If an organization has a vision, a mission, a strategy and a business plan, then the 1st priority of all those employed is to help fulfill these. The leaders’ role (as many leaders as there may be) is to keep everyone—including the growing number of part-timers, FTCs (fixed term contracts), vendors and partners—moving in the … More It’s about management, not performance management
Managers are paid to manage. HR exists to help managers manage. Performance management was not invented by managers, but by HR to help managers 1) manage out weak performers, and 2) allocate rewards. Rating systems that drive rewards have a life of their own and undermine core manager responsibilities and skills. We spoonfeed managers with “good pay decisions” instead of allowing them to make their own decisions and learn from their consequences. … More Goodbye, pay for performance. Hello, real management.
“It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission” the saying goes. You’re in charge of compensation & benefits for a country, for a region, or for the entire company and you want to be effective in your job which requires a balancing act: building trust and customer focus, yet ensuring control and … More Global vs. Local—striking the right balance
A friend and former colleague from 25 years ago just sent me this message: “I have been appointed to lead a newly created Compensation and Benefits function. I am reaching out to ask your perspective–what would you do if you were placed in a department start up role like this?” So for the benefit of … More How to Set up a Comp & Ben Function
No wonder companies are dropping ratings. We have adopted sloppy labels for people. Imagine if you took the performance rating labels of “meets expectations” or “exceeds expectations” and used them in other everyday contexts, you can hear just how meaningless they are: “I test drove a few cars, and the mini-Cooper significantly exceeded expectations” “I chose the … More Tell it like it is