Wolf Gugler Executive Search

Category: Management Tools

  • Stay Interviews; You Can’t Afford NOT To Use Them

    Stay Interviews: You Can’t Afford NOT To Use Them

    As of late, I’ve been really focused on writing about employee engagement and retention. Why should a headhunter care about this? Frankly, in my twenty-plus years in talent recruitment I’ve always tried to align myself with organizations that did everything they could to ensure employees were kept happy and challenged, leading to long term success for both sides.

    In this regard, I want to focus on “Stay” or retention interviews. Stay interviews are conducted to help managers understand why employees stay with their employer and what might cause them to leave. For remote employees, a Skype conversation will work.

    I recently spoke with someone I know well; he told me that he joined his current employer (a very successful company, #1 brand in their category) a couple of years ago and since then has been promoted. He’s the junior in the leadership team who for the most part is comprised of long-tenured managers, all successful in their own right. Although he’s happy in his current role, the company doesn’t conduct stay interviews and he’s a bit in the dark about his future; even though he’s been given more responsibility, he doesn’t really know where he stands should someone retire or leave. He’s uncertain if senior management consider him capable of stepping in and he’s more than willing to learn or take on new initiatives if he knew what it was that the company wanted him to pursue. If asked, he’d also suggest that they try to integrate more millenials as they’re the future of any business today, and solicit their feedback when on board.

    Ultimately, he’s happy today but if a recruiter was to call him and outline a position with a company that kept the employees more engaged, he’d listen to what was being offered there.

    In my research, I noted that many human resources professionals recommended Dick Finnegan of C-Suite Analytics as the expert on this subject (this is not a paid endorsement). Dick wrote The Power of Stay Interviews, the best-selling book in SHRM (Society For Human Resource Management) history. It appears he knows a thing or two about this subject!

    Dick makes a very good point; the first thing a manager has to do is build trust between him/her and the employee. Here’s his take on this:

    “Often people ask how can a manager who hasn’t built trust do so by conducting Stay Interviews. We usually then rattle off the four skills we train managers to use: listen, probe, take notes, and take responsibility. They wonder what the latter means but presume they fully understand the first three, including listen.

    Most people, though, think listening is akin to hearing. Or sitting silently while maintaining eye contact and bobbing one’s head. In other words, giving someone the full floor to speak without interruption.

    We give the greatest indications of listening, though, when we speak. This might sound counter-intuitive, but what we say after someone has spilled their guts matters the most.”

    Good is when we tell them we heard what they said. For example, a manager may repeat back the employee’s words, “You said you needed 3 more days to complete the project and I understand your reasons why. Did I get it right?”

    Better though, is to identify their emotions. Building onto the quote above for example: “You seem really frustrated by this project, and I know that’s not a good feeling. So, you need three more days to finish it and I understand why. Did I get it right?”

    Then, it’s time to put the stay interview process into action.

    In an effective stay interview, managers ask structured questions in an informal and conversational manner. Most stay interviews are brief, maybe 15-30 minutes. Here are some sample questions for discussion:

    • What do you look forward to when you come to work each day?
    • What keeps you working here?
    • If you could change something about your job, what would that be?
    • What would make your job more satisfying?
    • How do you like to be recognized?
    • What skills of yours aren’t being used in your current role?
    • What would you like to learn more about?
    • What motivates (or demotivates) you?
    • What do you like most or least about working here?
    • What can I do to allow you to excel at what you do?
    • What can I do more of or to back from to help you succeed?
    • What might tempt you to leave?

    Anyone out there conducting stay interviews that would be willing to share their experience with others? We’d appreciate your feedback or if you have additional questions, email us as well and we’ll address them in an upcoming issue.

  • Employee Engagement, Part One

    Hy-Mark, a full service mechanical company serving both commercial and residential customers in Ontario was experiencing problems. The company was unprofitable and suffered from employee morale issues and high turnover. A change in upper leadership was made in September of 2015 when Rob Dewar, a longstanding client of ours was hired as President to affect a turnaround.

    Fortunately Rob had the full support of Tim Blevins, President of their parent company Reid’s Heritage Group. Reid’s has a longstanding history of success both as a builder and one of Canada’s best SME employers to work for, offering employees an environment that promotes working hard, having fun and continuous learning in addition to competitive compensation.

    Rob joined them in late 2015; among the issues he had to face, a comprehensive external employee survey as measured by Aon showed that employee engagement was low at Hy-Mark vs. other Reid’s divisions. Only 57% of Hy-Mark employees completed the survey which measured at 68% engagement. That didn’t take into account those that didn’t complete it (who are obviously not engaged). The survey was anonymous meaning Rob had no idea who completed it and what their responses were so it was quite a challenge to turn this around.

    Rob’s management philosophy has always been “It’s all about investing in your people…listen to them and give them the opportunity to tell you what they like and don’t like.” He first made it a point to meet with every one of his employees one on one to get to know them as people (interests, family, etc) and to hear them out regarding their thoughts on how the business was run. He received many candid comments; for instance, some talked about other positions in the company they wanted to try but were never considered for.

    He took the combined feedback and then held regular meetings to keep them updated on what was going on. He also instituted Friday “pizza lunches” and “donut Fridays” where everyone congregated in the large reception area to enjoy company bought pizza and drinks and instill camaraderie. Then he demonstrated he listened; he did give some the opportunity to move into roles they were interested in and as it turned out, excelled at.

    He also became a sounding board, with employees coming to him with both business and personal issues that he could at least provide a friendly ear to listen to them.

    During the information gathering process no one said there needed to be other management changes; he retained the same management team prior to his joining the company and all are still there; Rob said “I have a great management team that just needed to be allowed to do their job.”

    The culmination was that in 2016 when the AON survey was again completed, current engagement was that 100% of the employees completed it and the company engagement score rocketed to 86%, well above the average in construction and engineering which is 70%.

    The Aon survey (which is hundreds of questions in length) and covers areas such as personal development, teamwork and work environment showed improvements in numerous areas, e.g.

    • It would take a lot to get me to leave Hy-Mark; 85%
    • I would recommend this company to a friend; 90%

    Rob said that “based on an 86% score and using 100 employees as our approximate head count, I still have 14 employees to improve on, 14 employees I’ve let down. 100% may not be realistic but why not use it as a target?”

    “It may be as little as a hello from me in the hallway, knowing about employees and their families and being empathetic to their issues. It’s not rocket science but just needs to be practiced.”

    “Doug (Doug Sider who is quoted below) and his team put together many opportunities to roll out to our team such as company events and ongoing training,”

    “Tim Blevins, President of Reid Heritage Group of companies, my boss is fully supportive and committed to seeing this through. He empowers us to make this company great.”

    Doug Sider, Senior Vice-President of Team Development Resources and Corporate Culture at Reid’s Heritage Group of Companies leads the survey initiative.  Sider said, “The Aon Hewitt Survey is a validation of our entire team’s hard work and dedication to our core Values — on our sites, within our communities and at head office”

    Doug joined Reid’s years ago as sales manager for 35 sales staff. In 2009 President Tim Blevins asked him to give leadership to developing an “intentional” culture for the entire organization.  Doug, involving every staff member in the organization, established a set of core values and then worked on moving the organization forward. “Some people resisted but most people immediately bought into the new culture and today we are thriving.  Recently, we developed “Leadership Drivers” standards we expect to see modelled by all Managers and Leaders—–a few include Develop People, Deliver Results, Practice Perseverance, Demonstrate Humble Confidence etc. Obviously the strategy is working as we (Reid’s Heritage Group of Companies) have moved from a 56% Fully Engaged staff to 80% Fully Engaged in 2016.  We are now a “Platinum” level company in all of Canada.  Sider states that “we have clearly not yet arrived, we have some runway yet in front of us, but we have made tremendous strides and are experiencing real success”. Sider continues, “so much of the credit for this progress goes to our President and the Reid family—without their leadership and commitment to build this amazing culture it simply would not happen:”.

    Sider further states that “when we began the search for a new President at Hymark, Rob Dewar quickly rose to the  top of our short list.  As we reviewed his history and witnessed his character, competence and caring approach it became obvious what he could bring to the organization”.

    Rob has definitely orchestrated the beginning of an amazing turnaround.

    “How is he doing it?  In part it is not only his business acumen but his belief and trust in the people around him.  Rob has the ability to attract high performers who want to spend the rest of their careers with the organization. Rob himself is an outstanding human being developing a   culture that ultimately equals business success.”

    “Rob is leading a real life turn around story. Of course , he’ll never take the credit for it; he always, as a good leader does,  passes on the kudos to his team…he makes his team feel incredibly valued.”

    “He models the values that we stand for, develops his people, exercises kindness, takes ownership, demonstrates humble confidence and models good judgement. “

    Got a similar story to tell? Feel free to email us and we’d be happy to feature your story in a future issue.

  • Succession Planning; Don’t Put This Off

    Succession Planning: A Step-by-Step Approach

    Having been in the talent recruitment field for over twenty years, I’ve had numerous opportunities to consult with companies who require someone to replace a transitioning employee as a result of not having a successor in place. Frankly, it’s good for my business but for the client company it results in additional time required for a new employee’s onboarding, learning curve and the message it sends to current employees, notwithstanding the recruitment costs involved. In surveys we’ve conducted we’ve seen proof that employees do notice when an employer tries to prepare for succession by ensuring an internal employee has the knowledge, skills and desire necessary to succeed in their next career step.
    Its managements’ responsibility to ensure the organization continually has high-quality employees. A vacancy may be unplanned through performance issues, sudden illness or an employee being recruited away. Sometimes it’s planned due to retirement or a functional career change planned by the employer and employee. We continually see many baby boomers looking to move on to the next stage in their lives so succession planning should be top of mind in the organizations’ leadership team. Successful Succession Planning Basics

    • Do not wait until the employee will be leaving. Start planning now. Planning now for change will ensure continuity, not crisis situations. Address this with human resources practitioner or senior management team. Identify the key organizational roles that affect the future, functionality, service delivery and customer retention and retention that are linked to strategic and operational responsibilities.
    • Focus on skills and abilities needed, not on personalities. Succession planning may give you the opportunity to hire for the role rather than just looking to duplicate the incumbent’s qualities and skills. Just because you liked him/her doesn’t mean you need to hire in their image. Review the role, identify the competencies and success characteristics needed and rewrite the position profile accordingly.
    • Conduct talent reviews and identify potential successors The best succession planning results from a good working relationship between management and employees to accurately define each employee’s current priorities in their role. It’s the employee’s responsibility to ensure they communicate to management their current responsibilities and what, if any changes they foresee in their role. Factors to consider may include:
    • Past performance evaluations
    • Demonstrated willingness to move up and take on more responsibility
    • Work experience, both current and past
    • Career aspirations
    • Education and continuous learning
    • 360-degree assessments; what superiors, peers and subordinates think of them
    • Willingness to relocate if necessary
    • Loyalty and commitment; signs of going “above and beyond”

    Confirm Successor Interest, Strengths, and Opportunities. After you’ve identified potential successors, the next step is to assess their interest and capabilities. Confirm interest. Is the employee truly interested in moving up? Have they previously demonstrated a willingness to go above and beyond either through their performance or returning to school? Have they relocated to take on additional responsibilities? Is he/she read to move into the target position? Compare their competencies with the successor’s capabilities in the targeted position; this will help you identify strengths relative to the target position in addition to what development is required to have them successfully transition to the next position. You can gather this through personnel interviews or surveying the incumbent, their superiors and other stakeholders. Review past performance reviews. Charting this information will allow you to continuously evaluate and track your internal bench strength and depth chart. List the positions, who’s ready to step up, those in need of development and timelines for each. Create Individual Development Plans. Development planning is probably the most instrumental piece of the succession-management process. The purpose of development in succession management is to prepare the employee for their next step. It will also reaffirm the company’s interest in employee retention and should help in keeping those employees prone to movement happy in their current role, until a suitable opportunity opens up. Don’t settle for second-best when hiring for succession The thoroughness and due diligence that management puts into succession planning, the more likely that the company will hire a new employee who will demonstrate long term success. Hold an employee talent review meeting Managers can compare their employees’ performance with their peer group, allowing them to gain a timely perspective of their direct reports and know what the strengths and weaknesses of the company talent pool are. Try to obtain buy-in from a majority of managers as to who the “hi-pos” are, creating an understanding of organizational bench strength and from there set out development plan steps and timelines. Evaluate and Improve the Program. Don’t sit back after the plan is implemented. Be prepared to defend its effectiveness as senior leadership will typically ask “Is it worth the cost and the effort?” Consider surveying the program participants in regards to their new position profiles, training and appraisals. Examine each part and determine how well it’s working, and whether participants are progressing and both participants and superiors are still following the career pathing. Are there any successes or failures (e.g. people promoted and succeeding) that can be used as a template for future activities? Document both successes and areas for improvement to justify the program year over year. Conclusion Voids in skills in the current work force and impending retirements are both valid reasons to focus on identifying and developing potential successors. As you prepare your organization for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, you should ask yourself: Are you focusing your efforts on processes that will ensure organizational success? Be prepared to alter the plans if and when the company’s priorities change, but implementing a succession plan highly increases the odds of identifying an internal candidate vs. calling Wolf Gugler Executive Search!

     

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