Article: The Importance Of Succession Planning Of Your Staff (October 2009) 

Running your own business is a bit like riding a roller coaster, except you thought you were signing up for a ride in a chauffeur driven car. Every day brings a new surprise, some good and some bad, but perhaps the worst shock is when your best employee announces that they are off for another job, back to full-time study or going to Tibet to meditate. All this just when you had decided to promote them to a management position. There goes another good day!

Actually, we shouldn't be surprised when people move on, it is the nature of a life journey. But it certainly can take the fun out of the business day. Given that it happens all the time, we wonder how many of us actually build a succession plan to mitigate the damage. We are expected to plan for risks in the business and this is surely just another risk.

Some level of succession planning happens in the ordinary course of business. We expect people to get ill occasionally and we know they are going to take vacations, so we do arrange cover for them during those periods. It is just that we anticipate they will come back, so our arrangements are only temporary. However, we can extend that horizon with some cross-skilling, regular reassignment to allow people to learn new functions and understand the business better or giving them new challenges to stretch their capabilities. However, in the end there is no real substitute for a full succession plan.

If you need an additional justification, don't just think of succession as a plan for a termination, think of it as cover to build flexibility into the business. Unless you can free up some of your best resources for an extended period of time, you can't really take on large restructuring projects such as an acquisition, raising finance or selling part or all of the business.

There are a number of strategic projects which require a dedicated level of effort for a concentrated period of them. Unless the key people can be freed up of their everyday activities, you can't really pursue these projects. Furthermore, you can't always plan when they may occur. An acquisition opportunity may simple drop into your lap. Senior managers need to be able to stop what they are doing and concentrate on evaluating, negotiating and managing the new acquisition.

Sometimes you can obtain resources from outside the firm to step in to take over a role, but it is hard to do that at the last minute. These things need to be carefully planned and arrangements prepared.

For the bulk of staff, you need to have a plan for what you would do if they became chronically ill or resigned. This is one of those situations where ‘Sorry!' really doesn't cut it. These situations can be anticipated and therefore basic risk management and good governance would dictate that you should have at least considered the situation and decided what you would do if the occasion arises. You cannot effectively drive a growth agenda if you can so easily be disrupted.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: Staff Management (June 2008)

We often say that it is the last 20% of the job that provides 80% of the result. This is particularly true when we speak of managing our staff.

Staff management is a challenging, often rewarding and sometimes discouraging element of management. It requires a manager to bring together a vast array of skills and experience in order to create the environment for staff to perform at their optimal level. Done well, staff management can be a fascinating and rewarding component of being a manager. Done poorly and staff management can become a burden that consumes too much time and energy.

It is common for 'Managers' to view the job of staff management as a supervisory duty that takes too much time. We believe that staff are one of your businesses greatest assets, an asset worthy of the investment in time and money. We believe you should try to nurture, guide and encourage your people to be the best they can be, both from a technical point of view and on a personal level.

We suggest you use various methods to provide positive feedback to your team members. You may recall a recent article we wrote detailing the yearly performance review system you can use in your business.

Another successful method we have found used in businesses is the 'Star Award' system.

A third successful method is our 'Team Member of the Year' award.

The Team Member of the Year award is highly prized by employees, as it has a similar philosophy to the 'Players' Player' award within a sporting team. The Team Member of the Year is selected by all of the Team Members and not just by the business owners. We suggest you have an award ceremony where you present trophies and gift vouchers to the Winner, Runner Up and Third Place getter.

The secret of this system is its simplicity. We suggest you distribute a procedure and form to all Team Members in June each year (this can be implemented any month you choose) and ask that they rate their peers in various areas. The rating is done using a simple 'Excellent'', 'Good' or 'Poor' scale. The points are collated, and the winner is the person who has polled the most points.

Remember, recognition is a key element in keeping good staff. It could be this 20% that makes all the difference to morale and productivity within your office.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: How To Deliver Powerful Feedback (May 2008)

One of the secrets to getting awesome results from your team is to learn the art of giving powerful feedback.

There are three types of feedback I have observed: "the Great, the Not Good and the Too Late"!

And then there are three main problems that I notice with feedback. They are that Great feedback is often not given, Not Good feedback can often be hard to give and Too Late feedback is often given at the wrong time or for inappropriate reasons.

To be effective, feedback (whether it is positive or negative) needs to be timely and it should always relate to an action or behavior rather than the person. Feedback about behaviors or actions is effective and powerful because it reinforces the desired behaviors so they can be repeated in future,

Powerful feedback places the action or behavior in the context of a specific situation or task and links it to a result. If the feedback aims to correct, it specifies an alternative action or behavior that would produce an alternative preferred result.

A simple example of Great feedback:

"James - Yesterday when you were walking through the lobby I saw you clear away some rubbish that had been left there by someone else.

Thank you. A clean entrance makes a far better impression on our guests and clients than a messy one."

An example of effective corrective feedback might be:

"Karen - Yesterday after you finished your lunch you were distracted by a phone call and you left your lunch wrappers in the lobby, which creates a poor impression for our guests when they arrive. Please take care to put your rubbish in the bin in future.

That will keep the entry clean so we make a good impression for our guests and clients."

Feedback like this needs to be given to Karen promptly. If it is delayed for so long the situation or incident has been forgotten, it will be less effective. The feedback would be inappropriate if it was expressed as a criticism of Karen personally, for example, "You are a messy person" rather than as a criticism of an action or behavior.

Inappropriate (Too Late) feedback such as "you are messy" is unmovitating and frustrating.

It destroys morale and erodes results as well as being ineffective.

Feedback about our actions or behaviors is effective, empowering and helpful, because we can change our actions if necessary, or repeat them if appropriate.

Positive (Great) feedback should be shared generously. It is a powerful motivation, reinforcing the types of behavior you are keen to see repeated.

Corrective (Not Good) feedback should be given promptly and sensitively.

Ensure you give it in private and in a supportive, direct and open manner. Focus on the action or behavior that that needs modifying or correcting and describe exactly what actions and results you expect in the future.

Given appropriately and regularly, corrective feedback is a valuable learning tool and without it none of us can get better at what we do.

A good leader taps the power of effective feedback to motivate and coach people to great results. If you are generous with positive feedback while you are clear and consistent with corrective feedback you will be delighted with the value effective feedback delivers.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: The Role of 'Change Champion' (April 2008)

Whether it is taking on the role of Change Champion or just helping out on a day to day basis, getting involved in transformation is a valuable exercise. For some team members, it offers the opportunity to gain experience in all aspects of the business while others see the benefits in helping a business through such significant change.

Regardless of what is driving you to help out, taking an active role in transformation delivers benefits to you and to the business. The one question we are often asked is "I know I should help, but I just don't know how to. What do I do?"

In previous newsletters, we have discussed the dangers of complacency and how it can eventually lead to the destruction of the business. One of the greatest areas of complacency is staff who say "I don't need to get involved. Someone else will do it".

Does this sound familiar? Complacency can be just as destructive as any other pre transformation activity a business can engage in. It implies the lack of action regardless of the situation or danger the business may be in and a culture of "it's somebody else's problem."

Transformation is not just an issue that sits with the Owners, Managers or Change Champion - it is an issue that needs the entire business to get behind in order to be truly successful. One or two people driving transformation or making an effort is incredibly hard work that may eventually fail; but get everyone involved and participating and transformation can suddenly be a much easier task to contemplate.

Getting involved in transformation implies you need to take action. This can be:

The only way to not help with the transformation of your business into a “Super” business is by sitting there and continuing to do the same job you have always done. Yes, change can be frightening, confronting and challenging, so why not get involved right at the beginning and have a say in the way the business is changing.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: So, Tell Me What I Want To Hear (March 2008)

The job interview is generally considered to be the moment of truth, for both applicant and employer. In reality, it's often the least honest, realistic, or revealing conversation you'll ever had at work.

A Dan Piraro cartoon title 'New Job' depicts a pair of men reaching over a desk, preparing to shake hands. They are both wearing suits and smiling broadly. The older gentleman is saying "Congratulations, young man! We've decided to let you waste the greater portion of each day here with us in utter misery." To which the younger man, portfolio tucked smartly under his left arm, responds "Thank you, sir! I'll do my very best to pretend I don't hate you".

Of all the ritual acts, none is more bizarre than the job interview. We all know the rules.

From the interviewer's perspective, there are four types of job candidates:

1. No-talent psychos
2. Talented psychos
3. No-talent nice guys
4. Talented nice guys

From the applicant's perspective, there are four types of employment situations:

1. Messed up and unrewarding
2. Messed up but rewarding
3. Tolerable but unrewarding
4. Tolerable and rewarding 

Sussing out wierdos and organisational dysfunction isn't always easy.

In theory, the point of the job interview is simple - now that we are face to face, can we imagine working together?

If you're the applicant here are 5 tips to help you figure out if this is match made in heaven or one that's headed straight to hell: 

On the flip side, when it comes to assessing the character and quality of a prospecting employee, repeat after me: There is no rush. Here are  4 things for the employer to keep in mind:

Regardless of how extensive your due diligence, the final decision winds up being a leap of faith, so you'd better make sure you're leaping from a solid edge. 

A "poison pill" in this context is someone who, through their actions, causes damage to your transformation efforts, your business and the effectiveness of your team.

Some businesses are lucky enough to have a team of people who want to improve the way they work. From time to time, we come across businesses that are home to a "poison pill". These people, who can be a staff member or partner:

"Poison pills" make no positive contribution toward change; everyone and everything which promotes change in the business (including advisors and clients) will be criticised. "Poison pills" will not be reasoned with and are not open to negotiation - it's their way or else! They are not beyond using the threat of resignation or unfair dismissal to get their own way and because there is often no opportunity or willingness to listen to an alternative point of view, it makes them particularly dangerous for your business.

Dealing with a "poison pill" in your business is a challenge because you need to weigh up the loss of knowledge and income against unknown benefits. You may decide to just put up with the negativity or try and get the person to change. In our experience, endeavouring to convert your "poison pill" into an advocate of change is often a waste of time - the amount of time and energy needed is enormous. We have seen business owners who have tried only to have their efforts met with ridicule and criticism and get nowhere. Other staff may start leaving the business during this time believing "nothing is being done" and the problem just gets worse.

You can avoid "poison pills" in your business by using a rigorous recruitment process that uncovers a candidate's attitude toward change and requires thorough referencing checking. While this is not always foolproof - many "poison pills" will say and do all the right things during recruitment and probation - the more effort you put into your recruitment process will reduce the likelihood of you recruiting one into your business.

However, if you do happen to recruit a "poison pill", addressing the issue immediately will help you avoid the spread of poison in your business.

Poison pills see change as a negative outcome and it is rare that they will alter their perception. This is not resistance to change but an inherent belief that they are right. Dealing with the problem immediately before it impacts on your whole business will ensure you get your transformation back on track as quickly as possible.

Article: Motivating and Retaining Employees Requires More Than Competetive Salaries (February 2008)

What costs nothing to develop and deliver but works better than tangible rewards? Some companies believe they have solved the riddle - Recognition.

Key principles of smarter rewards

Objectives for reward policies

Is your reward policy intented to help you achieve any of the following objectives?

• 86% Staff motivation and engagement                                                       
• 78% Promotion to staff loyalty                                                                   
• 68% Achievement of specific business goals                                                
• 64% Teamwork and collaboration                                                               
• 64% Positive workplace behaviours                                                             
• 59% Support for market and business strategy                                            
• 50% Marketplace competiveness in reward packages                                    
• 34% Employer of choice                                                                            

Staff Retention

HR practioners presume that staff leave because of'lack of promotion opportunities', 'inadequate pay' and a 'poor relationship with manager', says The Employee Retention Survey 2008, published by TalentDrain. But its exit data from 5,000 leavers shows 'uninteresting work and boredom', 'lack of training and development opportunities' and 'lack of teamwork and cooperation' are real culprits.  

Article: Like Marketing, Test and Measure Your Recruits (January 2008)

What happens when you have a dud marketing campaign? I bet that you would evaluate the results, and decide not to go down that path again and try a different strategy. It amazes me when I work with clients that they live and die by the results of their marketing campaigns, yet turn a blind eye to the staff member who either refuses to sell or finds it hard to close the sale.

If this sounds like you, may I suggest that you stop advertising and give that money to charity, or start to look at the individual performance of your employees. Test and measuring does not stop at marketing campaigns and monthly reviews of your profit and loss statement, it has to also be included in reviewing the individual sales performance of your team members.

One of our clients had been spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on various marketing campaigns and still returning compounding losses. When we saw that they were converting the number of leads into customers at only 8%, we knew that they were wasting their money on marketing as the sales team was not converting these leads into sales. So we started to measure the individual performance of each of the stores in conversion rate and gave them a benchmark to achieve. We then started to review the sales results of individual sales members and communicated the results of everyone across the company.

The result? The conversion rate moved from 8% to 14% in 4 weeks, with extra profits flowing to the bottom line. We are not there yet, but from simple test and measuring tools we are getting closer, and making an immediate impact.

Marketing Principles applied to recruitment 

So a simple change in mindset can be all the difference between a successful business and an ordinary one. Be vigilant in your recruitment of employees and do what ever is necessary in getting the right team, and ensure that they all paying their way, just like your marketing campaigns.

Article: A Good Team (December 2008)

A good team is more than just a group of people working well together. Just because individuals work well together doesn't necessarily make them a team - in fact, there are examples of groups of highly intelligent individuals performing more poorly as a team than as individuals!

A team is a group of people who share responsibility for achieving a common goal. Everyone has a role to play and that role contributes to the overall achievement of the group. If an individual fails to perform, the common goal can be in jeopardy. Even if each individual performs, unless each works in harmony with other members of the group, it is unlikely they can achieve their true potential.

The important element in team building is to establish a common, shared goal. This gives each team member focus for their efforts, ensures each person is accountable for their own performance and encourages team members to take responsibility for ensuring their team members perform at the required level.

In order to be effective, team building must become a way of life within your business. It is not sufficient to conduct one or two "team building" events during the year. Rather, team building must be a continuous process that aligns actions with goals and is focused on a clear and consistent set of goals.

As each team start performing, team members were able to appreciate how much they could begin to achieve as a group and team work became enjoyable rather than a chore.

We suggest using a 5 step process for your business when team building:

Try this process in your business. Team building is a continual process that pays handsome dividends. Not only will team members benefit from working in a co-operative and harmonious environment, but your business will benefit through the achievement of goals.

Article: CHRISTMAS........ A perfect time to reward your team members (December 2008)

Christmas time is important for most of your staff. It is a time that they can enjoy their loved ones, relax and recoup from the year passed and spend some quality moments doing what they want to do.

To say thank you to your employees and send them off with some Christmas cheer why don't you give a corporate gift for all their efforts and hard work throughout the year.

A corporate gift can be a small token of appreciation or a special and unique Christmas gift. Your employees will enjoy receiving a corporate gift at Christmas because it shows that you are acknowledging and appreciating their efforts.

Below are some corporate gift ideas for your employees:

Corporate gift ideas can be simple and inexpensive. Consider what your employees are like and determine how you are going to say thank you in your own special way.