BECOMING A WORKPLACE of CHOICE
The process of becoming a “Workplace of Choice” is as follows..
1. TAKE STOCK OF WHERE YOU ARE NOW RELATIVE TO THE ‘WORKPLACE OF CHOICE’ STANDARD
2. DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN FOR FILLING MAJOR GAPS
3. IMPLEMENT THE ACTION PLAN
4. GET REASSESSED
5. IF WARRANTED, BECOME A ‘WORKPLACE OF CHOICE’
6. IF NOT, RECYCLE THROUGH STEPS 3 TO 5.
THE ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK
The full assessment framework in table format can be found by clicking here.
JOIN... STAY... PERFORM... ADAPT...
We measure four basic sets of Human Resource Management activities as follows..
- Those designed to get people to JOIN the organization. A “Workplace of Choice” is one which people have heard about and want to join ,
- Those designed to get people to STAY, once they have joined. A “Workplace of Choice” is one in which people who work there are proud of that fact and tell others about it.
- Those designed to get people to PERFORM at a level required by the organization. A “Workplace of Choice” is one in which people go out of their way to perform at the highest level possible, and
- Those designed to get people to ADAPT effectively to change. A “Workplace of Choice” is one in which people make an extra effort to find new and innovative ways to respond to new demands brought about by changes to the market, the business climate, customer preferences or whatever..
EIGHT BASIC ELEMENTS
Within the JOIN-STAY-PERFORM-ADAPT framework, we look at eight elements under the control of management, each of which impacts choices that people make about joining, staying, performing and adapting...
1. STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP: This element looks at the overall direction, vision, core values, strategic priorities, goals and objectives of the employer and how they are understood by current and prospective employees.
2. FRONTLINE MANAGEMENT: This element looks at the critical person who represents the employer to most employees, their immediate supervisor. We know from research that employees who work in outstanding workplaces will still express considerable dissatisfaction with their worklife of they have an ineffective supervisor. We also know that an effective supervisor can make a poor workplace attractive for those who work for him or her. To learn more about this element click here.
3. WORKPLACE CULTURE: This element looks at the illusive concept of workplace ‘culture’ or the ‘feel’ of a workplace. The culture is particularly evident to new employees but is less so to longer-term staff. To learn more about this element click here.
4. WORK-LIFE BALANCE: As workplaces have become more demanding and stressful over the past decade, the balance between work and non-work has become more critical. To learn more about this element click here.
5. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS: Comparative levels of pay and benefits still remains a significant potential disatisfier. Research on High Performance organizations places level of pay and ‘pay for performance’ among the essential factors. To learn more about this element click here.
6. JOB/WORK DESIGN & STRUCTURE: The way work is put together can mean the difference between a boring job and one that is full of excitement, challenge and meaning. The use of teams as an organization structure foundation is another hallmark of High Performance Workplaces. We also expect our workplaces to be healthy and safe. To learn more about this element click here.
7. LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT: The opportunity to learn, to grow and develop new skills and take on new challenges is highly valued by many employees and an essential component of success for many workplaces, particularly those with complex technologies. To learn more about this element click here.
8. WORKPLACE DIVERSITY: Employers everywhere are now being challenged to make their workplaces attractive to a very diverse population. The capacity to be respectful of gender, religion, race, language, culture, ability, sexual orientation, and other factors has become part of the basic ‘price of admission’ to “Workplace of Choice” status. To learn more about this element click here.
HOW THIS WEBSITE WORKS TO HELP YOU MAKE AN ASSESSMENT
This website is set up to be used by an Employer or an Assessor-Consultant or both. Click here to get an overview of the assessment framework. This framework serves as the anchor model for the entire assessment process. If you need to know why you are doing what your doing at any time in the process, come back to this basic framework.
There are two high level tools to give a quick overview assessment of an employer carried out by either the Owner-Manager or an Assessor-Consultant. This overview will direct the assessment to specific areas of further inquiry as follows..
- JOIN.... IF THE MAIN CONCERN IS GETTING PEOPLE TO JOIN THE COMPANY AS EVIDENCED BY VACANT JOBS, COSTLY RECRUITMENT, LOW RESPONSE RATES TO ADS ETC. …click here to find more tools to assess your recruitment, selection, outreach efforts..
- STAY.... IF THE MAIN CONCERN IS GETTING PEOPLE TO STAY WITH THE COMPANY AS EVIDENCED BY HIGH TURNOVER…click here to find more tools to assess your company as a desirable place to work.
- PERFORM.... IF THE MAIN CONCERN IS GETTING PEOPLE TO PERFORM AT AN ACCEPTABLE LEVEL AS EVIDENCED BY DEFECTS, ERRORS, CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS, HIGH COSTS, …click here to find more tools to assess your performance management efforts ..
- ADAPT....IF THE MAIN CONCERN IS GETTING PEOPLE TO ADAPT TO CHANGE THAT IMPACT THE COMPANY AS EVIDENCED BY DECLINE IN SALES, PROFITS, MARKET SHARE, AND OTHER INDICATORS OF CHANGE…click here to find more tools to assess your efforts at managing change..
Once you have finished the diagnosis you then move on to making a decision about what you will do to move your organization forward..
DIAGNOSIS SUMMARY AND ACTION PLAN.... For a diagnosis summary format and an action-planning format click here.
Then you implement your plan.. for guidance on managing change and tracking the change process click here.
