Welcome
Welcome to the latest issue of
Bringing Work to Life.
We explored the following topics
in the past twelve issues (all newsletters are available at
www.elsdon.com/newsletters.htm):
o
Individual change (January/February 2007)
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Guiding organizational change (November/December 2006)
o
One to one (September/October 2006)
o
New horizons (July/August 2006)
o
Our greatest asset (May/June 2006)
o
Bringing development and performance home (March/April 2006)
o
Progressing in your organization (January/February 2006)
o
Bringing our best to work (December 2005)
o
The promise of affiliation (November 2005)
o
Nothing business, it’s just personal (October 2005)
o
Who are you? (September 2005)
o
Leadership roles (August 2005)
In this issue we address
“Assessing Your Organization”.
Assessing Your Organization
“I think I should have thought more about the idea
that the grass is always greener on the other side. I was interested in
analytical work and I assumed finance was the answer. Well the truth
is, while the work is great - culturally I think working at a bank is a
mismatch for me.” For this person, now is a time of re-assessment, a
time to decide whether and how to take a different path forward. Such
re-assessment can be prompted by a reaction to changing external events
or changing internal priorities. It is important to listen to such
prompts. However, a reflex response to external events may be limited
by those immediate options that happen to be available, or unduly
influenced by immediate emotions. Let’s examine a better way, so our
lives count for something every day. We will look at this in the
context of your relationship with your organization.
Let’s start on the basis that you have a strong
sense of what you stand for and value (discussed in the September and
October 2005 issues of Bringing Work to Life). The question then
becomes “To what extent does your organization support and nurture
this?” If it does provide such support then you will likely develop and
grow in your contributions. In the absence of such nourishment you may
stagnate.
One way to determine whether you are on track is to
create an assessment that outlines your expectations of your
organization, just as many organizations will create performance plans
that describe their expectations of you. Your assessment of the
organization can include parts that speak to your purpose, values and
aspirations. It is about your relationship with the organization.
These are examples of elements you may wish to incorporate:
o
Organizational practices and values relative your own, to
be sure that the organization is worthy of your efforts. For example,
does the organization:
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Honor stewardship of its workforce and its community
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Ensure that compensation at senior levels is equitable
relative to others
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Value and provide appropriate employee benefits
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Recognize and honor community responsibility
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Understand and protect the physical environment
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Strong and sustained individual development
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The extent to which you are learning and building skills,
for example general management skills or in-depth functional knowledge
depending upon your aspirations
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The extent to which you are becoming more marketable
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Accomplishments
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The extent to which the organization is providing you with
opportunities to demonstrate and contribute significant accomplishments
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Importance of your function
o
The extent to which the organization values your
functional area as evidenced by resource provision and leadership
engagement
o
Decision making and responsibility
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The extent to which you are given autonomy and
responsibility for decision making
o
Support
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The extent to which the organization supports your
personal needs for time or place flexibility recognizing other
responsibilities that exist in your life
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Financial rewards
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The extent to which the organization provides compensation
that meets your needs
o
Risk
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The degree of stability offered by the organization as
demonstrated by treatment of others in the workforce
Your priorities will likely change over time and it
is important to incorporate these changes into your on-going
assessments. Consider creating a template that includes items such as
those listed above and a numerical rating scale, to assess the
organization’s performance against your criteria. Completing such an
assessment at least once a year, can provide you with a basis for making
a good decision about your path forward on a regular basis.
Let’s consider your options after completing the
assessment. If the organization passes with flying colors then let
those around you at work know of your appreciation for this relationship
and communicate what is meaningful for you going forward. If the
organization fails in key aspects, then consider having conversations
with people at work, for example mentors or bosses, about your concerns
and what needs to change.
Regardless, it is important to have an exit
strategy in place at all times so that you are not beholden to the
organization. This exit strategy should be developed when you join the
organization and updated regularly so that you retain control over your
own destiny. You may or may not choose to execute it, but it is central
to your work life survival. These are important components to consider
in this exit strategy:
o
Maintaining and nurturing your network of contacts outside
of your organization, for example colleagues in professional
organizations and alumni groups
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Paying close attention to emerging skill needs in your
area of interest and staying current in those skills, for example with
development activities in your current position or through on-going
education
o
If you are interested in building a portfolio career in
the future (it contains several elements rather than being defined by a
single employment relationship) beginning to include key elements on a
part time basis, for example adjunct teaching at a local college
o
Maintaining your resume current so you are able to provide
it immediately if needed
o
Regularly reassessing your priorities, using the many
excellent assessment tools that are available (the October, 2005 issue
of Bringing Work to Life gives some examples), so that you can adjust
your path as needed
There is a story about one of the colleges at a
long-established university in England (Max,DePree, Leadership Jazz). A
committee had been formed to discuss the renovation of one of the
beautiful halls in the university. The roof of the hall was
deteriorating. As the committee debated its task it became concerned
about its ability to find wooden beams long enough to replace those that
were in need of repair. The architect hired for the renovation project
and the committee representatives understood that their predecessors had
made provision for this situation. They visited a nearby wood, finding
a grove of oak trees planted a century earlier from which the
replacement beams could be hewn.
Plant and nurture your own grove of trees so it is
available when you need it. By continuing to assess the extent to which
your organization meets your needs and acting accordingly, and by
maintaining an exit strategy, you will help ensure that every day you
are in an environment that values the many gifts you bring to your
work.
Some of the material in this
article is extracted from Affiliation in the Workplace by Ron Elsdon,
Praeger, 2003.
Workforce Trends
Let’s examine recent workforce trends and the
nature of the tightening labor market. We saw previously the longer
term demographic trend of slowing growth rate of the U.S. workforce
(Bringing Work to Life, April 2005), which is the supply side of the
employment picture. Not surprisingly there is continued evidence of a
tightening labor market with unemployment rates falling significantly
since late 2003 as shown in the following figure. This shows the %
unemployment rate in the U.S., seasonally adjusted, from 1990 through
January 2007 (source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics):
In concert with this falling unemployment rate, the job openings (or
vacancy) rate increased by 45% from 2.2 to 3.2% from January 2004 to
December 2006. This is the demand side of the employment picture as
shown in the following figure (source: U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics):
Hire rates have exceeded separation rates over most
of this time period, with the gap widening recently as shown in the
following figure (source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics):
The relationship between the unemployment rate and
the job openings (vacancy) rate is generally expected to follow a
pattern known as the Beveridge curve as shown in the following figure
(source: Clark and Hyson, Monthly Labor Review, BLS, December 2001).
For example an expansion in the economy leads to
job creation that increases the vacancy (job opening) rate and reduces
the unemployment rate. The reverse occurs during an economic
contraction. The vacancy (job opening) rate typically leads economic
activity at the peak of an economic cycle and lags at troughs (Clark and
Hyson). Firms tend to reduce job postings before cutting their
workforce when business conditions slow, and during expansion tend to
increase work hours before engaging new hires. If structural changes in
the economy occur, for example growth sectors emerge that require skill
sets different from the current workforce, then the curve in the
preceding figure moves to the right. Conversely, increased matching
efficiency of people to jobs, for example through on-line resources,
moves the curve to the left.
Further evidence of a tightening short term labor
market is the recent rapid drop in average weeks of unemployment as
shown in the following figure (source: U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics):
And a drop in the number of discouraged workers,
those not currently looking for work and not in the labor force, as
shown in the following figure in thousands:
Not surprisingly mass layoff events and claims (at
least 50 people over a five week period) also show a general downward
trend, with some evidence of a more recent slight upturn (source: U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics):
These trends of a tightening short term labor
market, overlaid on a longer term declining workforce growth rate,
underline the importance of organizations adopting a supportive approach
that honors all in their workforce. This is a very different pattern
from the hubris exhibited by those CEOs in recent years who have
extracted excessive compensation at the expense of shareholders and
employees. Current corporate governance, or more correctly the lack
thereof, allows this behavior. We all have an obligation and a
responsibility to support those organizations that deal equitably with
all of their employees, including curbing excessive compensation at
senior levels, and withdraw as customers, shareholders and
employees/leaders from those which do not.
Quote
“Remembering the stable where for once in our lives
Everything became a You and nothing was an It.”
W.H. Auden, 1944, “For the Time Being.”
Upcoming Elsdon Organizational Renewal (EOR) Events and Recent
Mentions
Upcoming Events/Publications
·
HR Week West Conference, Santa
Clara, February 21, 2007, “Finally, a Change Management Model that
Works!”
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http://www.hrweekwest.com/agenda.html#bpc1
·
Presentation for U.C. Berkeley.
Haas School of Business, March 20, 2007, “The First 90 Days.”
·
Presentation for Silicon Valley
Chinese Engineers Association, March 24, 2007, “Accelerating into Your
New Position.”
·
Presentation for U.C. Berkeley,
Haas School of Business, April 18, 2007, “Progressing Outside Your
Organization.”
Recent Mentions
·
Reviews of “Affiliation in the
Workplace: Value Creation in the New Organization.” Ron Elsdon.
Praeger, Westport, CT (2003)
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Harvard
Business School
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HBS Working Knowledge: Organizations
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Global Diversity Institute
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Global Diversity Institute - The Journal of Diversity Praxis
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Journal of Asian Economics
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ScienceDirect - Journal of Asian Economics : Ron Elsdon, Affiliation in
the Workplace: Value Creation in the New Organization, Praeger
Publishers, Westport, CT (2003) 280 pp. (hardcover), ISBN 1-56720-436-8,
$49.95.
o
Greenwood Publishing Group
·
Affiliation in the Workplace — www.greenwood.com
·
Chapter titled “How Can You Grow
Your Practice with Purpose?” in National Career Development Association
Monograph, “Starting and Growing a Business in the New Economy” Edited
by Sally Gelardin, 2007
·
Recorded webinar for Project
Management Institute
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“Becoming Career Fit in Turbulent Times”
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http://pmi-issig.org/Default.aspx?tabid=319
·
“Building a Strong Workforce
Through Affiliation.” Chapter 26 in “On Staffing: Advice and
Perspectives from HR Leaders.” Eds. Nicholas Burkholder et al, John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken NJ (2004)
o
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471410691,descCd-tableOfContents.html
·
“Reaching for Our Deep Gladness”
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Article in May, 2005 NCDA Career Convergence Magazine
·
http://209.235.208.145/cgi-bin/WebSuite/tcsAssnWebSuite.pl?Action=DisplayNewsDetails&RecordID=625&Sections=6&IncludeDropped=&AssnID=NCDA&DBCode=130285
·
Mention in article on cost of
turnover
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East
Bay Business Times,
April 2005
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Turnover costs exceed employers' estimates - 2005-04-25
·
“Worklife Survival: Finding a
Fit”
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Article for HR West, February 2005 (Northern California Human Resource
Association)
·
http://www.nchra.org/StaticContent/Download/EXT0205007.pdf
·
Interview in the education field
“Affiliation as a Unifying Principle in Education”
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Career Pro News
·
Affiliation and Education
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MBTI Step II workshop
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CCDA News, April 2005
·
Local Chapter News
·
Review of ICDC Global Issues
Forum
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CCDA, January 2005
·
ICDC Global Issues Forum
About EOR: Our Value Contribution
We enhance your workforce,
leadership and organization by:
·
Using proprietary approaches to
understand workforce and leadership challenges
·
Creating tailored action plans
and solutions to strengthen workforce and leadership practices
·
Building individual capabilities
and contributions
We enable you to focus on
external results and building value, confident that your organization
and leadership are operating at peak effectiveness.
Our Mission
To support your organization by
enhancing performance, productivity and effectiveness through
revitalized workforce relationships and leadership practices.
Our Approach and Values
We tailor our engagements to the needs of each organization with a
process designed to surface critical issues, identify root causes, build
effective solutions, monitor progress and implement.
With a scope that ranges from system and organizational interventions to
work with individuals, our focus is on the heart of the relationship
among the individual, the organization and the community. We believe
that organizational and community prosperity are built on enabling each
person to fulfill his or her potential.
Our Services
We work with individuals and
groups in your organization to drive performance and development for
both the short and long term. As a result people will choose to work in
your organization and will prosper there.
We bring solutions when you need
to:
·
Reverse declining revenues and
performance
·
Revitalize your workforce
·
Stem the loss of key talent
·
Redirect your organization to
new areas
·
Stop losing customers or market
share
·
Penetrate new markets
·
Combat aggressive competitors
·
Handle major change
·
Break down communication
barriers
·
Energize your leadership team
·
Successfully build on an
acquisition or merger
Our proprietary services
include:
·
State-of-the-art tools to take
the pulse of your organization and then move to action
o
Web enabled systems
o
Experts to gather and analyze information, moving your organization to
action
·
Individual leadership coaching
to give you world class leadership capabilities
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Leaders who know themselves and their aspirations, build their
capabilities and become catalysts developing others
·
Workshops to build interpersonal
skills in your organization so that:
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Communication is timely, concise, accurate and personal
o
People listen to each other
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Negotiations are quick and effective
o
Differences create rather than destroy value
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Teams move forward, get results and quickly commercialize new products
and services
o
People understand and link their motivations to your organizational
needs
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Your teams understand what it takes to create a committed, energized
workforce
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People use their time well
·
Systems that make it easy to
drive performance and build capabilities by:
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Linking objectives throughout the organization
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Strengthening key competencies
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Making sure you have the bench strength where and when you need it
o
Giving people tools to take charge of their own careers and development
and have a major long term influence on your organization
·
Proprietary simulation and
modeling techniques that let you explore how to maximize the value of
your workforce
o
Move from guessing what might happen to looking in depth at the
financial impact of different approaches
