Friday, July 01, 2011

Part 2 - Interview with HR Expert Jane Perdue


Here is Part 2 of an interview I conducted recently with Jane Perdue, CEO and founder of Braithwaite Innovation Group.  Perdue has extensive experience as a human resource executive, and now a consultant, at Fortune 500 firms. 

Many changes have been made in employee evaluation and merit review processes in the past decade or so. What are some of the most significant problems that still remain with those evaluation processes?

There are many days in which I wish I had a magic wand and could transform the entire performance appraisal process into something practical and meaningful! In my perspective, many of the changes have been in process. An organization can have the most extraordinary online appraisal systems and still fail to move the needle on developing employee performance.

There’s too much focus on the form and too little on the content. While a lunch once with a boss, he wrote a few development notes on a napkin – that’s truly the most effective performance feedback I ever received.

Performance assessment and evaluation must transcend being simply a document completion process to a corporate-wide mindset and dedication to continuous improvement. A mindset that’s embedded in multiple systems: strategic planning, business metrics, staffing, leadership and succession development, just to name a few.

What are 2-3 key success factors with regard to developing sound management succession processes?


For management succession development to be effective and successful:
  •  An organization must have identified the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities – both from a quantitative and qualitative perspective – that are crucial to running the business and are embedded in a leadership development program based on measured outcomes
  •  Succession development is practiced, recognized and rewarded as business fundamental, just like strategic planning and budgeting
  • The process is simple and straightforward, having been pared down to the core essentials with reams of paperwork avoided.

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