by Jack Daly | Workplace tips
Are you looking to foster the right workplace culture, so your employees are engaged, loyal, and productive? If so, that’s good! The best way to ensure a driven team is to create a culture that fosters the results you want.
While the competition may try to copy your product or services, there are two things they can’t copy— your people and your culture.
Some companies like Southwest Airlines, Zappos, and the Virgin Group are outpacing their competition because of their culture. If you’re interested in doing the same for your organization, I have four tips for growing a business culture that inspires loyalty, engagement, and the high performance those qualities produce.
- Start new hires on a Friday—and make them feel welcome.
Many managers think new employees should start on Monday. But think about it. That’s the day when their new co-workers are facing a long to-do list for the week. Be different and consider starting new hires on Friday when the office is a bit looser. Another option is to throw a little party for the new hire. Many offices hold going away parties for departing employees, but doesn’t it make more sense to put this enthusiasm toward the person with whom you’re making a commitment rather than the person who’s no longer working for you?
- Recognize accomplishments by putting them in writing and I mean handwriting.
Typing emails and instant messaging is clearly much more convenient, which is why an employee who deserves special attention will recognize the extra effort behind a hand-written note. A hand-written note or letter has such a personal touch. The recipient knows that the manager or CEO has taken the time and effort to create a special communication just for him or her. If you make people feel special, they’ll feel good about both the organization and themselves.
- Provide lunch and make it a free one.
One of my clients started with only ten employees, and each day one employee would bring in lunch for everyone. As the company grew to several hundred employees, the CEO found that free lunches were so beneficial that the company now hires a caterer to maintain the boost in culture the lunches provide. While many leaders may cringe at the expense, employee appreciation outweighs the cost. An added benefit for those who can’t get past the cost is that providing the inhouse lunch keeps people engaged within the office, rather than having them leave for lunch and maybe return a little bit late.
- Flatten the privilege structure.
It’s not a good idea to create anything resembling a class system. One over-looked way companies create separation by creating special parking arrangements for upper management. At one point in my career, I was the No.1 salesmen at one company, but I always preferred to park with the others. I’d come in at 5 a.m. and notice that those with reserved parking weren’t there yet. They arrived significantly later than those who parked in the unreserved spots. Provide parking on a first-come, first-serve basis. That way upper management doesn’t feel too entitled or privileged above other employees.
Corporate culture is the only sustainable competitive advantage that is completely within the control of the entrepreneur. ~David Cummings, Co-Founder, Pardot
Today’s guest contributor is Jack Daly, author, former CEO, and an expert in sales and sales management with more than 20 years of business experience. Jack has both a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA, and he was a captain in U.S. Army.
Image source (before quote added): Pixabay
by Andi Simon | Leadership, Workplace tips
Corporate leaders tell us change is the biggest challenge they’re facing today. Why? Constant change makes it difficult to remain relevant and to create value for customers.
Humans tend to hate change.
Whether it’s introducing a state-of-the-art computer program or transitioning a company to a wholly new and innovative way of working, our brains literally create chemical pain that says, please stop all that new work.
So, instead of enjoying the challenges that come with trying something new, we resist.
Our brains are elastic and can, in fact, adapt, but it’s not a smooth, easy or comfortable process. It’s tough enough for the people at the top to think about reworking processes and policies; imagine the difficulties when you’re talking about altering the culture of an entire workplace.
Companies have cultures, whether they know it or not. That culture is an amalgam of core values, beliefs, and behaviors that pertain to the business and the way it is conducted. Employees live out that culture every day.
Getting employees on board when the corporate culture has to evolve can be a challenge. However, if company leaders provide purpose to the changes by showing how they’ll improve business and create stability after the transition, they have a better shot at a quicker buy-in.
To do that, though, they have to get out of the office. They have to witness first-hand how customers use the product or service, and they have to interact with employees.
3 tools for take control of workplace culture
I suggest that leaders adopt an “anthropologist’s tool kit” and do these three things to aid them in changing the culture of their organization. Leaders need to:
- Conduct observational research.
Consider shadowing clients and employees as they use a product or service. Find out what their challenges are, and what trends they see that have them concerned or excited.
Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. ~Zora Neale Hurston, author
- Find customers’ pain points.
What happens when someone contacts the company’s customer service center? What works and what doesn’t? Are emails and phone calls answered? What happens when people visit the website? If responses are delayed or unsatisfactory, find out why.
Wisdom is nothing more than healed pain. ~Robert Gary Lee, comic
- Use culture probes and storytelling.
What are the stories customers and employees could tell if they had a company leader’s ear? Put away any defensiveness and just listen.
Stories constitute the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal. ~Dr. Howard Gardner, professor Harvard University
I advise companies to expand the research role past the executive level. Allow team leaders and others to be a part of the company’s new story and encourage them to visualize how they can play new roles in an emerging business environment.
By doing that, they’ll be the energy behind your innovation.
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About today’s guest contributor, Andi Simon, Ph.D. Andi Simon, a corporate anthropologist, professor, award-winning author, trainer, and speaker, is the founder and CEO of Simon Associates Management Consultants. She has appeared on “Good Morning America” and has been featured in the Washington Post, Business Week, Forbes, and on Bloomberg Radio.
Image credit before quote added: Pixabay
by Allison Taylor | Workplace tips
Who isn’t interested in a new job, a better job, or upgrading a career? That’s what many of us work for.
But there’s a component of the career betterment process that people sometimes overlook, and that’s the job reference. A bad reference can be a killer we’re not initially even aware of.
Former employers are supposed to offer limited information like employment dates and title about previous employees.
Human Resource reps are generally—but not always—consistent in following this policy.
However, it’s often a different story when former supervisors are the ones who are contacted.
While there’s nearly an unlimited list of reasons why a former supervisor might offer potentially damaging information about a job seeker, we’ll focus on seven possible reasons why approximately 50% of past bosses ignore corporate policy and offer negative commentary.
7 reasons bosses give a bad reference
These reasons are:
- The past boss may think the person is not qualified for the position for which they are being considered. They may even be envious that one of their team is being considered for such a position.
- The past boss may not have liked the person or their performance.
- The past boss may fall in the “bad boss” or “bully” category.
- The past boss may be unhappy that the person left the organization or are thinking about leaving the organization, and they are either retaliating and/or discouraging someone else from hiring this job seeker.
- The past boss may be having a bad day and offer more revealing commentary than what they normally do.
- The past boss may simply be offering the truth as they see it, not being mindful—or aware—that they shouldn’t be offering that level of commentary about a former employee.
- The past boss may have personal issues and/or biases regarding a person’s age, religion, or sex.
Given the substantial number of negative supervisory references that are given, what can a job seeker do?
First, never assume that a prior supervisor(s) is following company policy when they are contacted about a reference.
Another useful step is determining whether or not a former supervisor is indeed a reference problem. You can determine that by using a reference checking company (they exist!) to conduct a reference check on your behalf. If a former supervisor’s commentary is in any way unfavorable, the job seeker will have some form of recourse in discouraging them from offering such commentary again.
Bottom line, it is critical that the job seeker vet their references prior to seeking new employment.
Sadly, too many candidates only become aware of a negative reference once a number of promising job opportunities have passed them by.
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About today’s contributor: AllisonTaylor and its principals have been in the business of checking references for corporations and individuals since 1984.
Image source: Pixabay
by Granara Grubbs | Workplace tips
What happens when a corporation’s leadership is engaged, talented and competent, but so stuck in their ways—their comfort zone—that they can’t quite grasp the importance of acting as a strategic, forward-thinking team?
If that’s the case, it could be time for drastic measures. Measures so drastic that company vice presidents might be left mumbling, “What just happened?”
To that we say, “Shake them up.”
Don’t be afraid to get people’s attention in an over-the-top way, even if it means pretending you’re Zeus, and a very miffed Zeus at that.
We’d never ask anyone to fire lightning bolts we wouldn’t fire ourselves. Frank once dressed as the top Greek god at a company training session—complete with blaring music and swirling clouds—and required his dubious vice presidents to dress as gods, too.
We might have called what Frank did as outside the box thinking, but we’re not sure Frank has a box.
These extreme tactics may sound absurd, but they can snap executives out of their doldrums and inspire them to view daily decisions from a different perspective.
Not every company CEO will go to the extremes Frank did, but they still can think creatively—and even outrageously—in figuring out ways to help their company leaders evolve into a high-performing team.
3 comfort zone blasters
Three lessons for zapping people out of their comfort zone that we’ve learned from our sessions that could benefit other CEOs include:
1) Place people in the right roles.
Sometimes a job just isn’t the right fit for the individual. Rather than fire them, place them in a role that capitalizes on their strengths. At the conclusion of one of Frank’s training sessions, 40 percent of his vice presidents were assigned to new positions that better matched their abilities and potential.
Hiring people is an art, not a science, and resumes can’t tell you whether someone will fit into a company’s culture. ~Howard Schulz, Chairman & CEO of Starbucks
2) Train first, then promote.
Often, high-performing employees are rewarded with promotions, but are woefully unprepared for their new duties. Promoting people and then training them afterward is not the best way to develop leaders.
I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day, you bet on people, not on strategies. ~Lawrence Bossidy, former CEO of Honeywell International
3) There is little growth without discomfort.
Most people prefer to keep everything as is once they become comfortable. That may get the job done, but improvement won’t happen unless people are confronted with situations that throw them off balance.
Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience? ~Thomas John Watson Sr., IBM
Be proactive. Companies that get their leadership teams to think strategically are rewarded with greater teamwork and a better bottom line.
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Today’s LeadBIG contributors, Frank Granara and Lorraine Grubbs, are co-authors of Beyond the Executive Comfort Zone: Outrageous Tactics to Ignite Individual Performance. Granara, CEO of General Insulation Co., has a bachelor’s degree in business from Northeastern University. Grubbs is president of the consulting firm Lessons in Loyalty and takes principles and practices she helped develop to companies that strive for better employee engagement and loyalty.
Image credit before quote added: Pixabay
by Ford R. Myers | Workplace tips
Great, you got the job! Some people in this situation might think, “Whew! Now I can relax, cruise a while and rest on my laurels.”
Actually, your work is just beginning, but so is your “glory!”
6 priorities for first 90 days on the job
There are six priorities that you should focus on during the first 90 days of any new job. They are:
1. Establish positive relationships with your new colleagues. Be honest, open, friendly, reliable, and clear. Be outgoing and introduce yourself to co-workers—don’t wait for them to approach you.
2. Develop a reputation for producing tangible results. Immediately start a “success file” and track your accomplishments and contributions. Make note of the positive feedback you get from others such as clients, managers, clients, colleagues, vendors, etc., in conversation and in writing.
Knowledge may give weight, but accomplishments give lustre, and many more people see than weigh. ~Herodotus
3. Communicate plans and progress to your superiors and to your team. Become known for setting challenging goals and for completing projects on-time, on-budget, and with measurable results.
4. Begin building your own in-house contact network. Cultivate good relationships with everyone including the employees above and below your level. Get to know people’s names. Reach out to the mail guy, the security guard, the IT guru, your manager’s executive assistant…everyone! You want business friends and supporters in a 360-degree arc around you.
The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity. ~Keith Ferrazzi
5. Review and fine-tune your job description with your manager. Make sure to sit down during those first 90 days and create an “individual development plan” for yourself and your role. This plan needs to includes your short-, mid-, and long-term goals. This is critical to ensure that the job you landed becomes the job you love.
6. Maintain a healthy balance between your work life and your private life. Make sure that you don’t “go overboard” with enthusiasm for your new job. Family time, hobbies, and “recharging your batteries” are all part of your long-term professional effectiveness and success.
You must focus on garnering respect, visibility, and credibility during your first 90 days on the job. The precedents you establish during this period will tend to last for your entire tenure at that organization.
This ‘thumbprint period’ is critically important to your long-term success—make the best of it!
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Today’s guest contributor is Ford R. Myers, President of Career Potential, LLC. Ford has been a frequent guest on television and radio programs nationwide and is the author of Get The Job You Want, Even When No One’s Hiring.
Image source before quote added: Pixabay
by Adam Witty | Workplace tips
What makes a successful business thrive and have a great culture? That’s a good question given that 70 percent of businesses don’t make to their 11th anniversary.
You don’t have to be a business guru to recognize when a business is firing on all cylinders nor to recognize that everyone is putting their skills to maximum use, working together, and actually having a good time. How to create that chemistry, though, is the question.
Having people with the right qualifications who are willing to bring their A-game every day is crucial.
Of course, there are also character traits to look for: a positive, can-do attitude, for instance. If a person doesn’t fit in the mix, not only will he or she be less likely to bring their best, they can also compromise everyone else’s game. Having egomaniacs who cannot collaborate can to grind productivity to a screeching halt.
5 culture building blocks
I believe there are five essential building blocks that create the hum every CEO wants in their workplace culture as well as in their respective industry.
1. Staff your team with A-players; they’re worth the wait.
An A-player is someone who brings all of the necessary qualifications to the table, perhaps more than you were expecting, as well as that something extra as a human being. Of course, that something special isn’t always readily apparent during a 45-minute interview; it can take time for the true colors of a talented individual to come through. This speaks to the importance of having an intuitive hiring manager, which may be a small business’s CEO.
2. Have fun.
Having fun not only helps your team do well, it’s a sign that you’re doing things right. Where fun and work meet is the understanding from employees that they’re making a difference. You want a team of individuals who are motivated by the ‘why’ of what they do.
Fun at work means having energy and enthusiasm while tending to the tasks at hand.
3. Make employees—and clients—your extended family.
A family environment significantly facilitates having a team mentality, especially for those quiet geniuses who like to keep to themselves because they’re shy. But why stop there? Extend the love to clients, suppliers, and other crucial components of the business. Without these folks, your business couldn’t survive.
4. Direction: understanding the “why;” encourage difference makers.
Our team members are driven by the ‘why’ of what we do. The right content in the right person’s hands at the right time can change the world forever. We believe in sharing stories, passion, and knowledge to guide and help others learn and grow.
5. Commit to lifelong learning.
Seek to uncover and promote the leader in every one on your team by encouraging all members to follow a path of personal and professional development. With increased knowledge, experiences, and skills, people lead to a more fulfilled life, which can profit everyone within a working environment.
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Today’s contributor is Adam Witty, founder and CEO of Advantage Media Group, an international publisher of business, self-improvement, and professional development books and online learning. Witty has been featured on ABC and Fox, and was selected for INC Magazine’s 30 Under 30 list of “America’s coolest young entrepreneurs” in 2011.
Image source before quote added: Pixabay
