Author Archives: Ben

3 HR and Recruiting Tools I’ve Used Lately

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been bombarded at work lately (hence the low number of posts!). Some of that busyness is driven by projects I’m working on (recruiting, baby!). Other parts of it are self-imposed, because once I have an idea I have a hard time letting it go. The good part for you, though, is that you get to enjoy the fruits of that labor and investigation! Here are the three free HR and recruiting tools I’ve been playing with lately.

SmartRecruiters

This is a free ATS (Applicant Tracking System) that I use for recruiting where I work. While it’s not as robust as a paid service, it has some amazing features. Plus, it completely blows away our old way of doing recruiting. Opening up an HTML editor, coding a job ad by hand, and posting it on our own website. Then applicants had to email their resumes if they were interested.

Ugh.

Now I post a job in my SmartRecruiters menu, automatically share that across free job boards like Indeed.com (one of the largest job aggregators around), and get notifications when people apply. Then I log into the system and do a quick screen before sharing it with the hiring manager for review. Very simple and such a relief for an HR/recruiting department of one person!

Fun @ Work from Baudville

This is a (free) handy PDF guide with 52 ways to have fun at work included. I am always looking for new ideas to keep lines of communication open across the organization, and I have really dug into this guide to find some ideas lately. With all of the stress of work and life that employees are dealing with these days, why not help them have some fun @ work?

Zappos Culture Book

If you’ve heard of Zappos, you know that they have a legendary corporate culture. It’s unique, and it’s a differentiator for them. Employees love being there. Customers love shopping there. It’s really an amazing phenomenon. Well, in my relentless pursuit of corporate culture development, I ran across the Zappos Insights website where you can order a free Culture Book! If you sign up for one, you’ll receive it in about a week. I just got mine and have already started seeking out ideas.

And that’s how I’ve been spending a portion of my time lately! Anyone else have any neat, free tools that they use as HR or recruiting professionals? 

Managing performance at work

When it comes to managing performance at work, a lot of people cringe. Managers think employee appraisals are a waste of time. Employees rarely get the proper feedback and guidance from their supervisors. And HR, well, we are the ones who are supposed to make those two unwilling parties play nice so we can “get through” yet another review cycle.

If that sounds anything like what you deal with, let me hear an “amen.” :-)

Seriously, though, it is a problem. If you asked anyone, they would say that they want their employees performing at the top of their game. But when it comes to giving critical feedback about performance, most people shy away.

Recently I wrote a series over at my other blog about this phenomenon and how to make it more manageable. I highly encourage you to check it out!

Table of contents

If you have a specific problem or issue with your own performance management system, feel free to leave a comment! I would love to write something that might give you some ideas on how to solve it.

Performance Review Process Horror Stories

I know I can’t be the only one who has seen a performance review process go horribly wrong. Sometimes it’s laughable, yet other times it is frustrating to be caught in the midst of a broken system. Check out the video below to hear about the time I had a “secret” review as a wrestling referee.

(Subscribers may need to click through to view.)

Video Notes

A few years ago I spent my winter months as a part time referee for high school wrestling. One day I got an email from our district manager, so I pulled it up expecting to see a schedule. Instead I found a performance review that one of the officials had done without my knowledge! “Secret” reviews are a bad plan for several reasons.

  • No accountability of reviewer
  • No opportunity for reviewed to comment/clarify
  • No opportunity to grow from critical feedback

All in all, it’s a bad plan! Do you have any stories of a performance review process gone wrong? I’d love to hear about it!

performance appraisal procedureAt Sonar6, we love performance reviews (obviously) and we love any sort of discussion on the topic. So we’re proud to help bring you this series of posts from upstartHR. They’re very nearly as cool as our award winning color paper series.

Mike Durant’s Principles of Leadership

If you don’t know who Mike Durant is, you are missing out on an amazing story. He is the pilot of Super Six Four, the Black Hawk helicopter that was shot down in Somalia in 1993. He was captured by the enemy, put through a horrible experience, and lived to tell the tale. But that was long ago. Now he’s a CEO, speaker, and all-around great guy. I just finished reading his book “In the Company of Heroes” (highly recommended!) and he wraps up with his thoughts on leading others. Just had to share.

Trust and empower your people to do their jobs, then stand behind them. Unless they are absolute lowlifes, always, even when they screw up, go to bat for them. However, also call a spade a spade. Supporting your people doesn’t mean carrying the deadweight.  If there are stellar performers and nonperformers, make it clear that you know the difference and reflect that in mission taskings and performance evaluations… Be dedicated to your people, the mission, and the customer first and foremost, and only then to yourself and your career. (pg 383-384)

I know we’re a few days past Independence Day and the patriotic feelings here in the US, but I thought this was worth mentioning. It’s not common to find the kind of loyalty that Mike has for his people in senior leaders today. I can attest to the fact that he lives by his words: the customer, mission, and employees come before his own needs, and if you ever get the chance to meet him, you’ll understand that fact very quickly.

By the way, his book is one I’d add to my leadership reading list.

Performance Review Comments

What sort of information should make up performance review comments? First time managers (and some long time veterans) have a tough time figuring out just what to say when it comes time to talk about someone’s work. There are four main criteria I look at when reviewing comments on a performance appraisal.

Tips for performance review comments

  • Is it legal? Just like other areas of employment actions (hiring, discipline, termination, etc.), performance has to be measured on criteria that is not discriminatory. Don’t talk about a woman missing deadlines because she is pregnant. Don’t say anything about the guy who misses work for religious reasons. And for goodness sake, please don’t mention that an employee is too old to understand the new computer software. Bottom line: keep the protected classes out of the picture.
  • Is it specific? I mentioned this before as one of the benefits of performance appraisals. Giving specifics on performance, whether good or bad, helps to assure that the good is repeated and the bad is corrected. I’ve seen supervisors comment, “doesn’t do a good job” on an appraisal. When pressed, they provided valuable specifics, but without that additional attention it would have never been revealed. If you’re wondering if it is specific enough, imagine that you are an outside party viewing the process. Does it give you adequate information to formulate an objective opinion of the person?
  • Is it actionable? The point of this is to provide critical feedback. However, that doesn’t mean you should exclusively use this time for browbeating or berating the employee (even if they deserve it!). If you do not provide an avenue for improvement, the employee will become frustrated and join the ranks of the disengaged employees. If they are messing up a process, show or tell them how to fix the mistake. If they are not providing friendly service that is up to the high standards of the organization, give them some ideas on how to hit the mark on the next review. Making an observation, such as “doesn’t interact well with coworkers,” is only half of your job. The other half is to provide them with the tools to be successful next time.
  • Is it job-related? This one can be comical at times, but it needs to be addressed. I worked with an engineer once whose job required virtually zero interaction with anyone face-to-face. His manager commented on his review that he was not friendly enough to his peers. The problem with that statement? The engineer was the only one in his role in the entire department. In his mind, he had no peers, and nobody was clamoring to take on that role. Make sure the comments truly reflect the reality of the workplace and job responsibilities.

And one more thing.

For a long time, the top books sold by the Society for Human Resources Management bookstore were related to performance review phrases and comments. Managers don’t need a book to tell them how to feel. They need to get a clue. They need to realize that their feedback is critical to the employee’s success (or failure). And with that knowledge, they need to have an open, honest conversation about how the person is performing. “But I don’t wanna do it” won’t cut it. And the employee will see straight through the facade and will develop the same type of attitude.

A true story about performance review comments

In this case my story doesn’t have to do with inappropriate or improper comments as much as it has to do with a lack of performance review comments. At one of my previous employers the supervisors would turn in the annual performance reviews with no comments and “meets expectations” checked off for each area. And then a month later when they wanted the employee to be terminated, they would play dumb when the review was put in front of their face. Sigh. It never failed. 99% of the people had a neutral or positive review just prior to being terminated, and most of them didn’t have a single clarifying comment present.

That’s the general behavior for most managers. Provide no feedback or clarification and still expect your employees to read your mind. Hint: it doesn’t work that way!

performance review commentsAt Sonar6, we love performance reviews (obviously) and we love any sort of discussion on the topic. So we’re proud to help bring you this series of posts from upstartHR. They’re very nearly as cool as our award winning color paper series.

Want more? Check out the free employee performance management guide!

Benefits of Performance Appraisals

The benefits of performance appraisals are tough to argue with. Conducting performance appraisals helps to decrease uncertainty about job requirements and manager expectations, opens the door for training and development opportunities, and offers a chance to reinforce positive behavior. Yet even with all those benefits, annual performance reviews are still despised by many. Let’s see how they can help your organization.

Other posts in the Performance Review Series

Let’s get on the same page. Sometimes I get managers and employees coming to me, saying they just can’t understand why their employee/manager doesn’t communicate with them. My first question is always, “Have you talked with them?” And (surprisingly or not) the response is “no” 99% of the time! Now I’m not saying a performance review is going to fix that poor communication. However, if you can work with managers and employees to use the opportunity presented by a formal appraisal meeting, then it can help to break through those barriers that exist. Employees really want to know what criteria they are being rated on. And managers really want employees to do well in their work. I have yet to meet a manager who hopes his/her people will fail miserably.

How do I get from here to there? One of the best ways to engage your employees to offer professional development opportunities. Not everyone wants to work to make themselves better at their job, but many people do. During the review process, find out where employees want to be in two years and work with them to get there. Maybe they want to take some classes in project management to contribute more on a team level. Maybe they are interested in developing some managerial skills and can supervise an intern. Maybe they want to be in a radically different position and you have some expertise to lend in the transition. Whatever the case, when the employee knows that you have their own long-term goals in mind, it gives them a deeper sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in their work.

Good job. Can you do it again? An often overlooked aspect of performance reviews is spending time on what went right. Sure, managers might say, “Way to go on Project X.” However, they do not always say exactly what they liked and what they would like to see again. If the person handled a touchy customer with finesse, tell them you appreciate their tact and cool head. When they know the specific behaviors that get noticed and/or rewarded, they can repeat them. Just hearing a generic “good job” is nice in the short run, but you need to provide more detail to help it become a repeated activity.

The icky one. Nobody likes having to document poor performance, but it has to be done. In the next post in the series I’ll be looking at comments for performance reviews to help managers check the blocks while staying inside the legal boundaries. Documenting poor performance (whether in an annual review process or outside of it) is key for protecting the organization if the situation ends up resulting in a disciplinary action or termination. Managers prefer not to put things like this in writing, but that needs to be there as protection in case the employee (or former employee, if they are terminated) decides to pursue legal action.

Next time you are conducting performance appraisals, don’t lose sight of the benefits they provide throughout your organization. They can help foster communication, engage employees, and develop strong performers while still protecting from costly litigation.

sonar6 cakeAt Sonar6, we love performance reviews (obviously) and we love any sort of discussion on the topic. So we’re proud to help bring you this series of posts from upstartHR. They’re very nearly as cool as our award winning color paper series.

Want more? Check out the free employee performance management guide!