Welcome to the September 22, 2004 issue of The Total View

Your resource for cutting-edge news, tips, and tools to help you hire, manage,
and motivate top-performing employees.

If you are receiving this issue as a forward, and want your own subscription, visit
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/newsletter.htm

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In This Issue
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1. Announcing a New Resource for Total View Subscribers.

2. Seventy percent of American Workers Don't Believe Performance Management is Working.

3. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #246 to #250.

4. Tips You Can Use.

5. Announcing a Hassle-Free Solution for Surveying Your Employees, Customers and Members.

6. You don't need a huge budget and staff to hire the best employees.

7. Did You Miss Last Week's "Age Test"?

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The Total View is written and published each Wednesday by Ira S. Wolfe, founder of Success Performance Solutions. (Yes, Ira writes every article, every week!) and is distributed with permission by The Chrysalis Corporation.

Ira S. Wolfe 2004 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

To learn more about The Chrysalis Corporation or to read back issues of The Total View, visit our web site at http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/totalview_backissues.htm

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1. Announcing a New Resource for Total View Subscribers.
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The Chrysalis Corporation is please to announce a new strategic partner -- Information Architects, a leader in the world of Background Screening Services.

Information Architects has produced a Background Screening Service specifically for companies who are seeking an intuitive and intelligent way of performing background screening services. Their product is one of the leading background screening services in the market. It was developed using direct input from private and government agencies utilizing the newest technology available for secure Internet collection and delivery of sensitive data. Current clients include the Department of Justice – Bureau of Prisons, Kellogg’s, Marathon Oil, and Comerica Bank and Cabela’s to name a few.

What separates their Web-based product from our competition is the ease of use, the simplicity of utilizing a Web Enabled Application, and our services and reports that are unmatched in the industry. Please understand there are NO MONTHLY FEES, NO SOFTWARE TO PURCHASE AND NO CONTRACTS, you simply pay as you go. They offer a user interface and order fulfillment system which streamlines the collection of vouchering/security background information as well as the integration of an online dynamic interview process.

Included with their services are toll-free technical support, online customer service, chat and e-mail support.

We are proud to welcome Information Architects as one of our partners. Wether you are looking to implement background checking for the first time in your company, or if your current provider is not meeting your expectations, we invite you to take a look at the services that Information Architects brings to the table.

To learn more, follow this link:
http://www.ia.com/perceptre/affiliates/chrysalis.asp

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2. Seventy percent of American Workers Don't Believe Performance Management is Working.
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The quarterback takes the snap and steps back into the pocket. Looking right, then left, he sends the football down field, with a perfectly thrown pass, to the receiver who carries the pigskin into the end zone.

The crowd screams with excitement. Then, cheers turn to jeers. The referee turns away without signaling a touchdown. Confusion reigns. After a few minutes, the referee announces he needs a few weeks to make his call. He heads to the locker room, closes the door, and doesn't respond to questions from the players.

Although this might be a bit far-fetched for football, this scene is played out too often in nearly every business in America.

Employees need feedback on their performance and recognition for jobs well done. The number-one reason people leave their jobs: They don't feel appreciated. Even so, according to recent to Gallup surveys with over 4 million employees, 65% of American workers received no recognition in the workplace last year.

Like the receiver who thought he scored a touchdown, another 40 percent of employees did not understand measures used to evaluate their performance and believed they received an inaccurate appraisal of their work. (Source: WorkUSA®2004: An Ongoing Study of Employee Attitudes and Opinions). That is equivalent to a referee ignoring 4 out of 10 touchdowns.

Another seven of 10 U.S. workers, according to the Watson Wyatt survey, don’t believe a performance management program actually improves performance. Even worse, only 20 percent believe the company helps poorly performing workers improve.

Part of the problem might be that a mere 39 percent of employees see a connection between day-to-day work and company goals. Let’s go back to football. Players and fans know that scoring touchdowns moves a team closer to winning. Yet in business, more than half of the workers don’t see a connection between what they do and what the organization is trying to achieve.

Management blunders cost a bundle. An SHL study reports that the US companies lose $105 billion to poor people performance. Managers generally find it easy to talk about performance management. Then, these same managers avoid conducting performance appraisals. Why?

First, too many performance management programs lack meaningful performance criteria that are related to company productivity and profitability. The absence of specific and meaningful performance criteria raises the potential for confrontation. The employee, who comes into the evaluation with no clue as to whether expectations have been missed, met or exceeded, becomes defensive. As the discussion becomes tense, maybe ugly, the manager fears this upset employee might quit or file a harassment complaint. There is a cascading effect. When a disgruntled employee leaves, a vacancy must be filled and current employees work harder to pick up the slack.

Lacking specific criteria and targeted behaviors that can be observed, the performance review reflects the manager’s values and preferred behavior. Consider this situation: One manager always gives a lower rating because he believes there should be room for improvement while another manager always gives high ratings to boost employee self-esteem. The upshot is the first manager dampens the enthusiasm and drive of high-performers. The second manger inadvertently rewards poor performance and raises legal exposure for the company.

Successful performance management pays off. Follow these steps so you can conduct effective performance programs.

1. Directly link individual employee goals to team and department production and profitability goals.

2. List the three to 10 core competencies required by each job. Evaluate employees on these skills.

3. Develop three to six target behaviors that describe effective performance for each competency. These behaviors should be observable.
4. Use these behavior statements to create the employee evaluation form.

5. This competency-based performance management process should be conducted at once a year.

Remember, performance feedback is continuous and ongoing. Don’t wait for an annual performance appraisal to praise good performance or correct performance lapses.

You can learn more about setting performance criteria and conducting meaningful, productive appraisals by attending the CriteriaOne Train-the-Trainer Workshops (see below). In addition to competency identification, participants learn to use and interpret three valid and predictive personality assessments and how to create a performance-based behavioral interview.

To learn more about the Janus Performance Management System -- a performance management system that works -- follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/janus.htm

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3. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #241 to #245.
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Fact #246: 62 percent of workers don't think their employer tries to minimize unnecessary stress. (Source: LLuminari® Landmark Study)

Fact #247: One in 5 workers stated that their work regularly interfered with their responsibilities at home and kept them from spending time with their family. (Source: LLuminari® Landmark Study)

Fact #248: Workplace stress costs the nation more than $300 billion each year in health care, missed work and stress reduction efforts. (Source: American Institute of Stress)

Fact #249: Workers who report they are stressed incur health care costs that are 46 percent higher, or $600 more per person, than other employees. (Source: NIOSH)

Fact #250: The risk of a heart attack doubled among permanent after a major round of downsizing, with the risk growing to five times normal after four years. (British Medical Journal, 2/2004)

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - $7.95 includes no shipping costs for limited time only.
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=37174&ProductID=1717642

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4. Tips You Can Use.
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CriteriaOne® Train-the-Trainer: Competency Identification and Performance Management.

Special Fee for The Total View readers - register before October 1, 2004 and save an additional $200 off the early registration fee of $1095. After October 1, registration fee is $1595.

Become a certified CriteriaOne consultant. Learn to identify competencies, complete a job analysis and interpret behavioral, values and personality assessments. The next Train-the-Trainer will be held from November 3-5, 2004 in Lancaster PA. Register early and save $500 and bring a 2nd person at no additional cost.

To learn more and to review a course outline, follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/criteria_one_training.htm

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Complimentary Computer Security Check by Symantec.

Test your computer's exposure to online security threats and learn how to make your computer more secure.

Follow this link:
http://snipurl.com/8ouq

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5. Announcing a Hassle-Free Solution for Surveying Your Employees, Customers and Members.
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Is your company or association planning to conduct a survey in Q4 2004? Hate the hassle of inputting survey results? Not enough time to query the data and create reports? Are you putting off getting much needed feedback from customers, employees and members?

Contact us today to learn about about real-time e-mail and web based surveys. No more hassles with entering results and creating presentations. Let us do the work for you. We can help you write, set-up, distribute (electronically), process and present in less time for less cost.

For more information about the survey solutions we can provide you with, including our Rapid Survey Option, follow the link below and type "Surveys" in the comment box. You can also contact us by phone at: 229-257-0665:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/contact_us_surveys.htm

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6. You don't need a huge budget and staff to hire the best employees.
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Eliminate The Hassles and Headaches Associated With Screening Candidate with Total APS.

The Total Applicant Processing System enables the small and medium sized employer to do online recruiting and screen applicants with customizable and scorable filtering questions with a click of the mouse.

Use Total APS to recruit and screen applicants for your next job opening.

To learn more, follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/employee_applicant_processing_system.htm

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7. Did You Miss Last Week's "Age Test"?
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Take your best shot at answering the following questions, then follow the link below to see how many you got correct.

1. Name the four Beatles.
2. Finish the line: "lions and Tigers and Bears, ____ ____!"
3. Hey Kids, what time is it?
4. What do M & M's do?
5. What helps build strong bodies 12 ways?
6. Long before he was Mohammed Ali, we knew him as ________ _____.
7. You'll wonder where the yellow went, ______ ____ _______ ______ ______ ____ ____________.
8. Before his role as Skipper's little buddy, we knew Bob Denver as Dobie's best friend __________ __ _______.
9. Brylcream, _____ _____ _____ ___ ___.
10. Bob Dylan advised us to never trust anyone over __.

Follow this link for the answers to the Age Test and see what side of the generation gap you land on:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/age_test_results.htm

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Contact Information:

The Chrysalis Corporation
2001 Hammock Drive
Valdosta, GA 31602
229-257-0665

To learn more about The Chrysalis Corporation, visit:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com