The People Advantage: Improving Results Through Better Selection and Performance

268 Pages·1999·32.18 MB·English

by  Neville Bain

THE PEOPLE ADVANTAGE
The People
Advantage
Improving Results Through Better
Selection and Performance
Neville Bain and Bill Mabey
LLA:\
~IAC~ll
Business
© Neville Bain and Bill Mabey 1999
Softcover reprint of the hardcover I st edition I999
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of
this publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied
or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance
with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited
copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90
Tottenham Court Road, London WlP 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil
claims for damages.
The authors have asserted their right to be identified as the
authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 1999 by
MACNULLANPRESSLTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS
and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
ISBN 978-1-349-14941-4 ISBN 978-1-349-14939-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-14939-1
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and
made from fully managed and sustained forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99
Formatted by The Ascenders Partnership, Basingstoke
Illustrations by Ascenders
For Charles and Mae Bain, Peter and Kathleen Kemp
NEVILLE BAIN
For Trudy, Georgina and Stephanie- always supportive
BILL MABEY
Contents
List of Case Studies and Figures xii
Foreword by Derek Wanless, Group Chief Executive,
NatWest Group xiv
Preface xvi
Acknowledgements XX
PART I AN OVERVIEW 1
Chapter 1 Setting the Scene 3
People power 3
Achieving a productivity gain 5
The beautiful complexity of people and jobs 10
Honing your people resource 13
Summary 14
Chapter 2 Competencies and Attributes 16
The critical role of job analysis 16
Competencies and attributes 21
Using a differentiated model of competencies
and attributes 23
Whether competency models are adding value 26
Summary 29
Chapter 3 Selecting the Right People 30
The management case for examining selection 30
The right way to select 31
Cost against benefit 33
Comparative validity of selection methods 35
Usage of individual methods 37
- Personal interview 39
- Application formslbiodata 40
- Ability tests 42
- Simulation exercises 42
- Personality questionnaires 43
The appeal of good assessment 44
Summary 45
Chapter 4 Developing People in the Right Way 46
The practice of leading companies 46
Continuousleanring 47
The Human Resources input 49
Development of managers 50
The appraisal process 51
Appraisal practice 54
Management development and succession planning 56
Finding the talent 57
Assessing for potential 59
360° evaluation 62
Summary 64
Chapter 5 Optimum Use of the People Resource 66
The employee's perspective 66
The appraisal is central 69
The career review 70
Identifying the talent 72
Making managers accountable for their people 73
Making development bite 74
An effective organization 79
Summary 82
Chapter 6 An International Perspective 84
The cross-cultural context 84
The international operator 86
The implementation of an international assessment
process 89
Standardizing international assessment 94
- Differences in practice 94
- Standardization versus adaptation 96
- Country variations 99
Summary 101
PART II SPECIFIC ISSUES 103
Chapter 7 The Testing of Abilities and Personality 105
Growth in psychometric testing 105
Testing for abilities 106
- The concept 106
- Definitions and descriptions 107
- Overview of ability testing 109
- The need for professional standards 112
- Future prospects 113
Measuring personality 114
- The concept 114
- Definitions and descriptions 115
- The fundamental assessment problem 123
- Considering the options 124
- The case for questionnaire-based assessment 125
- The issue of faking 125
- A current overview 126
- Gaining acceptance for personality measurement 127
Summary 130
Chapter 8 Motivation 132
The case for motivation analysis 132
The reading of motivation 134
The Motivation Questionnaire 135
- Need Theories 135
- Reinforcement Theories 136
- Cognitive Theories 136
- An integrated model 137
Applications of motivation analysis 139
Motivational implications for the organization
as a whole 144
Summary 146
Chapter 9 Leadership 148
Background 148
What is leadership? 148
Leadership and management 149
Followers' perspective 151
Inspirational and perspirationalleadership 153
Successful leadership in practice 154
The cognitive approach 155
Identifying and developing leadership potential 157
Summary 160
Chapter 10 Further Applications - Creativity,
Entrepreneurship, Stress and
Communication 161
Creativity - an elusive resource 161
Identifying creative potential 163
Entrepreneurship - the management paradox 165
Entrepreneurship as a competency 167
Stress - a costly problem 169
The management of stress 169
The need for skill in communication 174
Critical role in management 175
Personal influencing skills 176
The process of influence 177
Summary 180
Chapter 11 Further Applications - Strategic Thinking
and Knowledge 182
Strategic thinking 182
A key differentiator at the top of the organization 186
Measuring strategic thinking 186
Knowledge 188
Professional intellect 191
Summary 193
Chapter 12 Improving the Performance of the Board 195
The critical role of the board 195
The management of the board 196
The role of the chairman 197
The non-executive or independent director 198
Director selection 199
The board in interaction as a team 200
The assessment of new board candidates 201
Survey findings 203
Director development 205
The ongoing appraisal of board members 205
The directors' checklist 206
Evaluation of the board 207
Where the board can add value 210
Summary 210
Chapter 13 Looking into the Future 212
Imprecise but valuable 212
Changing job demands 213
Sharing knowledge 214
Communicating 215
Retaining top talent 215
Assessment and development practice 216
The HR management role 219
International development of HR management 220
Bringing the human barriers down 222
Summary 223
Chapter 14 Lessons Learned 224
A review of the main messages 224
What is value? 227
Latent assets 228
Measures 229
Measuring the capability of the people resource 229
People Advantage Health Check 231
A final thought 234
Appendix A Calculating the Financial Return of an
Improved Selection Method 235
Glossary of Terms 238
References 242
Index 247