Hewitt Quarterly - Vol. 5 Iss. 2 - Creating a High Performance Workforce

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Hewitt Asia Pacific

Hewitt Quarterly Asia Pacific
is made possible through the combined skills and experience of Hewitt consultants from across the Asia-Pacific region.

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editor-hqap@hewitt.com

One of the most striking features of Hewitt's recent Best Employers in Asia 2007 survey was how consistent The Best are in their strategies for creating a high performance workforce. Andrew Bell, Global Head of Hewitt's Talent and Organization Consulting Practice, explains exactly what The Best do, and why.

"Asia is showing the fastest economic growth of any region in the world. You might think every company has the potential for success, but the evidence is that those companies performing best and most consistently are those that create a high performance culture," says Bell.

The Best do this by:

Building accountability everywhere in the business;

Making sure the people they depend on for high performance are valued; and

Managing opportunity so the strongest performers are in key jobs, and every job provides the chance for employees to develop their skills.

The Best Use Six Distinct People Practices

High Achievement Goal Setting
"First they set high goals at all levels of the organization. This is the case in 86 percent of The Best versus 59 percent of The Rest. Second, the goals that have been set are understood, accepted, and supported by the employees. This is true of 93 percent of The Best, compared to 73 percent of The Rest," says Bell. CEOs at The Best all lead by example and communicate their high expectations throughout the organization. Jo Reinhard, Regional Project Leader of Hewitt's Best Employer in Asia 2007 study elaborates on this. "For them, it's more important to set aggressive goals and come close to achieving them rather than set less demanding objectives and over-achieve." Three-quarters of CEOs in the Best Employers say they prefer it that way. Only half of their counterparts in The Rest think like that.

In The Rest, Human Resources departments often set their goals at too low a level.

Reinhard explains, "HR teams in The Rest say their largest contributions are in hiring the right people, developing reward systems that motivate employees, encouraging positive relationships between employees and management, and off ering training that builds employees' skills and knowledge. The problem with this is that employees and managers within these businesses see such goals as a baseline, rather than as something to aspire to."

Performance Coaching
At The Best, employees have confidence their leaders will be able to provide them with effective and fair guidance on their performance. This includes active coaching and personal appraisal. A total of 90 percent of employees at The Best were happy with the guidance they had received or expected to receive, compared to only 52 percent at The Rest. In order to give guidance to others, managers need to know what they are talking about in the first place. In The Best, nearly 50 percent of managers commit to meeting with employees at least once per quarter to discuss their performance. In The Rest, less than a third make such a promise.

Reinhard says, "In The Best, not only is this commitment made, but it's honored and often exceeded. In The Best, around 50 percent of employees report that they discuss their performance and receive feedback from their manager at least once a week or even daily. In The Rest, less than 30 percent of employees have such conversations daily or weekly."

Growth Built into Every Job
The study also found 85 percent of leaders at The Best felt they had the tools and training to help their teams, while only just over half at The Rest - 52 percent - concurred. At The Best, 81 percent of employees were happy their managers were giving eff ective advice and help on improving their skills, versus 53 percent at The Rest.

	Reviews and Rewards that Create a Sense of a Winning Team The study also found 81 percent of employees in *The Best* feel their organizations are eff ective in recognizing and rewarding good performance and so create a sense of a winning team moving forward together. Only 44 percent of employees in *The Rest* felt this.
	Transparent Information *Best Employers* also encourage transparency in the process of appraisal and guidance. Significantly less than half of all employees in *The Rest* report HR do a good job in helping them understand what the company expects of them. Only 40 percent of employees in *The Rest* feel HR is effectively helping them understand pay decisions and strategy.
	Eemployees Directed Towards Further Critical Skills *Best Employers* reward managers who support employees in developing their skills. Nearly all (95 percent) do this, compared to only half of *The Rest*.

Why Do Many Companies Struggle To Produce Their Desired Performance?
"All companies have some kind of performance management process or system but the data show there is a significant difference between having the framework and actually using it to drive real performance improvement," explains Bell.

The table below offers a snapshot of attitudes at The Best and The Rest.

"Around 60 percent of managers in The Rest don't believe they are rewarded for developing high performers. Why then would they bother?" says Bell.

Senior leaders at The Best are clearer about performance expectations, and the measures they set to deliver long-term shareholder value are more aligned throughout the organization.

In The Best, creation of high performance is a business management process, not an HR-driven one. Unless this capability is in the DNA of the organization, HR on its own will simply not be able to deliver it.

EOS (Employee Opinion Survey) items asked of managers only	Best Employers	The Rest	Difference

I am rewarded for developing high performers	77 percent	41 percent	36 percent

Our review and rewards systems give me all the autonomy I need to recognize both solid performers and high performers	80 percent	45 percent	35 percent

I am well equipped to explain our reward structure to our employees	82 percent	48 percent	34 percent

I have the tools and training to guide employees in the aggressive goal-setting we need to produce positive results	85 percent	52 percent	33 percent

I have the tools and training to provide employees with opportunities to grow in their current job	85 percent	52 percent	32 percent

I have the tools and training required to help employees improve their performance	85 percent	54 percent	32 percent

I have the training to discuss the skills each employee must develop for future success in this organization	84 percent	54 percent	30 percent