March 11th, 2013
American managers have a massive focus on talent development and on increasing the individual employee's performance through clear objectives and training programs. In Denmark, just like in the rest of the Nordics, companies do not have a tradition of measuring employees on their performance, and it is typically about strengthening the not-so-good employees rather than making the good ones even better. That should be done away with, the pension company PFA believes, and is challenging the tradition by introducing one performance excellence program, which must inspire, train and develop their best employees.
Lederindsigt.dk would like to know more about talent development in the Danish companies, and has therefore spoken with PFA's Group Director Lars Ellehave-Andersen and Søren Espersen, Director of Group Communications & Management about cultivating the elite and what it means for them to reach their goals with their strategy.
Theme: Talent development
By Louise Lundgreen
At least that's how many people want to see it, and that's how Lars Ellehave-Andersen expresses it himself.
- We have selected some of our best employees, and for the next 13 months they must participate in a carefully planned development program. All to make them better at the job they are already super good at. In other words, we allow ourselves to cultivate the elite in the PFA. We allow ourselves to put names on and give them special treatment, says Lars Ellehave-Andersen.
You can hardly call it typically Danish. According to Lars Ellehave-Andersen, the traditional Danish way of thinking is exactly the opposite and will most often be based on the desire to strengthen those who do not have a high performance, rather than to strengthen the strong.
- We also do that in PFA, but at the same time we allow ourselves to focus on the best and develop them. Today we would rather have more of the good and less of the bad. The idea is that we must focus one-sidedly on the participants' strengths and work to make them even stronger. We do not deal with the weaknesses of the participants, says Lars Ellehave-Andersen.
How they do it and what methods the performance excellence program consists of, we will return to. The development programme, which aims to create added value and maintain the good development that PFA has experienced in these years, runs over 13 months at a time and in the first round 20 employees and 16 managers out of PFA's total of 1200 employees are selected to participate. Once they have completed the program, it starts over with new participants and one expects to complete a few more rounds. The program runs parallel to the ongoing focus on personal and professional development in PFA and thus builds on the existing skills development.
PFA has previously implemented talent development programs in individual departments, but this is the first time they have implemented a so-called performance excellence program, involving all parts of the group. In many ways, the program marks a cultural shift in PFA. Lars Ellehave-Andersen says:
- Before the financial crisis, we might have chosen to send all employees through a development program to lift each one up. It would probably have been inefficient, difficult and expensive, but on the other hand politically correct. And at the same time, we wanted to avoid the controversial and non-Danish process of selecting and naming the employees with the greatest talents. With the traditional Danish approach, we feel best not to single out anyone. Because in an additional option there is naturally also an opt-out and therein the possibility of unpleasant conflicts.
In this year EEI survey the same trend that Lars Ellehave-Andersen highlights is seen. According to the study, an explanation for why Denmark does not cultivate the elite in the workplace and why it is considered politically incorrect to choose someone on and off can be found in the difference between masculine and feminine management style, which is based on the characters from both sides. Masculine culture is characterized by a competitive mentality and a focus on performance and reward. In contrast to this is the feminine culture, which is characterized by a focus on consensus, cooperation, trust and well-being.
According to the EEI survey, the Nordic countries stand out by having a predominantly feminine culture. The masculine culture is found in the United States, and it is clearly reflected in the results related to performance. American managers in particular have a massive focus on increasing the individual employee's performance through goals and follow-up. The Nordic leaders are decidedly bad at that dimension. But that is what the Danish managers are getting better at. At PFA, as I said, we are faced with a cultural change, and as Lars Ellehave-Andersen sees it, the change of course is also becoming more and more evident in the rest of business life.
According to Lars Ellehave-Andersen, it is natural for a manager to focus only on what is not working, but the manager must not forget to pay tribute to what or those who work well. It supports those who are highlighted to become even better, and at the same time it also motivates the employees who are passed over to make an extra effort to achieve the same recognition.
-As a manager, you have to act if there is someone who does not reach the goals. It must have consequences. But it must also be felt when the employees achieve the goals and more. The manager must dare to recognize the excellent performance, and this must not only take place in the development talks behind closed doors, but also in the open space in front of colleagues, managers and the executive board. We all want recognition, and you must not underestimate the value of a public pat on the back, and of course there is enormous recognition in being part of the performance program, says Lars Ellehave-Andersen.
PFA uses i.a. program to reward and recognize employees, thus keeping them fired up without burning out.
- We also hope that the program can help to retain talented employees, because it is always a challenge for an employer. In any case, I believe that the program makes it more difficult to lure employees away from PFA. They feel extra valued here, and as I said, that should not be underestimated, concludes Lars Ellehave-Andersen.
Søren Espersen, director of group communication & management at PFA, has helped develop and tailor the programme, which is divided into three focus areas;
- We work with personal development as one of the focus areas. The participants must become aware of when and how they are at their best and what drives them to give their best performance. The goal is also for the participants to gain a deeper insight into PFA's strategy and gain a greater understanding of business, which makes it clear how you as an employee can execute it in your day-to-day work. The last area of focus is strengthening the participants' network within the group. They meet managers and specialists across departments and hierarchy. They get a network in the executive board, both professionally and personally, and that means a lot for cohesion and the common way of thinking, says Søren Espersen.
The program consists of five modules lasting two to three days. The modules are distributed over the 13 months that the program lasts, and consist of;
Finally, there is a mini course for the participants' immediate manager, who is introduced to the strengths-based approach to development and given some simple tools to keep the employee on the development track.
-We arrange the modules i.a. with guests from outside. It can be people from the business world, but also sports people who talk about high performance. In between the modules, we have 5-6 afternoon meetings, which start with a technical part, where a director talks, for example, about PFA's market challenges. After this, the floor is free, and the director sits on a chair in the middle of the room, and the participants can ask anything. We call it "the director unplugged". It gives the participants an opportunity to get to know the person behind better, as we are of the belief that it is easier to collaborate when you know each other better than just the professional. The meetings are rounded off with a meal, which also provides an opportunity to network on a more personal level, explains Søren Espersen.
All in all, it's about finding the balance between the professional and the personal. And according to Søren Espersen, the balance between the two is extremely important, as very few people develop and learn only on the basis of new knowledge.
-We value the personal initiatives in the program highly, as we as people are inspired by other people, what they think, the way they act and the messages they send. We want impressions that hit all the senses and not just get raw knowledge served on a power point, without us being able to feel the person behind it. At PFA, we believe that the more personality that lies behind the professionalism in our work, the easier it is to collaborate, and that strengthens the group in the long run, says Søren Espersen.
The PFA is watching the performance excellence program in the big perspective and expects that it will reach far beyond the selected employees and resonate throughout the group. Once the first team has completed the course, the plan is, as I said, to send more teams through the program.
Last updated 21 September 2022
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