present the content in a fashion that is easy to learn and relevant to the learner. More importantly, they can create activities and exercises that give the learner an immediate opportunity to demonstrate what they learned and get corrective feedback.

Sadly, I have to agree with the author of the blog post that inspired this particular post that some companies are trading quality for speed. While it is understandable that managers and human resource departments need people to be trained quickly and efficiently, the science behind adult learning often gets overlooked.

I feel the profession instructional design is losing some ground as being an established function within organizations. This is largely due to the economy. When cuts in a company need to be made, training is often the first to go as instructional designers are largely a support and administration function of an organization. They are not a line function, which generates revenue directly for a company. Such cuts, in my opinion, are not necessarily a wise move as I discussed in a previous post.

Rapid e-learning tools, in place of qualified instructional designers and trainers give a false impression that anybody can put together training and I hope that changes when the economy turns around. Instructional designers must do a better job demonstrating their value within their organizations. At PinPoint, we’re happy to say we use rapid e-learning tools, but we back-up everything we produce with sound instructional design.

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By Justin Beller – July 29, 2010