How Do You Get the ‘Best’ Out of Someone?

I’m reminded of a very old Gatorade commercial with the words;

“It’s not where you’re from – it’s where you’re going,

It’s not what you drive – it’s what drives you,

It’s not what’s on you – it’s what’s in you,

It’s not what you think – it’s what you know.”

As businesses around the world continue to deal with the on-going global financial crisis, have business owners and managers forgotten the art of getting the best out of their people. Even in times of economic hardship work shouldn’t be a chore, but should actually be enjoyable, but it seems too many organisations are in such a ‘rush’ these days that they’ve forgotten to look after their most vital resource – their human resource.

Of course the first assumption is that organisations are making sure they recruit the right people for the right jobs, where they actually spend the required time assessing what each job function should be and the person they need to fill it (before they fill it) - something, that as crazy as it sounds, doesn’t get enough attention, where it’s assumed job specs are the same today as they were last year, which simply may not be true.

But once you place the right person in the job, it’s your responsibility to get the best out of them, making the job and their career development an enjoyable experience for them, where you not only utilise their skills to the full but develop that latent potential that’s just waiting to shine.

But as with many things in life – it’s easier to write or say the words than to implement them, which is where so many organisations go wrong.

What you need to get the best out of someone are the following;

1)     The right person in the right job;

2)     The right person in the right organisation, where the organisational culture and leadership allow the employee to ‘feel at home’ and develop without fear;

3)     The time to get to know them – what makes them ‘tick’, what drives them, how best to manage and communicate with them (an area that is too often forgotten and where the problems begin).

4)     Don’t assume that what drives you, drives everybody else;

5)     A culture which is open and honest, and where employees can have two way conversations with management about the organisation, their job and their future;

6)     Not expecting everyone to be the same and treating each individual as exactly that – an individual;

7)     Accept everyone has bad days;

8)     That “an idea can turn to dust or magic depending on the talent that rubs against it,” (Bill Bernbach); and

9)     “If you haven’t got the time to do it right, when will you find the time to do it over?” (Jeffrey Mayer).

There seems to be too much talk about doing the right thing in business but not enough action to make it happen – it appears to me that most leaders and managers can tell you the right things to do, but are just bad at implementing them. Maybe because they don’t have all the skills or confidence to make it happen or it’s the ‘time card’ where people don’t have enough time (to do the right thing) or most importantly a reluctance to ask for help - since as Stephen Covey said, “one of the few things that can’t be recycled is wasted time” and in my experience ‘we’ are wasting too much of it.

The outcome of all this is that organisations are not getting the best out of their employees, and in the process de-motivating them as well – where work becomes a chore, no longer enjoyable and simply a means to pay the bills.

Thus keeping your head down and just getting on with it can be the order of the day. But this should be a concern to leaders at any time, but especially during a time when organisations are looking for innovative ideas to improve organisational performance and where the best place to get them is often your own people. If you haven’t spent the time to create an organisational culture and leadership style that gets the best out of your people then you are simple losing out and regardless of your bottom-line are not optimising organisational performance.

So if you assume you made the right decision in recruiting the right people, then trust your judgement and now spend the time to create the environment where you can get the best out of them and they can get the best out of themselves – you (and your shareholders) will be very pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Remember “the biggest mistake you can make is continually fearing that you will make one.”

Finding the 'Real Value' Behind the Simple Job Description

Peter Grant (1997) found that “many employees complain that their job descriptions do not accurately reflect the expectations management has of them. In a study, 200 non-managerial employees, both permanent and temporary, were surveyed in 60 different organisations. 85% of them said that their job descriptions were quite deficient as a tool for helping them learn what they were supposed to do for the organisation. Most said their job descriptions were incomplete, vague, or both. About 70% said that key elements of their jobs were left out of their job descriptions,” (p.9)

The job description is extremely valuable to all organisations, regardless of size and maturity, but only if developed and implemented correctly. The job description links directly to the corporate strategy, through the training and development of the human resource, performance management, performance appraisals, succession planning and impacts directly on the future growth of the organisation.

A job description goes way beyond a simple list of tasks and should always include;

1. A clear description of the primary objective of the job function.

2. A list of the key accountabilities of the job function; where these must be clear and unambiguous.

3. The key indicators that the incumbent will use to measure how successfully they are performing their job and how effectively they are managing their areas of accountability - where their key indicators are directly linked to the strategic objectives of the organisation.

When developed correctly each employee, at all levels, will clearly own and understand the impact they have on the overall strategic goals of the organisation, through their key accountabilities and key indicators.

An effective job description will always be supported by a person specification, which clearly identifies the core skills and experience that is required to perform the job function at a satisfactory level. The skills and experience can be managerial, behavioural and technical, and will highlight the ‘minimum’ qualifications (both formal and informal) and specific practical experience required. Thus the person specification not only aids the recruitment function, but links to career development and succession planning.

Job descriptions are developed from the top down, starting with the Board of Directors and rolled down through the organisation. This simple task, if done well, will often highlight immediate development needs throughout the organisation, even at the Executive level, where the incumbent does not have some of the specific skills required for their current job. Rather than seeing this as a ‘threat’ it should be seen as an ‘opportunity’ to make sure all your people, at all levels, have the skills needed to complete their functions efficiently – guaranteeing in the process an immediate improvement in organisational performance and growth.

On a point of caution, there is often a temptation when reviewing job descriptions, to look at what the person, in the job, does now – and justifying it – rather than looking at what the ‘job’ should entail and how this might change in the short-term. You then develop job descriptions and person specifications around what you want from the job, rather than what you have in the person.

As can be seen, developed correctly, the ‘humble’ job description, supported by a well thought out person specification, directly impacts key elements of organisational performance, including;

Corporate Strategy
Performance Management
Appraisals
Career Development
Succession Planning
Recruitment
Training and Development
Organisational Development

Mike Marino (2005) suggests that “job descriptions are an integral part of staff management, yet tend to be glossed over, probably because many managers simply don’t have an accurate understanding of their importance and uses,” (p.26). So it might be worth finding those job descriptions you have somewhere, blowing off the dust, and viewing them in a new light. A well developed job description will have an immediate impact on organisational development.

References

Grant, P.C. (1997). Job Descriptions: What’s Missing. Industrial Management, Vol. 39, Issue 6, p.9-13.

Marino, M. (2005). Understanding the importance of job descriptions: How to put them in writing. Public Relations Tactics, Vol. 12, Issue 2, p.26.

(This topic was requested by Bobbi Cochius at Global Warming Pty Ltd)