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Posts Tagged ‘management’

In Today’s Workplace You Must Have A Change Strategy

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

I am not sure why so many managers approach each day in the same way when the world just isn’t the same place. The result is organizations that have outdated or ineffective strategies to deal with today’s world, on today’s terms. They continue to do what they have always done, expecting better results. We all know the adage, “Insanity is doing the same thing, expecting different results.” If that is the case, then I have met an amazing number of insane managers.

In an economy that constantly changes a significant rate, all organizations must have a change strategy – a strategy for dealing with change to be successful and responsive. Many times we see organizations offering outdated “value” because the world has changed and they have not.

This process should not be limited to management. Employees have perspectives; they are also connected to networks. Today’s employees are now the eyes and ears of the organization. They are a critical component of a successful change strategy.

All employees should be regularly requested to share their perspectives of what they see and hear, and how it impacts the company. Creating a culture of constantly reviewing the world, the economy and workplace, to understand it and then to develop a powerful response, is now an urgent priority for management.

Here are a couple of things I suggest to the companies I work with to encourage them to clearly understand their world, their company, and how they fit with each other:
1. Identify any significant change going on in the world, economy, local environment or other area that could impact the business.
2. Assess the impact of the change. Gather input and ideas from everyone in the organization (there is no role too junior to be excluded from this process). All employees have ideas, input and connections.
3. Review your current strategy to determine if your strategy will respond to this change in a successful way; if not, brainstorm ideas for change.
4. Review all ideas for change; management then decides the right course of action (if any).
5. Share the change or response with the organization – be clear about how it impacts each employee’s work and the direction of the company.

Nothing stays the same. What makes it more urgent in today’s workplace is that the speed of information movement makes us all aware of the changes. Those who have a mechanism to assess change, related it to the organization, and quickly and nimbly respond, are those who will lead instead of follow. And to do this just takes a new attitude about how we welcome and use change.

Tags: brainstorm, building a strategy, change strategy, economy, employee networks, employee performance, handling change, management, recession, strategy, use change, welcoming change
Posted in For Managers | No Comments »

Three Things M&M’s Tell You About Hiring Great People

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

Yum, M&M’s – those delicious little candy with a mix of colors on the outside and great filling on the inside. Who would have thought that an M&M would have so much to tell us about hiring and performance?

Today’s workplace in an intellectual or service workplace – much of manufacturing has moved offshore. Most employees are now face-to-face with customers, not hiding behind machines or out of view. This changes everything about performance as employees must now be good at what they do and interested in doing it (because if not, customers know it). Today, talents and passions impact performance – and these are resident in our employees “filling” – in their minds and in their hearts – not in their “candy coating.”

Think about M&M’s as you start your hiring and job interviewing process:
1. Hire for filling – hire for a candidate’s unique abilities. Since we are all unique, there is no way to judge the caliber of the talents, strengths and passions by reviewing the exterior candy coating. Be clear about the talents, strengths and passions that drive success in the role, and hire those. Get past the candy coating and hire what really matters – filling.

2. Appreciate the candy coating – the candidate’s ethnicity, age, gender, religion, etc. are all the added value that accompanies the right “filling.” Hiring older employees may bring stability and greater loyalty; hiring younger employees may bring greater technology and energy. And the right combination of talents and passions for a particular role could be resident in either.

3. Mix them up for the greatest impact –blending the right thinking (filling), with a diverse combination (candy coating) creates a workforce that emulates the true consumer population, encourages greater idea and opportunity thinking (because of diverse backgrounds) and helps the workforce learn to appreciate differences.

M&Ms remind us that in today’s thinking workplace, “filling” matters most. It is in how employees think and respond that inspires customer loyalty and adds value for the organization. Not only does this approach eliminate any bias against protected classes, it offers organizations the best workforce in today’s diverse economy.

Tags: A-level talent, diversity, hiring, hiring bias, how to hire, M&M, management, right employee, workforce, workplace diversity
Posted in For Managers | No Comments »

Ordinary or Extraordinary – Your Choice

Monday, July 11th, 2011

I was on a Southwest Airlines flight last week. One of the flight attendants had great one-liners, an amazing singing voice and outrageous and entertaining lyrics; she raised the quality of the service event. And why not? If it could be ordinary or extraordinary, why do ordinary?

I was recently at a Starbucks. I watched as one of the staff danced around the store to some really upbeat and fun music, handing out samples of this week’s coffee. It was fun and completely extraordinary.

I was at a great Italian bakery this week – artisan bread and pastries that are incredible. Yum! I asked about one pastry I did not recognize. The woman behind the counter took it off the plate, cut it into pieces and offered one to me and to the others in line, then told us with great passion how it was made. Extraordinary.

I was talking to colleague whose child has an amazing teacher. As they study geography, this teacher brings in authentic food, plays the country’s music and introduces some of the language. The kids are captivated and interested. They learn. Extraordinary.

Notice that I did not bring up the ordinary events – I don’t remember them. They are bland, boring and leave no impression. If you want to get noticed in the workplace, you have to do something “extraordinary.” If you blend and are boring, you lose. Your business loses. No one remembers. They expect you to get it right; what they don’t expect is that you do some form of Wow! They remember the Wow.

The employees in the above situations chose to do extraordinary things. In fact, they did far more and far better than anything management could have suggested. They chose to make the service event personal, engaging and extraordinary. They chose to show up, step up and stand out. Doing the extraordinary is rarely about spending more; it is almost always about contributing greater effort, creativity, interest or passion. It is about choice.

Management can inspire employee greatness when they define the outcome (“do extraordinary things for our customers”) but not the steps to achieve it. Micromanaging the response takes all the life, energy, and “extraordinaryness” out of it – and stops employees from thinking through (and having some fun in) their workday. Hire the right employees then have them go impress your customers. Don’t impose limits – create expectations.

Tags: creativity, customer loyalty, employee effort, employee performance, extraordinary, hire the right employees, management, performance expectations, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks
Posted in For Managers | No Comments »

Build Your A Team

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

In tough economic times, most organizations’ first and most predictable reaction is to cut expenses; in today’s service economy, the largest expenses are manpower-related. The result is that thousands of talented employees have been dumped into the marketplace. This increase in talented unemployed workers creates a great opportunity for you to create your A team. So when other organizations are cutting, now is the time for you to redefine, realign and hire to pick from the best and create your best performing team.

Your people are your profits. And as such, you need the right ones, connected to what they do and passionate about doing it. In the past, it was more difficult to assemble your A team because there was less great talent to choose from. Today, due to layoffs, organizations have the choice of truly outstanding talent – the talent that can create their A-level performers. So as others are terminating and cutting, use the three steps of redefine, realign and hire to attract and hire the best talent now available to improve the performance power of your team. This talent surplus may not last long.

Use this three-step process to build your A team:

1. Redefine – In today’s intellectual workplace, employees make more unique decisions – they think their way through the day. Since each of us thinks differently, not every employee is a good fit for every role. Therefore, it is critical to clearly redefine the talents and strengths (thinking), skills and experience needed to be successful in each role. This allows you to source the right employee from inside the organization, or from the pool of unemployed talent in the market.
2. Realign – After redefining what you need in each role, assess your existing team. Determine who currently is working in the right role, and who could improve performance if moved to a more appropriate role. And, be aware, this review may indicate some employees are not right for the organization. Complete your realignment. This will show you the open roles that need hiring from outside of the organization.
3. Hire – For those roles that do not have the right talent from within, it is important to go to today’s market of unemployed talent. This is effective when you have clearly defined attributes needed in each role; you now know what attributes to hire. From this point, you can develop a sourcing strategy to attract and hire those employees who have the performance profile (talents, skills and experience) you defined as required to excel in the role.

Our tough economy has actually created an opportunity for many organizations to rebuild an A-levek team. Key to using this unique moment in time is to spend the time to define what you need, then hold firmly to these requirements as you hire. This is how to make your (hiring) plan come together in true “A Team” fashion.

Tags: careers, employee performance, hiring, job description, management, right employee, talents
Posted in For Managers | No Comments »