Adopt a New Philosophy

Following this point, TalentMap must go through a radical transformation to maintain our vitality and competitiveness in the market place.

Quality must become our preeminent concern.

Errors, rework and time delays must be eliminated through a standard service delivery process. Current we are using our Client Process Sheets (checklists) to document, and standardize our process. In addition, if anyone in the company notices that a particular process, step or tool we are using is leading to quality problems it should be brought to management's attention. It should not be ignored or accepted as normal.

Create Constancy of Purpose

At TalentMap to create constancy of purpose we must concentrate on the interplay between Our Clients, Systems (better system means lower unit costs for us to deploy and report on surveys), and our People.

We must first continuously strive to understand the needs, expectations and satisfaction levels of our clients. For example, are we responsive enough? Do we have enough knowledgeable about surveys, employee engagement? Are our reports easy to read and useful? For example, implementing Client Process Checklist (CPC's) enable us to respond quickly to client request, with fewer errors or less rework, thereby meeting a client need or fast response, lowering unit costs (less time on re-work) and benefiting our employees since they don't have to do the unrewarding work of looking for errors (like finding a needle...) and redoing work they have all ready completed.

Constancy of Purpose means our Clients, People and Systems form the framework for management decision making.

TalentMap's Clients Enable Classroom Success

An innovative program that helps at-risk youth complete high school has proved astoundingly successful in two of Toronto's toughest neighbourhoods. In September, 2007, Pathways to Education – an organization that made its name turning around the lives of struggling students in Regent Park - expanded its offerings to the Toronto communities of Lawrence Heights and Rexdale, as well as to neighbourhoods in Kitchener, Ottawa and Montreal.

It is a pleasure to see TalentMap clients have such an impact on the education system.

Full article at
http://tinyurl.com/talentmap-globeandmail

9 Rules for Writing Good Questions

No question is "good" in all situations, but there are some general rules to follow. Using
these rules and examples will help you write useful questions. (adopted from http://tinyurl.com/calh8f)
1. Remember your survey's purpose
2. If in doubt, throw it out
3. Keep your questions simple
4. Stay focused - avoid vague issues
5. If a question can be misinterpreted, it will be
6. Include only one topic per question (avoid "double-barreled" questions)
7. Avoid leading questions
8. Consider alternate ways to ask sensitive questions
9. Make sure the respondent has enough information

Survey Fatigue

Survey fatigue - is a term often bantered around these days. In the world of market research survey fatigue or "respondent burden" has been a growing concern for over decade. With respect to employee surveys it is only starting to bubble to the surface recently. One HR professional told me that there is no way she would consider an employee survey now - "our employees are surveyed out." she told me, "technology just makes it too easy" she said.

That might be the case, technology does make it easy, with tools such as surveymonkey or zoomerang . But survey fatigue is not a result of too many surveys but a direct results of too many bad surveys. With today's tools deploying a survey is easy, deploying a good survey takes professional expertise. A skill most HR professional don't have time to acquire in their busy day to day schedule.

The following are 4 key factors that must be consider to combat survey fatigue:

1. Length of Questionnaire (Internet >30 min.)


2. Respondent Effort (don't ask for data you can get elsewhere)


3. Frequency of Surveys (not too often)


4. Respondent Stress (make the question clear)

A good presentation on combating survey fatigue can be found at http://tinyurl.com/surveyfatiqueppt .

Making On-Boarding Fun

The awareness of the importance of onbaording has grown significantly over the past few years, yet very few organizations seem to be doing it right. Most still subject their new hires cacophony of onboarding checklists and paperwork.



I recently read a very good (short) article on this topic http://tinyurl.com/dkjvrm. The article profile some progressive organizations about how to they are leveraging the new web 2.0 technologies. I encourage you to read it. One of the best ideas came from Home Depot. It offers four "Realistic Job Preview" videos using footage of employees to describe and demonstrate various jobs. The sales associate video, for instance, makes it plain that associates always are on the move and need to multitask and work flexible shifts.



With this world of multimedia YouTube, Flicker and social networks seem to be the best way to really show new hires what the culture and experience will be like. Take a look at http://www.blogsouthwest.com/ if you want to get a sense of what all organization should be doing.