Blueprint for Certification, Part Two: Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater

Many professions and fields offer certification exams. Generally speaking once someone takes the needed exams and receives certification in a given area the certification is only valid for a limited period of time. This is due to the fast pace at which things change. Almost every field of study has new information and tools added on a constant basis. Therefore as the capabilities needed to perform effectively in a field change it is necessary to update, revise and enhance the exams that certify people’s ability to perform specific roles. In today’s fast moving and fast changing environment certification exams are most often updated and revised because of product or service changes. In most cases a process similar to the development of the original exam is used to develop new versions of the exam. This is usually necessary because there are enough product changes to warrant a significant number of new exam questions. However, before discarding the old questions there is a lot of good data available which can inform the new development efforts.

Certification exam revision is best done following a structured approach. When updating an exam I recommend first identifying the items which are no longer valid due to changes in the product or service. Yes, that likely goes without saying. But, before you delete those items it may be worthwhile seeing how they performed. For those items that didn’t perform well you may be able to determine why they performed poorly and that information can be used to inform the new items that will be developed for the current update.

Even though certain questions may no longer be applicable to the new version of the product or service there is useful information available to the update effort. For example is it is likely that the existing exam contains several different types of questions on several different topics.  There may be questions that ask about functionality or features or it’s compatibility to other products. There may be simple multiple-choice questions or perhaps there is a situation presented where there are several questions that reference that scenario. A first pass may look at how the various types of questions performed. What percentage of each type of question performed well and what percentage did not perform well? Is there a wide spread between how well different types of items performed? This is important because an individual’s score should be based on their ability to perform the activities associated with the job role as opposed to their ability to parse questions or understand the language of the test.

If you are working with an exam that addresses several topics for example services or competitive products, business problems addressed by product or services or sales strategies; then questions can be grouped by type and topic and reviewed for how well they performed. They can also be reviewed using individual aspects such as a specific service or product.

Statistical analyses can be carried out and you can use the resulting data to make decisions. However, what I want to address here is an analysis of how well the items performed based on the goals of the exam. For me the key questions to be answered are, first what did you want the people who receive certification to be able to do. This information is in the exam blueprint.

Reviewing how well test takers performed on each segment of the exam will provide information on how well the people who passed the exam are able to deliver to those areas covered by the exam. The reputation of the certification program rests not only on how many people achieve the certifications but also, and I would argue, more importantly, on how well the people who have the certification credentials are able to perform against the exam objectives.

The second question for me is how well test takers performed relative to section weights. On the heavily weighted sections is the performance evidenced at the level needed? Did people who received certification pass each section? If not, are there people who received certification but did not pass a highly weighted section. Did they receive the certification because they performed well on questions from the less relevant sections. If there are many people in this category consider if you need to change the section weights and have more questions address content from the key sections.

The purpose of a certification exam is to deliver the same questions to a wide audience of people within the field. Some may not be native speakers of the language of the exam. The item should assess whether the test taker has the knowledge needed to carry out the activity rather than the ability to understand complex language. Certification exams are designed to determine if the test taker can do those activities for which the certification is being awarded. Other tools or activities should be used to determine an individual’s ability to interact and comprehend a client’s communications.

I have heard people make a case for testing an individual’s ability to determine the problem or opportunity in more of a “real world” situation where a customer or client provides a great deal more information or perhaps incomplete information. My belief is that there is nothing wrong with testing for this competency, however, I believe these competency should be tested with another test, one which is designed to test comprehension, language, questioning etc. separate from a technical, product or industry specific certification instrument. Essentially if both the technical and comprehension factors are tested in the same item then one doesn’t know where remediation is needed. One also doesn’t know how to revise the item. Therefore, I recommend only testing for a single aspect in each item.

In looking at the items that didn’t perform well, consider if the language used in the stem (the questions itself) was simple and direct without additional information or ambiguous language. Some people may say that a complex or ambiguous question is okay.   However, I don’t recommend using confusing or complex stems in certification exams for the reasons cited above.

Next I recommend looking at the items that are still valid. Determine how they are performing. Are revisions indicated for some or all of the response choices?  Below are some steps to take before deleting items that are not performing effectively but cover content that still needs to be included on the exam.

• Show poorly performing items to experts, are they clearly phased
• Contact people performing the job role to learn the relationship of items that didn’t work to the work being done
• Do the questions that are performing poorly test real world activity
• How narrowly focused are the questions, do they address the work of the wide range of people taking the exam
• Do the poorly performing items follow recommended guidelines

See part 1 for additional exam development recommendations.

Doing the easier tasks first allows a determination of how much more needs to be done. Even with the best processes and procedures there are items that will not perform well. It is important when updating an exam to identify the cause of the poor performance of all the items that had bad results even if they are no longer relevant. A lot can be learned about how to develop new items even from items that are no longer technically relevant.

Once you have assessed the language and made any needed revisions I recommend you revise the answer options. Re-phase the correct response and develop new distractors. Test questions that are used for an extended period of time are often remembered by test takers and shared with others getting ready to take the exam. Once the total set of questions is developed it is recommended that all questions new or revised go through the same rigorous review process as was used for the initial development effort.

Summary

Exam development and exam updates are most effective when they follow a systematic process for development. When undertaking exam revision it is recommended that just as when the initial development effort was undertaken that a systems approach be employed. Identify the needed end results, validate that it is the result needed to achieve the desired outcomes, and then look at what is needed, what exists and what must be either developed or modified. It is important to keep the end result in mind as all the pieces of the development effort are carried out. As it is likely that there will be multiple exam questions developed by a group of exam writers, the test development manager will need to ensure that all aspects of the blueprint are covered by a sufficient number of questions.

Although you have more information as a result of doing an analysis of the results from the existing exam, you still need to ensure a sufficient number of items (new and revised) are developed and reviewed and approved so that items can be deleted as needed. A new practice test should also be developed. It is also advisable to have a few items available for interim updates that might be required after the exam is published.

In summary conducting a through analysis of the performance of the items on the existing exam will allow for more informed decision making as you develop the next version of the certification exam.
Systematic review and revision will lead to a credible and effective certification exam that will result in people who will effectively perform the activities defined in the exam objectives.

Blueprint for Certification, Part One: Not All Certifications Are Created Equal

Today there are many corporations and professional organizations that offer certification programs.  Many companies and people in various industries seek these certifications.

Certification programs allow an entity to market expertise that certified individuals deliver when you interact with them in their professional capacities.  For example, knowing that a medical professional is certified indicates that the individual has shown the expertise covered by the exam.

Prior to the advent of certification exams, there wasn’t a standard set of criteria to judge a service provider’s expertise.  Word-of-mouth and direct experience with individuals was essentially how such decisions were made.  Fortunately, there are now many different certification programs in place.  For example, the Healthcare Quality Certification Board (HQCB) began publishing exams for healthcare professions in 1984.  The Certified Professional Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) certification has met with great success.

“Since the first examination was administered by the HQCB in 1984, more than 15,000 professionals from a wide variety of educational and employment backgrounds have registered for the CPHQ examination, with more than 11,000 achieving certified status.  There are currently over 6,800 active CPHQs in the United States and worldwide.”  http://www.cphq.org/

Certification programs also are advantageous to the organizations that offer them.  The time and money invested is most often recouped at a profit.  Not only are these organizations able to charge for the exams, they are also able to develop and deliver the instruction related to the exam topics.  All parties benefit from certification programs when they are done right.  Furthermore, if your enterprise has competitors who offer similar products or services, you can improve the chances that your organization’s products and services will be selected if users are certified in how to use your offerings.

However, not all certification programs are the same, some are better than others.  A certification exam should show that an individual is able to perform certain activities.  Those activities should be those needed to solve a problem or address an opportunity likely to be encountered on-the-job.  However, on occasion, questions on certification exams ask for some or even one of the steps, rather than testing for knowledge needed to solve the problem or take advantage of the opportunity.

Sometimes exams contain trick questions.  Questions, which are intentionally written to confuse the test taker are not an effective evaluation of the test takers ability to do the activity. Trick questions only test the ability to take a test or to parse a sentence.  This is a particularly poor design for non-native English speakers.  It is important to keep the purpose of a certification exam in mind when developing or accepting items for inclusion on an exam.  Certification exams certify that those who pass the exam can perform the tasks that are defined as being covered by the exam.

Test items should cover content an individual needs to know and do on the job.  Sometimes items that have nothing to do with performing the role might also be tested.  For example if the individual needs to drive a car from point A to point B asking questions about color of the interior of the car would not be relevant to the needed end result.  However, questions about the rules of the road would be appropriate.

Generally, certification tests are developed with enough questions to populate several forms of the test.  Test developers who are concerned with developing a sufficient number of test items sometimes write questions which test minor facts or information that normally would be looked up on the job.  These types of questions are unfair to all parties.  Test takers who are knowledgeable in the needed areas might not pass a poorly constructed exam that contains questions that cover small components of an overall process or activity.  For example, one doesn’t need to test on the location of the gas tank on a specific car.  Rather than testing to see if someone has memorized the location, it would be better to ask if they know about an arrow on the fuel gauge which points to the location of the gas tank.

My perspective is that a certification exam needs to be designed to evaluate the test takers ability to perform certain end results.  Test questions on a small piece of the overall process are often easier to develop but don’t necessarily test the ability to do what is needed.

Just like other technical fields, there are procedures and best practices for the development of test questions.  There are also conventions that lead to the development of items that are both valid and reliable.

Reliability and Validity

Measurement experts (and many educators) believe that every measurement device should possess certain qualities. Perhaps the two most common technical concepts in measurement are reliability and validity. Any kind of assessment, … must be developed in a way that gives the assessor accurate information about the performance of the individual. At one extreme, we wouldn’t have an individual paint a picture if we wanted to assess writing skills.

A. Reliability: Definition

• The degree of consistency between two measures of the same thing. (Mehrens and Lehman, 1987).

• The measure of how stable, dependable, trustworthy, and consistent a test is in measuring the same thing each time (Worthen et al., 1993)

For example, if we wish to measure a person’s weight, we would hope that the scale would register the same measure each time the person stepped on the scale.

…

B. Validity

1. Definition:

• Truthfulness: Does the test measure what it purports to measure? the extent to which certain inferences can be made from test scores or other measurement. (Mehrens and Lehman, 1987)

• The degree to which they accomplish the purpose for which they are being used. (Worthen et al., 1993)

For a test to be valid, or truthful, it must first be reliable. If we cannot even get a bathroom scale to give us a consistent weight measure, we certainly cannot expect it to be accurate. Note, however, that a measure might be consistent (reliable) but not accurate (valid). A scale may record weights as two pounds too heavy each time. In other words, reliability is a necessary but insufficient condition for validity. (Neither validity nor reliability is an either/or dichotomy; there are degrees of each.)

http://course1.winona.edu/lgray/el626/MandEtext3.html

Most good certification exams begin with a blueprint.  The blueprint defines the topics and sub-topics that are likely to be included on the exam.  In some cases, a blueprint will be developed by a group of subject matter experts who are familiar with the knowledge and skills needed to perform the job.  In some cases these are the experts who will also develop the test items.  In other cases, a different group of subject matter experts will develop the questions.  Blueprint development can also be based on the learning objectives from course offerings that cover exam topics.  Once a blueprint is developed, it should be put out for review by subject matter experts.  Most often these experts are performing the job roles and they are knowledgeable about what is needed to successfully carry out the needed activities.

The blueprint areas are usually weighted for importance and an associated number of items to be written are assigned to the topics to be covered.  Publishing the blueprint and associated sample test items is usually done so that the candidates can prepare for the exam.  Sample items for well-constructed exams are of the same difficulty and quality level as items the exam candidate might expect to find on the exam.

While processes vary and item development might be in workshop format, or submission by subject matter experts or another process, the end result is a certification exam that will allow individuals who pass the exam to present themselves as having the expertise that the exam certified.

Certification exams are developed and taken so that there is a standard.  People who have passed the exam can say they have met this standard.  It allows for selection of providers who have a credential that informs the “buyer” that they have engaged a professional for a role in which they have shown their expertise by passing an exam.  An exam that has been put in place to test many people who want to establish they have expertise in a specific area.

Certifications are valuable and worthwhile.  But a certification is only as good as the exam that produced it.  Avoid these common pit falls and stay focused on the goal: an exam that tests the skills, behavior and knowledge needed to carry out the tasks of the role.  In the next installment, I will discuss recommendations for updating and revising certification exams.

A New Spring: Development and Retention Programs for the New Economy

It is spring 2010. Flowers are blooming, the weather is warmer and job opportunities are increasing.  Along with the increase in job opportunities, forward thinking human resources organizations are putting plans in place for developing and retaining key talent.

As HR teams look at what needs to be done, many of these teams recognize that the economy is still in a fragile state and that it is likely to be a bumpy recovery.  They know they need to weigh decisions carefully before implementing new initiatives.

Fortunately, there are many excellent strategies to guide decision-making.  Following a systems approach is one that works well in this situation.  This approach begins by looking at the big picture – the entire organization.  It examines how a change in one element will impact the rest of the system.  Another strategy that will serve well in our new environment is to partner with other groups within the larger organization.  Maybe the HR team wants to help the organization break down stovepipes (where functions within an enterprise operate independently and do not share information or knowledge across functions) in order to allow people across the organization to gain experience through working in other groups.  This would give people from outside of the stovepipe the opportunity to add their background and experience to the group while also gaining new knowledge and skills.

For example, if the marketing organization is planning a new campaign to showcase a new product or service, it might create an opportunity for the HR team to help managers in the engineering function.  The engineering function could develop members of their team by having them work on the marketing project where they could develop a better understanding of customer needs.  This type of activity leads to benefits to the two organizations involved as well as to the HR team.

Finding out what other organizations – both within and outside of your industry – are doing will also serve to inform your decision-making.  Professors, others at universities and government agencies are also looking at what the world of work is going to look like as we move forward. They too are adding to the knowledge base available to you as you put plans in place to move forward.

Jobs: A move in the right direction

March payroll employment increased 162,000—the largest gain in three years, and we believe that a string of sizable gains will follow in the coming months. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, payrolls have declined by 5.9 percent, more severe than any recession post World War II. It is not necessarily the case that the end of a recession coincides with the start of a period of sustained job creation. While the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) will not call an official end of the latest recession for some time, similar to their practice following previous recessions, we estimate that June 2009 was the trough of economic activity and thus the end of the recession.

Jobs: A move in the right direction

There are many other sources of information, recommendations and strategies, but I’ll end this list for now with the largest, newest and readily accessible resource – namely social media. Social media are today’s most talked about resource for almost everything.  However, as with each and every other resource social media are a resource and not the be-all, end-all to solve all problems.

A first step in the process is to determine what types of development – retention programs are needed and for which populations.  Begin with defining the end result.  For example, if it is determined that a leadership development program is needed, there are many more decisions that need to be made before moving forward with the implementation or the development or even the design.  For example, which population(s) are to be addressed?

Once the desired end result is fully defined one can look at what – if anything – is in place.   Other data to help with decision-making is what other companies are doing for their similar populations.  A good place to begin is to look at social media blogs and tweets and different organization’s websites.  Most on-line sites encourage comments. Readers beware; however, most do not require peer review or other types of review and validation of what is being proposed.  The older research avenues should also be reviewed.  Look at what is being published in the relevant journals and other hardcopy and on-line publications.

Another step is to speak with stakeholders and members of the target population(s).  This also requires some pre-work.  A question protocol is a good way to prepare for a discussion.  Questions that ask people to talk about what they do, what they enjoy, what they want to do next, etc. have worked well for me.  Ask about what issues they are facing, have faced, or that they see others within the organization facing.  My goal when I speak to these populations is not to ask them what they need or want in a development program.  It is my job to identify the development program and its contents.  However, the people being interviewed can tell me about what they do and the opportunities they see and the issues that they face in getting their job done.

Using the information collected from the various resources helps you decide what to include in new initiatives for developing and retaining key talent.  This allows the design of a program that meets organizational needs – and also individual needs to the degree that they map to organizational needs.  With this knowledge in hand, a presentation to the business team can be made.  More than ever before, staff organizations need to make sure that each initiative, training program, intervention, etc. proposed is based on a business opportunity in line with business strategies. A potential for increased revenue generation, retention and development of key talent is also vital.

Enjoy spring and the new beginnings for learning, development and retention programs to help grow the economy, your organization and the overall business you support.

Teach to the Task

We are almost half way through the year 2010. There are signs that the world economy is rebounding.  There is talk that hiring is once again going to gear up.  But, are companies ready to once again invest in learning and development?  Can they afford to invest at the same levels that they did before the economic downturn?

Are businesses ready to assess the knowledge, skills and competencies employees need in our new world economy?  Perhaps we should also address the question of what people need to learn in a business environment.  Do they need to learn in the same ways, or learn the same things that they would if they were taking a university course on the subject?

Let’s look at what supports a successful learning experience.  To begin with, a learner who is told in advance what they are expected to know at the conclusion of the experience has a “hook” on which to hang learning.  If someone attends a class and receives information without being told where they can use the information, it makes learning and – more importantly – application more difficult.  For example, if you attend a class and learn various different statistical formulas, you may find it difficult to know when and where to use them if you don’t receive that information.  Effective learning occurs when the learner knows what they need to be able to do at the end of the learning event and they are given the tools to perform the tasks that are needed.

Generally speaking, people attend or access training to learn something new or perhaps to augment something they already know.  Business learners are generally not participating in a learning event for the pleasure of learning something new.  They need to apply what they learn to situations which will generate a return on the training investment.

To effectively perform a task, solve a problem or create something, people need to know the steps.  They also need to know what to do if something goes wrong.  Do they also need to know the theory or history behind the given task?  I believe the answer is they do not.  That is not to say it will impact their performance negatively if they know it.  However, people can be taught to effectively do a job without that knowledge.  Take cooking as an example.  Someone can effectively follow a well-written recipe with excellent results each time.  They do not need to know how the ingredients interact or combine to get the desired result.  Having the knowledge might allow someone to apply what they know to new situations, but while nice to know it won’t necessarily help them in the specific situation which the instruction addresses.

If a specific end result is all that’s required, is more than ‘how to’ instruction needed?  Why are companies investing more than necessary? If the directions or instruction are well constructed and provide the information that produces the end result is that not sufficient; at least initially?

Perhaps we need to look more closely at the activities that are needed in a job role.  Perhaps we also need to distinguish between instruction and directions.  Many of the activities required in a job role only require directions (the ‘how to’) and not instruction.

There are many responsibilities that an individual needs to carry out to be successful in a job role.  Some require training, others do not.  However, when training is required, the training materials often cover too much extraneous material.  Furthermore, they often do not cover what is needed in sufficient detail.

If, for example an individual needs to document their daily activities by checking boxes on a form what do they need in the way of information, direction or instruction?  We might define each of these terms differently, but regardless of which term we use, or how we define it; the key question is what needs to be provided in order to ensure successful job performance?

If we are developing instruction that requires complex decision-making, then more will be required.  Questions still need to be asked.  How much background information is needed?  Maybe none at all is the answer.  For example, if the instruction is being developed to teach a new piece of software, how much needs to be covered about a previous version? Maybe all that needs to be included in the new materials is a reference to existing material.  Maybe all that needs to be said for example is: this version works in the same way as the previous version when you are creating something, but when you are revising it there is a different process.  Then only the revision process needs to be covered in the materials under development.

It is important for me to point out here, that this is not John M. Carroll’s Minimalist Instruction. (The Nurnberg Funnel: Designing Minimalist Instruction for Practical Computer Skill (Technical Communication, Multimedia, and Information Systems) by John Millar Carroll (1990). Carroll and his followers advocate learners be given the least amount of information needed to build upon what they already know.  This post is addressing a different topic.  What I am proposing is that there are job responsibilities that only require step-by-step “how to” directions.

I recommend breaking down the overall end result into component parts.  For those activities where successful performance can be achieved with a step-by-step guide there is no need to provide detailed instruction, but rather just detailed directions on how to perform the steps.  There is no question that there are times – many times – when concepts, background, context etc. will need to be included.  Again, here I am only addressing tasks, which build on prior knowledge and skill.  Tasks that need nothing more than the “how to” for a learner to successfully carry out the associated responsibilities.

I believe as we move forward in our new economic reality, our new business environment, and in the new digital age we can find new and better ways to provide the learning needed to achieve both individual and business success.  We need to determine what needs to be learned and apply a learning solution that meets the needs of the specific situation.

Social Media Risks and Rewards

Thanks to social media, messages today can be delivered, commented on, edited, revised, accepted and/or rejected in a very short period of time.  Social media is interactive and universally available to anyone with access to the technology.  It also allows the message to be viewed indefinitely.

Blogging and tweeting can – and should – be used to communicate ideas and concepts that increase learning.  Just as television, radio, music and all the other entertainment media present some programs that instruct, others that entertain, and still others that do both.

As time goes on, the term social media may become viewed as a misnomer.  It is more than a medium for social interaction.  Like any other media, social media can be used for a multitude of purposes.

For right now the terminology is social media.  My point is that the term communicates a consistent message to the majority of people.

Educators, business professionals, parents and other members of society are working to define how social media can be of benefit to them and to society as a whole.   The open availability of social media is a concern to some.  These people and organizations appear to be concerned about allowing everyone and anyone to express their views, regardless of the topic.

Some posts and comments may be inappropriate.  They may contain inflammatory and often erroneous content.  But free speech should never be curtailed or even discouraged.   Because of the interactive nature of these new communication mechanisms, readers are able to reply or comment on these posts immediately.  Therefore, many people have pointed out the errors and inappropriateness of these entries.  I believe that most people will look past the negative. Perhaps a code of ethics will be needed to control libelous or hateful comments.  However, I’m optimistic that things can be managed without formal controls.

… the absence of proven best practices has left some colleges leery of jumping into the social Web, says Sean Fitzgerald, vice president for business development at the marketing firm Spectrum Creative Solutions. “We’ve found that a lot of clients that we talk to are real apprehensive about using social networking tools because they don’t know much about it,” Fitzgerald says.

“It’s easy to be against something you’re afraid of, and it’s easy to be afraid of something you don’t understand,” says Brad Ward, CEO of BlueFuego, a consulting agency that monitors chatter about its clients (which include Abilene Christian University, Indiana University and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst) and advises them on the “do’s and dont’s” of the social Web. “That’s where I think a lot of administrators are on this.”  http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/10/09/socialmedia

Looking back at the history of communication, tools and techniques for communication have changed as each mode of communication grew.  There is a theory that humans first communicated for survival.  Communication could be used to indicate danger, food or other essentials for life.  In time gestures, language, art and other modes were integrated.  Similar process takes place when a new type of media is developed.  Somewhere along the line, all methods of communication are used for learning, entertainment and a host of other purposes.

Once a message is posted on a social medium, instantaneous communication and interaction becomes possible, both across the world and across cultural and educational levels.  With the advent of this new media, teachers become learners and vice versa.  In fact, most participants are both teachers and learners.  They are also able to function as members of a discussion group where concepts and ideas are explored.

Those with knowledge, information, views, or just willingness to participate, are able to make comments and express their viewpoint through social media.  We are in a new era where teachers no longer need to be the major source for spreading knowledge.  Many good teachers are pleased to have additional sources of information.

Many people are restricted from using or fully using social media by their employers or schools.  In some cases, people within learning institutions and industries are trying to use social media to help an organization succeed.  In some cases, control of these communications is good.  However, in other cases it might be fear of losing control or concerns unrelated to the actual situation and need.

At the end of the day, what we are talking about is another medium for communication. Social media should be treated as a communications mechanism.  It can deliver many messages to many audiences.   This of course is what makes social media so powerful.  But, it is merely a tool and should be viewed as what it is.  A hammer is a tool, it can be used to create, or destroy. Social media is a tool and how it is used will vary by its users.

We are fortunate to be living in an age where we have the opportunity to access and share information. We can learn, teach, share and grow at speeds that were unimaginable just a few short years ago.

More people worldwide are using social media. Comscore.com, which tracks Internet activity trends, reported that in April, social networking grew to 140 million users worldwide. Facebook had 67.5 million visitors, and Twitter had 17 million visitors. The MU Facebook network now has about 45,000 profiles attached to it.

….

Some people find social media to be a positive experience for education.

“We’re globally connected,” said Jason Ohler, a former professor of education technology at the University of Alaska, now a media psychology professor at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, Calif. “It only makes sense to be globally connected when we pursue education.”

Some Columbia students are not so easily persuaded.

“I don’t really care. It (social media) probably wouldn’t help. It’s social type stuff — we’re trying to learn,” said Michael Phillip, a 20-year-old junior mechanical engineering major at MU.  “It wouldn’t be distracting. It just wouldn’t be necessary.”

With technology still advancing and opinions about social media differing, time will tell where social media fits in.

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/08/05/what-do-you-think-using-social-media-sites-education-system/

There is valid concern from members of academic communities and business organizations about liability for comments posted by employees, students and others in their employ or otherwise associated with their community.  These are problems that need to be dealt with.  Social media has a great deal to offer and we as a society need to find ways for people to use these new communication tools responsibly.  We need to develop processes that allow open dialog without leaving the individual or the organization open to litigation.  I believe this is the direction that needs to be taken so that the benefits of these new media can be open to everyone.

It’s Time to Make the Lemonade

I was laid off 6 months ago.  I’ve been actively seeking a new position daily since that time.  I’ve been reviewing job posting, I’ve been blogging, tweeting, running workshops, delivering presentations, attending networking meetings, and networking, networking, networking.

I’ve been connecting with people I know and also with new contacts that have been identified in my search.  Everyone I’ve spoken to has been very supportive.  However, I am still no closer to being employed than I was when I was first laid off.

At each of the 3 networking meetings I attended last week there were about a third more people than the prior weeks.  Maybe because the quarter just ended, I don’t know.  All I know is that people are continuing to be let go.  That is not to say that people aren’t being hired.  They are.  Maybe it is just the groups I attend, but the people who have been hired have, for the most part been, in the early stages of their careers.

I realize that I might still find employment with an employer.  But, my observation of the situation to date has shown me that people over 40 are not finding employment at the same rate as younger people. Furthermore, not many of them are finding employment at all, and the competition is increasing.

It has dawned on me that no matter how experienced I am, no matter how glowing my references are, no matter the level of expertise I have, I am not likely to be selected for a new position in this economic climate.  What does that mean?  I’m not sure.  All I know is that it is time to stop looking for others to employ me. It is time to stop looking at position postings and thinking,  ‘Well, I have much more than they are looking for, surely they will pick me.’  No they won’t.  They (whoever they are) don’t want people who have all the qualifications and more.  In this climate they are willing to hire and train someone at a lower salary.  The new younger hire likely has more up-to-date training than those of us who are over 40.  They may not care that we are likely to bring more experience and wisdom to the role.  They are willing to gamble.  There is so very much talent out there to choose from, that if they choose wisely, they can find someone that can do the job and also grow into the role if needed.

So now what can I, and others like me, do?  We can give up or we can take the lemons life has handed us and make lemonade.  At this point I need to do something differently.

We all have areas where we can make significant contributions, why are we depending on others?  Let’s see if we can’t work together to develop businesses, services or other offerings that customers or clients will want to purchase.  While there are many of us out of work, there are still many people who are gainfully employed.  Many others are self-employed and able to purchase what we have to offer.

You may say, “I can’t do it alone.” That is O.K., what I’m recommending is that we seek each other out. Find the puzzle you want to complete and then find people who can bring the other pieces to the table. As a team we can complete the puzzle.  Granted, what I’m suggesting isn’t the answer for everyone.  But, it may be the right answer for some of us.

The key is the right lemonade recipe.  What we can do?  How we can make lemonade?

Here are my suggestions. Don’t just think about these questions, but key your responses into a file which is the beginning of your business plan:

• Inventory what you are passionate about doing.  Note: this doesn’t have to be “work” related.  Just make a list of what you really, really want to be doing
• List the equipment or tools needed to do what you want to do
• Define what other knowledge, skills and capabilities are needed to make what you want to do happen (such as accounting, computer, business)
• Who are your target clients or customers?
• Why would someone want to buy your products or services?  What would make what your offer unique?
• Is anyone else offering this service?
• Who is your competition?  There is always competition.  You need to find who it is and compare what you want to offer and plan accordingly
• Why would people want to purchase this product or service?
• Create a list of benefits your business would offer
• Create a survey to see what interest your target population might have in this product.  Note:  Creating surveys requires expertise. I offer this expertise, contact me if you’d like to discuss it, but if not me, do get help in constructing your survey.
• Include questions in your survey about what people are willing to pay for what you want to offer
• Calculate the income you will need to maintain your current standard of living, and also to just survive

Most web sites that offer information on writing business plans recommend starting while you are still employed.  Well, O.K., so it is a bit harder for us, but let’s acknowledge it’s hard and move forward.  These are very different times and we need to keep making lemonade.

Here are a few urls about starting a consulting business, there are many more out there.  I recommend you search recommendations made in 2009 for the most relevant posts, but others also have good advice.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/outside-voices-small-business/2008/12/10/4-tips-for-starting-your-consulting-business.html

http://www.consulting-business.com/so-you-want-to-be-a-consultant.html

A few sources for general information on starting a small business

http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2009/february/199706.html

http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/startup/a/10startingtips.htm

Good luck, I’m off to make lemonade!!

Preparing for a Job Interview

Candidates for positions need to be as prepared as possible for each interview session. Interviewers ask questions that determine the candidate’s qualifications. The successful candidate needs to answer the questions in a way that demonstrates their expertise. These statements may seem obvious, but keeping them in mind can illustrate effective ways to prepare for your interview. Putting yourself into the interview’s position and trying to determine what questions will be asked can enhance your preparation.

A review of each statement on the job description will allow you to identify the qualifications. This will give you an opportunity to prepare examples of how you meet the requirements and what you can offer. Once you have identified the qualifications, you can develop questions that might be asked and also practice answers to those questions.

Even if the interviewer doesn’t ask questions that lead to your prepared answers, look for an opportunity. Most interviewers will give you an opportunity to ask questions or share additional information. At this point, you can speak about your experience and expertise related to something on the job description that the interviewer didn’t cover.

The Job Description

Most job descriptions list three types of qualifications. Generally, the largest component lists the knowledge a candidate will need. Then there will also be a listing of skills and behaviors needed for the job. Example skills might be the ability to lift 35 pounds or collate and distribute handouts. Skills describe activities the hiring manager wants an applicant to be able to do.

Behaviors, also known as emotional intelligence, show how you will do your job. How you carry out your work and how you interact with others. Interviewers want to know if you will fit into their culture, and whether you will augment or enhance it.

Basically the hiring team is looking for two things:

• Can you do the job? That is, do you have the knowledge and skills to do the work?
• Do you have the emotional intelligence or behaviors that the organization is looking for in this role? The same organization generally will want different behaviors for different roles. Most often, the behaviors a good sales person needs are not the same behaviors a good engineer would display.

During a behavioral interview, the interviewer wants to learn about how you do things. During this type of interview, or segment of an interview, the focus is on how you perform your work.

Example Job Description

Position: File Clerk

Filing and pulling charts, going through papers, stocking, general helping around with the office. Some phone answering.

Need someone who is dependable, pleasant manner, self motivated, presentable and can multi task.

Interview Prep

Deconstruct the job description, identify each requirement, and construct questions related to each. This will give you an idea of the kind of questions the interviewer might ask. Prepare answers to these questions and you will be that much further ahead.

In reviewing the job description, you can identify the needed knowledge and skills and also the needed behaviors.

Knowledge and Skills:
Filing
Pulling Charts
Stocking Supplies
Answering Phones

Behaviors:
Dependable
Pleasant Manner
Self motivated
Multi tasker

In preparing for an interview, develop both the questions you think might be asked and also prepare answers. It is important to be aware that the interviewer may not ask any of these questions. However, in answering the questions that the interviewer does ask, keep the job requirements in mind. Respond to the questions and, where it makes sense, integrate the examples of how you have successfully done something similar to what is being asked.

You can practice by looking at job posting for jobs in your area of expertise. Identify the knowledge, skills and behaviors. Then develop questions and potential responses.

Behavioral Interviews

Some interviewers will ask you “past performance questions.” These questions provide the interviewer with information about how you carried out your job responsibilities previously. Research has shown that if what a person does is successful, they will do things the same way in the future.

During this type of interview, the interviewer will ask you to recount a time when you did something similar to what they will need you to do on the job. The interviewer will be focused on how you did your job.

Prep for a Behavioral Interview

• Review the behaviors listed in job posting
• Keep in mind experiences from within the last year to 18 months which show you demonstrating the desired behavior
  • Think about what you did, said, thought and felt during that time
• In responding to questions, DO NOT talk about what other people did. The interviewer is interested in what you did. You can acknowledge that others were involved with a statement like “there were many people involved in this activity, but here is what I did”
• You will likely be asked to talk about what you:
  • Did
  • Said
  • Thought
  • Felt
• Do NOT talk about what you usually do. They want you to remember what you did in that specific situation. They want to hear specifically about that time and place
• Pick something you remember well. They will ask for details about what you did, said, thought, and felt during that specific experience

“While job interviewing may not come naturally to everyone, the right preparation can make the difference between landing on your feet and hitting the street. Still, even the most experienced professionals often under-perform by overemphasizing their career progression and chronology or projecting only what they know, rather than focusing on the impact that their leadership has had on the organizations they’ve worked for and the lessons they’ve learned over time.

Today, the more senior the position, the more crucial “soft” skills are. Thus, there will be a high degree of probing throughout the evaluation process to gauge your emotional intelligence and social styles — characteristics that help distinguish a good manager from a true leader.

At this level, the most commonly used interview technique is known as behavioral competency. This type of interview focuses not only on your self-awareness but also on what is known as your learning agility — the ability to apply what you’ve learned through past adversity to overcome obstacles in the future.”

How to Master the Art of Executive Interviewing; by Tierney Remick

Summary

Be prepared for an interview, both with examples of what you know and how you applied your knowledge. Be ready to speak to your skills, how you demonstrated them, and your emotional intelligence along with examples of how you behaved in a specific situation.

Opportunity in Adversity – Demonstrating the Value of HR in a Down Economy

As HR professionals we know that we add real value to the businesses we support. In some cases, we know that line managers appreciate what we do. In some of our efforts we are viewed as partners. However, there are other cases when the line manager works with us because they believe they need to. But, they would bypass us if they could.

There are ways in which we can improve our image so that line managers see us as true partners working together to achieve business results. A down economy might just be the perfect opportunity for us to demonstrate the contributions we can make. Below are some ways to showcase our value.

1. Career Planning

There are likely some HR activities, which have been postponed or cancelled because of the down economy. This opens up time to investigate current business activities for areas where the HR team can be of assistance. Even if nothing has been removed, and even if there are fewer people on the team, this is an opportunity that should not be wasted.

Now is when the line manager may be more receptive to a well conceived and presented collaborative activity. For example, this may be an ideal time to offer an Individual Development Plan (IDP) workshop to upper level managers who do not have development plans in place. A half-day workshop with directions and feedback for developing their own plans might be appreciated. This can demonstrate the value we bring to them individually, and by extension, to their entire organization. Offering the workshop to upper level managers, without cost if need be, can demonstrate the value of HR. Once the manager has seen the value of the workshop, they may be willing to pay to develop members of their team. They may agree that “down turn time” is an opportunity to develop and maintain their teams.

2. Surveys

What services do you provide to the businesses? Are all your offerings being subscribed to effectively? Are there additional offerings or services that your HR team could make available? Organizational development activities might find receptive audiences as the businesses seek to find new ways to promote business. Sometimes a quick and simple electronic survey will uncover needs that might not be evident from day-to-day interactions.

When developing a survey, develop a mix of item types. Include multiple-choice, check all that apply, ranking, or other fixed response choice selections and just a few open-ended questions. Also, many people will only respond to questions that provide response choices. Open-ended questions require more time and effort to analyze. Keep the survey short with no more than 10 questions in total; with no more than 3 open ended items.

In developing your survey, think about the type of issues you are seeing, the type of services you can offer, and also look at the larger picture. The larger picture can be found in news reports, business publications and in speaking to colleagues, friends and relatives about issues and opportunities they are seeing.

There are several excellent and free survey tools that you can use. Survey Monkey is one that has a good reputation, as does Zoomerang. Both of these tools are available on-line for free. The tool you choose is secondary to determining what end result you want to achieve. Know what questions you want to ask before you develop the survey. Having data without a goal is not likely to result in meaningful results.

Also, you don’t want to collect data that doesn’t relate to what your organization can offer. Develop questions that relate to tools and services you can deliver. For example, your team may want to help the organization develop mentors. You would develop one or more questions about a mentoring program. You might want to ask which of several types of mentoring programs the respondent would be most likely to participate in. What would encourage them to participate in one, discourage them, etc?

3. Workforce Development / Focus Groups

If your organization has downsized, it might be an opportunity to help the organization effectively develop and deploy the remaining resources. You might offer to facilitate focus groups. The focus groups would help work groups identify their business goals, the organizational capabilities, and the steps needed to achieve goals. Setting up focus groups with representatives from senior levels and individual contributors should provide a view of organizational capabilities and needs. Start by gaining consensus on what the overarching goals are. Then, as a team, determine what needs to be done to achieve those goals. Next, identify the areas of expertise that exist within the group. Finally, identify areas where development might be needed for the organization to achieve its goals. Help the team to identify appropriate development activities.

4. Teamwork

Now, perhaps more than ever is a time when groups and organizations need to look at ways to work together towards common goals. Silos and hording key talent will not help turn an organization around. Getting the organization to stability and greater profitability may require a unified approach. It may be advantageous to set up a committee composed of key talent to address a set of specific issues and opportunities that impact the overall business.

Bringing together key thinkers and high potential members of several organizations to address problems and recommend steps for action might benefit all the organizations that participate. This is an activity that the HR team could lead. Beginning, perhaps, by inviting organizations to participate in a task force. This won’t be an easy “sell” but it might be worth the effort.

One potential way would be to let the head of the organization know that just a few groups have been selected to participate. You can explain that, by accepting the invitation, they are committing to identify a high potential member (HiPo) of the organization to participate. You can explain the value of the effort and offer to meet with them to explain the benefit to their organization. Let them know that having a group of HiPos address issues and opportunities often leads to successful results. Additional topics are also often discussed and plans are put in place to address them. Also, the HiPos will likely keep in touch with each other and share their expertise in the future.

A key task at hand is to help organizations understand that breaking down silos will benefit them even if a key resource moves to a different role. It may even be advantageous to have HiPos rotate from one organization to another. Sharing knowledge within a company is always better than maintaining silos.

“A report by Industry Week noted that silos are the biggest hindrance to corporate growth. Another study by the American Management Association revealed that 83 per cent of executives said silos existed in their firms. Of these, 97 per cent believed silos were counterproductive.
The silo mentality can lead to a number of serious communication issues. Managers may be overprotective of their department’s activities, even going so far as to act as gatekeepers of information that impacts the rest of the organization. Internally, this lack of co-operation can cause internal competition and even a complete breakdown in communication.”

Shared information helps firms dismantle their ‘silos’, Written by Dr. John McFerran; Saturday, 04 April 2009
Summary

A down economy is an opportunity to forge greater connects to the line organizations you support. It is a time when activities and program put in place can result in a win for both the line and the HR organization.

What Makes for a Good Certification Test?

Most certification tests are developed by teaming subject matter experts (SMEs) and certification test development experts. People responsible for writing the test questions need to have expertise in the subject area. They also need to know how to develop tests or have someone on the test writing team who knows how to develop credible, valid and reliable test items. A group or individual with expertise in testing, rather than the subject matter, usually provides this knowledge. Even so, certification tests don’t always live up to the standards set.

Tests are announced along with a description of what they will cover. The test development team has to make certain that the examination tests what the description promises. That may sound obvious, but the challenge lies in determining how to develop test questions which measure an individual’s ability to perform activities that they will need to carry out on-the-job.

The test writers need to develop questions and correct answers directly related to the skills being certified. They also need to write plausible incorrect answer choices. This is not as easy as it might seem. It is especially difficult when the test writers need to populate multiple versions of an exam. Additionally, extra items need to be produced, as some items will be deleted during the review process.

Developers will often concentrate on plausible incorrect responses. The resulting exam may get high marks for how well the items are constructed. But good construction is not enough. The question must also test the work that will be done. Take, for example, a question that asks what color a wire is and then lists four color choices. This may be a well constructed question when looking strictly at writing answer responses that are similar. But, knowing the color of a wire doesn’t test the ability to apply information in a work situation. If the question was about which wire to cut when defusing a bomb, then the question is testing application of knowledge. But it also isn’t sufficient to develop a question that asks the test taker to select the correct response. The answer choices must also be plausible. If wires are never pink, pink shouldn’t be an option.

A blueprint is used to build a home. Following a blueprint ensures that the home is built according to the original plan. Certification tests are also built according to a plan, also often called a blueprint. The blueprint provides detailed information for construction. The blueprint describes what should be included on the exam. There are multiple ways to develop an exam blueprint, but that is a topic for another blog. An exam development workshop generally begins with a review of the exam blueprint. The participants review, edit and modify the initial blueprint. As the workshop progresses and items are developed, the blueprint is reviewed, to ensure it is still valid. In some cases, content is modified or deleted from the blueprint. In other cases, content is added. The blueprint is normally not finalized until the test items have been reviewed, revised, edited and finalized. The blueprint is finalized only when the exam is ready for publication.

A Recommended Approach to Test Item Development

• Each workshop participant provides a brief summary of a situation they experienced that relates to one or more of the blueprint items (exam objective). Each blueprint item should have at least one situation associated with it. In some cases, a situation will cover more than one objective. This is not a problem; it might even lead to test questions which require higher level thought processes.
• Participants write a question based on one of the summary statements. At this point, they only write the question. Once the question has been reviewed and approved, they will develop the correct response and the distracters (the plausible incorrect responses).
• The exam facilitator and the workshop group review each question and critique it, both for relevance to the end result and for effective exam question development.
• Review and modify the answer choices as needed for content and effective test design.
• The exam facilitator may want the participants to develop another question following the above process.
• The facilitator determines which participants are ready to write additional questions without immediate review and feedback. It is recommended that these people write for approximately one hour and then a review and feedback session be conducted.
• Have the participants who still need a bit more support write about three more questions and response options. The facilitator should review and provide feedback to each of the three questions before the individual develops another question. If a question needs significant revision, the facilitator should provide feedback and then the participant should revise their own questions.
• The facilitator should review questions before presentation to the workshop participants. Individual feedback will help participants develop better questions. It will also move the process along without embarrassing any participants. Writing test questions isn’t easy. If the facilitator supports the people who are having problems one-on-one, it will lead to a better experience for all involved.
• During item review, the facilitator should remind the workshop team that the items should test activities that a certified support person will be doing. Participants may want to write items that test facts or information that would normally be looked up or found without memorization. This is not good test items development. Because so many items are needed, participants may push for including questions that test components. One option for effective test content is writing items which test finding the information rather than their ability to memorize. The team should ask if it is something done on the job. If it is, discuss and describe how and why it is done. This method will likely come up with a higher level capability and a better test item.

Comments in Blogs About Certification Exams
Below are some typical comments posted about certification exams.

“… a lot of questions that were ambiguous (had more than one answer, or no good answer). I ended up reading a number of them out loud to myself, shaking my head.

But where the CS2 test was full of ridiculous questions such as “does the tool tip in the navigator panel say ‘magnify’ or ‘zoom’?”, this CS3 test at least did give the sense that they were trying to test actual knowledge of how to Use the program.”

InDesign CS3 Certification Exam News, March 18 2008, Steve Werner

Variants on this comment are often posted for other certification exams. To avoid this problem, continually refer back to the initial summary experiences. Make sure these real experiences are incorporated into the questions. Discuss the process and steps taken for each example situation and job requirement being tested. This will result in a question that asks for higher level thinking not memorized information that can be looked up on the job.

Approaches for Item Review
After the development workshop, a few simple activities can lead to a better SME review process. These steps will allow SMEs to concentrate on technical aspects of the questions. An editorial review of the language, especially if the exam is going to multiple geographies, will help the technical reviewer concentrate on content. If possible, arrange for feedback to a sub-set of the items before the beta review. Conduct one-on-one sessions, if possible, with SMEs who didn’t participate in the exam development process. Another good way to receive quality feedback is to limit the number of items a reviewer is asked to review.

General Tips and Rules of Thumb
Focus on the work that is done using the knowledge being tested. Write items which test the application of the knowledge to real world situations. Ensure items are written so that all populations who will be sitting for the exam will understand the question. No tricks questions or responses. Don’t use idiomatic phases. Items should evaluate an individual’s ability to perform the job role, rather than their test taking ability, or their facility with the language in which the exam is written. If questions require minute technical detail, or are unrelated to the job, or require memorization of facts that can be looked up; these questions should be removed from the item pool.

It is important to know how customers will use the products. Someone who is certified in an area does not need to know every application of the products. However, they should know how the knowledge of the product can be applied. Knowing how knowledge can be applied, will allow the certified person to successfully handle a situation that is new or different.

After the Handshake – Onboarding Strategies for Success

Effective Onboarding Processes

Why do so many presumably good hiring decisions lead to disappointment? Why do star performers join a new organization and fail? Where are we falling down? What causes a robust interview and selection process to produce poor results? What can be done to improve the process for all involved?

Organizations are now adopting onboarding processes to integrate new hires into the group. Essentially, onboarding is the process of integrating a new hire into the company or new group. Onboarding helps a new hire fit into, and understand, the organization and their role.

The concept is to provide a new hire with a support structure. Structure helps them become a part of the organization. One or more people are designated as their mentors or contacts. Typically, several meetings are set up to meet people in the organization and those in other groups that they will interface with in their roles.

Onboarding processes are being implemented by organizations to help increase the successful integration and performance of new hires. However, even with onboarding programs, the success rate could still be improved. Research is showing that onboarding activities may need to be enhanced and the length of the onboarding process may need to be increased.

“Best performing, future-looking companies distinguish themselves by extending onboarding to the first six months… Companies need to look to the future by defining the onboarding process, creating an onboarding roadmap, and investing in strategic long-term workforce planning that integrates their onboarding with the pre-hire stages and the post-hire stages.” Madeline Tarquinio; The Onboarding Benchmark Report, August 2006; Aberdeen Group.

Beginning with the decision to announce the position opening and through every part of the process, there are pit-falls that can derail even an outstanding new hire. When a new hire fails to thrive, it can be attributed to many factors. In most cases, a robust interview process is used. The new hire is usually vetted. And yet, within 6 months to a year the hiring team might determine that it wasn’t a good hire. The apparent poor match between the new hire and the existing team is likely to frustrate everyone. So what goes wrong? The interview and selection process is usually a well-conducted process and a thoughtful decision is made. Yet, something goes wrong.

Where do things go wrong and how can they be addressed? Most often the pre-interview process is well constructed and the interview is well conducted. The interview activities related to bringing a new hire on board include:

• Pre-work – identifying the deliverables and associated work that will need to be carried out by the new hire
• Aligning and Agreement – getting buy-in to the role and responsibilities from both the hiring organization and those with whom the new hire will interface
• Interview Prep – identifying the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to perform the job role
• Interview Questions – development of questions that will allow the interviewees to demonstrate their qualifications for the role
• Conducting the interview – collecting objective data for decision making
• Extending the offer and bringing the individual onboard

Onboarding Prep

What needs to be done to have an equally structured post-hire process? How can the success rates of onboarding programs be increased? Success, in any hiring endeavor can be increased through planning, preparation and post-hire processes. Looking at the actions that can be taken both before and after the new hire comes on board may provide guidance on some further steps needed for success.

Prior to bringing a new hire onboard, determine what the new hire will need to do and deliver within the first 90 days. Write a description of the deliverables. Use words that describe actions and outputs that can be seen. This could include things like reports and products. Choose tangible reviewable products that can be examined so that feedback can be provided. Attending meetings, speaking with people and reading materials are all activities that lead to or support the deliverable. These should also be defined, but they are not deliverables. These are the steps that allow the deliverable to be produced.

Once the hiring manager has defined the deliverables and the activities, the next step is to gain buy-in from the rest of the organization. Make sure that all the interface points and deliverables are acceptable to each group.

However, there are organizations which have onboarding processes in place, but these processes are not well planned and executed. This situation might lead some to dismiss onboarding as ineffective. In some cases, the new hire might be viewed as being a poor hire.

Another view might be that onboarding process itself lacks sufficient structure. People within the organization may not have a plan to integrate the new hire. Introducing the new hire to the people they will be working with is not enough. Meeting people is a good first step. A stronger connection to a new job role can be made with an overview of relationships and work roles that tie the new hire to the people they are meeting. An integrated system of information will increase the effectiveness of the onboarding process. Present the new hire with information on the roles and responsibilities of each person they meet. Explain how they will connect with each person and what role each person will have related to the new hire’s responsibilities and deliverables.

Recommended New Hire Onboarding Steps

• Meet with each of the members of the new hire’s direct team. Be sure to cover
• An overview of each person’s role, responsibilities, deliverables and measurements
• A description of the interface of the new hire’s role, responsibilities, deliverables and measurements to each of their teammates
• Assign a member of the team as the new hire’s mentor and, most importantly, remove some other responsibilities.
• Also hold the mentor accountable for the new hire’s successful integration into the group.
• The manager also needs to be available to the mentor to discuss any issues that might arise as they conduct the mentoring activities
• Along with member of new hire’s direct team, meet with members of teams with whom the new hire will interface
• Receive briefing on the contact and their team’s role, responsibilities, deliverables and measurements
• How does the new hire fit into this picture
• What do they need to bring to the table
• What do they need from the individual or group with whom they are meeting
• The existing team member should take responsibility for the introductions and interactions
• After the interface, the new hire and their team member meet and debrief the session. The existing team member provides their impressions of the meeting. What worked and what actions to take, issues that need to be resolved and next steps.
• The new hire asks questions and takes a first pass at recommended actions. The existing team member provides feedback to the new hire’s recommendations
• Set up a second interface. During this session the new hire begins to take on the role responsibilities.
• The mentor participates and helps the new hire where needed. It is important that the new hire take on as much responsibility as possible. We all learn by doing. However, the existing team member needs to participate as needed to ensure the credibility of the group and new hire are maintained
• A debrief session between the new hire and the mentoring team member is conducted after this meeting. Again, actions and next steps are determined.
• The mentor and new hire participate jointly in subsequent sessions with their interfaces until both the mentor and the new hire are comfortable that the new hire can carry on without the mentor participating in the interface activities. However, the mentor needs to remain available for questions, advice and recommendations as the new hire continues to become integrated into the role.
• The new hire’s manager also needs to hold meetings with the new hire. These meetings need to be above and beyond any held with the existing team. During these meetings the manager needs to ensure the new hire is doing what they expect of them. Depending on the situation the manager may also want to provide advice and recommendations.

Responsibilities

The new hire, the hiring manager, and the team members are all responsible for onboarding. Business is turbulent and ever changing in the current economic environment. It is critical to discuss every change with the entire team. Even when the change in question wasn’t discovered by the new hire, it is still important to discuss everything with the new hire. It is also important that the team or the manager let the new hire know what work is affected. If it doesn’t impact the new hire, the new hire still needs to be in the loop. The new hire should be told what the impact is, who is impacted, and how they are affected.

The onboarding plan needs frequent interface points so that all involved know how well the new hire is integrating into the organization. This will ensure that the new hire is doing what they need to do, as well as learning about the company and their specific role within it. Schedule multiple meetings with the mentor, other team members, and the manager. Follow each meeting up with debriefs and question and answer periods. It is most important to share thoughts, comments, recommendations and feedback. All of these steps will contribute to a successful onboarding experience for a new hire and the existing team.

Components of Onboarding Communications

It is important for the new hire to forge relationships and perceptions. It is also critical that someone point out any landmines or threats to the new hire. Equally important is letting the new hire know who the supporters are and the group’s relationship to those supports.

A shared mentoring program helps everyone see that they are participating in both learning and training. A new hire provides expertise and skills. Mentoring helps the new hire integrate into their new role. This is a win/win for everyone in the organization.