INSIDER IQ: The Right Staff with the Right Stuff

Are Your People Paying Off? "Right Fitting" Your Workforce
A high functioning workforce pays off in performance you can take to the bank. But how do you know if you've engineered the right fit for each position across the board?

Follow these assessment steps to make the most of what - and who - you've got:

1. Know Where You Are & Where You're Going
Take some time to tune into the big picture. Come together with your board and key management to define, review and agree upon your organizational goals, philosophy and measures of success.

2. Determine If Your Workforce Will Get You There
Now that you've agreed upon where you're going, take a hard look to determine if you have the people, processes and technology to get you there. Approach this step holistically by:

• Evaluating productivity cycles, revenue and budget targets as well as resource and support needs
• Defining core competencies required to meet your goals and generating job descriptions to match
• Creating an organizational chart with boxes mapped to function, not person or title
• Ensuring your infrastructure and processes are prepared to support your goals

3. Validate Through External Benchmarking
Using case studies and peer reviews, conduct external benchmarking to ensure your results align with market best practices.

4. Assess Current Staff Assets
It's time to compare who and what you have as it relates to the future vision for your organization. Approach cautiously and utilize internal employment law expertise to assist in avoiding landmines. A thorough assessment of your workforce, both people and function, should include:

• Conducting a workforce skills inventory that employees complete through self-assessment survey
• Gathering performance management histories/ratings (assuming they exist)
• Defining each individual's job/function
• Create a matrix plotting skills and performance against the ideal job description

5. Analyze Current vs. Ideal State
Now that you've assessed your staff assets, compare your needs to reveal an ideal state vs. your current state. This will allow you to isolate the appropriate conclusion and resulting action:

• Identify skill enhancement and training needs for current staff
• Consider rotating high-performing employees to support organizational goals
• Identify staff who are not a fit for the organization's future needs

6. Evaluate Hiring Needs & Create a Recruitment Plan
By this time, you will have identified positions for which you need to recruit. Create a recruitment plan to bring new talent on-board and revamp your processes and tools, if necessary, for them to align with your new state.

In a time of having to do more with less, one misplaced position or underperforming employee is a big deal. You have the power to drive employee performance by creating an environment of respect and appreciation. Set the tone for success and your workforce will follow!

LISTEN UP: Straight Talk from Nonprofit Trendsetters

We asked Leslie Wallace, principal with WorkForce Matters, to give us the lowdown on the most common human resource conundrums.

As a human resources expert with over 20 years experience, is there one standout HR issue that you see throughout the nonprofit and for-profit worlds?
Well, for profit or not, every company is made up of a variety of personalities. Most are easy to work with, but the one that causes management the most headaches is the high-performing toxic employee - someone who performs really well or has been around for years and holds a lot of company knowledge, but is unpleasant and rude to their fellow employees.

Ah, yes. You never forget working with someone like that.
Right? They make quite a negative impact, but because they perform so well management often is reluctant to take steps to curb their behavior. They may feel unable or unwilling to let that person go. However, this individual truly brings down the rest of the team.

Just how much can one nasty coworker affect a company?
You'd be surprised. High turnover, low productivity - if there is a toxic employee in the mix, they can really contribute to these negative trends. They can even spread their negativity, inciting bad behavior in other employees.

What should a manager do when confronted with a toxic employee situation?
From an HR perspective, we would first determine that this person is truly toxic, not just having a few bad days. If we do detect a pattern of negativity towards fellow workers, we would attempt to coach this person on how to behave in a more positive way.

If, after some time, we see that this person isn't making an effort to treat his teammates with respect, it's time to implement a performance plan. Though behavior is subjective, a manager can still work out a plan that addresses personality, just ensure that you clarify expectations, such as cessation of negative interactions, heightened helpfulness and a change in how the employee approaches coworkers.

If this doesn't work, then it is your duty to act and act fast. Follow proper procedures, but remove the toxic employee from your company. Remember, no one is irreplaceable, and you may be extremely surprised at the positive benefits that follow.

Great advice. Is there anything specifically directed towards the nonprofit HR function you'd like to share with us?
Well, HR operates the same way regardless of profit status. The main difference is that nonprofits typically dedicate less resources to HR and as a result are forced to be very reactive. It's hard to maximize your talent until the organization is more proactive in managing human resources needs. Believe me, I would much rather be called in to help keep a team on track than after it's all gone off the rails!