Keeping Great Employees

There have been countless changes brought on by the recent economic turmoil. Many companies have resorted to drastic changes in their attempts to survive. Not all were able to survive. Cutbacks and layoffs sent ripples of fear and uncertainty around the globe. And those who still have jobs are grateful to have them.

Being grateful to have a job is not the same as being happy with the job and the company. Once the current economic situation improves (and it will) and people feel more comfortable making any kind of moves (and they will), it’s very likely that some of those unhappy souls will dare to make some serious changes – yes, quit. Are you prepared to lose some of your talent? Can you afford it?

So how will you keep your employees? How will you ensure that they’re happy – especially in an environment riddled with cuts and raise freezes? It’s quite simple.

Let us assume that you already know that while people work for a paycheck, they need more. Feeling valued and appreciated makes a tremendous difference. But is that enough? Times are tough and work is stressful. Now more than ever employees need to be able to connect with others at work. Give them a way to share their joys, fears, and concerns – a safe place to vent and express themselves – and you’ll be helping to build a community, stronger teams, and more loyal employees. Having a sense of belonging inspires people to stick around in good times and in bad.

So what are some ways to strengthen your teams and inspire your employees to stay? It doesn’t have to be complicated. Organizing lunches to bring people together over food and corporate sports teams are oldies but goodies. But why not take it up a notch? Support networks and work-related/professional clubs are a great way for people who have something in common to connect. Hobby and interest groups can be engaging and a great deal of fun. Online networking and blogging have become such a large part of today’s culture. Why not make them part of the company’s culture. They can offer so many ways for people to connect. They can be as formal or informal as you want them to be, but it’s a good idea to offer more than one way for people to connect.

Put on your thinking cap and come up with some of your own ideas. Remember to lead by example and inspire others to participate. Most importantly, have some fun doing it.

Leaders and Managers

A while back I found a story on businessweek.com, which spoke of Brian Alger, a Toronto-area entrepreneur who bought the Pop Shoppe – a chain of soda stores, which operated most successfully in the 1970s. At its peak, the Pop Shoppe was selling 1 million bottles a day at over 1000 locations across Canada. Its product was a discount soda, which could be purchased in cases of 24 bottles where the consumers could mix and match the different flavors to their liking. The Pop Shoppe closed in 1983.

When Alger decided to bring back the Pop Shoppe, he considered the different options. As a manager, he had to examine the many alternatives and make decisions regarding the potential success of the business. He scrutinized the idea of re-opening the Pop Shoppe stores, but decided against it because today’s consumers prefer the convenience of buying their soft drinks at the same store where they get the rest of their groceries. Alger realized that placing the product on the same shelves with the multitude of other sodas would result in failure since the big companies can sell their products for less.

He decided to sell his product using the nostalgia card. Available at various stores, his soda would be a treat, which could bring back the childhood memories for the many who enjoyed it years ago. The retro appeal would attract today’s youth. Since it would be seen as more of a special treat, the higher price would be acceptable to consumers. Alger also decided to keep the original recipe formula to ensure that favorite flavors would taste just as good as they did so long ago. Additionally, he decided to keep the label on the bottle simple and understated. This would make it stand out from today’s busy soda labels. This is another way to play the nostalgia and retro cards.

I’ve chosen to share this story with you because it demonstrates the various responsibilities a manager faces while making business decisions. It also underlines the necessity to have some sort of vision of a direction for the business – clearly a task for a leader. Finally, although the story doesn’t get into any details about Alger working with a team of people, it stands to reason that his journey included placing himself in a leadership role.

Reflect on your own journey as a manager and examine how much of your daily efforts include being a leader. Once you have a better understanding of that ratio, you can tweak and adjust it to better fit it to specific situations.


http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/dec2005/id20051216_985463.htm?chan=sb

Leading by Example

“Do as I say, not as I do.” How well do people respond to that seemingly simple sentence? How well did you respond as a child? As an adult? As children we felt disappointment at hearing those words. As adults, that disappointment can easily morph into resentment.

Put yourself in a position of having to follow a leader who sends the message of do as I say, not as I do. Whether he actually says those words, or conveys the message with actions (or lack thereof), your response will be the same. Why should you follow a leader who doesn’t walk the walk? Would you find yourself questioning his ability to lead? How much respect would you have for him?

If you want your employees to take you seriously, all of these questions are worth asking as you examine your own position and leadership skills. Do you invite your employees to follow you as their leader by leading by example? Do you have their respect? Do you treat them as capable professionals, or as children who should simply do as you say, not as you do?

Set an example for others and inspire them to do what you want them to do by doing the right things yourself. It’ll be easier to get your employees on your team, and having their respect will make it simpler to be a more effective leader. Remember that your success as a leader is a work in progress, but it’s in your hands nonetheless. Learn from your mistakes and search for opportunities to improve yourself every day.

Creating Positive Vibes

Times are tough – they’ve been tough for a while. Your company may have experienced cutbacks and reorganization. People are stressed, overloaded, and pushed to the limit. All of this is a perfect recipe for morale problems. Once again, it’s up to you to do something about it. The simplest and least expensive thing that you as the leader/manager can do is to make sure that your employees know that you appreciate what they do. If your employees are truly putting forth their best efforts, let them know that you’re aware of their hard work.

It can be as simple as walking up to an employee to thank them for their efforts. A handshake or a pat on the back can really make a difference. You don’t have to spend half an hour chatting it up or re-living the project play-by-play. You can take a couple of minutes at a meeting to recognize someone, speak up while you pass them in the hallway, or just walk over to their desk to talk to them.

Be as specific as possible. If you’re recognizing the work someone did on a particular project, say so. If it was their suggestion or idea that made some notable difference, tell them that. Finally, if you just want to thank them for showing up each day, doing their best, and being part of the team, tell them exactly that. Most importantly, be GENUINE. Lip service can do more damage than you can imagine.

As always, there are a couple of things to consider: (1) keep an eye out for opportunities to recognize people, but don’t do so if it’s not deserved, (2) make sure that you’re not focusing on any single person in such a way that others may think you favor them, and (3) don’t thank everyone for everything all of the time – it won’t seem genuine or have the same effect.

Mind the Corporate Culture

Every company, big or small, has a culture of its own. Corporate cultures are deeply rooted and difficult to change. They also have a tremendous effect on almost all aspects of the business – from how business is conducted to how employees are treated. It’s very important that you, as the leader/manager, are not only aware of the corporate culture, but also have a fairly good understanding of it. You don’t necessarily have to be an expert on your company’s culture and its roots/history, or even buy into it completely, but you have to know enough to know how it affects you and your employees.

Take a look around and try to pinpoint some of the more obvious aspects of your company’s culture. How does it compare to other places where you worked? Are rules different for different people? We’re not necessarily talking about the kind of differences that may come with seniority, level of education, or position at the company. This is more about whether employees are being treated differently based on their gender or skin color, or simply because they’re singled out (in either a positive or negative way).

Once you’ve identified some of these main aspects of your company’s culture, consider a couple of things: (1) how do these compare with your own convictions? (2) how do these affect you and your employees? You may find that you’re not on board with every single idea, but that’s part of life. In life as in our careers, we assess the good and the bad, and decide what’s important to us and where we’re willing to compromise and/or sacrifice. An even more significant consideration are the effects corporate culture has on you and your employees. Does it support you and your employees’ success? Or does it hinder it? Is a capable and deserving employee being overlooked or held back because of race or gender?

These are difficult questions, but they must be considered. It’s your responsibility as the leader/manager to understand what’s going on around you, so that you may do your job effectively. Although identifying things that you find disagreeable or which you see as detrimental to your (or your employees’) success is crucial, you’re not expected to change corporate culture. At least not overnight. So while you may choose to work towards such change as a long-term goal, your immediate focus must be on getting creative and finding alternative ways of getting around obstacles. The better your understanding of your company’s culture, the better your chances of being successful in that environment, and therefore being able to support others more effectively.

Taking Time Off

As a gorgeous Memorial Day weekend comes to a close, it seems only right to discuss the importance of taking time off. Leader/managers tend to be driven and hard working. Given the immense amount of responsibilities and the never-ending to-do list, it’s all too easy to put off your R&R to take care of all the things that require your attention.

Dedicated and hard working as you may be, it’s important to realize that you can’t run on empty, and will have to refuel sooner or later. You know that you’re most effective when you’re at your best – and you can’t be at your best when you’re tired or burned out. If you don’t have a backup person (or team of people) to tend to at least the very basic of your responsibilities during your absence, you’re in trouble (and so is the company). Appoint a person, or put together a team of people to fill in for you if need be. This will not only come in handy when taking some time off to rest, you may need it for an unforeseen personal event. So although today’s topic is about taking time to rest and rejuvenate, a backup is simply part of good planning and an absolute must.

Once you have a plan in place, schedule to take some time off and ENJOY!

Productive Feedback

Chances are that you as a leader/manager take the time to coach and develop others. Although it may not be realistic to have weekly one-on-one meetings with everyone who reports to you, it’s your responsibility to regularly spend time with your key people. If you don’t already do this, you really should start. Take a look at some previous posts that discuss the importance of coaching and developing your employees.

The purpose of these meetings is to coach and develop your employees, to listen and offer feedback, to challenge and give credit, to brainstorm and inspire. Both you and your employees should look forward to these meetings and see them as productive and beneficial. That’s not to say that problems should not be discussed and the meetings ought to be superficial. That’s not the case at all. However, it’s your responsibility to make sure that any problems or issues are addressed in a respectful and non-threatening way, and that no meeting focuses on only the negative. Even if you meet solely to discuss a problem, the meeting must contain positive aspects (such as looking for solutions and recognizing the employee’s ability to succeed) in order for it to be most effective.

If your employees start to dread or avoid such meetings, you absolutely must figure out what’s wrong. Never let your one-on-one time with your employees become known as the “weekly beat-down” (or whatever the frequency). Not only will these be a waste of time, both you and your employees will miss out on serious growth and success opportunities.

Not sure how you’re doing with your one-on-ones? Ask your employees. Get their feedback on how to best maximize your time together. Their involvement can serve as a motivator to both of you.

Celebrating Small Victories

One of your many responsibilities as a leader/manager is to keep track of progress, goals, and projects. You most likely already understand and follow the concept of breaking down large goals/projects into smaller, more achievable ones, but do you take the time to acknowledge the successful completion of those smaller goals? Even further – do you take the time to celebrate them? This is a very simple but powerful idea.

Breaking down large goals/projects to make them more manageable is only half of the story. As your employees complete the smaller steps, take the time to recognize and celebrate their success. In doing so, you will not only highlight the results of their efforts, but also underline the progress that is made towards the larger goal/project. Help your employees to see both the obvious and the not-so-obvious.

There are many ways to recognize the results of your employees’ efforts. Use your imagination and get creative. For example, you can use an existing meeting as an opportunity to note the latest success. Taking a few minutes to personally praise each person’s work is a very positive and personal way to encourage further success (of course the number of employees directly involved with the project will limit your ability to do this). Something as simple as buying bagels or pizza to mark the successful completion of each stage can be very effective. Whatever you do will send a message, so take the opportunity to send the right kind of message. By recognizing your employees for their hard work and underlining the successful completion of each step, you will encourage people to move forward and help them to see the progress brought on by their efforts.

Avoiding potential pitfalls of change

Change is not only inevitable, it’s essential to our success in business. When facing a change one of the most important elements is to have a clear vision. The lack of one can have disastrous effects. A vision must be not only clear but also well defined. It should only take a few minutes to communicate it to others. At the end of the presentation it should indicate their understanding and provoke their interest. Before a vision can inspire and be shared by others, it has to inspire the leader. It must be in harmony with the leader’s own values, and he must be willing to set an example with his own actions. It’s the leader’s task to convey the image of an exciting future to others, appealing to shared values and aspirations, thusly enlisting them to share the vision.

One way for an able leader to avoid the potential pitfalls of change is to always be aware of what’s going on around him. A good way of doing that is to listen. A good leader knows that observing and listening to others can provide valuable information. This information can prove crucial when dealing with change. Another way for a skilled leader to avoid the hazards of change is to look for new opportunities and be willing to take risks for the sake of change. In other words, a good leader knows that change is not only inevitable, but necessary for growth and survival, so he looks for change.

Providing Meaning for Employees

Do you believe that a happy employee is a better employee? It’s true – a happy employee is much more likely to be more productive, more dedicated, and more loyal. It’s your responsibility at the leader/manager to understand what makes your employees happy. Considering that the phrase “happy employee” can be interpreted in different ways, so it’s up to you to figure out what’s true for different individuals. How do you do that? Simple – talk to your employees. Even though ideally this conversation should first take place during the person’s job interview, it’s never too late to start talking.

Although there are many components to a person’s happiness, this week’s blog will address the satisfaction brought on by meaning. Humans have an intrinsic need to find meaning – meaning in the world around us, our lives, what we do, and ultimately ourselves. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that people who see their work as meaningful, will be much more fulfilled (and happy) with what they do.

Your task is to first find out what’s meaningful to an employee, and then to help that employee find meaning in what they do. Daunting as this mission may appear, it can be accomplished fairly easily. Once again, open and ongoing communications are a crucial part of our success (this is an ongoing task, not a one shot deal). Each employee must understand the importance of what they do each and every day that they show up for work, and how that fits into the greater picture of the company as a whole. There is a reason for the existence of every single position within your company (or at least there really should be). You have to make sure that your employee knows that reason and is able to understand how he contributes to the overall success of the company. It’s that kind of ongoing contribution that brings meaning to what we do.