Companies are turning to employee recognition as an internal strategy to boost employee engagement and positively impact such metrics as productivity, ROA, ROE, and retention of both employees and customers. For example, companies that have a formal strategic recognition program in place had a voluntary turnover rate (i.e. people choosing to leave) of 14%, vs.…
We have the power to choose what we do when situations are difficult and connections fray. Knowing that we always have choices gives us the power to take control. Throughout our lives, we’ll mix and mingle with plenty of people- the outraged and the obstinate, the belligerent and the bothersome, the annoying and the agitated,…
If you’re going through hell, keep going. – Winston Churchill A story is told of a group of friends who went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under the weight of an eight-point buck. “Where’s Harry?” he was asked. “Harry had a…
“As a speaker, trainer, coach and consultant helping companies and organizations to improve customer and workplace relationships one question I always get is, “What are some ways to deal with complaints?” The word “complaint” is loaded with negative connotations. But in fact, complaining does offer an opportunity to set things right. According to Sandra Crowe,…
The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder-a wait, a nothing, a no man. – Thomas Carlyle One of golf’s immortal moments came when a Scotsman demonstrated the game to President Ulysses S. Grant. Carefully placing the ball on the tee, he took a mighty swing. The club hit the turf…
I’m sure I used to drive my mom and dad a little crazy as a child because I used to ask “Why?” so often. It turns out that kids aren’t the only ones who want to know why. Employees are more likely to be engaged when they are informed and understand the reason you ask…
Do you have a complex, large project that simply must not fail? How do you set up the right team to ensure success? 1) Choose your BEST people to participate on the team. A recent system implementation in my company proved to be one of the more complex projects I have worked on — the key…
In a previous post we examined a manager who was too easy on his team. In many cases an assignment will come in to work with a manager who has the opposite challenge – he or she is too tough on employees. Often these hard-nosed managers tend to work long hours, do the work his…
The Plant Manager was becoming increasingly frustrated. His production manager was struggling to meet plant performance targets and was not getting his team to take ownership of achieving results. The initial diagnosis was that the production manager was being too easy on his team. As with most management problems, only two or three behaviours cause…
Accountability becomes mission-critical in challenging times. We need everyone in our organization to take ownership of results and make things happen. Creating an environment of accountability rests with management. Based on our 22 years of experience in organizational development and leadership training, we have discovered that managers systematically remove accountability. As a result the manager…
We have all been there – sent an email you regret. How do you handle the aftermath? This happened about a year ago….. I call it “Sorry, dialed the wrong number! ”
A manager or supervisor’s job should be easier. After all, as long as you have the right people, the right materials, the right information and the right equipment, everything goes smoothly. For most of us this fairy tale scenario only happens on occasion. The rest of the time we are scrambling because one or two…
You’re probably wondering exactly what is a no-see’em? These are salespeople that your customers don’t see. Usually they don’t see them because their only contact is by telephone.
When you walked into the office this morning was the general climate a positive or negative one? It seems that when I speak with my friends and former co-workers that their work environments are increasingly toxic with negativity. Who is responsible for this onslaught of emotional crud? Is it the leaders in the organization, the…