Transcription Human Resource Management Session 2

Note: This transcription document is a text version of the upGrad videos present in this session. It is
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experience.

Speaker: Richa Saxena

An Uber driver knows primarily what he's supposed to do, that is, to get the rider from one place to
another. But to increase his performance efficiency, his metrics would also include providing a
smooth and safe ride. Now, it is essential to set such expectations beforehand, wherein the driver
would recognise and acknowledge his performance measurement parameters, such as speed and
safety requirements.

Now once the new employee joins the organisation and starts working, it is the manager’s
responsibility to adjudge the performance of the employee. If left unattended the company will not
be able to achieve a particular goal within specified timelines.

Let’s understand the meaning of performance management:

Performance Management is a continuous process of identifying, measuring and developing the
performance of individuals and teams in an organisation by linking each individual’s performance to
the organisation’s goals. Top level Managers, Directors, Industry Influencers and thought Leaders
regularly stress the importance of Performance Management.

Now, two key things need to be kept in mind:

First, performance management should be a Continuous Process. It should be cyclic, where you
are setting goals and objectives, observing performance, and then giving and receiving feedback.

Second, it should be linked to the broader mission and goals: As a manager, you should ensure that
the employees' activities and outputs are in sync with the organisation's goals.

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Let's look at the advantages of appraising employees:

First, it increases the employees' motivation to perform, as they have clearly defined objectives to
meet and receive clear feedback on their progress.

Second, most of the employers base the decision of promotion and retention based on employee's
appraisal.

Third, It ensures better performance management as it helps to ensure that each employee
performance is contributing to the company's overall goals.

Fourth, the appraisal helps the manager and subordinate to identify the deficiencies and develop a
correction plan.

Fifth, the appraisal helps the manager to gain insights about subordinates' strengths and
weaknesses. This allows them to look into the subordinate career plan in light of his/her strengths
and weaknesses.

Sixth, the appraisal also helps the manager to identify training and development needs of the
employees.

Merrill Lynch, one of the world's leading underwriters of debt and equity, transitioned from a system
of an annual review to having reviews thrice a year. By doing this, they tried to implement a plan
where managers and employees would share feedback and also get coaching for
self-development.

Typically in the first review of the year, managers would set objectives to be achieved by the
employees. The purpose is to communicate "THIS IS WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOU".

In the mid-year review, the employees would share updates on their progress for the managers to
assess their growth and also refer them to any developmental program, if required. The purpose is
to communicate "THIS IS HOW WE WILL HELP YOU ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVES".

At the end of the year review, the manager needs to incorporate information from several resources
and evaluate the progress towards the objective and need for improvement.

Now the question comes:

Who should do the appraising? The HR manager or the Line manager? Appraisal by an immediate
line manager is considered the most appropriate since the line manager observes the employees
on a daily basis and is also responsible for the employee's performance.

The HR Manager generally serves in advisory roles. They provide appraisal tools to be used. The
HR manager should make sure that the Line Managers are properly trained on how to do appraisals
before starting to do one to avoid any biases.

Let's look at the performance management system at IBM.

IBM, a multinational information technology company, recently changed its ten-year-old
performance management system. Earlier IBM used to ask employees to set their goal in January,
then a mid-year check-in with management and the final assessment and performance scores in
December of that same year. According to the HR head, employees were facing different situations,
and sometimes they were not working on the original goals, which created a lot of discussions and
confusions at the end. The management crowdsourced the idea of 3,80,000 employees from
around 170 countries.

They eliminated these two tasks from performance management:

First, Self-assessments; the majority of employees didn't feel it was helpful.

Second, Relative performance rankings; managers would no longer meet with each other to
compare employees.

IBM built an app-based performance review system, named "Checkpoint". With Checkpoint, IBM
employees will have a performance management program that addresses several key objectives:

First, Setting shorter-term goals.

Second, Management feedback on employee progress every quarter (or can be less).

Third, Employees will be judged across five criteria in which managers will assess whether they've
exceeded or achieved expectations or if the improvement is needed): business results, impact on
client success, innovation, personal responsibility to others, and skills.

This example of IBM emphasizes the importance of a sound performance management system.


We learned that the performance management system starts with setting the goal.

Let us go back again to Varun, who is an area sales manager and has recruited a few sales
executives. Now, Varun has rightly recruited three new area executives for the North Mumbai
region. What do you think he should do now?

He needs to set up an effective process to evaluate their individual performances.

Managers need to consider the three aspects of setting it up.

Firstly, they need to define the key result areas of individuals, which are linked to the overall
business goal of the company.

Secondly, they need to analyse the performance of the individuals through different performance
appraisal methods.

Finally, they need to understand the process of training and developing individuals in order to
improve the analysed performance of the individuals and the team as a whole.

The first step towards setting up a sound performance management system is to set goals for
individuals and align them with the organisation's goals. This can be done by applying the SMART
criteria. SMART is an acronym that you can use to guide your goal setting. So, the goals need to be
specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

The first step in setting up goals for individuals is to specify tasks and results. In this, the manager
needs to clearly describe the tasks that are to be accomplished to produce full results. Of course, it
can be a collaborative process, but the manager certainly needs to arrive at a number.

So, Varun will put forward the task of making beverage sales worth Rs. 60 cr in that quarter to all
the area executives. In fact, the quarterly target is further broken down into monthly targets and
adjusted as per seasonality. With this, managers can easily measure progress towards goal
completion.

The second step in setting goals for individuals is to ensure that the goals are measurable. Under
this, the manager determines how the goals will be gauged using clear measures of quality,
quantity, cost, and timeliness.

Essentially, these will form the yardstick for judging the quality of the output. So, Varun can set the
measurability of the goals as sales per territory, marketing cost incurred per territory, number of
dealers reached out, product margin achieved per territory, etc.


All these metrics go a long way in assessing and improving the overall performance of each of the
sales representatives.

The third step in setting the goals for individuals is to make them achievable. So, the manager
needs to set standards for them. These goals should be difficult but possible to achieve. This can
yield a higher level of performance by the employees. The psychology behind putting an
achievable target is that goals have a direct implication on an individual's thoughts and actions. In
fact, these goals launch the annual performance journey. The individuals know that if they step in
the wrong direction, reaching the destination is difficult.

So, Varun might raise the bar and set a standard of achieving an additional revenue of Rs. 20 cr
instead of Rs. 10 cr in that quarter. Considering the potential of North Mumbai, all three new area
managers appointed there are supposed to accomplish an additional target of Rs. 3.4 cr each,
instead of the actual target of Rs. 1.7 cr across Mumbai for each area manager.

The fourth step of the SMART criteria is to make the goals relevant. The manager should be able to
answer why he/she wants to reach this goal? what is the objective behind the goal?, and whether
this goal will really achieve the objective?

Varun might think of becoming the best performer across Asia for his beverage company, and
increase the targets for his team and hire new employees to achieve more, but what if the potential
of the market itself isn't that big to make him achieve that goal? Hence, he needs to think about
maybe changing the territory, as the goal is not relevant as per the market potential to reach that
goal.

Once the goals are made relevant, the manager should make it time-bound, i.e., there should be
appropriate expected time frames within which the goals are expected and required to be
achieved. This step instils a sense of deadline in the employees and makes them intensify their
efforts to achieve the goal within the expected timeline.

So, Varun will break down the quarterly goal of Rs. 20 crores additional sales into monthly targets
for all the area managers across North and Central Mumbai and ask them to strive to achieve that
goal.

With this, the employee knows what to achieve and by when to do so. Based on that, the sales
representative can strategize their plan of actions to hit the target.


Now, let's continue with the example of Varun. Varun has already assigned goals to his entire team,
what should be his strategy around evaluating them? Should he review their performance on a
monthly basis or annually? It can also help you know whether the person is over-performing or
underperforming. There are three methods of performance appraisal that Varun can employ:

The first method is the rating scales. Rating scales are numerical scales representing job-related
performance criteria, as highlighted in the competency matrix earlier while defining the scope of the
work. Each of these scales ranges from excellent to poor. The manager assigns scores to each of
the criteria, and the final numerical score is computed. Based on this score, the employee is either
promoted or offered an increment, along with feedback on their strengths and improvement areas.

This method has certain advantages. It is definitely easy to use. Any type of job can be evaluated
through this. A large number of employees can be rated conveniently through this method. In fact,
one needs no formal training to assess the performance of individuals. A disadvantage of this
method could be that the rater can be biased.

Varun can analyse the performance of his sales representatives based on the rating scale.
However, he might look at their performance along the lines of specific behaviours that a sales
representative might have exhibited, for instance, if he closed a dying deal and accomplished a
substantial amount of sales in that month.

The second method of performance appraisal is the critical incidents method. This approach is
based on certain critical behaviours of employees that make all the difference in their performance.
Managers record such incidents as and when they occur.

The advantage of this method is that the evaluation is based on actual job behaviours. The ratings
arrived at through the rating scale can be substantiated by the description of such behaviour. Also,
giving feedback citing these behaviours becomes easy.

Additionally, it reduces recency biases. In fact, there are chances that the employee improvements
are more significant here. However, the disadvantages of using this type of appraisal method are
that negative incidents can be prioritised, or the manager might do overly close supervision.

Finally, there is an additional, unique method to evaluate the performance of candidates. This can
happen on an overall basis with feedback from all the stakeholders. For instance, if Varun wants to
assess one of his sales representatives, he might ask for feedback from the distributors he is
handling, the colleagues he is working with etc. This will provide Varun with 360-degree overall
feedback.


360-degree feedback is a unique technique, which is a systematic collection of performance data
on an individual level, derived from a number of stakeholders such as immediate managers, team
members, customers, peers, and self.

This technique is effective in measuring the employee's interpersonal skills, customer satisfaction
and team-building skills. On the negative side, receiving feedback from multiple sources can be
intimidating or threatening to the employees. Moreover, these raters might not be able to provide
balanced and objective feedback.

Now, having discussed all the performance appraisal methods, it is essential to note that these
methods can be used simultaneously by managers at different degrees to give a fair rating of his
subordinate.

In Shopclues, ratings are based on five scales:

5 - Mostly exceeds expectations,
4 - Sometimes exceeds,
3 - Largely meets,
2 - Sometimes meets and,
1 - Seldom meets.

Every sub-goal is rated based on employee performance, self-reviews and manager views. Overall
average of sub-goals leads up to final ratings. Inputs for senior managerial roles are taken from
peers, colleagues and stakeholders. These inputs play a vital role in deciding the final ratings.
These feedbacks primarily focus on organisational values and culture and not on goals. Shopclues
also encourage employees to capture critical incidents which played a role in arriving at the rating.
It helps to assess the overall performance.

The outcome of department-wide goals and ratings fall into a curve. This is only for the
management to arrive at getting a sense of how the performance spread looks like in a particular
team and doesn't play a role any further.


A study by Gallup indicates that employees who have frequent one-on-ones with their managers
are almost three times more likely to be engaged. Just as an example, Adobe saw a remarkable
30% drop in voluntary turnover after it shifted to an agile performance management system, which
also incorporated a regular feedback system. Now, since feedback can be both positive and
negative, have you ever wondered how you, as a manager, can deliver it to other employees
effectively?

Now, after learning how to create goals and assessing employee performance, it is important for
you to learn how to communicate your assessments to them. So, let's see how you can share
feedback with your employees effectively to keep them motivated and not make them
apprehensive about it!

Once the ratings are finalised, the manager has to conduct a one-to-one performance review
meeting with the employees. Here the manager and subordinate review the appraisal and make
plans to cure deficiencies and improve strengths. These meetings are often uncomfortable and the
manager should prepare for such meetings beforehand for effective communication.

Broadly, the performance feedbacks are of two types: Negative and positive.

Let's discuss positive feedback first.

Giving positive feedback is relatively easy for managers as compared to providing negative
feedback. As a manager, it is important to recognise the most effective way of giving feedback
which would reinforce the positive behaviours of the employees. Sometimes just simple words like
well done might do wonders and increase the morale of the employees manifold.

Providing timely, specific, and consistent positive feedback has shown significant benefits.

IBM conducted a survey of over 23,000 workers in 45 countries and found that 83 percent report a
positive work experience when they receive recognition of doing good work, as opposed to 17
percent who do not receive recognition for their work.

Gallup conducted a productivity study of 530 work units and found that teams who received timely
feedback showed 12.5 percent greater productivity than teams who received no feedback.

In another Gallup workplace research with 65,672 employees, it was found that those who received
positive feedback had 14.9 percent lower turnover rates than employees who received no
feedback.

Another study of 469 business units ranging from retail stores to large manufacturing facilities
showed that managers who gave positive feedback delivered 8.9 percent greater profitability than
the ones who didn't.


There is ample research-based evidence that employees who receive effective positive feedback
regularly are better engaged, more productive, stay longer with organization, and contribute to
greater profitability.

We might think that providing positive feedback is easy. However, to avoid sounding mechanical
and provide productive feedback that reinforces positive behaviour, you should keep the following
things in mind.

Positive feedback is most effective when it is consistent. Avoid saving your praise for the
subordinate's annual review, instead appreciate them immediately when they achieve something
and let the team know that they will get appreciated if they do good work.

Also, keep in mind that do not praise your subordinates just for the sake of it. Try to keep positive
feedback as sincere as possible. The discussion should be direct, concise and should describe the
exact reason for which the employee is being praised.

When giving positive feedback, focus on the employee's efforts and behaviour, i.e. what they do,
rather than focusing on their personality traits, i.e. what they like to do. This way, you will encourage
a growth mindset in your team.

Once you let your subordinates know what kind of work you like the most and why you value their
contribution and dedication to the team and company, it is always advised to make time to hear
how their work went. It shows that your positive feedback is far more than a passing phase.

Now, let us see an example of positive feedback that uses these principles.

A Manager called one of his employees and said:

“I want to tell you that your presentation at the conference was really great. Good job! Your tone
was authoritative, and your message was focused and clear. I know that you were nervous about
the presentation in front of a large number of people, but you did really well. When I compare your
last quarter presentation with this one, you have come a long way! The examples were interesting,
and everyone could relate to them.”

The employee thanked him for the appreciation.

To which the manager replied that he deserves this appreciation. The manager also enquired about
his experience with the presentation and asked him about any new thing he tried for the
presentation.


In this example, the manager provides timely and specific feedback, focusing on the employee's
efforts. The manager also asked his experience to create a lasting positive feedback culture.


Praising good performance is easy. But what about times, when as a manager you have to give
negative feedback to your subordinates without demotivating and demoralising them?

According to Zenger and Folkman Study of 2700 leaders, the researcher found that the majority of
them avoid giving negative feedback. As large as 43% of leaders mentioned that giving corrective
feedback is a stressful and challenging experience for them.

If given in the right way, negative feedback can also be a powerful tool for increasing employee
productivity and engagement.

A global survey conducted by Officevibe on thousands of organisations across 157 countries found
that 83% of the employees really appreciate receiving feedback, regardless of whether it is positive
or negative.

Another Gallup poll found out that employees who received negative feedback were 20 times more
engaged than those who did not receive any feedback.

You must be wondering how this is possible. This is because employees who don't receive
feedback can feel unimportant or neglected. They may think that their work is getting unnoticed.

Zenger and Folkman's study also found out that 94% of the recipients of negative feedback feels
that negative feedback improves their performance only when it is presented well.

Let's look at some of the techniques of giving negative feedback:

The first technique is - I like, I wish, I wonder technique.

This technique is borrowed from the design thinking methodology. The technique says that deliver
the feedback through following step:

Step 1: "I like…"

Use this statement to convey the positive aspects of the employee's performance. For example, I
like the layout of the new feature you suggested.
Step 2: "I wish…"
Use this statement to share ideas of the aspects of your employee's performance that you want to
change or improve. For example, I wish the text size was slightly larger for better visibility.
Step 3: "I wonder…."

Use this statement to express your suggestions for improvement. For example, I wonder if we can
add a few more people as well in the project to complete the project on time.

Next is 3-2-1 technique. This technique suggests that a ratio of 3 positive to 1 negative is necessary
to create a successful business relationship. The steps to deliver feedback using 3-2-1 technique
are:

Step 1: Name 3 things you liked about employee performance.
Step 2: Name 2 areas you feel could be improved.
Step 3: Highlight one thing you liked most.

Next is CEDAR Technique. It consists of 5 steps:

Step 1 is Context. Introduce the area of feedback and explain how important it is. Also, explain the
level of impact; how big it is, who is affected and the outcome.
Step 2 is Examples. Describe specific examples to illustrate the situation clearly.
Step 3 is Diagnosis. Explore what's behind an employee's bad performance like lack of motivation
etc.
Step 4 is Action. Decide what actions will be important, going forward.

Step 5 is Review. This is done to follow up on the diagnosed issue to support and embed any new
critical behaviour.

Let's see what technique Netflix has adopted to give negative feedback. The technique is called -
Stop, Start, Continue.It is a simple 3 step process:

Step 1 is Stop. Tell the subordinates what you feel they should stop doing.
Step 2 is Start. Tell the subordinates what you feel they should start doing.
Step 3 is Continue. Tell the subordinates what you wish them to continue doing.

As a manager, it is important for you to understand that there is no best technique for giving
negative feedback. You should choose the one that fits the company culture.

The best idea would be to keep on experimenting with the new styles to find the best fit.

Another aspect to look upon is that a technique which works best on one employee may not work
for another employee. It is essential to understand your team members properly to choose
appropriate technique. Try to build trust among them, which will help in easing the process of
negative feedback.


Frederick Taylor, a mechanical engineer himself came up with an interesting organisational
metaphor where he compared employees with automobiles. Now you may think, why did he do
this? He did this to understand the driving force behind employee motivation and productivity.
Taylor argued that very much like an automobile if drivers would take care of the vehicle by adding
gas and routinely keeping up with its maintenance activities, the vehicle could last for a long time.
Likewise if a manager can take care of the needs and requirements of the employees, their
productivity is likely to increase substantially.

In this segment, we will understand the concept of employee engagement.

One of the first researchers who introduced the concept of employee engagement was William
Kahn, a psychologist. Kahn produced his paper, Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement
and Disengagement and identified three principal dimensions of employee engagement - physical,
cognitive and emotional.

The first dimension is Physical engagement. This relates to the extent to which employees expend
their efforts, both physical and mental while doing their job. The ability to expand physical and
mental energy at work will increase feelings of confidence.

The second dimension is Cognitive engagement. Employees should know what the company's
vision and strategies are, and what performance they need to deliver to contribute to that level to
get engaged at this level. More knowledge encourages more creativity and helps in confident
decision making.

The third dimension is emotional engagement. This is based on the emotional relationship that
employees feel with their employer. To create a positive relationship, managers have to build trust
among employees.

What Kahn did was, he related three dimensions of engagement, that is, physical, cognitive and
emotional to psychological conditions like having the right energy and resources, meaningfulness
and feeling safe.

On glassdoor, Google is ranked as the best place to work. Now you must be thinking that it is
because of the high salaries or the fresh chef lunches. You are incorrect. Google always keeps on
employing quirky tactics to keep its employees engaged and motivated.

Google came up with a strategy to keep 20% of the weekly time of employees for indulging in a
project of their interest. This, on one hand, helps employees to work on projects that they like and
on the other hand, reduces their burnout of the week.

Google also provides a unique program "Career Guru" where employees can receive one-on-one
support from experienced Google alumni on career-related topics, leadership skills etc. This
enables the workforce to learn about the roles that they would want to shift in the future and
understand how to qualify for the same.
Let's discuss how to measure employee engagement.


Surveys are generally used to measure employee's engagement.

The consulting firm Accenture measures employee engagement through a method it calls "Say,
stay, and strive". First, Accenture assesses how positive employees speak about the company and
recommends it to others. Second, it assesses the reasons why employees are staying in the
company, and third, it assesses whether the employees are just doing their job tasks or taking
active participation in the company’s overall success. That is, are they going beyond the job role or
not.

So, what are the common tactics you should employ as a manager to increase employee
engagement?

First, Put everyone in the right role.

Second, Focus on diversity for better engagement. Gartner Research found out that a 12 per cent
boost in performance among diverse teams with a similar improvement in intent to stay on the job.

Third, Provide incentives and perks to every engaged employee. Offering different perks like
wellness checkups, educational programs, gym memberships, plenty of snacks etc. will make
employees feel that the company cares about them as well.

Fourth, Recognise employees for a job done well. The yearly review should not be the only time
they should get praise for their good work. Recognising in real-time is really important.
Fifth, Encourage employees to speak their mind without any fear of criticism or judgement.

Sixth, Develop a sense of affiliation among employees to keep them connected. Organising lunch
meals or fun activities help them know each other better.

Seventh, Provide a progress road map to the employees. As a manager, make sure to understand
the strengths and weaknesses of your workforce. Assign them tasks accordingly. Discuss their
growth potential and enrol them in appropriate training and development programs.


Speaker: Viekas Khokha

Structuring reward programs is also very important, and we can talk of some examples that what
are long term rewards. Let's look at some of the long-term rewards that we have.

The first award, which comes to my mind, which is part of long-term rewards, is employee stock
options. Now employee stock options give a lot of liberty to people to earn a very long period of
time. They feel sense of belonging next to organization performance.

Another important point is career progression goals. Now you may want to question how come
career progression goals are part of the reward program. Now career progression goals help
achievers to be developed for further bigger assignments. So, it is categorized against an effective
reward program and it can be very engaging. So, basis my experience, some of the career
progression goals have led people to take up larger assignments and, at the same time made them
feel contented with the kind of organization they are working.

Another one of the best practices to allocate a stretched assignment coming from the business
strategy and associating a monetary component to it. Now this stretch assignment not only helps to
gives another reward element of monetary reward attached to it. It also helps in developing a
person for the next level. This is one of the best practices I have seen across board, which help
people to review and get reviewed for future roles.

Corporate Entrepreneurship program is one of the very, very core strategic program where you
could have new products, you could have strategic projects which needs focus could be brought
into this program, and people found eligible could handle them very effectively. They could be
supported by multiple functions. They could be also supported by cross functional team directly
reporting into them. This helps in developing a person whole sole to become a business leader in
future.

I have seen - and I am a firm believer that education makes a difference to your skill, knowledge
and ability. Executive education programs sponsorship has also helped in being critical rewards for
people to stick around in the organization for long because they are stitched to extended projects
in the organization and their awards and benefits are also stuck to them linked to people's career
paths. So, executive education again becomes an important point.


These are typical list of long-term rewards that I could think of where people start associated with
organization for long. Now there are some short-term rewards also. We can’t negate that
importance of those short-term records.

First comes, recognition by monetary and non-monetary rewards and recognition becomes a very,
very critical factor in this journey. This could be on a weekly basis, monthly basis, annually basis, but
this should be regularly given by people across the board, and there has to be a proper
communication around that.

Annual bonus and incentive plan also become a short term, that it is linked to a year performance.
That’s why I put it in short term. This becomes another element which brings in a sense of
achievement in an organization. Also brings in that motivation for a person to achieve, or over
achieve more. So, this could be annual bonus that is given at the end of the bonus. The parameters
could be decided basis the level of the person and the function.

I am firm believer of on-the-spot recognitions. It could be small gifts, token of appreciation on
monetary basis, which can be given from time to time, so that people know that they've done some
good job and they have got it. On the spot recognitions, normally I categorize should not be given
only within the department. It should be open to be given across board, which also promotes
cross-functional recognition in the team.

Annual awards are another tool which is very high motivating for a person which creates not only
the monetary value but also creates a sense of pride when one over achieves on the goal which is
present for the year. This could be done in one of the very big forums which could be conducted
during the kick off meet or Annual Town hall where in front of everybody, the person is applauded.

Then comes annual mice program. Again, we have seen a lot of success with these programs.
These are annually run programs where people are subjected to overachievement. Once they over
achieved, they have a chance to win a fully paid holiday from the organization.

Speaker: Viekas Khokha

Let’s look at some of the shortcomings on a practical world when we talk of employer engagement.

One of the biggest shortcomings is there are a lot of inputs which are carried out without any output
measurement? That means either we find it very difficult to measure output out of the employee
engagement programs that we deploy or we deploy too many programs for which output actually
cannot be measured on a human scale. So, that means too much of giving and less of measurement
which causes a problem.


We will also focus on what and how to much in organization then why. I am a very big critique of it.
Why has to be answered first? What and how latter. The focus should be that 80% focus has to go
on why which is strategy, what and how follow. Unfortunately, it’s the other way around which
causes a problem.

Money spent is money loss, people forget. We spent a lot of money on employee engagement
programs. Again, when people forget that money is seems lost, have forgotten it, how to make it,
every penny effective when it goes into this particular exercise.

Best practices cannot be replicated sometimes because there is a very smart execution in them and
lot of organizations scenarios are dependent on that. So, what happens is we take some best
practices from some of the agencies who help us deploy those programs and just replicate them
while technically there is, the subject is quite large to understand. You need to understand
organizations environment size, how the organization is distributed at times business. You know
what organization delivers, so it’s very important to understand the complete ecosystem and then
replicate.

I always see we forget very, very basic level, then go to very high advance levels. Basic most
important level is a person should be able to get supported in once job, to be able to achieve. If I
am not able to achieve my basic KPI’s because of some reasons, how any program engages me, I
will remain disengage. So, basics regarding accountability, basic regarding communication, basics
regarding handling feedbacks. So, some of the basics levels we had taught to people through
various exercises to be able to get into the organization’s engagement.

Let’s also look at why we need that. You know it’s a took I would say is not necessarily a devil. It can
be a reward also.


It is not enough to set goals for and assess the performance of your team personnel. It is also
important that the manager works on improving the productivity of the individuals and the team as a
whole. This is vital for improving the overall efficiency of the company in the long-run. As a
manager, you need to come up with different ways to train and develop the individuals and build
their motivation levels. Let's learn about this further.

Training means helping employees learn the skills they need to perform their job, such as
showcasing a new salesman how to see the product.


By one estimate, it was found that due to dissatisfaction because of lack of training more than half
of the employees start looking out for new job opportunities soon.

In Google, the HR head believes that there are two ways to build a great workforce. One is to hire
the top performers, and another is to hire average performers and then use training to make them
at par to the top performers.

There are four steps involved in designing a training program.

The first step is to identify the training areas that will create the maximum business impact.
Second step is to assess the skill gap in terms of the level of motivation and skills mastery.
Third step is to put in the required level of training and
Fourth step is to evaluate its effectiveness.

Let's understand these steps in detail.

As the first step, a manager must identify the area in which a training program will create the
maximum business impact. Let's continue the example of Varun, who is an area sales manager. So,
based on past feedback from the distributors with regard to poor performing product launches,
Varun identified that the salesmen lacked product knowledge. So, he may suggest a product
knowledge workshop to ensure that everyone who is part of the sales infrastructure has adequate
product knowledge.

For instance, Varun, during his performance appraisal phase, found out that almost all the area
executives are at a low or medium level on the product knowledge. This competency as per the
competency matrix is highly required and is one of the most important skills for training the
salesmen under them. That is the skill gap he identified.

To rectify this, he decided to design training programs to improve the product knowledge of the
area executives. In order to design that he uses the layered form of imparting training. It involves a
sequential level of activities starting from a basic level such as real-time polling to establish the
general thought process on product knowledge.

Thereafter, he can have role-played among groups, to test the product knowledge and finally it can
be application-oriented by bringing in different client-facing scenarios, which tests the product
knowledge under multiple conditions.

Once the training program is complete, as a manager you need to measure the effectiveness of the
program. For this, you can use the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model, which helps you measure the
effectiveness at four levels.


Level one is Reaction
Level two is Learning
Level three is Behaviour and
Level four is Results

Let's understand the first level reaction.

Reaction helps you understand how well your audience received the training. This can be
understood and assessed with the help of feedback forms that capture subjective reactions to the
training experience, or by making a note of verbal reactions during the training or by conducting
post-training surveys or questionnaires. This way, you can get answers to whether the trainees liked
and enjoyed the training, or considered it relevant.

Then comes the Learning part. This is to evaluate the enhancement in their knowledge on the
subject at hand as a result of the training. This is usually checked through assessments or tests
before and after the training to understand how effective it has been.

After the completion of the training, you measure the behaviour of the employees on the job. At this
stage, you evaluate the change in the behaviour of your trainees based on the training they
received. Specifically, you look at how the trainees apply the product knowledge they have gained.
You can check this by observing a noticeable and measurable change in the activities and
performance of the trainees when they are back at their roles. At this level, you can also check
whether the change in the behavior and the new level of knowledge is sustained and whether the
trainee is able to transfer their learning to another person.

Finally, you check the impact i.e., the final result of the training sessions. This includes outcomes
that you or your organization have deemed good for the business and the employees after the
training. It could be in terms of volumes, values, percentages, timescales, return on investment, or
other quantifiable aspects of organizational performance. Examples of such parameters are
increased in sales, highly satisfied customers, etc.

In addition to training, employees also go through development programs.

While training programs help employees gain specific knowledge or skills to improve performance
in their current roles, development is broader and focuses on the growth and performance of the
employee in the future, rather than on the immediate job role. In other words, development is any
attempt to improve future performance by imparting knowledge, changing attitudes, or increasing
skills.

Development is important for promotion purposes within the organisation. It thus includes in-house
programs like courses, coaching, and rotational assignments; professional programs like those

offered by NHRD; short-term courses offered by Universities; online programs from various
educational institutions etc.

Not everyone needs to be trained in everything. You need to identify the right areas as well as
employees and then implement one of the training and development programs.

Let's see some of the scenarios that will require training or development:

When the employee's performance is not adequate.
When new technological equipment or procedure is introduced in the company.
When there is a significant change in the working method.
To reduce the amount of inefficiency and improve performance.
When an employee is promoted to a new position.
When an employee is transferred to another department.
When there is a significant labour shortage in an organisation, making it necessary to upgrade
some employees.

Let's see how Mahindra Finance beat attrition through learning and development.

Mahindra finance, one of the leading providers of financial services in rural and semi-urban India,
has always worked with an objective to transform the lives of people by providing customer-centric
solutions. The organisation recruits employees locally to enhance familiarity with the local
demographics and language.

Mahindra needs to provide learning to field executives who are diversely located in 1200 plus
locations across the country. Due to business priorities, the classroom training was not a solution.
The field executives were between 20 to 25 years of age, and Mahindra realised the need to
revamp the learning method for Generation X to increase effectiveness.

A study was undertaken and it was found out that 80% has access to smartphones, and almost all of
them are on Whatsapp. They also found out that most of them like short videos and audios.

Mahindra developed a byte-sized podcast specially designed for field executives which can be
downloaded on WhatsApp. The initiative allowed participants to learn anytime and anywhere. On
the other hand, it helped Mahindra to ensure that all the executives get consistent learning.

Mahindra also faced some challenges in this. The challenge was to ensure that the podcast is sent
to specific people in a particular order at a specific time and how to ensure whether they have
listened to it or not.


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© Copyright upGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved

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Let's look at some of the techniques of giving negative feedback:

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Step 1: "I like…"

Step 3: "I wonder…."

Step 2: Name 2 areas you feel could be improved.

Step 3: Highlight one thing you liked most.

Step 4 is Action. Decide what actions will be important, going forward.

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Let's discuss how to measure employee engagement.

Surveys are generally used to measure employee's engagement.

First, Put everyone in the right role.

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© Copyright upGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved

© Copyright upGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved

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