As IT managers and leaders, it is our job to foster the professional growth of everyone who works on our team. If we do not do this we are failing as leaders.
I have had many discussions on the topic of training with both employees and managers. Many IT managers are afraid that certifications will make their employees more marketable and allow them to find better opportunities. Employees are frustrated that their managers do not allow them to grow and so eventually they leave to find better opportunities to learn and to grow professionally.
When I was negotiating my budget as a CIO, I asked for and received $2,000 per year for every employee that could only be used for travel or training. It required the consultation of supervisors and could be used for a conference or even a certification. Since some training is more expensive, employees were allowed to trade and give someone their training dollars for one year so they could get it back from the recipient in a subsequent year. At times I was able to recruit someone simply because I had this guaranteed annual training benefit.
This arrangement was an amazing motivator for the team. It kept the skills of my staff growing and they were able to sharpen their thinking, discuss issues with peers in other institutions, and apply the knowledge toward innovation within our organization. In nearly 10 years, no one left the organization -- they were so happy with the environment, their professional growth, and the mutual support they received from each other that the thought of looking around never entered their minds.
I could never have foreseen future events, but in late 2009 and early 2010, when our organization was abolished during very tough economic conditions, every member of my team found a new job as a result of their up-to-date skills, certifications, discipline, and leadership skills.
As IT professionals, our job isn't to hold someone back. If someone's professional growth can only be achieved outside our organization, we need to be willing to facilitate that. There should be open dialogue between us and our employees and if they are planning a transition outside the organization, they should feel free to let us know without fear of retribution. That way we can plan for smooth succession so it does not hurt the organization.
Employees want to feel happy to come to work. If we spend more time making sure our employees are happy, we will get amazing amounts of productivity out of them. We will have their unwavering loyalty and they will frequently turn down higher financial rewards in order to remain in the organization where they can be happy and creative.
As for compensation -- we need to remember that there are two types of compensation at our disposal: monetary and non-monetary. We have a limited supply of monetary compensation. Monetary compensation needs to be fair, reasonable, and in line with what the organization can afford and in line with what other, similar organizations are paying. Performance evaluations need to be accurate, fair, and mutually agreed upon, and outstanding performance needs to be rewarded with better pay increases.
As for non-monetary rewards, we have an unlimited supply of those. So we need to be generous with them and we need to look for opportunities to give them away with sincerity and gratitude. A new project, ability to implement an original idea, a public recognition of a new idea, a celebratory luncheon, an opportunity to present at a conference or in front of organizational leaders -- these are all examples of non-monetary rewards that motivate people. Being stingy with "thank you" notes, commendation letters, or congratulatory handshakes does us no good. Generosity with these non-monetary rewards will unleash creativity and help with employee retention.
IT people are very creative. Creative people love it when their creativity is appreciated. The more they are appreciated, the more they will create. If you want to unleash creativity within your organization, be creative with your non-monetary rewards. I was amazed at the results I got.
Rooting out a political environment in the office space is also very important, in order for creativity to flourish and catch on. Many a times good professionals leave a place because the environment there is not conducive for independent thinking, higher ups need to promote an environment where every employee can let thier imaginations run wild. Often in pressure situations independent thinking is what saves the day.
A few years back -- and of course, now I can't find my notes -- I attended a seminar that talked about the different ways that people get motivated, and how you had to find out what worked for people. (In this particular case, it was for volunteers, but the principle is the same.) For example, some people *loved* public recognition, being brought up in front of everyone, shaking the boss' hand, while everyone applauded. At the same time, other people would *hate* that sort of thing. But there were maybe half a dozen motivators, including public recognition, private recognition, money, that sort of thing.
This is also why "merit pay" for teachers isn't going to work; people who become teachers obviously aren't motivated by money or they wouldn't take such a poorly paid profession to begin with.
@B Kraft - glad you had this experience in some companies. and found that those companies tend to do rather well over the long haul. Yes Enterprise Social Media and gamification within the enterprise does create exceptional opportunities to enagage everyone and create a host of additional non-monetary rewards which employees can be excited about.
@Nicole - some non-monetary rewards do cost some money but there are plenty that do not cost anything. Managers and leaders need to focus on things they can control rather than lamenting over things they cannot control.
I've been fortunate to have spent my career working for global management teams who understood both the intrinsic and financial value of the kind of leadership you describe. I've been given me the flexibility and autonomy to innovate not only my own organizations, but cross-functionally across the enterprise. I have a number of informal case studies that demonstrate how that leadership translates into real organizational transformation. Technology plays a key role and makes the possibilities almost endless.
On the flip side, I've also worked for one or two companies where that wasn't the case. It becomes clear very quickly that model doesn't translate into a company's sustained success.
So now I have to ask the question, how do you continue to retain strong performing employees when your department or team has to reduce the budget and training is the first line item that is cut? And not only that, team lunches and holiday celebrations for example are eliminated as well.
Companies definitely need to put more emphasis on retaining great employees. Having a team where everyone's skill set is continuing to grow and the team has learned to work effectively as one unit brings about higher productivity (as well as higher team morale) which then allows for the team to meet the company's goals and objectives.
We need better metrics to distinguish the high achiever who takes necessary risks, from the plodder who achieves results by always taking the safe course.
Absolutely Ariella - fear creates stress and activates the amygdala hijack condition which diminishes human productivity and brain reasoning capacity by a minimum of 20-30%. If you wish to read my friend's thesis here is the link: http://bravozuluconsulting.com/user/KZacheryThesis.pdf
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In all my years interacting with CFOs, I have not met one who actually understood IT -- not that I expected them to.
Why, then, do I continue to see ads seeking a strategic CIO who will report to the VP of Administration and Finance or the CFO? Sometimes ads are slightly better: CIOs report to the Chief Operating Officer. Those conducting the recruitment will sagely say: “The CIO will have complete empowerment and access to all cabinet members and the president.” However, these organizations appear to lack an understanding of the role of the CIO and the CFO.
After observing and writing about CEOs who do not leverage their CIOs to propel their organizations forward, it was very refreshing to learn about the great CEO/CIO partnership at Kaiser Permanente at this year’s World Health Congress held in Maryland.
Despite an initial round of federal funding to develop state health information exchanges (HIEs) as part of Obamacare, these clearinghouses were challenged to develop a financially sustainable model. Because it addressed sustainability early, the Delaware Health Information Network is viewed by many as a template for HIE success.
It began as a relaxing visit with my college buddy and his family. It became a glimpse into the technology-enabled future of worldwide collaboration in engineering.
True story: Despite the HITECH Act of 2009, the CEO of a major urban hospital continued his institution's policy of not hiring a CIO or CISO. Like many others, he took a wait-and-see attitude, even though HITECH strengthened the enforcement of healthcare security and privacy laws, and provided financial incentives for healthcare organizations to adopt electronic health records and information security.
New tools like laptops, tablets, smartphone, and wireless connectivity let us work from San Diego to Katmandu, and anywhere in between. But time management remains a problem.
Showing results is the best way to win over social business doubters, according to Mary Maida, Medtronic lead information solutions manager. Internet Evolution's Mitch Wagner interviewed Maida at the E2 Innovate conference.
Companies need to take advantage of new technologies to simplify interfaces, improve capabilities, and enhance back-office processes. But they can't upgrade their Websites too often.
Wells Fargo uses social software to replace email chains and help its sales team collaborate more effectively to land deals, according to Kelli Carlson-Jagersma, VP Collaboration Strategy for Wells Fargo. Mitch Wagner spoke with Carlson-Jagersma at the E2Innovate conference
A survey by JD Powers found that customer interest in product features is lessening as phones evolve. Rather than features, price is driving purchases, and that change could have a dramatic impact on how IT departments secure these devices.
Businesses helped neighbors with Internet access and mobile device charge-ups during Sandra. Following that example, enterprises should consider preparing Internet disaster plans to help the public during disasters.
A recent release of the popular TweetDeck app for Twitter power-users gives new life to software that had previously taken a wrong turn. Here's a quick walk-through of the new TweetDeck, to show you why it should be at the top of your Twitter toolkit.
The bring-your-own-device approach isn’t suited to monitoring of enterprise equipment and processes. In these cases, it is up to IT to come forward with gear suited to the task.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Subsidized handsets, rather than locked handsets, should be the focus of regulators. We're not getting good deals, not fostering innovation, and weakening our power as buyers.
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator. READ THIS eBOOK
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