PERSISTENCE AND THE DESIRE TO SUCCEED !!
-->> Copyright Rose Smith.
Are you a persistent type of person? Do you constantly whittle away at a problem trying to find a solution? When you start a project, will you continue until you are finished?
These are the signs of persistence, which many new entrepreneurs need to develop. It is the "never give up" type of attitude that you see in successful people. They don't give up, no matter what. They will work on a problem until they find a solution, come hell or high water. You need to learn to do the same thing.
When presented with a project or problem, you need to look at it from all angles and figure out how to make it work. If one way doesn't work, than you try to find another way. That is persistence.
That's not to say that you shouldn't recognize a lost cause. Working on something that you can truly see won't work is time wasting. The trick is to develop the skill of knowing when to persist and when to let it go. This comes with time and practice. If you work at it, you will soon be able to recognize the road that you should travel toward and the one that will just bog you down.
But persistence is not enough. You have to have a deep desire to succeed. Figure out exactly what your desires are regarding your business, where your goals are leading you, then focus on those desires. They are a powerful influence to help you get to where you want to go. All successful businesses have an owner who has strong desires to achieve what they have set out to achieve. Figure out what yours are and pull your energy from them to drive you forward. But, understanding exactly what you desire to do, is the first step.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Patience is a Virtue !!
Patience is a Virtue !!
--> copyright Vicki Muller
I have learned (only recently I might add and I'm 35) that life is like a Jigsaw puzzle. This one however doesn't come in a box. You don't get to see the final picture before you start. You just have to live it and watch the pieces slowing coming together.
I have never been a patient person.
EVER! When I want something - I want it NOW.
Right now though, in my life, I find that I am in a "Waiting" stage. Everything I want today, is still beyond my control and I have no control over whether or not (when the waiting period is over) I can HAVE what it is, that I now want.
I have a strange feeling that this "Waiting" period, will serve only as a lesson in Patience. And sometimes the waiting times in our lives are just as important as the times when we take action.
This stage in my life brings me to a story that I would now like to share with you about patience and the value of not knowing what is up the road.
When my parents first started out in business, they sought only a job that would keep them in town. My father (prior to this) worked in the bush and after they were married, my Mother wanted to stay close to her home so they put in for the contract with Australia Post to be couriers. They were given this contract and so the story begins.
After this, they continued delivering parcels around town. Well, what they were delivering became bigger and bigger and their customer base increased - first State wide and then across Australia. When they started off they had a "home business". They now have 4 depots across the State and ship furniture across Australia and the World. So you see, they started out just wanting a job that would keep them close to family and ended up with a multi-million dollar company.
Had they seen the final picture, or the Picture on the front of the Jigsaw box, they probably would have shaken their heads and said "Impossible Dream." It may have appeared to them so hard or impossible to bring to life that they may never have embarked on the journey at all.
The moral of this story is this:
Sometimes you have to be "Patient" and wait. Just do what is in your heart to do now, and trust that eventually, the Jigsaw Puzzle will all come together and display, what you will see, is Your Beautiful Life…
--> copyright Vicki Muller
I have learned (only recently I might add and I'm 35) that life is like a Jigsaw puzzle. This one however doesn't come in a box. You don't get to see the final picture before you start. You just have to live it and watch the pieces slowing coming together.
I have never been a patient person.
EVER! When I want something - I want it NOW.
Right now though, in my life, I find that I am in a "Waiting" stage. Everything I want today, is still beyond my control and I have no control over whether or not (when the waiting period is over) I can HAVE what it is, that I now want.
I have a strange feeling that this "Waiting" period, will serve only as a lesson in Patience. And sometimes the waiting times in our lives are just as important as the times when we take action.
This stage in my life brings me to a story that I would now like to share with you about patience and the value of not knowing what is up the road.
When my parents first started out in business, they sought only a job that would keep them in town. My father (prior to this) worked in the bush and after they were married, my Mother wanted to stay close to her home so they put in for the contract with Australia Post to be couriers. They were given this contract and so the story begins.
After this, they continued delivering parcels around town. Well, what they were delivering became bigger and bigger and their customer base increased - first State wide and then across Australia. When they started off they had a "home business". They now have 4 depots across the State and ship furniture across Australia and the World. So you see, they started out just wanting a job that would keep them close to family and ended up with a multi-million dollar company.
Had they seen the final picture, or the Picture on the front of the Jigsaw box, they probably would have shaken their heads and said "Impossible Dream." It may have appeared to them so hard or impossible to bring to life that they may never have embarked on the journey at all.
The moral of this story is this:
Sometimes you have to be "Patient" and wait. Just do what is in your heart to do now, and trust that eventually, the Jigsaw Puzzle will all come together and display, what you will see, is Your Beautiful Life…
Sunday, October 14, 2007
10 effective ways to stay motivated
10 effective ways to stay motivated
By Preeti Bose
Shruti Sinha*, software engineer, thought it was end of the road for herwhen she was not selected for an overseas assignment. "I was completelysidelined and to top it, two of my team members were chosen over me. For thenext few days, I was at home, crying helplessly as if my whole life wasover. I was totally without any motivation in life and didn't even want togo back to work anymore. I still feel lousy.
"Shruti just wallowed in misery and didn't give it a second thought, butlet's take more a serious look. Was it all so terrible? Why did she assumeher career was over or out of her control? Are any of our careers really outof our control? If so, in whose hands do the controls lie?
Our bosses? Our circumstances? Or we, ourselves? There are times when youfeel like you are on a roll, and nothing can get you down. And then thereare times when it seems that the road to success is filled with nothing butboulders and gaping potholes. It is on this rutted road that you needmotivation the most.
Motivation comes from within. You might be inspired by achievements ofothers, but, to go far in life, you need to feel charged and determined toachieve your goals.
Try these tips on how to be self-motivated to get your work life back ontrack or to keep going top speed on your career path!
1. Be confident: If you don't believe in yourself, why would anyone else? We all havesomething we are good at. Have faith in yourself and try to work on yourniche skills. Drive the fear of failure far away from you. Remember, whatdoesn't kill you, only makes you stronger!
2. Be clear: Fuzzy, undefined goals are difficult to focus on. How will you proceed when
the path seems all foggy? Request your manager for defined, measurable and tasks.
If your manager is not very forthcoming, take some initiative and work with him until you have clarity about your role and what you will be appraised on, at the end of the year. Self-motivated people work best with clearly defined objectives in life. Even if the targets seem a little hazy,house-bred motivation can come in real handy!
3. Work on yourself: Nothing works better as a power shot of motivation than the knowledge thatyou are good at what you do! Be on top of things at work. Identify your weakareas and get them out of the way. Enroll in courses that will raise yourmarket value and also your motivation levels. Getting a few certificationsand qualifications in your functional skills will definitely instill a greatdeal of confidence.
4. Take criticism positivelyEven though the other person has no such intentions, turn all negativecriticism into a positive driving force.
Failure is a state a mind. If you think you can succeed, you will. Alwaysthink positive. That way, instead of brooding over past disappointments, youwill route your frustration into positive energy required for workingharder. It works like magic.
"My boss was always running me down. Even when I did a good job, he neverpraised me. Initially I used to feel terrible and slowly started to look forexcuses to avoid official meetings when he would once again find reasons todiscourage me.
I contemplated resigning and finding a new job where I did not have to provemyself over and over again," recounts Mohit Sethi*. "But then, there wereno guarantees that my next boss would be better to work with. So, I took itup as a challenge. I started reporting to work early and always finished mytasks before time.
My team members started to respect me more because I helped them when mywork was done. Gradually, my boss took a back step when he realised that I was now a highly productive member of the team. If I had not been self motivated to prove a point, thoughts of having failed and run away would have chased me forever."
5. Look out for challengesIf the current job demotivates you, not to worry. Be open to try out newthings if your present role has become too boring to continue even a daymore. Talk to your seniors to redefine your role to optimise yourcapabilities. Establish your reputation as somebody who is not scared totake on new challenges in life.
6. Be persistent: Most things may not work out right the first time. This just means that youneed to try harder. However, ensure that you set your heart on goals thatare really important to you and will help you progress in life. Save yourefforts for things that matter. Do not waste your energies on peripheralthings.
7. Keep the company of successful people:Try to surround yourself with confident people who are driven and high onlife. Read books that fill you with optimism. Put up motivating posters andquotes on your workstation that will spread positive energy and drive awayany depressing thoughts. Look around for successful people and try toemulate them. Find out what makes them tick and include that in your workingstyle.
8. Celebrate life: If something doesn't shape up like you thought it would, it does not meaneverything else is doomed as well. Do not feel stressed; high stress leadsto low motivation. Take active interest in things happening around you. Liveyour life well. Continue to have faith in yourself and get involved inthings that give you happiness. That itself will generate enough motivationfor you to glide over waves of setbacks.
9. Start today: List all that is important for you to achieve your goals. Divide long-termgoals into smaller milestones and celebrate each accomplished goal.Procrastination is a killer so keep it at bay.
10. Keep dreaming: Lastly, do not forget to keep dreaming. Dream big! Let your dreams fuel yourdesire to get closer to your goals. Write your dreams for yourself in adiary or a journal and constantly refer to them so that you do not forget orlose sight of the objective.
Note : "Motivation is all about how high you can bounce when you hitabsolute rock bottom."
By Preeti Bose
Shruti Sinha*, software engineer, thought it was end of the road for herwhen she was not selected for an overseas assignment. "I was completelysidelined and to top it, two of my team members were chosen over me. For thenext few days, I was at home, crying helplessly as if my whole life wasover. I was totally without any motivation in life and didn't even want togo back to work anymore. I still feel lousy.
"Shruti just wallowed in misery and didn't give it a second thought, butlet's take more a serious look. Was it all so terrible? Why did she assumeher career was over or out of her control? Are any of our careers really outof our control? If so, in whose hands do the controls lie?
Our bosses? Our circumstances? Or we, ourselves? There are times when youfeel like you are on a roll, and nothing can get you down. And then thereare times when it seems that the road to success is filled with nothing butboulders and gaping potholes. It is on this rutted road that you needmotivation the most.
Motivation comes from within. You might be inspired by achievements ofothers, but, to go far in life, you need to feel charged and determined toachieve your goals.
Try these tips on how to be self-motivated to get your work life back ontrack or to keep going top speed on your career path!
1. Be confident: If you don't believe in yourself, why would anyone else? We all havesomething we are good at. Have faith in yourself and try to work on yourniche skills. Drive the fear of failure far away from you. Remember, whatdoesn't kill you, only makes you stronger!
2. Be clear: Fuzzy, undefined goals are difficult to focus on. How will you proceed when
the path seems all foggy? Request your manager for defined, measurable and tasks.
If your manager is not very forthcoming, take some initiative and work with him until you have clarity about your role and what you will be appraised on, at the end of the year. Self-motivated people work best with clearly defined objectives in life. Even if the targets seem a little hazy,house-bred motivation can come in real handy!
3. Work on yourself: Nothing works better as a power shot of motivation than the knowledge thatyou are good at what you do! Be on top of things at work. Identify your weakareas and get them out of the way. Enroll in courses that will raise yourmarket value and also your motivation levels. Getting a few certificationsand qualifications in your functional skills will definitely instill a greatdeal of confidence.
4. Take criticism positivelyEven though the other person has no such intentions, turn all negativecriticism into a positive driving force.
Failure is a state a mind. If you think you can succeed, you will. Alwaysthink positive. That way, instead of brooding over past disappointments, youwill route your frustration into positive energy required for workingharder. It works like magic.
"My boss was always running me down. Even when I did a good job, he neverpraised me. Initially I used to feel terrible and slowly started to look forexcuses to avoid official meetings when he would once again find reasons todiscourage me.
I contemplated resigning and finding a new job where I did not have to provemyself over and over again," recounts Mohit Sethi*. "But then, there wereno guarantees that my next boss would be better to work with. So, I took itup as a challenge. I started reporting to work early and always finished mytasks before time.
My team members started to respect me more because I helped them when mywork was done. Gradually, my boss took a back step when he realised that I was now a highly productive member of the team. If I had not been self motivated to prove a point, thoughts of having failed and run away would have chased me forever."
5. Look out for challengesIf the current job demotivates you, not to worry. Be open to try out newthings if your present role has become too boring to continue even a daymore. Talk to your seniors to redefine your role to optimise yourcapabilities. Establish your reputation as somebody who is not scared totake on new challenges in life.
6. Be persistent: Most things may not work out right the first time. This just means that youneed to try harder. However, ensure that you set your heart on goals thatare really important to you and will help you progress in life. Save yourefforts for things that matter. Do not waste your energies on peripheralthings.
7. Keep the company of successful people:Try to surround yourself with confident people who are driven and high onlife. Read books that fill you with optimism. Put up motivating posters andquotes on your workstation that will spread positive energy and drive awayany depressing thoughts. Look around for successful people and try toemulate them. Find out what makes them tick and include that in your workingstyle.
8. Celebrate life: If something doesn't shape up like you thought it would, it does not meaneverything else is doomed as well. Do not feel stressed; high stress leadsto low motivation. Take active interest in things happening around you. Liveyour life well. Continue to have faith in yourself and get involved inthings that give you happiness. That itself will generate enough motivationfor you to glide over waves of setbacks.
9. Start today: List all that is important for you to achieve your goals. Divide long-termgoals into smaller milestones and celebrate each accomplished goal.Procrastination is a killer so keep it at bay.
10. Keep dreaming: Lastly, do not forget to keep dreaming. Dream big! Let your dreams fuel yourdesire to get closer to your goals. Write your dreams for yourself in adiary or a journal and constantly refer to them so that you do not forget orlose sight of the objective.
Note : "Motivation is all about how high you can bounce when you hitabsolute rock bottom."
Friday, October 12, 2007
Keys to a Positive Attitude !!
Why do some people have such a great attitude and others a negative one? Well, we wondered the same thing and through our research we found seven keys that those with a positive mental attitude all share. How do you rate?
Choose Your Attitude in Advance: When you wake up, you have a choice. You can be in a good mood or a bad mood. You also choose your attitude. You can wake up and mutter to yourself, “This is gonna be a cruddy day,” or you can tell yourself, “This is gonna be a great day!” This choice is the start of a great attitude.
Visualize Success: Runners in the Boston Marathon picture themselves crossing the finish line. Picture yourself having a successful day. Self-visualization is a key factor in having a positive mental attitude. Will it work 100% of the time? I wish it would. However, by visualizing your success, you’ll be able to have a better handle on what does happen, and having a better chance of making it happen.
Demonstrate Humor, Energy, and Enthusiasm: We call these three items the magic ingredients. Without them, creating a positive mental attitude will be difficult. There is normally humor in every situation. Finding it is key. Sometimes you’ll need to stretch and dig a little deeper to find the humor in a situation. But once you do, you’ll feel so much better. Energy is important because without some energy in your attitude, you’ll be dragging behind everyone. Energy is closely related to the third ingredient, enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is contagious; let’s start an epidemic!
Resist Negative Influences: It’s a fact. When we have a negative experience with a company, we’ll tell more people about it than if we have a good experience with the same company. Many times, when you hear that someplace wasn’t very good, you’ll believe the person who told you and choose not to do business with that company. However, you may only be hearing half the story. Check things out for yourself. Especially if the negativity involves a person you work with or know. We’ve all heard negative things about someone we didn’t know and then when we had the opportunity to meet them ourselves, we find that they’re not as bad as someone had alluded to. In fact they might be nice, but you need to be the judge. Take negativity out of your life. Steer clear of those who drag you down and say negative things. Being around other positive people is a good start.
Be a Whatever-it- Takes Person: This means, be a problem solver. Life is going to put obstacles in front of all of us. How we go around those obstacles is key. There’s normally a good answer to every problem put in front of us. Dale Carnegie said it best. Ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that can happen here?” Then move up from that.
Embrace Change; Expect it and Accept it: Some people are very good at handling change and some resist it. The major key to handling change is to accept it; deal with it. In most cases there’s little we can do to stop it anyway.
Be Grateful for What You Have: Many people have so much and yet those same people are often the ones that constantly complain. Why wait for some life-altering experience to be grateful? Be grateful, now.
These are the seven keys to having a positive mental attitude. Put them into practice and you will be amazed at the difference they can make.
By Nancy Friedman
Choose Your Attitude in Advance: When you wake up, you have a choice. You can be in a good mood or a bad mood. You also choose your attitude. You can wake up and mutter to yourself, “This is gonna be a cruddy day,” or you can tell yourself, “This is gonna be a great day!” This choice is the start of a great attitude.
Visualize Success: Runners in the Boston Marathon picture themselves crossing the finish line. Picture yourself having a successful day. Self-visualization is a key factor in having a positive mental attitude. Will it work 100% of the time? I wish it would. However, by visualizing your success, you’ll be able to have a better handle on what does happen, and having a better chance of making it happen.
Demonstrate Humor, Energy, and Enthusiasm: We call these three items the magic ingredients. Without them, creating a positive mental attitude will be difficult. There is normally humor in every situation. Finding it is key. Sometimes you’ll need to stretch and dig a little deeper to find the humor in a situation. But once you do, you’ll feel so much better. Energy is important because without some energy in your attitude, you’ll be dragging behind everyone. Energy is closely related to the third ingredient, enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is contagious; let’s start an epidemic!
Resist Negative Influences: It’s a fact. When we have a negative experience with a company, we’ll tell more people about it than if we have a good experience with the same company. Many times, when you hear that someplace wasn’t very good, you’ll believe the person who told you and choose not to do business with that company. However, you may only be hearing half the story. Check things out for yourself. Especially if the negativity involves a person you work with or know. We’ve all heard negative things about someone we didn’t know and then when we had the opportunity to meet them ourselves, we find that they’re not as bad as someone had alluded to. In fact they might be nice, but you need to be the judge. Take negativity out of your life. Steer clear of those who drag you down and say negative things. Being around other positive people is a good start.
Be a Whatever-it- Takes Person: This means, be a problem solver. Life is going to put obstacles in front of all of us. How we go around those obstacles is key. There’s normally a good answer to every problem put in front of us. Dale Carnegie said it best. Ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that can happen here?” Then move up from that.
Embrace Change; Expect it and Accept it: Some people are very good at handling change and some resist it. The major key to handling change is to accept it; deal with it. In most cases there’s little we can do to stop it anyway.
Be Grateful for What You Have: Many people have so much and yet those same people are often the ones that constantly complain. Why wait for some life-altering experience to be grateful? Be grateful, now.
These are the seven keys to having a positive mental attitude. Put them into practice and you will be amazed at the difference they can make.
By Nancy Friedman
How Do We Develop Competencies for Recruits in the Financial Services Sector?
How Do We Develop Competencies for Recruits in the Financial Services Sector?
[Workforce Management October 04, 2007]
As a financial services company, how could we devise useful competencies for our knowledge workers? Our new hires need basic courses in economics and some skills learning to use our customized econometrics model. We know what we're looking for in new recruits, but we don't know how to formally express it by way of competencies.
—Seeking Knowledge, advisor, financial services, Ottawa
Please forgive the slight jab, but in our view all workers today are (or need to be) "knowledge workers." I was reminded of that recently when I had to ask one of the housekeepers at a major hotel chain to help me set the clock radio in my room. Although English was not among her competencies, she was nonetheless a knowledge worker, so the clock was properly set, and I arose on time.
Your question's a good one because a) it's vitally important and b) there's a lot of junk floating around that would have us believe that "competencies" in the workplace are only for people with advanced degrees. That simply isn't so.
Achieving a tight connection between core business objectives and employee development and performance is vital, especially in labor-intensive organizations such as yours. Competencies—or "core competencies," as they are known in some circles—are nothing more than the knowledge, skill and ability factors upon which compensation professionals have long performed job analysis for pay-grading purposes.
What we're after is simply a clear understanding of the desired behaviors, and the key capabilities required to reliably produce those behaviors. A brief, albeit very basic, roadmap:
1. Start with one key job or job family.
2.With an eye toward broader business objectives, determine what good performance looks like for that position. What are the people actually doing, and achieving?
3. Confirm your findings by observing, and developing profiles of, a handful of acknowledged exemplars. Use people currently in jobs, because this can really change over time. Contrast your findings by similarly observing the knowledge, skills and behaviors of lower performers (although you needn't tell them they have been so identified).
4. Determine the three to six (no more) critical success factors associated with the desired level of performance. In other words, what are the most important things that people in this job must be able to do?
5. Evaluate the relative importance of each factor. You may find it helpful to weight the factors relative to one another on a simple arithmetic scale.
6. Determine the specific elements of knowledge, skill and ability that are essential to each of the aforementioned success factors. What you are after are core elements that can be observed, if not measured.
It will be essential for employees to move beyond basic courses in economics and learning to use your customized econometrics model. Must your employees, for example, understand the application of macroeconomics within an investment portfolio? Must they be able to communicate it orally to clients? Must they have knowledge of financial modeling? Must they have the ability to work successfully within a team environment?
If your aim is to use the identified competencies solely as a basis for recruiting, your next (and final) step is to construct candidate sourcing, screening and selection methods targeted to the identified competencies. In zeroing in on position competencies, please be careful not to exclude consideration for organizational "fit" requirements, as doing so could create a situation where you have a perfectly competent but miserable employee.
If you plan to use the identified competencies for development and evaluation purposes, you will likely want to take the process one step further by delineating (in writing) the relative levels of mastery for each competency.
As an additional resource, you may want to consider reading the book Building Robust Competencies: Linking Human Resource Systems to Organizational Strategies, by Paul C. Green.
[SOURCE: Bill Catlette, co-author, Contented Cows MOOve Faster , September 20, 2007.]
[Workforce Management October 04, 2007]
As a financial services company, how could we devise useful competencies for our knowledge workers? Our new hires need basic courses in economics and some skills learning to use our customized econometrics model. We know what we're looking for in new recruits, but we don't know how to formally express it by way of competencies.
—Seeking Knowledge, advisor, financial services, Ottawa
Please forgive the slight jab, but in our view all workers today are (or need to be) "knowledge workers." I was reminded of that recently when I had to ask one of the housekeepers at a major hotel chain to help me set the clock radio in my room. Although English was not among her competencies, she was nonetheless a knowledge worker, so the clock was properly set, and I arose on time.
Your question's a good one because a) it's vitally important and b) there's a lot of junk floating around that would have us believe that "competencies" in the workplace are only for people with advanced degrees. That simply isn't so.
Achieving a tight connection between core business objectives and employee development and performance is vital, especially in labor-intensive organizations such as yours. Competencies—or "core competencies," as they are known in some circles—are nothing more than the knowledge, skill and ability factors upon which compensation professionals have long performed job analysis for pay-grading purposes.
What we're after is simply a clear understanding of the desired behaviors, and the key capabilities required to reliably produce those behaviors. A brief, albeit very basic, roadmap:
1. Start with one key job or job family.
2.With an eye toward broader business objectives, determine what good performance looks like for that position. What are the people actually doing, and achieving?
3. Confirm your findings by observing, and developing profiles of, a handful of acknowledged exemplars. Use people currently in jobs, because this can really change over time. Contrast your findings by similarly observing the knowledge, skills and behaviors of lower performers (although you needn't tell them they have been so identified).
4. Determine the three to six (no more) critical success factors associated with the desired level of performance. In other words, what are the most important things that people in this job must be able to do?
5. Evaluate the relative importance of each factor. You may find it helpful to weight the factors relative to one another on a simple arithmetic scale.
6. Determine the specific elements of knowledge, skill and ability that are essential to each of the aforementioned success factors. What you are after are core elements that can be observed, if not measured.
It will be essential for employees to move beyond basic courses in economics and learning to use your customized econometrics model. Must your employees, for example, understand the application of macroeconomics within an investment portfolio? Must they be able to communicate it orally to clients? Must they have knowledge of financial modeling? Must they have the ability to work successfully within a team environment?
If your aim is to use the identified competencies solely as a basis for recruiting, your next (and final) step is to construct candidate sourcing, screening and selection methods targeted to the identified competencies. In zeroing in on position competencies, please be careful not to exclude consideration for organizational "fit" requirements, as doing so could create a situation where you have a perfectly competent but miserable employee.
If you plan to use the identified competencies for development and evaluation purposes, you will likely want to take the process one step further by delineating (in writing) the relative levels of mastery for each competency.
As an additional resource, you may want to consider reading the book Building Robust Competencies: Linking Human Resource Systems to Organizational Strategies, by Paul C. Green.
[SOURCE: Bill Catlette, co-author, Contented Cows MOOve Faster , September 20, 2007.]
10 Passion Principles to Creating the Rest of Your Life !!
10 Passion Principles to Creating the Rest of Your Life !!
--- Julie Jordan Scott
1. Take passionate action towards living your life by design. Talk is cheap. Action = deposits in the bank of a passionately authentic future. Without it, passion is void.
2. Commit to yourself as well as those you love to create powerfully a life you can love. Instead of reacting, commit to creating from your heart and soul, out of love rather than fear. Be amazed as the transformation begins.
3. Recognize and embrace the thought that each moment is perfect regardless of its outcome. If you are not pleased with the outcome, decide to use that moment to learn from and make the appropriate shift.
4. Dwell completely in a place of gratitude. Slipping into neediness will become less of a habit when you repeatedly shift towards gratitude, away from poverty consciousness.
5. Use a Passion Formula of Recognize/Reevaluat e/Restore in place of the Shoulda/Woulda/ Coulda whirlwind. The former is based in increased knowledge and abundance while the latter focuses on scarcity and lack. You would rather be richly passionate!
6. Keep humor at the forefront of thought, laughing at and with yourself when possible. You may find yourself quite entertaining when you loosen up! Humor is very attractive, very passionate: life-giving.
7. Trust that you are in the right place at the right time to learn whatever lessons you are meant to be learning. Become a part of a community of people where you can express from the heart and embrace each other's dreams and life philosophy. Know that you will be honored as you honor one another.
8. When emotions arise, flow with them. Take time out to be fully in the moment. This will model for children and your colleagues what it means to be authentically engaged in life, no matter what is dished out. The freedom for you AND those whose lives you touch will amaze you.
9. Be strongly vulnerable in connecting with people core to core instead of superficially. Replace backing away behavior with drawing close behavior. Practice interdependency for the strength of synergy rather than the weakness of self indulgence.
10. Believe that you are the architect of your destiny. No one can take your passionate future from you except for you! Create your life authentically. Watch everything flow into place with perfect, passionate precision
--- Julie Jordan Scott
1. Take passionate action towards living your life by design. Talk is cheap. Action = deposits in the bank of a passionately authentic future. Without it, passion is void.
2. Commit to yourself as well as those you love to create powerfully a life you can love. Instead of reacting, commit to creating from your heart and soul, out of love rather than fear. Be amazed as the transformation begins.
3. Recognize and embrace the thought that each moment is perfect regardless of its outcome. If you are not pleased with the outcome, decide to use that moment to learn from and make the appropriate shift.
4. Dwell completely in a place of gratitude. Slipping into neediness will become less of a habit when you repeatedly shift towards gratitude, away from poverty consciousness.
5. Use a Passion Formula of Recognize/Reevaluat e/Restore in place of the Shoulda/Woulda/ Coulda whirlwind. The former is based in increased knowledge and abundance while the latter focuses on scarcity and lack. You would rather be richly passionate!
6. Keep humor at the forefront of thought, laughing at and with yourself when possible. You may find yourself quite entertaining when you loosen up! Humor is very attractive, very passionate: life-giving.
7. Trust that you are in the right place at the right time to learn whatever lessons you are meant to be learning. Become a part of a community of people where you can express from the heart and embrace each other's dreams and life philosophy. Know that you will be honored as you honor one another.
8. When emotions arise, flow with them. Take time out to be fully in the moment. This will model for children and your colleagues what it means to be authentically engaged in life, no matter what is dished out. The freedom for you AND those whose lives you touch will amaze you.
9. Be strongly vulnerable in connecting with people core to core instead of superficially. Replace backing away behavior with drawing close behavior. Practice interdependency for the strength of synergy rather than the weakness of self indulgence.
10. Believe that you are the architect of your destiny. No one can take your passionate future from you except for you! Create your life authentically. Watch everything flow into place with perfect, passionate precision
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Whose Opinion Do You Trust Most?
Whose Opinion Do You Trust Most?
-- David
We have a relationship with everything in life. We have family, friendship, romantic and business relationships. Basically anything or anyone we come in contact with we've developed a relationship with whether it's a positive one or not.
Our personal, professional, family and friends are the most important relationships we will ever have. Within these relationships who do you tend to trust the most? We don't trust everyone we come into contact with but there are some we trust more than others. How do you decide who to trust and who not to? Here's a story that helped me clarify this question.
I had the pleasure of having a coaching relationship with Frank who is a popular person in his town and who holds a position of prominence. Most people like Frank and he enjoys spending time with people and as such there are many he calls "friend". One day we were discussing the importance of mentors or anyone who could be counted on in times of need or doubt. I asked Frank, "What criteria do you use to decide which of the people you trust the most?"
The obvious answer would have been his family and the people he's known the longest and built trust in over time. At least, that's what I thought Frank would say. Frank said something a little different though. He said, "The answer to that question is easy. It's not the people I've known the longest, although they might qualify but what are most important to me are the people who are willing to be the most honest with me".
He went on to explain. "I've had friends I've liked but who over time I could not trust. When I needed counsel or an opinion they would tell me what they thought I wanted to hear. While all of that may have sounded good they didn't realize the more they told me what they thought I'd like; the less sincere they sounded.
I simply couldn't count on them to be honest with me. I think most people in their heart of hearts trust others who are willing to tell them the truth". "Wow", I thought. Then I began to look at the people in my own life and what Frank said rang very true. I've had personal experience with this as well. I've known people who were very kind and supportive which was great!
However, these same people were unwilling or unable to be honest and my trust in them would decline. This caused me to ask myself, "Who do I trust most, the one who tries to cover things up ("misery loves company" type of person) or the one who is willing to tell me the truth; even if it makes me uncomfortable?
Frank helped me make the distinction between somebody that "made me feel good" and somebody I trusted.
When you need counsel or help who do you trust most? Do you trust the person who is only interested in telling you what you want to hear or the person who is willing to tell you the truth regardless of how you might react?
This is not a matter of who we like or don't like, it's a matter of who we tend to believe and trust the most. I think Frank is right. We tend to believe those who are most willing to tell us the truth. It is the truth that allows us to see ourselves in a different light and remove the veil of self-deceit and it is through the light of truth that we grow. Isn't this the definition of friendship?
____________
David is a Speaker/Facilitator/Performance Coach and Author of "Wired to Win". He works with Athletes (PGA/LPGA) and Business (Ameritech, Motorola, etc.) to help people perform at the 'top of their game" His approach is not "business as usual". He focuses on "Human Performance Competencies" to create faster shifts in how people think, feel and perform every day. David has appeared on The Golf Channel, ESPN radio and has spoken to all size businesses across the country. Book orders: 888.280.7715. To learn more about presentations or workshops, call: 847.681.1698 or email: david@theflowzone.net or visit the web: http://www.theflowzone.net
-- David
We have a relationship with everything in life. We have family, friendship, romantic and business relationships. Basically anything or anyone we come in contact with we've developed a relationship with whether it's a positive one or not.
Our personal, professional, family and friends are the most important relationships we will ever have. Within these relationships who do you tend to trust the most? We don't trust everyone we come into contact with but there are some we trust more than others. How do you decide who to trust and who not to? Here's a story that helped me clarify this question.
I had the pleasure of having a coaching relationship with Frank who is a popular person in his town and who holds a position of prominence. Most people like Frank and he enjoys spending time with people and as such there are many he calls "friend". One day we were discussing the importance of mentors or anyone who could be counted on in times of need or doubt. I asked Frank, "What criteria do you use to decide which of the people you trust the most?"
The obvious answer would have been his family and the people he's known the longest and built trust in over time. At least, that's what I thought Frank would say. Frank said something a little different though. He said, "The answer to that question is easy. It's not the people I've known the longest, although they might qualify but what are most important to me are the people who are willing to be the most honest with me".
He went on to explain. "I've had friends I've liked but who over time I could not trust. When I needed counsel or an opinion they would tell me what they thought I wanted to hear. While all of that may have sounded good they didn't realize the more they told me what they thought I'd like; the less sincere they sounded.
I simply couldn't count on them to be honest with me. I think most people in their heart of hearts trust others who are willing to tell them the truth". "Wow", I thought. Then I began to look at the people in my own life and what Frank said rang very true. I've had personal experience with this as well. I've known people who were very kind and supportive which was great!
However, these same people were unwilling or unable to be honest and my trust in them would decline. This caused me to ask myself, "Who do I trust most, the one who tries to cover things up ("misery loves company" type of person) or the one who is willing to tell me the truth; even if it makes me uncomfortable?
Frank helped me make the distinction between somebody that "made me feel good" and somebody I trusted.
When you need counsel or help who do you trust most? Do you trust the person who is only interested in telling you what you want to hear or the person who is willing to tell you the truth regardless of how you might react?
This is not a matter of who we like or don't like, it's a matter of who we tend to believe and trust the most. I think Frank is right. We tend to believe those who are most willing to tell us the truth. It is the truth that allows us to see ourselves in a different light and remove the veil of self-deceit and it is through the light of truth that we grow. Isn't this the definition of friendship?
____________
David is a Speaker/Facilitator/Performance Coach and Author of "Wired to Win". He works with Athletes (PGA/LPGA) and Business (Ameritech, Motorola, etc.) to help people perform at the 'top of their game" His approach is not "business as usual". He focuses on "Human Performance Competencies" to create faster shifts in how people think, feel and perform every day. David has appeared on The Golf Channel, ESPN radio and has spoken to all size businesses across the country. Book orders: 888.280.7715. To learn more about presentations or workshops, call: 847.681.1698 or email: david@theflowzone.net or visit the web: http://www.theflowzone.net
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Defining the Role and Purpose of Training in Your Organization
Defining the Role and Purpose of Training in Your Organization
by Terrence Donahue, National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation
Daily Hotel Industry News 2007-09-13
Here is a scary statistic: 85 percent of training department heads have never read a copy of their own company's strategic plan or annual report.
It's not surprising, then, that many training departments have trouble aligning their objectives with those of their organizations-and that most training activities continue to hit the expense side of the ledger, rather than the investment side. The solution? Develop a training mission statement that both defines the role of training and establishes its worth to the organization.
If a senior executive in your organization asked you about the role and purpose of training in your company, what would you say? If you find yourself struggling for an answer, you might be in trouble. When an organization's leadership is confused about the purpose of training, there won't be a commitment to training in that organization's day-to-day activities-and your initiatives will have little chance of success. But that confusion doesn't always begin at the leadership level, it's often the result of a training department that is uncertain about itself.
Through the process of creating a training mission statement, you can erase that uncertainty and increase your value as a strategic business partner within your organization.
Step 1: Ask Role Definition Questions. Clarifying questions-like 'Why is training important to our company?' and 'What would happen over the next year if the training department were eliminated?' (see the end of this article for a complete list)-will provide the basis for the training department's mission statement. Ask these questions of as many key stakeholders-both inside and outside of the training department-as you can. The answers will help you define the scope of training objectives and provide a framework to ensure business decisions are informed, consistent and non-political.
Step 2: Summarize the Role Definition Answers. Based upon the answers to your role definition questions, write a one-paragraph description of the role of training in your company. While this won't be your final mission statement, it will help you narrow your focus to include only the objectives most important to your organization.
Step 3: Develop a Training Mission Statement. This statement describes the reason your company has a training department, and it must be aligned with the corporate mission. Your mission statement will have three components: Product (what you do), Market (whom you do it for) and Function (why you do it). For example: 'The mission of training at ABC Restaurant Corp. is to provide measurable performance improvement that leads to an improved dining experience and increased sales and profits in our restaurants. Our internal customers include all corporate departments and restaurant employees and managers. Our external customers are vendors, distributors and restaurant guests.'
Once you've developed your mission statement, you're ready to establish and prioritize training objectives, create departmental policies and implement a training strategic plan. But you're not quite finished, if you really want to keep the support of C- and V-level stakeholders ( e.g. CFOs and Vice Presidents), there are four conversations you should have with them every year. They each start with the following questions:
1. What makes you pound the steering wheel on your way home from work?
2. What is your biggest concern, and how do you think I can help?
3. What does training do today that you would like it to continue doing two years from now?4. What do you see as training's biggest miss over the last two years?
When you give these stakeholders a chance to voice their honest opinions about training, you gain political equity in the organization-without having to be political.
Role Definition Questions
1. Why is training important to our company?
2. What is the purpose of training in our company?
3. Why should we conduct training programs?
4. What are the internal and external markets (clients, customers and consumers) that we support?
5. Who should be trained?
6. When should training be provided?
7. To what level should they be trained?
8. What do we expect training to accomplish?
9. How should training programs be designed?
10. What are the limitations of training?
11. What would happen over the next year if the training department were eliminated?
12. What would happen over the next year if the training department doubled in size?
13. What responsibility do employees have for their own learning?
14. What responsibility do supervisors and managers have for learning?
15. What responsibility does senior executive leadership have for supporting a learning culture?
16. What responsibility does the training department have to its clients, customers and consumers?
17. What responsibility does the training department have to other departments in the company?
18. Is training considered an investment or an expense?
19. How will the effectiveness of training be measured?
20. How should continuous learning be viewed?
21. What must training do with regard to innovation to support the organizational mission?
22. What is [insert your name here]'s role as the one who leads the training function?
by Terrence Donahue, National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation
Daily Hotel Industry News 2007-09-13
Here is a scary statistic: 85 percent of training department heads have never read a copy of their own company's strategic plan or annual report.
It's not surprising, then, that many training departments have trouble aligning their objectives with those of their organizations-and that most training activities continue to hit the expense side of the ledger, rather than the investment side. The solution? Develop a training mission statement that both defines the role of training and establishes its worth to the organization.
If a senior executive in your organization asked you about the role and purpose of training in your company, what would you say? If you find yourself struggling for an answer, you might be in trouble. When an organization's leadership is confused about the purpose of training, there won't be a commitment to training in that organization's day-to-day activities-and your initiatives will have little chance of success. But that confusion doesn't always begin at the leadership level, it's often the result of a training department that is uncertain about itself.
Through the process of creating a training mission statement, you can erase that uncertainty and increase your value as a strategic business partner within your organization.
Step 1: Ask Role Definition Questions. Clarifying questions-like 'Why is training important to our company?' and 'What would happen over the next year if the training department were eliminated?' (see the end of this article for a complete list)-will provide the basis for the training department's mission statement. Ask these questions of as many key stakeholders-both inside and outside of the training department-as you can. The answers will help you define the scope of training objectives and provide a framework to ensure business decisions are informed, consistent and non-political.
Step 2: Summarize the Role Definition Answers. Based upon the answers to your role definition questions, write a one-paragraph description of the role of training in your company. While this won't be your final mission statement, it will help you narrow your focus to include only the objectives most important to your organization.
Step 3: Develop a Training Mission Statement. This statement describes the reason your company has a training department, and it must be aligned with the corporate mission. Your mission statement will have three components: Product (what you do), Market (whom you do it for) and Function (why you do it). For example: 'The mission of training at ABC Restaurant Corp. is to provide measurable performance improvement that leads to an improved dining experience and increased sales and profits in our restaurants. Our internal customers include all corporate departments and restaurant employees and managers. Our external customers are vendors, distributors and restaurant guests.'
Once you've developed your mission statement, you're ready to establish and prioritize training objectives, create departmental policies and implement a training strategic plan. But you're not quite finished, if you really want to keep the support of C- and V-level stakeholders ( e.g. CFOs and Vice Presidents), there are four conversations you should have with them every year. They each start with the following questions:
1. What makes you pound the steering wheel on your way home from work?
2. What is your biggest concern, and how do you think I can help?
3. What does training do today that you would like it to continue doing two years from now?4. What do you see as training's biggest miss over the last two years?
When you give these stakeholders a chance to voice their honest opinions about training, you gain political equity in the organization-without having to be political.
Role Definition Questions
1. Why is training important to our company?
2. What is the purpose of training in our company?
3. Why should we conduct training programs?
4. What are the internal and external markets (clients, customers and consumers) that we support?
5. Who should be trained?
6. When should training be provided?
7. To what level should they be trained?
8. What do we expect training to accomplish?
9. How should training programs be designed?
10. What are the limitations of training?
11. What would happen over the next year if the training department were eliminated?
12. What would happen over the next year if the training department doubled in size?
13. What responsibility do employees have for their own learning?
14. What responsibility do supervisors and managers have for learning?
15. What responsibility does senior executive leadership have for supporting a learning culture?
16. What responsibility does the training department have to its clients, customers and consumers?
17. What responsibility does the training department have to other departments in the company?
18. Is training considered an investment or an expense?
19. How will the effectiveness of training be measured?
20. How should continuous learning be viewed?
21. What must training do with regard to innovation to support the organizational mission?
22. What is [insert your name here]'s role as the one who leads the training function?
Friday, September 7, 2007
Point of View: How HR Can Become A True Strategic Partner of Sales
Point of View: How HR Can Become A True Strategic Partner of Sales
Mercer's Global Human Capital Perspective Newsletter - Issue 3
In a recent Mercer survey exploring the relationship between the HR and Sales functions, some very interesting findings emerged. Our research reveals that although establishing a strategic partnership between HR and Sales may seem a distant goal, it is possible...and very important. By employing the best practices of successful partnerships and using fundamental customer-centric strategies, HR can become an effective business partner with Sales and a strategic asset in the revenue-generating function of a company. This excerpt from Mercer's survey report looks at the characteristics of a successful partnership between HR and Sales.
Despite the challenges of developing a solid partnership between HR and Sales, our research found companies in which both groups had escaped the tendency to maintain the status quo and had successfully overcome the barriers. In the following best practices, we describe the key distinctions we discovered between "Strategic Partner" organizations and "Support Function" organizations - that is, companies in which Sales perceived HR as a "full strategic partner" and those in which HR was relegated to a supporting role or "basic support function."
Best Practice 1: They collaborate frequently on key business issues.
Both Sales and HR cited a lack of knowledge about Sales' business as a key impediment to partnership. Leading companies, however, remove this impediment through frequent communication. First, they share their respective business agendas at very senior levels. When asked how frequently Sales collaborates with its HR peers on important business issues, we found that Strategic Partner companies did so with much greater frequency than their Support Function counterparts. This practice ensures that HR understands Sales' burning issues and is able to respond with appropriate types of initiatives. Without this executive collaboration, HR and Sales can become strategically misaligned, especially in light of their company's overall goals and objectives.Best Practice 2: They dedicate HR resources to Sales.
Strategic Partner organizations do not limit the exchange of information to their senior executives. To further facilitate communication between the groups, they commit resources at the field level to work side by side with one another. In more than half of the Strategic Partner companies, we found that HR maintained at least one dedicated resource to support the sales force. In stark contrast, not a single Support Function company assigned HR resources to team with Sales on an ongoing basis. Dedicated support resources offer a unique opportunity for HR to view the inner workings of Sales and to develop a deeper understanding of its business objectives and processes. Without this inside information, HR is disadvantaged and hampered in its ability to provide meaningful advice and support.
Best Practice 3: They develop additional skills.
Another barrier to strategic partnership that both HR and Sales executives identified was the level and mix of skills within the HR function. Whether the result of better hiring or better training, we found that Strategic Partner organizations perceived a higher level of HR skills across the board than did their Support Function peers. This discrepancy was most pronounced in areas such as analysis, leadership and general business acumen - skills deemed relevant to providing more sophisticated support to Sales.
Perhaps these distinguishing skills enable HR in Strategic Partner organizations to perform more support tasks for Sales than their Support Function counterparts can - on average, performing eight sales support tasks rather than five. It is also interesting to note the nature of the tasks where the Strategic Partner group outpaced its peers to the largest degree: training, performance benchmarking and the other tasks that Sales more frequently elects to perform itself. It seems that when HR is willing and able, Sales will hand over the reins of many of its mission-critical activities.
Both HR and Sales have much to gain from a strong strategic partnership. At a minimum, HR can showcase its ability to create measurable value for the company, and Sales can focus its attention on doing what it does best - winning and retaining customers. While there a few real barriers to developing this relationship, they are not insurmountable, and many companies have successfully overcome them through close collaboration and HR transformation.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Survey: Companies Making Major Strides in Implementing, Streamlining HR Technology Systems
Survey: Companies Making Major Strides in Implementing, Streamlining HR Technology Systems
Talent Management Magazine September 4, 2007 Volume 3, Issue 34
In a recent annual survey of HR service delivery trends among global organizations, Towers Perrin found companies are finally reaping the benefits of IT investments in human resources systems and moving from core upgrades to streamlining for greater efficiency and effectiveness.
The percentage of companies in the current survey that are focused primarily on upgrading their HR systems dropped by close to 20 percentage points from the year before, and the top objective for this year's respondent group was "streamlining HR processes/systems."
The survey also found many organizations have moved beyond implementation and into more strategic use of upgraded technology systems.
Large companies are increasingly focused on talent management applications, especially the strategic use of manager self-service (MSS) for this purpose.
This year's survey group also reported rapid growth in the PeopleSoft and SAP applications that streamline and support attraction, retention and engagement of employees.
"Organizations have mastered and are moving beyond traditional aspects of HR service delivery, which address core benefits and compensation delivery programs," said Thomas Keebler, Towers Perrin global HR technology practice leader. "With basic transactional processes firmly and successfully in place, forward-looking organizations are turning their attention to the more strategic and arguably more value-added areas of recruiting and other people and performance oriented processes."
The survey showed HR service delivery professionals are increasingly focused on helping their organizations find, attract, retain and engage employees.
Among top service delivery issues for 2007, recruiting and staffing were in the top three, along with talent and performance management.
Nearly a third of respondents reported each of these related issues near the top of their service delivery agendas, and detailed survey results on systems and applications support those views.
"What we see this year is a wiser, better-planned approach to delivering talent management," Keebler said. "Organizations are now using words like 'streamlined' and 'integrated' to describe their HR service delivery processes and systems related to talent management."
"Having made many of their key strategic investments, companies can focus on both optimizing the work they have done and making new investments to broaden out their talent management systems. Onboarding is a notable example, with the number of participants with a planned onboarding solution likely to reach 61 percent (from just 19 percent) by year end 2008."
Another new development for 2007 is the dramatic upsurge in MSS applications to help deliver HR programs across the board, from traditional manager-directed processes to newer and more innovative ones.
In many HR domains, the prevalence of new MSS applications has doubled in the past 12 months, along with intent to implement these new systems before the end of 2008.
As organizations begin to realize the breadth of areas that MSS can support and the effectiveness that MSS solutions can now deliver, they are more willing to investigate and invest in these applications.
And for programs ranging from benefit delivery to performance management and pay, a well-designed and well-executed MSS program provides a highly valuable overlay to existing employee self-service (ESS) programs and other channels for HR service delivery.
ESS has become the primary means of HR service delivery for most organizations, with 98 percent of the survey respondents offering online benefit enrollment this year.
Whether an organization insources or outsources HR, ESS is the most common means of delivering HR services to employees.
In addition, the majority of survey respondents reported significant reductions in workload as a result of ESS deployments. And these reductions affect not only HR departments but also employees themselves.
"The benefits of ESS are widespread and include a more empowered workforce that is more apt to take responsibility for its own HR and benefit decisions, greater accuracy of employee data and faster HR processes," Keebler said. "ESS is an area that has truly lived up to the hype of relieving HR from administrative work to focus on more strategic activities. Done properly, it offers only upside and no downside."
This year's survey highlights two important developments in the ESS world right now. Certain core processes delivered through ESS have become ubiquitous, and as a result, HR is now looking at a far broader and more sophisticated set of processes for ESS going forward, particularly in the realm of talent management.
Survey findings on the use of both PeopleSoft and SAP products showed a continued interest in investing in applications that help organizations attract, retain and engage the workforce from staffing to onboarding to performance management.
Current users are moving rapidly to ensure their systems have more impact from a people standpoint, primarily by implementing such programs as:
1. Recruiting solutions:
Nearly one-quarter will implement by the end of next year, an increase of more than 50 percent among current users.
2. Performance management:
Nearly 25 percent will implement by the end of next year, almost doubling the number that currently run such programs.
3. Workforce analytics:
Twenty-eight percent will implement by the end of next year, a more than 200 percent increase over the 13 percent of respondents currently offering this functionality.
For more info: http://www.towersperrin.com/hrservices
Talent Management Magazine September 4, 2007 Volume 3, Issue 34
In a recent annual survey of HR service delivery trends among global organizations, Towers Perrin found companies are finally reaping the benefits of IT investments in human resources systems and moving from core upgrades to streamlining for greater efficiency and effectiveness.
The percentage of companies in the current survey that are focused primarily on upgrading their HR systems dropped by close to 20 percentage points from the year before, and the top objective for this year's respondent group was "streamlining HR processes/systems."
The survey also found many organizations have moved beyond implementation and into more strategic use of upgraded technology systems.
Large companies are increasingly focused on talent management applications, especially the strategic use of manager self-service (MSS) for this purpose.
This year's survey group also reported rapid growth in the PeopleSoft and SAP applications that streamline and support attraction, retention and engagement of employees.
"Organizations have mastered and are moving beyond traditional aspects of HR service delivery, which address core benefits and compensation delivery programs," said Thomas Keebler, Towers Perrin global HR technology practice leader. "With basic transactional processes firmly and successfully in place, forward-looking organizations are turning their attention to the more strategic and arguably more value-added areas of recruiting and other people and performance oriented processes."
The survey showed HR service delivery professionals are increasingly focused on helping their organizations find, attract, retain and engage employees.
Among top service delivery issues for 2007, recruiting and staffing were in the top three, along with talent and performance management.
Nearly a third of respondents reported each of these related issues near the top of their service delivery agendas, and detailed survey results on systems and applications support those views.
"What we see this year is a wiser, better-planned approach to delivering talent management," Keebler said. "Organizations are now using words like 'streamlined' and 'integrated' to describe their HR service delivery processes and systems related to talent management."
"Having made many of their key strategic investments, companies can focus on both optimizing the work they have done and making new investments to broaden out their talent management systems. Onboarding is a notable example, with the number of participants with a planned onboarding solution likely to reach 61 percent (from just 19 percent) by year end 2008."
Another new development for 2007 is the dramatic upsurge in MSS applications to help deliver HR programs across the board, from traditional manager-directed processes to newer and more innovative ones.
In many HR domains, the prevalence of new MSS applications has doubled in the past 12 months, along with intent to implement these new systems before the end of 2008.
As organizations begin to realize the breadth of areas that MSS can support and the effectiveness that MSS solutions can now deliver, they are more willing to investigate and invest in these applications.
And for programs ranging from benefit delivery to performance management and pay, a well-designed and well-executed MSS program provides a highly valuable overlay to existing employee self-service (ESS) programs and other channels for HR service delivery.
ESS has become the primary means of HR service delivery for most organizations, with 98 percent of the survey respondents offering online benefit enrollment this year.
Whether an organization insources or outsources HR, ESS is the most common means of delivering HR services to employees.
In addition, the majority of survey respondents reported significant reductions in workload as a result of ESS deployments. And these reductions affect not only HR departments but also employees themselves.
"The benefits of ESS are widespread and include a more empowered workforce that is more apt to take responsibility for its own HR and benefit decisions, greater accuracy of employee data and faster HR processes," Keebler said. "ESS is an area that has truly lived up to the hype of relieving HR from administrative work to focus on more strategic activities. Done properly, it offers only upside and no downside."
This year's survey highlights two important developments in the ESS world right now. Certain core processes delivered through ESS have become ubiquitous, and as a result, HR is now looking at a far broader and more sophisticated set of processes for ESS going forward, particularly in the realm of talent management.
Survey findings on the use of both PeopleSoft and SAP products showed a continued interest in investing in applications that help organizations attract, retain and engage the workforce from staffing to onboarding to performance management.
Current users are moving rapidly to ensure their systems have more impact from a people standpoint, primarily by implementing such programs as:
1. Recruiting solutions:
Nearly one-quarter will implement by the end of next year, an increase of more than 50 percent among current users.
2. Performance management:
Nearly 25 percent will implement by the end of next year, almost doubling the number that currently run such programs.
3. Workforce analytics:
Twenty-eight percent will implement by the end of next year, a more than 200 percent increase over the 13 percent of respondents currently offering this functionality.
For more info: http://www.towersperrin.com/hrservices
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