Using the model for goal setting, evaluate Allstate’s goal-setting process to determine whether or not Allstate has an effective goal-setting program
The main objective at Allstate is to bring together the differences in the workforce to achieve its mission and boost business success. In doing this, it has developed four major steps in setting its goals. These are succession programming, development, measuring steps, and accountability and reward. Goal setting is a powerful process for motivating employees and for business success. There is a relationship between organizational performance and goal setting and this can be affected by personal commitment, attainability, and self-worth. For one to be committed to achieving a goal, one has to first understand and believe in the significance of the goal.
The concept of goal setting stipulates that for goals to be effective in increasing performance, they must be hard to achieve, specific, and challenging. It also requires individuals to evaluate their performance about the goal and there has to be feedback. This will help them determine which areas need to be worked on (Austin and Philip 290). From the Allstate case study, it is clear that the development stage (step two of the goal-setting process) allows employees to give their feedback regarding the development of future programs. Moreover, the accountability and reward stage (step four) provides a challenge for employees that motivate them to work hard towards the achievement of the assigned task since they are assured of better rewards. The company is committed to the maintenance of a work-life balance and to this effect it has developed child care centers to help women with young children. It also offers discount programs to parents to ensure that all employees compete favorably and are committed to their tasks.
Discuss the competitive advantage Allstate has from the development of the Diversity Index
Allstate insurance company is one of the companies in the world that are enjoying the benefits of having set diversity management as one of its strategic goals. One of the competitive advantages of this approach is better customer care, which leads to increased sales revenue. Since 1996, Allstate has been focusing on diversity as one of its core corporate objectives. The main focus behind this approach is to ensure that customers and employees are satisfied. According to the senior vice president for human resources, the diversity initiative is not an easy strategy nor is it a nice one but it is a mandatory obligation for its entire staff. This is one of the few companies that treat diversity as a corporate issue rather than a business issue and the results are worth taking the risk. From this strategy, Allstate has been able to compete favorably in the highly competitive insurance business and boasts of a competitive advantage that enables it to mirror its clients. It has also been able to integrate differences in the company into business processes about product improvement and decision making. As a result, it has seen an increase in the number of customers as well as customer satisfaction.
The concept of diversity as integrated with Allstate’s daily operations and other processes has been recognized to keep this corporate strategy alive. One of these processes is about recruitment and employee retention strategies. The company employs employees from diverse geographic as well as ethnic backgrounds and through this, the company enjoys a large poll of recruits from whom it chooses the best who can run the company effectively. These employees go through rigorous periods of training and retraining as a way of career development and upgrading their skills.
Recommend the types of high-performance reward system Allstate should use to motivate its employees to reach its diversity goals
Rewards can be defined as things that motivate employees to work harder. Rewards and recognition are some of the ways that can be used to motivate employees into achieving the objectives of an organization. There are many types of rewards and most of them are associated with direct costs. However, there are two main types of rewards, monetary and non-monetary. Monetary rewards include cash bonuses, holiday allowance, car allowance, salary increase, and many more. Nonmonetary rewards are intangible but are as effective as the monetary rewards, they include a promotion, formal acknowledgment, opportunities for career development, and the list is endless.
Singling out and rewarding workers inspire them to look for ways of undertaking their tasks effectively and lack of it can completely dishearten them. A reward system has to be effective and be able to instill the desired behavior for efficient performance. The main goal of rewards is to improve individual performance as well as that of an organization. They are also used to retain top-performing employees. To achieve these goals, the reward system should be in line with organizational goals and strategies. The best rewards systems for Allstate should be those that help it to achieve its diversity goals. Research has found that more than 50% of employees are motivated by the recognition they get from the people they work for (Taylor 117). This includes recognition by managers or supervisors. People need to be encouraged and appreciated to achieve their mission and that of others. Another reward system would be to base reward on an individual’s performance. These rewards should be able to offset the work done by the employees. It is only through this considerate rewarding that employees are motivated to work even harder because they expect the rewards to rise as their performance rises.
If you were an Allstate employee, discuss whether or not you would be motivated by the Diversity Index and QLMS
If I was an employee of Allstate I would be motivated by the diversity index and QLMS because it encourages employees to work as one family regardless of ethnic background. Fair treatment is a virtue that motivates employees to work hard for the organization and also to maintain a good working environment with their co-workers. Allstate provides its workers with tools and resources that help them to succeed. The company stoutly believes in diversity in all its operations. It focuses on two areas of diversity; internal and external. External diversity is all about matching the experience and background of the workforce to the market demands. Internally, employees are encouraged and motivated to work and achieve the goals of the company. The diversity goal is clear, challenging, and to the point. Employees know the tasks required of them and how to achieve them without questioning. As the employees meet the company’s expectations, the company realizes that the employees also have their targets that they want to be met. Feedbacks get rid of the use of single-source assessment and tests for employee promotion, salary increment, training and development, and selection and recruitment. Getting feedback from varied sources for example from peers, coworkers, supervisors, and reporting staff can lead to definite improvement as compared to getting feedback from one person (Austin and Philip 290). The numerous inputs become another way of determining leadership effectiveness. The information gained from the feedback can be used to help leaders refine their attitudes and behaviors.
Works Cited
Austin, T. Jake, and Philip Bobko. Goal-setting theory: Unexplored areas and future research needs. Journal of Occupational Psychology 1985 Vol. 58, no. 4 289-308.
Taylor, Michael. Employee recognition schemes- do they work? China Staff. June 2008, Vol. 14 Issue 6 p117.