A Players or a Position

7/31/2019 A Players or a Position

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A PLAYERS OR A

POSITIONS?

Strategic Logic of Management

Workforce


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INTRODUCTION:

Great workforce of a company is made of great people and this is the reasonwhy companies devote their energy to

Identify

Develop

Retain

What is known as their A Players

It should be noted that it depends on the right talent at A position rather than

filling all the places with A kind of people.

By right talent we mean: Ability to deliver A performance in crucial roles

To Manage A position requires proper and intelligent management of B and C

position as well


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Economists believe that WAGES reflect the value an employeecreates for the company and the scarcity of such labor in the market.

Human Resource on the other hand believes that the importantpositions are the one which are held by

Highly skilled

Hardest working

Exercising the most responsibility

Operating the most challenging environment


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PARAMETERS TO DEFINE STRATEGICPOSITION:

1). Their should be clarity on the strategy of the organization: for

Example: Competing on Price? Or Mass Customization? Or Quality?Etc.

2). Then there is need to understand the strategic capabilities of theorganization:

Technology

Information needed

Skill set etc. to create the added advantage

Ex: Wal-Mart:- Low Cost Strategy Requires:- State of Art Logistics,Information System and Managerial focus on efficiency and costreduction


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It is very essential to employ your Superior talent which gives youcompetitive advantage in those few jobs which you use to execute theHIGH LEVEL STRATEGIES.

Not having identified the A positions- is similar to mismanaging theworkforce of an organization by rewarding high performers in NONSTRATEGIC JOBS or keeping the B and C workforce in critical roles

THE BASIC IDEA:

Identify the A workforce-the most essential to an organization andscattered all over the organization at all levels- probably less than 20%

Actively develop and compensate the high performers in those roles

Move the C players out of the A position replacing them with top talent.

Help B to elevate their performance to A level


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Example of identifying A position:

Nordstrom Costco

Strategy- Personalized Service and

Advice

Strategy- Low Price and Product

Availability

A position is: Front line Sales Associates A position is: Purchasing Managers Role

MANAGING THE A POSITION:

Evaluation: Differentiate High Performance and Low Performance in each Aposition. Measure People on those criteria's

Development: Actively Develop people in A position by providing Training andopportunities.

Compensation: Generously compensate the A positions

Succession: Build Bench Strength for each A position.


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A job has to meet the dual criteria of:

Strategic Impact + performance variability

A position which increases Revenue or reduces Cost- Aposition

B positions are those which are either indirectly strategicthrough their support to A or are potentially strategic but

currently exhibit little performance variability and thereforeoffers little opportunity for competitive advantage.

C positions play no role in companys strategy, have little effect

on the creation or maintenance of values and is not needed at

all


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MANAGING THE PORTFOLIOOF POSITIONS

To say that the management should investdisproportionately in A positions does not mean toignore the rest of the workforce.

Since B is indirect help to the strategic A andpotential for becoming A positioned

Also the process of eliminating C players we need toslowly weed out the C positions also by way ofoutsourcing.

The ultimate aim to manage the portfolio is:

Right person- Right Job

Paying full attention to A positioned people


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CONCLUSION

Thus it is very evident that maintaining the Aposition is very essential for the organizationsince these are the positions which directlyimpact on the business and add value creation

B position also needs to taken care of since

they are the support function to A and thusshould be developed into a potential A position

C on the other hand should be eliminated byway of outsourcing since it does not add anyvalue to the strategy of an organization but also

increases the cost.


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DIFFERENTIATED STRATEGY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE A COMPETITVE EDGE IN

THE MARKET.

THUS THIS DIFFERENTIATED STRATEGY SHOULD ALSO BE BETWEEN TREATMENT OF

PEOPLE AND POSITION. BUT IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING POINT EXISTS IN THE

STRATEGY MAKING THEN WORK HAS TO BE DONE

POSITIONS PEOPLE

Description based on history not strategic

value

Performance evaluations rarely age

completed or on salary review

Positions are paid at market mid point Most of the employees rated same

Recruitment and retention involve same

budget and effort

Forced distribution of rating is used

Same selection process for all positions Middle rating means: proficient or

successful and receive regular pay despite

being rated averageLittle developmental rotation occurs Both tough and lenient raters operate

without consequences

C positions eliminated or outsourced Poor performers stay yet dont improve

Top managers not rigorously evaluated


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FRAMEWORK TO DEFINE CRITICAL POSITION

FACTORS STRATEGIC POSITION SUPPORT POSITION SURPLUS POSITION

Defining characteristics of aposition

Has Strategic impact

AND

Exhibits high performance

variability among those in the

position

Representing high potential

Indirect impact by supporting

strategic position and Minimizes

downside risk by laying down the

foundation for strategic efforts

Potential strategic impact but

exhibits little performance

variability

May be required by the firm but has

little strategic impact

Scope of authority Autonomous decision making Specific process or procedure tobe followed

Little discretion in work

Determinant for

compensation

Performance Job Level Market Price

Effect on value creation Creates value by enhancingrevenue or reducing cost Support function to value

creation Has little or no positive impact

Consequences of mistake May be very Costly but revenueopportunity missed is a bigger

loss

May be very costly and can

destroy value

Not necessarily costly

Consequences of Hiring

Wrong people

Significance expense in training

investment and revenueopportunity

Fairly Easily covered through

hiring a replacement

Easily covered through hiring of

replacement


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Parameters

Characteristics

Authority

Basis Of Compensation

Value Creation

Consequences of Mistake

Consequences of Hiring Wrong

person

Sr. No.

1.1

1.2

1.3

2

3

4

5.1

5.2

6

A position- Strategic

Has Strategic Impact

Exhibits High Performance

variability with High Potential

Autonomous Decision Making

Performance

Substantial Increase in Revenue

or Minimization of Cost

Very Costly to the organization

Greater loss due to the missed

revenue earning opportunity

Significant expense in terms of

a) Training Investment

b) Revenue Opportunities

B position- Support

Indirect Strategic Impact By

supporting the Strategic Position

Minimizes Risk by laying down

foundation for Strategic effortsPotential to become Strategic

Impact

Specific Process or procedure to

be followed

Job Level

Supports the Value Creating

Position

May be costly and can destroy

value

Fairly Easily Recovered by Hiring

Re lacement

C position- Surplus

May be required by firm to

function but has no or very

less strategic impact.

Little Discretion in Work

Market Price

Has little or no positive

Impact

Not costly necessarily

Easily Recovered by Hiring

Replacement

Strategic Impact l hi h di i h l i f i i i k i


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Strategic Impact

Performance

ariability

Performance

ariabilty

B position-Support

Any Role which creates a direct impact on the Strategy or Planning of An organization is known as Strategic Impact

Before Defining which position will have a direct impact. The strategy of the company has to be defined along with identification of strategic

capabilities

A) Price

B) Mass Customization

C) Quality

Strategic Capabilities:

Technology

InformationSkill set to create competitive advantage

Example

Wal-Mart

Strategy: Lost Cost

Strategic Capabilities Required: State of Art logistics, Efficient Information System

Once Defined then The Critical Job is defined

Example:

Nordstrom:

Strategy: Personalized Service with Advice

Critical Position: Front Sales Executives

essential to have variation in job which represents High potential. Raising performance of the people through Learning, Training in critical roles = High

Dividends

Many B players are former A players stepped down to balance work-life.They are highly skilled brokers

Really essential and are considered consultants at time of crisis -since they have vast experience

Need to keep players motivated: Allocating resources-coaching, promotions to highly skilled B players

* essential to employ your superior talent to give the best result from the few critical jobs identified to execute high level strategies

Key/critical positions are those that:

1.) exert critical influence on the operational activities or the strategic objectives of your

organization, and

2 ) have characteristics unique to your organization making it difficult to fill from the

Documents

A Players or a Position