Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

New Career Advisory Board Research Reveals Employers Are Lukewarm About Talent Development

This week, my organization the Career Advisory Board announced the results of our sixth annual Job Preparedness Indicatory survey, which identified gaps between the skills and traits candidates have and the skills and traits employers seek to fill open positions.

Gaps were measured by assessing skills that are most important but least common among entry-level, mid-level, and senior-level job candidates. This year’s research of nearly 500 US-based, senior-level hiring managers also explored how organizations are developing the necessary skills and competencies in their workforces, as well as their level of commitment to strategic talent development and management.

Senior hiring managers are lukewarm in terms of how effective their organizations are at talent management and competency development. In this survey, few were willing to boast that they were employing sophisticated recruitment, development, and retention practices. Only 13 percent of respondents, for example, said that their companies’ talent development initiatives are very well-aligned with overall business strategy, and only 11 percent said their initiatives help “a great deal” in providing employees with the skills they need to be successful.

In order to ensure that employees are adequately trained to do their jobs, 80 percent of respondents rely on on-the-job training, 34 percent on formal mentorship, 31 percent on one-off online learning programs, and 30 percent on one-off in person learning programs.

Furthermore, only 12 percent of respondents indicated that their organizations align talent development initiatives to retention strategies “a great deal,” and only 11 percent said their companies very effectively align employee competency development to advancement at all levels. Seventeen percent of respondents said their organizations place a great deal of value on leadership development training, and only 13 percent place a great deal of value on succession planning.

Perhaps most significant, however, our respondents shared that the feel that their organizations are weak when it comes to tracking the return on investment (ROI) of talent development initiatives. Only eight percent said they do this “a great deal,” while 21 percent said they do it “a fair amount,” 31 percent said they do it “somewhat,” and 40 percent said they don’t believe that they do it at all!

For more Job Preparedness Indicator results, check out the Career Advisory Board press release and executive summary.

Citizen Development at Work

Alec Sprague is not an IT guy. His background is in consumer advocacy, but in his position as database developer for Work for Progress, he has instituted a culture of citizen development at the fast-growing nonprofit organization.

“Our organization is scrappy,” Sprague said. “We operate on shoestring budgets to maximize our benefit to society and our return-on-investment for our funders and donors.”

At the beginning of his tenure with Work for Progress, Sprague struggled with outdated systems and felt the organization’s issues were too important to waste time with antiquated technology. “In the past year, we’ve made a more intentional push at digital transformation, moving a lot of our data out of siloed systems and into the cloud so that we could save everyone’s time and productivity,” he told an audience at QuickBase’s #EMPOWER2016 user conference in Nashville, TN.

In the last year and a half, Work for Progress has developed 22 applications, including 12 apps that are each used by more than one department and more than 80 people. This from an organization that doesn’t even have an IT department!

App Progress at Work for Progress

One example of this citizen developer led transformation took place within Human Resources. The group was working with paper files and using a clunky database. Sprague taught a representative to build an app that would bring all of the group’s data online in one place. He followed up with weekly calls to workshop questions and problems. The whole department now uses the app, with several team members working on front-facing dashboards and workflows so that supervisors can take action on benefits and other HR-related items.

A second implementation involved grant reporting. Sprague surveyed end-users and determined that reporting grants fundraising was a complex and confusing process. He worked with the grants department on an application that could quickly and easily report grant proposals, income, and deliverables so the organization could better keep track of fundraising work and communicate with donors.

For more where this came from, please visit the QuickBase Fast Track blog.

Project Managers: Are You A Dreaded Presence in Town?

I have a good friend who’s an experienced data architect. Since I write about IT project management all the time, I recently asked him if he’d ever consider a PM job. To this he replied: “No way.”

I probed further about his rationale, and we came up with these five reasons why he dislikes project management and project managers and tries to steer clear of the profession whenever possible.

Project Managers are too structured

While every IT project team can benefit from some structure, my friend feels that PMs in general err on the side of micromanagement. They create cost and hourly estimates for tasks and then hold employees to them even when the scope of the project or the needs of the client change. “A lot of PMs act like it’s all about them and their process,” my friend says. “But we are the ones closer to the work and what actually needs to be done, so sometimes they just need to back off.

Project Managers are always justifying their existence

Remember last year’s post based on a LinkedIn discussion questioning whether PM was an actual title/legitimate job? My friend says that the majority of his interactions with PMs involve creating useless frameworks around work that’s already being done fairly seamlessly. “PMs always seem to be doing busywork,” he says. “There are loads of reports, documents, and charts that don’t do anything except show that the PM is working.”

Project Managers are meeting happy

PMs call too many meetings and spend too much time tasking every aspect of every project. “Here’s the thing,” my friend says. “We data architects are generally assigned six hours a day for development, and get to spend the remaining two hours doing meetings, phone calls, emails, and admin. But PMs’ meetings are so frequent and long that they are always cutting into development time. Of course, then they complain that we didn’t finish our tasks in the allotted hours.”

Project Managers don’t communicate openly

Have you ever heard the stereotype about teachers that says: “those who can’t do, teach.” The same is said to be true about PMs. Some assume that people become PMs because they weren’t skilled enough to be developers and as a result are insecure. They guard their power carefully and hold their cards close to the vest when threatened or stressed. “A lot of PMs won’t share the big picture with the team, so we might finish a task and be sitting there with no idea what to do next,” my friend tells me.

For the rest of the post, check out the QuickBase Fast Track blog.

Do You Have One of Those Time-Waster Personalities?

When I met Dana Brownlee, the founder of corporate training company Professionalism Matters, we got to talking about time wasting habits. It turns out that certain types of people are actually prone to ineffective time management.

Being the productivity nut that I am, I naturally probed a bit deeper on this one and asked Brownlee to describe her four personality types, and how to stop struggling if you have one of them.

The Fire Extinguisher

This person has no real plan for their career or even the day ahead. All she can do is focus on the latest fire or the most recent request in front of them, with no organized system to manage all of her tasks. Brownlee says this time bomb approach explodes when something really important falls through the cracks.

The Checklist Checker

This personality is more focused on checking off items on his “to do list” than the real accomplishment of important items. Focusing too much on small tasks rather than the critical (and yes, daunting) ones is a dangerous approach because it gives the false illusion of achievement.

The Manic Multi-Tasker

This personality is convinced that one has to do 2-3 things at a time to be efficient. This person often can’t distinguish what can be multitasked versus what can’t. This can set her up for negative consequences (e.g. quality lapses, errors) that result from lack of attention and concentration.

For more where this came from, check out the QuickBase Fast Track blog.

What Goals Should Your Team Embrace?

The second part of my goal setting series at the QuickBase Fast Track blog looked at Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), as well as the modern business hurdles none of the current approaches seem to be able to solve.

The Rise of Key Performance Indicators

An outgrowth of MBO and S.M.A.R.T. goals was the Key Performance Indicator (KPI), or a key factor in monitoring the performance of strategic objectives integral to an organization’s success. Like S.M.A.R.T. goals, KPIs make objectives quantifiable, providing visibility into the performance of teams and individuals and helping leaders take action in achieving the desired outcomes. KPIs are usually monitored and distributed in dashboards, scorecards and other performance-related documents.

Although KPIs made their debut on the world business stage in the 1980s, the KPI Institute suggests that they’ve actually been used for centuries. In 1494, for instance, Italian mathematician Luca Pacioli detailed a practice the Venetian sailors had in place to evaluate the performance of their sailing expeditions. This primitive KPI became the basis of the double-entry accounting system many companies still use today. Examples of common KPIs are:

• Percentage of net profit
• Revenue dollars
• Percentage of profitable customers
• Net promoter score (customers are not only satisfied, but endorsing a company, product, or service)
• Percentage of on-time delivery
• Percentage of projects on time, budget, and spec
• Percentage of processes optimized
• Percentage of employees engaged

British Airways: How 1 KPI Transformed a Business

U.K.-based performance expert David Parmenter shared his favorite KPI story. It’s about how Lord King, CEO of British Airlines in the 1980s, turned the downward-spiraling airline around by focusing on one KPI.

King apparently hired some consultants to investigate and report on the key measures he should concentrate on to save the airline. They came back and told King that he needed to focus on one critical success factor (CSF) – the timely arrival and departure of planes.

When the consultants proposed that King focus on late plane measures, he was unimpressed but took action anyway. From that point on, King was notified, wherever he was in the world, if a BA plane was delayed over a certain time. The BA airport manager at the relevant airport knew that if a plane was delayed beyond a certain “threshold,” they would receive a personal call from Lord King. It was not long before BA planes had a reputation for leaving on time.

Turns out, the late planes KPI was linked to most of the critical success factors for the airline. The importance the critical success factor “timely arrival and departure of planes” can be seen by its impact on all the six perspectives of a balanced scorecard. A balanced scorecard, by the way, is a framework combining strategic non-financial performance measures and traditional financial metrics so managers and executives can get a balanced view of organizational performance. In any case, late planes:

• Increased costs including additional airport surcharges, and the cost of accommodating passengers overnight as a result of late planes being “curfewed” due to noise restrictions late at night (financial perspective).

• Meant unhappy customers and alienated those people affected by the late arrival of the passengers – possible future customers (customer perspective).

• Created a negative impact in the wider community and thus reduced the potential pool of future employees (community perspective).

• Incurred food waste – hot food has a short serving window – and fuel waste as planes endeavored to make up for lost time and operated outside their most economical flight speed (environmental perspective).

• Had a negative impact on staff development as employees would repeat the bad habits that had created late planes (learning and growth perspective).

• Adversely affected supplier relationships and servicing schedules resulting in poor service quality (internal process perspective).

• Led to employee dissatisfaction as they had to deal both with frustrated customers and the extra stress each late plane created (employee satisfaction perspective).

Head on over to the Fast Track for the rest of the post!

For Greater Productivity, Try 52/17

Over five years ago, I wrote one of my first posts for the Fast Track blog. The article was about how I was able to hold down four paid jobs in addition to raising a toddler. Fast forward to today, when I am working on at least a dozen paid jobs and am responsible for an additional child. I’m still using the same system, and it’s still working.

One of the things I mentioned in the article is how I leave two hours per day for last minute tasks, essentially only scheduling enough productive work for six hours. During the remaining time, I manage administrative tasks, networking calls and gatherings, media interviews, research, and yes – downtime.

Introducing 52/17

Julia Gifford is a self-proclaimed Canadian born tech-enthusiast who currently works for the Draugiem Group. Gifford published an article on TheMuse.com detailing her company’s research study on employee work flow. Using time-tracking and productivity app DeskTime, Draugiem looked at the habits of the most productive employees and pinpointed the work style leading to an incredible ability to get things done.

What’s the strategy? It turns out I wasn’t so far off in my approach to six hours of productive work and two hours of non-productive work or breaks. Draugiem found that the most productive 10 percent of DeskTime users work for 52 minutes without stopping, break for 17 minutes, and then get back to the task at hand. They repeat this technique every hour.

If this sounds familiar, you might have heard of a similar approach called the Pomodoro Method. Cited by Gifford, the Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that uses a timer to break down work into intervals of focus and rest. These intervals are called “pomodoros” (or “tomatoes” in Italian), after those tomato-shaped kitchen timers.

Pomodoros are separated by short breaks for distractions, daydreaming, snacking, etc. It works by choosing a task to work on exclusively for 25 minutes, setting a timer, working on the task until the timer rings, and then taking a five minute break. After going through this cycle four times, you take a longer (about 15 minutes) break.

The Magic of the Creative Sprint

Why do methods like 52/17 and Pomodoro work so well? How can people who don’t even work a full day accomplish so much more than those who clock way more hours? Gifford wrote that the reason the top 10 percent of productive employees are able to get the most done during a comparatively short period of time is that every interval of working time is treated as a sprint. During the 52 minutes, they work with intense purpose, and then during the 17 minutes, they remove themselves completely from the task so that they can be fully focused and ready for the next sprint.

Human beings, apparently, are actually built to sprint. The body is not meant to sit for eight hours straight, so breaks on-the-hourimprove both productivity and health. The brain doesn’t love focusing for long periods either, and according to Gifford, concentration is like a muscle that needs to rest. Even if you’re a conscientious employee and love your work, doing it for hours on end will inevitably result in boredom and flagging attention. Psychologically and physically, being overworked is worse than being underworked.

For the rest of the piece, check out QuickBase's Fast Track blog.

Video Interview: Mass Career Customization with Deloitte's Cathy Benko

Technology advances have made it possible for organizations to customize employment and human resources practices, and companies that treat each employee as a “workforce of one” are experiencing improved productivity, higher engagement levels, and lower turnover rates.

I conducted an interview with Cathy Benko, Vice Chairman & Managing Principal at Deloitte and author of The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance in the Changing World of Work, to learn more about this topic and how Cathy and Deloitte have been able to implement this strategy.  

Check out the video on the SilkRoad blog.

Boomers Over 50 More Likely to Succeed as Entrepreneurs

This post is in honor of Job Action Day:

A study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation reported that the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity over the last few years is not Gen-Y upstarts, but Baby Boomers in the 55-64 year age group. In fact, Boomers are actually driving a new entrepreneurship boom as they retire from their traditional corporate jobs and seek more meaningful sources of work.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 60 percent of the country’s workforce is currently made up of senior employees, but long-term employment has fallen dramatically for people ages 35-64. Since the first Internet-era recession, transaction costs and barriers to entry have fallen for entrepreneurs of every age. And with longer life expectancies and greater health in later life, older generations are starting new firms and mentoring young entrepreneurs in record numbers.

According to Jeff Mariola, the Boomer CEO of online marketing firm Digital Brandworks, Boomers are also more likely to succeed as entrepreneurs. When I asked Jeff why this was the case, he provided four compelling reasons.

Greater emotional intelligence

The rapid growth and constant change environment inherent in a start-up business requires steady and consistent leadership. Boomer CEOs have worked through countless change management initiatives over the years. They can provide their coworkers with the guidance, inspiration and motivation required to get everyone focused on the vision of the business while acknowledging that the road to get there will naturally be filled with anxiety, fear and exhilaration.

Savvy talent management

The long term success of a start-up relies heavily on the recruitment of the best talent. Boomer CEOs have learned through painful trial and error the artful process of finding the right people. Having made a few bad hires in their time, they understand who to bring on and who to pass on – and why. They have also learned how to get the best work out of existing talent.

Networking that’s finally paying off

Experienced CEOs have a better understanding of how to manage critical external relationships with banks, investors and board members. Credibility is key in these relationships, and the fact that Boomer CEOs have “been there and done that” is reassuring to outside stakeholders. Also, most Boomers simply have bigger networks and thousands of valuable dormant ties as a result of decades of networking.

Financial experience and extra capital

Most start-ups fail because they run out of cash. Boomer CEOs fully understand the significance of cash flow and how to manage and protect it. They have a more accurate picture of what things will cost and how long it will take to turn a profit. Also, most Boomers have more savings to safely invest as capital in their business to give it the best fighting chance. In general, this is how the rich get richer in business.

If you think about it, the qualities and seasoning that make Boomers great entrepreneurs make them great employees and intrapreneurs as well. I always jump at the chance to work with a Boomer because I know I will learn a ton. I have numerous Boomer mentors who I tap for advice periodically. I drink up their experience and perspective like a sweet cocktail, and my efforts are always better for it.

Boomers sometimes get a reputation for being stuck in their ways. But sometimes, it’s because those ways work. So the next time you are tempted to be ageist, recognize that the Boomers have advantages that you don’t and thus should be an essential component of every team.

This piece was originally published on Intuit's Fast Track blog.

 

Be at Peace While Chaos Surrounds You

When I entered the business world for the first time, I took my Type-A self with me. I was accustomed to executing, perfectly, everything I wanted to do. The thought of my company having a mind of its own terrified me, but I learned quickly that this was the reality. There was so much about Corporate America that I could not control, and I had a decision to make. Was I going down with a stress-induced stomach ulcer, or was I going to become more comfortable with nonsensical approaches and difficult situations?

I took the latter path, but it was years before I could say I was okay when things at work did not turn out the way I wanted them to, or when I was put into situations that made me supremely uncomfortable. Here’s some advice for how you can get to this point faster than I did.

Start One Step at a Time

Many Americans lead unhealthy, sedentary lives because the thought of eating the right things and exercising makes them feel uncomfortable. The prospect of change seems so overwhelming that they avoid it altogether. The thing is, there’s a happy medium. Pick something at work that causes you discomfort and expose yourself to it in small doses. For example, if you don’t like public speaking but your new job requires it, how about starting by speaking up in a team meeting? While you’re doing the test activity, note how you feel and whether anything bad happened as you faced your fear.

Some Problems Aren’t Meant to Be Solved

No matter what you do, if you work in an organization with other people, you will not be able to configure your environment to your exact specifications. So, let go of the notion that you are responsible for ridding the company of its issues, its crazy people, etc. Tell yourself that you are going to do your job to the best of your ability, and that you will relinquish power over situations you can’t control. When you stop railing against the system and realize that some degree of company turmoil is par for the course, you will experience less discomfort and negative emotions in general.

For the rest of my advice, check out the full post on Intuit's Fast Track blog.

Study: Project Managers are Stressed and Overworked

According to Workfront’s new Project Management Survey, conducted in late 2014 with 384 North American PMs, project managers are being inundated with too much work, lack of visibility into the work being done, and the use of disconnected tools to do the work. As a result, they are left without insights into the work they are doing and are stretched too thin.

Fifty-five percent of the surveyed PMs said that in 2014, their workload increased significantly, causing 38 percent of project managers to say no to new projects, work overtime, and outsource at least 6-10 hours of work per week.

Disparate new tools don’t ease admin pains

Surprisingly, nearly a third of the PM workweek is spent updating project status instead of working on projects. Of the survey respondents, 27 percent listed “project information scattered across too many disconnected tools” as their biggest problem at work. Thirty-three percent are still using spreadsheets and email to manage their projects, and 18 percent are spending loads of time entering the same data into different systems.

While 58 percent of the respondents are using Agile methodologies including Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming, 62 percent stated that more than half of projects are completed using traditional project management methods that may or may not be effective.

Sixty-six percent of PMs don’t have a formal request management system, so projects come in from all over and are difficult to prioritize and track. All in all, many PMs are so “all over the place” that they aren’t in a position to derive crucial information and take action on it.

Lest we chalk these issues up to inexperience, Workfront actually polled an impressive group of PMs. More than half had over 10 years of experience in project management, and 84 percent had completed formal PM training or earned PM certifications. A majority have been in this field a long time, and their jobs aren’t getting any easier.

For the rest of the post, head over to Intuit's Fast Track blog.