informal activities and feedback.”
Similarly, Fortna’s evaluation process focuses on coach-
ing and development. “Traditional performance evalua-
tions are not particularly effective,” Harris says. “We don’t
rate employees on a numerical scale. Instead, we are looking
for qualitative feedback: What does someone do well, and
where does he or she need to improve? Then we turn
that into development goals.” That goes for
employees at all levels, by the way. Fortna uses
peer feedback and other methods to assess
current and emerging leaders on their lead-
ership competencies and to identify areas
where they would benefit from training or
executive coaching.
Mentoring is another must. Intelligrated
has a voluntary but formal coaching pro-
gram for employees who are in the first stages
of their career. “The coaches help to guide the
employees on career decisions, and this ensures
that when they have issues or opportunities, they
have someone they can go to and talk through it,”
Luers explains. “We’ve found this program to be very
valuable.”
Ryder also utilizes mentoring and coaching. One
example is its Leadership Bridge Program for “high
potential” employees. “If an individual demonstrates capa-
bility and potential to take on greater responsibility, we offer
them the opportunity to participate in a year-long program
that exposes them to senior executives, best practices, and
formal leadership development training,” explains Bared.
Participants in the program do a lot of self-assessment
and get feedback about their work style and behavior. They
share that feedback with their peer coach—someone whom
they trust and who can offer suggestions for improvement.
According to Bared, this approach has been highly successful. Since its launch four years ago, the program has graduated more than 80 “students,” and more than half have
been promoted to higher, more responsible roles, including
some at director levels or above. Furthermore, the retention
rate for those who have been through the program has been
high—about 75 to 80 percent.
In Harris’s experience, how you acclimate new hires to
their jobs and to the company—and then follow up with
them during their first year of employment—plays a big
role in determining their success later on. In addition to the
typical corporate HR orientation, Fortna includes sessions
designed to help new hires understand the company’s business strategy, its internal structure, and how to negotiate
their way through the organization to get the information
and resources they need.
That’s not the end of it, though. When new recruits
go back to their teams, they work with their managers to
develop a first-year plan that aligns their personal goals
and objectives with those of their team and the company.
HR stays in touch with new hires, surveying them after
the first week, at three and six months, and at the end of
their first year. There are opportunities for them to suggest
improvements, which Fortna tracks and incorporates into
its programs where appropriate.
To help employees be successful and satisfied with their
jobs and their progress, you need to place them in the right
position, not just in terms of their overall respon-
sibilities but also in regard to specific projects,
says Luers. Intelligrated works with project
managers as they build their project teams,
making use of HR’s “talent evaluation tools”
to match the right person with the right
project and role. “This should be based on
objective assessments of individuals, not on
your gut feeling about them,” he says.
Harris agrees that how you assign people to
projects plays a big role in their job satisfaction.
Carefully planned assignments are very effective
in helping employees who show promise expand
their knowledge and experience, she says. She recom-
mends formal cross training in different parts of the
organization and rotating up-and-comers through
different practice areas (and even overseas, if they’re
interested) to build their skills and understanding of
different areas. “It’s like in college: You take core classes
before you choose a major. Rotations help you figure out
what you love and are passionate about,” she says.
KEEP THEM ENGAGED
You’ve hired the right people and have invested a lot of time
and effort in helping them develop professionally and pursue a satisfying career path. Now, how do you keep them
happy and loyal? A concerted effort to keep employees
engaged and demonstrate that they are valued should be at
the top of your list.
One way to do that is by regularly sharing information
with all employees, not just with management. Employees
will feel a greater commitment when they know what
is going on, how it affects them, and how their actions
contribute to their employer’s—and their own—success.
At Intelligrated, for instance, the CEO and the president/
COO hold quarterly companywide meetings, traveling to
the largest sites and broadcasting the events via webcasts so
everyone in the organization has an opportunity to watch.
The executives do more than just give updates on financials,
Luers says. “They tell employees what’s good and what’s
bad, and ask how can we help you, and what questions do
you have,” he says. “This kind of candid and productive
face-to-face meeting is invaluable.”
Another method is to provide recognition and rewards
for a job well done, either individually or as a team. One of
many examples is Ryder’s “Top Tech” national competi-
tion, where truck fleet technicians compete to diagnose and
repair increasingly difficult problems in vehicles. The com-
petition culminates with the best technicians competing at
