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|  The following articles are available for download after registering on our site. Scroll down to view article descriptions and links. · Modeling the Human Side of Service Delivery
· Thirty Years of Linkage Research
· Employment Tests Post-Ricci
· The Meaning of Employee Engagement
· Predicting Employee Choices
· Employee Engagement
· Structured Interviews and the Uniform Guidelines
· Selection Program Legal Considerations (U.S.)
· Structured Interviews
· Employee Selection Systems
· Personality at Work
· Service Smarts
· 360 Feedback Survey Decision Points
· Corporate Service Intelligence
· Content Essentials: A Primer in Survey Development
· Weighting Survey Results
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Descriptions
Modeling the Human Side of Service Delivery
In this article, Benjamin Schneider and David Bower present an open systems model that describes the processes and systems whose cumulative effects shape the human side of service delivery. The open systems view of consumer service organizations focuses on input, throughput, and output stages. The creation and maintenance of a service climate is the key issue for throughput management practices in the model, such climate being partially dependent on employee and customer attributes and linking to the output of the firm in the form of customer satisfaction and profits. A shared service climate across all subsystems and for all organizational members- regardless of rank or position- is seen as the key to managing the complexities of the human side of service delivery.
Written by Benjamin Schneider, Senior Research Fellow at Valtera, and David E. Bowen, The G. Robert & Katherine Herberger Chair in Global Management at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, this article was originally published in the November 2009 issue of Service Science.
Thirty Years of Linkage Research
The Art and Science of Linking Survey Data to Business Outcomes
In 1980, Valtera Senior Research Fellow Dr. Benjamin Schneider published a paper based on service climate research in retail banking environments demonstrating that employee perceptions of the service climate where they worked correlated strongly with customer experiences of service quality in those same branches. This was the first in a long line of such projects conducted by Dr. Schneider and others, which established the correlation of employee perception with customer experience of service. Our experience indicates that conducting a linkage program can provide meaningful data to help move the business forward. However, there is both art and science to conducting a good linkage program to link employee survey data to key business outcomes. This white paper discusses the factors that make a linkage study successful and shows how to use linkage data to create a more engaged workforce.
Employment Tests Post-Ricci
Proper Evaluation and Application of Scoring Now More Important Than Ever
The July 2009 Supreme Court decision in the New Haven Firefighters case, Ricci v. DeStefano, has underscored the importance of careful design and implementation of employment tests, as well as acting properly upon their results. This memorandum provides an analysis of four methods for evaluating test scores, their respective advantages and disadvantages, and summarizes court decisions interpreting the different approaches. This special memorandum was distributed by the Equal Employment Advisory Council and is reprinted with permission. It was written with assistance from Nancy T. Tippins, Senior VP and Managing Principal at Valtera.
The Meaning of Employee Engagement
The meaning of employee engagement is ambiguous among both academic researchers and among practitioners who use it in conversations with clients. We show that the term is used at different times to refer to psychological states, traits, and behaviors as well as their antecedents and outcomes. Drawing on diverse relevant literatures, we offer a series of propositions about (a) psychological state engagement; (b) behavioral engagement; and (c) trait engagement. In addition, we offer propositions regarding the effects of job attributes and leadership as main effects on state and behavioral engagement and as moderators of the relationships among the 3 facets of engagement. We conclude with thoughts about the measurement of the 3 facets of engagement and potential antecedents, especially measurement via employee surveys.
Written by William H. Macey, CEO of Valtera, and Benjamin Schneider, Senior Research Fellow at Valtera, this article was originally published in the first issue of Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice in March 2008.
Predicting Employee Choices
Using Realistic Choice Modeling to Attract, Engage, and Retain Employees
How do I get more employees to work the graveyard shift? What would make my workforce more engaged in their jobs? How do I improve retention in a high turnover industry? And, what will it cost me to achieve these goals? Knowing what people value and understanding the trade-offs people make about where to offer their time and talent can lead to better decisions about what alternatives to offer them.
This white paper discusses the proven strategy of using “choice surveys” and “choice modeling” to address issues like these. Realistic Choice Modeling is an innovative approach to understanding employee preferences and how those preferences play out in decision-making, combining a powerful survey method and statistical modeling to allow you to not only understand preferences, but also to test your assumptions about ideas and evaluate their relative impact.
Employee Engagement
Everything You Wanted to Know About Engagement But Were Afraid to Ask
Employee engagement is a hot topic in the executive suite these days because of its proven links to critical business outcomes like productivity, retention, and customer satisfaction. There is some confusion, however, about what engagement actually means—which affects how engagement gets measured and addressed within an organization.
The purpose of this paper is clarify the definition of engagement and to provide answers to common questions that Valtera has discovered in our own research on the topic.
Structured Interviews and the Uniform Guidelines
Structured Employment Interviews Can Be an Effective Employee Selection Device, but Require Careful Development and Consistent Monitoring To Ensure Compliance With the “Uniform Guidelines”
Most HR professionals understand that tests and other selection instruments are subject to the requirements of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures. However, many do not realize that structured interviews are also subject to these guidelines. This special memorandum on structured interviews was distributed by the Equal Employment Advisory Council and is reprinted with permission. It was written with assistance from Nancy T. Tippins, Senior VP and Managing Principal at Valtera.
Selection Program Legal Considerations (U.S.)
Frequently Asked Questions
In today’s litigation-prone environment, organizations must be vigilant about complying with legal requirements, particularly those that apply to human resources policies and procedures. This paper presents the frequently-asked questions of HR professionals about the rules and regulations that govern selection systems in the United States.
Structured Interviews
Frequently Asked Questions
Employment interviews are a common feature of most hiring processes. Their effectiveness as a tool for predicting success on the job is greater when the process is a structured one. This brief paper outlines frequently-asked questions about structured interviews and how they may be used to select more capable candidates.
Employee Selection Systems
Frequently Asked Questions
How does your company select individuals who will be successful on the job? Is your selection system both effective and legally-compliant? This document describes frequently-asked questions about selection systems and provides a high-level perspective of what to consider before establishing or revising a selection system in your organization.
Personality at Work
Evolution of the Study and Practice of Personality at Work
There are many unanswered questions in the study of job satisfaction, person-environment fit, and personality that kindle curiosity in the minds of HR professionals. This article explores the past, present, and future of personality research and practice in work organizations. Written by Ben Schneider, Valtera’s Senior Research Fellow, it appeared in Human Resource Management and is reprinted with permission.
Service Smarts
Good Management Provides a Foundation for Building a Service Climate
How smart are you about service quality? How good is your corporate service intelligence (CSI)? CSI is validly indexed by reports from company employees who deliver service to the company’s customers. Our research, and others’ over the past 25 years, reveals evidence on the link between employee reports and customer satisfaction. We present a series of steps that management can take to integrate marketing, operations, and human resources in pursuit of creating a service climate for employees. This can promote competitive advantage through service quality.
360 Feedback Survey Decision Points
Issues for the Design and Implementation of a Multi-Rater Feedback Survey
Organizations use multi-rater surveys for a wide variety of purposes. Long recognized as tool for individual development, 360 feedback surveys can also be used to enhance team effectiveness, promote large scale culture change, increase individual accountability, and provide evidence for human resource actions.
This white paper discusses at a high level the set of overall decisions that must be made as part of the planning and implementation process for a 360 feedback effort. These myriad decisions are interrelated and involve multiple stakeholders and organizational players. As such, 360 process decisions do not lend themselves to a simple step-by-step 'check-off' process. This paper includes guidelines to clarify goals, define participant groups, prepare survey content, administer the survey, deliver reports, and support action planning. These guidelines will help to navigate through the 360 decision-making process while keeping the big picture in focus, thereby setting the stage for a successful 360 effort.
Corporate Service Intelligence
What it is, Why it is Important, How to Measure it, and How to Make it Happen
Corporate Service Intelligence (CSI) examines an organization's design and service practices, and their effect on the customer experience.
This paper summarizes 25 years of research that links CSI design issues to customer satisfaction. It also shows that customer satisfaction results in increased loyalty, revenues and competitive advantage in the marketplace. Implications for managing and changing corporate service intelligence are presented.
Content Essentials: A Primer in Survey Development
Things to Consider When Creating a New Survey
Surveys are valuable tools for collecting vital information for your business. A well-constructed survey uncovers quantitative and qualitative data that, when combined with good judgment, lead to effective decision making and business improvements.
This white paper focuses on critical aspects of developing survey content. It covers controlling the length of the survey, writing effective survey items, choosing appropriate response scales, and using open-ended questions.
Weighting Survey Results
Methods for Applying Weights to the Results of Employee Opinion Surveys
When surveying an organization or group, the ultimate goal is to understand the attitudes of the entire organization or group. This is simple in a perfect world where everyone can be invited to participate and a 100% response rate is achieved. However, when participation rates fall short, an incomplete or inaccurate picture may emerge. Item weighting is one method of addressing this potential problem.
This white paper describes when item weighting is appropriate, and contains detailed instructions on how to calculate and apply the correct weights. Numerous situations and weighting schemes are presented.
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