The Gift of Rain

I sat in the green tunnel shaped by the trees in my yard, under the cover of a deck awning listening to the sounds of the rain and the birds. The rain brought a fresh smell. The birds were frolicking among the tree branches and rain drops. I’d catch a glimpse of one opening its beak and drinking in the fresh water – just like I was drinking in the tranquility of the moment.

Rain – it brings the water that sustains all living things – humans, birds, other animals and plants – plants that feed us all and allow us to thrive. A Native American man in the Southwest, where rain and water are scarce, once told me how his culture celebrated the rain when it came because rain is the source of life. 

A farmer I know once wrote that February is the month of the plow if you’re a farmer who tills the soil. Even though there is still a bit of freezing left to be done, plowed land benefits from the freezing and thawing action.  Even better is the opportunity to plow in fresh snow which has the effect of fertilizer on the land. The gift of rain – it keeps giving and helping the Earth to thrive.

Agriculture, like any other business enterprise, is challenged with issues of nurturing and sustaining resources so the business and the people who depend on it can grow and thrive. My farmer friend often writes about organic agriculture – addressing the current trend and requests for organically grown food – meat and vegetables. He laments that organic agriculture takes more time and more people, and the community of people he grew up with in the field are all gone. He has no one to pass his knowledge to. Of the many interns he has had, only one went on to farm on their own – the rest went on to work behind a desk which speaks to the actual education they received. Like any industry, good agriculture needs good people – people who understand the role that nature plays.  

Developing people so they can help a business thrive is a challenge faced by every industry. It’s such an important topic, that we devoted not a chapter, but an entire section to it in The Big Book of HR. The first step in employee development should be assessing employee development needs. This can be done through a number of methods, such as reviewing prior performance appraisals or conducting interviews and focus groups to name just a few. Next we discuss the best approaches for employee development. We explore various training approaches, mentoring, and other development methods. Coaching is so critical to employee development that we devoted an entire chapter to this topic. Finally, in our latest revised and expanded edition, we explore the emerging trends in performance management so organizations can design programs that meet their needs. 

Many of us are so fortunate to have grown in professional communities where we were surrounded with great mentors, like my farmer friend. We understand the role that people play in organizations. We need to pass that wisdom along!

It Pays to Improve Performance

It’s not unusual for an organization’s performance management system to have a process for improving performance. This is especially true if there are specific gaps or opportunities.

Consider this encounter that an HR Director had with a line manager who was observing significant errors in the work of one of his team members. HR worked with a manager to write a performance improvement plan (PIP) for the employee taking care that all the necessary elements were clearly defined and articulated:

·       The tasks that needed to be completed

·       How they were to be completed

·       When they tasks were to be completed 

·       How results would be measured

When they sat down to review the plan before presenting it to the employee, the manager asked, “What if the employee does everything on the plan?” In other words, what if the employee successfully completes the PIP? Isn’t that the objective? Clearly, this manager had in mind a path to termination rather than a path to improvement.

The goal of the performance improvement process should be just that – improvement. When performance is faltering, managers must look at contributing factors: Is training an issue? Does the employee have all of the resources s/he needs to succeed? Are other individuals such as colleagues or clients, impacting performance? If so, the leader and the organization have the responsibility to address these contributing factors along with the individual employee’s performance. There’s a simple formula that can the basis of any performance improvement discussion – positive or negative.”

·       What? – meaning what’s working or not working; what expectation is being met or not met?

·       So What? – meaning what’s the impact and why is it great or why is it a problem?

·       Now What – what’s the next step? What needs to change or be done differently and what are the consequences if the change does/does not happen?

Should performance improvement be limited to those employees who are not meeting the expectations of the role they were hired to perform? Unfortunately, this is the case in too many organizations. The focus is on weaknesses rather than strengths. If an organization is to succeed and move forward, then all of its employees have to strive for continuous improvement. For the employees who are far exceeding expectations – the star performers, what’s next for them? Those employees need to be engaged to take on more responsibility – additional challenges or stretch assignments. A performance improvement plan can be just as effective for them. Their performance needs to be fueled and their strengths leveraged.

An organization with culture of continuous improvement values continuous learning for everyone. The goal of improvement is to assure that individual employees and the organization are producing their best work. Don’t take for granted that good performers need no encouragement for continued performance. Put energy into inspiring everyone.