Posts Tagged ‘workplace culture’

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Core Values – They Tell The World What You Stand For

Monday, July 25th, 2011

Once a year, on January first, my family’s tradition was to celebrate the new year with a walk to the beach (we lived on Cape Cod), have a great dinner (we’re Italian – food is the way to celebrate everything) and then get to writing New Year’s resolutions. This was the one formal time of year we were reminded that to advance in life, not only do we need a plan, but we need to be clear about who we are and what we stand for.

Most organizations could benefit from a similar process of clearly defining their core values – what they stand for. Company core values can do the following:
1. They clearly define the behaviors the organization commits to in its day-to-day activities – it defines beliefs and performance commitments.

2. They tell job applicants what they can expect in the workplace – and attracts A-level talent (great employees want to work for organizations who share your values – and to share the values, they must know your values).

3. They share with clients or customers the core behaviors customers will find in dealing with employees (and creates a standard of performance).

4. Distinguishes the organization from others and openly shares its commitment to excellence.

Core values are so critical that in the Zappos culture, all job interviewing includes an assessment of the candidate’s talents/skills as well as an assessment of values fit. Both components are required for an employee to not only get the job but also to keep the job.

Here are the 10 core values of my organization:
1. Consistently deliver an extraordinary client “experience.”
2. Embrace and drive change.
3. Be creative, solutions-focused and open-minded.
4. Build a positive team and family spirit.
5. Always learn and grow.
6. Communicate openly, honestly and respectfully.
7. Be accountable – do your share.
8. Add value and make a difference.
9. Be a force for good in the community.
10. Have fun and keep it real.

Values create organizational culture; culture inspires employee performance and customer loyalty. At least once a year, like my Italian family, go through an exercise of defining (or redefining) your guiding beliefs and values.

What are your values and what do they tell the world about your organization, workplace, client experience and focus on excellence? Why should the best work for you or buy from you?

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Your Culture Can Inspire or Destroy

Monday, November 8th, 2010

You know how the quote goes: “Mushroom management: the practice of keeping people in the dark and every now and then dumping dirt on them.” You may know another ending as well. That approach may work for mushrooms but it is what destroys performance in today’s economy.

What had me thinking about mushrooms is a program I have been presenting to companies on workplace culture – and how it inspires or destroys exceptional employee performance.

Most organizations, particularly in the recession, have reverted back to the mushroom culture – the culture of keeping employees in the dark and feeding them half-truths. Think how dangerous this is to performance, customer loyalty, employee loyalty and business sustainability.

In a highly connected workplace, employees need constant clear contact from management – to keep things focused and to successfully manage the information employees encounter during the day. In the absence of clear communication from management, employees fill in the details with supposition, hearsay and misinformation. Limiting information in today’s workplace is the same as taking away manufacturing employees’ equipment and still holding them responsible for their work.

So, in a challenging economy, it time to reassess whether you have a mushroom or an open-air culture:

1. Is there a constant flow of information from management to employees? This could be in the form of a weekly e-mail, post on an intranet or even a recorded call.

2. Is there an easy and effective flow of information from employees to management? Is it easy for employees to share what they hear, think about and are concerned with? This could be an idea center on the intranet, a special management e-mail site for ideas or comments or other idea centers.

3. Is every effort made to keep the organization aware and focused on events that affect the strategy, direction and business purpose? Constant repetition of the mission statement, key strategic objectives, customer service slogans, etc. helps employees stay aware of what is important among the significant distractions they encounter each day.

When we find ourselves in new or challenging territory, we frequently share less of what we know and think; we play our hand close to the vest. As we do this, our employees do not know how to respond. They need our guidance and constant communication to help them stay focused and to navigate a changing workplace. The best ideas for responding to any challenging or constantly changing environment do not come from being kept in the dark. We all work better when we love where we work.

Please contact me to help you develop a powerful employee-focused workplace culture. Be sure to forward this to someone who can benefit from it.

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It’s Passion That Creates Champions

Saturday, September 25th, 2010

There is some great wisdom that goes something like this: champions aren’t champions on the field – they are just recognized there. They are champions because of the hard work they do off of the field.

So what do they do off the field that helps them realize their greatness? What helps them move from good to great, from ordinary to extraordinary? And what can this tell us about encouraging championship behavior in the workplace?

Champions first know their talents; their natural aptitudes start them out as “good.” What helps them achieve champion (exceptional) status is an intrinsic passion for what they do; this provides the energy, drive and focus to commit to the extra work, effort and disciplined achievement to move from good to great.

So let’s talk workplace. Good employees are those who can do the job. Great employees are those who have the passion to excel at the job. They do things both in and out of the workplace to improve, grow, learn and achieve. They excitedly go to training programs, watch videos and buy resources, even with their own money. They set goals for themselves that are many times greater than the goals their managers set. Passion drives excellence. Passion creates champions.

Marcus Buckingham presents in his book First Break All the Rules, that 65% of employees do just enough not to get fired. They are good, not great. They are not champions. Core to this is they are either in jobs that don’t play to what they are good at (the don’t feel capable or competent), or they are good at the job but don’t love it (the find it boring).

To learn how to activate your employees’ passion, you must first be able to connect through a regular and recurring dialog – person-to-person. In this dialog you learn about the things that move and inspire your employee. You start to gather critical information to help you realign an employee to a role that he is both good at doing and passionate about doing, or make modifications to an employee’s existing role to include more of what appeals to the employee.

Consider the following questions to connect with your employees and to gather critical information:
1. What do you love most (least) about this job?
2. If you could work in any area of the company, what area would it be and what job would you want? Why?
3. What are you talents, values and interests? What do you love to do outside of work? What matters to you in and out of work? What do you think you are capable of being great at?

These several questions allow you see into your employees to better understand what matters to them and what moves them. And when you know what moves them, you can activate their passionate response – the response that leads them to “championship” performance, because champions are what your customers and business need.

Please forward this to someone who can benefit from it and contact me to show you how to activate the “champion” in your employees.

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Head-Shaking Service

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

Do your customers shake their heads in disbelief – not because things are bad – but because things are amazing… no, extraordinary?

I read this great new phrase, “head-shaking,” in an article in Staffing Management Magazine that describe the responses customers have at Umpqua Bank, a Portland, Oregon-based bank chain. Not only has this bank ranked in the prestigious 100 Best Places to Work list for the fifth consecutive year, but it is also a bank – at a time when banks are so unpopular.

This organization has a culture that engages and inspires its employees. All employees are actively focused on exceptional service and are committed to the goals and direction of the company.

So I have to ask – why is this the situation the exception instead of the norm? Why are we so impressed when employees provide outrageously great service, and that employees could actually like working for an organization?

More and more organizations are becoming aware that what drives the bottom line is customer loyalty, inspired by employees who consistently do exceptional things for customers to engage them emotionally in the service event. Most any organization can ensure a customer gets what he asks for. But this level of service does not inspire customer loyalty – only satisfaction. And satisfied customers don’t necessarily come back, and they rarely tell their friends about you – loyal customers do. Loyalty drives the bottom line.

So to move from satisfaction to loyalty requires employees who not only work hard to always get it right for customers, but are emotionally invested in doing the extras to win customers for life.

So let’s look at what needs to be in place to engage and inspire this kind of employee performance:

1. The employee must be working in a role in which he feels capable and competent, and which appeals to him. Great performance never happens when employees are not good at, or hate, what they do.

2. The organization has a clear and compelling vision (“why” statement) that attracts like-minded people as employees and customers, and a commitment to greatness.

3. Management believes that it must first be an employee-focused workplace, and by building a culture that supports employees, the organization becomes a customer-focused organization. The workplace openly values, communicates with and respects its employees.

Organizations like Umpqua Bank understand the connection between great results, loyal customers and engaged employees – they work daily to create a powerful workplace culture that activates and supports the best from their employees. Then, employees are emotionally invested into the process of service greatness – they own their work, their impact, their reputation and their results.

How “head-shaking” is your service?

Please pass this on to someone who can benefit from it and contact me to help you create an employee-focused workplace capable of providing “head-shaking” service.

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