The Rottman Group, Inc.       

       Redefining an Industry One Relationship at a Time.

            

                            The Human System   Vol. 1, No. 3

“You’ve gotta go with the flow of the People Flow Continuum”

You know, for a title, you could chant this a few times, put it music and have a great new rap song.  Or maybe I’m a victim of too many Dr. Seuss readings to my 4 kids.

I know I told you last week that this week’s title would be: “If the wise man built his house upon the rock, how’s the foundation of your human system?”  Ok, I lied.  Two reasons:   I realized that there was too much information to push it all together into a marathon e-letter and I wanted to give a better overview of the People Flow Continuum.

I would encourage you to print and keep these e-letters in a sequential order in a binder.  I believe you will get even more value from them if you go back and see them together.  I have put links to each of the first two issues at the bottom of the page for your convenience.

How we are building here:

Principle from article #1: There is a competitive advantage that you are responsible for:  it is the Maximization of your Human System.

Principle from article #2:  There are components that are standardized that give you relatively little competitive opportunity.  There are variable components of human resources that allow for more variation and thus hold greater opportunity to capitalize on.

From last week, all of the components in the “variable” column, dealt with the human system.  I mentioned seeing pieces of HR done with the wrong emphasis or in the wrong order.  I’m not saying that wrong things were being done; just that maximizing was not accomplished.    This week, I want to give you a model by which to work from that will help you to better prioritize and maximize all of your resources spent in these areas.

 

  “You’ve gotta go with the flow of the People Flow Continuum”

You’ve got to go with the flow!  I’m not advocating conformity (actually just the opposite), but encouraging that you work in congruence, not in resistance to a natural process.  I call that process the People Flow Continuum; a model of each person’s movement through a life cycle with an organization.  It is a model we will continue to use and develop.

  It is constructive here to take a moment and ask yourself a few of questions: 

  1. Where do I spend the most amounts of my resources?
  2. Where would I like to spend more resources?
  3. Which of these components do I feel I get the most ROI from?  The least?
  4. Which of these functions do I enjoy working with the most?  Least?
  5. For these components, which are addressed in formal education settings at the university level?  The most?   The least?

Approach this model with the mindset of standing on the bank of a river with a canoe. How is your effort most effectively spent?   Paddling up stream against the current or paddling downstream with it? Is it as stupid as it sounds to ask this question?  How many different business practices and organizations are paddling upstream expending a tremendous amount of resources and energy, but really aren't getting anywhere tangible?

Effort is mistaken for progress. The biggest mask is that there is some progress made. This gives enough positive reinforcement that the person/organization paddling puts on blinders as to what the possibilities are that could be accomplished with a little more strategic approach and better understanding of the dynamics of the river.

  

FLASHBACK: 

Steven Covey puts it this way, "The enemy of the 'best' is the 'good'."  

“Good is good enough until you know what better is; then good enough just isn’t good enough anymore.”---Don Rottman, 6/6/2001

 

  A little positive reinforcement can be the thing that most perpetuates mediocrity. (Though a whole other conversation, that same positive reinforcement is the very thing that keeps many organizations from re-inventing themselves and becoming complacent.)

All of this is very true when it comes to strategically addressing your human system. If you choose to take a bit of time, understand some basic principles that govern this system and choose to work in congruence with them, you have the ability to both save cost as well as enhance your success through the development of a superior and more effective human team; maximization. 

I have learned to never take things for granted, thus some quick working definitions:

Recruitment is the process of the development of the group of candidates (sourcing) for a position from which you will have to select from.

Selection is the process or set of tools you utilize in making the decision of which candidate should be hired by the organization.

BREAK POINT: at this point, you now "own" these individuals; they are part of your organization.

Training and Development is the formal or informal process of acclimating people into your organization and helping them to develop the hard and soft skills in order to be successful both in their position and in the organization and its culture. This is both an initial and ongoing function.  It could also easily be separated.

Motivation is the ongoing reinforcement of an individual to be an enthusiastic and positive part of the organization. This can be multi-facetted and as with retention, can be a combination of cultural (employee relations) and compensation components.

Retention is the strategy or set of strategies incorporated with the intention of incentivising individuals to remain a part of your organization. These can be things such as promotions and positional advancement, the development of a positive culture that offers great intrinsic value, and/or a set of compensation mechanisms to encourage retention.

 

Truths and Principles:

How quickly do you lump these things together vs. addressing them in sequential pieces?  All these things, to be most effective, must be perfected IN THIS ORDER. Any other order is a partial or band-aide practice/approach.  If Recruitment and Selection are done right, then Training & Development, Motivation, and Retention resources are more prudently invested with better returns.

 Ask yourself (you’ll find I love metaphors):

Your talent as a potter can never be maximized with inferior materials.  You would always start with the best raw materials. Do you know how to find and evaluate your raw materials?  Do you have a Cadillac training or development program but are investing it in all the wrong people?  All of the makeup in the world won’t make a warthog pretty. Or maybe you get the right people, only to train them and watch them leave? 

Would you be comfortable using your same methods in your personal investing?  There are people that would be in jail for misappropriation of funds if they invested their companies pension plan the same way they make investment choices in their People Flow Continuum.

Each part of the People Flow Continuum needs its own strategy based on multiple dynamics.

Too often global, versus position specific strategies are incorporated with the result being a very haphazard human organization. To those, it seems inexplicable as to why some organizations are more effective than others are. 

 

Conclusions:

I’m going to give you just three conclusion statements here.  There are many things to specifically explore with this model, and we will, but globally:

  1. Understand that this is a circular model and is highly interactive within itself. For instance, one of your best retention tools is your recruitment program. If you train and develop people properly there is much less likelihood of frustration and turnover; better motivated and retained.
  2. All of these components are facets that reflect and build a culture. Culture when positive, understood, and distinct is one of the most powerful immunizations an organization can have, aiding in recruitment, motivation, and retention.
  3. This model is not intended to give specific answers. It is intended to give a frame of reference, a paradigm, and to create a more conscious awareness of these principles. Different strategies and applications are numerous.  This format will give us opportunities to address many of them.  Once these principles are embraced and understood, your process cannot help but to improve. How much it improves will be contingent on the time you devote to it.

I look forward to our continued journey.  Hear me now, believe me later, but next week will be:

“If the wise man built his house upon the rock, how is the foundation of your human system?”

It is a choice, so choose to make yours a great day!

Don Rottman

HR Evangelist  

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