Jilaine Parkes, HR leader, speaker and author

When you’re scrolling through this month’s edition of Benefits Canada you’ll notice at the back, on page 75, there’s a special guest column called Measure Up which just so happens to be authored by Sprigg’s very own President and Founder Jilaine Parkes.

The main article considers if Canadian
companies still lack clear processes, road maps and
incentives to help their staff achieve and grow and, if so, what to do to combat these hurdles.

Pulling from 25 years of HR expertise – including several at the helm of the Sprigg talent  management software suite – Jilaine Parkes offers insights on why its important to use the best tools when creating a process of helpful and productive goal-orientated dialogue.

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The HR Gazette Editor praised our humble HR and leadership blog and our network of thought leaders who contribute posts:

“..Jilaine Parkes, President of Sprigg and well-known Talent Management expert, and (her) large network of HR aficionados – notably Nicole Bendaly, Jeff Waldman and Marc Belaiche – offer regular updates on performance, accountability, goal setting, recruitment, HR tech and more.”

Sprigg is certainly in good company. There are some big hitters in the site’s Top HR Content Profiles series. Other blogs and publications who’ve so far made it on to the list include: The HR Bartender, Achievers, TimBakerHR, SocialHRCamp, HRreview, TLNT, David Zinger and TalentCulture.

We’ll be seeing the guys from The HR Gazette in November at SocialHRCamp Toronto (#SHRC14). In the mean time watch out for upcoming interviews with Sprigg staff, profiles and announcements on the Gazette site.

Read the full review here.

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Goal-setting is particularly important as a mechanism for providing ongoing and year-round feedback.

By establishing and monitoring targets, you can give your employees real-time input on their performance while motivating them to achieve more.

So, how involved should you be in helping employees establish and achieve their goals?

Ownership: The key to Engagement and Accountability

Linda Hill, Business Administration Professor at the Harvard Business School and co-author of Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader, suggests “A manager’s job is to provide ‘supportive autonomy’ that’s appropriate to the person’s level of capability.”

The key is to be hands-on while giving your people the room they need to succeed on their own. Here are some principles to follow as you navigate how to best support your people in reaching their objectives.

Connecting Employee Goals to Company Goals

Small and medium sized businesses have different needs when it comes to communicating objectives from the top down. That’s why we offer options to switch cascading goals on and off. If you need to keep it simple and focused on individuals, no problem! If you can, however, connect employee goals with team goals and then those with larger company goals the benefits can be big! That’s because it helps employees understand the roles they play in company success and in turn means they’re more likely engaged and motivated. Hill explains that employees “need to understand the bigger picture to make those tradeoffs when things go wrong,” says Hill.

No matter what level the employee is at, he or she should be able to articulate exactly how his efforts feed into the broader company strategy and have the information to identify and tackle challenges and roadblocks.

Make Goals Challenging but Realistic

Employees are ultimately responsible for reaching their individual goals. They should, therefore, have a strong voice in setting them. This is a practice promoted by the performance management software – where, in addition to any team and corporate goals set by management, the employee works with their line manager to create challenging yet obtainable goals linked to activities and plans. We call these ‘stretch targets’.

Once you have explained objectives, ask your employee to draft goals that directly contribute to the organization’s mission.

After they have submitted initial goals, discuss whether their targets are both realistic and challenging enough. “Stretch targets emerge as a process of negotiation between the employee and the manager,” explains Srikant M. Datar, Arthur Lowes Dickinson Professor of Accounting at Harvard University.

Be careful to achieve the right balance though. Your team members could resent you if you insist on goals that are too challenging to accomplish. At the same time, you don’t want to aim too low; If you are overly cautious, you will miss opportunities and settle for mediocrity.

“When done well, stretch goals create a lot of energy and momentum in an organization,” explains Datar. But, when done incorrectly they “do not achieve the goal of motivating employees and helping them achieve better performance as they were designed to do,” he adds.

Create a plan for success

Once a goal is set, ask your employee to explain how they plan to meet it. Have him break goals down into tasks and set interim objectives, especially if it’s a large or long-term project.

Questions to consider include: What are the right milestones? What are the potential pitfalls and roadblocks and how do you plan to manage them?

Hill suggests that you “help your people understand who they are dependent on to achieve those goals.” Then problem solve with them on how to best influence those people to get the job done. Sprigg offers and promotes ways to reach out internal and external experts to help your employees reach their goals.

Monitor Progress

Staying on top of employee progress will help head off any troubles early on. “We often get problems because we don’t signal that we are partners in achieving goals,” says Hill.

Don’t wait for review time or the end of a project to check in. Review both long-term and short-term goals on a regular basis.

The practice of ongoing conversation, recognition and ‘just-in-time feedback’ is a core feature of Sprigg’s software and one our customers tell us makes a huge impact in helping to breed a performance-orientated culture.

Remember, even your high-performing employees need ongoing feedback and coaching. Ask your employee what type of monitoring and feedback would be most helpful to them, especially if the task is particularly challenging or something they is doing for the first time.

When things go wrong

Very few of us reach our goals without some road bumps along the way. Build relationships with employees so that they feel comfortable coming to you if and when problems arise. If your employee encounters an unforeseen obstacle, the goal may need to be reworked and reassessed. First, however, ask them to bring a potential solution to you so you can offer coaching and advice. If your employee’s attempts to solve the problem fail, you should be prepared to get further involved.

When goals aren’t met

There will be times, even with the best support, when employees fail to meet their targets.

Hill states “Hold people accountable. You can’t say ‘Gee, that’s too bad.’ You need to figure out what went wrong and why”.

Discuss with your employee what happened and what each of you think went wrong. If the problem was within their control, ask them to apply the possible solutions you’ve discussed, take another stab at reaching the goal, and check in with you more frequently. If it was something that was outside of their power or the goal was too ambitious, acknowledge the disappointment but don’t dwell on it. As Hill puts it: “Do the diagnosis, get the learning, and move on”.

It’s possible that you may have contributed to the problem. Be willing to reflect on your role in the failure. Were you too hands off and failed to check in frequently enough? Did you not review his work in a timely way? Have an open discussion about what you can do next time. “If you don’t hold yourself accountable, they’re going to have trouble with you,” says Hill.

Want to learn more? Contact Jilaine at jparkes@sprigghr.com call her on 888-797-5583

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This is an opportunity to ensure that everyone involved at the team (and senior management) level knows why the project needs to be carried out, understands what the objectives and measures of success are, and has a clear idea of who is doing what and with what resources.

The format of team charters varies from situation to situation and from team to team. Much of the value of the charter comes from thinking through and agreeing on the various elements.

Let’s take a look at just one process that can be used for creating a team charter.

Adapt the following elements to your team’s situation.

1. Context
2. Mission and Objectives
3. Composition and Roles
4. Authority and Boundaries
5. Resources and Support
6. Operations
7. Negotiation and Agreement

Read the full article at The HR Daily Advisor here

About Jilaine Parkes

Jilaine Parkes is a knowledgeable and passionate HR/Organization Development Professional with nearly 25 years’ combined experience in large, dynamic organizations and independent HR/OD consulting.

Want to learn more? Contact Jilaine at jparkes@sprigghr.com, call her at 888-797-5583

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Five basic factors in developing performance-oriented, goal-driven work culture to put your corporate ship sailing in the right direction, at maximum speed and with all hands are on deck.

1: It is no secret! Transparency is important

While respecting the confines of what you are able to reveal, it can be very motivational for employees when they feel ‘in the loop’. By sharing more KPIs and targets with employees, you can increase their sense of ownership. While administrators can choose what types of information and goals are communicated, the Sprigg performance management software was designed with open dialogue in mind.

2: Get engaged and live happily every after

We talk A LOT about engagement at Sprigg. That’s not because we’re obsessed with wedlock but because we believe the other kind of engagement is fundamental to performance. Simply put, employees who are engaged are happier and so tend to put their all into their job. Often they even have the drive to give more than is required because they feel that they work in a company which they related to and, hopeful recognizes their successes.

3: Paint a picture with words

Motivating employees and keeping them connected with values and objectives is an art form. The leaders must be able use stories to motivate their employees to achieve more than they thought possible.

4: Talk to your people and check that they heard correctly

Internal communication is fundamentally important to fostering a culture of performance. Have they heard the message? Do they believe it? Do they know what it means? Have they interpreted it for themselves, and have they internalized it? Don’t be afraid to try different types of communication (while being sensitive to the content). Lots of our happy customers mix up their communication channels to encourage ongoing social dialogue.

5: Is that an achievement ahead? Lets Party!

Celebrate milestones when they are reached. Acknowledging and rewarding an employee’s achievements can boost morale and strengthen momentum. This is an old practice within certain departments (such as Sales) and there are lots of ways to roll out a culture of recognition to all areas of the company.

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Missed Part One? Read it here.

Want to learn more? Contact Jilaine at jparkes@sprigghr.com or call her on 888-797-5583.

About The Author: Jilaine Parkes

Jilaine Parkes is a knowledgeable and passionate HR / Organization Development Professional with nearly 25 years combined experience in large, dynamic organizations and independent HR / OD Consulting. While holding senior HR management positions in Bombardier, Kraft Foods, Canadian Tire, Lavalife and Cineplex Entertainment, including a one year stint in Prague, Czech Republic, Jilaine has designed and driven initiatives in Business Planning, Leadership Development, Employee Development, Succession Planning, Performance Management, Learning & Growth Strategy and Team Chartering.

The post 10 Steps to Creating and Developing a Corporate Culture of Excellence: Part Two appeared first on SpriggHR.

Established in 2012 as the first-ever global HR Unconference, November’s #SHRC14 will focus on bridging the business case of social media and new technologies.  With a vision to inspire HR leaders and organizations to take the next step with social media, the Camps provide the opportunity for participants to design a learning path in partnership with local and global thought leaders.

Toronto, Nov 2014: Sign up here to apply for a complimentary guest pass today:

Sprigg Talent Management Solutions is once again partnering with the SocialHRCamp ‘Unconference’ series around Canada and USA and will a Sponsor at the Toronto Camp in November 2014. Sprigg Founder & President Jilaine Parkes is scheduled to offer a talk on performance management software an better ways to achieve social engagement.

Contact Sprigg today to apply for a FREE GUEST PASS*

SocialHRCamp (#SHRC14) is the catalyst to accelerating HR’s adoption to social media. This is a key event for HR professionals in the GTA looking to learn more about new local business technologies and to learn lots of new social media tips from some of North America’s leading Social Media experts.

Produced by well known Canadian HR social media guru, Jeff Waldman, the event attracts HR professionals and business leaders. Here’s the day’s agenda.

About SocialHRCamp
Become a Sponsor

* Limited time offer. Offer ends July 30th 2014. Applicants must be HR professionals or in related role. Sprigg reserves the right of discretion when allocation tickets.

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This week Sprigg’s President and Founder, Jilaine Parkes, was a guest on the popular Toronto based radio show Career Buzz with Mark Franklin.

The interview looked at Jilaine’s career history and lessons plus discussed how and why Jilaine and CBC Dragon Bruce Croxon launched the Sprigg performance management software.

Listen to the interview with Jilaine’s here

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Sprigg’s very own HR thought leader, Jilaine Parkes, will be the guest on tomorrow’s Career Buzz radio show.

The popular show is produced and hosted by Mark Franklin, Leigh Anne Saxe, Angela Fitzpatrick & Melissa Rodway.

Since 2006, Career Buzz radio show has been empowering lives, enriching careers and energizing organizations.

Mark and his team will be discussing Jilaine’s career journey and how and why she rose to become the President of Sprigg.

The one hour interview will also consider Jilaine’s unique perspectives on talent management and the development of cloud-hosted performance management software in helping small and medium sized businesses streamline efficiencies and improve people development.

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The dinner was attended by over 150 HR leaders all keen to learn more about developments within Talent Management software.

In addition to Human Resources professionals and business leaders, the media was also in attendance. Here’s a round up of interviews conducted by friends of Sprigg, BizTV Canada. Watch out for the full interviews with Bruce and Jilaine to be shown on BizTV’s show later this year!

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In partnership with the HRPA Toronto Chapter, SpriggHR is excited to present a rare opportunity to hear from CBC Dragon Bruce Croxon!  Bruce, an active Director at Sprigg, will be joined by Jilaine Parkes, President of Sprigg, and Steve Mendelssohn, Labour Lawyer with Watershed LLP.

Members: $60; Non-members: $70; Students: $50

Time: 5:30pm – 8:30pm

Location: Sheraton Hotel Toronto, 123 Queen St W map

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