The Optimized People Development System

Tag: lean thinking

  • Chasing and Catching in the People Development System

    Chasing and Catching in the People Development System

    I wonder if coach Vince Lombardi was a lean practitioner. Over 60 years ago he effectively harnessed the fifth lean principle when he encouraged his football team saying, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” Sure sounds like a lean mindset.

    The fifth lean principle, pursue perfection, is really that, a mindset. It is a discipline that helps teams develop habits around constantly looking for better ways to serve their customers’ needs. So, how do we apply this chasing and catching mindset to the system that organizations use to find, train, and retain people?

    Define What to Chase

    Applying the second lean principle helps determine the current state of the people development system. In this case via the Talent Stream Map. From this current state map, we can begin to envision and construct a future state map. If we were to actually capture perfection, what would that look like? Obviously, there’s a need for a realistic vision, but this is the chance to dream big and set stretch goals. Ultimately, what type of people development system do we want?

    Once the future state is articulated, the team can rally around the vision, understand the direction, and see the challenges ahead.

    The duration of the chase

    My team uses the word optimization to capture the spirit of continuous improvement. Admittedly, it’s semantical, but useful and it makes a nice acronym. Apparently, we get extra points for catchy acronyms. The idea is the same, we look for ways to make the system better, more efficient, and more effective.

    We see at least three levels of optimization:

    • System functionality. How well is the PDS working? Can we improve the connections between the five processes? Is data being collected and used effectively?
    • People centeredness. Is the system really focused on the people it serves? Can we expand our definition of development? Does the system help people adapt to change?
    • People + machines (Industry 5.0). Does the PDS help people become technology savvy (where tech might be applied, how to use data, etc.)? Does the PDS promote applied systems thinking to all stakeholders? Is the PDS capable and ready to aid in the transition into I5.0?

    The important point here is that, like other systems, there are many opportunities to improve the PDS, so the journey is a long one. Done well, it can be a very fruitful one as well.

    Determination in the chase

    We use maps to go on journeys and journeys take time. Leaders and stakeholders of the PDS help keep the momentum of continuous improvement by constantly pointing toward the future state and reminding the team of the value of striving in that direction.

    As easy, early gains give way to slower and more hard-fought progress, the determination to keep pressing forward is vital. Resolute leaders and effective communication are needed.

    A chasing and catching culture

    Coach Lombardi may not have been a lean guru, but he certainly understood the power of building a culture focused on constantly pushing the limits. He wanted his whole team to adopt high standards and to strive to reach a level of performance that was only possible if they reached those standards.

    The fifth lean principle serves as a cultural anchor. When the whole team is fully committed to continuous improvement, the chasing of perfection becomes a way of life within the organization. Appling this type of lean thinking to the PDS can help stakeholders to catch a level of excellence that will benefit the entire organization.

    Wrapping up the principles

    Over these last six posts, we’ve explored how to apply lean thinking to an organization’s internal workforce development efforts.

    The five principles of lean follow a logical thought process. We identify what our customers want (first principle); we know our system (second principle); we fine-tune and make our system efficient (third & fourth principles); and, from the fifth principle, we pursue the perfect system.

    Although the PDS is a non-linear system that can be difficult to see in operation, these five principles are still useful when trying to find ways to reduce waste, find efficiencies, and generally make improvements. If your team hasn’t applied these guiding principles to this especially important system, try it. And then share what you learn!

  • Demand in The People Development System – Lean Principle #4

    Demand in The People Development System – Lean Principle #4

    In the context of the PDS the fourth lean principle can be challenging to envision, because of the element of time. Still, the concept can be useful to stakeholders.

    Principle 4 – Establish pull.

    Like the principle of flow, this principle is about movement through a system. If you can’t attain one piece flow in a production system, then the goal would be to establish pull, whereby the next operation gets what is needed, when it is needed so that various types of waste are minimized.

    Using this lean thinking to monitor movement through the PDS helps by reminding stakeholders that progress and movement should be constant. People should be advancing. How many are moving? Which areas need more movement? If there is no movement, what actions should be taken to restart it? Having this mindset focuses attention on the near term by keeping the team engaged and growing, and on the long term by ensuring that the future talent needs of the organization can be met.

    How Pull Happens in the PDS.

    New opportunities create pull in this system. People are needed (pulled) into new roles when new capabilities and capacity require people to take on new challenges. The principles of flow and pull help PDS leaders identify which positions/disciplines are moving through the other organizational systems. Keeping a watchful eye on these two forces can inform stakeholders about needed adjustments to the system.

    In the PDS, a type of pull is established when the organization or the organizational systems have a need for people due to three factors:

    • Growth – new business, new capacity, acquisitions
    • Expansion – addition of new technology, new capabilities, or products
    • Success – increase in business, new markets, or productivity

    Advancing through the PDS is usually gradual and repetitive in nature. Some of the operations of the system – training, performance management, etc. – happen over and over again, making them difficult to track. 

    In this case, pull is accommodated not only by promotions, but also by skill level advancement and growth in leadership, cognitive training, personal goal attainment, knowledge acquisition, coaching ability, cross training in other areas, concept understanding (such as lean, kata, systems thinking, etc.), strategic thinking, etc.

    Seeing the movement in the PDS.

    Systems thinking really helps when applying these principles to the PDS. Is the system moving people along their development pathways? This requires the PDS to prepare people through the performance management process and through the training process using tools like the development pathways. Of course, retention must be strong as well.

    The pull effect can be identified by monitoring the needs of the three internal PDS customers and ensuring that people are positioned to move at the appropriate time. Timely data and effective communication practices are necessary for this to occur.

    Bottom line, using the lean principles of flow and pull to manage the PDS helps all stakeholders monitor the progress people are making as they prepare for new roles and work to gain new capabilities to help the business succeed.

    Next time, the fifth lean principle – the pursuit of perfection!

  • People Flowing Through the System – Lean Principle #3 in the PDS

    People Flowing Through the System – Lean Principle #3 in the PDS

    Within this people-centered system, time is obviously important, as is movement. Although, the time element of flow in the people development system is different. Takt time, cycle time, and touch time don’t necessarily apply in the same ways. Those of us who have spent significant time in manufacturing might struggle with this concept because time applies constant pressure to a manufacturing process. For this system though, the work that flows through the system is the work of developing people.

    Lean Principle 3 – Create flow.

    The traditional definition of flow in lean means that a product moves without interruption from one production station to the next. When each production step is completed, the part can simply move on to the next station and begin being processed.

    When it comes to developing people it’s not simply moving from one station to another, or one department to another, but also from one level of knowledge, capability, and competence.

    The critical consideration here is that some level of advancement, flow, is being made often and with intentionality so that the people being served by the system are making continual progress on their development journey.

    In production, value is added when something is done to the product as it flows through the system, which moves it closer to what the customer has asked for. In the PDS, value is added when the people served by the system grow and develop and move closer to what all of the PDS customers have asked for (the four customers described in the post on the first lean principle).

    How can you tell if the PDS is creating flow?

    The best way to know if people are progressing at a proper pace is to know where they are supposed to be going. Development pathways are excellent tools that track an employee’s progress along their personalized development journey. A learning management system can also help, but a pathway or individual development plan adds an element of planning that might be more visible than what is available in an LMS.

    There are also key data points that help to identify flow patterns. Data that shows how many people are actively engaged in development activities; the number of people being cross-trained; how many people have been promoted through the system; new capabilities gained, and performance management successes. Just to name a few.

    Tracking flow helps PDS leaders identify how people are progressing and which positions/disciplines are moving through the system by connecting key metrics from training to retention and performance management.

    Where flow comes from in the PDS

    Create flow in the PDS by ensuring that everyone is progressing along their development path, career ladder, etc. Flow increases when the PDS and its stakeholders are constantly looking for and developing key attributes and talent. In addition, flow is enhanced when departments and teams are growing in ability, capacity, and productivity, moving people into greater roles, more responsibilities, and increased levels of knowledge.

    If you can’t create flow, establish pull, which is the lean principle we’ll look at in the next post.

  • The 2nd Lean Principle Applied to the People Development System

    The 2nd Lean Principle Applied to the People Development System

    The customer (in the case of the PDS, customers) will expect certain value from the system. We explored this in the previous post. The second lean principle provides critical visibility so that the stakeholders can identify gaps and opportunities for improvements. Creating a visual guide that shows how the system works helps stakeholders to address those often difficult-to-see opportunities. However, the map of the PDS is a little different.

    Principle 2 – Map the Value Stream

    The Talent Stream Map was inspired by the Value Stream Map used in traditional lean applications. Here’s the post describing the TSM.

    The TSM provides a way to clearly understand how data (quantitative and qualitative), tools, and leadership all come together from across the system we use to find, train, and retain people. It also helps to clarify the connections between the five functional areas of the PDS.

    The right map can make a journey more successful. The Talent Stream Map helps identify the “You are here” point in a journey toward improving your people development system. It serves as a great guide along the way, and it engages all the system stakeholders as they take this improvement journey together.

    Here’s some feedback that will help explain the impact the TSM can have:

    “The Talent Stream Mapping portion of the OPDS exercise was a key part of understanding the current state of our processes and it is imperative that you know and understand this so that you can reconstruct a system that will lead to improvement. We clearly were doing things differently in our various departments and we needed to standardize our practices. The mapping made this clear and we can now move forward with improving.” David Roos, Operations Manager, Mid South Wire.

    “I had seen an OPDS overview before, and it is great information. However, the deeper dive into our own people development system using the Talent Stream Map was helpful because it allowed us to see how each of us worked within our own programs and also how we worked within the larger program context. This created more of a bond with other team members.” Tennessee Workforce Development Professional.

    “I would like to recognize the fantastic insights gained from recently attending The Optimized People Development System workshop facilitated by Tim Waldo with the University of TN, Center for Industrial Services. I loved the simplified steps on how to incorporate each function and stakeholder in developing strategies (Talent Stream Map) and how all are connected and impact the People Development System. These strategies will transform our business into attracting and retaining top talent, which results in a more positive culture and helps in achieving our business goals. I left this workshop eager for more, excited to bring this back to my organization and using the tools to improve our systems. This is not just for HR – this is for any stakeholder that wants to understand and ensure strategies align with the most important asset of any business– our employees.” Alisha Garrison, HR Manager. Parker Hannifin

    Next time, we’re on to the third lean principle.

  • Applying the 5 Lean Principles to the People Development System

    Applying the 5 Lean Principles to the People Development System

    Optimization is a really useful word. To optimize something is to make it the best it can be. When used in the Optimized People Development System, it is intended to convey the sense of working toward the best possible version of a system used to attract, train, and keep people. It means continuous improvement for the most important of organizational systems.

    There are processes all around us that could benefit from continuous improvement and the elimination of waste. This is certainly true for an organization’s internal workforce development processes. And it’s great when you can use reliable improvement techniques on established systems.

    Lean concepts emerged from manufacturing and over time have evolved into lean thinking and then further into a lean mindset with principles that can be applied to practically any process or system. Eliminate waste and make things better for people. Seems like a good idea in any industry.

    However, this system, the people development system, has some unique characteristics, making the application of lean, continuous improvement a bit more challenging. Still, I believe that the principles of lean can and should be applied to the PDS.

    The five principles of lean are:

    • Define value from the customer’s point of view
    • Map the value stream
    • Create flow
    • Establish pull, and
    • Strive for perfection.

    Over the next few weeks, we will explore how each of these principles can be applied to the people developing processes outlined in previous blog posts.

    Here’s a brief teaser for each. There are four customers who expect certain value from the PDS. Knowing what each one values will help stakeholders make important improvements to meet their needs.

    Inspired by the Value Stream Map, the Talent Stream Map was developed to help make the PDS visible. It helps the team see gaps and opportunities as well as their individual roles within the system.

    Flow in this sense is not just about people physically moving through the system, it is also about intellectual movement, emotional movement, cognitive movement. Flow implies progress and growth on several levels.

    For the PDS, the pull concept is enhanced when the organization or the organizational systems within it has a need to help people advance due to three key factors – growth, expansion, and success.

    Finally, pursuing perfection in the PDS is where the optimization theme comes in. Three levels of optimization can keep the emphasis on truly continuous improvement for this people centered system.

    Next up, defining the customer of the people development system.

  • A Different Map for a Vital System

    A Different Map for a Vital System

    Maps have long captured the imagination of countless generations. Whether in search of some fantastic treasure, some lost or forgotten land, or something more practical like finding the way home, maps have played a key role in human civilization. There are many types of maps helping to answer questions like, where are we now, and where are we going? What type of journey will this be, and how should we prepare?

    These useful charts are for more than just simply changing physical locations though. Some maps can provide perspective and illuminate potential. Business leaders often use maps to identify improvement opportunities for their systems and processes. There are a few tried and true mapping tools that leaders have relied on for years in these efforts. Choosing the right tool is an important first step.

    Lean manufacturing aficionados understand that details are important in pursuit of continuous improvement. The Value Stream Map has been used for years to visually represent all the steps involved in a process. The beauty of the VSM is its ability to show clear connections between process steps, information flows, and material flows.

    However, there is a system where the traditional VSM is not the best map to allow a team to see the inner workings of a particularly important system. A system that could certainly benefit from continuous improvement efforts.

    Introducing the Talent Stream Map

    An organization’s internal workforce development efforts form a system, known by my team as their People Development System. It is comprised by five functional areas – recruiting, onboarding, retention, performance management, and the heart of the system, the training process.

    The PDS is a complex, non-linear system. Its functions and activities occur at various times, with multiple stakeholders, in many places across the organization. For example, retention efforts on second shift, multiple training activities on all shifts, and a conversation over lunch regarding performance improvement opportunities. And, of course, the PDS does not produce a “finished” product. People should always be receiving training and getting performance management support. Retention efforts are also never ending.

    Recognizing the need to help provide visibility to the structure and functions of the PDS and inspired by the Value Stream Map, my team developed the Talent Stream Map, a visual guide of all the components necessary to find, train, and retain people to help an organization meet its strategic goals.

    The structure of the TSM

    Four drivers

    The PDS is empowered and energized by the tools used, data collected, methods of delivery, and the people involved in the processes it houses. Once identified, these components are seen side by side and gaps and opportunities can be explored.

    Mapping the tools used in all the processes of the PDS allows the exploration of several helpful questions that can guide the discovery of  improvement ideas. For example,

    • Do we have all the tools needed?
    • When was the last time tools were updated?
    • Are we using tools like development pathways effectively across the PDS?
    • Are we leveraging the tools from one area to another across the whole PDS?

    Data is generally collected to help manage the PDS, if only at the basic level, which is fairly easy to track down. Comparing data across the whole of the PDS isn’t as simple. Gathering better data can inform better decisions. When mapped, gaps and opportunities for data collection become more obvious.

    • What data are we getting and are we actually using it?
    • What data is missing?
    • What correlations can be made from data across the five functional areas?
    • Are we asking the right questions of the data?

    Exploring the delivery of the process steps and services helps stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of the delivery and to identify potential improvements.

    • Are the methods of delivery up to date? (this relates to things like technology and to people’s expectations, etc.)
    • Is the timing of delivery right?
    • Where are we delivering these steps and services?
    • How can we improve the delivery?

    The people component of the PDS is one of the most important, and one of the most challenging to see. Leaders at all levels contribute to the PDS’s success or failure. Undoubtedly, frontline managers & supervisors impact the process of finding, training, and retaining employees. They are the main avenue of communication within the PDS – their influence even reaches the community. These important stakeholders impact culture, either positively or negatively.

    • Are the people involved in the PDS aware of their roles?
    • Are they trained to do their part (in each of the five areas)?
    • Are they held accountable for the success of the PDS?
    • How can we help people improve in their PDS related roles?

    Once the mapping effort has revealed who is involved with each area and how they are involved, those leaders and stakeholders can visually see how they fit into the system and understand how and why their contributions matter.  

    The purpose of the TSM

    To begin to improve a system, you must first establish its condition. The TSM is intended to make a complex, people-centric system more visible to identify gaps and opportunities that might go unseen otherwise.

    After the current state is established and understood, the next logical step is to begin to construct a future state map. This is where the strategy development starts. Stakeholders can make observations, express ideas and concerns, and begin the process of envisioning what the system could potentially look like.

    The value of the TSM

    Ideally, the TSM is built by all the stakeholders of the PDS. Those being all the individuals who supervise or manage others. As the process unfolds, stakeholders will see parts of the PDS that they may not have seen or fully understood before. There will be conversations that could reveal a misunderstanding of how certain functions are supposed to work versus how they actually work. Ideas, assumptions, and concerns can be voiced. Most importantly, mental models can be aligned, or the recognition of the various mental models can be dealt with.

    Waste reduction is the defining hallmark of lean thinking. The TSM helps teams isolate and reduce waste in the people development system. Waste in this system differs from waste in the traditional lean definition. Time, effort, and money are the main types of waste in the PDS, but there are also intangible wastes such as wasted opportunities and wasted potential.

    Using the TSM

    Making the complexities of the internal workforce development efforts visible can help teams in a number of ways.

    • Awareness. All stakeholders get a wholistic view of the system and their role within it.
    • Discovery. Identify gaps and opportunities across one of the most important organizational systems.
    • Dialog. One of the most valuable aspects of using the TSM is the conversations that occur during the map’s construction.

    Business leaders are weary of trying to solve the labor issues we are facing in our state and across the country. The Optimized People Development System and the Talent Stream Map were developed to help these leaders identify often unseen levers that they might manipulate to improve their methods to find, train, and retain the people they desperately need. They help leaders focus more on the things they can control and less on the things they cannot.

    The right map can make a journey more successful. The Talent Stream Map helps identify the “You are here” point in a journey toward improving your people development system. It serves as a great guide along the way, and it engages all the system stakeholders as they can make this improvement journey together.

    If you would like more information about either of these tools let us know. You can reach me through the comments here or at tim.waldo@tennessee.edu.

    Do us a favor please. If you construct a Talent Stream Map with your fellow stakeholders, please send us pictures and share your story. We love to learn how teams use these tools to improve their people development efforts.

  • Doubling Down on Internal Workforce Development Efforts

    Doubling Down on Internal Workforce Development Efforts

    The heavy cloud of concern over the American labor force continues to weigh down employers. Frustrated and exasperated leaders at all levels are struggling daily with the difficulty of finding and keeping people. My team at the Tennessee Manufacturing Extension Partnership certainly hears the frustration from those we serve.

    Driven by tenacity and a pressing sense of urgency, more business leaders are looking outwardly and investing in long-term solutions with multiple partners while ramping up efforts to attract people to work now. Investing some of that valuable time and effort inwardly could also help address the challenges of finding and keeping a stable workforce.

    Look again.

    Many manufacturers in Tennessee have already taken a close look at their people development efforts. Some have revisited their policies, some have expanded their benefits, and others have bolstered training and development. Still, there are probably other improvements to be made. In the spirit of continuous improvement, there’s always a chance to dig deeper and uncover new efficiencies and opportunities.

    The Optimized People Development System suggests that a good starting place is to create a Talent Stream Map. Based on the value stream map used in lean thinking, the Talent Stream map makes the PDS visible with all its beauty and wonder right alongside all its warts and freckles. Once all the stakeholders have their say and the TS map is complete, it becomes easier to explore possibilities for improvement.

    Look deeper.

    Asking more questions at more levels of the PDS can reveal overlooked opportunities. How can we improve recruiting is a good question. Can we expand where we recruit is also a good question. How are we attracting potential team members and when does attracting turn into recruiting? Can we do that part better? Digging into why we are recruiting will almost certainly stimulate some interesting discussions that cause other parts of the PDS to be reexamined.

    Another good question is, how are our retention efforts? What if we explore how we are personalizing retention? When do we begin our retention efforts in earnest? How can we do that part better? There are many questions that will come from looking more intently at all five areas of the PDS. Challenge the system stakeholders to stretch their question asking skills.

    Applying continuous improvement means to constantly ask more questions and explore more possibilities to make things better. If the organization has a good or even a very good people development system, there are surely other improvements that can still be made. Better questions help us to find those hidden opportunities.

    Hidden in plain sight.

    As the team explores the PDS, they often find things that were obvious, but unnoticed. In one instance, as a group of stakeholders stood in front of their TS map and discussed the flow of communication, they discovered that one tool they were using was not working as designed. They saw this after several questions about how the tool was supposed to be used and when. It was being used, but not consistently and not in the same way by all departments. They suddenly had a meaningful way to improve one of their processes.

    Stakeholders of another system unearthed persistent inconsistencies across departments regarding how training was being delivered and even what training was available. Eight supervisors described how they
    individually understood the company’s training approach, and ultimately discovered that they all had a different understanding of that extremely important aspect of people development.

    It has never been tougher to find people to help an organization fulfill its goals and purposes. Looking at and engaging with outward workforce development efforts to ease the struggle is important. However, overlooked improvements in the organization’s internal processes could also help fill positions and keep them filled.

    Discovery of these opportunities comes from thoughtful, purposeful exploration at all levels of the PDS and a willingness to dig deeper. Even though you’ve looked already, look again. Go another layer or two in. There just might be overlooked opportunities that could help reduce the amount of frustration and helplessness that your team is dealing with.

    Image by nugroho dwi hartawan from Pixabay

  • The Flow and Pull of Human Inventory – A Lean Perspective

    The Flow and Pull of Human Inventory – A Lean Perspective

    It just sounds wrong to ask such a question. It feels insensitive, almost Orwellian in a way. Should people be considered inventory? Applying lean thinking to a system requires that we look at all the components, and inventory can certainly be a major factor. But, in this case, we’re not talking about a store of things, a list of items on shelves or in boxes. We’re talking about people.

    Inventory is one of the famous wastes in lean thinking. Usually, the goal is not to have too much or have it before it’s needed; this is because lean concepts originated from manufacturing. However, applying lean concepts to a people development system (PDS) can challenge the definition of inventory.

    Exactly Where are the People?

    I was talking to a colleague about helping organizations optimize their PDS by applying lean thinking. As we discussed how to analyze the traditional wastes of lean, my friend suggested that the stack of applications that an organization has for open job postings represents a type of inventory. That stack could be seen as an inventory of raw materials ready to be processed by the PDS. Potential, raw talent, waiting to be built up.

    Extending the analogy, perhaps these are other types of human inventories: 

    • Work in Progress – Those individuals involved in training and development.
    • Finished Goods – No one is ever fully finished learning, but these are reaching their peak in their role.
    • Reworks – those who recognize the need to change and are open to the idea of upskilling and retraining.
    • Obsolete Inventory – those people in the organization who refuse to change or whose roles are disappearing.

    There is also just the overall headcount. Donella Meadows, a leading contributor to systems thinking, often referred to stocks as the foundation of any system. She bolsters this assertion saying, “Stocks are the elements of the system that you can see, feel, count, and measure at any given time.” In the people development system, headcount is the stock, making it a type of inventory; one that can fluctuate by being acted upon by a system’s feedback loops, either a balancing loop or a reinforcing loop, or a combination of both. The PDS is responsible for maintaining the stock of people in all the organizational systems.

    Working Their Way Through the System

    Looking at people as inventory in some instances can be helpful. For example, two key lean principles are establishing flow and creating a pull system.

    Flow

    In this instance, flow represents people successfully moving through the system. It happens when the recruiting process is continually finding and developing acceptable/trainable talent at all key positions. It is created by constantly looking for valuable attributes and talents, even if there is no signal from internal customers. Then, creating the opportunity for those attributes and talents to “flow” into other parts of the organization; for the good of the individual and the organization.

    Flow is not just about people physically moving through the system though. It is also about intellectual movement, emotional movement, and cognitive movement. Flow implies progress and growth. The optimized PDS creates flow by ensuring that everyone is moving (upwardly, laterally) – progressing along their development path, career ladder, skill levels, etc.

    Pull

    Pull is demand. It is created in the organization when there’s a need for people to move up, take on new roles, or add their capabilities to another team. Pull is established when organizational systems have a need for people due to growth, expansion, and success. The Optimized PDS helps find the right types of human inventory, at the right place, in the right quantity.

    Pull is driven by more than just promotions. There’s also skill level advancement and growth in leadership abilities, cognitive training, personal goal attainment, knowledge acquisition, coaching ability, cross-training in other areas, concept understanding (such as lean, kata, systems thinking, etc.), and strategic thinking.

    Signals From the System

    Together, the lean concepts of flow and pull help PDS stakeholders identify where needs are greatest and the pulling forces are strongest. These signals get transmitted back through the PDS so that the demand is met, people are added, they get training, are moved, etc. They will have names and faces, of course. They won’t be known as Works in Progress, or Reworks, or Obsolete. They will, however, be seen in the system.

    There are places in the PDS where monitoring the levels of human inventory and their developmental progress can interject a sense of urgency to ensure that people are efficiently moving through the system and they are being served well along their journey. Just the idea of labeling people as inventory may be inflammatory or sound demeaning to some. If it is meant to value people only as so many interchangeable resources to be manipulated, then it would be offensive. However, observing the PDS through this lens can help us gain a more systems-oriented view and help us manage the organization’s most important inventory.

    Reference – D. H. Meadows, (2008). Thinking in Systems, A Primer.

    Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

  • Change for the Change Maker

    Change for the Change Maker

    I believe we humans have gotten better at adapting to the pace of change. But the big, pressing changes often distract us from paying attention to other, less obvious adjustments that might make our systems work more effectively. In the last post, we looked at the internal people development systems of organizations and how they are all about change management. These systems manage change and can instigate change. They are also open to transformation to make them more effective.

    Seeing the system might be the first change needed

    The connections seem obvious; but it is easy for stakeholders to lose sight of them. The PDS is a complex, dynamic system operating at various times, in multiple places throughout the organization, and involving multiple people. The difficulty lies in seeing the whole system in operation.

    Change ripples through the system. The training function expands abilities and capacities. Recruiting alters team structure and makeup, while onboarding aims to change perspectives and motivations. Retention seeks to strengthen relationships and boost trajectories while the performance management function improves capabilities and potential. Together, these all work to sustain or change the organizational culture. Inefficiency in one area flows through the system and impacts the other areas.

    Weak, neglected connections still allow the system to operate, but with less effectiveness. On the other hand, enhanced connections share data, ensure consistent communication across the PDS, and use tools like training matrices and development pathways to engage teams.

    Constant change, aka continuous improvement

    It’s often easier to improve a visible, linear system like a production line that makes widgets than to improve a non-linear system that lives within larger systems. But lean thinking can be applied to the PDS.

    Adopting a continuous improvement mindset within the team can help ensure that the processes that make up the PDS are focused on delivering value to all of its customers.

    Lean thinking is about eliminating waste, which certainly exists within most PDSs. It might be the waste of time that occurs with outdated training methods or poor training tools. It might be wasted opportunities when performance management efforts are ignored. Wasted effort of underdeveloped trainers is another example.

    Learning organizations are always changing  

    Grow the individuals within the system, and the system itself will change. The optimized PDS appreciates and cultivates the love of learning throughout the organization. The effects of this level of improvement within the PDS show up as improved engagement, more ideas generated, and deeper relationships formed. This improvement radiates outward to all other organizational systems.

    Changes to chase

    Other changes that can impact the PDS. One is a change in expectations. Expect the system to operate better, then put in the work to make it happen. Changes in perception. Help the team see the system, understand its power, and challenge the status quo. There are also changes in the level of dedication to constantly improve the PDS. It takes concerted effort and determination to improve this system. This level of improvement requires strong leadership and commitment from all stakeholders.

    Some of the improvements we can make to our people development systems are subtle. But the system is open to continuous improvement. If it is restricted and ignored it will never be able to be the change maker it is intended to be.

    Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

  • Identifying Waste in the People Development System

    Identifying Waste in the People Development System

    Some types of waste are easier to spot than others. In many industries, lean concepts aim to identify, from the customer’s point of view, what adds value and what does not. Whether in a product or service, those non-value-adding wastes are to be ruthlessly hunted down and banished. The wastes in an organization’s internal workforce development processes can be tangible and intangible.

    Tangible Losses

    Most organizations invest money, time, and effort in their people development system. Naturally, waste can cause losses to all three resources. The negative costs of a poorly managed PDS can occur at multiple levels over both the short term and the long term.

    Within the PDS examples of tangible wastes can include:

    • Paying people to attend ineffective training; this wastes the wages, time, and effort of participants and trainers. 
    • Wasted personnel hours in unproductive recruiting.
    • Onboarding that does not effectively engage new hires, resulting in their premature departure.  
    • If the new hire leaves before an ROI can be realized, other cost of a hire factors (pre-employment testing, advertising, placement agencies, etc.) are wasted. 
    • Mismatching people and jobs. Instead of optimizing the talent, all the effort to train them, manage their performance, and retain them in jobs that are below their potential results in a lower ROI than might have been realized if they were properly matched and thriving.
    • And, of course, there are the quality issues caused by poor training.

    Some of these costs are often captured in a cost-of-hire calculation. It is surprising though, how many organizations do not fully understand all of the costs that go into developing people.

    To prevent the PDS wasting time, money, and effort requires stakeholders to look more deeply at the system. Is data being collected that can help evaluate the effectiveness of training and recruiting? Are development pathways in place that guide the growth of each team member? Are they actively involved in constructing and managing these development plans?

    Intangible Losses 

    Then there are the wastes that are more difficult to see. These include lost opportunities, lost potential, and missed relationships. These might look like:

    • Missed business opportunities (increased productivity, launching new products, continuous improvement efforts).
    • Opportunity for teams to get a well-trained member when they need them.
    • The potential to put the right person in the right position.  
    • For recruiters to be connecting to better sources.
    • Employees are not allowed to pursue a personalized development pathway.
    • The opportunity to gather more and better data that could help improve the PDS.
    • Not using tools that connect people (development pathways, coaching, etc.)
    • Leaders not fully utilizing coaching and training techniques.

    Understanding the intangible losses that can occur in the PDS requires some reflection by all stakeholders. Does the system reliably identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for each position? Do we really understand the strengths and weaknesses of our team members, and have we properly aligned their development plans for their success? Does the PDS promote and help sustain meaningful relationships for mentoring and coaching? What opportunities are being missed, and what potential is being overlooked?

    Lean thinking, rooted in manufacturing, has enshrined eight types of waste to be eliminated. Some of these traditional wastes, but not all, can be identified in the systems used to develop people. However, recognizing that waste is present in the PDS, though it might be hidden or difficult to quantify, can help leaders to focus continuous improvement efforts on this very important system.

    Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay