Mondo Search/performance

Building Resilience at Work

Tag: performance

Building Resilience at Work

Posted on by Simone Allan

During these unprecedented times, it can be tempting to sit it out and freeze any decisions for your team.  Depending on your industry – as some have most definitely been hit harder than others – it might very well be an excellent opportunity to review your business strategy and the team that you have in place to achieve it.

Have you noticed that some of your people are in a constant state of overwhelm and are less productive than usual?  Or potentially you’ve noticed that some members of your team have risen to the challenge and are looking for opportunities to improve the business through the COVID crisis?

Perhaps your decision to freeze any staffing decision making is causing unfair stress on your highest performing team members? 

We have not had a recession in 28 years so we have found finding an Aussie case study not so relevant so we have included this inspirational story:

Case Study:

“Todd Sachse, of Sachse Construction, a $120 million general contractor, made a bold move in 2009 as the 2008 crash hit.  He decided to buck the trend of the industry and to not downsize in the shrinking market.  He believed that the recession would not last forever, so he viewed it as an opportunity to achieve two objectives.  He wanted to hire new talent that wouldn’t otherwise be available. Plus, he wanted to maintain the vast majority of his staff when the recession ended. (…) As a result, Sachse Construction grew 200% during and coming out of the great recession.  During the same time, many other general contractors went out of business or shrank to less than half their previous size.” pg 6, Rocket Fuel, Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters, Benbella Books Inc 2006

Now is a similar time!  Now is the time to make those hard calls. Now is the time to look for incredible talent. We are seeing some incredible people, who at no fault of their own are out looking for a new career opportunity. They are ready and willing to make a HUGE contribution and are open to contracting so you as an Employer can try before you decide to make a long term hire.

Wouldn’t it be good to look back on these COVID times as a time you made smart hiring decisions that led to amazing outcomes?

by Zoe Shacklady

For more information contact Simone Allan, Director at Mondo Search on 1300 737 917 or email: simone@mondosearch.com.au.

Copyright:
The above is the intellectual property of Mondo Search Pty Ltd. None of the information provided may be copied or reproduced in part or in full without the prior written permission of a director of Mondo Search Pty Ltd

 

Performance Appraisals Are Like Flossing Your Teeth! – Done Regularly They Can Prevent Decay – Corporate Decay!

Posted on by Simone Allan

 

Not looked forward to but worth the effort and input with loads of hidden benefits!

When we floss our teeth we do not enjoy the process much, it requires getting into some detail, dealing with hidden spots and challenges, yet the outcome can be more than just top line removal of plaque. Performance appraisals can set a good plan and path moving forward and clear out unspoken challenges, misconceptions and grievances that may have been lurking and held back by employees. Good performance appraisals also allow a platform for smart review of past performance and strategic talent mapping.

 

Performance reviews should be a DATE – 

 

Defined and documented, have set expectations of what will be discussed, past and future performance, team environment, support required, what management needs to stop, start and continue doing.  Documented for clear review every six months.

Adventurous- prepared to face the truth, open, transparent and challenge the status quo.

Timely – the key to a great performance review is keep them timely (best every six months as 12 months is too long to have to turn around and steer direction).

Encouraging – we all know that human beings respond best to a carrot rather than a stick. As a mother, I have observed how kids close down to too much negative feedback but thrive on positive input and encouragement. You can not be false and gushy as everyone knows when feedback is authentic and recent studies show that the old “sandwich” feedback process is not so powerful anymore as people become sceptical of the good feedback – feeling it is tokenism. Empathise –make time to talk about them as a person. What are their personal aspirations that they want to share, this will build a deeper understanding for managing and getting the best out of them. Show an interest in their whole life goals and how they can achieve them.

 

However acknowledge the good and the bad in a pragmatic and respectful way – share empathy and insights around yourself and how you tackled challenges like this in the past. Give them insights into how you tackled such challenges, show them that you have walked that path as well. It is well known that great leaders show empathy to the journey of a subordinate. They deeply listen and stretch people beyond what they think they are capable of. 

 

For more information contact Simone Allan, Director at Mondo Search on 1300 737 917 or email simone@mondosearch.com.au.