Categories
Musings

Family in Business: A Unique Perspective

I know a lot of companies who pride themselves on creating a “family” atmosphere in their workplace. A family-oriented corporate culture can mean a lot of things, such as a collective group of people who share something in common … who feel a special sense of belonging … who take pride in their company’s heritage …

So I was surprised recently when talking with the owner of a family-owned business who was adamantly opposed to having a family-oriented company culture. This type of culture idealizes the concept of family, he explained, while the reality is not all families are fully functional; e.g., sibling rivalry, overly demanding parents, recalcitrant children, etc. Instead, he prefers to describe his company as a “community of co-workers and collaborators.”

The reality is families, as well as corporate entities, can be dysfunctional. It’s all relative.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Sometimes the Obvious Isn’t

When I talk about recognition in my internal marketing workshops, I share an example of a company that sends birthday cards to its employees. The value of this practice (especially compared to excellence-in-service and sales type recognition programs that single out exceptional performers) is that EVERY employee is recognized and acknowledged once a year.

At a recent workshop, one attendee had an “AHA!” moment when she talked about how her company sends birthday cards to its customers, yet it didn’t do the same for its employees. (I’m sure she’ll remedy the situation.)

Of course customers are valuable … and so are employees. Is your organization missing an opportunity to tell employees they’re just as important?

Categories
Musings

Administrative Professionals Day: Is It Still Relevant?

Tomorrow we observe “Administrative Professionals Day.” While the name has been updated – it was originally called Secretary’s Day when it started in 1952 – I wonder if the concept is out of sync in today’s workplace.

Back in the day before technology transformed the workplace, the secretarial position was critical to supporting management – this is the person who did all the typing/word processing (rarely, if ever, did you see a typewriter on a manager’s desk), placed calls, scheduled meetings and whatever else was necessary to keep the office running smoothly. True, most of these support type positions were held by women … in a paternalistic, sometimes chauvinistic organizational culture.

I know this from experience. In one of my early jobs in banking I held the position of Administrative Assistant in Corporate Planning, and my job description included making coffee for the weekly Senior Managers’ Meeting.

Now technology allows most managers do their own “typing” on their laptop or desk computers … schedule meetings on their hand held PDA’s … and connect directly to others with e-mail and cel phones. Today there are many people employed in a range of “support” positions in organizations, so do we need a special holiday to recognize Administrative Professionals?

I’ve heard a number of companies no longer observe this “holiday” (to the chagrin of restaurants and the greeting card industry).

What about your company?

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Catch Me on “Women in Business Radio”

I’m excited to be a guest on the Women in Business program on wsRadio, hosted by Dr. Gayle Carson, this evening (April 15) at 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST, where I’ll be interviewed about my book, Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care.

Dr. Carson (aka the “Wiz of Biz” and a “Spunky Old Broad”) has built her career on advising and coaching CEO’s and entrepreneurial managers, so I’m really looking forward to talking with her.

Hope you’ll tune in tonight for tonight’s broadcast!

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Bad Bosses – Good Teachers

This isn’t an April Fool’s joke – bad bosses have a lot to teach us (especially by example). And you don’t have to go very far to learn from them.

Bad bosses are a hot topic these days. Witness the best selling book, The No Asshole Rule, Zane Safrit’s “Worst bosses of the Year … so many choices” and Management-Issues’s “The Search for World’s Worst Boss.”

I’ve had my share of bad bosses. Fortunately, none would have been contenders for the World’s Worst list. In retrospect, I learned some valuable lessons from them – mostly about how not to treat employees.

Here are my top three lessons learned:

  1. Do not treat employees as minions whose sole function is to bolster your ego.
  2. Do not give employees assignments without all the proper information they need (either because you’re into power trips or because you really don’t know what you want, but you’ll figure it out as soon as they finish the assignment – at which point you’ll change your mind and direct them to do it differently.
  3. Do not assume your employees have no life outside the office and are available to help you 24/7. (I had one boss in particular whose mantra could have been: lack of planning on my part will constitute a constant emergency on your part.)

If you’ve worked for a bad boss, please share what you learned as a result.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Would You Work Here?

I came across this “vision statement” that was meant to rally employees in an organization and industry undergoing change.

 

(Note: I’ve done some minor editing only to disguise the name and type of company,)

 

“We are ONE TEAM determined to build a thriving organization.

We understand that consumers will always have more choices; therefore our actions must by driven by what they need.

We will inform and empower our community through new products and yet-to-be imagined ways while we adapt and sustain our organization well into the future. We will drive urgent change.

By doing this, we will build a thriving organization, admired by employees and customers for making our community an even better place in which to live well, do business and prosper in a free society.”

I admit that I don’t know the circumstances of who created this vision statement (presumably a management team), how it was positioned, and how it was introduced. But its tone really put me off.

While the ultimate intent — to “build a thriving organization … for making our community an even better place” — is lofty, to me the language used throughout the vision statement sounds heavy handed: “We are ONE TEAM … our actions must be driven … we will drive urgent change … “

And then there’s the corporate ego that refers to “a thriving organization admired by employees and customers …”

So I ask you: is this a place you would want to work?

If you read this vision statement differently, I would love to know your reaction.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Wharton Study: Employee Satisfaction Contributes to Bottom Line

Concern for employees’ satisfaction is more than just a “feel good” aspect of management. Wharton professor Alex Edmans’ recent study confirms that happy workers positively impact financial success.

His study examined the stock returns of companies from Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” between 1998 and 2005 and found they had higher financial returns – more than double those of the overall market.

According to Edmans, “One might think this is an obvious relationship – that you don’t need to do a study showing that if workers are happy, the company performs better. But actually, it’s not that obvious. Traditional management theory [still] treats workers like any other input – get as much out of them as possible and pay them as little as you can get away with.”

Part of the problem is rooted in managers’ short-term thinking as they are measured and rewarded on short-term results. Investing in employees, however, is considered to be a long term proposition … despite the fact that it can pay off.

Edmans’ research is the latest of numerous studies citing the financial impact of employee satisfaction. One of my favorites is the 1997 classic The Service Profit Chain, by Harvard B-school professors James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser, and Leonard A. Schlesinger, that documented the self-reinforcing relationship between employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and the bottom line. While a lot has changed in the 10+ years since the book was published, the need to pay attention to employees is as important as ever.

Categories
Engagement

Employee Engagement: “Untapped Potential”

My last post was about “Straight A Management” as a way to attract and retain young professionals. Here’s why it’s more important than ever for all employees.

Towers Perrin’s latest Global Workforce Study reported dismal findings on employee engagement levels. They define engagement as employees “willing to go the extra mile to help their companies succeed.”

The study found only 21% of employees surveyed are engaged in their work. (Here’s a scary thought: if only one out of five employees are fully engaged, what are the others up to?) And 38% of employees surveyed admitted they were partly to fully disengaged.

The research also confirmed the self-reinforcing relationship between strong employee engagement and the bottom line. It found companies with the highest levels of employee engagement had better results in increased operating income and earnings per share.

According to Towers Perrin Managing Director, Julie Gebauer, “ … at a time when companies are looking for every source of potential advantage, the workforce itself represents the largest reservoir of untapped potential.”

Hard to believe so many companies continue to overlook the obvious.

Categories
Engagement

“Straight A Management”

For fascinating insight into the work attitudes of Gen X and Millennials, check out Rebecca Ryan’s Live First, Work Second. Ryan’s firm, Next Generation Consulting, is a market research firm focused on engaging young professionals.

I particularly liked Ryan’s formula for attracting and retaining talent in the 20 to 40 age cohort – “Straight-A Management” – as a response to what she cites as an epidemic of bad management. Based on David Richo’s work (How to Be an Adult in Relationships), Straight-A Management involves:

  • Acceptance – being accepting of diversity among employees.
  • Affection – creating a sense of affiliation & collegiality.
  • Allowance – supporting employees’ professional aspirations.
  • Appreciation – acknowledging employees’ contributions to their work.
  • Attention – being attentive and accessible.

Although the book is about attracting and retaining the young professionals, Ryan advocates the importance of people-centered management to engage employees of ALL ages. This approach is consistent with the time-honored advice that “you must engage employees’ heads and hearts if you want to get the best from your people.”

I couldn’t have said it better.

Categories
Customer service Engagement

A True Story of Another Happy Employee

In my last post, a friend who’s spent most of her career in the nonprofit world shared her positive experience as a seasonal associate at the Village Square (Baltimore MD) Williams-Sonoma store. She’s not the only one surprised and delighted by the Williams-Sonoma retail culture there.

Here are excerpts from a letter that one of her co-workers, also a seasonal (part-time) associate, sent to the chain’s top management.

“For the last 21 years I have served in the Submarine Force and as a Naval Officer in the Cryptology community of the United States Navy. I pride myself on hard work, dedication to the mission, teamwork and integrity.  This December, however, I was shown the true meaning of the qualities above, when I took a Seasonal Job at one of your stores in Baltimore; specifically the store located at Village Square. I thought it might be fun to work in an environment that wasn’t classified, and since I have a passion for cooking I applied for a seasonal position. I wasn’t sure what to expect in the world of retail – renowned for high turnover, mediocre dedication and a demanding public – but I was eager to find out.

My experience was truly eye opening. Your store Manager Claudia and her team of full-time employees are nothing short of OUTSTANDING. I have a staff of over 130 people, and I attempted to evaluate this store from a manager’s perspective as I went about my daily tasks. Over and over and over — I was amazed at the teamwork, dedication and hard, hard, hard work these employees demonstrated. WOW!

This group is truly unique in that they understand and provide customer service – no matter what the circumstance.  Claudia’s attitude is that nothing is too big to handle or too small to pay attention to, and every single employee exemplifies this motto.

I was amazed that I could ask any full-time employee a question in any situation (store packed full of customers, a waiting line five deep) and I was ALWAYS greeted with a “No problem – how can I help?”

These employees ensure that the store is fully stocked, dishes washed, cash counted, floor swept, EVERYTHING in its correct place before they walk out the door every – single -night. I thought that maybe we could cheat a little after the mad rush of customers during the holidays – but it never happened.

Submarines, as you can imagine, are like fine tuned watches. Everything is routine and we can’t afford a mistake because it could mean the death of hundreds of men. I never thought I would work in an environment that had the same structure and system. I have to tell you — Claudia and her team exemplify the same characteristics.

I want to thank you for giving me such a great experience. I truly enjoyed myself – in fact – I looked forward to work and would always call to see if there were extra hours – it was that much fun!”

My reaction (to quote the author of this letter) is also “WOW!”