R Karl Hebenstreit On 5 Tips For A Successful Performance Management Process
An Interview with Rachel Kline
Ensure that feedback is collected and used from those stakeholders who have the closest contact with the employee. Use themes from this collection of data, not one-offs as universally-held facts.
Performance management is notoriously difficult to get right, but not impossible. In this series we speak with experts to get their insights into creating an effective performance management system. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing R. Karl Hebenstreit, Ph.D.
Karl is a certified executive coach, leadership and organization development consultant, author, and international speaker. His 25+ year career spans the areas of HR and OD in the biotechnology, clinical diagnostics, life sciences, healthcare, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, professional services, high-tech, and real estate services industries, having worked at Merck, Bellcore, AT&T, Lee Hecht Harrison, Cushman & Wakefield, Kaiser Permanente, EMC², Bio-Rad Laboratories, and Genentech/Roche. He holds a PhD in Organizational Psychology from Alliant International University/CSPP (where his dissertation focused on “Helping Organizations Attract, Retain, and Motivate employees with the Enneagram”), a MS in HR Management from the Rutgers Graduate School of Management and Labor Relations, an Evidence-Based Coaching Certificate from Fielding Graduate University (that led to his PCC), and is an IEA Accredited Professional with Distinction as well as an IEA Accredited Professional/Provider/Teacher. He is the author of The How & Why: Taking Care of Business with the Enneagram (now in its third edition) and the children’s book Nina and the Really, Really Tough Decision (now available in English, Spanish, and Greek!).
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Before we drive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Certainly, thanks for asking! I am an Executive Coach, Author, Speaker, and Organization Development Consultant with over 30 years of experience working in the Human Resources, Leadership Development, and Organization Development departments of large, multinational organizations, including AT&T, Merck, Genentech/Roche, Kaiser Permanente, Cushman & Wakefield, and EMC. I discovered that I wanted a career in Human Resources accidentally, while taking an undergraduate elective course at Rutgers in what was then called “Industrial and Personnel Psychology.” I quickly became very intrigued with the topic, and, upon graduation with my Bachelor of Arts degree (and finding myself unable to secure a job in the early 1990s), I went right into the Rutgers Graduate School of Management and Labor Relations’s Master of Science program for “Human Resource Management.” I went to school at night and was able to land a series of temporary Human Resources jobs at Merck & Co., Inc., covering for maternity leaves in their Labor Relations, Employee Communications and Policies, Human Resource Information Systems (including being an administrator of their applicant tracking system and home-grown College Recruiting and Fair Tracking System!), and Employee Stock Option Program departments. Over the course of my two years at Merck, I basically created my own HR Rotation Program, applying what I learned at night in my Master’s program! I was recruited away from Merck into a “permanent” role as a Recruiting and Staffing Manager for Bellcore (who recruited Rutgers graduates), and two years later, AT&T recruited me (also because of my Rutgers affiliation). I moved to California with AT&T a year-and-a half later, where I transitioned from an HR Generalist to Leadership Development and Organization Development, along with starting my Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
One of my earliest business mistakes and lesson learned happened while I was working at AT&T in a role that was new to me. My 27-year old self somehow ended up in a marketing/business development role (for a Human Resources program) and was deemed the logical person to present our program at the annual Society for Human Resource Management conference in Minneapolis, MN. Off I went with my agenda of demonstrating and showcasing the virtues of our technology platform and hopefully attracting new organizations to join this “Talent Alliance” network. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this amazing network of forward-thinking, employee development-centric international organizations and pay millions of dollars annually to do so? My first session was a disaster — live technology didn’t cooperate (this was 1998), people were not interested in a sales pitch, and they left in droves. I was devastated. Fortunately, I had one more session scheduled to redeem myself with a new audience. I approached the session with a totally different mindset, this time focusing on THEIR needs and what THEY wanted to take away from the session. I also set expectations up front about what my session would be so that they knew if this was right for them. Only a couple people left at the beginning since the topic would not have been of interest to them, and the rest stayed and engaged in a more meaningful session. My lesson learned is that we don’t know what others really want/expect unless we ask them and that it’s imperative to set expectations up front so that everyone is aligned on what will happen. It’s akin to the Platinum Rule: treat others the way THEY want to be treated, and it’s a very inclusive way of discovering, appreciating, and integrating the diversity that surrounds us and of which we may not be aware.
None of us is able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
There are so many!! My parents, for one (for two?), who have always supported my educational interests and endeavors and serve as wonderful role models for focus and hard work. All of the hiring managers who took a chance on me, especially for “next step” roles; particularly Janet Konopka who made sure I wasn’t a casualty of my first job elimination at AT&T, who set me up on a trajectory for growth and success in a career in Human Resources, and who continues to serve as a role model for me for kindness and grace and calm under pressure. Corrine Root served as a catalyst to help me be a better and more confident public speaker and remains a huge supporter of my Enneagram work. Dr. Jo Sanzgiri brought in Helen Palmer to speak at one of our classes in my Ph.D. program; Helen’s introduction to the Enneagram changed the trajectory of my studies, my self-understanding and relationship to others, and my personal and professional life for the better. Rachael Allison hired me into what would end up being my last “in-house” corporate job at Genentech/Roche and continues to be a source of inspiration and support for leading bravely and standing up for yourself and your worth. I am so fortunate and grateful to have so many people who launched, took, and are taking this journey along with me.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
In addition to the Platinum Rule (“treat others the way that THEY want to be treated”) — which has been a game changer in emotional intelligence development for me and my clients — I also find comfort in the concept of “readiness.” Instead of getting frustrated with a client, potential prospect, or situation, I remind myself that they may not be ready for this at this time (but may become ready at a later point in time).
Thinking back on your own career, what would you tell your younger self?
The advice I would give my younger self is to set and maintain clear boundaries for myself, about what I’m willing to do and put up with in a given situation; when those boundaries are crossed, I need to address that situation right away and move on (literally or figuratively).
Where do you see a lot of organizations go wrong with performance management?
Performance management is so tricky to get right because it is not usually an objective process and performance targets and expectations constantly change. In organizations using a bell curve system, where employees are forced into a distribution curve, this also creates unnecessary and unhealthy internal competition, and sometimes even an environment of fear (recall Jack Welch’s infamous mandate at General Electric, where the lowest ranked 10% of the workforce would be terminated annually?). In addition, most managers are conflict-avoidant, and are reluctant to hold the difficult conversations necessary to inform their team members when they are veering off course. This can be due to a fear of not being liked, damaging the relationship, creating a contentious environment, being too busy or preoccupied to even notice, not wanting to create a painful situation, and/or simply not caring. Poor performance management systems can also perpetuate and aggravate DEI inequities, especially where favored others receive higher ratings, and the resulting salary increases and higher bonuses tied to those higher ratings. Regardless of an organization’s best efforts to keep ratings secret, word inevitably gets out as employees compare their results, and an exercise intended to motivate employees to better future performance, actually ends up doing the opposite to the point of catalyzing regrettable turnover.
Based on your experience and success, what are your top 5 tips for a successful performance management process?
1 . Set explicit expectations and goals at the beginning of each performance review cycle for each employee. Explain exactly what is expected from them, not only in task performance results (the WHAT), but also in HOW those results are achieved (according to the organization’s values). Ensure employee’s understanding of and agreement to these goals. If the requirements and the goals change due to changing business needs/the competitive environment, etc., reset and reclarify those new expectations and goals and ensure new understanding of and agreement to them.
2 . Ensure that the goals and rewards are meaningful to each employee and that they see WHY they are important (how they contribute to the organization’s overall mission, vision, and goals). This will create buy-in and commitment to them. Also, if the rewards are meaningful, each employee will feel uniquely valued and appreciated — not everyone is motivated by simply receiving more money, more responsibility, and/or a higher title. We need to make sure we are tapping into each individual’s core motivation and rewarding them appropriately.
3 . Create a culture where feedback is constant, seen as something that is non-threatening, non-career derailing, and intended for the recipient’s development and success (not to make them feel disrespected, discouraged, and put down). Performance management should NOT be a once-a-year only discussion and any information provided during an official, documented discussion should NEVER be a surprise. (When was the last time you had a positive reaction to someone asking you: “Can I give you some feedback?”).
4 . Ensure that feedback is collected and used from those stakeholders who have the closest contact with the employee. Use themes from this collection of data, not one-offs as universally-held facts.
5 . Most organizations value teamwork and have work done by/in teams, yet reward individuals. When creating goals and setting expectations, ensure that there is a team component to them. SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable/Aggressive, Realistic, Time-Bound) can become SMARTEST by ensuring that they are also Engaging, Satisfying to the Employee, and Team-Oriented. Consider having teammate feedback be part of the performance management process … or even more radically, have the teams come up with how they want to manage their team’s performance internally.
How do you approach performance management in your organization? Do you tie it to compensation for example?
All of the organizations in which I’ve worked over my thirty-year career have had a (dreaded) annual performance review cycle and process, with ratings tied to compensation and bonus.
Which tools do you use for your performance management?
All of the organizations in which I’ve worked over my thirty-year career have used a multi-tiered performance rating system (ranging from some variant of Not Rated for new hires, to Does NOT meet, Meets, and Exceeds expectations), all entered into a HRIS (Human Resources Information System) like Workday or ADP.
How do you measure and improve your performance management process?
Human Resources / People & Culture regularly reviews the effectiveness of and satisfaction with the organizational performance management process and make tweaks to accommodate. This has typically resulted in fewer rating categories and more stringent requirements to attain the highest rating.
We are very blessed to have some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have a private lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this.
In this context, I would love to have lunch with Aubrey Daniels, to better understand her views on performance management. Ultimately, I would love to have lunch with someone who can give more exposure/circulation to my book “Nina and the Really, Really Tough Decision” that teaches children (and the adults who may read it to them) that human beings have one of nine core motivations/worldviews that drives all of our perceptions, decisions, and behaviors … and that we must integrate all nine of them in order to leverage that diversity and develop ourselves more fully. (This has obvious implications for performance management, no?)
How can our readers further follow your work?
Feel free to connect with me via LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rkarlhebenstreit or via my website: www.performandfunction.com
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
You’re very welcome! Thank you for including me in contributing to your work!
