Friday, August 05, 2011
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Monday, July 04, 2011
Great places to work are more productive and more profitable than their stock market peers. http://ping.fm/yO6mY
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
New Article: The Spaghetti Management Syndrome
You have permission to use this article in your publication as long as you use the bio tag at the end.
The Spaghetti Management Syndrome
Good Employees Require Good Managers
When an employee quits, many times they don't quit the company -- they quit their manager. I validated this fact in a survey which showed in 46% of the cases the main reason people quit their employer was because of their first-line supervisor; a painful statistic when you consider how difficult and expensive it is to find and train good people. To make matters worse, businesses are stupid to do nothing about it.
In my mind, it is an honor as well as an important responsibility to become a manager. When I use the word, "manager," I am not necessarily referring to a job title, but talking about the "role" of managing people.
A manager's job is not easy. The demands are difficult. Many bosses are doing the jobs of two or more people. Employees expect more; some are plain difficult to work with.
Many businesses do a poor job selecting and training managers. It goes without saying those that do a good job selecting and developing their managers will enjoy higher productivity and lower employee turnover. However, most often the employer is at fault for not giving them the tools, training, and support to succeed.
Spaghetti Management Syndrome
Just because a person shows potential or has a degree does not mean they will be good at managing others. Many are skilled technicians, but unfortunately are clueless on the art and science of managing people.
Some businesses practice what I call "spaghetti management." They pick a bunch of people, promote them to managers, then throw them on a wall like spaghetti, and see what sticks. This is not the fault of the individual manager, but the employer's. Without training and support most new managers will fail. This is one of the main reasons people today run like the plague to avoid becoming supervisors and managers.
Sure, some managers are tyrants and no amount of training is going to change them. But at least good businesses recognize their mistakes and provide additional training, or find the errant manager a job somewhere else.
Good businesses place people skills as a vital part of their performance management system. For example, Synovus Financial has been listed in the "Top 100 Best Places to Work" for several years. They have a commandment that says, "A manager's most important role is to serve, grow, and inspire his or her people—with no exception." This requirement had a positive impact on the bottom line. Not only did their employee turnover rate drop, but also their market capitalization grew from $2.2 billion to $8 billion in four years.
Good Leaders Show They Care
I went into the Army after college to learn how to be a good leader. My first boss was a great mentor and teacher. He was an experienced veteran and a former Special Forces medic in Vietnam. He was the type of person who always put the needs of others before his own interests.
As the lowest ranking member of my battalion, I had to pull duty on the worst day of the year -- New Years Eve. I worked all day and then I was up all night. You can imagine what mischief 500 soldiers can get in. Finally, Saturday morning arrived and I could not wait to go home. The phone rang; it was Joe, my boss. He wanted to know if I had made any plans for lunch. He and his wife had prepared something and he wanted to bring it over to me. Today, I don't remember what the food was, but it was a meal I will never forget.
That one small act of kindness crystallized in my mind what leadership was about -- caring for those you lead. That act taught me more about leadership than all the degrees and diplomas hanging on my wall.
Here are a few suggestions to consider in your management development program:
Establish key competencies your managers should possess and demonstrate.
Have company executives share their expectations with your managers.
Consider using a 360-degree evaluation on top management.
Hold managers accountable and responsible for retention.
Have HR train managers on reward and recognition.
Provide the support and tools to help managers do their job well.
Start measuring turnover and apply the cost to the bottom line.
Conduct post exit interviews to discover the real reason employee's quit.
Complete an individual retention profile on every employee.
Conduct an employee satisfaction survey at least once a year.
Please contact us about our online and onsite management development programs.
Greg Smith's cutting-edge keynotes, consulting, and training programs have helped businesses reduce turnover, increase sales, hire better people, and deliver better customer service. As President of Chart Your Course International he has designed and implemented professional development programs for hundreds of organizations globally. He is a former examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest award for business excellence. He has authored eight informative books including 401 Proven Ways to Retain Your Best Employees. For more information, visit www.chartcourse.com or call (800) 821-2487 or (770) 860-9464.
Gregory P. Smith
President
Chart Your Course International
"We show managers how to create high performance
organizations that attract, keep, and motivate their workforce"
Author of:
401 Proven Ways to Retain Your Best Employees.
www.401ProvenWays.com
Phone: (770) 860-9464
http://www.ChartCourse.com
http://www.HighRetention.com
http://www.BehaviorProfile.com
The Spaghetti Management Syndrome
Good Employees Require Good Managers
When an employee quits, many times they don't quit the company -- they quit their manager. I validated this fact in a survey which showed in 46% of the cases the main reason people quit their employer was because of their first-line supervisor; a painful statistic when you consider how difficult and expensive it is to find and train good people. To make matters worse, businesses are stupid to do nothing about it.
In my mind, it is an honor as well as an important responsibility to become a manager. When I use the word, "manager," I am not necessarily referring to a job title, but talking about the "role" of managing people.
A manager's job is not easy. The demands are difficult. Many bosses are doing the jobs of two or more people. Employees expect more; some are plain difficult to work with.
Many businesses do a poor job selecting and training managers. It goes without saying those that do a good job selecting and developing their managers will enjoy higher productivity and lower employee turnover. However, most often the employer is at fault for not giving them the tools, training, and support to succeed.
Spaghetti Management Syndrome
Just because a person shows potential or has a degree does not mean they will be good at managing others. Many are skilled technicians, but unfortunately are clueless on the art and science of managing people.
Some businesses practice what I call "spaghetti management." They pick a bunch of people, promote them to managers, then throw them on a wall like spaghetti, and see what sticks. This is not the fault of the individual manager, but the employer's. Without training and support most new managers will fail. This is one of the main reasons people today run like the plague to avoid becoming supervisors and managers.
Sure, some managers are tyrants and no amount of training is going to change them. But at least good businesses recognize their mistakes and provide additional training, or find the errant manager a job somewhere else.
Good businesses place people skills as a vital part of their performance management system. For example, Synovus Financial has been listed in the "Top 100 Best Places to Work" for several years. They have a commandment that says, "A manager's most important role is to serve, grow, and inspire his or her people—with no exception." This requirement had a positive impact on the bottom line. Not only did their employee turnover rate drop, but also their market capitalization grew from $2.2 billion to $8 billion in four years.
Good Leaders Show They Care
I went into the Army after college to learn how to be a good leader. My first boss was a great mentor and teacher. He was an experienced veteran and a former Special Forces medic in Vietnam. He was the type of person who always put the needs of others before his own interests.
As the lowest ranking member of my battalion, I had to pull duty on the worst day of the year -- New Years Eve. I worked all day and then I was up all night. You can imagine what mischief 500 soldiers can get in. Finally, Saturday morning arrived and I could not wait to go home. The phone rang; it was Joe, my boss. He wanted to know if I had made any plans for lunch. He and his wife had prepared something and he wanted to bring it over to me. Today, I don't remember what the food was, but it was a meal I will never forget.
That one small act of kindness crystallized in my mind what leadership was about -- caring for those you lead. That act taught me more about leadership than all the degrees and diplomas hanging on my wall.
Here are a few suggestions to consider in your management development program:
Establish key competencies your managers should possess and demonstrate.
Have company executives share their expectations with your managers.
Consider using a 360-degree evaluation on top management.
Hold managers accountable and responsible for retention.
Have HR train managers on reward and recognition.
Provide the support and tools to help managers do their job well.
Start measuring turnover and apply the cost to the bottom line.
Conduct post exit interviews to discover the real reason employee's quit.
Complete an individual retention profile on every employee.
Conduct an employee satisfaction survey at least once a year.
Please contact us about our online and onsite management development programs.
Greg Smith's cutting-edge keynotes, consulting, and training programs have helped businesses reduce turnover, increase sales, hire better people, and deliver better customer service. As President of Chart Your Course International he has designed and implemented professional development programs for hundreds of organizations globally. He is a former examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest award for business excellence. He has authored eight informative books including 401 Proven Ways to Retain Your Best Employees. For more information, visit www.chartcourse.com or call (800) 821-2487 or (770) 860-9464.
Gregory P. Smith
President
Chart Your Course International
"We show managers how to create high performance
organizations that attract, keep, and motivate their workforce"
Author of:
401 Proven Ways to Retain Your Best Employees.
www.401ProvenWays.com
Phone: (770) 860-9464
http://www.ChartCourse.com
http://www.HighRetention.com
http://www.BehaviorProfile.com
Monday, July 30, 2007
New article: Managing personality conflicts
MANAGING PERSONALITY CONFLICTS AND NEGATIVE ATTITUDES IN THE WORKPLACE
Gregory P. Smith
What is a negative employee? They are people with poisonous attitudes and behavior patterns who negatively influence the people around them. Negative workers come is various shapes and sizes. Sometimes they spread rumors, gossip about coworkers, or bad mouth their superiors to their faces and behind their backs. Basically, they are unhappy people who resist the positive efforts of others.
Managers often hesitate to terminate them if they are productive or have special skills/experience. Sometimes managers do not understand the amount of stress a negative employee creates. It may be hard to accept a negative employee who did a good job did so at the expense of the productivity of others. Yet, ignoring or tolerating the problems and atmosphere they create can easily and quickly result in dissatisfaction among other employees.
What can a supervisor/manager do when faced with this unpleasant dilemma?
First, analyze the situation. How much does the person contribute to the overall success of the office/department/business? How much do they contribute to creating personality conflicts with other employees? How does that unhappiness translate into reduced productivity and enthusiasm? How much of your time as a manager are you using to control the situation? What are the legal ramifications (if any) of discharging the employee?
Second, plan a course of action. If you decide to try to salvage the employee, consider these tips:
Discuss the situation with the employee. They will probably profess ignorance of any problems, acknowledge the situation but blame the problems on others, or become defiant and try to play mind games with you. The employee may also voice his or her own complaints.
Evaluate the employee�s position. Even a person with a negative attitude can have a legitimate complaint. Evaluate not only the employee�s response to your remarks but whether the employee has legitimate concerns you need to consider. If the complaint is the basis of the person�s negative attitude/behavior, resolving it should result in a more positive situation. Often, however, the complaint is either a smoke screen for the employee�s behavior or has resulted from the person�s own negativity.
Focus on a behavior you want changed, not an attitude. Accept the reality you may not be able to remake the person into an ideal employee, even if you are a great manager. However, you can specify an action or goal for the employee, and then follow through on the employee�s progress. Once you see improvement, focus on another area. Always, of course, acknowledge the employee�s efforts.
Use personality profiles and assessments. Many times, personality conflicts are the result of misunderstandings that build up over time. Each individual has a different personality style and frequently, different personality styles clash with others. A team building session can help co-workers understand and appreciate each other in a new way. Packaged along with a personality profile or an individual behavior assessment, it can be a powerful tool in reducing conflict and improving communication between workers.
Consider assignments that will isolate the person from other employees and limit contact. Most work situations require cooperation and teamwork that make this technique unworkable, but it may be feasible in some cases. You may even encounter an employee who prefers isolation and is less negative when working alone. Unfortunately, negative employees often seek out fellow workers--either to complain about their job/boss/life in general, or to blame other employees as the source of their unhappiness.
Set a limit and stick with it. Managers have adopted the �three strikes and you�re out� rule. Make the employee aware of the limits, tell them when they �strike� and remind them when they have only one �strike� left.
Third, terminate the employee. If all else fails and the negative employee ignores your warnings and refuses to cooperate, it is time to consider termination. Once you decide this is the proper course, take action. Otherwise, you risk losing the respect and confidence from your employees. Before termination, discuss the situation with a human resource professional and seek legal counsel accordingly.
Free by E-mail: If you would like a free subscription to our newsletter, please E-mail us the word �Navigator� to navigator@chartcourse.com.
Greg Smith helps create high performance organizations that attract, keep, and motivate their workforce. He speaks at conferences and conducts training programs worldwide. He has helped business owners reduce employee turnover, increase sales, and deliver better customer service. He is also the author of eight books including 401 Proven Ways to Retain Your Best Employees. For more information, visit http://www.chartcourse.com or call (800) 821-2487 or (770) 860-9464.
Gregory P. Smith
President
Chart Your Course International
"We show managers how to create high performance
organizations that attract, keep, and motivate their workforce"
Author of:
401 Proven Ways to Retain Your Best Employees.
www.401ProvenWays.com
Phone: (770) 860-9464
http://www.ChartCourse.com
http://www.HighRetention.com
http://www.BehaviorProfile.com
Friday, June 15, 2007
Retain Employees
Employee Retention Tips Designed to Reduce Employee Turnover
Employee Retention Tips Designed to Reduce Employee Turnover
Keep Your Promise List
Employees often gripe that companies do not keep their promises. For
example, who has been promised a promotion, education, or a new
assignment? Keep a list of these promises and make sure they are
fulfilled or at the very least keep the person posted on their status.
Get Out of Work Free Card
A Perkins franchise in Minneapolis stages contests for servers and
kitchen crew and provides them a get-out-of-work-free card. The
restaurant employee chooses any manager they want to work one of their
scheduled shifts. It is done in a good-natured, fun way. The results
generated build better camaraderie and help managers understand the
challenges of each position through this unique "Walk a Mile in My Shoes"
incentive.
Excerpted from "401 Proven Ways to Retain Your Best Employees"
http://www.401ProvenWays.com
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