You, Your Business, Employees and Your Future (What's going on?)
You, Your Business, Employees and Your Future (What is going on?)
I cannot believe the number of businesses which do not have any plan whatsoever for their employees development. Even worse: no plan to verify their employees are delivering on the promises and alleged values. How can this be? That's like a doctor who never does a lab test, a car mechanic who never checks the on-board computer, the school teacher who never gives a quiz or the cop that never wrote a ticket!
The "shocking" news is that your employees are the bedrock upon which you will build your present and future successes. Success you depend upon for growth, income, retirement, whatever. So what do you need to be doing for your employees? Bringing them fresh coffees from Starbucks or even better install a machine in the company kitchen for everyone to grab a Colombia Nariño Supremo? Not quite. But you should check their compliance your customer-experience directives and give them a way to grow and develop over time.
Here are 5.5 ways to tend your employees in such a way that no matter how great they are, or how much improvement they need, you will continually be maximizing their contribution to your success.
1. Talk to them quarterly; usually when an employee hears, "We need to talk," it's a lot like when a woman tells her boy friend, "We need to talk." Oh-oh. Make a point to sit down with each employee and review their progress, how they line up with your vision of the business and give them honest feedback on the critical areas such as core competencies (sweeping the floor, selling glasses, making orange juice, selling stocks, whatever), their attitude and self-improvement.
2. Help them rate themselves monthly; most employees think about clocking in and clocking out; going to work and coming home. You have to help them see beyond where they are and to embrace where they want to go, need to go. Maybe it's just getting better at a few core skills. Maybe it's tracking their progress each month with the core competencies. Whatever it is, give them a simple template to complete on their own that helps them assess their own progress and status each month. When you sit down with them quarterly, no surprises and everyone's time is more productive
3. Keep them informed on company news, directions, developments; you're in the captain's chair and they are down in the "engine room" just trying to keep things going for you. When you land a great deal, when you are about to launch a new idea or product, when you have a success story, or a change in strategy, call the team together and tell them. They'll feel more important, more informed and better about working for you. Otherwise, they WILL hear about the news, but rather from you, they'll hear it as rumor and speculation with no chance to clarify. Many a great employee has left over what appeared to be bad news.
4. Give Kudos; If you never assess your employees, how can you congratulate them on performance? If you never have open company forums, how can you reward great performance in front of their peers? Give kudos every chance you can. Say "Thank You" and stop to give compliments. The rule, if you didn't know: two thank-you cards a week for great service. Where do you see great service and sacrifice? Your employees!
5. Get to know them and their families; talk about awkward moments: when you finally do have a company open forum -- a picnic, movie attendance or other gathering, getting introduced to your employee's families can be uncomfortable the first time. But -- each quarter you connect with them, it provides you with the opportunity to reconnect, update, chat, and just sustain the relationship. Employee morale soars. Just be yourself and enjoy the time with them.
5.5 Be committed; Nothing works without commitment. If you didn't know, commitment has three parts: (1) just do it, (2) measure your success, (3) adjust course in small steps, as necessary. So if you start connecting more to your employees, check your company's morale but also check sales! Check your customer satisfaction and loyalty numbers. Many times better employee morale boosts and sustains customer loyalty! Happy employees = happy customers. You do the math.
With an employee competency plan, you'll see business explode, not just in sales, in attitude, in willingness to serve, in taking the business personally! It's huge! And if you didn't know, fairly cheap (your time). That's a lot less than a new coffee machine dispensing Colombia Nariño Supremo around the office.
Now ... make it a great week!
How your business is perceived is vital to your business' customer loyalty; customer loyalty is the key to long-term business success. To learn more, call us at 786.399.6571 or email us at info@perceptionlab.biz. Mention this ezine article and get a two-month no cost trial, a $1199 value.
Mark Ware
Principal
Perception Lab, Inc.
"Small Business Assessments & Consulting"
Like what you read? There's more: check out businessmri.blogspot.com for more or call 786.399.6571.
About Mark Ware
Professional services & branding expert with over 20 years experience in business processes, customer care, loyalty, sales development, mentoring, training, and planning. His clients have included companies as large as Cisco Systems and Mutual Services Corporation. Small Businesses have also benefited from Mark such as corPersona, ITSMA, GreenBeech Advertising, among others. A former Director of Professional Services Marketing, Ericsson Telecom, North, Central and South America, Mark is a graduate of University of Maryland in Computer Studies & Management (Cum Laude), with studies at Oxford University, England, and WP Carey Graduate School of Business, Arizona State University. He lives with is wife and daughter near Miami Florida.
Mark Ware is available for workshops, seminars, keynotes. Call 786.399.6571 for more information.
This email and its content are copyright 2006 Perception Lab, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email and its contents cannot be reproduced without written permission from Mark Ware. Please feel free to forward this email to all of your friends. For reprint permission, please call 786.399.6571 or email info@perceptionlab.biz.
™© 2006 All Rights Reserved Perception Lab, Inc.
I cannot believe the number of businesses which do not have any plan whatsoever for their employees development. Even worse: no plan to verify their employees are delivering on the promises and alleged values. How can this be? That's like a doctor who never does a lab test, a car mechanic who never checks the on-board computer, the school teacher who never gives a quiz or the cop that never wrote a ticket!
The "shocking" news is that your employees are the bedrock upon which you will build your present and future successes. Success you depend upon for growth, income, retirement, whatever. So what do you need to be doing for your employees? Bringing them fresh coffees from Starbucks or even better install a machine in the company kitchen for everyone to grab a Colombia Nariño Supremo? Not quite. But you should check their compliance your customer-experience directives and give them a way to grow and develop over time.
Here are 5.5 ways to tend your employees in such a way that no matter how great they are, or how much improvement they need, you will continually be maximizing their contribution to your success.
1. Talk to them quarterly; usually when an employee hears, "We need to talk," it's a lot like when a woman tells her boy friend, "We need to talk." Oh-oh. Make a point to sit down with each employee and review their progress, how they line up with your vision of the business and give them honest feedback on the critical areas such as core competencies (sweeping the floor, selling glasses, making orange juice, selling stocks, whatever), their attitude and self-improvement.
2. Help them rate themselves monthly; most employees think about clocking in and clocking out; going to work and coming home. You have to help them see beyond where they are and to embrace where they want to go, need to go. Maybe it's just getting better at a few core skills. Maybe it's tracking their progress each month with the core competencies. Whatever it is, give them a simple template to complete on their own that helps them assess their own progress and status each month. When you sit down with them quarterly, no surprises and everyone's time is more productive
3. Keep them informed on company news, directions, developments; you're in the captain's chair and they are down in the "engine room" just trying to keep things going for you. When you land a great deal, when you are about to launch a new idea or product, when you have a success story, or a change in strategy, call the team together and tell them. They'll feel more important, more informed and better about working for you. Otherwise, they WILL hear about the news, but rather from you, they'll hear it as rumor and speculation with no chance to clarify. Many a great employee has left over what appeared to be bad news.
4. Give Kudos; If you never assess your employees, how can you congratulate them on performance? If you never have open company forums, how can you reward great performance in front of their peers? Give kudos every chance you can. Say "Thank You" and stop to give compliments. The rule, if you didn't know: two thank-you cards a week for great service. Where do you see great service and sacrifice? Your employees!
5. Get to know them and their families; talk about awkward moments: when you finally do have a company open forum -- a picnic, movie attendance or other gathering, getting introduced to your employee's families can be uncomfortable the first time. But -- each quarter you connect with them, it provides you with the opportunity to reconnect, update, chat, and just sustain the relationship. Employee morale soars. Just be yourself and enjoy the time with them.
5.5 Be committed; Nothing works without commitment. If you didn't know, commitment has three parts: (1) just do it, (2) measure your success, (3) adjust course in small steps, as necessary. So if you start connecting more to your employees, check your company's morale but also check sales! Check your customer satisfaction and loyalty numbers. Many times better employee morale boosts and sustains customer loyalty! Happy employees = happy customers. You do the math.
With an employee competency plan, you'll see business explode, not just in sales, in attitude, in willingness to serve, in taking the business personally! It's huge! And if you didn't know, fairly cheap (your time). That's a lot less than a new coffee machine dispensing Colombia Nariño Supremo around the office.
Now ... make it a great week!
How your business is perceived is vital to your business' customer loyalty; customer loyalty is the key to long-term business success. To learn more, call us at 786.399.6571 or email us at info@perceptionlab.biz. Mention this ezine article and get a two-month no cost trial, a $1199 value.
Mark Ware
Principal
Perception Lab, Inc.
"Small Business Assessments & Consulting"
Like what you read? There's more: check out businessmri.blogspot.com for more or call 786.399.6571.
About Mark Ware
Professional services & branding expert with over 20 years experience in business processes, customer care, loyalty, sales development, mentoring, training, and planning. His clients have included companies as large as Cisco Systems and Mutual Services Corporation. Small Businesses have also benefited from Mark such as corPersona, ITSMA, GreenBeech Advertising, among others. A former Director of Professional Services Marketing, Ericsson Telecom, North, Central and South America, Mark is a graduate of University of Maryland in Computer Studies & Management (Cum Laude), with studies at Oxford University, England, and WP Carey Graduate School of Business, Arizona State University. He lives with is wife and daughter near Miami Florida.
Mark Ware is available for workshops, seminars, keynotes. Call 786.399.6571 for more information.
This email and its content are copyright 2006 Perception Lab, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email and its contents cannot be reproduced without written permission from Mark Ware. Please feel free to forward this email to all of your friends. For reprint permission, please call 786.399.6571 or email info@perceptionlab.biz.
™© 2006 All Rights Reserved Perception Lab, Inc.
posted by Mark Stephen Ware @ 9:35 PM
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