Assessments Today

Writing Employee or Customer Surveys

2009-11-05T13:45:47+01:00

What are you trying to achieve? And more importantly why would someone want to complete "your" survey?

Without sounding flaky, I do find that things happen in threes. Whether it is self fulfilling prophesy, synchronicity or serendipity, it isn't too far from the truth. What has been reappearing for me this past month centres around questions that I have received on creating surveys. I have had clients and colleagues approach me on the issue of creating a "follow-up" survey. In some ways this is a continuation of an earlier post, "How Employee Opinion Surveys Relate to Employee Engagement" with some specific suggestions.

So it is fortuitous that this excellent blog post that came across my desktop. It covers the issues in a way far better than I could: "How To Write Great Surveys with Actionable Data Results" You will find some other excellent links on the site as well.

Ben Yoskovitz's seven points as a "lay person" are bang on and aren't the typical recommendations you might receive. Please check it out. While I take a small exception with his views that length is a key factor in completion rates, he is right on one thing.

it’s not the length that matters as much as the quality and effectiveness of the content.

I think that Ben is implying that if a questionnaire is well designed that others will complete it. This may help the process but I would add . . . What is in it for them? So I will add a forth point to the list. Keep answering this question: Why would I want to complete this survey? With opinion surveys, employees are expecting / hoping to see positive changes. I was recently involved in a survey where less than one third of the typical response rate was achieved. These particular employees did not believe that anything would come about from the survey.

Image via Wikipedia

Customer surveys are a bigger challenge. You want a good response rate, meaningful data and a broad sample base. Is there something that you can offer to your customers to make it interesting for them to complete? Please keep in mind that what you offer may influence the results. Some ideas to consider if they fit for you:

coupon
discount
summary report
white paper
"gift" or bonus
donation to a cause

I know of a case where a week after the survey, the company sent out a coupon to everyone regardless of whether they completed the survey or not. Now that's class and you guessed it; they already had a great loyalty and investment from their clients..

The Dangers of Comparing Personality Types to The New World of Work

2009-10-20T06:27:00+02:00

This summer I read an article in Business Week which asked the question: "Is There a Virtual Worker Personality?" What a great question I pondered. The article points out that when Pearn Kandola began studied hundreds of workers at Cisco as well as other employees at global client companies around the world, they discovered the opposite to what they expected to find.

It turns out it's the gregarious types who thrive in virtual work setups, since they connect nonetheless. It's the shy types who feel isolated.

I have no desire to take exception with the study or some of the recommendations - which make sense for any virtual off site employee regardless of personality. I am concerned about the stereo typing that is bound to occur. I raised a similar issue in the Spring: The introvert / extrovert perefernce in MBTI and networking We have to be careful not to draw conclusions or make assumptions.

Image via Wikipedia

Brad Cope has a rather lengthy and humourous look at this issue in Southwest Airlines' magazine: "I'll Be Switched". This is in response to whether you should or could try to change your personality for your career advancement. Apparently if you are into the MBTI, studies from CPP Inc suggest that the ESTJ type is the most coveted in senior management. (i.e. there are more ESTJ's in executive and management positions than any other for the 16 types.) In Canada I would suggest it might be ISTJ and coming from a research industry maybe even INTJ's. In Europe I believe that "introverts" are also more valued. Perhaps this is my own bias as a gregarious introvert myself.

The whole discussion raises the old debate - are you drawn to a career based on your "personality" or are you more successful because of said "personality"? I am of the view that it is irrelevant. We need to have variety in all roles to ensure innovation and prevent cloning. And children need to stop being told that they can't do something because they don't have the right makeup for it. Besides . . . the times they are a changing.

The work place is shifitng in ways that we really can't predict. We are told that emotional intelligence will be more necessary but if it is true that we will become more virtual and isolated - will we? I believe so as the old norms of understanding are replaced the skill of reading people and responding based on their perspective will be in greater demand. As the world of work diversifies and becomes even more global, the cues will become more confusing and complex. It is not a question of which personality is better suited to these changes. We are all capable of adjusting as long as we understand our own tendencies and preferences. Then and only then will we be in a position to identify what we can do that fits with our own integrity and makes up happy and successful in our lives. For these reasons taking a reputable assessment (be it MBTI, DISC, EQ or a myriad of others) is a great starting point - not a death sentence on our journey.

Simple and Clear Explanation of the MBTI

2009-10-19T18:29:48+02:00

I recently came across a great Slideshow from Michelle Villalobos' workshop "You're Not Crazy... It's Just Your Personality Type." This is a wonderful overview of personality type theory, MBTI, and how it applies in business. This is a rather thorough review if you are willing to take the time.

Youre Not Crazy... Its Just Your Personality Type

View more documents from guest028b14.

My good friend and colleague, Mary Jo Asmus has just posted the second in her own series on leadership and the introversion / extroversion conundrum. You can read both here:

Introverted Leaders: Gifts and Cautions

Extraverted Leaders: Gifts and Cautions

How Employee Opinion Surveys Relate to Employee Engagement

2009-10-19T13:06:20+02:00

My first response to how employee opinion surveys relate to employee engagement is - not well. If you knew me a little, you might find it funny that I should say that. The truth is that attitude surveys and satisfaction are often negatively correlated. Why? Because the organization is in poor heath in the first place.

This is going to date me. I designed and delivered my first employee climate survey in the early 80's. I was employed as an internal organizational effectiveness consultant in a multinational High Tech firm. I like to think that we did a pretty good job of it. Not the survey itself . . . it was pretty routine and mundane. We considered it part of a planned intervention for organizational development. The approach we took was as a jumping off point with employee groups to work with them to identify areas that they would like to see changed or improved. We also asked if they would like to participate in working groups to make recommendations. It worked well enough that follow-up survey results consistently improved and I was invited to present a paper at the company HR symposium a few years later.

A good overview from Jack Welch on what needs to in place before doing an employee survey can be found at the Fist Full of Talent Blog: Employee Surveys - Good Tool or Corporate Noise? Depends on the Questions and Follow Up...

Last month, I had the pleasure (and it was a pleasure) of working with a government division where management was (is) serious about addressing the issues raised in the climate survey that had been done throughout the government. Using some of the same principles from my "youth" I put together a process that I hoped would address their needs and fears. It all started with a bunch of numbers and charts that they had in front of them. Most people feel a little intimidated with the math. On top of it - numbers may not lie but statisticians? That's another story.

I was once again reminded of all the challenges of attitude surveys:

The questions and language
The point in ti and the timing
The economic, social, and political environment
The purpose
The topic
The message in the communication strategy
The observer’s state of being
The analyst's own bias
The context

Just like with any assessment, I have to constantly remind the reader that it is JUST data - and it is "meaningless" on the surface. It is just information until context is applied. That is why responding to surveys takes a lot of time. Before even trying to "do something" it is necessary to determine the priority areas. That usually means what is important to your employees - not just management. One of the ways that this is best accomplished is by the appropriate use of Focus Groups.

Unfortunately, like my client in the government, employee surveys are connected routinely every set number of years. Worse, the results take six months to get posted publicly for all to see. There is no strategic or generic corporate plan on how to address the results.

Marcia Xenitelis makes a great point in her blog post earlier this month "Employee engagement in tough times":

So what about employee engagement surveys? I say save your organization the tens of thousands of dollars they cost and invest your time in a well thought out change management strategy...

In her article, she goes on to outline five steps of a good change management strategy. She starts with recommending that you begin with real business data. She makes some other good points but they are beyond what I am writing about here.

Rigorous and transparent follow-up is the key. This takes courage, commitment and time. It means listening without getting defensive. It means, as a manager, sticking your neck out and letting staff take pot shots at you - EVEN though they may want to help make things better. To be transparent means that the organization and all the members have to be vulnerable. However, if you are willing to embark on this endevour the rewards for everyone are great.

How is my client doing? Well more time is needed. Each manager shared the results with their staff and outlined what the four working groups had initially laid out as a plan of action. They asked for employees to participate on the working groups and most importantly they established specific targets to achieve and a way to measure improvement at a set date. I am optimistic.

Tell me about Directors on the Platinum Rule

2009-10-17T19:52:57+02:00

Tony Alessandra has just posted a wonderful short video on Directors. Below, you will not only get a good view of the Platinum Rule Model but a fun overview on what it is like dealing with Directors. I am glad that he has chosen this group to update first because, of all the types, Directors are the ones that I find "push back" the most on any kind of feedback. Watch and get some insights:

DISC-ing Out A Happy Thanksgiving Meal

2009-10-11T09:16:00+02:00

In a just a little over twenty-four hours, many of us will have our bellies full of turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and who knows what other goodies. How we will get that way is the topic of today's column.

Many of you are familiar with personality tests, particularly the CriteriaOne DISC Behavioral Type assessments. DISC is an acronym standing for Direct, Influencing (or Interacting), Steady, and Compliant (or Conscientious) - in other words, how people respond to problems, people, pace and procedures. While many people try to avoid "taking these tests" in an attempt to hide what they feel are their deepest, personal secrets, let the truth be known that these behaviors are very obvious even to the casual observer.

DISC is the universal, observable language. Even if you never have heard of DISC before, you willl certainly recognize a few relatives, friends or acquaintances who exhibit these classic behavioral styles, representing D-I-S-C.

D Style

To High D behavioral types, Thanksgiving dinner is an event. The guest list is figured out on the fly, most likely on the back of a napkin or on whatever writing surface is handy. The list likely will include several strategic business guests. In fact, Thanksgiving dinner is the perfect venue to discuss a few business deals that just can't get done during working hours. High D behavioral types shop for groceries without a list. The fact of the matter is they don't have any idea what they'll serve for dinner - they'll know a good deal when they see it. If the long lines at checkout are too long, they may decide to make reservations at a local restaurant or country club or even order take out. Where ever and whenever they eat, they chose the place, meal and time. To high D's recipes are only guides. They add and substitute ingredients at will and use gravy and sauces to cover up the "mistakes". Microwaveable foods are a staple. If D-types actually do any cooking, the kitchen may be a mess but they know exactly where everything is. They will be in control. If your host is D behavioral style, don't be surprised to get a call on your mobile while on your way to stop for ice. When the D is ready to eat, he/she tells his guests where to sit. During dinner, expect a blow-by-blow description of each course. You'll hear how much time, money or effort it took to prepare. Recipes are described as "best", "special", "can't be beat", and "great deals."

I Style

High I behavioral types don't prepare dinner, they plan a party. They insist on only one rule - NO business talk! Grocery shopping is an experience - they go to the store at the busiest time so they can socialize and meet people. I-behavioral types may spend more time in the party store picking up holiday table cloths, napkins, dishes and decoration more than they do in the grocery store. They carry dozens of coupons, torn (not cut) from newspapers and magazines, stuffed in no particular order into an envelope or purse. I-behavioral types know where everything is in the store, whether you ask them to tell you or not. The guest list includes family, friends, neighbors and anyone who might otherwise have to eat dinner alone. The list resembles the yellow pages. I-types can't remember everyone they invited so they set extra places just in case extra people drop by. What time is dinner? Just drop-in. A menu? You've got to be kidding. The menu is potluck and the I-type just asks everyone to bring something along. I's use recipes but never measure ingredients and substitute freely. They may even experiment with a new recipe. Foods are selected for color, texture, and whatever looks good in their favorite bowls and dishes. They describe each course by how much fun it was to make it or a history on who gave them the recipe. Seating? Sit wherever you'd like. When it comes time to clean-up, guests will be scooted out the door - you'll hear, "I love to clean up." As soon as the last guest leaves, the I-behavioral type host plops down on the couch and "wishes" the dirty dishes away. "They will still be there tomorrow", the I-type thinks aloud, and puts off today what can be done tomorrow - still wishing for the "dish fairy" to come along while he/she is sleeping.

S Style

High S behavioral types prepare dinner for the entire family. In fact, they will prepare enough food to feed a neighborhood. You never know, a guest may not like a particular food or course, so the S prepares back-ups. "Family" for an "S" may include neighbors or anyone who doesn't have family to share the holiday with. "How terrible to spend the holiday alone" they think. They begin planning dinner weeks ahead by preparing a list. Next, they begin to clip coupons, even ones they don't need, just in case they meet someone at the store who doesn't have the right one. This list takes weeks to prepare. Finally the cooking begins. S-behavioral types begin making the feel-good foods first, desserts and appetizers, weeks ahead of time. Personalized invitations are prepared for guests, a few S-types preferring the hand-written invitation, taking the time to personalize each note. Every course is prepared from scratch using his/her favorite recipes, including special foods for the kids and anyone on a special diet. Often times the recipes are family traditions, handed down through the generations. They rarely use the microwave except for warming things up. Guests are seated in groups by family and friends. During dinner the S-behavioral type offers to share his/her recipes with everyone and likely have copies already prepared for distribution. There is always extra food for guests to take home in doggy-bags. The doggy bags may even have each guest's name on them including a label with what's inside and the date.

C Style

High C behavioral types prepare dinner for just the immediate family or may even prefer to eat alone. Dinner is more like a tradition or ritual than a celebration. Guests receive a formal invitation and an RSVP is required. C-types shop with coupons which are organized by aisles. They have a budget and click off items on a calculator as they work their way up and down the aisles. C-types have a practice run of each course throughout the preceding week. Recipes are followed exactly as written using measuring cups, utensils and timers. C-behavioral types would never think of substituting an ingredient, not even one brand for another. Guests have assigned seats and name cards are typed at each setting. (The cards are saved after each meal and re-used at future family events.) Rarely do C-types have any food left over - that would mean they made a mistake. If food is left over, they store it by meals in compartmentalized containers, just like the old "TV dinner". If asked about a recipe, C's describe each course in excruciating detail including the cost of the ingredients, the best place to purchase them, the best time to shop. The recipes are available upon request, which are stored in alphabetical order on computer printouts in the filing cabinet. After dinner, C's refuse everyone's offer to clean up - they have an unchangeable routine and a special place for everything. If by chance you get to peek inside their cabinets, don't be surprised to see the canned goods alphabetized and sized. If the C-Behavioral type does allow you to help, expect explicit instructions how to wash, dry, and put things away...and criticism when you don't do it exactly the "right" way. No one can clean up or put away the dishes as good as the high C behavioral type- so they think!

A most important take-away from understanding behavioral types is that no one style is right or wrong. Likewise there is not one right way or one wrong way to prepare Thanksgiving dinner.
There is, however, a right way to celebrate Thanksgiving - be thankful for the opportunity to share Thanksgiving with friends and relatives, be thankful for the food you enjoy, be thankful for whomever prepares your meal, and be thankful we can laugh at our behavior!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Don't Get Caught Naked

2009-06-12T15:40:22+02:00

By Guest author Mary Jo Asmus, President of Aspire Collaborative Services LLC

A Timeless Leadership Fairy Tale

A favorite childhood fairy tale is Hans Christian Andersen's "The Emperor's New Clothes." I still chuckle when I think of the emperor being duped into wearing a new suit of invisible cloth in an attempt not to appear stupid.

The emperor's followers went along with the guise during a royal procession to show off his new clothes until a child pointed out that he was, indeed, naked. The audience watching the procession caught on and the emperor was found out. The author of this tale was brilliant. A children's story written in 1837 has become an enduring tale of clueless leadership and less-than-truthful followers.

Just like the emperor, there are leaders who will do everything possible to avoid appearing stupid. The problem is that they are often clueless about themselves. One of the ways leaders can avoid being caught clueless is to obtain pure, unadulterated feedback about how those in their circle of influence perceive them. A 360-degree assessment is the best way I know of to get this kind of feedback.

Getting Honest Feedback

I encourage my clients to continually ask for specific feedback from their peers, their manager or their employees. This kind of feedback can be quite useful. However, like the audience passively viewing the naked emperor, followers will not necessarily provide honest feedback. A leader should not be misled into believing that the feedback he receives is entirely truthful. All kinds of human dynamics in the workplace will prevent others from being completely honest when asked for feedback.

This is where a 360-degree feedback tool is useful. This tool, whether electronic, hand written or an interview, is administered by an outside party on behalf of an individual (generally regarding facets of an individual's leadership). Multiple sources are used: the person's manager; direct reports; peers; and sometimes others such as customers, clients or vendors. The information is gathered in a way that maintains confidentiality. A report is then provided to the leader about her patterns, including areas of strengths and opportunities for growth.

Treating 360 Degree Feedback with Respect

The feedback from this tool is intended to be developmental, not disciplinary. The information gathered is meant only for the eyes of the individual for whom it was gathered.

The information obtained must be treated with great respect. A skilled professional who is familiar with providing this kind of feedback can offer interpretation, put it into perspective, and give support around the results obtained. This support could include assistance in setting goals and developing an action plan, as well as ongoing coaching to achieve the goals.

In my experience, 360s are invaluable tools to provide a reality check and a way to avoid being caught naked. Because your followers, like those watching the emperor's procession, will rarely tell the truth to your face.

Mary Jo Asmus is a credentialed executive coach, speaker, and president of Aspire Collaborative Services, a leadership solutions firm. Her blog, "Intentional Leadership", furthers the dialog of the importance of healthy, sustainable relationships to leadership.

Personality Applications on the iPhone

2009-06-12T15:34:03+02:00

If there is one thing that I love more than assessments at the moment, it is my iPhone. O.K. call me shallow. But what could be more exciting than a combination of the two?

The Personality iPhone application

Explore your personality - and the science behind it all with Personality, by Signal Patterns. The Personality iPhone application is the most detailed psychology-based application available on the iPhone

Brought to you by the researchers and psychologists at Signal Patterns, Personality uses a novel algorithm that scores unique personality traits rather than rough "buckets" of personality types. To describe each person, the algorithm uses 45 different personality traits, each scored on a separate scale, resulting in extremely unique depictions of one's personality.

And once you learned about yourself, you can learn about the science behind the application. Watch videos and hear from Science team members themselves discuss the underlying Big 5 Personality theory. Read about the psychological models and the key scientists themselves. Still interested? Check out a number of books from our team members.

Cover via Amazon

Also - they have the Live Happy is a positive psychology iPhone app developed by Signal Patterns' SP Labs research team together with Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of the book The How of Happiness and professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside.

There is a free "lite" version but if you purchase the full app, a portion of every app sale is donated to the Live Your Life Well program, a public education campaign (launched by the non-profit Mental Health America) dedicated to helping people combat stress and promote well being.

Book Review - Now Discover Your Strengths

2009-05-28T11:27:00+02:00

The good thing about book reviews is that they usually stand the test of time . . . as long as the book is popular you can dredge up your review. I wrote the following in March of 2001. It was this book that lead me to Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman and then on to Authentic Happiness which I blogged about yesterday.

Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, Free Press, 2001 ISBN: 0743201140

Cover of Now, Discover Your Strengths

First here is the official review and then my opinions:

Effectively managing personnel--as well as one's own behavior--is an extraordinarily complex task . . . That said, Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton's Now, Discover Your Strengths does indeed propose a unique approach: focusing on enhancing people's strengths rather than eliminating their weaknesses. Following up on the co-authors' popular previous book, First, Break All the Rules, it fully describes 34 positive personality themes the two have formulated and explains how to build a "strengths-based organization" by capitalizing on the fact that such traits are already present among those within it.

Most original and potentially most revealing, however, is a Web-based interactive component that allows readers to complete a questionnaire developed by the Gallup Organization and instantly discover their own top-five inborn talents.

I liked this book. It is easy to read and is careful about using neutral and positive language. The 34 themes of StrengthsFinders are carefully "labeled". It appears to be a sound model that has good back-up data. It has an interactive piece with the Internet. Half way into the book, I thought, great this is going to get my top rating – four balls. To bad that they didn’t fully leverage what they have here. The cover jacket says "The revolutionary program that shows you how to develop your unique talents and strengths – and those of the people you manage." Unfortunately, that is precisely where the book started to let me down. It is only the last two chapters, 6 and 7, that the authors begin to address how to use and build on the model and information they have provided.

I have taken just about every quiz, personality inventory and assessment around. I love them and I love them even more when they have more than just face validity but good reliability. I also want to see if it fits with the other models and theories as I know them. This one does. So what is the problem. Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton fail to give us a working program. There is no "How To" or "So What". One critic wrote: "What is missing is how to apply this insight...what the particular combination of strengths means, how to communicate with and lead people with differing strengths." I concur.

There is so much more here. Sure, I may not have learnt anything surprisingly new about myself. However, the perspective on how the information was grouped did provide new insights and for that I am grateful. Sure I now that I have a "Strategic" approach to my life and I am clearly a "Learner" who likes "Command" roles. It was the other two themes that put a new twist on things and just fit for me. It has made me realize what is an important value in my life, my friends, and what an important role they play. It also reinforced the strengths that I have in my professions as a business coach and where I can really make a difference.

One more caveat from another critic: "After reading the book, I wanted to take the quiz again (as the book implies you can), but Gallup *refuses* to allow you to take the quiz more than once. This means that your spouse or friend that you loan the book to won't be able to take the test until they fork over money for a new copy of the book. If you get a used or a returned copy, I hope the previous owner didn't take the test and then return the book!"

This is a reasonably priced book when you consider that you get an online assessment. Overall a good investment – either for the fun of it or to ponder it more closely. I wish that additional online inventories could be purchased. There are many ways that I can see how I would use it with clients. I truly hope that the authors do something more with this new tool that they have developed.

RFH (01/03)

Positive Psychology - More than Just the Flavour of the Month

2009-05-27T10:56:00+02:00

Cover of Authentic Happiness

I first came across Martin E. P. Seligman through his book Learned Optimism. I liked the assessment and then discovered the whole series of assessments on his website. Many of these are excellent for personal development and Values in Action Questionnaire http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/questionnaires.aspx. created by Chris Peterson and Mary Seligman is particularly helpful for coaches to use. I get lots of questions about values assessments and there are many but I tend to prefer card sorts. This one however is an excellent choice.

I have been subscribing to Martin E. P. Seligman's Authentic Happiness Newsletter since the spring of 2003 but I am not sure that I have written much about he "Positive Psychology Movement" or shared all the great resources out there. This is a free newsletter sent to everyone who registers at www.authentichappiness.org On the site are some fantastic resources and free assessments.

There is even a Authentic Happiness Coaching Newsletter. To subscribe, send a blank email to newsletter-subscribe@authentichappinesscoaching.com

A year ago, The International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) was formed with the purpose of this organization is to promote the science and practice of positive psychology and to facilitate communication and collaboration among researchers and practitioners around the world who are interested in this new field. On the website you can find out more about IPPA and where you can join www.ippanetwork.org

Seligman is also involved in the newly created Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program at the University of Pennsylvania .

I recently discovered another wonderful resource coming out of the UK surprisingly called: Positive Psychology Resources