A winning play: Score big in the workplace by coaching up

Some people would rather hang by their fingernails on the edge of a cliff than provide feedback about their manager's performance. However, this type of two-way communication between employees and their managers -- known as "coaching up" -- is quickly catching on as a valuable tool to help companies improve retention and strengthen employee morale.

Retention in 2006 and beyond is a primary concern for 70 percent of HR managers, HR News reported recently. (1) In fact, the cost of turnover may be as much as 1.5 times an employee's first-year salary. Rocky relationships between managers and their employees is a big factor in spurring turnover. Such relationships can often result in decreased employee morale and productivity, ultimately leading to voluntary employee turnover. In a survey by Accountemps, 43 percent of executives polled cited the biggest factor in employee satisfaction is one's relationship with the boss. (2)

"In a department with a poor manager, the environment is one of lack of trust between manager and staff with employees being less accountable for their actions and performance," said Karen LaRue, Ceridian human resources consultant. "Employee perception becomes fact, productivity suffers due to increased absenteeism, tardiness and the overall feeling that the manager doesn't care. If an individual feels devalued, retention becomes a significant issue. But when individuals feel valued, they tend to value the company or manager in return."

How to coach the boss
Done correctly, feedback to your manager helps build mutual trust and gives your manager insight from a different perspective. This can help create an open and trusting environment where you and the team become a constant learning organization that seeks feedback and strives for alternative ways to promote excellence in all areas of the organization. Coaching can be an ongoing, collaborative process that clarifies performance targets, reinforces strengths and encourages individuals to stretch to even higher levels of performance. Building ongoing coaching into the culture produces a high return on investment while engaging people in their own success and effectiveness.

To coach up effectively, consider the following best practices:

• Determine the desired outcome of the conversation and be prepared with specifics to support your feedback. Think of coaching your manager as a mutual understanding of views, not persuasion surrounding only your viewpoint.
• Be genuine in your thoughts, letting your personality, observations and thoughts come through in an objective, nonjudgmental manner. Never push too hard on your views or you will become ineffective and your manager will stop listening.
• Deliver feedback with genuine concern for a positive outcome for you and the team.
• Listen to your manager's point-of-view and try to understand their perspective as well.
• Tie feedback into department or organizational goals, such as employee/client satisfaction, productivity, service quality or organizational performance.

When should you not try to coach your manager? Never coach up when you have partial facts or when full disclosure of facts is not permitted. In addition, learn to recognize when your manager is or is not open to feedback. Also, keep in mind that managers aren't perfect -- you may have had a past experience with a manager who was less than receptive to coaching or one who failed to put relevant feedback to use.

"The five percent rule is a practice that many managers employ," explained LaRue. "Ninety-five percent of the time, managers are willing to listen and accept constructive feedback. The five percent rule applies when a decision has been made and your manager is not open to additional points-of-view. Learn to recognize when you are in the five percent, and if you are, don't push your views."

Learn the plays
If you have never been involved in the practice of coaching up, it can be helpful to seek a mentor for assistance in maneuvering the organization, seeking advice and counsel as you grow within your job function. Remember, feedback involves change or modification of behavior. The thought of change can make some people uncomfortable and challenges them to push beyond their comfort level. It may be helpful to reach out to your human resources department for advice or counseling about different methods of communicating and delivering feedback to your manager. If your manager is still resistant to receiving coaching, human resources can serve in the role as advisor and coach by delivering feedback from a different perspective.

"Managers can't modify a behavior unless they are aware of concerns," added LaRue. "If employees don't make their managers aware of a perceived negative behavior, the behavior will continue and possibly escalate."

Do a complete 360
One of the most recent popular processes to address performance improvement is the 360-degree performance review. This type of review, also aptly called a multi-source feedback system, is designed so that a target manager receives feedback from various constituencies including peers, subordinates, supervisors and possibly customers. The general idea of the approach is that managerial positions are complex and information from a single source, such as a supervisor, may not appropriately capture the full or true picture of a manager's performance. Organizations that implement such systems believe that this approach leads to higher self-awareness which, in turn, leads to more positive changes in job behaviors compared to traditional feedback/appraisal systems.

A 360-feedback system can be used in a number of ways. For starters, it can serve to achieve business strategy and culture change. It can also enhance team effectiveness since behaviors contributing to an individual's effectiveness as a team member are very different from those required in more traditional line management relationships. And, just as individuals use 360-degree feedback to determine their own developmental needs, a company can use aggregate reports to assess training and development needs for the entire organization.

Are you ready to get in the game and rally your workforce to achieve a higher performance potential? Contact your Ceridian representative for more information on our Human Capital Management solutions to meet your company's needs.

Sources:

1. "Workers want vastly different rewards," HR News, February 2006.
2. "The Boss Makes the Weather," HR Magazine, May 2004.