Just-in-time Talent

Technology has made it so that I can email you much more easily than I can call you. We can communicate virtually just as well as we can connect face-to-face. With the recession cut-backs, many companies have taken advantage of that. Workers have been treated as disposable. Cost-containment is important. It’s the most important part, in fact, if your business is struggling financially. But what is creating disposable workers doing to your company?

Temps, freelancers, contractors, and interim executives are easy to get rid of. What kind of culture is having temporary workers creating? First, the bright side…

You get better talent.
The more ’stable’ jobs are the ones that are sought after by high potentials seeking the executive track. Since there are fewer of these positions available, competition is increased, and you can be more selective. Yet, the temps, the contractors and consultants feel the competition as well, because you are their ‘client.’ You can hire experts when experts are needed and generalists where generalists are needed. Consequentially, the bar is increased and you have your pick.

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 Sourced from: HRM Today Featured Posts

The Five Domains of High Performance

Pick a leader – any successful leader. Then search Amazon and see how many books and other publications come up on that person. Abraham Lincoln? 83,642. Gandhi? 61,923. Even Barack Obama, who was widely introduced to the world just five years ago, has 8,670. People love studying successful people.

In the same way that many people have an insatiable appetite to study successful leaders, we in the business world tend to be fascinated with high-performance organizations. What are they like? What do they do differently? Is there a secret recipe that allows them to outperform their competition?

Of course, many books have been dedicated to this subject. From Tom Peters’s and Bob Waterman’s early 80’s best seller In Search of Excellence to Jim Collins’ Built to Last and Good to Great, there has been a succession of books that leaders and managers across the globe have devoured. Programs such as GE’s Six Sigma have trained countless people in how to achieve top performance and consultants have built entire practices around elements of high-performing companies.

While business professionals want to learn more about high-performance organizations in the hopes that they can apply some of the secret sauce to their own organization, many of the companies profiled within the pages of the aforementioned books were unable to sustain high performance. In fact, the number is about half. While much has been written on the subject, the truth is that the ingredients to high performance remain something of a mystery.

Part of the reason is the definition – what exactly do we mean by high performance? Is there a difference between simply surviving (which was the fate of some of the companies profiled in Built to Last, for example) and performing well over a long period? Do we mean companies which outperform others in their own industry or across industries? Over how long a time period does an organization need to perform exceptionally well in order to be considered a “high performer”? And which measures, financial or otherwise, are the best ones to use?

Over the last three decades, i4cp researchers have looked at various ways to define high performance and the traits that separate the consistently top organizations from the rest. Through that time, we have come to recognize high-performing organizations as ones that consistently outperform most of their competitors in four primary areas:

• Revenue growth
• Market share
• Profitability
• Customer satisfaction

And, over the years, our research team has examined well over 100 different core human capital areas and tried to determine the differences between high-performing and low-performing organizations. The research has clearly shown that no single ingredient guarantees organizational success. Rather, high performance is like a delicate entrée – based on a staple of core ingredients any one of which, if left out or of inferior quality, will ruin the entire item.

The Five Domains of High Performance

Our research has shown that there are five basic ingredients which separate higher performers from their lower-performing counterparts:

1. Their strategies are more consistent, clearly communicated and well thought out. They are more likely than other companies to say that their philosophies are consistent with their strategies and their performance measurements mirror their strategies.
2. Leadership is clear, fair and talent-oriented. Those leaders are more likely to promote the best people for the job, to make sure performance expectations are well known and consistent with the strategy, and to be committed to developing their people.
3. There is a commitment to the right talent within the organization, and while employees are treated as unique individuals, the organization takes a holistic approach to managing and making decisions based on data-driven information. This begins with a strategic approach to workforce planning. It entails looking at the organization from an outside-in perspective that identifies the business model components and areas that drive value and then determines what the organization needs.
4. The culture is strong in all the right ways, and employees are more likely to think the organization is a good place to work. Employees not only adapt well to change, they embrace it. High performers also emphasize a readiness to meet new challenges and are committed to innovation.
5. They are more likely to have a strong market focus and go above and beyond for their customers. They are organized internally around what’s best for the customer, they think hard about customers’ future and long-term needs, and their strategy is based on customer data. And they are more likely to see customer information as the most important factor for developing new products and services.

While these five domains – Strategy, Leadership, Talent, Culture and Market – may seem a bit broad or even obvious, the separation our research has shown between high and low performers in these domains is startling. For example, in a just-released study on high performance by i4cp, the following graph depicts this separation:

These findings, along with previous studies, have convinced us to target our research on discovering the best ways for companies to boost their performance in these five domains and the numerous sub-domains within. We’re convinced that companies that focus on excelling in these areas are cooking up a surefire recipe for long-term success.

i4cp’s 4-Part Recommendation:

1. Take stock to determine where your organization stands in these five areas, and be honest – even the best performing companies aren’t always superb in each area. To get an objective view, survey the workforce on these domains as well as use other assessment tools.
2. Once you’ve determined your areas of strength and weakness, make sure senior management is involved in improving on the weak areas while not taking the eye off of the strengths; in tough economies it can be easy to stop focusing on core areas that the company has excelled in. Don’t forget to investigate the practices of other organizations that are excelling in your areas of weakness; it’s amazing how some very simple and inexpensive ideas can make a huge difference in closing the gap.
3. Although companies should focus on the specific tactics for boosting their performance in each of these five areas, it’s important to align the five areas as a whole. Each domain feeds off the others, and ignoring one is like leaving a key ingredient out of a culinary masterpiece.
4. Although these efforts should continue indefinitely to sustain performance over time, organizations should also do regular reevaluations of their progress so they can make course corrections as needed.

View a recording of Thursday’s webinar, The Five Domains of High-Performance Organizations.
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 Sourced from: HRM Today Featured Posts

The effect of mentoring on the job performance and social status of mentors in China

In this study, we examine how mentoring benefits mentors as well as how team cohesiveness affects mentoring relationships and resulting benefits. We followed 512 formal mentors in a Chinese manufacturing firm for six months and collected data in three phases and from three sources. The findings reveal that the amount of mentoring provided is positively related to mentors’ in-role job performance and social status. These relationships were fully mediated by mentors’ personal learning and social interaction quality, respectively. Team cohesiveness, however, did not moderate these relationships. Our empirical findings have implications for understanding how mentors’ careers can benefit from being a mentor.

 Sourced from: Latest Issue of Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology

Types of Bias in Psychometric Test Translation

Types of Bias in Psychometric Test Translation

With the demand and need for psychological tests increasing in various different cultures and countries, there has been much greater awareness regarding some of the issues that are associated with the development or adaptation of tests to be used in contexts and situations that may be different from which the test was developed for. This article focuses on one of the key aspects of translating tests, the types of bias that can occur.

When utilizing the test in a new cultural group, it is not quite as simple as directly translating the test, administering it and then comparing the results for its validity. There are a number of issues that need to be considered such as whether the area assessed with the test applies to the new culture or whether is may be biased towards that group and whether what is assessed by the test also has similar behavioral indicators? These are just some of the potential areas where bias can be found in the translation of tests and affect the validity of the test being utilized in the new context.

Van der Vijer & Hambleton (1996) differentiates between three distinct types of bias that may affect the validity of tests that have been adapted for different cultural contexts and these are construct bias, method bias and item bias.

Construct bias occurs when the construct (e.g. personality) that is measured by the test displays significant differences between the original culture for which it was developed and the new culture where it is going to be utilized. These differences can occur in the way that the construct was formulated and developed as well as in the relevant behaviors that are associated with the construct. It is critical to examine whether the underlying theory of the test is subject to construct bias and this can be examined through the studies examining the construct and its associated behaviors in the context that it will be utilized in. If there are significant differences found in these studies, it may indicative that there is construct bias. Major revisions may be required to overcome this bias. If not, the validity of the test will be affected.

Method bias refers to factors or issues related to the administration of the test that may affect the validity of the test. Examples of areas that method bias can occur include social desirability, acquiescence response styles, the conditions in which the test was conducted and the motivation of the respondents. Across cultures, there potentially can be differences that can occur in these areas and these can affect the way that the respondents answer the items in the test. This potentially may lead to differences between found that can be erroneously attributed to cultural differences when in fact, these differences are the result of differences in the administration procedures. As a result, it is threat to the validity of tests that have been adapted for use in new cultures. Test developers also not only need to focus on the adaptation of the test itself but also need to be aware of issues regarding the implementation of the test in a new context.

Item bias is another source of bias that can occur in the translation of tests and these refer to biases that occur with the items in the test. This is usually the result of either poor translation choices for items or due to culturally inappropriate translations. For example, the phrase “kick the bucket” is essentially a phrase that referring to passing away in the Western context and is commonly known by most people in that culture; unfortunately, this phrase would have no meaning for people from cultures without any prior experience with that phrase. In this manner, a literal translation of that phrase would be a poor translation as it does not convey the correct meaning of the item. The items in the test need to be culturally equivalent, where the meaning of the items needs to be correctly translated so as to maintain the validity of the test in the new cultural context.

These are some of the biases that may occur during the translation of tests. Test developers will need to be aware of the sources of bias and take the appropriate measures to avoid these biases.

References:

Van der Vijer, F. and Hambleton, R. K. (1996). Translating tests: some practical guidelines. European Psychologist, 1, 89-99.


Psychometric Training in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and China
If you are serious about using psychometric tests properly then we recommend joining PsyAsia International’s Psychometric Assessment at Work Course which leads to a certificate of competence in Occupational Testing Level A and Level B from the British Psychological Society. The Course is run publically in Singapore and Hong Kong or in-house anywhere.
More details about BPS Level A and B in Singapore and Hong Kong

Online Psychometric Training – Worldwide
Alternatively, you might be interested in introductory Online Psychometric Test Training presented live by a registered psychologist. PsyAsia is offering a special fee of just US$12 for anybody who registers for the February online psychometric training course!
More details about online psychometric test training

Online Psychometric Test Training Course

Introduction
PsyAsia International is pleased to announce an exceptional offer for those interested in learning psychometric test administration from the comfort of their office or home.

Why only US$12?
Some months ago PsyAsia International was chosen to become part of the panel of beta-testers for a new online training software. The beta program will end next month as the software is almost ready to go live. In view of this PsyAsia is now ready to use the software as our final stage in the beta program with our valued clients. For this reason, rather than charging the regular fee for our online psychometric test administration training course, we are offering similar training for just a $12 registration fee.

Your facilitator
PsyAsia International is well known for professional and competent training in Psychometrics. This course will be no different. It will be facilitated live by award-winning psychologist Dr. Graham Tyler.

Course Outline
This is a first-level introductory course in psychometric test administration. The course will prepare attendees to become more competent in administering psychometric tests.

-What is a psychometric test
-Types of psychometric tests
-Requirements of good tests
-Psychometric Principles
-Reliability
-Validity
-Running a psychometric test session
-Candidate questions and deviance
-Scoring and norming of tests
-Ethical test use

More offers
Those who register for this online course, pay the US$12 fee and attend all 3 one hour sessions may also register for our 1-day BPS Test Administration Certificate Course in February in Singapore or March in Hong Kong at a 15% discount. Alternatively, you may choose to attend only the afternoon of the above training (which is mainly practical assessments) and pay only 50% of the published course fee. You will need to pay the BPS Assessment fee at the current rate if you wish to be assessed for the BPS certificate. A PsyAsia certificate will be presented to all attendees at the real-life course. Discount codes will be sent to eligible persons after the final training session.

Registration Process
Registration is simple! Click on the link below. Complete the short registration form and ensure that you provide your work email address (free accounts such as yahoo/gmail/hotmail etc will be rejected). Within one working day of completing the form you will receive an email from Paypal with a request for your US$12 payment. Click on the link in the email and pay using your credit card at the paypal site. Within one working day of your payment we will approve your registration and send you a link to download some files that we will use during the training and complete a pre-course quiz. The email will also contain a link for you to log-into each training session. Please pay the registration fee as soon as you can to avoid losing your place. Places are available on a first-paid/first-confirmed basis!!

Click here to register

How the training works
You will need a computer with a reasonable internet connection along with a microphone/headphone set. The training will be transmitted to your computer in slide form and live demo of various systems and websites related to psychometrics. The facilitator will use a mic to teach you. You will also have the opportunity to share with other attendees and ask questions either by way of your microphone or text chat.

Terms and Conditions
The training is open to anybody worldwide who is able to attend on all 3 days between 5pm and 6pm Singapore/Hong Kong time and who can satisfy ALL of the following:

1. Register with accurate data and a work email account
2. Pay the US$12 registration fee
3. Have a computer with an internet connection/headset and mic. However, you may choose to telephone in rather than use a mic/headphone. In this case you must be happy calling a number in USA, New Zealand or Australia. The number will be provided with your registration.
4. Must not be already trained in test administration or BPS Level A – this is because we want to give this opportunity to those who want to learn something new rather than those who may be more interested in finding out how our system works!
5. Must not be a competitor

Click here to register

Employers Expect Uptick in Hiring in the New Year, CareerBuilder’s 2010 Job Forecast Finds

“There have been many signs over the past few months that point to the healing of the U.S. economy, especially the continued decrease in the number of jobs lost per month, a trend that will hopefully carry over into the new year,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “Although 20 percent of employers plan to add headcount in 2010, up from 14 percent last year, they still remain cautious in regards to their hiring. We’re headed in the right direction but should not expect to see actual job growth until at least Q2 2010.”

The encouraging news regarding the economy may be easing hiring fears, as employers signal an increase in their plans to hire in the new year, according to CareerBuilder’s 2010 Job Forecast. While employers continue to closely monitor the progress of recovery for the U.S. economy, they are beginning to consider hiring strategies designed to preserve the health and growth of their businesses for the future. CareerBuilder surveyed more than 2,700 hiring managers and human resource professionals nationwide across industries.

HIRING IN 2010

Full time – Twenty percent of employers say they plan to increase their number of full-time, permanent employees in 2010, up from 14 percent in 2009. Nine percent say they plan to decrease headcount in 2010, down sharply from 16 percent in 2009. Sixty-one percent don’t plan to change staff levels, while 10 percent say they are unsure.

Part time – Eleven percent of employers plan say they plan to add part-time employees in 2010, up slightly from 9 percent in 2009. Eight percent say they plan to decrease their part-time help in 2010, down from 14 percent in 2009. Sixty-nine percent plan no change in headcount, while 13 percent are unsure.

Hiring By Region – Employers in the West are planning to increase their headcounts more in 2010 than the other regions of the country. Nearly one-quarter of employers (24%) in the West say they plan to add full-time workers in 2010, compared to 21 percent in the Northeast, 20 percent in the South and 16 percent in the Midwest.

While plans to decrease headcounts in 2010 are down sharply across all regions, employers in the Northeast still plan to trim headcounts by 10 percent, followed by an 8 percent decrease in the South, Midwest and West.

Hiring By Industry – Comparing selected industries, hiring is expected to increase in information technology, manufacturing, financial services, professional and business services, and sales in the coming year. Thirty-two percent of IT, 27 percent of manufacturing, and 23 percent of financial services employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees in 2010, followed by 22 percent of employers in professional and business services and 21 percent in sales. Health care employers are also planning to expand staffs at 21 percent followed by 18 percent of transportation employers and 15 percent of Retail.

Hiring By Job Type – When asked which areas employers plan to hire for in 2010, one-third pointed to technology followed by 28 percent in customer service. Nearly one-quarter (23 percent) plan to add sales people, 18 percent will add research/development, 17 percent in business development, 15 percent in accounting/finance and 14 percent in marketing.

Compensation - Even as companies continue to watch their spending, they still plan slight increases to salaries in the coming year. Fifty-seven percent of employers report their companies will increase salaries for existing employees in 2010, down from 65 percent in 2009. Thirty-six percent expect to raise salaries of existing employees by 3 percent or more, while 11 percent anticipate increases of 5 percent or more.

Twenty-nine percent of employers plan to increase salaries on initial offers to new employees, down from 33 percent in 2009. Nearly one-in-five (18 percent) employers will raise salaries on initial offers by 3 percent or more while 7 percent anticipate increases of 5 percent or more.

HOW EMPLOYERS PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD IN THE NEW YEAR

Companies are looking to the future and making up for lost ground caused by the recession. The following are 10 trends for 2010:

1. Replacing Lower-Performing Employees

Employers are taking advantage of the large number of top talent in the current labor pool to strengthen their work force. Thirty-seven percent of employers say they plan to replace lower-performing employees with higher-performers in 2010. When asked to grade their current work force, 25 percent rated them an “A”, 60 percent a “B”, 15 percent a “C”, and 1 percent a “D.” Less than one-half of a percent felt their current staff was a failure.

2. Emphasis on Social Media to Strengthen Brand

The economy required companies to make some tough decisions about their businesses, which had a negative impact on their brands. Close to four-in-ten employers (37%) plan to put a greater emphasis on

social media in 2010 to create a more positive brand for their organization. One-in-five employers plan to add social media responsibilities to a current employee, while close to one-in-twelve (8 percent) plan to hire someone new to focus or partially focus on social media.

3. Rehiring Laid-off Workers

Companies needed to scale their businesses to market last year and four-in-ten employers say they were forced to lay off workers. Among those who had lay-offs in 2009, thirty-two percent of employers now say they plan to bring back workers with three-in-ten either doing it now or planning to do so in the first six months of 2010.

4. Flexible Work Arrangements

Companies plan to continue providing employees with greater flexibility in hopes of maintaining a better work-life balance. Thirty-five percent of employers say they plan to provide more flexible work arrangements in 2010, compared to 31 percent last year. These arrangements include:

• Alternate schedules – come in early and leave early or come in later and leave later – 73 percent
• Telecommuting options – 41 percent
• Compressed workweeks – work the same hours, but in fewer days – 32 percent
• Summer hours – 18 percent
• Job sharing – 13 percent
• Sabbaticals – 6 percent

5. Cutting Perks and Benefits

Even as companies look to the new year and toward growth opportunities for their businesses, many are still choosing to trim perks and benefits. Thirty-seven percent of employers say they will cut perks and benefits in 2010, up from 32 percent who said they trimmed in 2009. Perks and benefits employers plan to trim in the new year include bonuses, medical coverage, suspended 401k matching and office perks such as coffee, tea and condiments.

6. Rehiring Retirees and Postponing Retirement

Companies understand the intellectual capital mature workers bring to their organization and 27 percent say they are open to retaining their workers who are approaching retirement. Sixteen percent say they are likely to rehire retirees from other companies in 2010. Additionally, one-in-ten are likely to provide incentives for workers at or approaching retirement age to stay on with the company longer.

At the same time, workers have expressed interest in postponing retirement. Thirty percent of employers report they have received requests from workers approaching retirement age to stay on with their company, up from 22 percent last year.

7. Freelance or Contract Hiring

While employers still plan to be cautious regarding the number of full-time employees they add in the new year, many will turn to freelance or contract employees to help keep their businesses moving forward. Three-in-ten employers anticipate hiring freelancers or contractors in 2010, up slightly from 28

percent in 2009. Six percent expect to employ more freelance workers or contractors than last year, while 15 percent expect to hire the same amount and 10 percent plan to hire fewer.

8. Green Jobs

Employers will continue to turn some of their focus to the environment in the new year. Eleven percent of employers say they plan to add “green jobs” in 2010, the same amount who said they added them in 2009. “Green jobs” are positions that implement environmentally conscious design, policy and technology to improve conservation and sustainability.

9. Bilingual Recruitment

Employers have identified having a diverse work force as an important measure of success as they begin to rebuild their businesses after the economic downturn. One area they plan to focus on is building a bilingual team. Nearly four-in-ten employers (39%) said they plan to hire bilingual candidates in 2010 and half said that if they had two equally qualified candidates, they would be more inclined to hire the bilingual candidate.

10. Business Travel

While employers are inching away from cost containment and more into growth, one area they still plan to save money on is business travel. Forty-three percent of employers say that in their organizations there will be less business travel in 2010 than in 2009.

Download the full report here

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Sourced from: HRM Today Featured Posts

Providing Effective Performance Feedback

Performance management involves an ongoing process of establishing goals, evaluating the activities undertaken to achieve those goals, as well as assessing the final outcomes within an organization. This ongoing process allows management to assess the performance of the employees within the organization and how effective the organization is in meeting their strategic goals.

The performance management process can take many forms, ranging from periodic performance reviews between the manager and subordinate to 360 degree performance appraisals which involve gathering information from varied sources such as from peers, subordinates of the individual being assessed and maybe even from external clients. Typically, these performance reviews are conducted on a formal basis whereby the manager will meet with the subordinate on a periodic basis to assess the performance over that period and to provide feedback to the subordinate. The feedback component of the performance review process is very important as it provides subordinates with information regarding the areas in which they meet expectations or excel as well as areas where they may require further development. These provide advice and guidance for improving their performance. When conducted properly, this feedback process can serve as a source of encouragement and motivation.

With this in mind, it is critical for organizations to provide effective feedback during their performance review processes. This is done by providing specific feedback on behaviours that can be changed so as to improve performance. General feedback regarding possible negative behaviours would likely undermine the confidence of the employee and may cause the employee to become more defensive. Thus it would be more effective to provide examples of ideal behaviour that would help to improve performance. It is also important to maintain the confidence levels of the employee by providing them with support and encouragement in their capacity to improve and meet their potential.

Another point to keep in mind for performance reviews is to ensure that the process is not directed at criticizing the employee. It should focus on problem solving and identifying potential solutions in a collaborative manner. In this way, the employee will not feel that they are being criticized on his or her job performance thus enabling both parties to have a discussion to identify possible ways for that performance to be improved. Even when covering performance issues, it is very important to treat employees with respect so that they do not feel that they are being personally criticized.

Although performance reviews are commonly conducted formally on a periodic basis, the inclusion of informal performance reviews can be of considerable benefit. This allows the managers and subordinates to meet on a more frequent basis to discuss their ongoing processes, identify performance issues and provide advice regarding potential solutions. This can be especially useful for employees dealing with new duties and responsibilities when feedback is provided in a timely manner and immediate remedial solutions can be explored instead of waiting for the formal performance review period when such feedback may not be as urgent or relevant.
These are just some suggestions whereby organizations can help to mitigate some of the stigma and negative public perceptions that are widely held regarding performance reviews. In addition, the motivation benefits that are associated with providing effective feedback during performance reviews can improve both individual and organizational performance.

If you are interested in using an online and validated 360 Performance Framework and Appraisal System, have a look at the Saville Consulting 360 Appraisal System at http://www.psyasia.com/360_performance_appraisal.php