Make Yours The Greenest Pasture – Retaining Your Top Talent

Employee turnover can cost companies up to 40% of their annual profit. The financial impact of losing a significant number of high performing and high potential employees can be exponentially higher.

Furthermore, these top notch employees are the ones who are being contacted daily by executive recruiters. Are they ready to bolt? Consider these recent survey findings from Salary.com:

Over 66% of employees surveyed said they plan to look for a new job in the next three months; nearly double the 36% that employers believe are looking.
More importantly, employers are at risk of losing their most productive talent – people who have been in their positions for 3-10 years. Nearly 66% of tenured employees plan to find new jobs over the next 3 months.

This could have tremendous hard and soft cost implications for employers. HR professionals estimate that the hard costs to replace an employee ranges between 33% and 50% of their base salary, in addition to soft costs such as the loss of productivity and institutional knowledge, as well as new hire recruiting and training expenses.

How do you stem the flow of your top talent from leaving the organisation? While one can never reduce the flow completely, there are five clear steps that can be taken to ensure that people aren’t attracted to what appear to be greener pastures elsewhere, and you are prepared to address the eventuality that everyone will not stay forever. These five steps are:

• Know who your top talent is and where they are located – Too many organisations only begin to recognise how valuable their talent was when those employees have decided to leave the organisation. Work is not getting done as quickly, effectively, or creatively. How can this be prevented? An effective performance management system should identify and differentiate top, acceptable, and marginal performers. This requires that:
  • Clear, challenging performance standards demonstrate how each employee adds value and contributes to the overall business objectives.
  • Clear, challenging performance standards demonstrate how each employee adds value and contributes to the overall business objectives.
  • A meaningful performance rating scale differentiates talent. Often, a 3-point scale to assess the extent to which goals/results were met coupled with a 3-point scale to assess the extent to which competencies were applied will suffice.
  • Managers calibrate their ratings to ensure they are using the rating scales consistently.
  • Communication and education are provided to enable managers to have performance-based conversations.
• Communicate with your top talent – do they know they are valued? – Special attention should be given to those identified as top performers by the performance management system. In order to continue to reap the value that these employees provide, managers should take time to have sincere dialogue with them throughout the year, ensuring that managers do the following:
  • Recognise their efforts and accomplishments
  • Explain how their contributions add value to the business, and to other leaders
  • Ask what additional help and resources they may need
  • Pay attention to any indicators that may suggest that their interest is waning, and address it promptly
• What is the Employee Value Proposition for high performers/potentials? – Several organisations conduct periodic employee engagement surveys. This data is often analysed in terms of various demographic criteria (e.g., geographic location, functional area, etc.). In order to keep the data anonymous, it is rarely analysed in terms of high performers/potentials. However, we need to measure the attitudinal pulse of this group. It is important not to fall into a “one size fits all” trap; instead, get a good handle on the needs and desires of this employee population as well as regularly monitor their levels of engagement. Some suggestions on identifying the Employee Value Proposition for this community include:
  • Convene focus groups with this targeted group of employees and determine their key drivers (what does the organisation offer to them that they value) as well as what organisational barriers get in the way of them feeling completely engaged.
  • Consider establishing task forces to explore these barriers in greater detail and determine how they can be minimised or eliminated. Involvement of high potentials in these task forces can be a great way to help them have additional organisational impact and be a part of the solution.
  • Use the outputs from this process to develop and communicate a unique “employee brand” that can be used in recruiting other top performers to your organisation.
• Ensure they are receiving rewards that are meaningful to them –  None of us would likely turn away more money. However, a total rewards program considers not just monetary rewards, but also non-monetary rewards that are valuable to many. Consider the following list as you explore how to build engagement with all top performers, and ensure you are effectively communicating the rewards that people have at their disposal. Employees often do not realise the true market value of the benefits they receive – distributing a customised Employee Benefit Sheet providing the market value of salary, benefits (e.g, employer retirement contributions, employer contributions to health care, sick time, vacation time, etc.) to show the “total rewards package” is very meaningful and can make someone think twice before they jump ship.
  • Monetary rewards:
  • Base pay
  • Benefits (retirement, healthcare, paid time off, etc.)
  • Annual incentives/variable compensation and cash recognition
  • Long-term incentives (pension, stock options, increased paid time off, etc.)
  • Non-monetary rewards:
  • Growth and career development
  • Non-monetary recognition and visibility
  • Training
  • Work environment (e.g., telecommuting options, flextime, collaboration with others, etc.)
• Develop a Workforce Plan – Realistically, we cannot hold on to our best performers forever. Some attrition is expected, especially as employees near retirement age. It is important to analyse your demographic data for your most critical roles in order to identify and prepare talent for future roles, as well as ensure that a great deal of your institutional knowledge does not leave the organisation as people retire. Consider the following as you develop a workforce plan and determine your future recruitment and development needs:
  • Current numbers of employees
  • Projected growth rate for the organisation
  • Expected turnover rate
  • New entrant turnover rate
  • Retirement rate (based on age distribution of workforce)

If you are able to hold on to your better performers longer, and ensure that a plan is in place to replace them when they do leave, the bottom-line savings are dramatic.

Consider an organisation that loses 20 high performers/high potentials per year, with an average salary of $50,000 per hire. Assuming the organisation stays the same size over five years (no growth), and the recruitment and lost productivity cost of replacing this talent is at least 50% of their salary, this turnover costs the organisation $2.5 million over that five year period.

Reducing this turnover by 20% per year (four top performers decide to stay each year) produces a very conservative savings of at least $500,000, and undoubtedly more when one considers the impact that high performers leaving an organisation has on the morale of those who are left behind. If your projected growth rate is greater than 0% or your high performers earn more than $50,000 per year, the savings are even more dramatic.

Author Credits

Scott Cohen, Capital H Group. Capital H Group is a consulting firm that takes a value-based approach to helping companies manage, and invest in, their human capital. Partnering with our clients, we focus on creating value through their people. For further information, visit web site: http://www.capitalHgroup.com

Republished from IIDM – your online business resource – www.iidmglobal.com. Get valuable business tips and easy-to-read articles delivered direct to your inbox. Register NOW for your copy of IIDM’s FREE e-newsletter: http://www.iidmglobal.com/subscribe/

How To Motivate Unmotivated People

All it takes is an understanding of the appropriate steps to take and a willingness to do them. This article contains the steps. The willingness is up to you.

If you walk around a Walt Disney World resort or theme park, you are likely to witness something that in most other settings would seem bizarre. Not the presence of a large animated character, although you may witness that also. Rather, at any given moment, a person in dress clothes will be walking from one destination to another and will stop, pick up a piece of paper, a cup, or other piece of trash someone dropped, and throw it in a trash can. Executives do it, front line managers do it, hourly employees do it, everybody does it.

There is no special monetary compensation for this behavior. No point system exists where $5 bonuses are given out for every fifteen pieces of trash that someone picks up. There is also no special monitoring system in place which watches for people who don’t do it and then issues penalty points or demerits. Yet, people are motivated to do it anyway.

Now picking up trash may not be your top concern, but are there other things in your department, division, or company that you would like your employees to do? Are you looking for ways to motivate your people?

The answer is not pixie dust or magic. The key is being very good at employing five essential motivation steps.

To some leaders these steps can seem intimidating. First time managers in particular, who were promoted because of their individual skills are often uncomfortable with these ideas. Many times they feel people should just do what needs to be done “because that is what they get paid for”. Or they believe the only way to motivate people is to give them more money.

Successful motivators don’t think that way. They know that by following the five steps, people can be motivated far beyond what they get paid for, and far more effectively than when money is the only incentive.

Step #1 – Clearly articulate what needs to be accomplished and why

Often the problem with getting people to accomplish things is not that they are unmotivated, it is that they are uninformed. Leaders discuss goals with their peers and superiors on a regular basis and are therefore intimately familiar with them. Because of this familiarity, they mistakenly assume all of their employees also know them. Usually this is not the case.

Take time to explain to all of your employees exactly what needs to be accomplished and the reasons why. Don’t forget the “why?” Knowing that enables people to make educated choices in their day to day decisions. For example, the output from a team at a market research company whose goal is to launch three new products, will vary greatly, depending on if they know that the “why?” is because the company is losing market share to competitors with products that can be downloaded from the Internet.

Goals should always include specific numeric objectives and timelines. A goal of “Improve Customer Service” is nebulous and people won’t know how they are doing in their efforts to achieve it. However, “Decrease customer wait times to 10 seconds by June 1st” is something people can visualise and work towards.

Step #2 – Involve people in finding the solutions

People are more motivated to succeed at something if they personally choose to attempt it. Therefore, managers should involve their people in choosing the goals the group needs to accomplish. If this is not possible, then involving people in the creation of how to achieve the goals is the next best thing. Their involvement will generate buy-in and also opens up the opportunity for an optimal solution.

Successful coaches use this technique on a regular basis. While it is true they watch hours and hours of game films looking for weaknesses in their own team as well as their competitors, they also involve their players in finding the best way to win. They do it because no matter how much film they watch, or how close they are to the game, they aren’t in the game. The perspectives of players or employees who are in the midst of the action can be drastically different from a coach or a manager who is near the action.

If those perspectives aren’t incorporated into the solution, two things will happen. First, those in the midst of the action will feel that no-one is listening to them, and they will become unmotivated. Second, decisions will be made without incorporating all the relevant data. Both of these will negatively impact progress toward the goals.

Step #3 – Explain the rules of the game

Have you ever played a new sport or game against people who are experienced players? In the early stages of learning how to play, every few minutes you do something which you think is correct only to be told that it is illegal, or against the rules. It can be exceptionally frustrating.

This scenario often plays out in the workplace. Employees are given a task, but are not told all the parameters or rules. Weeks into a project they present their work to someone, only to be informed that they need to change direction because of something they were never told about.

This is particularly demoralising and should be avoided at all costs. People can find solutions to almost any problem, but they need to know the rules of the game.

Step #4 – Link people’s personal goals with the organisations goals

There is a reason that each employee goes to work. Successful motivators know what that reason is for every person who works for them. Each day they help their employees fulfill those reasons. Really successful motivators understand not only the reason, but how the reason ties into the person’s bigger life goals. When necessary, they help their people think about and articulate those bigger life goals. When a person no longer thinks “I work so that I can make money,” and instead thinks “I work so that I can enable my daughter to attend a school that will give her a chance to go do what she wants in life,” there is a significant mental and motivational shift that occurs.

Understanding that someone comes to work because they thrive on personal interaction, are trying to gain experience so they can run their own corner deli, or whatever is their personal goal, enables a manager to talk in that person’s language. It also enables the manager to assign responsibilities in that person’s area of interest, and remind them how what they are doing is tied to their bigger goals.

Managers who enable people to fulfill their life goals through work never have to worry about how to motivate their people. The act of fulfilling their life goals is enough to keep them motivated. All the manager has to do is find the links between those goals, and the organisation’s needs, and match the two up.

Step #5 – Move negative people off the team

Nothing can halt progress like someone who is discontent simply for the sake of being discontent. It is demoralising to others and it draws energy and time from the tasks being attempted. That doesn’t mean you don’t want good “counter-point” people on your team. Someone who says “Look, I know what we are all trying to do, and I think there is a better way,” can be a valuable resource to help make sure the team is on the right track. However, someone who just regularly says “We’ll never get there,” will just hold everyone back. Move them off the team, and bring in someone who will assist and support the group’s efforts.

Whether you are trying to motivate people to help create a clean environment for guests, or something more pertinent to your organisation, remember that anyone can be a great motivator. Now that you know the steps, all you need is the willingness.

Guest Author

John P. Strelecky is the international best selling author of ‘The Why Café’ and a highly sought after inspirational speaker on; ‘How to Achieve Maximum Success with Minimal Effort.’ His CD series of the same name has received rave reviews from listeners. A graduate of Northwestern University’s MBA program, John has served as a business strategist for numerous Fortune 500 companies. Through his book, CDs, articles, and appearances on television and radio, he has positively impacted the lives of millions of people. John can be reached through his website at http://www.whycafe.com, or by calling 407-342-4181.

Republished from CEO Online – your online business resource – www.ceoonline.com. Get valuable business tips and easy-to-read articles delivered direct to your inbox. Register NOW for your copy of CEO Online’s FREE e-newsletter: http://www.ceoonline.com/subscribe/

Bye, Bye Boomers: Planning For The Inevitable

Your leaders are leaving soon and you may have gaps within the ranks, both in qualified people and the necessary competencies. While this is potentially alarming information, now is not the time to panic.

Many companies have been stripping out layers of management to gain operating and cost efficiencies. But in the process of paring down, these ‘lean’ organisations cut out many developmental opportunities for next-generation leaders. So there are fewer and fewer candidates ready to step into crucial management roles as older managers retire.

Replacing capable and seasoned employees, while developing a new cadre of managers, certainly takes considerable time and investment. It is time to focus efforts on creating a leadership development strategy to meet this challenge, and then rigorously execute this strategy to maintain – and drive – business both during and after this flux.

The key is to get ahead of other companies by taking action now, with six critical steps designed to competitively position your organisation during and after this dramatic workforce transition:

1. Map the exiting skills and expertise – Determine who is retirement-eligible and when retirement is likely. Have frank discussions with your senior management team on their future plans and determine if they have made any efforts regarding succession planning. Know what skills the company will lose and what functions, locations and roles will be impacted the most.
2. Accelerate knowledge transfer – Start with a preliminary meeting with potential retirees to understand the gap between the knowledge only known by the individual(s) versus that which is documented as part of your company’s process or knowledge management.Once you have a general sense of the information that needs to be captured, you can then decide how to do it. If you use a technology system, be sure to think through how the successor will employ it, in order to balance a system with a lot of “bells and whistles” with a practical one.Also, keep in mind how the knowledge transfer process might change for different positions, and whether a third party will do the gathering or if it will be left to the retiree. The higher the impact of the retirement on the organisation, the more tailored this process needs to be in order to capture all relevant information.

   The process may need to involve speaking with direct reports and job shadowing, particularly for senior management. For departments where there will be a larger number of retirements, a process can be designed for department heads to distribute knowledge transfer plans in a more time efficient manner.

3. Assess talent supply and demand – both internally and externally – Once you have identified the impending skill gaps, the next obvious step is to fill them. First look internally, and use the information you have gathered from retirees and other managers to determine whether the skill sets exist within your organisation. The goal is to identify successors.Where no successors exist, look externally to see if the type of skill you need is available in the market. If talent is available, begin building a pipeline. If it looks like a tough market, use a three-pronged approach: build a pipeline, keep looking internally for potential successors and work to retain Boomers past retirement.

4. Accelerate development – Now that you have identified the successors, they need to start moving towards the goal of stepping into the retiree’s position. This will require creating a plan that develops the required skills within the necessary time frame.This is often a difficult process to balance that only gets tougher the longer companies wait to prepare for retiring Boomers. The plans ideally should include on-the-job activities, formal training and knowledge building.
5. Maintain focus – The first four steps require a methodological approach that is best carried out by one project management office or one team leader depending on company size. Nominate a person or group to centrally coordinate and lead workforce planning. Ensure that the leader(s) also keeps an eye on your employee brand in terms of how retirees are treated as they exit and how the company is portrayed to external candidates during this crunch process.

6. Learn from others – Now that you are aware of your problem areas, keep an eye out for ideas. Consider ways to retain Baby Boomers past their retirement date with alternative arrangements such as part-time retirement.

Many companies have already addressed the Baby Boomer issue. While this is further reason to get started if you have yet to begin, there is also the chance to learn from others who have gone down this path.

Guest Author

Norman Schippers, Capital H Group. Capital H Group is a consulting firm that takes a value-based approach to helping companies manage, and invest in, their human capital. Partnering with our clients, we focus on creating value through their people. For further information, visit web site: http://www.capitalHgroup.com

Republished from CEO Online – your online business resource – www.ceoonline.com. Get valuable business tips and easy-to-read articles delivered direct to your inbox. Register NOW for your copy of CEO Online’s FREE e-newsletter: http://www.ceoonline.com/subscribe/

How To Avoid Sending Mixed Messages

As leaders, we know to be sensitive about mixing our messages. When our staff receive mixed messages, the negative emotion naturally dominates, and becomes – in the minds of our staff – associated with the memory of the event. Discover how to avoid sending mixed signals to communicate more effectively.

We humans make sense of our world by classifying our experiences, conversations and other people. Our classifications are binary in nature; they are an either/or category. The most common is good or bad. Other common classifications are them and us, like me or not like me, happy or sad. We make our classifying decisions based on the emotion we experience – our feelings – at that moment.

Confusing or mixing messages occurs when the receiver of the message thought that the message was going one way (“good”) but it turns out that it was going down the other way (“bad”) or vice versa. Emotions are conflicted.

Examples of mixed messages

By allowing your emotional detectors to guide you, you’ll become more aware of any mixing of your own messages, and can also learn by observing others. Here are some common examples:

1. A CEO is hosting an end-of-year celebration event to thank the staff for a successful year. In his speech the CEO thanks the troops and then can’t help himself – he preaches that “we need to maintain our focus in the year ahead to maintain sales”.

   Mixed message received

   The message is now mixed and the staff wonder if it was really a “thank you” event or a “kick off” event for next year. It alters their feelings associated with the event.

2. A manager calls one of their staff who works in another location. The manager’s intention when calling was just to say hello and to check if the person needs anything (a good thing to do). During the call however, the manager remembers a task that they need to talk to the person about. They raise the task.

   Mixed message received

   Suddenly the receiver who had categorised the call as a “nice check-in” thinks, “Oh, my boss really wanted to get me to do something”.

3. A manager calls a candidate for a job to let them know that they have been unsuccessful. Rather than just let the person know they were unsuccessful and explain why, the manager gushes about what a good candidate they were and how well they interviewed.

   Mixed message received

   The person categorises the call as “insincere”, given that they missed out on the job.

4. A manager recently appointed to the leadership role meets with their new direct reports in individual meetings (a good thing). But the manager confuses the purpose of the meeting by not making it just a get-to-know-you meeting, by also raising their performance expectations.

   Mixed message received

   The staff member, who thought that it was an introductory meeting suddenly feels like they’re put on the spot.

5. A manager gives a staff member negative feedback, but confuses the message by starting with praise (as per the unhelpful “feedback sandwich” approach).

   Mixed message received

   The receiver initially thought they were being acknowledged for their good work, to suddenly find the big BUT shifting the conversation to what they are doing wrong.

Mixing emotions

When we mix our messages, we are confusing the emotional response – the feelings – we trigger in the receiver. In the first part of our message we are leading the person down the path of either good or bad, for example, and then we confuse the message – the person’s emotional detectors – by diverting them down the other path.

Given our hardwired instinct for loss aversion, when we mix our messages, the negative one dominates. The negative emotion becomes the memory of the event.

Tips for leaders

The remedy to avoid mixing messages is simple – stick to one emotion associated with each event. When there are two objectives to cover, it becomes necessary to separate the events, so that the emotions attached to each don’t mix.

Using the examples above:

1. The CEO who is driven by anxieties about next year’s results should celebrate this year’s results and find another occasion to talk about the new year.
2. The manager who is calling for the purpose of checking-in, and who suddenly remembers a task item, should generally leave the task for another call, perhaps the next day.
3. Calling an unsuccessful candidate means letting them know they have been unsuccessful – without the sugar coating that will likely be received as insincere.
4. The manager who is meeting people for the first time should decide if the purpose of this meeting is to be a relaxed and “positive” one and leave the performance target discussion to a second meeting. It doesn’t all have to be covered the first time.
5. Giving negative feedback means covering the topic and generally leaving any praise for another time.

Our guide is the receiver’s emotional detector. If our message is intended to be “positive”, then make that the message and don’t confuse the issue by mixing with a “negative” one. Leaders should avoid trying to squeeze too much into any one interaction, and thereby will achieve greater clarity in their communications with staff.

Guest Author:

Andrew O’Keeffe, Hardwired Humans. Hardwired Humans assists business leaders design and implement people strategies based on human instincts. Through understanding human instincts leaders can predict what will work and can avoid the predictable mistakes if instincts are ignored.

Republished from CEO Online – your online business resource – www.ceoonline.com. Get valuable business tips and easy-to-read articles delivered direct to your inbox. Register NOW for your copy of CEO Online’s FREE e-newsletter: http://www.ceoonline.com/subscribe/

Giving Engaging Feedback

People are reluctant to give each other feedback in the workplace. On the one hand, some people hold back on giving constructive feedback as they worry about how the other person will respond. But on the other hand, inaction leaves staff performance problems going unaddressed and building over time.

Even when constructive feedback is given, it is not always done well. People are not giving enough positive feedback either – due to either not appreciating the importance of recognition or getting stuck in unnecessary paperwork.

Here are five keys you can use to get a better result from any staff feedback you give.

1. Feedback is always better received from those with whom we have a good relationship. So get to really know your co-workers and manager and let them get to know you. Chat with them, tease them, laugh with them, and be human. You are effectively placing deposits in the emotional bank account of that relationship which increases the likelihood of your feedback being well-received.
2. Feedback also needs to be occurring regularly, not just out-of-the blue. A yearly performance review is nowhere near good enough. Touch base with your workmates at least on a weekly basis, letting them know what you are happy about. Some staff with a strong need for connection or recognition need feedback even more frequently. When you are giving positive feedback, you have to mean what you say, of course. If people sense you are not being genuine they will simply feel patronized. Positive feedback also has to be specific and targeted towards those things the individual values about themselves. Positive feedback that is specific and meaningful to the person is always better received.
3. Constructive feedback is always easier to give when it is asked for. But you will find constructive comments are better received when they are outweighed by five times more positive feedback. This does not mean that when you give feedback there needs to be five compliments followed by one criticism.
4. Of course, constructive feedback needs to be given in ways seen as respectfulby the person receiving it. So although your intentions may be respectful, it is important to monitor how your feedback is being received and to adjust yourself for the individual. For most people, simply sounding respectful and speaking to them privately will be sufficient. For the sensitive types, you can allow them to save face by criticising yourself first – perhaps you weren’t clear in what you were expecting from them. If you are going to criticise, keep this to their behaviour and not them as a person. You can soften the blow by using the ‘kiss, kick, kiss’ approach, where you start and finish on a positive note.You can also say what you would prefer to see rather than what you dislike. There is a difference between saying, ‘You’re a self-centred, control-freak!’ and saying, ‘I really would like to have more say in how I do things.’ But you are allowed to think the former.
5. Feedback is also better received if you are open to feedback yourself. Sometimes feedback will be uninvited, given poorly, and you may be feeling defensive. But remind yourself that it is only feedback. You won’t die from it and it is good that any frustrations are coming out. Apologise and agree where you can before offering something for the future. For example, ‘I’m sorry if I came across that way. And I agree you do need to have some say in how you do your work. How would you like to do your work differently?’

If you are in management, make it easy for others to give you feedback. Staff surveys are one option, but you can also do so by routinely asking, ‘What can I do to better support you in your role?’ You can also let them know you know you are not perfect and will be OK if they give you constructive comments. You could say,‘I know I have been caught up in my paperwork and haven’t touched base with you much of late. What do you need from me so you can feel better about your work?’

So, that’s it. You can give engaging feedback by:

• Having a good relationship with that person
• Being frequent, genuine, and specific with your feedback
• Giving five times more positive feedback than constructive feedback overall
• Monitoring how the other person is responding and adjusting your approach
• Being open to feedback yourself

Guest Author:

Ken Warren is Australia’s leading speaker on Dealing with Demanding, Aggressive and Unmotivated People. With his engaging, interactive and positive approach, Ken has shown thousands how to turn difficult people around and bring out their best.

Republished from CEO Online – your online business resource – www.ceoonline.com. Get valuable business tips and easy-to-read articles delivered direct to your inbox every week. Register NOW for your copy of CEO Online’s FREE e-newsletter: http://www.ceoonline.com.au/subscribe/

Five Factors That Disconnect Your Team

Dealing with these will improve synergy and stability within your company, freeing up your staff’s energy to move the business ahead.

“What’s wrong with my team? Why don’t they co-operate more? Where’s their team spirit? Why do they seem surly so much of the time? Why don’t they speak up at staff meetings? Why do we have such a high turnover of staff? Why do people seem to operate in their own little world and not care about the ‘Big Picture’?”

Often we fail to get the best from our staff simply because we haven’t yet made ways for each member of the team to actually live in a healthy relational connection with the rest of the team. In fact the word team is a misnomer for many workplaces which are staffing a bunch of individuals doing their own thing in ways that merely keep them employed.

Is your workplace a place where people compete for resources rather than collaborating toward outcomes? Where self-protective behaviour prevents innovation and synergy?

While your staff can quote the mission statement, do their daily activities actually seem to work against it?

If you’ve answered YES to any of these questions, perhaps some of the following disconnecting factors are affecting your team.

1. Napoleonic wars 

   There are some individuals who – while occupying “small” positions in context with the wider organisation – pursue their own grandiose dreams with a super-sized passion. Effectively they wage a war of attrition on your resources, your time, the morale of the team, even your relationship with your customers. At the very least, they annoy and distract some of your most talented and loyal people.At the same time, there is an upside to this Napoleonic lust for conquest and expansion. You may have in your midst some true mover and shakers, pioneering go-getters. If treated correctly, these people can be an asset rather than a pain in the assets – a force for the up-turn rather than the stagnation of your business.Rather than blocking and crushing them, negotiate with them to find the way in which their “vision” can serve your vision. Debrief and rebrief them regularly. Make them go through management to access resources so that they don’t play people off against each other. Keep them on a tight (not necessarily short) leash through clear direction and consistent accountability. Empower them fully to the limit that you set. Remind them constantly of their place in the team.

2. No relational space
   
   When there are no rhythms that place us across the lunch-table or pool-table from each other, then misunderstandings and offences can take root and fester far more easily. When there are no shared spaces where team-mates can laugh, debate and commiserate, workplace relations can be colourless and superficial. You don’t need to program relationships; it’s our default setting. We just need the opportunity.Make a physical space which invites your team to chat, to spend time together without a productivity-focus. Create traditions where your team can “break bread”. Give your staff the chance to do life together, to ask “What’s up?” or “Have I done something to offend you?”, to dig through their differences and find common ground.
3. Faddish cycles of change
   
   Personality profiling tells us that up to 70% of the general population actually dislike and resist change. If that’s true, then when you are initiating change in the workplace, you better make sure it’s worth the hard work of helping these people adopt it.If your workplace has a proven track-record of adopting the latest business or marketing idea, it’s possible it also has a track-record of alienating over half its staffers in the process. While this might contribute to those staffers banding together to form passive-aggressive resistance movements, I think you’d agree that’s not the kind of teamworkyou’re looking for. You now have a disconnect between management and staff.Long-term team-members watch the fashionable initiatives come and go, slowly losing their passion and commitment, finding their own ruts to stay in, regardless of what the latest memo says. Change for change’s sake can be easily justified with flashy charts and jingoistic phrases, but its nature is unhealthy and unhelpful.When considering any major change to the organisation’s environment, methodology or other systems, think long and hard about old adages like “If it ain’t broke…” and “reinventing the wheel”!
4. Fear
   
   Nothing causes people to hunker down and keep to themselves like this “f”-word!Where staffers seem reticent to share their thoughts, where they avoid contact with management, where they lash out in completely irrational ways – these may be indications that these people are scared.Spend some time discerning what could be causing the fear. Is there an air of uncertainty in the air? Are disciplinary issues dealt with harshly?I love the story I heard about an Australian CEO and one of his new admin staff. When it turned out the young lady had made an enormous error in regards to printing promotional material – an error which would cost the organisation over $16000 – she reported it to the senior manager.

   She ended her confession with: “I suppose that’s the end for me?” The CEO replied “Why would I sack you? I’ve just spent $16000 training you.” While she was left in no doubt as to the seriousness of her mistake, the grace that was shown this young woman resulted in her fast-paced professional development and deep loyalty toward her employer.

   It also worked wonders for the morale of other team members.

   What can you do about anxiety and uncertainty in your company?

5. The Talk Monopoly
   
   Who holds the floor in the staff meeting? Can you pick the small group of individuals who do most of the talking, who freeze out others’ contributions opinions and ideas?Try finding ways to acknowledge the monopolisers while giving other team members equal time. (“Ralph, thanks for that perspective. I’m really interested in what Betty sees as the issue here.”)Remember that some people won’t speak without being asked, yet they could hold the very idea your group needs. Others need help focussing their thoughts so you will have to ask them a specific question to elicit a response (“Graham, what would you do in my position?” rather than “Graham, what do you think?”).

Guest Author:

Peter Aldin is founder of Great Circle Life Coaching. In a complex world, instinct and habit often drive us off course rather than steering us toward success and satisfaction. Great Circle is about re-learning and re-thinking our approach to family and business dynamics and relationships.

Republished from CEO Online – your online business resource – www.ceoonline.com. Get valuable business tips and easy-to-read articles delivered FREE to your email inbox every week. REGISTER NOW for your copy of CEO Online’s FREE e-newsletter: http://www.ceoonline.com.au/subscribe/

Managing Remote Employees

Remote working is undoubtedly the way of the future. But just because they’re out of sight doesn’t mean they should be out of mind. Don’t leave them stranded.

Remote employees are those who work from home, or on a different floor, a different site, or even from a car.

Managing employees who work remotely is just like having them stranded on a desert island. Instead of being separated from civilisation, they’re separated from head office. So what people do to survive on a desert island are the same things remote employees need to perform and be engaged.

• Review resources

  Top of the list for desert islanders is to take stock of what they’ve got, such as radios and maps. Resources are top of the list for your remote employees, too. Make sure they’ve got easy access to manuals, stationery, and people.

• Start a fire

  Desert islanders use fire to cook food and stay warm. The equivalent of fire for remote employees is technology. Having fast and reliable computer systems, email servers, and phone services are paramount for remote working to be successful.

• Build shelter

  Desert islanders need to build a safe place to sleep. Your remote employees need a similar safe place to work. Make sure that their workspaces are ergonomic, conducive to high productivity, and have safety protocols in place.

• Find food and water

  A primary goal for a desert islander is to find food and water – the basic necessities for survival. The basic necessity for remote employees is feedback. Hold coaching sessions which focus on results. You’re not there to monitor how and when they work, so your expectations need to be explicit, objective, and clearly understood.

• Make contact

  People stranded on a desert island use mirrors, radios, and flares to desperately make contact with rescuers. Communication really needs to be ramped up when you’ve got remote employees. Make the most of tools like the telephone, instant online messaging, and video conferencing to stay in touch.

• Become acquainted

  Eventually if no help arrives, desert islanders need to become friends with their fellow animals – as must your remote employees with their peers. Hold frequent team meetings, maximise interaction between your remote employees and their colleagues, and encourage them to visit the office occasionally. Nothing beats face-to-face.

Guest Author:

James Adonis is Australia’s leading expert on employee engagement. He shows companies how to reduce staff turnover, engage Gen Y, and win the war for talent. For more information and free e-books, visit http://www.jamesadonis.com, phone +61 2 9331 2465, or email james@jamesadonis.com.

 

Republished from CEO Online – your online business resource – www.ceoonline.com.  Get valuable business tips and easy-to-read articles delivered FREE to your email inbox every week. REGISTER NOW for your copy of CEO Online’s FREE e-newsletter: http://www.ceoonline.com.au/subscribe/