Welcome to the November 17, 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. You can’t hide what others can see.
2. Tips You Can Use - Background Checks - 2 Recent Examples.
3. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #286 to #290.
4. SMILE! A true story out of San Francisco.
5. 21 Reasons Why Performance Reviews Fail.
6. All The Buzz About Janus - More Resources for Performance Reviews.
7. Is Your Company or Association Planning to Conduct a Survey?

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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. You can’t hide what others can see.
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“Tell me,” Barbara asked. “Can she do a good job?“. Barbara, who manages a small administrative department for a Success Performance Solutions client, was holding a personality test report for a new employee, Tanya. “It looks like Tanya can do a good job,” I replied, “but I should warn you she will probably drive you nuts with questions.” Barbara was okay with that. “I don’t care about questions as long as she can get her work done. I’d rather have a new employee ask questions instead of making stupid mistakes.”

Within three days, Barbara called again. “Tanya drives me nuts,” she wailed. “Why didn't I listen to you? When she’s not asking about my preference for font size on letters she’s off on some tangent about her kids, parents, neighbors, husband, pets. You name it, she talks about it. You were dead-on with your assessment – she’s great at what she does, when she does it.”

Let’s turn to Sally, who was amazed with the results of her assessment. Sally took the DISC behavioral type personality assessment for self-development. “What you learn from a 10-minute questionnaire can be pretty spooky,” she said. I simply smiled. I know something Sally doesn't’ know. Assessments such as DISC are based on behavior. Since behavior can be observed, most people can tell a lot about you by simply paying attention. So much for our “little secrets.”

Sometimes a client disagrees with the report generated from personality assessments. That’s fine, because no test is perfect. If a client believes the results are faulty, we ask the person to share the report with trusted friends or co-workers. Then, after the shock fades and the laughter subsides, the client realizes the assessment accurately describes his or her behavior “most of the time.” In other words, you can’t hide what others already can see.

I was in Pennsylvania and Sally was in Ohio when we first spoke. First, I walked Sally through her personalized report page-by-page. The report described how Sally prefers to deal with problems, communicate with other people, handle the pace of work, and follow the rules set by other people. When we finally reached the graph that maps Sally’s preferred response to people, pace, procedures and problems and the graph that mapped how she meets those challenges on the job, Sally was amazed at the significant difference between the two. I suggested this discrepancy indicated workplace stress between how she prefers to do her job and how the job needs to be done. If left unchecked, this discrepancy can lead to chronic stress, burnout, and maybe long-term health problems.

It stunned Sally that I picked up on her stress level without ever meeting her. It turns out she was not happy in her new job. The much too heavy work load was taking its toll. Chronic aches and pains, migraines, and hypertension became normal for her. As the workload increased, so did her health problems.

Let’s go from the specific to the general, using Barbara as an example. Barbara, like many managers and small business owners, is learning that employee selection requires more than evaluating job skills. When deciding which candidates to hire, as well as those to retain and promote, managers should look for a three-way match: job, team and culture. When a manager bases a hiring decision on skills alone the chances are good that same person will be fired because of attitude. Although job skills are important, team fit rules when it comes to retention.

Want proof? Popular employees who fit in get considerable slack in meeting expectations. Co-workers and managers defend the team player’s mediocre performance, often protecting the person’s from upper management’s line of sight. By way of contrast, place a highly skilled, top producer with an attitude on a team and watch the sparks fly as people leave. Time doesn't heal this wound. As long as the mismatch continues, the teamwork and the team continue to fall apart. The worse case scenario occurs when the manager has the attitude. Studies show that employees leave bosses, not organizations. I’m adding a personal corollary, which is employees leave teams, not jobs.

Barbara hired Tanya based on skills. She could do the job, but the fit with her manager shows clear signs of a mismatch. Personality tests don't measure right or wrong, good or bad. They just assess personality and when compared with the requirements of the job, determine a good job fit or bad fit. The simple fact is Barbara’s work style conflicts with Tanya’s need for contact and conversation. This resulting conflict stresses both of them.

The current business community buzz is “hire people who share our values.” That reflects the third match - culture fit. In smaller organizations, team and culture fit can be one of the same. With some larger businesses, departmental or team values may supersede company values. An employee might be a great company person and top talent, but a mismatch with co-workers means that person will not work with the team.

In a nutshell, selecting the right employee boils down to job matching. Job matching makes sure the employee fits with the team, the culture, and the job, in that order. Before you assume that’s a pitch for promoting mediocrity consider that job fit is a moot point if you ignore team and culture fit. Proper position, a good fit for team and culture, means an employee, even one with mediocre skills, will want to improve performance because the desire to remain a part of the team is so strong. Of course clearly defined performance expectations are essential.

Reluctantly, Barbara admitted she should have “listened” to the assessment. Now she’s listening to Tanya.

As for Sally, who is so stressed her health is failing, she needs some relief from her boss. Instead of rewarding her perseverance and work ethic with more to do, Sally’s boss must make the workload realistic. If that doesn't happen, the stress will play out with presenteeism, absenteeism, and health care costs. She may quit. Consider that cost.

The right mix of personality tests are a manager’s best friend. These personality assessments can predict how well the applicant can do the job, and comfortably fit with the team and the culture. The result? Higher productivity, longer retention, and better morale.

At The Chrysalis Corporation we recommend three assessment tests. There is DISC, the test that showed Sally how she'll do the job. Personal Interests, Attitudes, and Values and TotalView. Although DISC accurately predicts sources of conflict and stress, it does not assess how well an individual can handle stress. That dimension is picked up using the stability factor in the TotalView Assessment System, along with nineteen other dimensions. The Personal Interests, Attiudes, and Values assessment identifies the match between cultural incentives and personal motivators.

To Learn more about DISC follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/disc.htm

To learn more about the Personal Interests, Attitudes, and Values (tm) Assessment, follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/piav.htm

To learn more about the TotalView Assessment, follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/totalview.htm

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2. Tips You Can Use - Background Checks - 2 Recent Examples.
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Just last week, the Arizona Diamondbacks hired......then fired their manager. Wally Beckman admitted to several "mistakes" in his past life - arrests for domestic disputes, drunken-driving, restraining orders - only after he was hired. Ken Kendrick, one of the Diamondbacks' managing partners, after the "mistakes" became public stated they will now make background checks a layer of their hiring.

The owner of a motel in New Holland PA might want to do the same. A young couple working as managers were arrested for stealing the cash payments received by guests.

If, like Pinocchio's nose, each lie a candidate told on his/her resume or during the interview became immediately apparent, business owners could easily weed out employees who cheat and deceive. So, how can you tell if an employee is lying about their work experience,

To provide our clients with one-stop shopping for employee evaluation from pre-employment to career succession, we are very pleased to introduce our new partnership with Information Architects, a leading provider of Employment Screening and Background Investigations.

BACKGROUND CHECKS. Sixty-one percent of the human resource (HR) professionals surveyed said they find inaccuracies in résumés after carrying out background checks. (Source: SHRM Background Checks/ Résumé Inaccuracies online survey, 2004)

Services include:

Employment Verification
Criminal Records Search
Civil Records Search
Workers Comp Search
SSN Verification
Credit Reports
DMV Reports
Bankruptcy Search
Degree Verification
Professional License Verification
Drug Screening

Learn more about background checks here.
http://www.ia.com/perceptre/affiliates/chrysalis.asp

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3. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #286 to #290.
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While the population ages, so do the health care workers. An aging population uses health care services more often but the population of health care workers is shrinking in many cases.

Fact #286: In 2000, physicians spent an estimated 32 percent of patient care hours providing services to the age 65 and older population. If current consumption patterns continue, this percentage could increase to 39 percent by 2020. (Source: HRSA)

Fact #287: The aging population will increase the demand for physicians per thousand population from 2.8 in 2000 to 3.1 in 2020. Demand for full-time-equivalent (FTE) registered nurses per thousand population would increase from 7 to 7.5 during this same period. (Source: HRSA)

Fact #288: The aging of the health workforce raises concerns that many health professionals will retire about the same time that demand for their services is increasing. Furthermore, the declining proportion of the population age 18 to 30 raises concerns regarding the ability to attract a sufficient number of new health workers. (Source: HRSA)

Fact #289: The aging population could result in rising average patient acuity, which could in turn require higher nurse and physician staffing levels. (Source: HRSA)

Fact #290: Total requirements for FTE RNs are expected to increase from approximately 2 million in 2000 to 2.8 million in 2020 (a 41 percent increase). Requirements for FTE LPNs are expected to increase from 618,000 in 2000 to 905,000 in 2020 (a 46 percent increase). There is an expected increase in FTE nurse aide and home health aide requirements from 1.5 million in 2000 to 2.3 million in 2020 (a 50 percent increase). (Source: HRSA)

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. Follow this link to learn more:
http://www.perfectlaborstorm.com

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4. SMILE! A true story out of San Francisco.
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A man, wanting to rob a downtown Bank of America, walked into the branch and wrote "this iz a stikkup. Put all your muny in this bag." While standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he reached the teller window. So he left the Bank of America and crossed the street to Wells Fargo Bank. After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and surmising from his spelling errors that he wasn't the brightest light in the harbor, told him that she could not accept his stickup note because it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip and that he would either have to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or go back to Bank of America. Looking somewhat defeated, the man said "OK" and left. The Wells Fargo teller then called the police who arrested the man a few minutes later, as he was waiting in line back at Bank of America.

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5. 21 Reasons Why Performance Reviews Fail.
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It's that time of year again -- time for annual performance reviews. Some managers love em, but most think they are a waste of time. Performance reviews can actually be a highly productive process for employees, management, and the entire company IF they are done CORRECTLY. Here are 21 reasons why performance reviews fail to product positive, long lasting improvement:

1. The reviewer and employee have a personal friendship outside of work and both individuals can't differentiate their manager-employee role from their friend-friend relationship.

2. The reviewer and the employee see themselves as part of a team. Team members are supposed to encourage one another, be supportive in good and bad times. But when the manager has to provide negative feedback or discipline the employee, these actions are viewed as divisive.

3. When not provided regularly, annual (or even less periodic) reviews can be based on most recent performance, not performance over the course of the year. The results go both ways. Employees who put on their best behavior around review time get favorable ratings and the employee who has a bad couple of weeks gets punished.

4. Performance reviews are only scheduled when an employee is not performing up to expectations or a company needs to terminate/lay-off the employee.

5. "You know nobody's perfect and there is always room for improvement." The manager doesn't believe in rewarding an employee with a "10" (out of 10) even when he/she deserves it. Some employers actually use a rating scale of 1 to 9 because no employee deserves a 10 in their minds.

Source: Ira S. Wolfe.

To read more, follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/why_performance_reviews_fail.htm

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6. All The Buzz About Janus - More Resources for Performance Reviews.
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Each year around this time we get inundated with requests for information about the Janus Performance Management System. So much so that we've added over 15, complimentary downloadable excerpts from the Janus system to our site so that you can preview the power of this comprehensive resource for high-impact performance management.

Janus Performance Management Systems is an easy to use and cost effective approach for improving performance, assessing jobs, aligning an organization, and meeting other HR goals. Many organizations have identified competencies but have not had positive results during the implementation phase - until now.

The Online Janus System makes it easy to identify from 3 to 10 core competencies per position, build competency-based job descriptions, develop job- specific interview questions and administer performance evaluations - a seamless, continuous, cost-effective solution to selecting and managing top performers.

Visit the following link to learn more about Janus and download COMPLIMENTARY excerpts from the Janus system:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/janus.htm

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7. Is Your Company or Association Planning to Conduct a Survey?
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Is your company or association planning to conduct a survey in Q4 2004 or early 2005? 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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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