Blog Archives
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Wall Street Journal says "...performance reviews destroy morale, kill teamwork and hurt the bottom line...".
By Dave McCaffrey - Thursday December 11, 2008Do you do REviews or PREviews at your company? Are you still trying to predict the future from past performance? How is that working for you? You lookback and see ALL that happened, but you don't know WHY it happened, right? Performance REviews: see only what happened yesterday , not why. Performance PREviews: see what will happen tomorrow , based on an employees skill set today. The Wall Street Journal says Instead of stimulating corporate effectiveness, they [performance reviews] lead to just-in-case and cover-your-behind activities that reduce the amount of time that could be put to productive use Managing employee performance is like trying to catch water with a sieve. A REview of past... -
I Want Candy (at Lower Prices)........The Vendor defender rebuts
By Tom Britten - Wednesday October 1, 2008September 23, 2008, 10:30 am By Catherine Rampell When I joined The New York Times, a couple of things surprised me. One was the collegiality of the newsroom (lets face it, everyone expects thisplace to be a snake pit). Another was that a vending machine candy bar costs $1.25. Yes, $1.25. At other places Ive worked, the same item typically would have been 75 cents. Thats an increase of 67 percent! Ive been wondering if the mark-up is simply because of higher New York prices; before coming to The Times, I had worked mostly in Washington. (By the way, Im temporarily working from the newspapers Washington bureau, where a candy bar costs 75 cents.) My leading theory, though, is that unlike most vending machines, those in The Timess New... -
Chapter III: What IS the connection between productivity, turnover and job match?
By Dave McCaffrey - Tuesday September 30, 2008A study published by Harvard Business Review indicated that normal performance indicators (education, experience, sex, gender, race, age) are NOT what cause a person to fit their job and become a superior performer with an increase in productivity and a decrease in turnover.The study (360,000 employees over 20 years in 14 industries) concluded the factors that cause a person to fit their job are how well the respective person matches the needs of each job with regards to: mental capabilities, behavioral traits and occupational interests. As we all know, success in any job is related to how well the person does the job. However, the measurement of success in any job (sales volume and/or profit are commonly used measures along with... -
To Ms. Marianne Hind, Ann Michaels and Assoc. re: comment on performance management
By Dave McCaffrey - Wednesday September 17, 2008Thank you for your recognition that Employee performance management is an important tool successfully used by best in class companies. As you state, and I agree, many best in class companies also use objective measures of employee performance as well, including mystery shopping programs. I also agree that when used correctly and positively, this type of program can objectively measure employee performance on an ongoing basis, allowing managers to provide feedback and additional training where needed as issues arise versus waiting for a performance review.While mystery shopping will measure employee performance in an objective manner, it cannot tell the company WHY the employee is not doing the job properly. Was it a training issue? Is... -
Are Performance Reviews an endangered species? (Chapter II)
By Dave McCaffrey - Tuesday September 16, 2008Last quarter we discussed the fact that while employee performance management has been a mainstay of most organizations, the process isfraught with imprecision and dissatisfaction. Rather than serving as opportunity for providing direction, growth and alignment, Performance Managementis more often seen as a necessary evil. An Aberdeen Group study indicated there isclearly a disconnect between the concept of performance management and its successful execution, since 95% of study reported giving performance reviews but only 11% felt the reviews actually improved performance levels. In our June post we discussedthe two key performance criteriathat definedBest in Class Companieswith regards to performance management: Improved bottom line... -
$800,000.00 Free Vend May Point to an Opportunity?
By Tom Britten - Wednesday September 3, 2008MTA (New Yorks Metropolitan Transportation Authority) recently announced that they would hike fares by .25 cents because vending machines can only dispense dollar coins and quarters. This has Big Apple straphangers up in arms (no pun intended) saying It is not acceptable to say the vending machines made us do it. Following closely behind this news, is an admission by MTA that a software glitch has allowed vending machines to dispense free train tickets in the amount of $800,000.00.This example suggests to me that outsourcing opportunities for the unattended sale of non-food and beverage products may exist. Many hi-tech savvy, full line vending companies could do better than MTA in managing the process of unattended sales of train tickets... -
Are your top performers 'looking around'?
By Dave McCaffrey - Wednesday July 30, 2008According to a new study by Leadership IQ , 47% of high performers are actively looking for other jobs (theyre posting and submitting resumes, and even going on interviews). While its terrible that almost half of high performers are thinking about quitting, whats perhaps even worse is that low performers want to stay. Only 18% of low performing employees are actively seeking other jobs, and 25% of middle performers are actively looking around. (DHM note: why would they be seeking other jobs; they've found a home!They have figured out how to stay below the radar and collect a check for minimal contribution. How long can you afford non revenue producing employees that usually make up 80% of your total workforce?). Leadership IQ... -
News Paper responds to "Garage Vendor" counter point
By Tom Britten - Thursday July 24, 2008Dear Tom Britten: Gosh, I didnt mean to demean the mom & pops of the vending industry. I try to choose words carefully, but maybe I bungled it by using the words of the vendor this particular time. I think his larger point was that he believes it is unfair competition when some vendors dont get their businesses licensed and insured. It is overhead they dont pay, which he does. Also, lacking insurance can have devastating consequences for a lot of people if something goes wrong. This can happen in any business. It might be easier to skip these costly legalities if the business operates under the radar, say from a garage. That doesnt mean that every garage-based vendor does this. Thanks for sending me your counterpoint. It made me think... -
In defense of "Garage Vendors"
By Tom Britten - Tuesday July 22, 2008A portion of a recent article in the Fort Meyers, Florida News-Press described Garage Vendors as the unlicensed, uninsured, unaffiliated bane of the vending machine industry. To portray these hard working men and women in this way is unfair and in the vast majority of instances entirely unwarranted.The term Garage Vendor is a vending industry term used to describe a small vending company that operates out of their garage or a small rental storage facility. Other industries often use the term mom & pop operation.Most of these companies are family businesses with only 1 or 2 maybe 3 people working long, hard hours desperately trying to compete with larger vending companies who have advantages that they dont have or may never have. They have... -
Lower your prices !
By Tom Britten - Friday July 18, 2008Youve tried everything else.. Try lowering your prices Before you accuse me of being totally off my rocker, read on: Mr. Client, I know you have read all the same stuff that I have about employers helping their employees cope with the dramatic rise in prices at the gas pump. Some employers are giving stipends based on commuter mileage, offering work at home Fridays and company sponsored car polls. I was wondering if there was a way I could help you help your people and I came up with an idea I would like to explore with you. What if you agreed to a reduction in commissions and I agreed to a corresponding reduction in the retail price of vended food and beverages? Not everywhere, but, at some accounts this could be a win-win. As...
