Control of personnel – what methods yield the best result

Some understand as control of personnel performance management of personnel, others – employee administration, still someone - "peeping" behind actions of personnel. Therefore it is not surprising that in most cases similar discussions have no constructive character. Using the given opportunity, I want to make the contribution to reduction of "entropy" of discussions on this subject.

One of business the Internet of resources, systematizing experience of the Russian companies in the field of control of personnel, suggested our company to answer the following questions:

• That it is more important to control: process or result?
• How it is better to organize control?
• What methods yield the best result?

The subject of control of personnel is often discussed at different forums. Range of opinions is, as a rule, very wide. From denial of all types of control, to a panegyric to the systems of tracking actions of personnel. The most heated arguments raises a question - "whether control is effective". At the same time some understand as control of personnel performance management of personnel, others – employee administration, still someone - "peeping" behind actions of personnel. Therefore it is not surprising that in most cases similar discussions have no constructive character. Using the given opportunity, I want to make the contribution to reduction of "entropy" of discussions on this subject.

That it is more important to control: process or result?

That it is more important to control: current intensity or tension, speed of the car or engine speed? In different cases differently. Control – not end in itself, but the tool for the solution of a certain task (it is more correct – supports of a certain business function). Therefore, for a start, it is necessary to decide on two questions: what problem we want to solve and what specifically employees (it is more correct - what business processes) we want to control. Otherwise it reminds a question: "Whom do you love more – the father or mother?"

Within management of organizational effectiveness control of Process/result can be used for the solution of, at least, two tasks:

• Management of achievements of personnel.
• Management of number of staff.

The technique of the solution of these tasks at a project form of the organization and at a process form of job management is different. In this publication we will consider the technique corresponding to a process form of job management.

Management of achievements of personnel

One of the main methods of management of organizational effectiveness is management of achievements. A crucial element of management of achievements – the efficient system of motivation of personnel impossible without control of Result. Thus, the Result needs to be controlled practically always. It is necessary, but not it is Enough.

If the Result suits us, then, in most cases, it is not really important, how exactly it was reached. If the Result leaves much to be desired, then, as a rule, it is necessary to find out in what the reason. For example, the worker is not able to do something and it is necessary to provide training. Or he is insufficiently motivated. Or to him the unattainable objects (unreal planned targets) were set. To each of these diagnoses there corresponds the plan of treatment. To make the correct diagnosis, it is not enough to control only Result, it is necessary to know how there took place Process. The lack of control of Process is one of the reasons why projects on implementation of management systems for achievements often fail.

Thus, generally, for effective management of achievements it is necessary to control not only Result, but also Process. However the importance of these types of control depends on that what achievements of workers we want to manage. With respect thereto the managerial personnel can be separated into three categories conditionally:

• Workers of the regulated work. These are the workers executing the most part of working time standard business operations, as a rule, using the computer. First of all it is workers of a back office (accounting, operators, etc.), the staff of call centers, editors, etc. For management of achievements of this category of personnel the importance of control of Process is higher, than control of Result. This results from the fact that, in this case, accurate accomplishment of business process (strict observance of the adopted regulations) is result.

• Workers "creative" * (independent) work. These are the workers the most part of working time performing the standard tasks (both with use, and without use of the computer) most of which often are not requiring "creative". It is possible to refer most of employees of HR service, IT service to this category, etc. For management of achievements of this category of personnel it is more important to control Result, than to control Process. This results from the fact that tactics of achievement of effective objectives can be different and, mainly, is defined by workers. Process control, is also important, but is secondary. Its basic purpose – determination of best practices (best practices) and diagnostics of failures.

• • Quotes in the word "creative" mean that nothing really creative in the performed work can not be.

• "Creative producers". These are workers of creative activity (without quotes). First of all – all middle managers (above) and also developers of new technologies, designers, designers, etc. Management of achievements of this category of personnel - a question debatable. It is obvious that it is not necessary to control Process in this case, but also with control of Result not everything is unambiguous. The thought that management of achievements of "creative producers" is not science, and art finds the increasing number of supporters. The author of this publication belongs to their number.

Management of number of staff

One more major instrument of increase in business performance is management of number of staff. For workers of the regulated and "creative" work this problem is solved differently. At first we will consider simpler case – management of the number of workers of the regulated work.

Management of the number of workers of the regulated work is determination of dependence between the volume of the available work, on the one hand, and the number of workers necessary for this purpose, on the other hand. This problem can be solved differently: using benchmarking, microelement regulation ore, factor regulation of work, etc. For management of the number of office workers, the most part of time working with the computer, I consider the most effective a method: "Examination of the Actual Labour costs". The idea of a method is offered by EKOPSI Consulting company. The method is implemented by ProLAN company in the solution Hamburg Score.

Method essence: "Examination of the Actual Labour costs" consists in the following:

• Using the special means set on computers of workers the current load of personnel continuously is measured. An indicator of load is the share of net time falling on accomplishment of business operations using the computer. For example, the share of net time during which the accountant performs postings using the ERP system the operator carries out payment orders using the core banking system, etc.
• Using the special means set on application servers the volume of the performed works continuously is measured (number of the processed documents, the made calls, etc.).
• On the basis of the analysis of the historical data characterizing load of personnel and the amount of completed work corresponding to this load using a special mathematical apparatus the dynamic model of number of staff is created.

The dynamic model of number of staff allows to define how many workers are necessary and enough for support of each business process (business function) depending on values of certain external factors. Usually it is called "what if analysis". For example, how many operators are necessary for the bank department having a certain number of clients. How many operators TsOV (Call center, call center) should have that, with the minimum waiting time, to process a certain quantity of calls, etc. the Model is called dynamic since it samoobuchatsya automatically. Let's say after training operators began to work quicker, their load decreased, so and requirements to the necessary number of operators decreased (in model such changes are monitored automatically).

Thus, for management of the number of workers of the regulated work it is necessary to control, first of all, Process. But it is necessary to control Result since the load of personnel (necessary number) depends not only on external factors, but also on quality of the performed works, i.e. on Result. For example, if operators of TsOV badly perform the work, then number of appeals to TsOV, and, therefore, and its load, will increase. Therefore along with measurement of load of personnel it is necessary to control the quality of execution of works corresponding to this level of load (Result). By optimization of number of staff assessment of Result (KPI) is restriction. For example, the task of optimization of number of staff of TsOV could sound approximately so: "How many operators of TsOV are necessary for processing of 150 calls per hour provided that the quality of processing of calls (KPI) should be not lower than 0.95".

But control of Result is especially important for management of the number of workers of "creative" work. In this case required number depends not only on work volume, but also on tactics of achievement of effective objectives. In case of "creative" work, tactics of achievement of goals, as a rule, are defined by workers. This, by the way, main difference of the regulated and "creative" work. Therefore in case of "creative activity" we have one equation with two unknown: Number = F (work volume, tactics). Simultaneous control of Result and Process allows to define the best tactics (best practice), to remove one unknown and, thus, to solve the equation.

How it is better to organize control? What methods yield the best result?

These questions should be considered in interrelation therefore I integrated them with each other.

As appears from the above above, there is no uniform method which equally well would be suitable for the solution of all tasks. The choice of a method is defined, first, by the control purposes, secondly, subjects to control. However whatever were the purposes and subjects to control, there are two important rules which should be observed anyway. These rules:

• If control, then only Positive.
• Information on labor costs should be reliable.

If control, then only Positive

Unfortunately, many identify the concept "control of personnel" with peeping behind actions of personnel ("in what, interestingly, they are engaged in working time and whether not too for a long time they "hang up" on social networks, etc."). Identification of control with peeping – a big error.

Kontrol Protsessa is a measurement of the certain metrics characterizing work of personnel. If values of metrics "good", then workers are encouraged. If "bad", then are not encouraged. Thus, Kontrol Protsessa, is based, first, on "digitization" of actions of personnel. Secondly, – on the available regulations defining threshold values of the measured metrics. The poet Kontrol Protsessa initially has neutral coloring (not negative and not positive). In it guarantee of its efficiency (the principle of a carrot and stick known to all).

Peeping, unlike Control is a fixing of actions of personnel for the purpose of identification of the facts of violation of labor discipline (start of the prohibited applications, the appeal to the prohibited resources, etc.). If you broke nothing, then to you "for it nothing will be". If you broke something about (for example, "hung up" on social network), then you will be punished. In this case we deal with the management based on fear of possible punishment. The fear is destructive therefore "management on fear", not only it is not effective, but also can work great mischief to the organization (good workers will leave, and "bad" will find other method "not work").

Therefore it is necessary to control not violations, but achievement. Encouragement, but not punishment should be a main objective of control. Only such control can increase labor productivity. Here the main thing governed as at the doctor, "do not do much harm". Therefore even positive control should be used carefully, accurately understanding what problem is going to be solved with its help. For example, to increase labor productivity or to optimize number of staff. With extra care it is necessary to approach the solution of the first task in relation to workers of "creative" work. The matter is that ~ 20% of people are negative to any kind of control. At the same time, it is most often those 20% which according to the Pareto principle make for 80% of profit. You remember words from the song by Vladimir Vysotsky: "Oh, how I would run in herd, but not under a saddle and without bridle"?

Information on labor costs should be reliable

Effective control of Process is an obtaining the "digitized" information on the actual labor costs of personnel. At the same time this information should be authentic since differently its practical value is very low. Unreliable information cannot be used neither for optimization of number of staff, nor in motivational schemes. An example of such unreliable information about labor costs are the time-sheets completed by workers at the end of the working day.

Accuracy of the information about labor costs can be provided with two methods. The first method – to obtain information on labor costs using the special programs installed on application servers and/or computers of the workers and who are automatically "photographing" and timing all operations performed by workers. This method is called: "Автохронометраж". This method is applied in the products of category Workforce Management used for accounting of labor costs of workers of the regulated work, the most part of working time working with the computer. The second method which it is possible to call Reliable Samokhronometrazh is an obtaining information on personnel labor costs by a self-timing method with simultaneous check of the received results means of the built-in expert system. This method is know how of ProLAN company. Both methods are supported by the solution Hamburg Score.

• Yuditsky Sergey Semyonovich