Part Two: HOW?

Previously, we discussed the importance of employee communications. When you give everyone the same message at the same time, you avoid the "telephone" miscommunication game. Good communications steer the workforce toward your goals and objectives. You have the opportunity to share more than appointment notices and employee anniversaries.

What messages belong in company communications? Share your values. For example, you can broadcast the company's specific goals and objectives, with more definition than a Mission Statement. Every so often, you can reinforce them with examples. Make heroes of those who perform above and beyond the call of duty. If your company's community service is a point of pride, make sure your people learn what your company is doing. Tell your people about new products and services well ahead of their public launch so they can "pre-sell". And definitely include promotions and employee milestones, because everyone appreciates a moment in the spotlight.

What media are available? The choice is wider than ever. Traditional printed newsletters can be prepared efficiently with desktop publishing software. Posters can brighten the workplace as dramatize messages. Audio tapes are relatively inexpensive to produce and distribute, and by using a voice, they can give your management a personality through your choice of spokesperson, even if that person is an announcer. Video tapes are more expensive to produce and distribute, but have the added benefit of allowing you to show items that have visual importance like graphs, new products or team members. E-mail and company intranets are emerging ways to communicate. E-mails are perceived as urgent messages, while your intranet can be a way to keep people informed without contributing to the paper blizzard; employee rules and regulations are one example of on-line information that can be quickly updated without reprinting.

Who is responsible for employee communications? Someone in your company should be assigned direct responsibility. If your company is pressed for time or wants superior performance, ask a communications professional to examine your needs and estimates. It may be less expensive than you think, and an outside resource will be driven to perform for you. Humans have a need to communicate, to feel included in the larger group. This is especially true in the workplace. The more successfully you communicate the view from the top, the better you steer the direction of your company team.

David Goldfarb is President and Creative Director of Goldfarb & Goldfarb, a Toronto marketing communications company with experience in communicating to both internal and external audiences. For more information, please call (416) 481-1445.

WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL?

In Intellectual Capital, author Thomas Stewart states that "Intellectual Capital is the sum of everything everybody in the company knows that gives it a competitive edge."

To visualize intellectual capital, imagine a lawyer in her office. Her office is complete with a desk, chair, computer, books and other general office items considered to be the "capital" of her organization. Yet, it is the knowledge, information and experience that the lawyer brings to the firm which is used to create the organization's wealth. Her office equipment is merely an aid for assembling and integrating her knowledge. Her value to the organization isn't in the number of words she produces for her closing argument, but rather the effectiveness of her argument for her clients.
Her knowledge and experience are the raw economic dollars. It is her brainpower that clients are willing to pay for, not the office trappings. Dentists and accountants "upgrade" their skills through workshops on new techniques. New drills or computers are secondary. Today, knowledge, not more or bigger equipment, creates your competitive edge. Knowledge has moved from a supportive role in organizations to the starring role.

BEHAVIOURAL BASED INTERVIEWING

Gaining Behaviour Examples from Applicants

The interview remains the key ingredient in almost all selection decisions. The traditional approach attempts to determine the match of a candidate's traits to the traits required to perform. For example, if "assertiveness" is a jobs requirement, the interviewer should assess this characteristic in a candidate and then predict the candidate's ability to be assertive on the job.

Behaviour-based interviewing differs from the trait approach primarily in its emphasis on gaining "behavioural examples". It is based on the premise that the only way to reliably predict performance is to assess past performance. The interviewer asks specific questions about the candidate's past actions which relate to the skills required for the job, then rates the candidate's skills based on these actions.

1. COMPLETE A SKILL ANALYSIS FOR EACH JOB

A team of people who know a particular job well, usually made up of managers/supervisors, human resource specialists and job incumbents should construct a job profile showing which skills to assess in the interview. Identifying the skills required by the job is the initial step toward showing the job-relatedness of the interview - the basis for its legal defensibility.

2. DEVELOP SKILL DEFINITIONS

Using the job profile, the interviewer next defines the job-related skills to reflect essential job requirements. Skill definitions fall into two categories: "technical skills," the hands-on skills required by the positions, and "performance skills," the work habits which reflect the way in which a person does the job. Thoroughly defining these skills is the key to reliable and valid selection decisions, rather than leaving them open to individual interpretation.

3. DEVELOP INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

After the important skills for the job are defined, a list of questions is developed for the interview to help assess each candidate. Good questions are those which help the candidate provide specific information about skills. Each question should make sense to the typical candidate for a position and be obviously related to the job.

4. CONDUCT THE INTERVIEW AND GAIN BEHAVIOURAL EXAMPLES

The questions developed are used during the interview to gain information about specific life/work experiences related to the skills for the job. During the interview, help the candidate be specific about life and work experiences. Responses such as "I'm dependable," should lead into more specific questions about past behaviour. Help the candidate describe specific life history events. Behavioural examples should contain references to names, dates, numbers, times and locations.

5. RATE SKILLS AND MAKE DECISIONS

Each interview should rate the candidate's skills for the job following the interview. The rating involves a comparison of the candidate's responses with the job-related skills definitions. The selection decision can then be made based on a full understanding of how a candidate's job-related skills match job requirements.

Interesting Quotes

"Now that my house has burned down, I have a much better view of the sky."

- Zen Master

"I make more mistakes than anyone else I know and sooner or later I patent most of them."

- Thomas Edison

"A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are the portals of discovery."

- James Joyce

"There is no greater burden than great potential."

- Charles M. Shultz

"Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way."

- William James