Organizational Clarity: RePackaging brands

As we all know organizations constantly repackage their products, the idea to rebuilt, retool, and reorganize is not only a foundational “brick” to building a successful organization. Most repackaging of products are successful, but there are some examples that most of us have lived through that have left us scratching our head. These organizations realized their mistakes and undid the repackaging process to get back to what their customers what they wanted.

For example, the new Coke is a very good example at not only repackaging but an entirely new product if you asked Coke customers, later the company would come out with Coke Classic and run that with the “new” Coke until there was only one left standing. Just recently Kylie Jenner repackaged her line of beauty products only with new packaging and a higher price, with the same old products inside. Being a “celebrity” and her product line not as globally used by a broad base of consumers can escape such scrutiny.

Although I have not used her products, it is still smart marketing as most people do not realize what they are paying for until it is too late. The smart part is that her company realized that their consumer base is paying for the “name” that goes with it, not the product as she rises in popularity so should her prices, or as reasoned by their actions. It is until it is too late will there be changes made to the new Coke formula will an organization retool their product from repackaged back to its original state, but only then.

Here is the article regarding Jenner’s repackaging error:

https://uk.style.yahoo.com/people-accusing-kylie-jenner-repackaging-103434739.html

Organizational Clarity: “Powerpoint: Color Blocks Template” free download

From the Articulate community is an article from easy, cheap solutions to meet organizational needs. In an email I received was a link to: “Powerpoint: Color Blocks Template” by Nicole Legault for a free download.

This Microsoft PowerPoint presentation download was made with the 2013 version of PowerPoint made up of five slides: One main slide and four additional slides. This would give any presentation to a sponsor or a group of learners an extra flair and organization that is usually needed to keep the flow going and help with explaining the subject matter properly.

It's a free download that has already had the font, organization, colors, etc., all done for you all you have to do is add text and personality, and viola! You will have a fantastic Microsoft PowerPoint presentation without that much effort expended while looking like an “expert” to everyone around you!

If you want to know more and download this PowerPoint just click the link here:

https://community.articulate.com/download/powerpoint-color-blocks-template

Organizational Clarity: “Course Seat Time Estimator” free download

From the Articulate community is an article from easy, cheap solutions to meet organizational needs. In an email I received was a link to: “Course Seat Time Estimator” by Mike Schwind for a free download.

This a Project Management & Planning download which will help anyone in the Training and Development department with trying to figure out how long their participants, the learners will take to complete the program they have designed. This can be remarkable in trying to determine the number of resources needed to be applied to the program before the organization gives the final “green light” for approval. Even though by this point most organizations have given approval all programs are subject to retooling, and this spreadsheet is a great tool during that process as well.

If you want to know more and download this Spreadsheet just click the link here:

https://community.articulate.com/download/course-seat-time-estimator

Organizational Clarity: "Confidential Survey" article

After reading this article about not completing the “confidential employee” survey, I realized although I have never been in a situation of having two dual entities warring to have me complete a survey to prove their points. I realized that whenever I was given a “confidential employee” survey, I did not complete it because I was always hounded (like the person in the article) to complete the survey. My question then was how confidential was it, if everyone and their mother knew I did not complete it?

I always wondered why organizations would use a “confidential” survey to create an illusion that this process is secret when is not. When a one-on-one with supervisors and their employees would, in fact, increase morale, improve human performance, and communication wherever the concentration existed. Creating this falsehood only disillusions the stakeholders of the organization and creates a breakdown of communication and trust. This is reaffirmed in the Forbes article listed below.

Add to that my studies within an Organizational Development program you start to understand when surveys such as this should be used and how unfortunately, it is not how most organizations use this tool. Instead of employee development and integrating employees into the organizational culture surveys are used to root out the “troublemakers” and to dissuade dissenting opinions or voices for needed change.

Rooting out these “troubled voices” in the eyes of the organization is cheaper and far easier than creating actual organizational change, than retraining managers and maintaining an atmosphere of cooperation. The hierarchy structure of most organizations is highly prized no matter how the organization states it is closer to the Clan structure characteristics with a “family” type atmosphere; no organization wants the inmates running the asylum. So there is no reason that any of us will see an end to these “confidential employee” surveys anytime soon.

This is the Forbes article which discusses how this gentleman will NOT participate in “confidential employee” surveys:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2017/02/21/no-i-wont-complete-the-confidential-employee-survey/#38020e856187

Organizational Clarity: Job hunter rejection via text article

After reading this article, I do feel for the teenager in this case when job hunting it is obviously important to showcase a hint of professionalism on both sides. When representatives from an organization decide to use text messaging to contact candidates regarding job opportunities, being old school, I feel is a little bit unprofessional and insensate regarding this issue of filling the position. If an organization is serious about contacting a candidate regarding a position in which they believe the candidate has the experience and skill, they will use email, phone calls, and voicemail, or even "snail" mail. 

However, in this case, this organization did not choose any of these options. They texted the teen as you can see in the article they were unimpressed with her "energy" and decided to cancel the interview which an actual phone call or email would have probably reflected this applicant's energy and desire for the position. Now with all the extended and negative press for the organization for which they apologized for the exchange. Of course, it is too late as many customers, and potential customers have decided to boycott the restaurant. Most likely a lot of potential applicants have done the same thing, and you can only imagine what the morale in this organization is like now!

I have received once in awhile a text about job opportunities, possibly due to my resume on Careerbuilder or Indeed.com, unfortunately with the news of various scams out there, one must wonder about this method of reaching out. In other words, I do not follow up with these types of offers at all because I am not sure who is on the other end. After seeing what this teenager went through I am glad I do not, it is bad enough to have the stress of looking for an opportunity in today's job market. But then to be harshly judged, through a text? Very unprofessional, organizations should take heed of this situation mentioned in this article and eliminate this type of communication for reaching possible job candidates.

This is an article discussing this unprofessional situation in "Teen receives extremely blunt job rejection, fights back on Twitter" just click on this link:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/teen-receives-extremely-blunt-job-121207790.html

Organizational Clarity: Describing the ASTD HPI Model

In a Human Performance Improvement class, I had to describe the ASTD HPI Model for an HPI wiki project assignment, I admit I did something basic so that I could allow my fellow students to add to the description. But however brief it may be I wanted to post it here in hopes that someone else can use it as well:

The ASTD HPI Model focuses on the Human Performance Improvement (HPI) professional during and after the intervention period. The ASTD HPI Model defines what the HPI professional’s role is, the outputs that are desired by the organization which they must deliver, and the ethical issues may they face during implementation. Plus, the ASTD HPI Model guides the Professional on how to assess individual stakeholder competencies and other various factors which can impact the HPI professional as they are trying to enhance human performance (Rothwell, 1999). The ASTD Model defines the roles for the HPI professional as it is divided into different stages: The Analyst, Intervention Specialist, the Change Manager and finally as the Evaluator (Rothwell, et al., 2012).

In each stage the HPI professional is gauging the performance gap identifying key issues that cause it (Analyst), then after identification, the best solution is chosen (Intervention Specialist) to narrow of fill the gap(s) in performance.  The HPI professional then as the change manager guides or leads the organization through the program implementation until implementation has been completed and there is an impact regardless of the result. Then the HPI professional as defined by the ASTD HPI Model reports the impact, the results and how the intervention(s) affected all the stakeholders involved.

Keyword team (2017) “Human performance improvement Gallery” Retrieved on February 1^st, 2017 from  http://keywordteam.net/gallery/99159.html

Rothwell, W. J. (1999). ASTD models for human performance improvement: Roles, competencies, and outputs. American Society for Training and Development.

Rothwell, W. J., Hohne, C. K., & King, S. B. (2012). Human performance improvement. Routledge.

Organizational Clarity: “Don’t Clap Throw Money Misadventures in Employee Engagement” article

As you see by my comment from February 10, 2017, had a definite opinion regarding Vince Cyboran’s article “Don’t Clap Throw Money Misadventures in Employee Engagement” on the Roosevelt University RU Training blog site.

“I have, at a past organization endure one of these “pep talks” experience mentioned in this blog and unfortunately, it only caused the morale of myself and my coworkers to go further south. The introduction of just the basic aspects from Frederick Herzberg’s Two-Factor–Model of Workplace Motivation could have changed, in my eyes, the entire organizational culture.

This post states that hygiene factors do not motivate employees but most of the organizations I have worked, believed that to motivate employees they had to offer free lunches or breakfast donuts, instead of offering raises or bonuses. The introductions of these initiatives were successful at first as most of the employees at the time thought that this was good as a reward they were going to get.

However, with a high turnover rate, there was a constant influx of new employees, plus there was a new hiring requirement in which employees needed a Bachelor’s degree to be hired. These new employees did not favor the idea of the hygiene factors being used as a substitution to monetary or professional motivation factors. Therefore, with these new employees these initiatives quickly failed, but every once in a while, management does fall back upon free lunches or breakfast donuts, as motivators.”

Unfortunately, this still occurs many times over in a lot of different organizations, what happens is that people lowered their expectations of what they desire and organizations go to the level to meet them. Usually because giving their employees with these lowered expectations is better for the organizational bottom line than anything else. Keeping an idea of your professional self-worth, keeping a positive point of view you may get more than what you deserve, and if you do not why should you accept what the organization deems is logical or worthy of you? Maybe that is not a place that you, at the end of the day, deserve to be.

Reference

Vince Cyboran (2015) “Don’t Clap Throw Money Misadventures in Employee Engagement” Roosevelt University February 16, 2015 Retrieved from:

https://rutraining.org/2015/02/16/dont-clap-throw-money-misadventures-in-employee-engagement/