Lazy Managers Giving HR Professionals Nightmares this HalloweenOctober 31st, 2008 |
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We recently surveyed HR professionals on a variety of spooky topics with our Second Annual HR Horrors Survey, and I wanted to share the results with you.
But first, the winner of the Amazon.com gift certificate is Ken Pespisa from Lois Paul & Partners. Congratulations Ken, and thanks for participating!
This year’s survey revealed that lazy managers are HR’s biggest concern when it comes to employee performance reviews, and that economic issues are top of mind with the majority of HR pros. Here’s an overview of the survey findings. Happy haunting!
What is your biggest appraisal nightmare?
This year lazy managers seem to be the biggest issue giving HR professionals appraisal-related nightmares, replacing last year’s winner “inappropriate comments”:
| Lazy managers | 57.6% |
| Incomplete appraisals | 15.4% |
| Late appraisals | 7.8% |
| Too much paper | 6.8% |
| Other | 12.4% |
Comments and Other Responses:
- Easy graders that take the easy way out when it comes to doing appraisals so there’s not an accurate reflection of performance.
- Constant criticism of the process regardless of changes we make to accommodate their complaints.
- The business has traditionally stated that salary increases are NOT linked to performance. So from the employee’s perspective, why bother with a performance appraisal?
And the Halogen team’s favorite:
- People who say how important it is to give feedback but then complain about how much work the appraisal process is!
What issue strikes fear into you most on a daily basis?
HR seems to have conquered last year’s biggest fear – technology – and moved on to a new one, employee problems. Despite all the hype, generational differences were at the bottom of the list for the HR pros surveyed.
| Handling Employee Problems | 25.9% |
| Retention | 17.9% |
| Recruiting | 11.7% |
| Pay for Performance/Bonuses | 9.9% |
| Retiring workers | 8.1% |
| Generational Differences | 1.9% |
| Other | 8.6% |
Comments and Other Responses:
- The unexplainable
- The changing winds of our CEO’s temperament
- Managing a heavy workload re: all of the above
And the spookiest response to this question:
- Dying too early! (We certainly agree with that!)
What issues do you fear will wreak havoc down the road?
What a difference a year makes. Last year, the biggest fear HR pros said they faced down the road was around succession planning. This year, the economy is top of mind with most HR professionals, as is building a high performance workforce.
| Current economic issues | 33.5% |
| Building a high performance workforce | 27.3% |
| Retention | 14.9% |
| Training new managers | 11.2% |
| Retiring workers | 8.1% |
| Other | 5.0% |
Comments and Other Responses:
- Inaccurate and incomplete employee appraisals
- Employees being expected to do more and more HR-specific tasks
- Vanishing employees and trying to replace them
The most sincere response:
- Ensuring employees are doing “real” work and not just pushing paper around, so there’s something to actually measure them on.
What terrifies you most?
Again this year, HR is most afraid of Vampires and Zombies, and with good reason! A new addition to this year’s category, aliens seems to concern many an HR pro as well, and there were also many write-ins of additional types of employees that scare HR most!
Vampires 34.0%
Employees who hide in the shadows and suck the organization’s resources dry.
Zombies 30.2%
Those employees whose minds and dedication have left long ago leaving just a vacant body behind to do the job.
Aliens 17.9%
The employees that no one is quite sure where they came from, who hired them or why.
Ghosts 6.2%
Those employees who seem to walk through walls and disappear into thin air when called upon.
Comments and Other Responses:
- Ghouls: Likable creatures with years of tenure but no other corporate experience. When new employees join they plot and plan to trip up new people so the existing employees look great!
- Frankenstein: Employees who move things from one place to the next looking productive but aren’t actually working on the strategic priorities of the business.
- Imps: Those employees who try to position themselves as perfect at the cost of others.
- Illusionists: Managers who have stopped learning and cannot recognize their own weaknesses.
- Jekyll and Hydes: Employees who say one thing to you and do something completely different.
And the Halogen team’s personal favorite:
- Witches/Warlocks: Those employees who appear to be extremely knowledgeable and capable, are highly respected by senior management but are really not what they seem.
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