Q. How do you measure your
employees’ performance?
Work side by side with people
and see how they handle their
own decision-making. Find out
how they interact with their
direct reports and with others
on the team and, ultimately,
how well they keep in tune on
their own field.
If we’re not selling, for instance,
and someone who is in charge
of sales thinks things are wonderful and we shouldn’t change
anything — well, I think that’s
the wrong conclusion. If there
are problems, red flags, there’s
enough going on to have a pretty good opportunity to assess
how competent people are in
their jobs.
If there are any red flags, then
I’ll have a one-on-one discussion
with the individual and express
whatever concerns I may have.
Typically, that is enough. That
person will take that advice and
input and shore up whatever lack
of performance there has been.
Q. How do you determine
whether training is necessary?
It’s on a case-by-case basis. If
there is a lack of formal training
of some kind, then we will try to
rectify it by putting a formal
program in place. We actually
put together training plans every
year … in particular, if someone
has been promoted to a more
senior position, you may sit
down and say, ‘You now have a
broader responsibility. What are
the areas you need for more
development, and how do we
address that?’
Training can be a part of that,
but it can also be a part of someone just being more aware of
how he or she interacts with
others, whether they are customers or peers or people in the
organization. If I see something
like that, I would not wait until
we have formal review discussions — I would talk to the person right away.
HOW TO REACH: Cerus Corp., (925) 288-6000 or www.cerus.com