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Appraising performance is a performance issue itself
Rhema trainng in recruitment techniques for Société Générale financial services managers
Rhema to supply North American roll-out of DLL’s global Leadership Development programme
Appraising performance is a performance issue itself
The start of the 2006 business year for many companies is also the time for another major round of performance appraisals. As always there will be both satisfaction and disappointment among appraisers and appraisees alike – not only about the judgements made, but also relating to how well the appraisals themselves were conducted and communicated.
And in the wake of that many HR directors will be assessing the need for training to improve performance in performance appraisals.
Appraisals rightly occupy substantial amounts of management and supervisory time at various points in every year; as part of any effective company’s people development plan they need to be run intelligently, with real insight and to a high, consistent standard.
Rhema Group’s considerable, proven experience and expertise in delivering such training was again called on by a number of major companies in the run-up to their 2005 end-of-year appraisal round. They ranged from Total, Société Générale and BOC to the Institution of Civil Engineers and LGC, a private company offering chemical and pathology analysis.
The individual nature of companies’ appraisal systems meant that Rhema Trainers who ran the half day courses for these clients’ supervisors and managers began by learning the various in-house systems, and then built tailored training round them, dealing with running fully-effective and communicative appraisal interviews and giving feedback.
Rhema will support the initial training sessions with assessments through the year.
A complementary part of Rhema’s training in each case was delivering two-hour briefing sessions for appraisees – familiarising them with the purpose, style and structure of their company’s preformance appraisal system, and their own responsibilities for optimising the benefis of that system.
Rhema trainng in recruitment techniques for Société Générale financial services managers
Programme now rolling out in London and Paris.
Recruiting the right people is obviously vital to the operational success of any company. Less obvious is the fact that skilful and objective recruiting builds corporate reputation in a business sector: job candidates who work in that sector recognise that good recruiting processes and judgement indicate quality management.
Both issues were in the mind of global banking and financial services giant Société Générale when it called for a customised training programme to improve managers’ recruitment skills in its investment banking, retail banking and asset management businesses. A demanding brief required training to be delivered in English in London and in French in Paris, by consultants with knowledge of banking, experience of high level recruitment, as well as being established management trainers.
Rhema Group’s specially-created programme won through in competitive selection and the Effective Recruiting programme (designed to ensure recruitment always matches corporate objectives) is being successfully delivered to groups of SG managers in London and Paris, via Rhema’s British and French associate consultants - the same course in both languages with essential cultural adjustments for each nationality - as part of SG’s worldwide approach to competencies and managerial skills development for its whole population of managers. Feedback from trainees has been excellent.
The Effective Recruiting course has been created by Rhema in two half day modules. This flexibility suits the managers’ time and workload pressures, and allows an interim period for absorbing and using learnt techniques before going back into training for reinforcement and further development of skills.
Skills developed are selection interviewing, questioning and listening, formal and informal communication, and selling the company and marketing the job. The course includes
Rhema has consolidated its already well-established relationship with SG as a human resource development supplier: other training delivered in 2005 included a 12-module Practical Management Skills Programme.
Rhema to supply North American roll-out of DLL’s global Leadership
Development programme
The need for managers with leadership qualities is driving demand from global operators for excellence and consistency in leadership development programmes – and Netherlands-based global vendor leasing specialist De Lage Landen International has again endorsed Rhema Group’s people development strengths in this vital area.
Through most of 2005 Rhema was closely involved in the pan-European roll-out of programmes in DLL’s worldwide You can make the difference Leadership Development Programme, via Rhema-created modules – New Realities and Leading Change (4 days) and Programme and Project Management (2 days) – which delivered customised content and consistent messages to managers who have to shape DLL’s “best in class” approach to serving its partners with innovative financing programmes.
Rhema has now been tasked with rolling out the DLL leadership training in the USA, and this will be done via Rhema Group North America - part of the extensive and well-established international network (full details on www.rhemagroup.com)
From February to April Rhema will run six four-day courses for groups of 20 very senior managers. The successful European course content has been carefully reworked to maintain consistency of information and learning while adapting to US culture and language style. The courses will be co-facilitated by a Rhema US associate and a UK trainer.
The DLL Leadership Development Programme aims to promote internal development of leaders with a real global focus, sharing knowledge and experience while continually being open to change and innovation.
Nicoline Carstens, Global Leadership Development Programme project director explains that DLL set up its broad-based learning and development policy in 2003 to strengthen and develop management, thereby also optimising succession planning, job rotation and international mobility. The Leadership Development Programme also hones skills for future business growth, market challenges and customer expectations.
Says Carstens: “Partnership with suppliers is very important to DLL. We have a long and very good working relationship with Jeremy Francis and Rhema has an excellent track record with us, as suppliers who can be sparring partners and co-creators with us.”
Jeremy Francis stresses: “Leadership today deals with actively managing constant and inevitable change, and the demands on business leaders in the fast and uncompromising commercial environment of North America are particularly heavy. We have created a programme to meet this challenge and which is also a part of a consistent global people development strategy.”
This enlarged international involvement in the Leadership Development contract has further endorsed Rhema Group as a preferred supplier of management, interpersonal and skills training.
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