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Our Second issue of Kuwait HR Magazine is now on the air . The aim is to present useful material to our local and regional specialists and keep them up to date with the latest developments in the field. We try to select articles that cover most of the HR Functions e.g. Recruitment , Compensation & Benefits , Performance management , Training & Development , Manpower Planning as well as HR Information Systems .

The new Kuwaiti manpower encouragement law is in effect starting May 2001. The Social Allowance , The Training Cost Coverage , The Unemployment Support and the Advertisement for job openings guidelines have been in action. The last policies and guidelines related to setting quotas per sector is in the process and expected to be approved by the council of ministers very soon ( early 2002).

Feed back received from people engaged in the implementation indicate Limited Success mainly in the area of moving Kuwaitis to the private sector , which is the main principle of this law. As a specialist in this field having links with both parties ( Government bodies and the Private sector ) we can see the following Gap between the two sides ( Job Seekers and Employers):

Government (Civil Service) Employment Policies that would make the difference:

What is adding to these concerns, are civil service employment policies in the government sector. The long lists of Kuwaiti nominees announced in the local papers will give no motive to even interested job seekers to try the private sector. personally i had the opportunity to talk to many of them . They all wish to accept the government offer even though it does not fulfill their needs . Even the recent Decision by the council of ministers ( to move the applied technology diploma holders to the military and private sectors ) have been violated by some ministries for political reasons.

The recent decision by civil service commission which allows registered job seekers to try the private sectors for 3 months without loosing their rights and turn in the government , might provide marginal solution to this situation.

Personally , we do not forecast any major break through in the move of Kuwaitis to the private sector without a clear and firm policy of not hiring Kuwaitis by the government if the skills are demanded by the private sector. It is the role of "Manpower Restructuring Program" to trace these needs and regulate policies forcing Kuwaitis to try the private sector or stay without government job.

The current labor law is tailored to suite the needs of non Kuwaiti staff employment in the private sector. It does not provide any conditions for terminating employee services . No guidelines are in place to govern the conditions and reasons for staff termination or service ending. In most of the cases the reason is personal or a small dispute between the employee and his boss.

So far the Arbitration process does not exist in Kuwait. There are limited legal channels to use in major labor dispute cases only. The "thank you and good bye" cases with maximum 15 days notice is still dominating in the market.

If the government would like to create a positive transition to the private sector , then the firing decision should be made with rationale . Eliminating personal reasons with solid work and organizational reasons. I came across the recent Draft law recommended by MP Abdul Aziz Al-Mutawa in December 2001 . Parliament should give priority to this law to be thoroughly studied and implemented as it could really lead to major break through in the labor relationship in the private sector. The content of the Proposed law provides an excellent balance between employee and employer rights and interests.

The following is a comprehensive checklist of items to include when calculating the cost of turnover in any organization. To determine the costs, have the hourly and weekly cost of fully loaded payroll costs (i.e. salary plus benefits) of the vacant position, the management staff, the recruitment staff and others as outlined below.

"The quality of the manager-employee relationship is a critical feature of the workplace environment for an employee. The lack of trust was an issue with almost every person who had left an organization."

Managers are the pivotal factor that determines whether people stay in organization or leave, according to a recent survey by Mastery Works, Inc. (Annandale, Va.). The survey of 500 professionals found that while pay and benefits sometimes surface during exit interviews as the reason for leaving an organization, these were not the primary motivation for over 95 percent of those questioned. The key issue was whether or not they were able to develop a trusting relationship with their manager.

This is not to say that if this relationship is not a good one, or not as good as you would like, moving on is the only choice. Employees can do a lot to help build a strong and trusting relationship with their manager.

Take the Initiative. Employees should not wait for their manager to take responsibility for building the relationship - they must take it themselves. They need to be clear about what they are looking for, and communicate that to their manager. Whether it`s a problem with the job or with the relationship, employees have to be proactive.

Know Your Boss. Employees must get to know and understand their manager at a deep level. They need to know what`s important to them and what motivates them. And, employees must know how to make their managers look good - not in a brown-nosing way, but by understanding their most cherished goals and helping to achieve them.

Keep Commitments. Most managers are under the gun to deliver, and they need to know that employees are going to carry their load - they may not be too trusting until they are convinced. Keeping one`s commitments, therefore, is essential to building a better relationship with your manager.

Take Care of Business. Employees need to take care of themselves, but they also need to take care of business. They must know the company`s mission and strategies. They need to talk to their manger and find out how they can contribute more.

Know When to Fold and When to Hold. If employees do their best, make recommendations, make offers, and still get no hearing over time, then it`s not going to work. Everyone knows in their gut if someone is disrespecting them, doesn`t care, or is out to get them. Eventually, we must pay attention to these feelings, and move on.

Still, most of the time, the relationship is salvageable, and employees can continue to grow with their current organization rather than start over someplace else.

6. Coaching the Under-Performing Manager

While businesses contend with scarcer resources, tighter deadlines, smarter competitors and more demanding stakeholders, managers are responsible for more work and people than ever. They are also expected to be goal setters, strategists, tacticians, team builders, organizational cheerleaders, diplomats, exemplars and more. To be effective, today's managers must be much more skilled than their predecessors.

Unfortunately, many who were viewed as successful in the past, may not possess the competencies necessary to make it in today's complex work environment. Some of these individuals are made of "good stuff," despite specific--often serious--performance shortfalls. Though they may not be functioning as well as they should, they could be hard workers and longtime employees, who possess not only tremendous industry expertise but a wealth of knowledge about their organization,
its people and its culture. They are often employees who "grew up" under one set of expectations; but when the rules changed, they found themselves in trouble.

A second group of under-performers is composed of newcomers to the role of manager. These are individuals who may have made their mark with excellent technical skills or who may have risen up through the supervisory ranks. Now, they are struggling with an entirely new set of pressures, personalities and expectations.

With some timely and skillful coaching, individuals in both these groups can grow into top-notch organizational performers. Done well, coaching can raise the competency levels of almost any manager.

When coaching for performance, following are some important points to consider:

The goal of coaching is to increase skill and modify behavior, not transform personality. Coaching is not psychotherapy, so don't expect a miraculous shift in a manager's basic character or you will set yourself up for disappointment. Your concern should be the behaviors in the workplace that impede the individual's ability to do the job effectively. Serious personal problems (e.g., depression, substance abuse, etc.) are outside the scope of coaching and require appropriate professional assistance.

Unless someone really wants to change, no amount of coaching will be able to make a difference in their performance. You can only show the way and offer the resources. The commitment and motivation to change are the responsibility of the manager.

No one likes to hear their performance is below par, so always afford the coaching candidate support and respect. Under-performing managers can be difficult, defensive, controlling or abrasive - which may be what got them into trouble in the first place. The coach's job is to identify these behaviors in a firm, matter-of-fact way, and offer alternatives. Become defensive or negative in return, and you lose all credibility. Being supportive, but confrontative, is what it takes.

Make sure the problem is really the manager, not his boss or a dysfunctional system. You won't understand the problem unless you understand the work context. Unreasonable bosses or impossible working conditions are situations coaching will not alter. Make sure you are aware of them before trying to "fix" a manager who may be reacting to an untenable environment.

Get as clear a picture as possible of the manager's performance problems, ideally using 360 Degree feedback data from peers, superiors, direct reports, etc. Information from past performance reviews may be helpful, if they have been candid and accurate. Anecdotal information from key people in the workplace, while difficult to objectify, can offer concrete examples of problem behaviors and the situations in which they may be triggered.

Be certain that both manager and sponsor (usually the boss) understand the results of your findings and help design an action plan. This plan should specify what must change, how it is to be accomplished and measured, what will constitute success, and within what time frame change must occur. This is also the time to consider available alternatives if coaching does not produce the desired result.

Understand the individual's shortcomings and strengths, then mobilize the strengths to overcome the
shortfalls. A high energy level, good organizational skills, or a gifted imagination are examples of positive qualities a manager can emphasize. As an agent of change, you should adapt your coaching techniques to focus on tactics and assignments that use the individual's strengths to facilitate learning.

Denial is often the first line of defense when an individual's weaknesses are pointed out. Don't back off if the manager downplays a problem when you have good evidence of its seriousness. Remember, one definition of change is that which occurs when all other options are foreclosed.

Discipline and consistency are paramount to success. Coaching often involves making specific assignments (readings, exercises, etc.) which should be taken seriously and completed on time. Anything less will undermine the likelihood of success. Both manager and boss need to understand that maintaining standards, focus and discipline, despite competing pressures for the manager's attention and time, is critical.

Coaching is a subtractive and an additive process, discarding undesirable behaviors and learning more effective ones. It's not enough to ask people to stop negative behaviors without pointing out adaptive alternatives. Coaching must help the manager expand his or her behavioral repertoire. Having the individual observe, understand and copy the behavior of others is an example of one way to do this.

Positive reinforcement is a powerful spur to learning. Encourage and reward even modest gains - especially in the beginning--and they'll lead to larger ones. Consider what constitutes positive reinforcement for your manager. Thinking about that person's values often provides clues; but when in doubt, ask. The important thing is spotting and reinforcing change.

When a manager makes positive changes, expect co-workers to be skeptical. Their old perceptions have not shifted yet. Credibility takes time, but will usually follow if new behaviors are consistent. It may even be constructive for managers to discuss their efforts to improve with their direct reports. Where trust is reasonably high, subordinates can sometimes offer support and ongoing feedback. This can be tricky, however, in situations where the manager has alienated subordinates, so careful judgement is important.

Once change occurs, expect lapses or temporary reversions to old behavior patterns, particularly under stress. But if the manager is committed to change, these lapses will decrease in frequency if you reinforce consistency and encourage the individual to maintain forward momentum.

In coaching, there are few quick miracles. The longer the history of the performance problem, the more time and effort the solution requires. Behavioral change is a complicated process that demands a strong personal commitment and a willingness to get beyond ego issues. It requires rigorous introspection, a generous helping of persistence and a skilled guide to show the way. Given these circumstances, coaching can be of tremendous value to manager and organization.

Steps to Maximize Appraisal Consistency

Consistency in the appraisal process is essential. Here are three simple steps employers can take that will improve consistency throughout the organization.

Perform evaluations on a calendar basis, not on anniversaries. If all evaluations are done at the same time, it is more likely that the necessary comparisons between employees will be made. When evaluations are done on each employee's anniversary date throughout the year, it is all but inevitable that these important comparisons will not be made.

Establish a management committee to review all evaluations. Among other responsibilities, this committee should have the authority to speak with individual supervisors to determine if an employee has performance deficiencies that are not reflected on an evaluation. If an evaluation is too negative, the committee should also have the authority to explore whether the supervisor harbors a hidden or impermissible motive against the employee.

Hold regular supervisory meetings to discuss problem situations. Such meetings will serve four purposes: They will reinforce what should be obvious but often isn't--that supervisors are paid to supervise. Sharing war stories will help supervisors improve their own performance. They will benefit from the group's collective experience in resolving what often appear to be insuperable problems. Supervisors will be prompted to focus on performance issues on an ongoing basis, not just before evaluations come due. These meetings will provide HR with information about performance deficiencies that exist throughout the year, but may not necessarily be reflected on a final performance appraisal.

BREAK THE BAD ATTITUDE HABIT

You probably know of at least one habitual complainer on staff: an employee who loves to squawk about how bonuses aren't as big and the parties aren't as much fun as they used to be.

Be careful how you deal with that worker because, according to management experts, the old saying about one bad apple is true: Complainers can spread negativity through the workplace like a contagious disease and infect even the most optimistic and productive employees. The ultimate result: dropping productivity along with the slow erosion of corporate culture, even in offices that recently had good morale.

"A company culture can go from being very optimistic (‘Oh, we love our work, we do great things') to the reverse (‘It will never get better') in the space of six months," says Jenifer Callaway, senior instructional designer for CareerTrack and designer of the seminar "How To Overcome Negativity in the Workplace."

The root of the problem

What causes workplace negativity? "Uncertainty," says Randolph Harrison, Coopers & Lybrand's principal and national leader for organization effectiveness & development in Chicago. "People do not have a negative reaction to change," he says. "They have a negative reaction to the punishing effect of change, which is uncertainty."

A case in point: layoffs. Lower employee morale is the most common result of restructuring and layoffs, according to the 1996 Job Security and Layoff Survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management. Of all the respondents, 62 percent said morale at their organizations decreased because of layoffs.

"In many organizations, people don't know what's coming down the pike, they don't know if or how long they will have a job when restructuring occurs, which certainly breeds bad feelings," says Callaway. Once employees start discussing how they are getting "the shaft," the notion rubs off, explains Callaway. "The people who are naturally optimistic start thinking, ‘Hey, is it really worth it? Maybe those people are right.'"

Homing in on communication

The best tool to curb negativity and low morale is in-depth, straightforward communication, says Harrison. "Employers need to be truthful about how changes will affect employees. When communicating with employees, they need to clearly define the areas where certainty exists and discuss the areas of uncertainty rather than brushing the issue under the carpet."

North Central Door Co. in Bemidji, Minn., had morale problems when Michelle Lasha was hired less than a year ago as its first HR director. Part of the problem was that company policies and procedures were not always followed, causing many employees to feel that work and rewards were unfairly distributed.

"Employees felt that work standards were not being met by everyone," says Lasha. "Performance reviews had never been conducted, and people really wanted to know where they stood." What's more, she notes, management's focus was on production, so there was a general lack of communication—even when there was good news to be shared.

Now, communication is a cornerstone of North Central Door's workplace. When management calls a meeting about an issue that will affect employees, the entire plant attends. Employees at all levels participate in committees to discuss improvements, bottlenecks, safety and other workplace issues.

One of Lasha's biggest accomplishments has been to work on the negative attitudes among long-time employees. That is especially critical, she notes, "because long-time employees are the ones that are going to communicate to new employees. If the communication is negative, the cycle of poor morale continues."

Lasha succeeded in altering the tenor of the workplace by "involving employees in the decision-making process, allowing them to come up with solutions," she says. That curbs "the tendency for low morale and negativity because the employees feel empowered. They feel they can make a difference and make valuable contributions," she says.

Currently, a number of North Central Door employees—chosen by their peers—are working with management to revamp the company's compensation system. Other employee committees work to solve more everyday, production-oriented issues.

Lasha admits she couldn't have done it alone; she needed management support. "Management was first to admit there were morale problems, and I had their complete support from the beginning," she says. "The CEO and management really care about employees and wanted to hire an HR person who could work on business areas that were more people-oriented vs. production-oriented. They knew that improving morale, ultimately improves production," she says.

Deal with the complainers

Employees as well as managers can take incremental steps to avoid widespread negativity, says Bobbi Summers, a Career Track trainer and author of Pyscho Cybernetics 2000 (Prentice Hall). In her seminars, Summers teaches people how to suppress the negative tendencies of colleagues.

Albert Bernstein, a clinical psychologist turned business consultant and author of Dinosaur Brains: Dealing with All Those Impossible People at Work (Random House), offers these additional tips on dealing with complainers.

Practice creative ignoring. When you're surrounded by people screaming, yelling and demanding somebody's head, do nothing. That response is much more thought-out and creative than agreeing with them.

Answer bad with good. When an employee makes a complaint, counter with a positive observation. That might cause the complainer to stop and think. Answering good with bad is also a good way to "cover yourself," Bernstein explains: "People who remember the situation later might see you as the only one who didn't lose his head. You might be considered the leader when everybody calms down."

Ask the magic question. When people expect you to agree with them or rescue them, ask: "What are you going to do about it?" If they expected you to take on their problem, this response will stop them dead in their tracks, says Bernstein. They will have to think about the situation and what they expect.

Control your own negative feelings

What do you do if you start feeling negative? Bernstein gives the following advice for individuals who, from time to time, sense their own negative tendencies.

Question your own motive. When you start looking for someone to blame, ask yourself: Once I find out who's to blame, what will I do next? What will I gain by punishing someone for this? Is thinking this way to my advantage? If you aren't satisfied with your answers, ask: How else could I look at this situation? What can I learn here?

Check your goals. When you hear yourself complaining or blaming, ask: Why am I saying this? What is my goal here? What effect will this comment have on the people listening to me? What kind of reaction do I expect? Do I want them to agree with me or rescue me? What am I trying to accomplish?

Decide what action you could take to make the situation better, says Bernstein. "Then," he recommends, "put up or shut up."

Work through the negativity

At Johnsonville Foods in Sheboygan, Wisc., practicing optimism is a key to employee goal setting. Crawford says the company places its biggest gripers on a task force, such as one focusing on quality of work life. "Getting them involved where they can make a difference really works," says Crawford. The gripers often turn into real champions.

At a Minneapolis-based engineering firm, employees in the communications department try to create something constructive out of the act of complaining. Whenever employees complain, they toss a quarter in the "Complaint Jar." At the end of the month, the department goes out to lunch for a complaint-free, fun social experience. The complaint jar picks up the check.

Earlier this year, the board of directors of Telxon, a manufacturer of wireless communications equipment based in Akron, Ohio, found itself in the midst of a management nightmare. Over a frustrating seven-year period, three CEOs had come and gone. Now the fourth was history. And before pulling the cord on his golden parachute, CEO Frank Brick piloted Telxon into an embarrassing nose-dive, earning the dubious distinction of being forced to restate and correct the reported earnings for the publicly traded company for 14 consecutive quarters.

As the Telxon board members began the search for a new CEO, they wondered why four seemingly well-qualified CEOs had failed to deliver. And they decided to make a change.

This time around, they included HR in the process. They transformed Meg Pais, vice president of human resources and administration, from a passive observer into a key player in selecting and integrating the new hire. For example, when the board settled on finalist John Paxton, it asked him to meet with Pais to get an insider’s assessment of the company. Paxton jumped at the chance, eager to assess whether the company was salvageable before committing himself.

Pais spent two full days briefing him on all aspects of the business. “I didn’t hold back,” she recalls. “I told him the good, bad and ugly.” When they were done, Paxton took the job—and elevated HR to direct-report status. Pais emerged as an influential business partner and coach to the CEO, guaranteeing that Paxton received essential insights his predecessors chose to ignore.

While Pais was becoming more involved at Telxon, Laurel Marden was being left in the dark. Marden, the HR manager at Dynatec International in Salt Lake City, was caught by surprise when President F. Randy Jack announced that he was leaving after 17 years with the manufacturer and distributor of telephone accessories and houseware products. “I have no clue about the change in top management or the plans to recruit and integrate his replacement,” says Marden. “I’m unsure what will happen next. But whatever it is, I’m sure to be out of the loop.”

A Sagging Success Rate
Unfortunately, too many HR pros are -— like Marden -— out of the loop, working for bosses or boards who don’t appreciate the critical difference that HR can make. “HR is involved in the selection of top-level executives only 36 percent of the time,” says Valerie Sessa, research scientist at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) in Greensboro, N.C.

Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that 40 percent of newly appointed leaders fail in the first 18 months, according to a recent study by Jacksonville, Fla.-based Manchester, an executive development and training firm. The study defined failure in a number of ways. “It could mean they were terminated, or that they resigned by choice. Or it could mean they are viewed as being ineffective,” says
Marellen Aherne, executive vice president, in Washington, D.C. “Any way you look at it, it’s a serious problem.”

And it may be worse than it appears. “Overall failure rates may be even higher because companies tend to endure poor performance,” says Murray M. Dalziel, global managing director for organizational effectiveness and management development services at the Hay Group in Philadelphia. “You just put up with it because of the expense of trying to get out of some of these deals,” he says.

Often, executive failures can be traced back to a flawed selection process; in other cases, new hires are not given adequate coaching and feedback to help them adapt and succeed.

Both problems fall squarely within the purview of HR, which is why HR needs to be involved in executive selection and orientation. HR professionals can have a tremendous impact on the success of new executives—if they are given the chance and take the proper steps.

Defining Organizational Needs
When selecting new executives, a key first step is to analyze the needs of the organization. Often, organizations don’t think about the competencies they really need, thus ignoring the groundwork for the best decision.

Dalziel shares the following story: “One multinational food industry client of ours that was hiring presidents based on industry norms lost 12 of 24 hires within a three-year period. When it switched tactics and hired to fit the unique competencies of its organization, only two of the next 24 didn’t work out.”

Bill Shupert, senior vice president of HR at The Learning Company in Framingham, Mass., says good selection starts with an understanding that an ideal manager should offer a blend of managerial qualities.

“There are three types of managers,” he says. “The start-up manager has specific skills and gets his jollies out of building the business; the turnaround manager likes to turn around utter messes; and the maintenance manager likes to be told, ‘The business is running smoothly, don’t screw it up.’

“The successful general manager or VP,” says Shupert, “has got to have skills in all three areas. When I hire a CFO or CEO, I look for all three types and talk about them in the interview.”

Interviewing

Studies show that executives fare better when peers, subordinates and bosses participate in their interview process, particularly in a team setting. “It’s not a democracy, but you want them involved along the way so executives can decide if they can work with the key stakeholders,” Aherne says.

Stakeholder participation gives candidates a feel for the people they’ll be working with, and allows interviewers to take ownership of the process. “When you involve a group of people who will be working with the candidate in the selection, they and the candidate have a chance to begin assessing each other and developing relationships,” Sessa says. “When the decision is made, they’ve had a chance to compare this person to other candidates. Agree or not, at least they’ll know the rationale for the choice.”

It’s even good strategy to involve naysayers, Shupert adds. “I pick out the person who is the biggest pain in the ass and include him in the interviewing process. When you include known critics in the decision-making, it gets around the organization in seven nanoseconds. At worst it neutralizes potential critics; at best it turns them into advocates for the new executive.”

Shupert uses the selection process to pave the way for the new executive. He consults extensively, asking people in the organization what they’re looking for in the new executive. “I tell them ‘We’ve got a job opening; the guy didn’t work out and we don’t want to make the same mistakes. What are your concerns? How would you define success? What do you think has to be done in the first 90 days? How will you measure if it’s been done?’”

Info in hand, he folds it into the candidate’s interview. “You get a more meaningful interview because you understand the business issues that need to be resolved, and can ask candidates targeted questions. The person should understand the real issues and challenges. I tell the candidate, ‘I want to know what you’ll do in 90 days and how your people will know you’re successful,’” Shupert says.

Rolling Out the Welcome Mat

Once an executive says “yes” to a job offer, HR should oversee the integration process. This can be a vital element in ensuring executive success.

The integration process should include fairly standard items, such as briefing new executives on the company and giving them insights into its culture; but it also may need to include some surprising elements, such as time spent clarifying expectations, setting goals and coaching new executives.

It’s wrong to assume that top level executives don’t need the HR care and support that lower-level personnel receive as a matter of course. For example, research reveals that—even after extensive interviews and discussions—new executives often take charge without a clear sense of what’s expected of them. Somehow they fail to grasp what the boss wants from them.

“There’s an inversely proportional relationship between the amount of counseling a person gets from his peers and superiors the higher up you go,” says Dennis Alter, CEO and chairman of Advanta, a financial services companyin Philadelphia. “Entry-level people have supervisors and HR people. But you bring in someone as president, tell them you want 20 percent return on equity, and leave them pretty much on their own.”

HR can help executives increase their chances of success by making sure they clearly understand the role they’re expected to play, says Aherne. Encourage them to confirm with their bosses what is expected of them in the first year. Make sure they understand how their performance will be measured and ascertain their boss’s preferred method for getting progress reports and feedback.

Clarity is key. Everything should be set out clearly and unambiguously.

At The Learning Company, Shupert makes certain the message is hammered home by three influential stakeholders. “They are briefed by their boss, the CEO and by me from an HR perspective.”

Paint the Big Picture

A briefing by HR can be an essential part of helping incoming executives check the organization’s pulse. But it should cover more than HR issues.

“Offer the new boss a business briefing where you outline the background on all the senior executives and map out short-term issues that might bite him,” Dalziel advises. “Make sure the briefing is very focused on big picture concerns relating back to the people issues, like the efforts you’re making to build adequate bench strength. Don’t start with the traditional HR issues.”

Pais at Telxon agrees that the briefing must be broadly based. She points out that HR professionals have limited effectiveness when they are knowledgeable only about HR issues. “Whether it’s finance, IS, engineering or manufacturing, if you don’t understand all of these, you can’t be a successful business partner.”

In counseling Paxton, Telxon’s new CEO, Pais “spent a lot of time getting down into the VP and manager level, trying to understand what went wrong.” With her HR background and solid grounding in the business, Pais has become Paxton’s right hand, helping him craft Telxon’s comeback strategy. “He’s told the management team that he’ll be relying on me more than anyone in getting the organization on the right track,” she says.

With Pais’s help, Paxton was able to hone in on the root causes of Telxon’s employee morale problem. “The employees were starved for information,” says Pais. “It had been almost three years since the former CEO had been in front of people. The new CEO went to every location except our international site within three days of his appointment. I was there with him introducing him to people throughout the company.”

Hit the Ground Running

Once new execs are in place, HR should counsel them to move quickly, but prudently. New execs have to make their “mark and demonstrate change within the first 90 days,” Dalziel says. Execs should “take some symbolic actions in the first 30 and 60 days,” he says, but should avoid the temptation to make radical changes.

Shupert agrees that the first three months of an exec’s term are a make-or-break period. “There’s no such thing as a honeymoon period anymore,” he notes. “Executives don’t have a bad year; if they have a bad quarter, they’ll have one quarter more to fix it at best.”

His advice to a new leader: “You need some quick wins, so do something that’s simple and that everyone would like to see happen. Don’t over-promise and underachieve in the first 90 days.”

Keeping promises is crucial, says Aherne. “A major reason executives fail is they don’t deliver; they’re unable to achieve their two or three most important objectives, the things for which you will not be forgiven,” Aherne says.

Savvy leaders, such as David Frisch, don’t miss the point. Frisch recently took the helm of Condee Cooling and Electric, Inc., a 40-employee, $7 million electrical construction and cooling company on Marco Island, Fla.

Before he was offered the job, says Frisch, “the owner hired an efficiency firm to assess the entire operation. He’s made it clear that he expects me to implement the consulting firm’s recommendations. Based on their report, I knew I had to fire one guy right off the bat. Everyone knew he was a good talker, but never followed through. I fired him and everyone respects me for it; to them it was a major change.”

Avoiding Cultural Dissonance

A serious potential snag for new executives involves adapting to the style of a new workplace. “We’re finding that executives, especially from the outside, don’t come in ready to hit the ground running; they need help familiarizing themselves with the new culture,” Aherne says. As a result, Shupert advises new execs to “keep your mouth shut as much as possible until you learn the organization.”

To avoid problems, HR can glean clues about candidates by examining the culture at their previous jobs—and provide coaching to help new execs get acclimated more quickly.

“One of our new presidents came from a very large company with a rigid, hierarchical command and control philosophy,” says Advanta’s Alter. “We’re a much more informal place, and this individual had a rough first few months because the directive style and lessons he learned at the other company did not fit in here.”

Alter brought in an outside coach to help the executive adapt his style to the company’s. “Now he’s doing well,” Alter says. “Working with us and his coach, he was able to smooth over some rough spots.”

Coaching on Softer Skills

One of the chief reasons top executives flounder appears to be that they fail to build good partnerships and teamwork with their peers, subordinates and superiors. In a survey of 500 top executives by CCL, the respondents estimated that 27 percent of the executives they hire ultimately fail, leaving voluntarily or involuntarily, often within two years. In almost all cases, the departing executives exhibited sound business skills; the difference between winners and losers was their social skills, the ability to foster good personal relations with peers and subordinates.

Says Aherne of those who don’t pan out: “They’re poor team players.”

Dalziel adds that execs who don’t succeed usually “don’t have the softer skills, competencies that demonstrate emotional intelligence. They may be too inflexible, set in the way they did things before, especially if they come from the outside.”

There is hope, however, for those whose social skills aren’t up to snuff. The study also found that new executives who received coaching and training were three times more likely to succeed than their counterparts who didn’t.

As a result, organizations that fail to provide adequate coaching are probably shooting themselves in the foot. All candidates, whether internal or external, need coaching. “Internal people may know the lay of the land, but may come in with internal baggage,” says Aherne. “People from the external world may have a clean slate, but don’t know the internal politics.”

Coaches can come from inside or outside of the company.

Internal coaches should come from HR, not from the executive ranks, advises Shupert, who serves as internal coach for The Learning Company’s top executives. “Senior executives are hired to be good leaders, not good coaches, so HR does the coaching,” he says.

Other HR professionals find it preferable to beef up their internal coaching efforts with outside experts. Many agree with Advanta CEO Alter that the investment is worth the results. To Alter, an outside perspective is virtually essential during the transition phase. “To be in the soup while you’re cooking is tough,” he observes. “Internal coaches can be helpful, but it’s a more difficult role.”

Recently, Alter engineered a major reorganization at 3,000-employee Advanta and sold off the company’s credit card division. Embarking on a search for new leadership, he decided, with some trepidation, to go outside for six of eight senior management positions. “We were not in a steady state, so the new people could have had either a salutary or disruptive effect on the organization. I wanted to do whatever I could to tilt the scale to the positive side.”

To help, Alter bought into a program offered by Diversified Search, an executive search firm headquartered in Philadelphia, and leadership training specialists from Manchester. Diversified found the candidates, then Manchester’s Ph.D.s took over, providing psychological testing, training and coaching to help the new hires get acclimated.

Alter worked closely with his outside consultants and new executives. “We get in a room with you and your coach and ask you to identify the five things that are most important for success,” he says. “What relationships do you have to build with your colleagues, key reports, superiors? What obstacles do you see?”

Alter says his executive team gelled rapidly because it confronted cultural and interpersonal issues head on. In the one instance where a new executive was asked to move on, the process brought the issues forward sooner. In a session with Alter present, the new executive, two months into the job, was asked to describe what he thought he was supposed to do. “I want the keys to the car,” he replied.

To Alter, whose father began the business 50 years ago, the comment was revealing. “I told him, ‘no one has the keys to the car,’” Alter recalls. “You can drive the car, but I’ll be along for the ride. I want you to run a part of our business, but I have no intention of giving you control.”

Better Days Ahead?

Overall, experts agree that current executive selection practices are yielding a torrent of unhappy endings. “Everyone says human talent is the most important aspect of their business, but they don’t follow through,” says Judy von Seldeneck, president and CEO of Diversified Search. “Now it’s coming home to roost as so many managers fail and competition for replacements heats up.”

As the evidence mounts that so many key appointments are not reaching their potential, it’s likely that CEOs and boards of directors will look to expand HR’s role in selecting and developing top talent.

And that’s good news. When HR is involved in the executive search and the acclimatization period, the outcome can be much more promising. Just ask Telxon’s new CEO, John Paxton. When he considers where he’d be without Meg Pais, he knows that keeping HR out of the loop would be pure folly.

There`s a war going on. It doesn`t involve weapons or soldiers but it requires planning, strategy, and precise execution. It`s the "employment war" and those fighting the battle are organizations that require high-tech skill sets. Even the smallest companies need a webmaster and a network administrator. Yet there are few candidates - or at least not enough for the demand - and companies are fighting to attract, and keep them.

Consider the statistics. The U.S. Labor Department estimates that 95,000new technology workers will be needed to fill job openings and replace current worker seach year until 2005. Yet in 1994, only 24,553 students earned bachelor`s degrees in computer science. While statistics are unavailable for years since then, growth - if any - has been flat. Since reaching a high in 1986, the number of computer science degrees awarded in the U.S. has dropped by almost 29 percent.

The result is an extremely competitive recruiting environment for companies and a job hunter`s dream for prospective technical employees. Nearly 85 percent of top executives surveyed said a lack of available technology professionals was responsible for their hiring shortfalls this year. And it is likely to get worse. The U.S. census predicts a 15 percent drop in residents aged 35-44, further precipitating an already bleak situation.

Yet, despite a competitive environment, companies can attract and retain qualified candidates. Knowing what works and what doesn`t in today`s business climate is the key.

Recruiting is as important to a business as the development of a technology. Companies typically develop business plans but often fail to develop a staffing plan and strategies to support it. Which positions are most critical and in what order? Where are the pools of candidates and what are the strategies to reach them? What qualifications are musts, and which are wants? These factors are critical to recruiting new talent. The strategies for recruiting has evolved with technology.

Information technology (IT) professionals generally use technology in job hunting. Which means they`re not just searching for listings in the newspaper, but also on the Internet, which is a larger presence in job searches of all kinds. The Internet is a place where more and more companies are doing their recruiting. Such standard recruiting methods often attract a large pool of potential candidates. To find the right employee, it often means looking at hundreds to hire for one position. It is a sound strategy if you are selective enough and have the time to sort through the candidates. If your staffing function is set up correctly and using the technology tools available it can quickly sort the thousands of resume postings.

But with IT professionals in such high demand, companies also are recruiting right from other companies. Such "stealing" is standard practice in an age when company loyalty is virtually nonexistent. Approaching employees who are not actively looking is usually done through headhunters and sometimes through personal contacts. Another method is growing your own talent. This requires the anticipation of staffing needs years in advance. It may include locating talent on college campuses or within your own organization. Offering training and placement programs not only helps build employee loyalty but trains the employees as you designate, with your corporate culture in mind. At any given time, your company may use all of these strategies.

At T. Williams, a national management consulting company specializing in the practice of staffing, we use a number of recruiting techniques, and grow internal talent that works both for the present and for the long term. We look at current staffing needs, but also examine them in the context of projected company sales, industry growth and how skill sets will change in the near to far future. Essentially, it is looking at your staffing as you might a business acquisition - an investment helping to grow the company`s earning potential.

This strategy works. It helps companies to identify the staff they need and to grow sensibly, even when they need to do so exponentially within a short timeframe. But it means nothing if the employees you hire do not stay with your company.

What is the secret to retaining good employees? The answer is matching employees and corporate culture. Corporate culture refers to the work atmosphere, which tends to reflect the company`s values.

People work for a variety of reasons. One is to pay the bills and collect benefits. Although a primary reason, it`s not why someone chooses one job over another. That often depends upon the corporate culture.

Your task is to present and sell your company to perspective employees. The best matches are those who fit your corporate culture. That will ensure your company is attractive to them. Before any job search begins, taking a hard look at your corporate culture and how your company is presented during the interview process will save you time and money in the long run.

Determine the type of worker for whom you are looking. Talk to similar workers at your company to find out what they like about working there. Decide what perks you could offer that might support your corporate culture and also attract those workers.

Subsidizing childcare or adoption is a good way to attract family workers, for example. But be careful not to pigeonhole single or married workers, male or female, into slots. It`s not true that single workers tend to work longer hours or mind travel less than married workers do.

And be creative. With the employment wars pushing the salaries up, you can often compete with smaller, more meaningful items. Flexibility in work hours, telecommuting, access to a gym, free vending machines, and cappuccino bars all make a difference. Training is an extremely valued perk for technology professionals, since technology changes so rapidly and there is a fear of obsolescence. Just make sure that the perks reflect your corporate culture, or they won`t work.

If the employee/company match is a good fit, it will help to keep your workers working for you. Retention is very important. The cost of replacing an employee can be as much as two to three times his or her salary in lost work, recruitment, and retraining.

Recruit the best and brightest, they will grow your company. Prepare a staffing plan and strategy that supports your business plans objectives. Invest in staffing with the right tools and professionals. Look for someone interested in being a part of the company fabric and grow with it. Then offer them the benefits, compensation and perks to help keep them there. Companies that focus on staffing as key to their business have the best chance of winning the employment wars.

9. Is Becoming a `Free Agent` for You?

Most of us have thought about it at one time or another. We have dreamed of taking control of our careers and heading out on our own. Occasionally it`s because we don`t like our company, or can`t stand our boss or co-workers.Some times it`s because we are tired of making all this money for our company. But more often than not it`s because we have this "fire" in us that says we want to own our business. We want to pull all of our ideas, experience, and drive together to prove we can do it better. We want to do it Our Way!

One of the key concepts in this idea of becoming an entrepreneur, a "free agent" if you will, is how well it mirrors what is happening in the business world today. As Corporate America continues to down size, out-source, acquire, and merge, the opportunity for people to start their own businesses has never been greater. Companies will continue tore-invent themselves on a regular basis to stay competitive in this warp-speed, technology driven, "we can no longer guarantee you a job" workplace. They will continue to figure out how to reduce their cost of doing business and strive to become a more fluid and flexible business model:

A model that is much more responsive to what is happening in their field. A model that allows them to change the way they do things on very short notice. A model that seeks to replace permanent employees with a contracted, short-term, project-based staff.

Therein lies the opportunity for those of us who choose to go down the "everyone is a business" path. The New Look of Work (some studies predict that by 2005 up to 50 percent of the work force will be independent contractors) will provide the vehicle for people to launch their own businesses; including becoming an independent consultant, a small-business owner, or a web-based entrepreneur. And, the benefits can be enormous: more freedom, more control of your working time, more diverse assignments, telecommuting, and better work/life balance to name just a few.

So where are the best opportunities to become an independent contractor/consultant? Here`s a list of a few of my recommendations:

Accounting Market Research Advertising/PR Telemarketing Career Coaching Office Productivity (word processing) Editing/Writing Tax Planning Janitorial Technology (web-site developers, network engineers)

But maybe the best opportunity to become a "free agent" is with your current employer. Companies are becoming more and more receptive to employees, or groups of employees, quitting the firm and being re-hired as contractors. Oftentimes with contracts, at higher pay, for months or even multi-year terms. The benefits to the company are: (1) They know your skill level, (2) They reduce their fixed expenses, and (3) They put themselves in a position to terminate you on a moments notice.

The benefits to you are: (1) You make more money, (2) You have the flexibility to change assignments or move on when the work is completed, and (3) You get the chance to be taken more seriously by the company so as to propose different, better solutions for the same work.

Should you decide to "go solo," here are a few tips on how to be most effective:

(a) If you`re working out of your home office, don`t hang around the office all day. Take some time each day to get out, meet some customers, lunch with fellow contractors.

(b) Don`t spend too much time on your computer each day. The tendency is to get lost in some back-water and spend hours watching the alligators (which may have nothing to do with your biz).

(c) Focus on servicing your customer better, rather than on trying to grow your business too fast. There is atendency when you first leave Corporate America to get more customers. That`s somewhat understandable. You no longer have the cushion of a regular check. By focusing on giving your current client un-paralled service, you will quickly build a strong reputation and gain a reference that will provide plenty of future revenue.

(d) Don`t think in terms of a formal, rigid, business plan. When you`re an independent consultant or contractor, you have to be extremely flexible to quickly respond to the market needs. The customer is still king.

(e) Don`t let business run your life. Once you`re clear of the Corporate Claw, there is sometimes a tendency to letthe responsibility overwhelm you. Stay focused and remember that the goal of having fun and achieving work/life balance is doable.

No doubt some of us will have concerns about venturing out on our own. After all, we probably entered the work force thinking that our education and desire to succeed would bring us a lifetime of job security, ever-increasing compensation, and fulfillment of the American Dream of two cars in every garage. But, haven`t we really been self-employed all this time? Haven`t most of us been independent contractors performing a defined set of serviceswith no real guarantee of continued employment? I think so. If you do too, and you`re ready to take the plunge, goodness is just around the corner.

10. My Unique Career Path

Balancing work, family, fame, and literary success.

While still quite young, I applied for and won what many people in my field would consider a dream job: general assignment reporter, and later feature writer, at The New York Times. I covered crimes and fires, city politics, and human interest stories. I worked long hours and weekends, but I loved it. Often, before leaving the Times building at the end of the day, I'd take the elevator up to the floor where (in those days) a person could actually watch the presses roll. After midnight, I'd stop by my corner newsstand to buy the first edition, with the ink still damp on the story I filed only hours before. It was my favorite moment in the day.

In the Beginning

I was a small town girl from New Hampshire whose own brilliant and talented mother couldn't get a job, despite her Harvard PhD. A wife of the fifties, she was "unemployable" because her husband had a job, so she sold encyclopedias door-to-door and tutored Latin for a dollar an hour. She raised me to believe that life would be different someday, that I'd have the career she was denied.

For my seventh birthday, my mother gave me a used mimeograph machine to run off copies of the neighborhood newspaper. I served as its editor, publisher, reporter, and advice columnist. Fifteen years later, when I found myself on the Times staff, it was nothing less than a dream. I interviewed Muhammad Ali, shadowed a private investigator, and spent a night listening to the story of a seventeen-year-old prostitute. When I think of that thrilling year, it seems like my heart beat at a perpetually elevated speed.

My career was shaped by the long, complicated, inconvenient, frustrating detour of motherhood--but my children gave me something to say.

I fell in love at twenty-three. Though successful, I wanted something that I had not known in my own young life: a happy family. Despite the unfashionableness of the notion at that time, I wanted to get married and have children. The demands of my job would leave little time for rocking babies and baking bread. So I quit my job, gave notice on my Gramercy Park apartment, and moved with my husband to a farmhouse in rural New Hampshire.

Sign of the Times

All around me, women were gaining entrance to worlds that had traditionally excluded them. I was part of the first graduating class to include women at my prep school, and the third class of women at Yale. My colleagues were shocked when I left the Times to marry and have babies. How could I turn my back on such opportunities and follow the path that our mothers were forced to take? My choice seemed political, not personal. And from a political standpoint, it couldn't have been more incorrect. Yet having children never seemed to exclude one from a fulfilling work life. In those early days of the feminist movement, we thought women could accomplish everything--career, motherhood, relationship, and success--all in the same twenty-four hour period. With the advent of disposable diapers and day care centers, we could do anything.

It wasn't quite true. My own life experience taught me that every choice brings cost and sacrifice. I could never be the kind of mother, writer, and reporter I wanted to be, if career success and excellence were my only objectives. Not with my husband and, in the years after our divorce, not as a single parent.

In the years since I cleared out my desk and packed away my career-girl suits, I continued to write magazine articles and books--but my objectives were different. I wanted to earn a living, not build a career. The novels and screenplays I burned to write seemed impossible to pursue, with the demands of driving a carpool and making gingerbread houses. I didn't have the single-minded concentration to do that kind of writing.

I chose, instead, to make my children a part of my work. I wrote a syndicated newspaper column about family life. I told simple stories, documenting an aspect of women's experience that hadn't really been examined. I could honor a challenge--the raising of children, the making of a family--that our success-oriented culture tends to overlook.

Mid-Life Freedom

I remember a night, in the early eighties, when my husband and I made a rare trip to Manhattan to attend a wedding. I was the only pregnant woman in the room, physically larger than most, but I felt was invisible. A glazed-over look appeared on the faces of those who met me. It was better to say, back in those days, that you were an exotic dancer or a parolee than presently engaged in raising young children.

The son I carried that winter is seventeen now, ready to graduate and leave home. At 47, I will soon have the freedom to pursue work and a career that I haven't known since my early twenties. I can travel freely in pursuit of a story or spend limitless hours at work on a novel. But it's impossible to know what this new freedom will feel like until it happens.

In some ways, I'm a little like Rip Van Winkle, waking from the 20-year career interruption of motherhood. I was never really asleep, of course—-only otherwise engaged. And though my children may no longer be under the same roof with me, they're as much a part of who I am as my blood type or ethnic heritage.

The choices I made—-to veer off the fast track, down a winding dirt road—-may not have been right for everyone. But it was right and necessary for me, at the time. I hope young women feel freer to make such a choice now, that they are more realistically informed than the women of my own, highly politicized, early feminist generation were.

My career path was shaped by the long, complicated, inconvenient, frustrating detour of motherhood--but my children gave me something to say. Maybe you can't fully appreciate the treasure of artistic and creative freedom until you've lived without it for a while. Maybe you have to lose some precious time to learn how precious it truly is.

Seasoned professionals want more than money if they are to stay in an organization. The majority of professionals that leave organizations do not leave for the money. Money sometimes becomes the justification or what shows up in exit interviews, but it`s not the primary motivation for 95% of the people.

We have conducted Talent 2000? Retention Briefings for more than five hundred professionals in the last four months. Participants come from a variety of industries - financial services, health care, telecommunications, manufacturing, consumer products, hospitality, energy, utilities, automotive parts, automotive manufacturing, etc.

These five hundred professionals said, "they wanted to stay in their organization." They`d rather not start all over again in another organization with all it takes to rebuild their reputation, network, comfort level and confidence. But, if the conditions they think are important aren`t available in their current organization environment, they`ll move on - whether they want to or not.

In fact, a January, 1999 study from Linkage HR, consultants found that more than 40 percent of respondents would consider job-hopping to the same position elsewhere even for the same pay and benefits if career development and greater challenges were part of the deal.

In interviews with hundreds of professional, most indicated that they have both stayed in and left organizations. Their reasons for staying and leaving are summarized below. As you read the table, put checks on those items that would motivate you to stay or leave your current organization.

WHY PEOPLE STAY IN ORGANIZATIONS WHY PEOPLE LEAVE ORGANIZATIONS Balance/Work and Life Harmony Lack of Balance/ Stress Values Aligned with Leadership Lack of Values Alignment/No "Fit" Respected by Managers/Trusted Poor Manager sIntegrity of Managers/Leaders Conflicts/Lack of Integrity of Managers Passion for Mission and Strategies Incompatible Mission/Strategies Career Opportunities Pigeonholed/Lack of Career Possibilities Challenging Work Bureaucracy/Organization Politics Flexible Schedule/Telecommuting Lack of Flexi-schedule/No Telecommuting Mission and Strategies Communicated Company not "walking the talk" Autonomy BureaucraticInnovation/Entrepreneurial Mentality "Silo"/hierarchical mentality Learning Possibilities No learning possibilities Teamwork/collegial relationship Lack of teamwork Comparable pay to other organizations More money

As we analyzed the answers as to why people "stayed or "left," five practices emerged as the hallmarks of organizations with high retention. When the five practices were in place, people remained and felt like they contributed to the organization. When they were lacking, people left.

According to our survey, the following specific practices are used by effective managers in organizations with high retention:

People`s life circumstances change as they marry, divorce, have children, get older, have aging parents, have health concerns, or find themselves a "trailing spouse." Employees who know and can articulate their changing needs must be met with flexibility and openness on the part of management. According to a recent study by the Families and Work Institute, 22% of employees say they are willing to sacrifice some career advancement in order to enhance their personal lives. But, among workers ages 18-24, that figure jumps to 34% - and 60% among very young parents.

Tracy has a one year-old and faces a commute of almost three hours daily. She approached her manager and asked to experiment with telecommuting two days a week, in order to balance her hectic work schedule with changing family needs. Her manager said that "telecommuting" was not a policy in the organization. Tracy researched other similar organizations to see how they were handling telecommuting, and made a presentation to her manager. The answer was still, "our organization doesn`t yet have a policy." Tracy is now job-hunting. She`s sad, because she loves her work and reputation in the organization. But she can no longer put herself and her family second in creating a balanced work life.

Joan has four children and a commute of over an hour daily. Her family is her number one priority and yet, she loves her work as an office manager. She proposed a four-day work week to her manager and asked that she be able to connect on the fifth day via phone, fax, and modem. Her manager was open to the change. Joan is more at peace in both work and home commitments.

Employees want to work with managers who give them feedback, respect their competencies, and prior experience, and ask them for input and advice. They treat employees as valuable colleagues.

A high power sales professional had been working in the home construction business for twenty years, and "finally couldn`t take it any longer," he said. Michael tried for months to work with his new manager, share his experiences, give feedback from his customers, and his manager wouldn`t listen. "I felt disrespected and not listened to for months. I had a proven track record, greater than the new manager, but he acted as if I knew nothing. I finally decided that I had to leave for my own mental health. I hated to walk away from that kind of money and customers I`d cultivated for years, but my own dignity and self-esteem became more important."

Sales in the region have gone down considerably and two other sales managers are job-hunting on the outside. What will it take for the manager to see the results he`s creating with his lack of respect, and non-collegial management style?

As organizations merge, divest, downsize, and change because of increased competition or changing technology, employees need to be part of the conversation about the changes. Employees and their managers can be talking about the changes in the industry and organization. As changes occur, certain jobs or professions may become more or less important to the organization. Employees need to know this, so they can be prepared for the changes.

One government agency saw that technology would be replacing the jobs of several hundred administrative clerks. Three years before the technology transfer was to occur, the management team talked about the importance of reskilling the clerical staff. The employees were invited to attend a career workshop with the purpose of equipping themselves for another trade or profession. As a result, over 250 clerks chose professions in computer repair, graphic design, administrative support, programming, word processing, interior design, financial analysis, and many other professions and trades. They were not "out placed," they had full employment and the basic competencies required for the future because their managers anticipated and talked with them about the how the changes were going to impact them. They had time to prepare!

Passion and purpose drive successful organizations. The closer the individual and the organization are aligned, the more energy and productivity they exhibit. Managers who know what their employees` goals are, can tap into them to further the organization, retain employees, and boost organization productivity and innovation.

A professional, with twenty-five years of leadership in her field, saw the need for shifting the mission of the organization, based on the changing needs of the organizations they served. She ran conferences, brought in outside speakers, researched, and did everything she could to awaken top executives to the changing business needs. Unfortunately, they were still making money in the short term, and were unwilling to listen to her message. As a result, she resigned and left a major vacuum in the company. She is now fully employed in an organization that "fits" her mission and is moving in the direction she anticipated. Overtime, both her prior and current organizations will be in direct competition.

Had the management listened to her information on the trends in the industry, and tap into her vision, her prior organization wouldn`t face nearly the competition they will now face.

Professionals want to keep learning and developing their "hot skills" from year to year so that they feel marketable and contribute in a meaningful way. Managers who succeed at retaining their workers are continuously looking for development opportunities and projects for their employees. They are on the lookout for challenges, new assignments, and even willing to let their employees go to other divisions or business units, in order to keep them for the company.

Ann worked for a major energy company for eight years. She was a specialist in human resources with a Ph.D. from a leading school. She was an extraordinarily gifted systems thinker and organization development consultant. Unfortunately, her manager was threatened by her systems savvy. The organization was undergoing a major shift in the industry as well as facing new ownership. However, Ann`s manager was unwilling to tap into her skill and potential and kept her doing routine training and personnel management. She went to him several times with proposals for redesigning human resource services and consulting to better support the strategic business plan as they looked at the new ownership. Each time she was rejected. After three years, Ann moved on to a smaller organization, where she had more responsibility, could work on systems issues, and was well respected by the executives running the company. Her prior company is still looking for a replacement, and slowly losing market share.

Managers who pay attention to their employees and talk to them about both the needs of the business, and their own needs have great power to develop and retain key employees. Take a close look at the managers in your organization and develop the habit of "talking straight" with them. Let them know what you need and want, and see that they are consistently practicing the five behaviors outlined above. Be true to yourself.

Dear HR Manager/Professional/Consultant

7. Back to current HR issues

Balancing work, family, fame, and literary success.