S7 E37-40. (Engaging Your People for Success) Nurture Your People to Success by Removing Internal Bias with Lisa Askwith

S7 E37-40. (Engaging Your People for Success) Nurture Your People to Success by Removing Internal Bias

Lisa Askwith- Engaging Your People for Success- IBGR.Network...The World of Business at Your Fingertips


Nurture Your People to Success by Removing Internal Bias- 4 Part series


INTRODUCTION- Part 1- Break down Traditional Hierarchies so your people can succeed

Part 2- Nurture Your People- 11 Steps to a Fair, Bias Free Promotion Process

Part 3- Ensure Bias is removed from your People ratings

Part 4- Nurture your people and remove bias with Formal Training Programs



Introduction- Ep37- Break down Traditional Hierarchies so your people can succeed

Becoming a company that has a clear focus on developing a culture of fairness, one that looks out for its people, and does not play favorites, is key to engaging the new value based workforce. You can capitalise on this and allow your people engagement and business results to soar! A focus on removing bias and how to structure it in your company to ensure it stays away, will allow your people to really engage with your business and provide unexpected yet beneficial ideas and results, which are critical for your future business success. Plus it’s a core part of your people engagement tool kit. Something you can actually utilize in many cases at very lost cost with a high level of positive rewards.

Businesses are run by Hierarchies, and this leads to 2 key issues;

• Unconscious Bias in Decision making
• Conscious Bias in Decision making

Both of these can lead to negative cultures forming and your key people going elsewhere to succeed and grow.

Promotions are a  key area in your business where bias can flourish. You need to prevent this so you can make the entire system work for you, not against you.

Focus on your top performers and how they can be promoted in your business in a way that benefits everyone, upwards or laterally……and that means transparency and competence, not connections and closed door discussions. Remove the Bias!
    
Steps to achieve this.

1-Recognizing your company needs and purpose to identify the type of staff and culture you want for success….without this you will spend a lot of time in order to fail. This is a key first step to get right, you need to really understand where you are going as a business in order to make it work.

2-Top grading of employees and how to achieve it – note more than 1 manager must agree on a rating to avoid bias

3-Communication of grading’s and how to deliver

4-Training of leadership team to be accountable for the company philosophy

5-Ensuring grading’s, and corresponding achievement criteria are open, transparent and accessible to all

6-Develop options and opportunities so you can retain staff while they are progressing/ waiting for the next opportunity.

7-Make promotions and progression a part of your living culture, by reward, recognition, different opportunities etc

Subscribe for free to the entire season of Engaging Your People for Success Subscribe

Most businesses and leaders need help to really see this key area with ‘fresh eyes’. If you have reached this point do contact me directly at lisa@apexbrs.com for a free no obligation discussion of just where you are and how we may be able to help.

Tags; strategy and culture, aligning culture and strategy, strategy implementation, strategy vs culture, culture and strategy, business strategy, strategic planning, strategy software, humantelligence alignment, organizational culture, cultural change, strategy cascade, strategy, culture, align team goals, objectives, technology, people, training, continuous improvement


Part 2- Ep 38 Part 2- Nurture Your People- 11 Steps to a Fair, Bias free Promotion Process

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How do the best leaders drive perceptions of fairness in performance appraisals and promotions?

1. Leaders care not only about employees’ professional growth but also about their personal growth.

2. Give people the tools and opportunities to own and define their professional future, rather than deciding it themselves.

3. Performance ratings are transparent to all- they are driven/agreed by multiple leaders to remove bias and have rigorous behavioral and metrics areas for assessment.

4. People Growth is encouraged above and beyond the organizational chart.

5. Actively mentor people.

6. Ensure your leaders are trained as Coaches

7. Opportunities for exposure to senior leadership for everyone.

8. Encourage cross-department shadowing for people to develop new skills, and consider a career change in a new department.

9. Embrace cross functional working teams- Solutions and Innovation

10. Let people show their true selves.
 
11. Maximize human potential.

Subscribe for free to the entire season of Engaging Your People for Success Subscribe

Most businesses and leaders need help to really see this key area with ‘fresh eyes’. If you have reached this point do contact me directly at lisa@apexbrs.com for a free no obligation discussion of just where you are and how we may be able to help.

Tags; strategy and culture, aligning culture and strategy, strategy implementation, strategy vs culture, culture and strategy, business strategy, strategic planning, strategy software, humantelligence alignment, organizational culture, cultural change, strategy cascade, strategy, culture, align team goals, objectives, technology, people, training, continuous improvement

Part 3, EP 39- Ensure Bias is removed from your People ratings

How transparent and consistent this system is across your company is the key to your success.
 
For instance, if you have a sales professional you would have grading’s for things like
                          
Sales vs target, then you would have a scale within that grading, such as; a 1-5 scale
 
1-     Not achieving- 80% or new starter
2-     Competent but underachieving- 90%
3-     Satisfactory- 100%
4-     Highly Competent- 105% of target
5-     Excelling- 110% of target

Transparently measuring Behavioural parameters are key to an engaged workforce

1-5 scale to keep it consistent with metrics;
 
1-     Not achieving- not able to demonstrate or new starter
2-     Competent but underachieving- Attempted but not consistent
3-     Satisfactory- Regularly works with others across the business in a supportive way
4-     Highly Competent- Has gone beyond the call of duty to display
5-     Excelling- Regularly goes above and beyond to work with others and ensure their success


2 key points need to be included when these scales are rated, to ensure you can remove bias and nurture your people, these are;
 
1-     How the top performers are selected
2-     How the leadership team jointly participates in this selection even though they may be in other areas.

A fair and robust system allows you to easily demonstrate to your people where they can focus to target their career growth, without resentment or negativity arising. In fact it makes the whole conversation much easier, than not having a system in place.

Subscribe for free to the entire season of Engaging Your People for Success Subscribe

Most businesses and leaders need help to really see this key area with ‘fresh eyes’. If you have reached this point do contact me directly at lisa@apexbrs.com for a free no obligation discussion of just where you are and how we may be able to help.

Tags; strategy and culture, aligning culture and strategy, strategy implementation, strategy vs culture, culture and strategy, business strategy, strategic planning, strategy software, humantelligence alignment, organizational culture, cultural change, strategy cascade, strategy, culture, align team goals, objectives, technology, people, training, continuous improvement


Part 4- EP 40- Nurture your people and remove bias with Formal Training Programs
 

Stopping promotions being based on connections may not be at the top of your key issues right now, but as you can see if you don’t put the structure in to support and ensure that promotions are based on performance, you will allow bias to enter into the process and this can quite literally destroy your business. Think about this as a form of business insurance, you would not forget to insure your built assets, so don’t forget to insure your people by giving them the right tools to make your business be the best it can be. In this instance one of those tools  is a robust structure for removing bias leading to promotions by giving your team of people a strong, and supported performance based development and assessment pathway.         
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The other key tool to achieve this is a great piece of synergy- Your Learning & Development package. We know the companies that have the loyalty of their people have readily available and regular training available to them. Like the performance ratings, you need to also ensure this is far, accessible and transparent for all. Adding the Formal Training programs to your Development and Career pathways is key for removing Bias by breaking down barriers, sharing knowledge, and pulling apart regressive hierarchies. Plus you get the added benefit of more engaged and capable staff. It is a massive win-win!!
 
What You Need to Do

1. Know your growth plan and create future organizational chart that focuses on positions
2. Create future position descriptions - focus on job demands
3. Continue to Instill a Performance Management system that promotes based on performance and details performance expectations, progress
4. Create a job scorecard with success metrics- build out your package
5. Create Future Position Descriptions
6. Create future organizational chart - focus positions;
7. Create future position descriptions - focus on job demands
8. Create a Training Plan for the new Positions- Formal classroom for technical, human, and conceptual
9. Formalize Training;

     Technical Skills - driven by technology and position descriptions;
    Human Skills - driven by management requirements and teamwork;
    Conceptual Skills - driven by ownership demands of strategic thinking and innovation

As you are preparing for the future you want to use as much knowledge and experience as possible, so while you work though these key 9 points with your leadership team, do not underestimate the value of forming cross functional working teams to help you develop some of the 9 points, particularly those around new roles and needs.

Subscribe for free to the entire season of Engaging Your People for Success Subscribe

Most businesses and leaders need help to really see this key area with ‘fresh eyes’. If you have reached this point do contact me directly at lisa@apexbrs.com for a free no obligation discussion of just where you are and how we may be able to help.

Tags; strategy and culture, aligning culture and strategy, strategy implementation, strategy vs culture, culture and strategy, business strategy, strategic planning, strategy software, humantelligence alignment, organizational culture, cultural change, strategy cascade, strategy, culture, align team goals, objectives, technology, people, training, continuous improvement


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Written by Lisa Askwith
Director of ApexBRS | ApexBRS, Regional Director of See Global Media, Chair of  EGN Singapore, and Associate Professor Cambridge Corporate University | At the Age of Change, providing the HR component of the Global Executive MBA and BBA. Lisa has worked for some of the largest companies in the world and successfully led restructures and change management programs in order to improve the bottom line through engaging the people for success, while developing exceptional leaders who can make a positive impact on Culture and long term business sustainability.

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