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HR Focus - Changes to tax codes, handling performance discussions, employee redundancies

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on 14 August, 2008
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Tax & Payroll: Changes to Personal Allowance and Basic Rate Limit in September

Changes to the basic personal allowance and basic rate limit will result in new tax codes for many employees in September 2008.

The basic personal allowance for tax year 2008-09 is increasing by £600, from £5,435 to £6,035. The basic rate limit is reducing from £36,000 to £34,800.

As a result, employers may need to make changes to their payroll, on the first payday on or after 7 September 2008.

Tax codes with an L suffix can be changed without notice from HMRC. For example, a 543L tax code becomes 603L. For other tax codes (without an L suffix), you should wait to receive a P6 notice from HMRC. Other codes should remain unchanged unless you receive a P6. Check the HMRC website for a detailed outline of old and new tax codes.

For more information and guidance, please visit the HMRC website

Handling performance discussions

Over the previous two issues of business i we’ve discussed the importance of performance appraisals and outlined the competency framework - a valuable approach for measuring performance and underpinning performance discussions. This month we offer three tips to help handle the performance appraisal conversation with your employees.

Daryll Scott, from personal development company My Noggin, comments that some organisations “gather valuable feedback, and prepare well-structured performance discussions, only to have it made ineffective by the human factor. Many people are caught up in the process and content of ‘what’ they are delivering and oblivious to how much their behaviour is influencing the other person.”.

This lack of focus on establishing a positive human dynamic during the performance appraisal conversation could undermine the hard work done leading up to that point.

Daryll offers his top three tips for effectively handling performance discussions:

1. Set it up… Take time to set up the discussion in a way that is agreeable and cooperative. Make it conversational, and take time to have a conversation about the conversation you are about to have. Check what the perceptions and assumptions are, and clear them up so that you start positively. By investing time at the start you will provide less opportunity for misunderstanding.

2. Is the boot on the right foot? The most destructive communication takes place when the individual refutes their feedback and then takes an argumentative stance. In many cases the line manager somehow makes it their problem to prove it, providing evidence to convince them of the validity of the feedback. Elicit their self-awareness rather than battering them with documented evidence. Consider the difference between: a) “Your numbers are down this quarter.” and b) “Have you had a chance to look at your numbers for this quarter?” The former is accusatory, the latter is conversational. For a performance discussion to really work, the recipient needs to be taking responsibility for the effectiveness of the conversation, not the line manager.

3. Shooting the messenger… The most effective way of getting out of the firing line so that the meeting can remain productive is to separate your intention for the meeting from the content of the meeting. Most people assume that others are aware of their positive intentions and this assumption is typically wrong. For example: If I say, “My intention is that you fully understand this feedback so that I can provide any support you need to make any changes you want.” Now if the feedback is grizzly, I’m not necessarily grizzly for delivering it. I’m on your side! If you want the individual to make a change, you are far more influential if you are coaching them, rather than pointing your finger at them.

Employee redundancies

A redundancy arises when there has or is going to be: a) a cessation of business, b) a cessation of business at an employee’s place of work (which could be due to relocation of business activities), or c) a cessation or reduction of work.

Redundancy is a traumatic experience for both employer and redundant employee. It can also adversely impact the morale and productivity of remaining workers, not just those directly affected. For these reasons, it’s vital to effectively manage redundancies with due diligence and sensitivity.

There are two key obligations when handling redundancies. First, you must undertake a fair redundancy dismissal procedure. Second, you must keep affected employees (and potentially their representatives) adequately informed during the process.

Fore more information, see our guide: Making an employee redundant

Cloud computing

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on 5 August, 2008
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Cloud computing is a familiar cliché. But what does it really mean? What are the benefits and costs? And is it time to jump into the cloud?

An insightful article by InfoWorld brings cloud computing into focus. They define it as “a way to increase capacity or add capabilities” to IT infrastructure, which “encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends IT’s existing capabilities”.

Think online data backups. Think web-based office, customer relationship management (CRM) and emarketing platforms. Think collaborative online workspaces. Think online image editing. Think remote access to computers a hundred times more powerful than yours. All such services are already in the cloud. And that’s just the beginning.

The key benefit… Cloud computing offers access to increased computing capability and capacity, through cost-effective and scalable online services. The key cost… Cloud computing services are remote and thus beyond our direct control. Its remoteness places the cloud far outside internal IT infrastructure; a fact that raises the important issues of service reliability and data security.

The loss of control over reliability and security vs. the cost-effective, continuous expansion of capacity and capability represents, in simple terms, the cost-benefit equation of cloud computing.

So, let’s further illustrate the benefits…

The cloud provides on-demand access to advanced, powerful computing and software platforms. It creates an online workspace, from which you can communicate, collaborate or work remotely. It offers solutions to a multitude of needs, from mail hosting and security to image processing and storage. The list goes on. And this myriad of cloud services holds the potential to reduce software licensing spend, cut hardware and maintenance costs, and make working lives easier.

Consider the ’software-as-a-service’ platform Salesforce as a case in point. In short, it’s an online CRM platform which offers sales management, marketing automation and customer service and support services. And it offers these services to individuals and global businesses alike. Or… not quite alike… Salesforce is scalable to fit different users’ budgets and needs. That means a small business can enjoy the benefits of the same CRM platform used by global companies, but not pay for features it doesn’t need. As that business grows, the platform can grow too, expanding to provide increased features and capacity. For example, if said business employs its first in-the-field salesperson, they can instantly and cheaply begin using the ‘mobile’ version of Salesforce, accessible via smart phones and internet-enabled devices. Some features also pop along for free, such as the recently announced Google Apps integration, which seamlessly links itself and Salesforce into one single web-interface.

The Salesforce and Google Apps combination is reminiscent of another, competing collection of business productivity services, called Zoho. Zoho offers a whole bunch of services - from CRM, project management and invoicing systems, to a word processor, note taker, organiser, collaborative chat and mail services. Again, these services (some of which are free for up to three users) provide capabilities and capacities that can grow alongside users’ needs.

A third, final and wildly different illustration of the scope and potential of cloud computing is Amazon’s EC2 computing platform, which provides “resizable compute capacity in the cloud”. EC2 lets you create your own virtual computing environment right inside Amazon’s cloud. From there, you can run applications that draw on the raw computing power of EC2’s infrastructure. For example, the New York Times used EC2 to convert scanned images of 11 million newspaper articles into PDF files. They did so in 24 hours; a fraction of the time it would have taken on in-house computers. Again, it’s about increasing capacity and capability.

Now to the thorny issues of reliability and security…

First of all: it’s impossible, and unfair, to make generalisations about the reliability and security of the entire cloud computing industry. A cloud service could theoretically be just as reliable and secure as a similar service running onsite and behind a firewall. Individual cloud services must be evaluated case-by-case, within the context of your distinct IT needs.

In an article entitled “The dangers of cloud computing“, Computer World explores the assertion that decisions about whether to use cloud services to perform IT tasks should focus on whether those tasks are “mission-critical” or “non-mission-critical”. If a task is mission-critical, and a cloud service cannot provide the required level of reliability and security, it should not be used.

As grand as the New York Times’ plan of converting its old articles was - it was not mission-critical. In fact, it was much less mission-critical than the computing tasks millions of users conduct every day in the cloud, such as managing sales leads, following up support requests, communicating with customers and issuing invoices.

These users either don’t know the risks, or they have made professional judgements - to first define if a task is mission-critical or otherwise, and then to decide if cloud computing services are, within that context, reliable and secure enough to complete that task.

Is it time to jump in?

Cloud computing is in its infancy, so it’s wise to be wary about jumping in with two feet. With that said - feature-rich, reliable and secure services are emerging that challenge doubts and increase confidence in the cloud.

The challenge for the cloud computing industry is not so much to offset risks with additional benefits, but to strike a balance between features, reliability and security. If the industry does that, the cloud will succeed.

The challenge for you is much more simple… See through the hype. Look past the benefits, and evaluate the risks too. Then, if you still see value in the cloud, maybe it’s time to take the jump.

Cloud applications and services

We’ve compiled a list of cloud computing applications and services:

Cloud applications and services

Backing up data

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on 5 August, 2008
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Data… A few megabytes of spreadsheets or a terabyte of design assets. If your system crashes, you’ll be lost without it… So back it up.

To piece together a backup strategy, you need to understand the common approaches to backing up, and the strengths and weaknesses of available backup mediums.

Backup approaches

Full backups

A full backup creates a complete copy of an entire system, or a complete copy of selected files and folders. The result: an exact clone of selected data.

During every new full backup the entire data set is copied again, regardless of what data has been added or changed since the previous backup.

A new full backup either overwrites the previous one, or is copied to a distinct location, such as a dated folder. The advantage of the latter approach is that you can roll-back to previous backups if newer ones are corrupted or no longer contain recently deleted files.

Full backups are sometimes preferred because of their cleanliness and simplicity. They are a precise clone of a data set which - unlike other backup methods - don’t rely on specialist software to function. You can take away a full backup, open it on another computer, and access the data instantly.

Restoring data from a full backup is relatively simple. Because it’s an exact copy, you can easily navigate to desired files and folders, restoring individual files on demand. Or, you can simply copy and paste the entire data set back to its original location. Of course, data added or changed since the last full backup will be lost after a restore.

The problem with full backups is they take time. 60GB of data could take an hour or longer to backup, and the process could disturb business operations or force you to schedule backups out-of-hours. Such pressures might prevent you from doing them as frequently as you should, exposing you to the risk of significant data loss.

Incremental backups

Incremental backups begin with a full backup. Once that’s done, only amended or newly created data is subsequently backed up. The result: a full backup plus a collection of new data sets containing new/amended data.

The process requires specialist software, which identifies changed or added data and manages the backup and restore processes automatically. Some incremental backups keep archives of previous versions of amended/changed files so that data can be rolled back to a previous state. The backed up data may not be accessible manually, or accessed on another computer without installing the backup software.

The advantage of incremental backups is they are usually much quicker than full backups. The exact duration of an incremental backup depends on the amount of data added or changed, but typically they will take a fraction of the time needed to conduct a full backup. Some modern backup programmes are also more capable of conducting on-the-fly backups, which means you might not need to halt data activity during backups.

Because incremental backups (and subsequent restores) are dependent on specialist software to function, it’s vital to select reliable and robust backup software. The process of working out what data to restore is a complex task, which in rare cases could fail. Modern software is becoming much better at the task, but it’s important to test programmes thoroughly and have confidence in their reliability.

Note: If you’re unsure about which backup approach to adopt, remember: you can use both independently. To illustrate, you could manage a weekly cycle of full backups on one external hard drive, and implement an incremental backup process on another. If the latter process fails you could revert to the previous full backup… The most important thing is to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each method. If the weaknesses of either approach amount to an unacceptable level of risk, consider how a combination of different approaches could be used. (That said, it’s also easy to overcomplicate things - your backup strategy needs to be robust, but also simple enough that you’ll keep it up.)

Backup Mediums

Tape. Suited for large-scale, ’set-and-forget’ automated backups. Tapes are relatively inexpensive but tape drives are costly and relatively slow. Tapes are durable and compact, so they can be easily moved, stored and archived on or off site.

CD/DVD. Cheap, compact and portable. No moving parts, so when in good condition they are relatively stable. Disk capacities are a fraction of modern hard-drives so full backups may require numerous disks, and the process must be managed manually or with backup software. Because disks may need to be changed they are not ideal for unattended/automated backups.

External hard drive. Modern USB and Firewire drives are fast, reliable, and offer storage in excess of internal drives, making full and incremental backups easy to manage. Their portability means they can be easily transported off-site, but like any hard drive they are sensitive to shock, heat and moisture. Some external hard drives support “RAID” configurations for simultaneous mirror backups over multiple hard drives. Some drives can also be networked. All hard drives contain sensitive moving parts, so external drives are as (if not more) susceptible to failure as internal ones.

Server. Servers can be used as a backup location for data stored on individual computers, or they could be employed as a ’shared drive’ upon which users store their data in the first place, which is then backed up onto another backup medium. They are expensive, but often support advanced features such as “RAID” which allows automatic ‘mirroring’ of data onto another server hard drive, stored on or offsite.

Online ‘cloud’ storage. Online storage can be used as a networked hard drive; meaning you can drag or drop files like an internal/external drive, or use your own automatic backup software. Or, they are designed as proprietary backup services in themselves; usually incremental backups which can be done automatically whenever you are online, at a pre-determined time, or whenever your computer is idle. Capacity is usually modest (at a fraction of a typical internal hard drive) but most services offer increased capacities at a cost. A fast, reliable internet connection is crucial if regularly transferring large amounts of data. As with off line incremental backup services, the reliability of the backup process is paramount to the ability to successfully restore. On top of that, online services must be chosen carefully, considering factors such as: guaranteed ‘uptime’ of service, safety and security of where your data is stored, how quickly restores can be accessed and downloaded.

Piecing together a strategy

Rule number one: the more backups in the chain, the lower the chances of losing everything… Rule number two: using different backup approaches and backup mediums helps minimise the weaknesses of one single approach.

Paranoia can be a good third rule when it comes to backups. And it’s easy to become paranoid when you contemplate losing everything. But worrying too much could lead to obsessive backup processes that are overly costly and time-consuming. It’s therefore important to find a balanced backup strategy that reflects the value of your data (or put another way: the cost of losing your data), but one which is also pragmatic about what you can afford to do, and what you can (realistically) be bothered to do.

When defining a backup strategy remember the following… If your data is invaluable, be bothered… The more backups the better, within reason… If you’re not 100% positive on one approach, consider others ways to crack the egg… All backup mediums - regardless of cost - are prone to failure, so consider the strengths and weaknesses of each and use a combination to reduce overall risk… Always have an off-site backup in case of fire or theft… And finally: settle on a backup strategy that protects your data as far as you reasonably can, but one which is realistic enough for you to keep up.

More info

Check out online data backup and storage services in our list of cloud applications and services.

Hosted email

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on 5 August, 2008
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There are many hosted email solutions, from those offered by web-hosts to services nurtured by dedicated email providers. They give you email using your website’s own domain name, message storage, a web email interface, and important stuff like email access via your favourite Mac or PC email software. Some are good, others are OK. Few really stand out.

Or at least, that’s what Microsoft, Yahoo! and Google would like you to think. The big three global tech companies are offering hosted email solutions for professionals and small businesses. These services build on technologies developed for their free consumer email services, with a bit more on top.

So, let’s explore the big three’s hosted email services to see what you get…

Microsoft Office Live Small Business / Microsoft Online Services
Office Live Small Business - first year free
Microsoft Online Services - price TBC

In early 2009 Microsoft will launch an integrated collection of business services in the UK called Microsoft Online Services. Until then, you can get 100 email accounts hosted through Microsoft Office Live Small Business Email, free for the first year.

In addition to custom-domain email hosting, Microsoft Office Live Small Business offers website hosting and other online business productivity services such as email marketing and project/document management tools. The service provides basic email functionality, such as cross-platform web email, and supports email, contact and calendar management through Microsoft Outlook.

But the fun really starts next year, with the arrival of Exchange Online, a big part of the upcoming Microsoft Online Services. It’s a fully hosted communications solution based on Microsoft’s world-leading Exchange system, providing email with 99.9% scheduled uptime and technical support. As you’d expect from Exchange, there’s also advanced business features such as built-in continuity and disaster recovery, mobile email and push, and various advanced sync features.

It’s hard to say if and how Office Live Small Business will transform into Microsoft Online Services. For now, the former is a competitive offering at its price (free). In 2009, Microsoft’s hosted email service should get really interesting. One to watch.

Yahoo! Business Email
Around £20 per year for 1 account, £5 per month for 10

Yahoo doesn’t offer hosted email for free, but its paid for options are competitively priced and decently-featured.

Email protection and security is in focus with Yahoo! Mail. Built-in Norton Antivirus protection is standard, and Yahoo! has developed its own technologies - SpamGuard and DomainKeys - to help fight spam. The email front-end has seen extensive re-development in recent years, offering similar functionality to desktop email clients. Yahoo! is also strong on support, with 24-hour access via email and phone.

One big drawback of Yahoo!’s email service is a lack of IMAP email support (supporting only POP). You can download emails using an email client on the PC or Mac, but IMAP is often preferred as a way of keeping messages in sync between client software and server.

Google Mail
Standard edition: free for up to 200 user accounts. Premier edition: £25 per account.

Google’s standard edition offers custom-domain hosted email for free. After a few tweaks to your domain settings you and up to 199 other users can access email via web/mobile interfaces, or via your chosen email client on Mac or PC.

Google puts great effort into policing its email network for spammers and in technologies for filtering spam. As a result the built-in spam filtering is on a par with - if not better than - many paid-for solutions.

Web-integration with other online ‘cloud’ services such as contacts, calendars, Google Documents and Spreadsheets makes the ‘Google Apps’ package a comprehensive offering. And recently, Google began integrating third-party online services too, such as integration with the customer relationship management software Salesforce.

The downside: Like any free service, guaranteed uptime and dedicated technical support are lacking. That’s where the premium edition kicks in.

For £25 per user account, the premier edition makes up for the standard’s shortcomings. It offers a service level agreement with a 99.9% uptime guarantee (though this appears to be only for the email web-interface), online support, and phone support for critical issues.

The premier edition also offers advanced email services from Postini, a specialist email firm Google recently acquired. The ‘policy management’ service offers administrative control over filtering and blocking messages, and configurable spam and virus filters. ‘Message recovery’ lets administrators recover messages deleted in the past 90 days (extendable to 1-10 years for an extra cost).

The verdict

The big three’s email services are feature rich, to be sure. But email is about more than just features. The integrity, reliability and security of such services is crucial to ensure maximum email uptime, reliable and timely receipt and delivery of emails, protection against viruses and malware, and effective email backup and archiving. And with all that, comes the need for support when things go wrong.

Premium, paid-for services are bridging the gap more and more, providing reliable infrastructures, service level agreements, and dedicated support. Google’s acquisition of email security, administration and archive company Postini, and Microsoft’s moves towards Exchange Online, are particularly interesting developments to watch with respect to future advances in reliability and integrity.

An IT manager might wait a while before ditching the internal mail server to outsource email to hosted providers. But for individuals and small businesses, these services are worth a look. In time they’ll improve, and thanks to the increased market competition, other hosted email services should improve too.

Top tips - Personal productivity

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on 18 July, 2008
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This month we wanted to try something different. Our top five tips for time management and personal productivity are based on quotes from well-known characters, from Taoist thinkers to Nobel Prize winners.

These choice messages are designed to remind you of the obvious, and get you thinking about how to make more out of your working days. If you find them valuable, stick them on your wall for those moments when your productivity wanes.

“Out of clutter find simplicity” . Albert Einstein
- ORGANISE

The problem with organising is it can become nothing more than a distraction from the act of doing. Everyone has different approaches to organising themselves, and there’s no right or wrong. But whatever your approach, remember: organisation is about minimising disorder and freeing yourself from clutter. It’s about knowing what’s next and what’s important. It should make the doing easier.

“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion” . Cyril Northcote Parkinson
- SCHEDULE

Parkinson’s law states that if you give yourself a day to do a task, it will take a day to do - even if it might be done in half the time. It is of course not always true, but it makes a valuable point. It’s often wise to give yourself leeway in case things take longer than expected, but such flexibility can rule your productivity. Too much time can lead to distraction and procrastination. Remember: the time it should take to do something is not always the same as the time you make available to do it.

“You may delay, but time will not” . Benjamin Franklin
- START

We waste time for different reasons, but procrastination always begins in the mind. That makes it a difficult beast to beat. It happens when a task is difficult, daunting, undesirable or seemingly unachievable. The tragedy is that when something must be done, procrastination just makes things worse. The obvious solution is to just begin. But that’s easier said than done. Being conscious of when you are procrastinating at least gives you a chance to beat it. Keep an eye on yourself, and if you find yourself procrastinating, find a way to stop.

“Concentration is the secret of strength” . Ralph Waldo Emerson
- FOCUS

Sometimes we look for reasons not to focus, other times distractions smack us in the face. And there are many: email, the web, the coffee machine, early lunch, office banter. Such distractions detract from our productivity one minute at a time. As far as you can, you need to minimise them. Switch off email, or find a quiet space free from the phone or chatty colleagues. As with procrastination, it’s about making a conscious effort to maintain focus upon the task in hand.

“Action without action” / “Wei wu wei” . Terence Gray
- STOP

Sometimes, the best action is inaction. Or to be less dramatic: take a break. As the legend of Archimedes teaches us: a break can provide the rest and inspiration the mind needs to solve problems, reach those ‘eureka’ moments, or just work more productively. It’s when we are under pressure and during our busiest times that we forget the value of taking a break. If you find your productivity is waning don’t battle on: take action through a little inaction.

HR Focus - managing absence and sickness, benefits of performance appraisals

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on 18 July, 2008
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This month we review research suggesting that South West sickness rates were higher than the national average in 2007, and we explore the benefits of Performance Appraisals.

Annual absence survey

A recent survey indicates absence rates in private sector firms showed marginal improvements in 2007, but firms still believe ‘sickies’ are an ongoing problem in the workplace. High rates of long-term sickness also pose distinct challenges for businesses.

The annual CBI/AXA Absence Survey showed modest improvements in private sector absence rates in 2007 - falling to an average 5.8 days from 6.6 days in the previous year.

However, the South West made the top five worst performing regions, coming in fifth place out of twelve with an average of 7.2 days - 1.4 days above the national average.

Survey respondents claim around one in ten sick days are suspected sickies, used by staff to extend weekends, holidays, or to take time off for “special events”. Long term absence of 20 days or more account for approximately 31 per cent of total time lost in the private sector.

That paints a contrasting picture that poses distinct challenges for HR professionals. On one hand businesses need to put in place firm policies to ward off the casual sickie. On the other, they need to carefully handle the issues surrounding long-term sickness.

Susan Anderson, CBI Director of HR Policy, called for “a fresh, proactive approach” to managing long-term sickness. “Those with long-term illnesses need time to recover… But in many cases, like those involving stress or back pain, firms that keep in touch with employees and offer flexible working have been successful at reducing long-term absence levels.”. Susan also points out that a flexible, proactive outlook can genuinely aid an employee’s well-being and general outlook. A long-term illness can be an isolating experience, so an understanding, proactive and flexible approach is likely to help employees feel valued.

Arguably the first and foremost way to manage long-term care - and minimise sickies - is providing employees with transparent, fair but firm sickness policies. Setting out the rights and obligations of workers, and conducting consistent monitoring of sickness to measure the root causes, are effective methods of both deterring sickies and ensures genuinely unwell employees are given the time and support they need to get better and back to work.

More info - Managing absence and sickness

 

Duvet days

An increasingly popular trend of offering ‘duvet days’ has emerged in some companies as an attempt to ward off unplanned sickies, when people simply can’t face getting out of bed.

This approach is a novel idea which gives employees anything from 1 to a few days where they can call into work and request a last-minute leave of absence.

It may work for some organisations, but the approach has to be managed so that duvet days don’t place undue pressure on employees left to pick up the extra work such unplanned absence creates.

In addition, only anecdotal evidence exists to suggest duvet days have any positive effect on sickness rates. For now, they should be considered a novel staff benefit, more than a proven way of tackling sickies.

 

Performance appraisals

Performance appraisals are widely accepted as beneficial to the HR process. They provide employees with an opportunity to receive structured and periodic feedback on past performance, and provide a sense of ownership over future personal development. Appraisals also allow a company to steer employees in a direction that contributes to wider organisational objectives. Mutual benefit for the firm and the employee.

But that picture portrays an ideal. Sometimes, performance appraisals do more harm than good. So much so that some HR professionals might argue they are counter-productive and a costly waste of time. Handled incorrectly, appraisals could have a negative impact on productivity and performance, causing emotional responses in employees ranging from temporary knocks to morale to long-term stress or depression.

Those two opposing views are of course two extremes. And they do not consider the cost of not performing appraisals at all. Without periodic, structured communication between employer and employee, both parties might feel wholly disconnected.

Recent YouGov research for Investors in People suggests that four in ten UK employees are considering quitting their jobs in the next year. Investors in People chief executive Simon Jones emphasised the need for “effective” feedback on performance; without it, employees are likely to “drift and depart rather than stay engaged with their organisation’s objectives”.

The case for performance appraisals is stronger than the case against. But only when it’s an “effective” process. So how can you focus on delivering effective appraisals?

The late author Kenneth Berrien wrote that management might control the lower limits of productivity, but employees are in control of the upper limits. That doesn’t mean to say employees are always going to work to a minimum standard, it just means they might do - if not motivated to raise the bar for themselves. That means effective performance appraisals are not just about arbitrarily setting targets and objectives, but about fostering strong relationships between manager and employee, founded upon effective feedback and dialogue - which fulfils both the organisation’s and the individual’s needs. As a result employees feel empowered and thus more motivated to exceed the minimum standards required of them.

Last month we discussed the competency framework - a method of mapping behaviours that a business sees as most important to individual and organisational performance. CIPD research suggests that competency frameworks are primarily used for underpinning appraisal discussions. They provide the foundation upon which to evaluate past performance, and define core competencies that are important for an organisation’s future, and thus for an employee’s future development. But, it’s important to remember that performance appraisals are not just about organisational objectives. They are also a personal process, in which an employee must feel connected not just to organisational objectives, but to their own personal needs.

Remember: an employer can set minimum standards, but it’s the employee that chooses to exceed them. In this sense, establishing constructive, open, positive and two-way dialogue between employer and employee could be the most vital facet of the appraisal process. It’s not just about what you talk about, it’s about how you talk about it. It’s about how you have the discussion, and what impact that discussion has on motivation and productivity.

Next month we expand on these issues to explore the challenge of handling performance discussions.

More info - A basic overview of Performance Appraisals on the CIPD website.

Quality Management: An introduction to Six Sigma

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on 18 July, 2008
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Six Sigma aims to remove or minimise the causes of defects in manufacturing or business processes. The approach takes inspiration from six decades of quality management thinking, influenced by methods such as quality control, total quality management and Zero Defects.

The common ground that links most quality management methods is a focus on achieving stable and predictable process results. Both manufacturing and business processes have characteristics which can be measured, controlled and improved upon. With a top to bottom commitment - from management to ’shop floor’ - businesses can achieve improvements in customer satisfaction, efficiency, reliability and financial performance.

So, what are the key features of Six Sigma?

Driven from the top down

Six Sigma projects require unwavering commitment from the top down. Management teams must lead projects with passion and drive, so that every member of an organisation - from top to bottom - is both engaged with the project and fully supported in achieving its goals.

Customer-led

Six Sigma rigorously defines ‘defects’ as anything which may cause customer dissatisfaction. For example, that could mean a material or functional defect in a product, or a process defect which affects service delivery. This fundamental principle makes Six Sigma a wholly customer-led approach to quality management.

Measurable financial returns

Any Six Sigma project must place stringent focus on identifying expected financial returns. Achieving measurable, quantifiable financial returns is a necessity from the outset, so that any project managed with Six Sigma has a high probability of delivering tangible results.

Facts are sacred

There is no place for guesswork in Six Sigma. An unrivalled focus on verifiable data and informed, rational decision making is key. This focus forces participants to develop improvements which have proven potential for success.

“Champions”, “Black Belts” and “Green Belts”

Six Sigma employs a clearly defined hierarchical structure to leading and managing projects. “Champions” are effectively Six Sigma gurus who know the approach inside out and can lead projects with passion, commitment and confidence. “Master Black Belts” are focussed on technical delivery, and have in-depth knowledge of Six Sigma implementation, including the various statistical approaches required in its implementation. And broadly speaking, “Black Belts” and “Green Belts” are deliverers, responsible for planning and implementing Six Sigma projects.

Is Six Sigma right for your organisation?

Six Sigma is a relatively complex approach to quality management. But its unique qualities - including an unrivalled focus on the customer and measurable financial returns - offer obvious benefits for those looking to improve either manufacturing or business processes.

Even if a ‘full-blown’ Six Sigma approach is not desirable or achievable, some of its teachings are compelling. For one, the idea of “Champions” and “Black Belts” as leaders and drivers of quality management is a simple but valuable approach to managing knowledge and implementing and leading change.

Before deciding to fully implement Six Sigma in your organisation, the best approach might be to find a potential “champion” and task them with finding out more about whether Six Sigma is appropriate for your business. In short - they must be statistically proficient and IT literate, and above all, they must be passionate about quality management, process improvement and innovation. Know anyone that fits the bill?

More info - Systems for delivering change

The new PR

Published
by
Business Link
on 18 July, 2008
in Sales & Marketing
. 0 Comments

The PR industry is enjoying a new age of credibility. How long that lasts may depend on the industry’s response to the web and new media. 

Last year an online war of words broke out between two heavyweight PR thinkers from the US; Brian Solis - president of award-winning PR agency FutureWorks, and PRWeek - the industry-leading trade magazine for the PR industry. Rather unintentionally, their debate characterised the opportunities and challenges faced by the new PR.

The story began with Brian blogging that PR had reached “2.0″ status: “It is because of the Web… The evolution of the Web has forced communications professionals to step out from behind the ‘great wall of PR’ to interact with people formerly known as the audience.” PR 2.0 provides opportunities to “engage directly with a new set of accidental influencers”, “talk with customers directly”, and establish a more “conversational dialogue” with audiences. This sea-change is so great that this new age equates to second generation PR, Brian argues.

A few days later PRWeek ran an article which overlooked Brian and PR 2.0 completely, instead claiming “PR 3.0″ is where it’s at. The publication argued that the PR industry has already lived through its second age, during which it has evolved from more traditional media roots towards fulfilling additional functions more closely connected and important to corporate strategy. It was this evolution that brought the industry forward to its third age, in which PR is a mature, confident industry that has become an indispensable part of so many organisations. Their argument was based on evidence of PR’s new found credibility at board-level, and on the industry’s growth in revenue and staffing over the past decade.

After several passionate exchanges both sides in the debate began to agree. They first put aside the ‘dot oh’ number lunacy to concentrate on what influence the digital age has had on PR. PRWeek admitted they had glossed over the importance of the web and new media to the PR industry of today. And Brian admitted that even though the web has had a huge influence on PR, many industry professionals still don’t “get it” when it comes to the web and new media. In the end, they concluded that PR’s old challenges have been largely overcome, but new ones have taken their place.

The lessons learned during this debate hold great resonance to this day. Today, you might agree that the PR industry is a new-and-improved version of itself, with a consistent track record for delivering tangible results. But today, PR faces a whole new set of challenges from the web and new media. These new communications channels are already offering opportunities for some, but many in the industry still don’t “get it”. That fact alone may damage PR’s new found reputation as a key deliverer of objectives, if too many mistakes are made on the road to web and new media enlightenment.

A 2005 study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research found that the PR industry in the UK employs over 48,000 people, with more than 80 per cent working in-house. That’s lots of people who need to adapt all at once. In-house PR professionals must look forward to new media and the web to stay competitive, but they must also maintain focus on the good things they are already doing. Businesses that outsource PR to specialist agencies may stay closer to the pulse of next generation PR, but like their in-house counterparts, they must not let their PR people get too carried away with web and new media mania. The PR of the last ten years - the good work that’s given PR its stellar reputation - must not be forgotten.

PR has evolved, but it has a lot yet to learn. The web and new media provide new opportunities, but only for those who really understand how to rise to the challenge. A future filled with failed web and new media PR initiatives may do more harm than good to an industry still enjoying its new found credibility. That means PR professionals must look past the hype, and begin to really understand where new communications methods sit within the new PR’s toolbox.

More info - PR: the basics