Rob Bekken, formerly a senior partner at Fisher & Phillips, one of the largest labor law firms in the country, estimates that the average cost of a wrongful discharge lawsuit is $600,000. This is a high cost for someone who should not have been hired in the first place. Ac- cording to Bekken, most of these hiring mistakes would have been
adle_c02.qxd 5/9/07 4:44 PM Page 52
Performance Profiles: Define Success, Not Skills ➤ 53
PERFORMANCE PROFILE SAMPLE 1 First-Line Manager
Position Summary
A first-line manager is involved with some basic business process managing and supervising a small team. This usually consists of pro- fessional staff members and process and administrative specialists.
The focus is usually on maintaining and improving the process.
Keys to Hiring
The best first-line managers are good developers of staff personnel;
they possess a good balance of hands-on technical competency cou- pled with the ability to apply technical knowledge in resolving con- flicts, evaluating trade-offs, and decision making. Organization skills are evident through the improving of department process and the im- plementation of new methods and systems. Preparing and managing projects by a budget is an essential aspect of good first-line managers.
Performance Objectives
By preparing performance objectives, the balance between team and individual competencies is better understood The following performance objectives represent the general scope of activity for a first-line manager:
1. Primary objective: The most important performance objective for this department is to [increase sales by, improve mar- gins by, implement new systems, reduce costs by, improve
efficiency by, design/develop products,
launch products, conduct research address- ing, improve performance in]. Within days, assess the sta- tus of the objective and define the plan necessary to achieve the overall outcome.
2. Secondary objective: (With consideration to the primary objectives noted earlier, include here any important shorter term or interim objectives the person taking the position needs to achieve to meet the main objective.) An interim step necessary to achieve [primary objective] is . During the (continued)
54 ➤ HIRE WITH YOUR HEAD
first days, identify the key resources needs to accomplish this, evaluate actual status against existing plans, and revise and implement as necessary to achieve the planned goals.
3. Team building and staff development:(A primary role of first-line man- agers is to build and manage or rebuild the team. It starts with a strong understanding of the needs and capability of the existing team.) During the first days, meet all team members and evaluate capabilities in line with ongoing objectives and depart- ment needs. Establish developmental and reorganizational plans as necessary for each team member to rebuild and strengthen the whole group.
4. Operational review:(It’s always good for any level manager to bench- mark the operational effectiveness of the department’s basic functions and responsibilities.) Conduct a comprehensive opera- tional review of ongoing department activities including processes, systems, methods, and procedures. Especially con- sider . Complete this first review by . 5. Technical competency:(For most managers, the application of techni-
cal skills in a management situation is as important as the absolute level of technical knowledge. To get at this, prepare a performance objective that directly relates to what the person needs to do with a technical skill, not the skill itself.) One of our key technically ori- ented objectives is manage the [implementation, launch, design, development of] . Over the next months, we must [complete, identify, plan, define resource needs] to en- sure achieving planned results.
6. Address major problems, changes, and improvements:(Other sources of per- formance objectives involve eliminating problems or implementing changes. Consider the major objectives the person is expected to ad- dress if they have not already been covered.) Some critical problems to resolve and changes necessary to improve operational perfor-
mance in this department are , ,
and . Quickly identify the changes required and create a series of recommended solutions. Implement a prioritized action plan to address these issues over the following months.
7. Strategic and planning issues:(A top-notch first-line manager can think strategically, at least with respect to department needs, and plan and implement accordingly. It’s imortant to tie this to a specific project in which the person will have direct involvement to validate
adle_c02.qxd 5/9/07 4:44 PM Page 54
Performance Profiles: Define Success, Not Skills ➤ 55
this ability.) During the first days, prepare a strategic plan outlining all the needs of the department to meet the company’s long-term objective of . From this, prepare a calendar-based monthly operating budget and implementation
plan by [date].
8. Project management, organizational planning, and execution: (The best first-line managers are very strong at managing cross-functional teams to achieve significant objectives. Include a project that in- corporates these needs like a systems implementation, launch of a new product line, or leading the implementation for a new piece of equipment.) Develop [review, upgrade] the operating plan for the project by identifying staff needs, budgets, capital equipment, development expenses, technology requirements,
and .
9. Thinking skills, decision making, and conflict resolution: (Good first-line managers have the ability to think tactically, technically, and orga- nizationally within their team, solve related problems, and incor- porate these in implementing solutions. Include an appropriate issue that demonstrates this type of decision making and/or problem solving.) One of the main issues facing the
department is what to do about . By ,
identify the key issues needing resolution, and define the under- lying problems. Specifically consider .
10. Personality and interpersonal skills:Identify any major personality de- mands of the position (e.g., tough boss, potential conflicts with other departments, cultural needs of company). Successful com- pletion of the project requires the coopera- tion with a very independent [or add some other interpersonal
issue] department [or person].
56 ➤ HIRE WITH YOUR HEAD
PERFORMANCE PROFILE SAMPLE 2 Customer Service Director
Position Summary
The director of customer service will be responsible for rebuilding the customer service department, organizing the group to handle the anticipated growth, and leading many of the efforts toward upgrading the customer service activity. The key to success in this position is to ensure a companywide focus on improving all aspects of customer service. This includes direct support, new systems, and better han- dling of complaints. The person selected will be responsible for cus- tomer service, order processing and tracking, returned goods, warranty sales, and technical support. The company’s future growth depends on establishing new procedures in all aspects of customer service, especially online ordering and tracking. The position super- vises 24 people through three supervisors.
Performance Objectives
1. Improve customer service from 93 percent to 99 percent and re- duce customer complaints by 75 percent within 12 months.
2. Rebuild the customer service department to support a 25 percent per year growth rate. This includes upgrading supervisors, a re- duction in turnover, and a complete process reengineering of the group.
3. Take a management lead on organizing a multifunction task force in developing companywide customer service improvements.
This will support the 18-month IS conversion program now under way incorporating new technologies like EDI, bar-coding, and In- ternet catalog and ordering.
4. By June, conduct a complete process review of all aspects of the department identifying key staff issues, system problems, cus- tomer complaints, and bottlenecks. Coordinate with major cus- tomers addressing their needs and begin a corrective action plan immediately.
5. Develop a series of interim solutions to reduce back orders, im- prove returned material replacements, and improve communica- tions with the field support team. Present action plan within 90 days.
adle_c02.qxd 5/9/07 4:44 PM Page 56
Performance Profiles: Define Success, Not Skills ➤ 57
PERFORMANCE PROFILE SAMPLE 3 Recruiting Manager
Position Summary
The recruiting manager is involved with recruiting and staffing for the entire company supervising a team of in-house recruiters. The focus is on hiring the best people into the company in an efficient manner.
Performance Objectives
1. Improve the recruiting process and the quality of candidates hired.The pri- mary objective during the first year is to completely upgrade the existing hiring processes at the company. This requires the instal- lation of new hiring practices, improved sourcing, better assess- ment tools, and an ability to quickly react to short- and long-term hiring needs.
2. Conduct a hiring needs analysis.During the first weeks, meet with all hiring managers and determine the status of all open req- uisitions, and identify all hiring requirements for the next six months. Put this in priority order, and implement a staffing plan of action during the first month.
3. Develop short-term staffing alternatives.Given critical needs and time frames, develop alternative staffing approaches to eliminate ex- isting open requisitions within days. This plan needs to be completed within weeks.
4. Conduct a process review.During the first days, conduct a de- tailed review of all hiring practices and processes. Identify key constraints and problems and develop a plan to overhaul the pro- cess within months.
5. Train and rebuild the team.During the first week, meet all staff mem- bers and assess capabilities against departmental objectives. Im- plement necessary training and during the first days, rebuild the team as necessary to meet company hiring requirements.
6. Reduce the time to hire.Over the next months, reduce the time to hire typical positions from an average of days
to days.
(continued)
58 ➤ HIRE WITH YOUR HEAD
7. Improve the assessment process: Within days, establish the staffing department as the benchmark for identifying and assess- ing competency. Provide tools and guidance to line managers throughout the company to upgrade the quality of all candidate assessments.
8. Upgrade Internet recruiting efforts.Within days, ensure that the staffing department is on the leading-edge of Internet recruiting.
eliminated if performance profiles were used to establish the ob- jective selection criteria, rather than traditional job descriptions.
The firm has prepared a white paper describing the legal benefits and importance of implementing Performance-based Hiring. This is included in the Appendix to this book. In the white paper, Bekken concludes that “Hire with Your Head and Performance-based Hiring represents an important breakthrough from both a practical and legal standpoint. By utilizing this approach, employers are now equipped with the tools to hire the right employee and to legally defend their decision.”
The preparation of performance profiles also offers a practical way to implement a diversity hiring program. While many com- panies have good intentions, success is limited without practical tools to eliminate normal biases and artificial barriers. For example, by imposing a seemingly fair baseline of qualifications (e.g., a BS degree from a top university and five years’ industry experience), most companies inadvertently establish a nondiverse candidate pool. Few top universities are fully diverse, nor are most competi- tors. To overcome this lack of natural diversity, companies then must go to extraordinary means to find enough diverse candidates to meet their hiring objectives. A performance profile can reduce this problem by broadening the criteria without compromising can- didate quality. As you discover in Chapter 3, ads can be written and placed to appeal to the best and most diverse candidates. But to be effective, they still need to emphasize the challenges and op- portunities, not the qualifications.
While legally required, diversity has a more important practical side. Legally and morally it’s important to give equal consideration to all potential candidates, both male and female, regardless of
adle_c02.qxd 5/9/07 4:44 PM Page 58
Performance Profiles: Define Success, Not Skills ➤ 59
their racial, religious, ethnic backgrounds, or physical challenges. As the workforce becomes diverse, it becomes important to hire peo- ple who can work on a diverse team. As a part of this, it’s also impor- tant to offer products and services to meet the demands of an increasingly diverse customer base. Performance profiles directly address these issues.
To address the legal/moral issue and avoid an arbitrary list of qualifications, make the candidate’s ability to meet the perfor- mance objectives the dominant selection criterion. This is a fairer and more legally sound method to overcome the sourcing con- straint subtly imposed when using qualifications to screen candi- dates. If a candidate can meet the performance needs of the job, meaning the person has achieved some level of comparable past performance, he or she deserves the new job, regardless of age, race, religion, gender, or physical challenges. Conversely, if a candi- date hasn’t done anything comparable, the person should not be offered the job regardless of age, race, religion, gender, or physical challenges.
With workforces and customers becoming more diverse, it’s also important to directly consider these issues in the preparation of the performance objectives. This addresses the second important di- versity issue. For marketing or sales positions, this might mean mentioning the need to create or sell products to an ethnic cus- tomer base in the performance objective. Rather than just saying,
“Increase market share by five points,” it’s better to expand this to say, “Increase market share by five points, half coming from the His- panic community.”
Manufacturing positions often require management of multiethnic labor groups. In this case, the performance objective should include this important need, such as “Install a total quality management pro- gram addressing all the needs of a diverse labor team.” This sets up the requirement for applicants to be proficient and aware of the cul- tural differences and needs of these important work groups. If you want to create a diverse workforce a performance objective might be,
“Over the next two years establish a multiethnic workforce and train- ing program that gives every employee an opportunity to grow.” By in- corporating these requirements into the performance objectives, companies can directly address diversity throughout the sourcing, hir- ing, interviewing, and evaluation process.
In the case of physical challenges, the United States has cre- ated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to prevent artificial criteria being used to eliminate otherwise qualified candidates. To comply with this act, companies are required to provide modifica- tions to the workplace to ensure that people with physical challenges aren’t arbitrarily excluded from employment. A perfor- mance profile can help minimize these problems. It also allows for a much fairer means to understanding the real physical require- ments of the job. Identify all of the physical requirements of the job using the performance objectives as the guideline. Break these down into those that require some form of physical activity like standing, lifting, traveling, driving, or using equipment. If the physical tasks are not required, don’t include them. For example, lifting anything other than a briefcase is not required for most of- fice jobs. According to the ADA act, you don’t have to compromise your performance standards as long as they’re essential. However, you do have to provide a reasonable level of accommodation (ramps, access devices, larger screens) for those who can other- wise meet the performance objectives. If a physically challenged candidate can meet these performance objectives with some rea- sonable level of accommodation, he deserves the job. Conversely, if a person can’t meet these requirements, or if you find someone who is better at the nonphysical aspects of the job, you don’t need to hire the person.
Using performance profiles as the baseline to justify your hir- ing decisions will minimize your liability in this area since you have proven you’ve hired the best person without consideration to the physical challenges. Make sure this is documented and get specific legal advice if you have any questions. This area is con- stantly being evaluated in the courts, so it’s important to have the latest advice.