True Passion of the Explorer, the new Deliverable ...Communication in the Marketplace Series - Part IV

Metrics Need to Matter!

©AR_HRComatrix_Passion           PASSIONATE  EMPLOYEES AND MARKET CHANGES

One advantage of being neutral and respected is that you hear from quite a few people in the organization, in one way or another. Of course, there are the few who have a big ego or a low self-esteem (the manifestation is the same) who are going to try to antagonize whoever crosses their paths, but overall people feel comfortable talking to you, or even confiding in you because you are approachable to them. 

 

Through many encounters, most of them casual, I could see, discern and feel how people care about their jobs and working environment. I often hear "I just want to do my job and go home but..." and the "but" is followed by unanswered questions on why and how things are done or not meeting certain standards. Questions are raised about scores and goals: whys and hows...Those ARE the passionate ones! They are committed, raise questions, want improvement, look for an interlocutor. 

Although suggestions on improvement would not always parallel business metric goals, or strategies, there is a lot to be heard. In a task-focused society, it seems that we overlook the meaning of completing the task: goal, metric achievement. Caution, however: metrics are senseless and meaningless if they are counterproductive to your basic goal, or counterintuitive. Metrics need to matter to all, including the ones who are at the bottom of the totem pole! Coming from a more global perspective, I am cautious about the bottom line reading of achieved metrics; senseless if you do not get employees' buy-in; meaningless if you are loosing employees' engagement, and/or worse, inhibiting their passion.

Passion is the New Deliverable: 45% of employees have it!

Yes, you have guessed it: today, passion is the real thing. In 2012, there were 33% engaged workers vs. 11% passionate ones, according to Deloitte Shift Index. Passion is what makes a small business thrive through difficult times, pushes executives to find viable solutions through opportunities, supports the front of the line employee through daily challenges. Without passion there are no sustainable results. Passion is the new deliverable. 
Who has observed self-contentment, complacency, lack of accountability, and inability to stay in pace with internal and external changes? Promotion from within is great, at the condition that inside talents understand that new blood is meant to bring "fresh" blood per se. It is not to be "diluted", inhibited, reduced to "mainstream" followers and nullified or antagonized because of fear of changes. Such will make your company a revolving door for top talents.

A research by Deloitte on "unlocking the Passion of the Explorer" has generated the 2013 Shift Index Series. It observes 25 metrics through over 40 years along with the shifts in the business landscape. The results make it clear that one needs to revise his recruitment, assessment, and retention concepts, at the very least. Only 45% of employees demonstrate the needed 2 to 3 attributes to develop passion:

1. Focus on long-term goals
2. Ability to embrace challenges as opportunities
3. Willingness to built trust-based relationship for partnership and quick feed-back

On the other hand, did you know that 79% of passionate workers are already in their dream organizations, even if not in their dream jobs? Who did you miss? Find the passionate candidate: he will help your business thrive in this increasingly competitive environment. 

The impalpable link between company performance and individuals is passion. While 46% of companies with passionate employees perform better than competition, only 11% are performing worse.   

Challenges are truly opportunities. Don't let your executives just repeat it, make them truly embrace the concept. Do I sound like patronizing? Judge for yourself per the percentage of passionate workers in each category, according to the Shift Index:

• Management:    17%
• Marketing:    16%
• HR, Manufacture, Accounting and Finance: 7% /category
• Customer Service:    5%

We are in a world of VUCA - Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity -  Balancing continuity and self-assessment is in order. Where  is our passion? What is your passion? Ready to explore it?

En Synthèse...

 

En Synthèse...

Dans un monde de business en perpétuel changement et incertain, nous devons revoir nos modes de recrutement et d’évaluation. Selon une recherche de Deloitte qui a analysé 25 facteurs sur une période de plus de 40 ans, il y a un grand changement dans le monde du business.

Il ne suffit plus de mobiliser les employés. Il faut avoir des employés passionnés pour réussir dans ce monde compétitif. Allons-y pour la passion de l'explorateur! 

Des grandes compagnies (plus de 1000 employés) qui ont été observées, il y a seulement un maigre 9% d'employés passionnés! De quoi faire réfléchir, n'est-ce-pas? Les tableaux  que Claude Super met à notre portée nous donnent une idée de ce qui se passe (passionnés par catégorie)

Et qui sont ces perles rares? Ceux qui manifestent un intérêt pour le long-terme, qui comprennent que les challenges sont des opportunités pour s’améliorer, et qui sont ouverts à établir de solides relations de travail pour feed-back constructif. La bonne nouvelle? Un gros 79% d'entre eux sont déjà dans leur entreprise idéale!  Moi, je sais qu'il y en a dans chaque entreprise, mais on les ignore, ou l'on est tout simplement myope....