employee motivation

5 Reasons People Resist Change

Julie Rains — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:10:44 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/5-reasons-people-resist-change

I used to believe that there were two kinds of people:

People who thrive on change; and
People who avoid change.

The former are inspired by freshness, embrace novel experiences, and jump at opportunities to instigate innovations. The latter seek stability, enter new situations cautiously, and place roadblocks before the slightest mention of anything different.

Now I realize that there is a third category: people who want change at a conceptual level but are not willing to do anything risky in order to achieve it.

They are intellectually curious and enjoy newness yet hinder initiatives with their indecision and procrastination. Repeatedly (and predictably), they reject new ideas just as relentlessly as they express concern that too much has stayed the same.

In short, Types 2 and 3 resist change. They avoid, dismiss, and sabotage those who want to move forward in any area including:

Pursuit of a new customer segment;
Deployment of a new technology or work process;
Launch of a new product;
Introduction of new techniques for sales, marketing, and customer service.

Understanding why they avoid newness is a key step in overcoming resistance. Addressing these specific concerns can help build a team that will evaluate new opportunities based on merit and not fear.

1. She believes that her productivity will plummet and stress will skyrocket.

After years of mastering her job duties, she has developed an efficient routine. When employees bring problems to her attention, she provides direction by following a self-developed, mental image of a decision tree with a limited number of variables. The simplicity of day-to-day tasks and the knowledge that she can easily complete assignments on time, on budget, on spec are comforting.

Changes will bring complexity to her job. Decisions will require developing new road maps. The mental heavy lifting that she anticipates will be exhausting. This extra time and effort will certainly detract from her productivity, output, and peace of mind.

Fix: Establish a new performance metric when changes are introduced. If possible, move away from activity-based measures to assessments of creative output and profitable results. Plus, give her enough time to assimilate new ways of doing her job and plenty of space to solve problems that require intense concentration.

2. He thinks that embracing change means admitting past mistakes.

He believes that championing new work processes or pursuing new customer segments, for example, are equivalent to publicly acknowledging that previous procedures caused errors or marketing programs didn’t deliver the right kinds of customers.

Fix: Reassure him that changes being proposed reflect technological advances, emergence of new segments, or other recent happenings that have impacted the business. Emphasize the need for continual renewal, not as an indictment of the past, but as a strategy for ongoing success.

3. She is unable to learn from her failures.

She is not afraid of failure per se, and accepts that changes may not bring immediate results. What she fears is her inability to understand what factors influence success. Navigating change is like falling into an abyss rather than interpreting clues on a hidden-treasure map.

For example, she might express concerns about updating the features of a previous best-selling style. Her hesitation to introduce modifications has nothing to do with her perceived inconsistency between product characteristics and customer desires. Instead, her resistance masks her lack of analytical and problem solving skills. In the past, she has blamed failures on economic conditions, poor timing, and misunderstanding on the part of customers. Unable to pinpoint (or at least guess) the reasons for certain outcomes and then make adjustments that improve results, she avoids change altogether.

Fix: Teach her how to learn from her mistakes, whether they lead to full-flung failures or lower-than-expected performance. Encourage her to articulate assumptions and predict likely outcomes of proposed changes; then show her how to evaluate results in light of the accuracy of these assumptions. By giving her the skills to learn from potentially risky moves, she should feel more comfortable with change and confident about her ability to correct missteps and keep moving forward.

4. He is unsure of his ability to handle problems that may arise as a consequence of change.

He is eager to positively impact the company but is reluctant to implement new ideas. The side effects of change may involve handling situations that he does not fully understand and dealing with consequences that he cannot predict or control.

For example, he believes that claiming the company’s online listing could be beneficial to marketing efforts. But the prospect of having to interact with customers who rate the business is unfamiliar to him. So he downplays the benefits in order to dodge possible headaches in the future and avoid revealing lack of competency in this area.

Fix: Identify known negatives that will likely surface as byproducts of changes. Investigate, identify, and implement best practices for dealing with these situations. Acknowledge that unpredictable things may happen, ask him to alert you to these instances as soon as they occur, and assure him that you will handle problems quickly.

5. She wants to preserve her status among colleagues and employees.

She enjoys her title, position description, and place in the organizational chart. The existing hierarchy allows her to get things done. Her colleagues and employees respect her, and she does not want to jeopardize these relationships for shaky ones with another group. She especially wants to avoid scenarios that put her in conflict with long-time associates.

Fix: Tell her the truth that her current job and existing relationships are increasingly becoming irrelevant as the competitive landscape changes, key customers merge or go out of business, etc. The new organization will challenge her alliances but also position her and the business more favorably in the long term. At the same time, uncover and address any areas of conflict among work groups, and coach her on methods of interacting with different personalities.

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Lessons In Leadership From Andy Bernard Of The Office

Julie Rains — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:54:14 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/lessons-in-leadership-from-andy-bernard-of-the...

Underdogs inspire us. That's the lesson Robert California, the fictional owner of the fictional paper vendor Dunder Mifflin, teaches us when he promotes Andy Bernard to branch manager of the Scranton sales office (aka The Office). Despite his Ivy League credentials, Andy is an unlikely choice to replace the departing Michael Scott. Watching Andy navigate his new accountabilities in the episode entitled “The Incentive” prompted me to consider how a less-than-perfect leader can inspire people.

In the show, Robert charges the Scranton team with doubling sales growth in order to capitalize on increasing demand for personalized service. As manager, Andy attempts to lead the group in brainstorming out-of-the-box strategies to improve results. Exasperated with the lack of creativity on his team, he introduces an incentive program and then resigns himself to whatever outcomes emerge.

His employees consider the incentive program an insult; however, a team component (employees can pool incentive points to win a group prize) ultimately inspires them to achieve aggressive sales goals. Robert attributes the successful campaign to the employees’ collective desire to back underdog Andy while they had been complacent about supporting their former boss Michael.

In the real world, sales do not appear from thin air. Still, there are real-life lessons from The Office about how to inspire people.

Set Clear Direction

Andy is skeptical and skittish about communicating Robert’s directives. In fact, he questions this move, wondering if success can be had by simply taking the action to “throw down” goals.

Whether achievable or not, the direction is clear. More sales are desired. People are inspired when they can focus on a single goal rather than deal with the complexity of sorting out changing priorities on a daily basis.

Let Employees Decide How to Reach Goals

According to a corporate recruiter friend, the hallmarks of a great employer-employee relationship are the boss’s willingness to give direction and the employee’s ability to take care of the rest, delivering on-spec results within desired timelines and budgets. In short, capable employees despise micromanagement as much as managers loathe hand-holding.

Andy’s inexperience is ironically a positive attribute, leading him to let his team figure out the details of how they will achieve sales goals. In contrast, former boss Michael aspired to being the idea person. Rather than encouraging innovation among his employees, he persistently tried to pass along his (questionable) wisdom and flashy tactics. This management technique sends the wrong message: achieving extraordinary results requires unusual talents and creativity that most employees do not possess.

With “hands-off” leadership, the staff realizes that they must work with what they have. Knowing that no innovative ideas are coming from above and hoping to earn the incentive, they are inspired to make phone calls and ask for orders.

Measure Results and Post Progress Toward Goals

An expected outgrowth of a new incentive program is results tracking, which involves establishing measurements and monitoring results. In the show, receptionist Erin updates a prominently displayed poster of sales and progress toward winning the team prize.

Business managers who have led successful turnarounds tell me that they begin by introducing the measurement of results in key categories. They say that starting to track performance naturally and immediately produces better results. Employees improve because 1) they know someone is paying attention to their work; and, 2) they more fully grasp company priorities (no matter how many times in the past you have told them what is most important).

A visual representation motivates people by distilling company expectations and employee progress to a single image.

Improvement above the baseline does take more concentrated effort. But getting initial results builds confidence among employees and inspires higher levels of commitment.

Don’t Psychoanalyze Your Employees

The employees at The Office are a quirky bunch. But rather than try to psychoanalyze each individual, or attempt to bring about healing in their personal and professional psyches, or even encourage them to adopt more professional personas, Andy just asks them to act within reason and do their work.

Experienced managers tell me that they customize their approaches to supervision, coaching, and professional development in order to keep morale high and motivate employees. But they don’t act like Michael, who expended much of his leadership efforts trying to understand and change people with the hope of impacting performance. Certainly, bosses need to recognize and address serious concerns. But they don’t have to become pseudo-psychologists in order to stir action among team members.

Deal with Self-Doubt Privately

Andy lacks self-confidence, but he doesn’t express his concerns or ask for reassurance publicly. And, while his angst in is evident, he doesn’t complain loudly in front of everyone. Certainly, voicing fear of uncertainty is therapeutic but best done in the presence of a core group of trusted people.

Witnessing Andy’s perseverance despite his self-doubt is inspiring to others, who realize that they do not have to be paralyzed by an inner critic (or lizard brain).

Find Fulfillment in Your Work

Despite his insecurity, Andy is happy at work. Even when warehouse employees quit after winning the lottery (see the “Lotto” episode), he still seems eager to thrive in his new management position.

Working with colleagues who actually derive pleasure from their work is inspirational. No matter how cynical they may act, most employees want to avoid drudgery, find fulfillment in day-to-day activities, and achieve exceptional results. Demonstrate that you do, too.

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

10 Innovative Ways To Reward Your Employees

Kentin Waits — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 20:35:40 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/10-innovative-ways-to-reward-your-employees

Rewarding employees is often equated with big bonuses and shrinking bottom lines. But recognition for a job well done can come in all shapes and sizes. Small tokens of appreciation given at the right moment not only provide well-deserved acknowledgement—they can keep your employees motivated and dedicated. Let’s explore the art of saying “thank you” in new and innovative ways.

1. Get Flexible

Reward dedicated employees by offering flexible work hours. Either start with flexible Monday and Friday schedules or institute it more broadly for the entire work week. This vote of confidence in your employees’ ability to self-manage and get things done is a great acknowledgement and motivator.

2. Go Remote

For businesses that can leverage the work of off-site employees, offer telecommuting arrangements for your best and brightest. Remote workers can skip long commute times, tolls, parking hassles, and stress. Sometimes one energetic and happy employee in pajamas is better than two frazzled commuters in corporate casuals.

3. Rock Star Parking

Depending on the size of your office, a good parking spot may come at a premium. Reward rock star employees by assigning them rock star parking for a month or for a quarter. Consider dedicating a permanent parking space for this very purpose and rotate it among your star performers.

4. Reward Effort

In our bottom-line world, we tend to focus on end-results and not realize the effort involved in simply trying. The best way to keep employees trying hard and working toward success is to reward effort. Take a moment to discover who’s giving it their all and find a small way to acknowledge those efforts personally.

5. Give a Freebie

Recognize and reward a job well done by offering a day or two of discretionary time off. Coordinate with HR to add the bonus as no-strings-attached vacation time. Once it’s on the books, send a card to your employee letting them know how they earned it.

6. Throw a Party

For a group of employees or an entire department that continues to knock your socks off, throw a party. The very best parties (the ones that truly feel like a reward) are “planned surprises.” Have your employees clear their schedules for an hour or two in the afternoon to prepare for a company or departmental meeting that’s really a party in-disguise. Without pressing appointments, waiting clients and calls to return, employees can relax for a bit and truly enjoy themselves.

7. Lunch Bunch

Reward an entire department by treating everyone to lunch. Acknowledge a single employee by making a group reservation for her and five of her good friends or colleagues. Leisurely lunches are the best lunches—give your staff at least two hours to relax and enjoy themselves.

8. Decompress

Celebrate the end of a long and successful project by treating your key employees to an off-site massage or spa visit. To sweeten the deal, don’t let those muscles tense up again afterwards—give them the afternoon off.

9. Make them a Member

Consider covering the cost of a year’s membership in the trade or professional association of your employee’s choice. Annual costs can often be daunting to families, but can be written off as an employee development expense for businesses. This sort of reward not only thanks your employee, it can help create valuable business connections down the road.

10. Say the Magic Words

Your mom was right—a simple and heartfelt “thank you” goes a long way. Taking the time to call an employee into your office for the sole purpose of a thank you or sending a hand-written note in the mail is a personal and profound gesture. In our hectic, abbreviated and automated world, don’t forget the more human connections that make employees feel valued.

Whatever method of acknowledgement you choose, be specific about why you’re thanking your employee. What impressed you the most? What set this employee apart from peers in the office? What small detail or effort made all the difference on the project? Ultimately, your thank you should reflect what you’d like to see more of in all your employees.

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This article is from Kentin Waits of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

A Third Of Employees Are Ready to Quit: How To Hold On To Yours

Kate Lister — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:00:59 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/a-third-of-employees-are-ready-to-quit-how-to-...

Take a look around your office. A third of the people you see think the best thing 2012 could bring them is a new employer. And that’s true all over the world; something that’s worrisome for multinational companies.

This year’s annual “What’s Working” study just released by Mercer, a global HR advisory firm, might be more aptly named “What’s Not Working.” Besides showing that almost a third of U.S. employees are seriously eyeing the exit, the survey found that more than half of senior managers are among them. And if your hope is to replace the retiring boomers on your staff with some of your up and comers, think again. More than 40 percent of employees 34 and younger are tweaking their resumes, too.

Who’s Leaving and Why

At the depth of the recession employees were grateful just to have a job, but now the bloom is now off the rose. The stress and strain of being tasked to do more with less, watching co-workers get laid off and worrying about their own fate, and suffering through salary freezes have finally taken their toll. Despite economic uncertainties, employees—particularly those with the best prospects—are now confident enough to make a move.

All of the demographic and labor force factors that led to the labor shortages of just a few years ago are still there. But we seem to have fallen into a recession-induced amnesia about them.

The cost of losing a trusted employee is estimated at between 75 percent and 200 percent of an employee’s annual salary. That’s not including the drain on organizational memory or the cost of customers and co-workers that may follow them.

To Keep Your Employees, Keep Them Engaged

So how do you keep from losing your best and brightest?

Mercer’s answer is engagement, something they call the Holy Grail of 21^st century management. An engaged employee, according to Mercer, is one who feels a vested interest in the company’s success and is both willing and motivated to exceed their job requirements.

The 2011 study points to 13 factors that influence engagement (listed in order of importance):

Being treated with respect;
Work-life balance;
The quality of organizational leadership;
Working in an environment they can provide good services to others;
The type of work they do;
The quality of people they work with;
Benefits;
Base pay;
Long term career potential;
Having flexible work arrangements;
Learning and development opportunities;
Opportunities for promotion;
Incentive pay/ bonuses.

Why Engagement Matters

Mercer and other HR experts have shown that the benefits of an engaged workforce go far beyond employee retention. Employee engagement translates into:

Increased productivity;
Greater levels of innovation;
Improved service quality;
Higher customer satisfaction;
Reduced absenteeism;
Lower healthcare costs;
The ability to attract talent;
Increased competiveness;
Higher shareholder value.

While employee preferences and motivating factors differ across industry and location, Mercer found the following four factors consistently have the highest impact on engagement:

The work itself—in particular, understanding how their individual contribution fits into the larger scheme of things;
Confidence and trust in leadership—managers should act in a way that’s visible and transparent;
Recognition and rewards—most importantly they should be internally fair and externally competitive;
Organizational communication—it should flow smoothly up, down, and laterally throughout the organization and recognize that not everyone communicates in the same way.

Interestingly, other research shows that merely paying attention to what employees have to say—through surveys, focus groups, and active listening—can have a marked impact on engagement, even without any real change in organizational behavior.

People want to feel like they matter. They want to have some say in where, what, when, and how they work. After all, work accounts for the largest chunk of time they’ll spend at one thing in their entire lives. They want to be treated like thinking adults. And increasingly, if they don’t get what they want, they’ll find it elsewhere.

This article is from Kate Lister of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How To Become A Better Boss In 10 Minutes

James Clear — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 01:25:08 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/how-to-become-a-better-boss-in-10-minutes

There is a simple, yet powerful strategy that you can use to become a better boss and a better leader in just 10 minutes. It doesn't matter what your managerial style is; this strategy will work for you. But before I share this idea with you, there is something your employees would like you to know.

The Number One Frustration for Employees

If there is one thing that employees hate, it is being held accountable for something they don't know how to do.

"They are expecting me to do something I was never taught to do."
"We're just supposed to figure it out for ourselves."
"I was never trained on this…"

It's pretty simple really: we hate being asked to do something that we don't know how to do. When it comes to business, it's even worse, because a lack of training means that employees can't do the job that supports their livelihood.

These frustrations naturally bleed into the workplace atmosphere and begin to upset the culture. The same people who expressed their frustration above often follow up with worse.

"I bet my boss doesn't even know how to do this. That's why she pushed it down to me."
"All he does is sit up there and tell us about “strategy.” We're supposed to figure out how to make it all work."

How You Can Look Like a Hero

Here is the secret: teach your employees something new. Training your employees is the number one way you can become a better boss.

I don't mean pay for training or make sure they get training, I mean YOU train them. There are a few reasons why this is so important.

1. When you train your employees, they have increased faith and trust in you.

One of the pitfalls of management is that the higher up the food chain you climb, the less you are involved in specific, day-to-day tasks. To many employees, it often looks as if you're simply pointing fingers and telling people what to do. In fact, I have often heard employees claim that they don't even know if their boss could do their job.

You can prevent these negative thoughts by displaying competency in a specific task. If you know enough to teach your employees a new skill, they begin to trust that you have the ability to guide them and set the direction for the business.

2. Teaching is the highest form of learning.

Spending time teaching your employees a new skill might sound like a pain to you, but I'm willing to bet that you will learn something.

Furthermore, when you teach your employees a new skill you're going to hear exactly what they are struggling with. They will ask questions about certain things and not about others. Pay attention to those questions. They are pain points and will give you further insight into what they need help with.

Giving your employees the help they need to do their job makes you a better boss.

3. Taking the time to teach shows employees that you care.

It can be tempting, especially in a small business, to tell employees, "You're going to have to figure it out for yourself."

Every now and then, that's how it has to be. But you will gain a lot of respect when you take time out of your schedule to help the people that your business depends on.

If you're holding them accountable for their performance, the least you can do is make sure they have what they need to perform. As Albert Einstein once said, "if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

Don't judge your employees based on skills they don't have. Make sure they know what they need to get the job done.

Show your employees that you have their back. Show them that you are competent and that you care. Take ten minutes and teach them something new.

This article is from James Clear of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

4 Genuine Ways To Execute The Brand Promise

Julie Rains — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:06:14 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/4-genuine-ways-to-execute-your-brands-promise

I have witnessed the brand promise of a prominent local corporation executed flawlessly at one location and fumbled ridiculously at another site. For years, face-to-face, phone, and online experiences fell far short of perfection. Its tagline—meant to imprint a positive message in the minds of community members—made me smirk more than smile.

Because of the company’s domination in my local market, I repeatedly found myself in the undesirable position of having to access its services. On one occasion, rather than search for another source, I resigned myself to close supervision in order to prevent disaster. However, I was astonished and pleased to see genuine execution of the brand promise.

Having seen what works (and what does not), my starkly different experiences made me think about how businesses can keep their brand promises. Successful execution starts with the mindset that the promise is meaningful and relevant for the long haul, not empty words that keep shareholders and stakeholders happy for a fleeting moment. After the foundation has been laid, take these actions to keep the promise alive.

1. Precisely Determine the Brand Promise’s Affect on Day-to-Day Activities

Relate the brand promise to common interactions and scenarios. Let everyone, customers and employees alike, know what to expect when they initiate transactions, respond to requests, and perform certain tasks. Design protocols for these customer touch-points, and communicate them widely via your website, in-store signage, employee manual, etc.

Specific areas to cover might include:

Response times for certain types of inquiries;
Lead times for order processing, product deliveries, and project completions;
Product return policies;
Timing and frequency of communication alerts.

Having highly visible operating standards can be scary, but such communication helps customers and employees discern between unreasonable and reasonable expectations. Plus, managers can readily distinguish an actual service failure from a perceived sleight, and take appropriate action quickly.

2. Embed the Brand Promise in Employee Documents

Make sure the brand promise appears in key employee documents—job descriptions, training materials, performance reviews. Trust that employees will commit to memory each of the specific deliverables that the brand promise encompasses. But don’t stop with statements posted on the website or engraved on a plaque at the office. Integrate actionable items into communications with employees about their job duties.

Spell out the brand promise in ways that employees can apply on a daily basis using these methods:

Develop job descriptions that detail position requirements and performance standards consistent with your tagline. As a result, employees can focus on doing their work tasks correctly, rather than trying to remember and follow brand-promise guidelines that may not seem relevant to their job functions.
Train employees to interact with customers, vendors, and colleagues. Conduct role-play sessions to illustrate how you would like your promise to be interpreted and applied in various situations.
Design performance evaluations to measure adherence to work standards, which should be synced with your brand promise.

3. Hire Smart, Dedicated, and Genuine People

Hire people who have the credentials and capabilities needed to excel at your company. But don’t extend offers to those who merely pass your screening hurdles. Search for candidates who are enthusiastic about executing the brand promise.

Look for people who have demonstrated these characteristics in previous positions:

Insightful: She intuitively understands your business model and brand promise, and has clarity about what they mean for complex problems. (Nevertheless, you should detail requirements to ensure consistency among all employees and adherence to expectations in murky situations.)
Receptive: He is eager to grow professionally and personally, not just at the start of his career but throughout his working years. Though confident in his abilities, he is willing to consider and learn new ways of doing business, particularly as technology and mindsets change.
Innovative: She brings new ideas to the organization that fulfill the brand promise with personable and fresh, rather than robotic, approaches to managing customer relationships.

4. Listen, Ponder and Act Appropriately

Encourage your customers and employees to express appreciation and concerns. Make contacting your business really easy, whether someone wants to give a positive review, ask a question, or lodge a complaint. Then, listen.

Don’t react quickly just to quiet a concern. Consider complaints from the customer’s perspective and your employee’s point of view. Evaluate whatever information is presented in order to determine whether your company has lived up to its brand promise or failed to deliver.

Craft and execute your plans to include:

explaining to the customer what actions you intend to take;
acknowledging any shortfalls in the behavior of your employees;
bringing any broken promises to the attention of your staff; and
making adjustments to your operations, policies, and communication styles that will allow your organization to stay true to its brand messaging.

Acting appropriately rather than reacting to momentary pressures allows you to advocate for those who want to do the right thing but not just anything the customer wants. If your employees know that you will protect them, then they will be doubly committed to executing your brand promise in each and every customer interaction.

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

9 Reasons People Don't Do What They Are Supposed to Do

Julie Rains — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 17:54:48 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/9-reasons-people-dont-do-what-they-are-suppose...

Ever noticed that people don’t always do what they are supposed to do?

Whether you have recently hired new employees for the first time or have lengthy experience in leading teams comprised of full-time, permanent staff plus contract workers, you may encounter situations in which people don’t do what they’ve been asked to do. Here are common scenarios and suggested fixes.

1. He is unable to change his habits, which are ingrained in how he executes day-to-day tasks. Frequent reminders, retraining, and disciplinary actions have no lasting impact.

Fix: Make changes to the environment and sequencing of work to break outdated, unwanted patterns of behavior. Remove the temptation (perhaps an improperly used tool or always-on website), rather than keep asking the employee to break bad habits.

2. She misunderstands the nature and scope of her work. Sadly, instead of asking questions or signaling her confusion, she muddles through each day. Though her focus should be on figuring out how to accomplish specific goals, co-workers and vendors dictate her priorities.

Fix: Clarify your expectations for her position, updating and refining her job description as needed. Coach her on techniques for dealing with outside pressures. Confirm that you will provide direction and support but make sure that she develops the ability to stand on her own without your continual intervention.

3. He is in a hurry. For whatever reason, he wants coworkers and vendors to execute his ideas quickly. He may have had a late-in-the-season epiphany for a marketing campaign or new product introduction. Or timelines are generally inconsequential to him.

Fix: Establish firm lead times that are nonnegotiable, especially if certain ideas require execution by work areas with limited resources. Alternatively, establish processes to execute quick turnaround on ideas with high ROI potential outside of your regular workflow.

4. She lacks discernment and is unable to sort through what’s important and what’s insignificant. Overloaded with information and short on insights, she waffles on decisions, defers action under she gets more clarity, and chooses unwisely.

Fix: Provide regular coaching sessions to step her through the process of making sound decisions consistent with your company’s mission and its values. Communicate direction and get involved in helping her make difficult choices early rather than later.

5. He is not getting the information he needs. System glitches and ill-designed reports prevent him from getting alerts, exception reports, and so on in a timely manner. The information that he does receive takes hours to analyze in order to get relevant facts needed to do his job.

Fix: Don’t underestimate the need for timely, accurate information. Make sure your technology team solves these information problems quickly. While waiting for a strategic IT solution, develop a workaround that speeds up the reporting process.

6. She doesn’t trust your judgment. Specifically, she believes that your guidelines are inappropriate based on her perception of customer needs and company’s brand positioning. So she ignores your instructions and continually does things her way, which she believes provides a superior experience to the customer and upholds the brand message more appropriately.

Fix: Clarify her sphere of influence and reiterate your brand promise distinct from her desires. Plus, give her honest, quantitative feedback on her effectiveness. Set objective, quantitative goals that measure her performance objectively, rather than allowing her to rely a general feeling that she is a doing a good job, serving the customer well, and preserving the integrity of the brand promise.

7. His workload is overwhelming. Because he feels that that he can’t possibly complete all of his work, he tends to focus on tasks that he enjoys and finishes assignments that benefit the most demanding (rather than the most important) customers. Other items are left to languish, eventually causing problems.

Fix: Evaluate workload for feasibility and make adjustments if necessary. Establish quality and timeline expectations so that proper emphasis is placed on assignments and areas of accountability. Schedule periodic progress reviews on longer-term projects to make sure that there are no surprises close to deadlines.

8. It’s complicated. The assignment is so out of the ordinary and complex that she doesn’t know where to begin, so she delays the start. Plus, her regular workload keeps her so busy that there is little time to really consider how to tackle this project.

Fix: Move mundane tasks to another employee so that she can have time to develop the project plan. Encourage her to ask questions so that you can share your knowledge, point to resources, and help narrow decisions.

9. The wrong person is in the job. You discover that he doesn’t have the problem-solving abilities, mental courage, or leadership abilities that you thought he did when you hired him. He doesn’t really understand how to bring innovation to the company, which you need now more than ever.

Fix: Realize that not all problems can be remedied by changes in your approach. Instead of struggling with a difficult person who is slow to adapt to new circumstances, can’t sort through workload without hand-holding, and the like, change the assignments of your staff members or find a replacement who can do what he is supposed to do.

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

5 Psychological Hacks to Boost Your Bottom Line

James Clear — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:50:18 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/5-psychological-hacks-to-boost-your-bottom-lin...

In his book, The Happiness Advantage, Sean Achor outlines positive psychological principles and tactics that increase performance at work. More specifically, positive psychology can be used to improve the effectiveness and output of employees. If you're looking to boost employee productivity – and your business’ profitability, see if these five psychological hacks don’t do the trick.

1. Discover the link between happiness and performance.

Did you know that students who were told to think about the happiest day of their lives scored higher on a standardized math test than their peers? Or that more effective business negotiators test higher for positive emotions than their peers?

There is actually a mountain of research supporting the idea that higher performance is associated with positive emotions. What does that mean for you?

If you want your employees to perform better, give them something to smile about. Remind them of a positive event. Pay them a compliment. Or simply do like the professor did and ask them to remember something that makes them smile.

2. Applaud early failure.

Ever notice how history repeats itself?

It's easy to shake our heads when people repeat the mistakes others have made, or make the mistakes their managers have warned them about, but there's a simple reason for that. Of course, we often learn from mistakes others have made, but we also learn from our own past experiences. Often, failure has to be experienced rather than read about or explained. We can only learn how to deal with failure—and all of the emotions and struggles that come with it—by experiencing it.

In fact, employees who learn to deal with failure early on are better equipped to solve problems and are more effective down the line.

In other words, it's a good idea to let employees fail and figure out solutions on their own ... especially in the beginning. Sometimes experiencing the process is the only way we really learn the solution.

3. Revise patterns.

There is a well-known psychological principle called Expectancy Theory which says that our brains make choices because of the outcomes we associate with specific actions. In other words, we choose the action that we think will result in the best outcome.

This is easy enough to understand, but what we often forget is that it has also been proven that our brains fall into patterns.

As creatures of habit, it's easy for our minds to play tricks on us. If we think an outcome is good and we choose it over and over again, we will continue to choose it, even if it's not the best choice anymore. The business world is ever-changing. Habits that were beneficial during startup may not be right for a mature business.

Take some time to think about the habits and processes in your business. What choices are you still making that you haven't thought about in awhile?

4. Remind employees that positive outcomes are possible.

Positive psychology research shows that job performance is improved simply by believing that positive change is possible. In other words, if you're looking to turn your company around, then share stories of successful business turnarounds. If you're hoping to take your superstar performer to the next level, then share stories of how top athletes get even better.

Determine the goal that you are trying to achieve in your business and then show your employees that achieving that goal is possible.

The psychological result is that people begin to believe that they can make change. If we believe that it is possible for us to do something, then it is much more likely that we will do it.

5. Keep positive experience journals.

One positive psychology study found that people who took 20 minutes to write down positive experiences from that day and did this three times per week not only displayed higher levels of happiness, but also displayed fewer symptoms of illness. In other words, more thoughtful, more positive employees were also healthier employees.

It doesn't matter the situation, the circumstance, or the timing, everyone has something to be positive or thankful about.

Don't forget to remind your employees to focus on the positive in their lives. Your bottom line with thank you later.

This article is from James Clear of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

3 Ways to Revive Burned Out Employees

Elaine Pofeldt — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:21:31 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/3-ways-to-revive-burned-out-employees

It’s easy to miss signs that your employees are getting burned out—especially if the economy has left you battle-fatigued, too.

But chances are, there are people on your team who are losing steam, given the increased productivity demanded of many workers since the 2008 financial crisis. A Harris Interactive poll for the site CareerBuilder that was released in July found that 77 percent of employees say they are sometimes or always burned out on their jobs.

Fortunately, it doesn’t cost a lot of money to turn things around if members of your team seem tired, cranky, unenthused or stressed out these days. Here are some tips on how to prevent or reverse employee burnout—before your key players jump ship.

Make Sure You Are Not Causing Burnout

The majority of white collar workers who are happy at work take vacations, leave work at a reasonable hour, and take breaks during the day, according to the Captivate Office Plus Survey in September 2011.The more organized you are in running your business, the easier it will be for your employees to adopt these habits.

If managing your time and planning company endeavors is not your strong point—and you consistently find yourself asking employees to stay late to tackle last minute requests or jump on a quick conference call while they’re vacationing with family—you need help immediately. Hire a coach, bring on an assistant, or ask an organized employee to help you with project management. Running your business in a disorganized and chaotic way is going to drive your best people out the door.

Customize Jobs When You Can

Many employees’ work-life balance has suffered since the recession, as they’ve taken on more responsibilities. If you have the flexibility to tailor jobs to the individuals on your staff, it can help tremendously in fighting burnout. For one stressed out employee on his team, Gary Levitt, founder of New York City e-newsletter provider Mad Mimi, did away with formal office hours and offered responsibilities that could be scheduled around family responsibilities. Result: The worker’s productivity improved dramatically. "I'm very lucky," says Levitt.

Invest in Making Workers More Productive

If you’ve already asked your team to take on more projects since the economic downturn, they may not be able to comfortably juggle any more. Instead of hitting them with more work, consider bringing in a contractor or freelancer to help for a few days. It’s far cheaper than replacing someone you’ve pushed over the brink with overwork. Or make strategic investments in technology that helps key members of your existing team to work more efficiently. For instance, a Stapes Advantage survey recently found that 60 percent of tablet users find they have become more productive since getting one. To avoid wasting money on technology that doesn’t help much, try a small pilot program among a few employees before making a company-wide investment.

This article is from Elaine Pofeldt of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Take the Pulse of Your Employees

Julie Rains — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:46:59 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/how-to-take-the-pulse-of-your-employees

Do you want to know how your employees feel about their employer, your company? They may have firm opinions but are hesitant to share too much information in weekly staff meetings and company get-togethers.

Knowing what employees think and feel can be valuable in making sure that your vision is supported by their actions. This information can give you insights needed to lead people effectively.

On a practical level, taking the pulse of your employees can help you to:

confirm understanding of policies in order to assure proper execution of new initiatives;
uncover and resolve conflicts between employees;
create feasible processes and divide responsibilities equitably;
develop opportunities for professional development in line with employees’ career goals and company needs.

From being quietly observant to politely intrusive, here are several ways to take the pulse of your employees.

Notice Changes in Behavior

Sudden and sustained differences in an employee’s behavior can indicate career dissatisfaction.

Notice changes in patterns, such as earlier or later arrivals and departures as well as noticeably shorter or longer lunch breaks. Other indicators include less patience with customers and more frequent clashes with coworkers.

Don’t assume that such changes are irrelevant to the workplace, whether they originated from personal or professional concerns. An employee may be adjusting to a lifestyle change (such as a family addition, chronic illness, or relocation) and having temporary difficulties in his personal life. However, these changes may have caused him to rethink his long-term prospects with your company; for example, he may be searching for a new job with higher pay, more opportunity for professional growth, or fewer weekend hours.

Wander, Look and Listen

As a business owner and executive leader, you may spend an inordinate amount of time in your office or on the road, hatching the latest business strategy, analyzing weekly performance numbers, and nurturing relationships with customers. But getting out and seeing day-to-day activities can give you valuable insights that are otherwise unavailable.

Specifically, go to the sales, production, or distribution floor; sit in on meetings; observe conversations with customers. Visit unannounced at various times of the workday. Be unpredictable, gratifying those who work diligently though possibly annoying those who are less motivated.

By wandering around (as championed by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman in their book In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best Run Companies), you may see customer interactions, vendor discussions, and team collaborations that look precisely as imagined and planned. But you may discover scenarios that make no sense based on directives given to employees.

Investigate questionable situations to get a better take on what your employees are thinking. First, make sure your perception is not flawed (that is, you may have heard just one side of a conversation so ask for clarification). If your understanding is correct and employee actions are out of sync with expectations, find out what is motivating them. For example, they may disagree with policies, believe that procedures are inefficient, feel ill-equipped to handle complexity, or have reservations about asking for guidance.

Let Employees Talk

People love to share their thoughts. Ask employees about their perspectives. Some will complain about everything while others will reveal pertinent information only when prodded repeatedly. Often less vocal employees will give insights that you would have never discerned otherwise. Over time, you will learn who offers trustworthy, useful opinions.

Survey Employees

Many people are more likely to tell you what they think if you ask specific questions and allow them to respond privately. Formal surveys, then, can be useful in understanding employees. Online tools, such as SurveyMonkey or Zoomerang, make the process simple. Consider asking respondents to give ratings on key topics and elaborate through open-ended questions as well. Hire an outside firm to conduct surveys if you want greater expertise in assessing employee sentiment.

Review results and present insights with action plans to employees. In this way, they will know that you are interested in their thoughts and dealing with problems, which further encourages ongoing dialogue.

Scrutinize Problem Solving Techniques

Listen to your employees talk about how they solve problems, independently and collaboratively. Their approaches will tell you volumes about their perspectives on company priorities, sources of any anxiety, and understanding of accountabilities and roles within the organization.

Watch employees divvy tasks in order to deal with problems. Assess mutual trust levels and learn how effectively they work together. A red flag that should prompt inquiry is when one employee shields you from details, saying that she “will handle this” with no elaboration. Very often, this person does not want to risk failure by sharing accountability with a less responsible employee. Probe for details to discover how well (or poorly) your team members are cooperating with each other and determine whether certain departmental and company policies are counterproductive to teamwork.

Understanding employees’ perceptions does not mean that you have to be a slave to their opinions. Use these insights to guide them in making your vision a reality.

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Wanna Make More Money? Make Your Employees Happy

Kate Lister — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:03:15 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/wanna-make-more-money-make-your-employees-happ...

Wouldn’t it be great if you could wave your magic wand and abracadabra, up go sales and profits? If you flunked advanced wizardry, don’t worry. Believe it or not, this is a trick for mere mortals. All you have to do is make your employees happy.

Happy Workers Perform

In a Gallup, Inc. study of over two thousand business units on “the causal impact of employee work perceptions on the bottom line of organizations,” researchers found a distinct link between employee attitudes and a company’s financial performance, employee retention, and customer loyalty.

Research conducted by the Wharton School found that Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For in America” reported 3.5 percent higher returns than their peers (Harvard Business Review Daily Stat).

Of course there’s the chicken and the egg question. Is company performance better because its employees are more engaged or is it the other way around? According to the Gallup study, the answer is clearly the former—happy employees are productive employees.

But Most Employees Aren’t Happy

Unfortunately, for the majority of businesses, employee engagement—a strong indicator of satisfaction and morale—is in the toilet.

According to a study by Mercer, a global HR consulting firm, nearly a third (32 percent) of US workers are seriously considering looking for a new job (up from 23 percent in 2005). Another one in five (21 percent) don’t have plans to leave but also don’t give a rat’s buttocks about what they’re doing—just the kind of people you want on the payroll. (Mercer’s What’s Working survey)

Similarly, Blessing White, a global consulting firm that focuses on employee engagement, found that only a third of US employees are fully engaged. Their research, and that of other industry experts, shows that the most engaged employees are both highly satisfied and high contributors to the organization.

In their 2011 Global Engagement Report, they summarize the level of engagement of North American employees as follows:

Highly engaged: 33 percent of North American employees;
Almost engaged: 10 percent—high performers and reasonably satisfied but not consistent;
Honeymooners and hamsters: 24 percent—either new to the organization in a kind of limbo or “working hard but, in effect, spinning their wheels;”
Crash & Burners: 15 percent—“disillusioned and potentially exhausted;”
Disengaged: 18 percent—not contributing very much and not very satisfied; likely skeptical and may spread their negativity around the organization.

Millennials were the least engaged (only 23 percent were highly engaged and 25 percent were disengaged). Boomers were the opposite (36 percent were highly engaged and 16 percent were disengaged).

Looking at the numbers by department or function, employees in sales showed the highest engagement (38 percent in Blessing White’s highest engagement category) and IT and R&D workers showed the lowest (26 percent). Worse, 27 percent in engineering and 22 percent in IT were categorized as disengaged. Think about that next time you walk into a smart building.

So how do you make your employees happy?

Based on the answers to Blessing White’s question “which one thing would improve job satisfaction.” it was clear that employees simply want to do what they do best. Career development and flexible working conditions were also high on their radar.

Opportunity to apply their talents 27 percent
Career development and training: 20 percent
More flexible working conditions: 15 percent

From their managers, the report showed employees want:

A sense of belonging; feeling like they’re part of a team;
Regular feedback on performance;
Recognition for achievements;
Encouragement for them to use their talents;
To be treated like an individual;
To be asked for their input (and have it acted on);
To not be micromanaged.

Employees want their organization’s top leaders to:

Create an environment that drives high performance;
Communicate honestly;
Act in alignment with the company’s core values and guiding principles;
Link the work of the company to a larger purpose.

The Blessing White report observes, “Engaged employees . . . stay for what they give (they like their work and are able to contribute); Disengaged employees stay for what they get (a secure job in an unfavorable employment market, a desirable salary or bonus, favorable job conditions, or career advancement).”

Which kind of person would you rather have on your team, or for that matter, spend the majority of your day with: a giver or a taker?

This article is from Kate Lister of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

3 Undervalued Employee Virtues

Julie Rains — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:14:55 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/3-undervalued-employee-virtues

“He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.”—Winston Churchill

As a boss, you may dislike or undervalue virtues of your employees. However, when exercised wisely, certain traits may be extremely useful in propelling your business forward. Consider the value of these three virtues.

Occasional Imprudence

The occasionally imprudent employee brings clarity to ambiguity. This ability is especially valuable when your company is exploring new territory. Perhaps you made bold moves but are still sorting out the details for execution. As a result, you have provided limited guidance for interacting with a new customer segment, introduced a project with ambitious goals but little structure, made requests to find applications for proprietary technology, and so on.

A typical employee will turn down these assignments or wait patiently for clearly defined instructions. Why? The chance of error is great. The likelihood of time wasting is tremendous. The cautious employee would rather maintain a record of perfection in small tasks than risk failure when attempting to contribute in a big way.

The temporarily incautious person, however, recognizes pitfalls but sees blossoming possibilities. She is unsure how success will come to fruition. But she is confident that not seeming slightly foolish and taking risks now will bring certain regret later as opportunities are missed.

Using know-how gained during more prudent times (typically this person acts methodically and cautiously but deviates from this behavior occasionally), she will take a first step and then the next on a self-made roadmap. She will adapt approaches using lessons learned along the way, moving from fuzzy beginnings to clear direction, well-defined action plan, and executable follow-up tasks. Eventually the customer will be delighted; project goals attained; feasible, cost-effective, and in-demand uses of the invention developed and launched.

As boss, your focus may be on mopping up missteps taken along the path to making decisions, charting the course, etc. Take a step back to consider the chaotic nature of the company’s initiatives before she accepted an ill-defined assignment and its current status. Then, grasp the value of her imprudence.

Practical Inventiveness

The employee who is practically inventive quietly makes improvements in a way that streamlines processes while complying with strict requirements. This virtue is particularly valuable in handling seemingly standardized tasks in areas such as order processing, manufacturing, assembly, customer service, distribution, and administration.

Non-inventive employees follow procedures, interpreted as narrowly as possible. Unbeknownst to you, special requests and exceptions are shoehorned into ill-fitting policies and procedures. Or, they are set aside for consideration and resolution at a later date. Ironically, these responses are often out of sync with policy intentions and frequently lead to problematic delays. Qualified prospects are angered, orders and shipments are mishandled, and goodwill is squandered. At the same time, efficiency is lowered because much time is spent in dealing with bungles.

The innovator in the practical realm makes small but meaningful updates to company processes without violating the intention of policies or compromising the integrity of procedures. He evaluates existing methods and initiates changes, additions, or deletions that improve quality, efficiency, and accuracy. Because he works on the front lines of the business, he sees the consequences of changes immediately and makes adjustments quickly to get desired results.

Practical inventions are rarely groundbreaking as they are applied to day-to-day tasks, not highly visible product innovations. Plus, those who initiate these changes appear to think simplistically, breaking down mundane tasks and rebuilding or adding to them in basic ways.

To see the value of practical inventiveness, spend time working alongside front-line employees. Discover how they are able to handle increasing complexity (that is, trickier customer questions, deeper product assortments, and higher volumes) without overtime hours or additional resources.

Integrated Thinking

The integrated thinker recognizes how her actions impact the work of her colleagues, and ultimately the performance of the entire organization. This trait is valuable for any business with a brand message that needs to be conveyed and reinforced in a series of customer touch points.

An independent employee focuses solely on his assigned duties, which, superficially, is a reasonable approach. From a standalone perspective, he delivers high quality work. However, his activities are not aligned with the company’s strategic direction, reducing their value to the company. But because he is fearful of being brought down by less talented and accomplished coworkers, he is either indifferent or opposed to collaboration. Further, his apparent success makes him resistant to changes that could lead to teamwork.

The employee who engages in integrated thinking understands how her efforts contribute to business results. She is mindful that her actions influence the effectiveness of other people’s work. So, she stays informed on the company’s mission and business plan. She talks with colleagues about their priorities and concerns. She asks for insights on day-to-day tasks and project plans that improve the company’s performance. This extra involvement may make her seem unfocused and slower to make decisions at times.

First, keep in mind that your business’s success is more important than exceptional performance from a superstar employee. Then, notice which of your employees consider overall direction and weigh team goals in taking actions and making decisions. See how integrated thinking leads to much better experiences for your customers and higher levels of profitability for your company.

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

4 Ways Energetic Employees Electrify the Workplace

Julie Rains — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:21:48 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/4-ways-energetic-employees-electrify-the-workp...

Witnessing a super-charged person infuse an entire organization with enthusiasm is exciting. I have seen those with lots of energy expand the number of customers in previously stagnating environments, envision and execute initiatives in workplaces with limited innovation, re-start projects and teams once considered defunct and disbanded, and motivate high-performing groups to achieve even greater results than before.

As an entrepreneur and business leader, you want high-energy people on your team and may need help in recognizing who can energize the workplace. Note that not all energizing folks look and act the same. Many have a commanding physical presence and exude fitness while others simply have strong, forceful minds with endurance to match.

When I consider the high-energy people who bring out the best in others, these characteristics stand out:

Intense, eager, and appreciative;
Highly communicative;
Focused on team results yet attentive to the needs of individual contributors;
Firm in convictions with vision on how to lead people to excellence;
Good judgment of people and situations but not judgmental.

What marks the truly effective are those with domain knowledge in a chosen field, directly applicable to assignments. High energy can help transform people, teams, and entire organizations in specific ways.

1. Entertain, Engage, and Educate

A high-energy person has a way of getting people’s attention, often in entertaining ways. He tells stories, shares jokes, and uses dramatic or humorous illustrations to spark interest and make a point. Because people are listening intently, ideas shared and concepts conveyed are memorable to customers, colleagues, and employees. As a result, these folks are particularly well suited for training new hires, educating employees on handling tough situations, and winning support for new initiatives.

Results are similar but approaches to communication tend to vary:

Make everything exciting;
Capture attention before moving to mundane but necessary topics;
Lighten the collective mood and then focus on serious issues.

If no one is paying attention, then it doesn’t matter what happens next. So, the energetic person devotes much of his energy to entertainment as a means to engagement and education, not just for training purposes but also for transformation.

2. Increase Innovation

The energetic person is eager, willing, and able to innovate. She and her teams realize success frequently, providing a foundation for more and more innovation. The reasons for her effectiveness include:

time to investigate new ideas (because she is efficient in completing day-to-day assignments);
energy to evaluate projects and programs in progress, and make adjustments based on changes in circumstances and newly discovered insights;
sense of what will be successful based on experience and domain knowledge.

And, though she does not seek or embrace failure, this prospect is not paralyzing. All of her intellectual, emotional, and physical efforts are not tied to the success of a solitary initiative. Reserves of energy are always available to tackle more projects.

Modeling innovation both incites and inspires colleagues of the energetic person. They also gain practical knowledge of how new ideas are envisioned, communicated, developed, introduced, refined, launched, implemented, and celebrated.

3. Build Teamwork

The energetic person has deep personal stores of energy, independent of the outside world. But he draws strength and endurance from interaction with colleagues, subordinate employees, and executive leaders. He is tireless in bringing others onto the team and into the loop. People are attracted to those who value them and their presence, and can help them achieve excellent levels of performance.

The team, the organization, and the community provide a productive outlet for the high-energy person. Effort is channeled toward his vision of teamwork and ambitious goals for team success.

4. Instill Confidence

The high-energy person brims with confidence and easily transfers this buoyancy to other people, not just at the launch of a new initiative but also for the long haul.

When everyone else is tired and just going through the motions or thinking about giving up, the person with the high energy remains focused and doing her best work. She is confident that the project will be completed according to requirements and the program will be developed within specifications. This certainty can instill confidence in fellow employees.

The presence of someone with boundless energy gives people the assurance that they will always have the support needed to ship on time.

How to Spot High-Energy Professionals

If you are interested in getting highly capable, energetic people on your team, consider these professional characteristics:

focused on well-defined scope of expertise as indicated by undergraduate and graduate studies, professional training, and work experiences;
thorough, rarely missing a pertinent detail;
background in leadership (though willing to take on supporting roles);
adept at learning new things;
competitive drive.

The high-energy professional can raise the bar of performance, elevate results, and make hard work fun.

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

56,000 Money Saving Ideas from Uncle Sam

Kate Lister — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 22:39:18 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/what-56000-money-saving-ideas-from-uncle-sam-c...

Recent initiatives notwithstanding, the U.S. government isn’t exactly the poster child for fiscal restraint, but federal employees have a boatload of money-saving ideas. Chances are, your employees have some good ideas too. All you need to do is ask.

Since 2009, the White House SAVE Award program has yielded 56,000 ideas for cutting costs, reducing waste, and increasing efficiency. What do they get for their submissions? Practically nothing.

Government bureaucrats pick the top four ideas, regular Jill’s and Joe’s have the final vote, and the winner gets to present the idea directly to the Commander-in-Chief.

There have been two winners so far.

Don’t Toss Those Meds

Nancy Fichter from the Department of Veteran Affairs saw the extraordinary waste of medications that were simply thrown in the garbage when patients were discharged. Her suggestion to find a way to allow the medications to be used by people who needed them landed her the 2009 Award.

Email is Cheaper

The 2010 winner was Trudy Givens from the Bureau of Prisons. She suggested that the Federal Register, which was mailed to 8,000 federal employees every day, should be emailed instead. Wow, what a concept. When an additional 25,000 private sector readers were asked to opt-in if they wanted to continue hard copy delivery (for a fee), all but 500 chose to have it emailed.

So far, only 18 of the SAVE ideas have been implemented. Most involved replacing paper processes with electronic ones. A suggestion to add motion detecting light switches and high efficiency fluorescent light bulbs is expected to save HUD $4 million over three years. That might not seem like a lot in light of the 14 t-t-trillion dollar debt, but a million here, a million there, and pretty soon it adds up.

Your Own SAVE Award

So how do you get your staff, or even your customers, vendors, and advisors involved in a SAVE program of your own?

Decide on what you want out of the program: i.e. save money, increase revenue, increase efficiency, improve quality, improve morale, etc.
Require that suggestions be specific, practical, and measurable.
Emphasize quality over quantity.
Make sure everyone feels safe being honest (i.e. allow anonymous entries, monitor entries before publication to make sure no one is using the process for vendettas).
Make the submission process simple.
Explain, up front, how winners will be selected and by whom.
Consider giving participants a vote in the process but guard against popularity contests.
Let participants know what to expect and when to expect it.
Offer quick feedback on all ideas. If you have to reject any, let the submitter know why and encourage them to try again.
Use social networking to encourage participation and build enthusiasm.
Offer prizes for the most unusual, most creative, wackiest, best ideas – a feature in the newsletter, gift cards, dinner with (or without) the boss, or even a percentage of the savings.
Make it clear that there are no sacred cows (unless there are).
Determine how you’ll handle similar submissions.
Notify the winners privately before going public; some people may not want public accolade.
Take all the suggestions to heart; nothing will turn people off quicker than feeling like their ideas fell into a black hole.

It won't take take long for the ideas to start flowing in. Just don't expect 56,000 of them right away. After all, Uncle Sam probably has a much (MUCH) larger staff than you do.

This article is from Kate Lister of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

7 Survival Strategies from Tomorrow's Talent Wars

Kate Lister — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 21:25:06 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/7-survival-strategies-from-tomorrows-talent-wa...

At the last official count, over 14 million out of work Americans were actively seeking employment. While the official unemployment rate is just over 9%, over 16% of the labor force who would like to be working full time, aren’t. So why even think about labor shortages? Because in spite of what the numbers say, business owners are already feeling the pinch and all indications point to a full-on talent squeeze by the end of the decade.

According to says Matt Ferguson, CEO of Career Builder, “More than one-third of Human Resource managers we surveyed said they currently have positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates.”

As we emerge from our economic woes, the hiring and retention problems that were key management concerns just a few years ago will return with a vengeance. The labor force dynamics that created the talent gap haven’t changed. While layoffs and business closures have added millions to the available labor pool, they did nothing to improve the quality of the labor force. If anything, the recession has added to the problem. Employees who’ve survived are burned out. At the depth of the recession, a survey by Right Management showed that 80 percent were either looking for another job or planning to jump ship when the economy improved.

Now is the time to act if you want to keep them on board and attract new talent. Here’s how.

1. Recognize the Shift

You’ve no doubt heard that the workforce is aging (aren’t we all), but did you know that almost all the labor force growth over the next six years will be among those 55 and older?

While experts argue about how severe an impact the retiring Baby Boomers will have on employment, one thing’s for sure, there will be a lot more of them in the short run and a lot less of them in the long run. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), they’ll account for about 24% of all workers by 2018 (up from just 18% in 2008).

It’s time to take an inventory of the wrinklies around your office and think about how you’re going to keep them engaged in the years ahead. The promotions and accolades that drove them in the last decade are being replaced by thoughts of retirement and taking it easy.

At the same time, you need to plan for who will fill the Boomers’ shoes after they‘ve made their exit and the impact their leaving will have on recruitment, training, management styles, corporate intelligence, and institutional memory.

2. Some Industries will be Harder Hit than Others

While the shift toward service industry jobs and away from manufacturing will continue, Career Builder is seeing the biggest talent deficits among cloud developers, registered nurses, manufacturing quality engineers, business analysts, truck drivers, SEO strategists, and healthcare administrators.

Further out on the horizon, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts huge growth in the demand for healthcare and social service providers, scientific and technical professionals, and administrative/support workers.

3. Become an Employer of Choice

In those industries where talent shortages are likely, employers will be fighting to hire and retain the best and the brightest. Your top talent will be tempted by better offers. If you don’t have a plan that sets you apart from other employers, you simply won’t be able to compete.

4. Be Flexible

Technology now makes it possible to work anywhere, anytime. For employees of all ages, workplace flexibility is at the top of their wish list – a third say they’d even take a pay cut for the opportunity. Now is the time to make the management and structural changes that support a mobile workforce.

5. Weed out Non-Performers

Seemingly counter to a fix for labor shortages, getting rid of dead weight can help retain your best people. Under-performers demoralize their co-workers. Tolerating them sends a message to the rest of your staff that you don’t really value their good work.

6. Consider the Changing Needs of Your Employees

Issues your older employees paid little attention to a few years ago – healthcare, retirement, caring for aging parents – are now at the front of their minds. Good employers are finding ways to help them make the transition to this new phase of life.

7. Go Global

Talent shortages are not global. Ireland, Scotland, India, the Philippines, and many other parts of the world are suffering from underutilization of talent. Even within the U.S., pockets of underutilized talent exist among rural residents, the disabled, military families, and others. Thanks to technology, the world is your labor pool. Dive in!

This article is from Kate Lister of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: