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Front Line Mis-Management
| More on the employee engagement study: The report says the second of four factors that are needed to maximize employee engagement is "effective front-line management." Does this factor give us hope as project managers that employees will “go the extra mile” for the success of the project? I don’t think so.
In almost all organizations, preparation for the role of front-line supervisor is woefully inadequate. Not to mention that decisions on who gets the position are as likely based on temperament and brown color of nose than on capability. It’s not like excellent training is unavailable. There are all kinds of options to meet the skill and budget needs of any project. Yet the hapless supervisor is usually dumped into this critical position with little support, save for some training on basic legal necessities. Then the supervisor begins to deflate the employee engagement of the entire team.
If you want your workers to be engaged, you must plan to have qualified front-line supervisors (team leads, managers, whatever you call them). Make this a part of your Activation phase.
Back to our tally: So far 2 of 4 factors needed for maximum employee engagement are rarely found. As a project manager, you should see now why getting things done is such a struggle. It could be built into your organizational culture. |
Posted on: May 15, 2007 08:25 AM
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Senior Management & Bathroom Signs
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This issue of “employee engagement” continues to be a hot topic in workforce management, as mentioned in a previous post. Remember that “employee engagement” in this context is a measure of two measurables - job satisfaction and commitment – and not a measure of nuptuality. The commitment part tells you whether workers are really giving their best effort to your project.
Towers Perrin recently looked at employee engagement globally. One requirement to achieve full employee engagement, according to TP’s analysis, is visible senior management involvement. Is it just me or does this doom most of us? Don’t we see two general approaches? Either senior management appears aloof or becomes involved in an unhelpful way.
I remember being on a contract job where I worked for a company whose senior management had signs put up at the copy machines. They said “Get Engaged!” Did they really think this was going to shock workers into becoming committed? Worker making copies: “Oh Jeez! What have I been doing? I need to start buckling down and meeting our schedules!”
This is the same logic that is behind the restaurant bathroom signs that say “All workers must wash hands before returning to work.” We can only imagine that other signs in the work area say, “Remove rodent parts from food before serving.” Senior managers have to do a lot more to create a work culture. A lot more.
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Posted on: May 09, 2007 04:08 PM
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They'll be Lining Up at the Recruiter's Office
| In my last post, I commented on the higher expectations of respondents in InformationWeek’s 2007 Salary Survey, which covered a lot more than salaries. Now let’s look at the details so that you can capture the best people for your project. In general, they want:
…More money. Slow salary growth from previous years is apparently over. Time to budget for higher salaries.
…More responsibility and challenge. You may find it useful to rework some jobs to include more responsibility. This is possible if you start during the planning phase.
…More benefits. If your organization provides nothing outstanding in the way of benefits, create benefits of your own in the project. Perhaps you can add some work flexibility, another desired job characteristic.
For “managers” in your project there is another very desirable job characteristic – the ability to work on creating new, innovative IT solutions. If you have such a project (or such a position) write up a concise but stimulating description of it.
Compile descriptions of all these items in project job postings and update recruiters if you use them. Keep this information in your mind for when you speak to others in professional association meetings. For example, when you attend a professional association meeting, you can let it drop that you are hiring for a project that has some well-paid positions with more responsibility and challenge. This strategy is certainly to turn heads of the many IT workers who are suffering from frustration from the results of outsourcing. Position your project as the cure. |
Posted on: May 08, 2007 03:09 PM
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New Competitive Marketplace for Workers
| InformationWeek is out with its 2007 Salary Survey, and there are a few workforce trends away from previous years. I’ll deal with more of these in upcoming posts. What we are interested in here is what workers want, so that you can manage your project workforce better. According to the survey, more workers are feeling confident about their jobs and fewer are feeling insecure. This has led to higher expectations, so you may have to adjust how you attract workers to your project.
Perhaps you have taken the attitude that workers should be glad they have an opportunity in your project in the first place. Certainly this has been generally true in previous years. If so, it may be necessary for an attitude change if you want to capture the best candidates for the job. To get those desirable workers, expect to provide more information on benefits of working in your project. You’ll have to create a project description that plays up what they want to hear. You may have to budget more money for salaries. In more extreme cases, you may have to adjust the job description to nab a particularly hot candidate.
Another study of corporate leaders discussed in previous posts also suggests that technical workers are becoming harder to find. It looks like you should be preparing for a more competitive marketplace for workers in the coming years. The only relief may be intensifying merger and acquisition activity. Maybe you should get recruiters hanging around like scavengers outside of companies in acquisition talks. |
Posted on: May 07, 2007 09:17 AM
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Generational Issues and the Difficult Employee
| I’ve made several posts now related to generational issues and others related to “difficult employees.” It’s time to connect the two streams.
When you have an employee who is causing problems, one of the first things to do is determine what the cause is. This is not necessarily the same as the immediate complaint made by the worker.
Here’s an example. An older worker (“late career” worker) begins to resist participation in meetings, and perform poorly. This is awkward and you don’t know how to handle it because the worker has been an excellent resource. To get to the root cause of the problem, you talk to the complaining worker. It turns out she is concerned that new technology-based efficiency changes have replaced time-honored ways of doing business. She is also concerned that she will not be able to perform well as she has been performing – at the top of her game.
This result is fixable. The point is, though, that you have to avoid making assumptions at the beginning. You must get to the cause of the problem. Keep asking “Why?”. What has seemed to be awkward and unusual can become easier to fix than you think. |
Posted on: May 04, 2007 12:04 PM
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