The 8 Values of Highly Productive Organisations

Dr Tim Baker FAHRI

The traditional ‘them and us’ employment relationship or ‘psychological contract’ is a relic of the last century.  Baby Boomers in particular would be familiar with the traditional employment relationship. Essentially is an unwritten contract where the managers do the thinking and the workers do the doing. This employment relationship has been in existence for over 200 years since the Industrial Revolution. It has worked well in the relatively stable and predictable marketplace of the last 100 years. However, it does not work in the current climate of accelerated change and uncertainty. Organisations whose workplace culture is still based on the traditional employment relationship are ill equipped to deal with the challenges of the 21^st century.

By way of reference, the traditional employment relationship is covered in Table 1 below.

Table 1 Traditional Mindset Model

The left-hand column signified eight shared values reinforcing the traditional psychological contract. In the middle column, the eight descriptors characterise the appropriate employee mindset for each core value. These attitudes form the proper response from employees for each core value of the traditional psychological contract. The right-hand column is the appropriate approach from organisational leaders for each value supporting the traditional psychological contract. In other words these descriptors constitute the organisation’s obligations to employees in the traditional employment relationship. Should any of these responses be violated by employees or employers, the traditional psychological contract would be violated.

The 8 values underpinning the traditional employment relationship have changes profoundly over the past 25 years. These values are now obsolete; they have been replaced by a new set of values diametrically opposite those in Table 1. Table 2 below illustrates the shift in mindsets from the old to the new.

Table 2 Changing Mindset Model

Specialisation in the workplace, once highly valued, has now been replaced by flexible deployment of skills. The focus was once on internal processes and procedures as the basis of providing consistency to the customer. Although this is still important, the shift in companies must be to focus on the customer and his or her needs and interests. This is a different concept from customer service. In other words, everything should be geared towards an organisation’s customers. A performance focus is now more important than focusing on carrying out the duties of a clearly defined job. Project-based work is now more important than functional-based work. It is increasingly significant and in the interests of employees and employers that work is meaningful and nurtures the human spirit, hence the emphasis on human spirit and work. Organisational commitment has now replaced a sense of loyalty between organisation and individual. Learning and development with its broader emphasis is now more important than a narrower focus on technical training. Open information systems are likely to assist employees to make quality decisions in their day-to-day work than closed information channels.

As a result of these shifting mindsets, Table 3 below is the New Mindset Model illustrating the new employment relationship

Table 3 New Mindset Model

As The New Mindset Model illustrates, the employee benefits are linked to employability, developments of new skills, greater job satisfaction, and more autonomy to make decisions. These advantages are consistent with the changing needs of employees in the 21^st Century. So employees who have these mindsets are likely to want to work in an organisation that fosters these values. From the organisational perspective, the model shows the benefits to the organisation as having greater flexibility, responsiveness and manoeuvrability in the marketplace. These advantages are consistent with the current needs of organisations. As a result, employers who foster these values are likely to attract and retain employees that have similar mindsets. So these eight values can be conceptualised as the glue that binds the changing employee and employer paradigm.

HR professionals should aim to align their organisational culture to match the New Mindset Model.

This is an extract from Dr Tim Baker’s latest book: “The 8 Values of Highly Productive Companies: Creating Wealth from a New Employment Relationship”. More information about the book can be viewed at www.winnersatwork.com.au Dr Tim Baker is an international consultant and managing director of WINNERS AT WORK which specialises in assisting organisations to develop productive workplace cultures.

“The problem is that it is usually the other way round - Manage the change NOT lead the people”, says Dr Tim Baker

Nearly every book or article you pick up about change talks incessantly about the process of change and very little about leading the people affected by the change. And in particular these well meaning books and articles rarely mention the range of emotions we all cope with every time we incur a change in our lives. Leaders could do well to putting a little thought into how they can properly address the emotion needs of their team members. Some prior thought and planning will most likely lead to impeccable timing and sufficient resources. It ‘bumps up the odds’ of implementing something different in your workplace with a minimum of disruption; it is far less likely to be problematic.

Of course this neglect in the popular management literature on the emotional dimension of change is overcompensated for in management tips on dealing with people’s resistance. I have seen chapters entitled: “Overcoming Resistance” or worse still - “Neutralise Resistance”. The emotion of resistance is well understood by everybody, but it is only one of several emotional states a person passes through in a changing set of circumstances in their lives. By not dealing properly with these other emotions, a leader is escalating the potential for the nasty, inevitable and unfortunately consequences of resistance materialising. As Peter Senge so aptly put it, “People don’t resist change. They resist being changed!”

This piece is designed to address the too often neglected ‘lead the people’ part of ‘managing the change’.

“The Four Emotional Stages of Change” model proposed by Sydney-based management consultant - Anne Riches - is fine starting point.  It is a good, simple and practical model for understanding how others deal emotionally with a change in their life. The diagram below illustrates her model:

You can see two dimensions in the model above - productivity and time. Productivity refers to the collective organisational output and time refers to the length of the change process. The arrow illustrates the movement of a group of people from start to conclusion of a change event. It also illustrates the rise and fall of productivity as the change is implemented. The objective is to minimise the inevitable drop is productivity and to shorten the time frame as much as possible.

I will discuss each of the four emotional states from the perspective of how best to identify and plan for these before undertaking a change campaign.

Denial

Denial is when people don’t hear what’s been said.  Let me use two life changing events to explain - one positive and one negative. Police have some unimaginably unpleasant jobs. But one of the worse would surely be to front up to parent’s homes and explain that their son or daughter was killed in a road accident. Imagine Mr and Mrs Smith answering the door on a cold winters’ night to be greeted with: “Mr and Mrs Smith, can we come in; I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news for you … “.   The first reaction is understandable: denial. “You must have the wrong house!” or “This must be a bad dream; when am I going to wake up” are no doubt typical first responses to these reluctant bearers of bad news. On the other hand imagine your phone ringing and the person on the other end says, “Congratulations you have won lotto!” No doubt you would come to your sensors soon, but in the meantime you will probably respond something like this, “Who is this? Is this a joke or a ‘gotcha call?”. You are momentarily in a state of denial in both cases.

So what should a leader do when faced with the reality that people will be in this space in the early stages (and some for quite a bit longer) of change. The leader’s first response to any change process is to produce meaningful information to those affected by the change. In particular, the information should be about how the change will directly and indirectly influence their work and themselves. This should be done using a range of medium.

Management Tips …

Accept that this stage in inevitable (like all the others). Be patient and communicate well and frequently from the perspective of those at the coal face.  Give time for people to get through their denial. Create opportunities for people to think about the change and how it will change the way they work. Let it sink in. Be hard on the change and soft on the people. In other words, let them know that the change is real and the leadership is committed to it but we are nevertheless open to accommodating people in the process. Sadly it is often the other way round; a leader may demonstrate some doubt about the change and be too demanding on the people going through the change. “What’s wrong with you, aren’t you a team player?” maybe the leader’s response to staff protests. These information strategies will allow the participants to slip into a state of resistance.

Resistance

When people resist something they believe it is real. That’s the good news. People will naturally defend the status quo. It’s natural. It’s ok.  Getting back to the police analogue, once reality has set in it is likely that Mr or Mrs Smith are going to get angry and want to blame someone or something. “What is the Council doing? They neglected that road knowing that it was dangerous.” Or “Why was the police focused on revenue raising and not patrolling that dangerous road”. What about the lotto example? Surely there would be nothing to resist once reality set in that it wasn’t a bogus call? Well for a moment you would be asking yourselves some questions in what is sure to become a life-changing situation: “Should I tell people or keep it to myself? Or “What’s my next step?” This a mild form of resistance that may not last too long, but it is still a valid emotional response.

So what should a leader do when faced with resistance in the workplace? Listen. Just create the opportunity for people to air their concerns in a genuine way. This isn’t a management trick. It should be a sincere effort to allow others to be heard.

Management Tips …

Try to get people who are resisting focusing on the future. Usually the way people resist is by defending the past. But the past is gone.  Acknowledge and empathise with their resistance. Don’t try to convert them, just listen. Not the transition between resistance and exploration. Those that are exploring the change maybe still angry but they are having a go.

Exploration

When the majority of people are trying to adjust to the change, their skill or coping levels are probably low. After Mr and Mrs Smith blame everyone and everything for the tragic accident, they will have to adopt a survival ’step-by-step’ approach. Mr Smith turns to Mrs Smith and says, “We’ll have to take this day-by-day. We can’t look any further into the future. One day at a time.” After resolving how to deal with winning lotto, you need to explore how we’ll spend the money. Should I make a list? We are searching for options during this emotional stage of exploration.

This is the opportunity for the manager to get out of his or her office and supporting their staff. People need coaching and training at this stage.

Management Tips …

Leaders need to understand that not everyone enters this stage at the same time. There may well be some still resisting the change. The mistake a lot of leaders make during this phase is spent too much time with the ‘professional resistors’ and not enough time with the ‘pioneers’ who are exploring the change. Managers should seek the support for those who are mastering the change and put some pressure of the resistors to ‘come for the ride’. Those mastering the change will become committed to the change.

Commitment

Have you ever noticed that some of your most vocal advocates for the status quo become your champions of change later on?  They have entered the emotion stage of commitment. How could Mr and Mrs Smith gain any commitment from their loss of their child? 25 years later, Mrs Smith turns to Mr Smith on their balcony after a cup of tea and says, “What happened 25 years ago was tragic, but one thing it did do was bring us closer together. There is ‘always a silver lining to every cloud’.

People can get complacent at this stage of the change curve. Productivity is up and there is an overwhelming acceptance of the change. What more could I do as leader? Recognition and gratitude by the leader to their team would be appreciated and helpful. Leaders need to let their team know that they appreciate their efforts in implementing the change.

Management Tips …

It is a time to review and improve the process, learn lessons for the past, swap information. It might call for a brief celebration if it is a big systems change. A leader’s role now becomes a mentor and team builder. After all, it won’t be long before you and your team go down the ‘Tarzan swing’ again. ‘Life is a roller coaster ride’. How true it is.

Being good at mastering these emotional stages of change are the key to a leader’s success.  Timely and personalised information, an opportunity to protest, opportunities for skill acquisition and recognition are the appropriate responses for a leader implementing effective change.

Have you ever considered how very persuasive people influence others?

What are the factors that cause people to say yes?

According to Professor Robert Cialdini, regarded as the world’s leading authority on the subject of influence and persuasion and author of the classic - Influence:  The Psychology of Persuasion, there are several traits of human nature that when used will most likely persuade others.

Four of these characteristics include reciprocation, commitment, consistency and social proof.

Always return a favour

The rule of reciprocation, found in every culture, is that we should repay anything given to us, whether it’s a gift, an invitation, a compliment, and so on. We feel obligated to individuals and organisations who give us something, even if it is small and even if we don’t want it.

For example, straightforward mailing by charity groups usually gets a response rate of less than 20 percent. But this jumps dramatically when the mailing includes a gift, such as stick on labels printed with the receiver’s own name and address.

Being consistent

Human beings like to be consistent. This creates a gold-mine for marketers. They are very aware of the internal pressures against changing our mind, and often take full advantage.

For example, when charity phone callers ask “How are you, Mrs. …? Nine times of 10 we give a positive response. Then when the caller asks us to give a donation to the unfortunate victims of some disaster or disease, we can’t very well suddenly turn mean and grumpy and refuse others who are in a bad way. To be consistent we feel compelled to offer a donation.

Social proof

The most famous case of social proof in relation to suicide was the ghastly Johnstown, Guyana incident in 1978, when 910 members of Jim Jones’s People Temple cult took their lives by drinking from vats of poisoned soft drink. How was it possible that so many died so willingly? Most of the cult members had been recruited from San Francisco and the isolation of being in a foreign country contributed to the natural human tendency to “do what others like us are doing”.

Not missing out

It is human nature to value something more when it is scarce. In fact, we are more motivated by the thought of loosing something than we are by gaining something of equal value in its place. Retailers know this, which is why they perpetually scream “stock won’t last” to make us fear not getting something we were not sure we wanted anyway.

Modern leadership is arguably about influencing and persuasion.

What are the implications here?

Leaders should treat their staff as their customers, providing them with opportunities to grow and develop and provide positive reinforcement (Always return a favour). Managers should modify the behaviour of their people by firstly getting their staff to agree that their behaviour needs to change (Being consistent). Through mentoring young employees by demonstrating appropriate workplace behaviours, the managers are “walking the talk” (Social proof). And finally, managers need to balance positive feedback on performance with constructive negative feedback and the implications of this for the employee and others (Not missing out).

Influencing is the lifeblood of the modern manager.

Shifting towards a performance-focussed work culture hinges on ditching traditional narrow job descriptions in favour of broader role descriptions linked to value-adding behaviour.

One of the drivers of individual success in the modern workplace is a paradigm shift from one of entitlement to one of adding value. In other words, employees who constructively contribute beyond the narrow confines of their job description are likely to be more valued by companies.

Job descriptions typically focus on a limited set of behaviours or characteristics required to proficiently perform a specific set of tasks. While there is a trend towards implementing competency models, job descriptions continue to be defined primarily by the “explicit features” of each job, most likely due to the need to create a legally defensible performance-appraisal system.

However, work performance is two-dimensional, composed both of work required by an organisation and by discretionary employee work behaviours.

Job descriptions tend to encompass the work required, but rarely cover optional employee work activities, such as the continuous improvement of systems and processes, leadership and proactive team work. Managers must establish criteria to identify and reward such “value-adding” behaviours.

The first step in moving towards a performance-focussed culture is to change job descriptions to role descriptions for all employees. Role descriptions define the performance criteria of a job in the context of the business, and define the organisational role of the individual and link these with KPIs.

A “role” is a more generalised description that addresses end accountabilities and identifies the groups or areas that each position serves.

If you would like more information about moving from the narrow confines of job descriptions to broader more contextual role descriptions, please contact me on 0413 636 832.

“It is time to change our approach and throw out the old performance appraisal”, says Dr Tim Baker

When I mention the term ‘performance appraisal’ what thoughts come to mind? I’m not sure exactly what you thought, but I am pretty sure that the thoughts you had were not necessarily positive.

Whether you are a manager or employee, most people dread the thought of formally appraising or being appraised on their performance.

The problem with the traditional approach

The traditional performance appraisal is often a waste of time and can cause more harm than good.

Don’t get me wrong; I am not against performance feedback. In fact I believe it is one of the most important things a managers can do in his or her leadership role.

I just don’t think the way it is done is working particularly well.

The traditional performance appraisal is based on the military model; that is, the boss gives the subordinate a one-way monologue on what they are doing wrong and occasionally what the subordinate is doing right. The recipient is usually a passive and unenthusiastic receiver. It is a pointless and mostly painful exercise in its current form.

There are several things wrong with this militaristic approach:

• It is usually one way
• It is based on the power relationship between manager and employee
• It is done once or twice a year
• It is a formal process that stifles discussion
• It is rarely - if ever - followed up
• The focus of the ‘discussion’ is rarely about what constructive ways an employee’s strengths can be utilised and weaknesses overcome
• It takes time and is therefore an enormously costly exercise
• Nobody really enjoys the process

So how can it be done better and lead to genuine and sustainable performance improvements?

A fresh approach

My approach is called The 5 Conversations. It is based on five conversations between the manager and each of his or her staff over a six month period. Each of these five conversations need only last of 10 minutes.

They are spread out over six months. In other words, over the course of a year the manager is expected to have 10 conversations with each of his or her colleagues. Arguably this should be happening anyway as a means of building a professional rapport and understanding between managers and team members.

How does it work?

What do managers and their team members talk about in these five conversations?

Below is a table that illustrates the topics, contents and key questions.

The 5 Conversations Framework

The manager is then charged with the responsibility of scheduling and sitting down with each of their direct reports during the month and addressing each of the questions in the right-hand column related to the topic of conversation in the second column. This information should be recorded and passed back to HR as a central record of the issues arising across the organisation.

Climate review conversation

In January for example, data collected can be used to determine the climate across the organisation. This information can then be used as benchmarks to compare the climate twice a year.

Training and development conversation

Collectively the information recorded by the manager in their conversation on training and development can be used to create a comprehensive training needs analysis across the organisation. HR is then in a position to prioritise learning and development opportunities.

Innovation and continuous improvement conversation

Outcomes arising from the conversation around innovation and continuous improvement can be used as an opportunity to evaluate and implement ideas both within the department and across the organisation by management.

Improved performance conversation

This conversation focuses on strategies for improved performance provide the manager and team member with some clarity and understanding around feedback on performance aligned with their role description.

Career conversation

The career conversation provides an opportunity for employees to discuss their careers and ways in which their manager can assist them in their current role.

Preparation

The preparation for The 5 Conversations entails the employee and their manager preparing for each discussion. It should be employee-centred. In other words, unlike the traditional performance appraisal, the manager’s comments are guided by their employee’s contribution.

Advantages of this approach

There are many advantages that The 5 Conversations has over the traditional approach to appraising performance.

• It facilitates a process of an ongoing dialogue with all employees and their manager over the course of a year. Perhaps these issues are covered in the traditional appraisal, but by doing it this way, it becomes a regular ongoing discussion.
• It is a more relaxed approach which means that employees may be encouraged to be more open and direct about their developmental needs.
• It takes no more time than the traditional approach as each conversation should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
• It provides HR with a wealth of information for planning and developing their approach and strategy on a continual basis.
• It is much more natural and enjoyable.

Performance management should be an ongoing dialogue between manager and their staff. The 5 Conversations facilitates this. I commend this approach to you for consideration.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, bestselling author and Harvard professor recently wrote an article identifying seven universal sayings that can comfort and guide anyone engaged in the effort of setting a new direction, orchestrating innovation, establishing a culture, or changing behaviour.

“Change is a threat when done to me, but an opportunity when done by me.”

She coined this truth in her book The Change Masters. Resistance is always greatest when change is inflicted on people without their involvement. If it is possible to tie change to things people already want, and give them a chance to act on their own goals and aspirations, then it is met with more enthusiasm and commitment.

“A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.”

Big goals can seem overwhelming. The magnitude of the problem, the difficulty of the solutions, the length of the time horizon, and the number of action items can make change feel so complex that people feel paralysed, and nothing happens. This saying from China’s Chairman Mao is a reminder to get moving. Do something, get started, take the first steps however small they seem, and the journey is underway.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”

A clear destination is necessary to guide the journey of change. Many change efforts falter because of confusion over exactly where everyone is expected to arrive. In the children’s book, Alice in Wonderland, Alice, who is confused anyway, asks the Cheshire cat which road she should take. The magical cat responds with this helpful reminder to pin down your goal first. Zoom in on the destination on your mental map, and then zoom out to pick the best path.

“Change is a campaign, not a decision.”

How many people make vows to improve their diet and exercise, and then feel so good about the decision that they reward themselves with ice cream and sit down to read a book? CEOs and senior executives make pronouncements about change all the time, and then launch programs that get ignored. To change behaviour requires a campaign, with constant communication, tools and materials, milestones, reminders, and rewards.

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

Baseball legend Yogi Berra was known for oddball sayings that contain gems. There is an aspect of change that involves trial and error. Fear of mistakes can sometimes leave paths unexplored. It’s important to seize unexpected opportunities. Some sidelines are dead ends, but others might prove to be faster routes to the goals.

“Everything can look like a failure in the middle.”

There are numerous roadblocks, obstacles, and surprises on the journey to change, and each one tempts us to give up. Give up prematurely, and the change effort is automatically a failure. Find a way around the obstacles, perhaps by making some tweaks in the plan, and keep going. Persistence and perseverance are essential to successful innovation and change.

“Be the change you seek to make in the world.”

Leaders must embody the values and principles they want other people to adopt. This famous Gandhi quote reminds us all — executives with associates, political leaders with followers, or parents with children — that one of the most important tasks is personal: to be a role model, exemplifying the best of what the change is all about.

Say Goodbye to Job Descriptions

Published in HC Magazine

Shifting towards a performance-focused work culture hinges on ditching traditional ‘narrow’ job descriptions in favour of broader role descriptions linked to value-adding behaviour. One of the drivers of individuals success in the modern workplace is a paradigm shift from one of ‘entitlement’ to one of ‘adding value’. In other words, employees who constructively contribute beyond the narrow confines of their job description are likely to be more valued by the progressive company.

Job descriptions typically focus on limited set of behaviours or characteristics required to proficiently perform a specific set of taks. While there is a trent towards implementing competency models, job descriptions continue to be defines primarily by the explicit featres of each job, most likely due to the need to create a legally defensible performance-appraisal system.

However, work performance is two-dimensional, composed both of work required by a company and by discretionary employee work behaviours.

Job descriptions tend to encompass the work required, but rarely cover optional employee work activities, such as the continuous improvemtn of systems and processess and proactive team work.

Managers must establish criteria to identify and reward such value-adding behaviours.

Shift from job to role
The first step in moving towards a performance-focused culture is to change job descriptions to role descriptions for all employees.

Role descriptions define the performance criteria of the job in the context of the business, and define the organisational role of the individual and link these with KPIs.

A ‘role’ is a more generalised desciprtion that addresses end accountabilities and identifies the groups or areas theat each position serves.

It compels employees to behave in original way - in both their own jobs and on behalf of hte entire organisation - and links rewards and incentives to training and career development. Team, career, and innovator toles, should be taken into consideration in an up-to-date performance model.

And the same role description, can apply to a number of different jobs (where the inputs required are essentially the same), significant;y streamlining documentation.

The role document focuses on role simularities, rather than job differences, and provides more flexibility for both the individual and the organisation.

Employees are allowed the scope to take on new tasks within the same or a similar role, and employers have the flexibility to chop and change their workforce in response to changing market trends.

How to Write a Role Description
The key to successfully writing an accurate and effective role description is a collaborative approach between managers, workers and all other stakeholders within the business.

Collaborative approaches include the:

• Dynamic duo method - two employees who perform a similar role are chosen to complete a questionnaire on role responsibilities and performance expectations. The role description is subsequently written to reflect both perspectives, and then modified in consultation with the employees and line managers.
• Team method - three or four employees who perform the same role are chosen to complete the questionnaire and develop the document. This method is particularly useful when a role has many incumbents, or when the role can be found in several departments, calling for multiple viewpoints. However, teams should be relatively small to ensure the process remains efficient and a consensus is reached.
• Supervisor-incubent method - A supervisor works with a single employee to complete role documentation. This method is effective when an employee is new to a role, where there are particulat concerns about performance or role clarity, or where the role is undergoing major changes.
• Single employee method - A single employee or manager completed the questionnaire. For role with only one employee, or for a vacant/new position, this may be the only method available, but it is the least collaborative, and therefore, the least preferred.

This is an extract from Dr Tim Baker’s latest book: ‘The 8 Values of Highly Productive Companies: Creating Wealth from a New Employment Relationship’.

Career Paths – A Key to Retention

Are your best employees looking to work for your competitors?

As we emerge from the GFC, your top talent maybe looking to leave you.  Employers are being challenged to retain outstanding talent. In particular, engaging generations X and Y will continue to challenge organisations as the Baby Boomers contemplate retirement.

In practical terms, there are several things that you can do to retain staff with a focus on career management.

• Promote a sense of ownership for career management among employees by providing self-assessment tools to create career insight to help employees effectively navigate their careers. These tools maybe personality profiles, diagnostics and career information.
• Shift the employee mindset from a focus on vertical progression to a more fluid vision of career success based on learning and development and cross-functional orientation.
• Equip your managers with tools to support employees’ career development by providing training in career coaching skills.  Managers should be held accountable and rewarded for supporting internal mobility and employee development.
• Support meaningful career growth in a flattening organisation chart through project-based work, mentoring and skills coaching.
• Obtain senior management support for these initiatives.

Sophisticated talent management, succession planning and leadership development systems are commonplace but largely geared to managers. Yet leaders often struggle to delineate, apply, integrate and measure career management scheme across the organisation-at-large.

Career management should address the needs of employees not in the immediate leadership talent pool.

The engagement of high-performing talent is synonymous with gaining and maintaining competitive advantage.

Does the HRD Industry Have a Future?

Dr Tim Baker FAHRI

(Published in Training and Development)

The traditional approach to human resource development (HRD) is a relic of the last century. HRD needs to radically modify its approach or risk irrelevancy in the current climate of accelerated change and uncertainty. Despite the rhetoric, current HRD practices - at the very least - are holding businesses and the workforce back from realising their full potential. These traditional programs come and go. Approaches such as process reengineering, self-directed work teams, downsizing, and rightsizing and so on, are replacing each other largely because they are ineffective and unsustainable attempts at meeting the necessities of organisations operating in this rapidly changing global environment. Conventional HRD is obsessed with competencies, skills development, and implementing and following processes and procedures. These strategies are essentially about doing, applying or improving something within the business; they do not question the way people think.

Table I below illustrates the changes that are needed for HRD now and in the future.

Table I Changing Paradigms of HRD

Each of these paradigm shifts are explained briefly.

Branding

‘Human resources’ is a derogatory term. It implies that people are the captive possessions of organisations. The re-branding of HR departments sends a powerful message that their business is really about people, their performance, well-being and development. One of the best terms I have heard for an HR department is People, Performance and Well-being, the term used by the HR department at Rockhampton Regional Council. This title captures the essence of HRD. Re-branding is the first step towards sustaining HRD and its relevance to organisational development. 

Changing Mindsets

HRD has been obsessed with what people do rather than how they think. Conventional HRD is obsessed with the pursuit and development of competencies. These competencies can be technical, personal or problem solving. But they don’t address the need to change the way people think about their role and the organisational work they play. Sustainable behaviour change, whether it technical, personal or problem solving, is unlikely to happen without the correct mindset.  For example, teaching people planning techniques is unlikely to be practiced in an organisation that has a culture of ‘flying by the seat of their pants’. Tackling the reason for why people value spontaneity over planning would be the constructive first step in changing the behaviour. HRD should be in the business of directly changing the way people think as a pre-requisite for changing their work practices.

Problem Solving Capabilities

The bulk of HRD programs are about training people to improve their technical skills and competencies. Yet, in a climate of rapid change and uncertainty, equipping people with the skills to critically reflect and problem solve is a far more practical approach to help them cope with the increasing uncertain demands of their work.  The complexity of problems facing employees and ever-changing landscape is placing greater pressure and demands on people to be flexible and maneuverable. For example, customers are increasingly becoming more demanding and varied in their preferences. Increasingly sales and marketing frontline staff often need to think ‘outside the square’. Problem-based learning is often neglected in favour of a pre-defined curriculum that assumes that we are in a stable and predictable environment.

Change Management

Most HRD interventions are about upholding and maintaining certain workplace practices. Whilst it is acknowledged that this is important in some instances such as health and safety and recruitment, it doesn’t address the ever more critical role of continuous improvement and innovation. HRD should therefore place more emphasis on equipping people with the capacity to cope and manage change. Continuous innovation, changing people’s mindsets and constructively questioning the current way things are being done is a far more relevant and constructive approach for HRD now and in the future.  

Strategic Focus

A lot of training and development initiatives are designed to improve the operational functioning of an organisation. This would include the majority of technical training. HRD ought to remedy this by being more strategically focused and assisting businesses to achieve their corporate mission. If HRD wants more influence in the boardroom, they need to frame their case in business terms so that senior non-HR executives are sold on the benefits. More effort aligning HRD with the organisational vision is more likely to legitimise the relevance of learning and development.

Action Learning

Most learning and development programs have a finite start and finish. For example, a one day training program may require participates to arrive in the morning and throughout the day they undertake a pre-determined series of learning activities and finish that afternoon. This is often referred to as the ‘sheep dipping’ approach with a clear start and finishing point. A more effective approach for HRD is to adopt an action learning cycle to program implementation. More specifically, an action learning approach Identifies the issues, prepares and tailors the training, undertakes the training using a variety of approaches to accommodate different learning styles, evaluates the effectiveness of the training, modifies the training and than repeat the cycle. This cyclical approach is in keeping with the developmental principles of spaced learning and continuous learning.

Bottom Up

Conventional wisdom suggests that the top down approach to change is the only effective way to bring about organisational change. However, this traditional approach to change is based on several potentially faulty assumptions. For instance, the top down strategy suggests that top management knows best. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. Also, most top down models are driven by organisational leaders without regard for the strategic involvement of employees at all levels of the organisational structure. The bottom up approach is sadly underestimated in its effectiveness in bringing about powerful and prolonged change.

What is desperately needed, not only by the HRD industry, but business in general, is a new and radically different paradigm for learning and development. A new paradigm for HRD adds to its legitimacy in the board room, enhances its effectiveness and is in keeping with the changing needs and interests of employees and employers.

This is an extract from Dr Tim Baker’s new book: “The 8 Values of Highly Productive Companies: Creating Wealth from a New Employment Relationship” (Australian Academic Press). This book can be purchased through www.winnersatwork.com.au

Dr Tim Baker is managing director of WINNERS AT WORK and an international consultant specialising in workplace culture. He is a Fellow of the Australian Human Resources Institute.

What will your workplace look like in 2017?

Profoundly different you would agree from today, no doubt; but how?

The good news is that many of these workplace trends are predictable.

The bad news however, is that your organisational culture is probably not ready to accommodate these changes.

For instance, we know that:

• IT will play a greater role;
• generally the workforce will be older;
• people will have developed more skills;
• flexibility with increasingly be the norm;
• there will be an increasing focus on productivity
• women will hold more management positions; and
• men will play a larger role in raising children

Yet - at the same time - there are a number of discrepancies between employer and employee and the expectations each has. For instance, employers expect those employees approaching 65 to still be working. On the other hand, very few employees want to continue to work past 65.

However, there are some areas where employer and employee can align their expectations. Flexibility is one such area. Flexibility will be at the heart of the organisation of the future. Employers need a flexible workforce to meet the demands of fast changing marketplace and employees need flexibility to meet their challenges of balancing their work and home responsibilities.

The challenge over the next decade is how to align the changing needs and interests of employer and employee. We can assist you by providing you with a ‘train track to run on’, which means that you will be able to measure, monitor and develop strategies to align your people and organisation as a basis for enhancing your productivity.

Contact WINNERS-AT-WORK for more information about creating a productive organisational culture to meet the challenges and demands of the next few years.