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Recent
studies have provided decision makers with significant opportunities to
incorporate measures of coaching effectiveness using leading versus
trailing indicators. One of
these most recent studies actually has been conducted for over 25 years
by the Gallup organization. (http://www.gallup.com).
This
series of surveys created a link between employee attitudes and
perception with the bottom-line performance of their organization.
Think about how critical an issue this is for coaching?
Clearly what the report establishes is that for an organization
to perform well financially it must first perform well at the front-line
employee level.
[This was also validated through work at Sears.
Therefore, we in coaching find ourselves in the driver's seat as
what we do is aimed directly at these “leading indicators.”
The study was furthered by information from Curt Coffman and Jim
Harter, PhD who described “The relationship between employee
perceptions and business outcomes” in an article entitled A
Hard Look at Soft Numbers.
[Now,
out of print, however
this
material later became the basis for FIRST
BREAK ALL THE RULES.]
In
the article, Coffman and Harter summarized the “12” questions that
could be asked of employees identifying their perceptions about their
company and workplace climate. It also linked the answers
employees gave to the questions directly correlated to financial
outcomes. In my opinion,
this is a clear convergence of soft and hard outcomes. The 12 questions are copyrighted by the Gallup Organization
and not reproduced here, however I have identified twelve issues that
correlate directly to those questions.
These 12 issues can be used by the practicing coach in an
organization, as well as in a coaching interaction to more clearly
outline organizational issues that frame the context of the workplace.
The
issues are in no particular order of importance, in fact, in my research
I find that the importance is always user defined.
Some of these issues will be very important to others and not so
important to other people. However
the key issues are important and if the workplace is supplying high
scores in those areas, the worker’s perception of the workplace
climate will obviously be high. What
the Gallup work proves, is that when these issues are perceived to be
generally evident in the workplace, that the organization, division or
team will cause financial performance to increase as a result of this
perception in climate.
In
other studies, notably from Hay/McBer, climate has been shown to be
responsible for no less than 30% of organizational performance. One
further note is that 70% of climate is explained by leadership/management
style issues. In a study by Ernst & Young in 1998, Measures that
matter, non-financial factors were shown to affect 35% of shareholder
valuation.
Again, we find that coaching and coaching systems can provide significant
influence, when successful, on organizational performance.
As
coaches, we understand the ability to improve bottom-line performance
through increased performance resulting from a myriad of personal and
workplace issues. Clearly
this and other related research identifies these leading indicators to the rest of the world.
The following issues are summarized from the 12 Gallup questions
listed in the article mentioned above by Coffman and Harter.
1.
Clear
Expectations
People
need to know what is expected of them.
Different people require different methods of clarification and
structure. However, all in
all, clarifying expectations is a major hurdle both in the coaching
interaction (STEP 1) and in the workplace.
2.
Tangibles
Do
people have what they need to do their work well. The proper environment, tools and workplace to accomplish or
what is expected of them.
3.
Job
Match
In
my view, this is critical and one of Deming’s 5 factors of
performance. Did the
company properly select, orient, train and match the employee with the
job they are expected to do.
4.
Recognition
Does
the company recognize the employee in a way that is consistent with the
employees needs for recognition and acknowledgement.
We know people are different, what works for one, won’t have
value to another. The
ability of the organization to recognize employee involvement,
achievement and contribution are essential to promoting high employee
perception of the workplace.
5.
Caring
Supervision
Another
issue that is sometimes taken for granted.
What seems like care to one person (providing a paycheck for
work) is not perceived as caring by others.
Herzberg noted in his theory of motivation that money is simply
not enough to motivate high performance.
Money is important, but there are other issues—such as caring
supervision—that are even more essential.
In the study by Gallup, they found that front-line supervisors
were the key. If your
supervisor, the person having direct influence on your job duties cared
about you in ways that were meaningful to you, your perception and
satisfaction in the workplace was improved.
6.
Positive
Development
Encouragement
towards your potential; support towards improving your position and
positive steps taken—regularly-- on behalf of your progress are key
success factors for this issue.
7.
Feedback
Do
you receive timely and constructive about your contribution.
Are you able to act as your own authority in determining your
performance and is the information and knowledge that you need from
reviewing or measurement available to you on a regular basis?
8.
Opinion’s
Count
Does
the company take into consideration your ideas? Does the company solicit your opinion in matter that counts
in your workplace? Is there
clear evidence that your opinion and the opinion of others—matters?
9.
Connected
goals
Does
the company’s goals allow me to feel good about the alignment of my
own personal goals. Is the
purpose of the company consistent with my own?
10.
Shared
vision
This
is a little misleading, in that the Gallup question has to do with
everyone being committed to doing quality work.
Yet, I felt that when people are committed to doing their fair
share of quality work that shared vision exists.
11.
Friend
@ Work
I
used the @ sign to indicate a changing workplace and that in light of
our technological advances, our “friend” could be non-resident.
Friendship at work is important to people and no wo(man) is an
island, even in the workplace. Because we spend so much time at work, we need to establish
personal relationships with our peers.
In today’s world, this is fraught with difficulty and innuendo.
12.
Opportunity
People
need to have the feeling that they have the opportunity to learn, grow,
develop and move onto things that make a difference to them. Some want promotion, others freedom, less responsibility and
others want to contribute. Whatever
it means to have opportunity, each person’s perception of the
workplace improves and consequently the bottom-line performance moves
along with it—if people perceive opportunity.
These
issues present an opportunity of their own to be incorporated into the
coaching interaction and through that interaction into the workplace.
Perception really pays. Leading
indicators as represented by these so-called soft issues are precursors
to bottom-line performance. My
favorite quote has always been one I thought up years ago in graduate
school while daydreaming…
“If you want to hit a moving target, you have
to lead it!”
Mike
Jay, Master Business Coach
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