Category: Training & Development

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Engagement Training & Development

Can You Afford to Fuel Employee Burnout?

[Note: This post first appeared on myHR Blog and is shared with permission from Tina Hamilton, PHR, founder of myHRPartner, an HR outsourcing firm. Tina is a well-respected business professional who is frequently quoted in the national media on HR-related issues in the workplace, and I’m proud to know her as a colleague and friend. To learn more about her work, please visit myHRPartner.]

Is employee burnout hurting your bottom line? via myHR Blog

Just like a broken down car, a burned out workforce will not take your business where it needs to go. And as much as some people would like to paint employee burnout as completely based in personal issues, it is more often than not a sign of serious organizational problems within a company.

What’s more, employers who don’t recognize and correct the kinds of workplace problems that lead to burnout risk hurting their company’s bottom line. Things like very heavy workloads, feelings of job insecurity, frustrations with massive amounts of meetings and impossible deadlines fraught with roadblocks create a toxic workplace environment where employees feel frustrated and stressed out.

According to a recent Harvard Business Review article, employee burnout costs an estimated $125 billion to $190 billion in American healthcare spending on psychological and physical problems it causes each year. But the real cost to businesses can be far greater because of issues such as low productivity and high turnover rates as great employees leave toxic environments for greener pastures.

When Harvard Business Review looked inside companies with high burnout rates, they found these common problems:

We saw three common culprits: excessive collaboration, weak time management disciplines, and a tendency to overload the most capable with too much work. These forces not only rob employees of time to concentrate on completing complex tasks or for idea generation, they also crunch the downtime that is necessary for restoration.

Excessive collaboration may prevent progress

Poor time management practices and overloading top performers are issues that are fairly obvious causes of employee burnout. Excessive collaboration, on the other hand, may seem counter-intuitive on its face. The article explains that this situation arises when teams have too many decision makers and too many decision-making steps. “This can happen in companies that really do mean well,” says Tina Hamilton, PHR, myHR Partner president. Going overboard on collaboration often leads to a cycle of endless meetings, hordes of emails and scheduling nightmares—all without significantly moving a project forward. “Stress can lead to personality clashes and get in the way of pragmatic, timely decision making and progress. You can see how this can lead to burnout.”

This being said, collaboration itself—when done right—is often a great thing for work teams. Hamilton recommends having a clear strategy and sensible team organization before collaborative projects begin in order to decrease frustration and to keep things from getting bogged down with meetings, emails and red tape.

Other causes of employee burnout mentioned in the article include:

  • The new “always-on digital workplace”
  • Constant multitasking that leads to exhaustion and lack of focus on any one task
  • Rigid approaches to team objectives that do not allow for re-prioritizing when new tasks are added or outside situations change
  • Managers who do not know how much time employees spend on activities, meetings, etc.
  • Lack of tools and training for employees to handle tasks
  • A corporate culture in which overwork is expected or celebrated
  • A sense of lost autonomy among employees.

As we have blogged about in the past, the danger of overworking employees is real. They will feel disrespected or unappreciated, and they won’t stay—especially if they are talented. As an HR outsourcing company that often helps clients avoid expensive, time-sucking high employee turnover rates, we can tell you burnout will burn your company. It’s just a matter of time.

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Engagement Training & Development

Here’s What Bad Bosses Say

Steer clear if someone you work for – or with – says any of the following:

“I’m not the boss because I’m always right. I’m always right because I’m the boss.”

“Why should I invest in your training? You’ll just take all this knowledge and go to work for someone else.”

“Lack of planning on my part will constitute a constant emergency on your part.” (Former boss mantra)

“You don’t need to know what this is for – just do what I tell you to do.”
Translation: “You’re paid to do, not to think.”

As Leah Arnold Smeets aptly puts it, “The bottom line is, bad managers are bad for business, and they’re even worse for their employees. That’s because no company or enterprise can win with disengaged employees drained of energy and enthusiasm.”

While many bad boss quotes and how to cope with them can be found online, here’s one of my favorites:

Boss: “It’s not my job to make my employees happy!”
Consultant: “It’s not your job to make them miserable either!”

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Customer service Engagement Training & Development

A Manager’s Guide on How to Cope When Team Efforts are Taken For Granted

I had an interesting discussion with a colleague who manages an internal service department for a medium-sized organization. She’s a supportive manager whose team takes pride in providing quality service to internal clients. However, she finds it a challenge to keep her employees at the top of their game when some internal clients are unappreciative of their efforts. Part of her dilemma is rooted in an organizational culture where administrative support is taken for granted.

She and her team acknowledge the situation and focus on how to work effectively within – and despite – the culture. She also encourages employees to rise to the challenge of working with unappreciative clients. Yet there are still occasions when team members find it hard to muster enthusiasm to serve such clients.

You can’t fake it and other important tips
How does she continue to motivate her team? She knows she can’t fake her own engagement, so she starts by staying positive. She also focuses on how she can best support her team and internal clients with the following actions:

  • Keep the “big picture” front and center by reminding employees how they support the department’s mission and contribute to the organization’s mission in the process.
  • Engage employees in sharing what works to keep them motivated, such as providing peer support and finding the humor in their experiences and ways to safely blow off steam. This is done regularly in staff meetings and when difficult situations arise.
  • Share and reinforce client service success stories with the manager’s boss as well as with the team itself.
  • Acknowledge those clients who are appreciative of staff efforts, while also diplomatically standing up for employees dealing with difficult clients.
  • Maintain a positive culture within the department that values both clients AND team members.
  • Continue to acknowledge and recognize employee efforts with little gifts, food, and ongoing professional development.

Just as importantly, she models and reinforces what Chip Bell describes in his new book, Kaleidoscope:

“We are what we serve to others. It is our signature that sums us up each time a customer is on the receiving end of our efforts. And your customers remember how you served long after they have forgotten what you served! How can you deliver service in a fashion that says, ‘This is me, and it is my very best gift to you?'”

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Engagement Training & Development

Sharing a Positive Message: Interview with Laughing at My Nightmare’s Sarah Yunusov

Shane Burcaw and Sarah Yunusov, LAMN

I am one of more than half a million followers of Shane Burcaw’s Laughing At My Nightmare blog. I’m also greatly impressed with the nonprofit organization he co-founded with his cousin, Sarah Yunusov, with the mission “to spread a message of positivity while providing equipment grants to those living with muscular dystrophy.” The popularity and growth of LAMN’s brand has Shane and Sarah giving presentations throughout the U.S., so I was thrilled when they planned to speak at a “hometown” event in Bethlehem, PA, where I could hear them.

Their presentation was phenomenal – filled with the candor, humor, and positive perspective that characterizes Shane’s writing. I met with both of them recently, and we spoke about the critical need to embrace a positive attitude. Since Shane is busy writing his blog and has a new book in progress, I asked Sarah to share her thoughts here.

QSM: How did you and Shane get into speaking about the topic of positivity?

Sarah: Shane and I grew up in a family that was always laughing. Big family dinners occurred about once a month at our grandparents’ house, and the signature activity at these gatherings was making fun of each other. Most of our family has a twisted, sarcastic sense of humor, and once the jokes would start, they would never stop. This was the case at weddings, birthday parties, and even funeral receptions (it sounds wrong, but what better way to celebrate a life than by remembering the best moments with laughter?).

At an early age, we learned how incredibly powerful humor was when dealing with adversity. Fast forward to Shane starting his blog. His blog was basically just an extension of the mindset instilled in us by our family. It’s about the hilarious and crazy experiences Shane has had living with muscular dystrophy, but more than that, it teaches readers that a positive attitude can help them effectively cope with stress and adversity.

Science has proved this idea to be true. Studies show that “happy” individuals not only experience better life outcomes (such as higher income, better rates of marriage, etc.) but they also tend to be more productive than “unhappy” people.

The best part is that advances in neuroscience and positive psychology are showing us that it’s totally possible to actively increase your overall chronic happiness. Our happiness is composed of three basic parts: set point, circumstances, and intentional activity. Set point is your genetic happiness level. It accounts for about 50% of your overall happiness. Circumstances are things like job, geography, income, etc. These are the daily realities that we “think” have a huge impact on our happiness. Interestingly, though, studies suggest that circumstances only account for about 10% of our happiness. The last slice of the happiness pie are intentional activities—all the thoughts and actions we “choose” to think and do. These activities, which make up 40% of our happiness, are the key to becoming happier people. By learning techniques to live and think more positively, you can quite literally change the chemical functions of your brain to become a happier person. We think that’s pretty freaking cool.

QSM: What’s the key message in your presentations?

Sarah: The key message of our talks is that we have control over our happiness, as per the science I just described. We use funny stories from Shane’s life of living with a disability to illustrate these concepts. We’ve also done talks about inclusion and diversity, as well as anti-bullying themed presentations.

QSM: Your speaking engagements involve two distinct types of audiences: schools that range from elementary to high school, and businesses that include private companies and pharmaceutical firms. How do the responses you get from these diverse audiences compare?

Sarah: There are definitely some differences and similarities between the schools we speak at compared to the businesses. With kids, our message is more about showing them that we have choices about how we respond to adversity. Kids are endlessly curious too, which we love, because it allows us to understand the preconceptions they have about disability and gives us an opportunity to educate them. Adult audiences are more interested in the science and the concrete methods they can employ to become happier people.

QSM: How can your message of positivity help people today?

Sarah: We live in a time when fear and negativity are attacking our minds often, and in a variety of ways. Now more than ever, we need to remind ourselves why being alive is so beautiful. We believe our message can change the world with that very simple idea.

QSM: An inspired message and important goal, indeed. Thank you, Sarah!

You can learn more about the story behind Laughing At My Nightmare, Inc., in this video and on LAMN’s website.

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Marketing Training & Development

When It’s Best to Walk Away from a Prospect

For anyone focused on growing a company, it’s hard to turn down new business. But sometimes it’s necessary.

My first experience with this situation took place nearly two decades ago, and I remember it clearly. After much debate and hand-wringing about submitting a proposal, I turned to a fellow consultant for feedback. I explained my hesitancy based on my gut feeling that a prospective client would be difficult to work with, but business was slow and I really needed the work. I’ve never forgotten the sage advice I got that day from Alan Kay, who told me: “Don’t ever walk away from a prospect in that situation. Run as fast as you can.” I felt incredible relief at the time, and his words of wisdom continue to serve me well.

Recently I asked several colleagues to share their experience dealing with the dilemma of whether or not to turn away a business prospect, and here are their responses.

It’s time to walk away from a prospect when …

“When the prospective client does not understand the value of your services and 99% of your clients do. When you can be certain of this, it will be come crystal-clear that this client will never find the investment in your services worthwhile. You will expend more energy on this client than on what will likely be your longer term clients … It’s never easy but it always seems to open space up to let better clients in.”  Tina I. Hamilton, President, myHRpartner

“The cost of servicing/working with the business exceeds the benefits you receive. Or if your health is compromised because they are just too high maintenance. In 34 years in business I have only resigned two pieces of business. Once it was all said and done, I never looked back with regret.” Michelle Elster, President, Rabin Research Company

“You know what you’d have to charge exceeds what they would get back in a year. If it takes more than a year to achieve ROI, I am not the right coach or the right speaker for you or your team.”  Phil Gerbyshak, Sales and Leadership Speaker

It’s time to walk away from a prospect when …

“They insult you in the initial meeting. Several years ago, I was invited in to a company to meet with the Marketing head to discuss a proposed training initiative. In the meeting, the Marketing head said to me that she was very busy and that she can’t waste her precious time answering my questions. If I can’t just do what they need done, she said, then what good am I to them? She added that she might as well do the training herself.” Terrence Seamon, Leadership Coach/Career Coach

“You are exhausted when you are with them. Every time you attempt to identify the project scope, you discover it is made of jello and keeps morphing. RUN!”  Linda Reed Friedman, Advanta Strategies

Bottom line: Trust your instincts on whether you’ll be engaging in a mutually beneficial relationship. It’s not worth taking on a client you’ll resent – you won’t be at your best, and that’s not helpful to the client and your business.

Special thanks to my colleagues for sharing their thoughts.

[For a related post, check out When It’s Best to Lose a Customer or Client.]

 

 

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Customer service Engagement Training & Development

Hey, Wells Fargo: You Should’ve Followed Aretha Franklin, Not Gordon Gekko

I’m saddened and shocked, but not surprised, about the recent Wells Fargo sales scandal that lead to bank employees opening bogus customer accounts in response to intense pressure to meet unrealistic and aggressive sales goals.

I was once a sales manager for a local bank. It was some 30 years ago when the banking industry was trying to build sales into its service culture. At the time most of our customer service reps (CSRs) were not comfortable with cross-selling. The attitude was, “If I was interested in sales, I would have gone into retail. I got into banking because I didn’t want to sell!”

Integrating sales in a service environment
Aware of this mindset, my bank was careful and deliberate about changing the culture. Our approach was sales was part of service and that “suggestive” and “consultative” selling provided a better customer experience than just being “order takers.” It wasn’t the customer’s job to know about all the products and services our bank offered; that was the CSR’s, teller’s and branch manager’s job. It was branch team members’ responsibility to educate customers about additional products/services that might better meet their needs for savings, credit, and convenience. We used extensive training and a formal incentive system to support branch sales efforts and reinforce this new service & sales culture.

What I remember most about that time was the role of respect in the sales process — respect for both our customers and employees. It was part of the CSR’s job to suggest additional services, and if the customer declined, that was OK. This was based on my issue with fast food’s “Would you like cheese with that?” approach. As a marketer, I understood that the counter person at MacDonald’s was trained to cross-sell cheese with its hamburgers. But as a consumer, I sometimes became annoyed because if I had wanted cheese on my hamburger, I would have asked for it! Understanding and respecting the customer’s needs took precedence over “sales for the sake of sales.” That was the service & sales culture my bank’s leadership supported.

Wells Fargo brand damage
My former boss in branch administration, who endured several bank mergers, used to joke that the operational metrics in the large banks were so extensive, they probably tracked how much toilet paper was used in the employee restrooms. That’s why I find it hard to believe that Wells Fargo management was unaware of what was happening. The banking giant’s meet-your-sales-goals-numbers-at-all-costs-if-you-want-to-continue-working-here culture created a lose-lose-lose situation for its customers, employees, and brand — the result of greed, not respect.

 

 

 

Categories
Customer service Training & Development

When It’s Best to Lose a Customer or Client

Despite the best intentions, there are times when it’s necessary to give up a customer or client. The reasons vary, as I learned when I asked colleagues why they stopped working with customers.

In their own words (and in no particular order), here’s what they said about terminating customer/client relationships.

It’s time to cut a customer/client loose when …

  • “Every time we did work for this one company, the marketing director would go out of her way to find 40 things wrong with the project to try to get it for free.” Ad agency executive
  • “1) The client/customer becomes abusive to you or your staff, 2) lies to you, and 3) doesn’t pay his or her bills. Not always in that order.” Marketing researcher
  • “You’ve lost enthusiasm for them.” Ron Strauss, Founder and CEO, Brandzone
  • “1) Project after project, year after year the business isn’t profitable. 2) They don’t respect your team — meaning they take advantage of the client/vendor relationship and always are mean, disrespectful and basically just not nice! This leads to a heavy toll on your team and usually means more turnover.” CEO research supplier

It’s time to cut a customer/client loose when …

  • “Your work together is no longer fun or engaging for both of you, lacks mutual respect or when there is a mismatch of values.” Jane Wells Schooley, Executive Leadership Coach and Educator
  • “The relationship has deteriorated to the point that it is affecting staff morale.” Marketing Consultant
  • “They are asking you to do something that goes against your ethics or your professional judgment.” Dennis Fischman, Chief Communicator, Communicate! Consulting
  • “They are not ‘all in.’ Meaning they are not doing the work, engaged in conversation, or showing progress.” Meridith Elliott Powell, Business Growth Expert & Keynote Speaker
  • “The thrill is gone; i.e., when I’ve lost enthusiasm for the project due to any number of circumstances including (a) the client is never satisfied; (b) the client is unresponsive and/or uncooperative; (c) the client hasn’t paid for work I’ve already done; etc.” Writer/editor

It’s time to cut a customer/client loose when …

  • You find you can no longer serve their interests in good faith and are on the border of losing your professionalism.” Senior Communications Consultant with a 20+ year history in consulting
  • They’re yanking your chain. When a client does not provide the necessary information for you to be able to complete their work in a timely manner. I understand ‘what can happen will happen’when it comes to business. However, I also know when they’re procrastinating with the tasks at hand. Client satisfaction travels on a two-way street.” Chuck Holder  LLC, Business Consulting
  • “They say ‘your competition is saying they can do it for $X.’  The reason that is a ‘move on’ statement is two-fold:
    1. They’ve already been talking to my competition to get a price which means they don’t see me as a partner anymore but simply another ‘vendor.’ Normally, if you’re a partner, they would address pricing way before they get a quote from a competitor and may even tell you they will be checking to see what the market is showing for your services. That is normal. Doing it behind your back shows a lack of respect for the relationship.
    2. They’ve decided what you are providing is a commodity and can be bought on the open market. Somehow your ‘unique’ value-add that got you the business (assuming you didn’t buy it in the first place with the lowest bid) is no longer unique nor value-add. You’re just another line item.
      These two things combined typically mean you’ve moved past a collaborative, supportive, reciprocal business relationship and have entered the dreaded ‘vendor zone.'” Paul Hebert, Senior Director, Solutions Architecture, Creative Group, Inc.

Takeaway
Respect and trust matter in professional business relationships — among service providers and their customers/clients.

Special thanks to the business professionals who shared their responses here. (Names or general titles listed by respondent preference.)

 

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Engagement Training & Development

“Hoping to Help” – Lessons in Global Health Volunteering

Whether providing relief after a natural disaster or rendering humanitarian aid to countries in need, we’re familiar with the importance of international medical missions. The inspirational stories told by returning volunteers describe the desperate and challenging needs of the people served and their deep gratitude in receiving medical aid. The volunteers, themselves, are forever changed as a result of their experiences.

Presumably everyone involved benefits from such missions – the countries in need and the volunteers. But to what extent? Beyond the obvious good-will, what’s really happening in these situations and what can we learn from them?

In her new book, Hoping to Help: The Promises and Pitfalls of Global Health Volunteering, Judith N. Lasker, N.E.H. Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Lehigh University, explores the benefits and costs of such missions. She studied the impact of short-term (two weeks or less) medical missions through interviews and surveys with three key groups: the sponsoring organizations (religious, educational, non-faith based NGOs, and corporations); the people who volunteer (medical and non-medical); and the host communities. Lasker’s research covered the following:

  • the level of cultural training given to volunteers prior to their trip, ranging from thorough to insufficient background information on the host country’s situation and culture
  • how volunteer resources were deployed
  • the true costs involved, including travel, logistics, medical supplies and equipment etc., and their effects on donors, volunteers, and recipients
  • cultural sensitivity and the resulting impact on volunteers and host countries
  • needs assessments, program measurement, and outcome evaluations
  • capacity-building and the sustainability of such missions.

Was it good for you, too?
The importance of “mutuality,” in which all parties mutually benefit, is a major theme throughout the book. According to Lasker:

“Achieving mutuality is one of the many challenges sponsoring organizations must try to address. Host-community members want more than helpful visitors with skills and resources, although these are valuable and greatly appreciated. They want to be involved in the work programs undertaken by volunteer organizations, and they want to be respected. They want a relationship of equality in which each partner learns from and benefits from the other. … an ongoing relationship of respect, collaboration, and exchange, if not with individual volunteers, at least with the representatives of the [sponsoring] organizations.”

She also explored the elements of cultural sensitivity and understanding, respect, and empathy by volunteers and the sponsoring organizations participating in international missions. Lasker found that:

“to treat the volunteer’s experience or the organization’s reputation or religious priorities as on a par with, or even more important than, the benefits to hosts is to exploit poor communities for the benefit of people from wealthier countries.”

Lessons for other nonprofits
While “Hoping to Help” addresses global health volunteering, many of its recommended practices are applicable to other health and social services nonprofits:

  • Foster mutuality among ALL parties involved, including those who benefit from the mission and those who help support the mission (e.g., volunteers, employees, donors, etc.).
  • Conduct needs assessments with and among those benefiting from the services offered.
  • Strengthen volunteer training and preparation.
  • Maintain continuity of programming/services, as needed.
  • Evaluate process and outcomes, incorporating the results into continuous improvement.
  • Build capacity for the long term.

Sensitivity and empathy are also important for volunteers and nonprofit organizations. Lasker reinforces this by citing the following:

“Without the wisdom of humility, altruistic behavior can lead to self-delusion, compassion can become an obsession, and both may generate a damaging sense of hubris.”  Dr. Jack Coulehan, emeritus professor, Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics at Stony Brook University.

A valuable reminder for everyone helping anyone.

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Engagement Training & Development

What’s the Matter with Management? It’s Not What You Think

Actually, the question should be “What’s the matter with managing?” as I’m hearing from more colleagues who tell me they still love their work, but they dislike the managing people part.

I shared my concern about this with Mary Theresa Taglang (MT), who has a background in HR and is now the Director of Lehigh University’s Master of Science in Management program. We talked about what MT called “the seismic economic shift that began with outsourcing and hit its zenith in 2008 when the economy soured and many experienced managers were let go and replaced with younger, cheaper and inexperienced managers focusing only on the bottom line.”

We also discussed:

  • the decline and continued lack of corporate America’s investment in management development that’s still considered “soft-skills” training
  • technology that allows for more communication and task efficiency that also results in unrealistic demands of being available to work 24/7
  • mixed generations who multi-task and communicate differently
  • the ongoing stress of changing priorities, budget challenges, and internal politics
  • the resulting frustration of experienced managers who are tired of it all and not yet able to retire.

We could spend hours lamenting what’s the matter with managing these days, but my concern is the message we’re sending to young professionals. How do we keep from discouraging prospective managers? Based on her overall career experience, MT was both candid and realistic in her response: “Suck it up or go out on your own. That’s the only way to be in control of your own destiny.”

Yes, people interested in management roles need go in with their eyes wide open. In addition, what else can be done to better prepare people for the workplace – in both managerial and non-managerial roles? Your thoughts, please.

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Engagement Training & Development

Don’t Discount the New Year for Employee Engagement

Every four years it happens in the U.S. – a presidential election. Too often, it’s also an excuse companies use to withhold spending based on an uncertain outcome: “We’re afraid to invest in new initiatives until we know what’s going to happen in Washington, DC.”

This wait-and-see attitude carries over into cutbacks on hiring, training & development and, ultimately, engagement. The result is a double whammy for employees — besides feeling anxious over the new year’s uncertainty, they also become frustrated with limited-to-nonexistent options for their development as the organization goes into a holding pattern. Who wants to work for a company that isn’t moving forward?

“Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first base.” – Frederick B. Wilcox

Uncertainty is a fact of life, regardless of what’s scheduled to occur in any given year. Holding the line by not investing in employee recruitment and ongoing development may seem like a safe strategy, but it’s also a risky one that can negatively impact employee engagement and the internal brand. Think of the opportunities such a strategy opens up for competitors who aren’t afraid to devote resources to support their employees.

No one can predict the future, other than knowing it will change. Like an ostrich with its head in the sand, hiding isn’t a viable option for business and brand success.

“He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea.” – Thomas Fuller