- We have an employee benefit fund which sponsors an Easter Egg Hunt for employees children, a summer picnic for staff, an annual retiree’s picnic, and an awards dinner to recognize employee’s years of service at specific intervals (25, 30 ad 35 years of state services). The employee benefit fund receives a percentage of revenue from the vending machines in the employee lunch rooms and also from various fund raisers that the committee runs.
- We have various organized committees that meet to discuss specific issues pertinent to its membership on company time. Examples of committees at my employment are Women’s Issues committee and a Diversity Management Committee.
- We have employee birthday parties, and retirement luncheons held during working hours on company grounds.
- During the winter months we have pot luck luncheons, chili cook offs or other type organized lunches where employees bring in their homemade dishes and a prize is given to the best tasting lunch.
- During the summer months, we have “hot dog days” every two weeks. A lunch of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, soda and ice cream is available for purchase to employees. Each department takes its turn serving and cooking. Each year the Executives cook and serve the first lunch. The proceeds go to the employee benefit fund.
- Every Friday we have dress down day. Employees can donate a dollar to the employee benefit fun and are able to wear casual clothes such as jeans and t-shirts to work.
- Although laughter and fun are not necessarily encouraged by any principal or rule, they are part of everyday office life at my employment. Most office environments are laid back.
Why do Kenexa’s leaders have no excuses when it comes to creating a productive performance management system?
Performance management is an organization wide system whereby managers integrate the activities of goal setting, monitoring and evaluating, providing feedback and coaching, and rewarding employees on a continuous basis to improve job performance. It involves positive reinforcement (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p.)
Effective employee performance management solutions improve employee goal planning, career development, competency assessment, performance appraisals, compensation management and organizational alignment. With effective performance management software, one can automate performance management in an organization to improve employee engagement, retain top performers, and improve performance at both the individual and organizational level. By aligning one’s workforce on key goals and performance measures through performance management software, one can identify career paths for employees, create development plans, and identify developmental resources, tasks and ideas to encourage individual development and enhance organizational performance (Kenexa.com).
Kenexa provides business solutions for human resources. They help global organizations multiply business success by identifying the best people for every job and fostering optimal work environments for every organization. For more than twenty years, Kenexa has studied human behavior and team dynamics in the workplace and has developed the software solutions, business processes and expert consulting that help organizations impact positive business outcomes through HR. Kenexa is the only company that offers a comprehensive suite of unified products and services that support the entire employee lifecycle from pre-hire to exit (Kenexa.com).
Kenexa has no excuses when it comes to Performance management solutions because they are in the business of selling performance management solutions to other firms. They are the leading human resources services company in America. Kenexa’s scientists do interviews and surveys to learn what inspires employees. Its industry leading software runs the data through sophisticated algorithms, identify correlations and possible causations. Then Kenexa devises strategies to improve work environments and recruit, evaluate and keep talent. Kenexa turns correlations into action plans as well as profit (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p. 270).
Kenexa practices internally what it sells to others. Everything from recognition programs to in-house to competitions to the corporate structure is constantly subject to employee feedback, and everything is meant to boost involvement and loyalty.
If you worked as a salesperson for Kenexa, what would be the key talking points in your sales pitch?
If I was a salesperson for Kenexa, I would emphasize that Kenexa’s employee performance management solution can significantly impact on a firm’s financial performance. Research taken at Kenexa indicates that companies with higher employee satisfaction had 700% higher shareholder return (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p. 269).
I would tell my prospective customers that Kenexa is the leading human-resources services company in America. I would emphasize that sixty percent of the Fortune 100 companies, including Caterpillar, General Motors, Time Warner and Wachovia hire Kenexa to help get inside the minds of their employees to build worker loyalty. Kenexa uses what analysts say is the sector’s most sophisticated data-crunching software, as well as a squad of scientists, statisticians, and industrial an d organizational psychologists to help turn correlations into action plans as well as profit (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p. 269).
In human resources, the secret to Kenexa’s success is its conviction that employees want to have fun on the job. When employees are in a job that they enjoy and are good at it, they are not just better workers. They are better spouses, parents and citizens. They take pride in their work and their company which significantly reduces employee turnover which again results in saved dollars. I would articulate that Kenexa can do this for your firm. They can devise strategies to improve your work environment, recruit, evaluate, keep talent and increase profits (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p. 269).
I would also point out that Kenexa’s software helps suggest action plans drawn partly from a 4,000-client database of what has worked in the past for its highest-scoring clients. I would tell them about how Kenexa took on a huge and complex case at Boeing where it successfully drilled down to departmental groups as small as 30 people and delivered tailored plans directly to the company’s 15,000 managers. At Boeing today, everyone from the CEO down to division managers discuss employee surveys including scores but also develops strategies to promote employee engagement. Boeing is a clear example of how Kenexa’s software can help firms find ways to tap into employees passions and exploit those passions on the job. Statistics show that companies who have highly satisfied employees also have significantly higher shareholder returns. This is a wining situation for both employees and management (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p. 270).
I would emphasize all of these key selling points to prospective Kenexa customers letting them know that if their firm hired Kenexa they would be looking at higher profits that were driven by employees who are passionate, happy, loyal and extremely productive.
In terms of Thomas’s four building blocks in figure 9-3, how would you rate Kenexa’s potential for generating intrinsic motivation? Explain.
Intrinsic rewards are self-granted. One who derives pleasure from the task itself or experiences a sense of competence or self-determination is said to be intrinsically motivated. There is a great deal managers can do to create situations in which employees are more likely to experience intrinsic rewards and be intrinsically motivated. Kenneth Thomas’s model of intrinsic motivation provides helpful direction. His model combines the job characteristics model of job design, the concept of empowerment and Edward Deci and Richard Ryan’s cognitive evaluation theory. Deci and Ryan contend that people must satisfy their needs for autonomy and competence when completing a task for it to be intrinsically motivated. Thomas uses the concept of building blocks to show managers how to construct the right conditions for four basic intrinsic rewards: meaningfulness, choice, competence, and progress. See below for a description of each building block (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p 256-259).
- Managers lead for meaningfulness by inspiring their employees and modeling desired behaviors. Managers can accomplish this by creating a non-cynical climate, by helping employees clearly identify their passions, by creating an exciting organizational vision employees feel connected to, and by developing relevant task purposes and whole tasks (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p.257).
- Managers lead for choice by empowering employees and delegating meaningful assignments and tasks. They should show trust in their employees, provide security by not punishing employees for honest mistakes, provide pertinent information about assignments and develop a clear purpose (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p. 258).
- Leading for competence involves supporting and coaching employees. Managers need to make sure employees have the knowledge they need to successfully perform job duties. Deficiencies should be handled through training and mentoring. Providing positive feedback and sincere recognition can also be combined with the assignment of a challenging task to promote employees’ intrinsic motivation (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p.258 -259).
- Managers lead for progress by monitoring and rewarding others. This involves establishing a collaborative climate, developing milestones, providing celebrations, providing access to customers and establishing a measurement of improvement (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p. 259).
I believe that Kenexa is very successful at generating intrinsic motivation. At Kenexa, the employees are happy. They grin at one another all day long. Sometimes they hug and bright posters of the company’s guiding principles align the company’s walls. These principals promote laughter, fun and advocates that employees make friends at work. This represents leading by meaningfulness (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p. 269).
Kenexa strives to get into the minds of their employees to build worker loyalty. They want their employees to be good at their jobs and really enjoy doing them. This makes for an excellent employee but it also carries over to other areas of one’s life such as being a better spouse, parent and citizen. This represents leading for competence (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p. 269).
Kenexa also wants to learn what inspires employees and then devises strategies to improve work environment and recruit, evaluate and keep talent. They want to find out what employees are passionate about and exploit that passion on the job. This represents leading by competence and leading for choice (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p. 269).
Kenexa doesn’t just sell all of the above externally, they also practice it internally. Everything from recognition programs to in-house competitions to corporate structure is constantly subject to employee feedback and everything is meant to boost involvement and loyalty. This represents leading for progress and leading for competence (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p. 270).
I believe that Kenexa’s potential for generating intrinsic motivation is excellent in terms of Thomas’s four building blocks as Kenexa clearly has each building block covered in its treatment of its employees.
Would you like to work for Kenexa?
I would love to work for Kenexa. Kenexa appears to be on a path for greatness in the HR world. What I like best is that they practice what they sell. What is most important to me is a work environment that is fun, which promotes friendships, empowers employees, and provides positive feedback and sincere recognition. I love challenging work but getting sincere feedback and recognition is very important to me. I believe that I would receive this and so much more working for Kenexa.
WORKS CITED
Kenexa Official Website. Kenexa Employment Branding. Retrieved 3/9/2012.
Kreitner, Robert and Kinicki, Angelo. Organizational Behavior, ninth edition. 2010 McGraw-Hill.
McGee, Paul. 25 Ideas for Building Fun into Your Work Setting. LaughterRemedy Website. Retrieved 3/9/2012.
Rau-Foster, Mary. Humor and Fun the Workplace, 2000. Workplace Issues Website. Retrieved March 9, 2012.