We are all busy. Our lives have expanded to fill what available time we have making it difficult to always take a step back and consider the businesses we are managing dispassionately and objectively. The following three tips are designed to create that "thinking space" in your schedule to undertake those important Level 2 Activities (preventative maintenance and planning) steps for the business:
We all know what happens when you assume and we also know that the worst two words you can hear when something goes wrong is "I assumed'". Assuming you know what work is in your business is likely to have you working in Level 3 Activities (Urgent and Important) or even dangerously in unimportant or not urgent matters. However, having a clear picture of what work is on hand, what is underway, nearing completion or yet to be started will have you directing traffic efficiently and productively in your business, therefore making you an effective Manager.
You need to know a couple of simple, easy to track pieces of information: When; What; Who; Where; How: When did it arrive? Expected to finish? What is the job? Who is it allocated to? Where is it up to in the pipeline? How long is it likely to take?
Even if you track work in your business on a spreadsheet, using a programme like Outlook, a CRM, or even purpose built workflow management software, you'll never have to guess again - you'll know! And that gives you the power to manage your business effectively.
Sometimes doing one thing exceptionally well (and better than your competitors) is enough to attract clients to your door. However, when times are tough and competition is high, doing one thing well is no longer sufficient - you have to excel at more things, be better at them than your competitors and not wait too long or it will be even harder to build and deliver outstanding service.
Start the journey by making exceptional service every team member's responsibility. Give them the tools they need to sustain the excellence by defining what exceptional client service means in your business. Lastly, implement service standards for all aspects of your business to provide constant reminders of the service commitment your business has made to its clients.
Do you "serve" your clients or are you really helping them? The concept of great service is difficult for some people to grasp - yet the idea of helping someone is much less problematic. Get your team involved in defining how you deliver services to help your clients.
For example: "We will help you, our client, by responding to your call the same day". Forming your service standards and your guarantee in these terms, is more meaningful for your people and will certainly be instantly engaging for your clients. Providing "Help" suggests a personal obligation that "delivering a service" doesn't quite meet.
At the end of the day, these are your standards of service. And while your competitors may be able to match you on price and the type of work you provide, they will be hard pressed to match you on exceptional service.
Service standards and workflow tracking form part of the engine room of a systemised and transformed business that will enable you to deliver quality and consistency as your business grows.
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: Are All Managers Leaders... (June 2008)
Are all leaders managers? Do managers have to be leaders? What does it take to be a good leader?
Management and leadership are often terms used interchangeably in business but are in actual fact, quite different. The differences are not in education or skill or knowledge but are more prevalent in execution, communication and strategy.
While the debate around whether managers can be leaders and whether leaders are managers continues, we propose that by understanding leadership, you can go a long way to becoming a good leader.
Within our business we have worked with many excellent managers - skilled professionals whose efforts drive successful businesses, keep clients happy and ensure staff have the opportunity to develop.
These managers have the critical job of ensuring work gets done within their businesses as efficiently and effectively as possible. This means controlling the workflow, directing the activities of team members and ensuring work is completed using established policies, procedures and checklists.
It could be argued that without managers, not much would get done.
But are these managers also leaders? Sometimes they are the rare individual who has a quality that inspires their team to above and beyond the call, to work extra hours without complaint or provide that little something extra that keeps clients coming back year after year.
So what makes a leader? We look at the difference between managers and leaders; consider the characteristics of a good leader and encourage business owners to consider how they can implement these skills in managing their teams.
While there is no guarantee that some of your team members will instantly become great leaders, however we believe you should offer the opportunity to begin to understand how to apply more 'leadership - like' practices during their working day.
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: It's Been One Of Those Days... (May 2008)
It's been one of "those" days - nothing has gone right, clients are complaining, people you rely on are making errors or forgetting tasks that they were quite capable of yesterday. A big new client may suddenly be going sour or your latest transformation effort causing additional issues rather than solving them.
Regardless of how organised, competent or efficient you are, from time to time you will experience one of 'those' days. Before running home to pour yourself the biggest glass of wine you have, let's consider for a moment how to stay motivated in an environment where nothing seems to be going right.
Motivation is simply the internal process that drives someone to achieve or work toward achieving a goal. Motivation can be intrinsic - the desire to achieve the goal comes from within e.g. wanting to provide that extra service to the client because they enjoy the accolades. Motivation can also be extrinsic where the desire is driven by external rewards e.g. wanting to provide extra service to the client because it may result in a Star Award.
However, offering an incentive or relying on individuals' internal drive to snap them out of a demotivating situation will fail. Incentives will lose their value and appeal while the internal process may take a long time. There is a way of combining both in order to keep yourself and your team motivated in trying circumstances.
As you would expect, it falls to the leader/manager to provide guidance, direction and the model for the rest of the team to follow. In other words, unless you have firstly addressed your motivation issues, it is unlikely that you will be able to assist your team in working on their own.
The opposite is also true: if you are one of those fortunate people who is always motivated and upbeat, regardless of the situation, your challenge will be to understand that others are not like you when it comes to displays of motivation. Your second challenge will be to utilise your enthusiasm - not to jolly staff along - but rather to help them see the positive aspects of the current situation.
As a leader/manager, you are not responsible for each staff members' level of motivation. What you are responsible for is ensuring you create an environment that promotes high levels of motivation. That means communication, participation, mentoring and leadership.
During assisting businesses transformation, we found that just the process of change in the business is one situation that has the potential to lower motivation. Changes, shifting staff out of their comfort zones and introducing new policies and procedures can leave staff feeling powerless to control their own environment. Some businesses did have a few staff members leave but those who remained provided the backbone of the businesses efforts.
By freeing up the leader/managers time to provide mentoring and encouraging staff to actively take part in transformation, motivation in the business was high. Communication played a critical part because the leader/manager created a picture of the future for the team that tapped into their intrinsic need to provide the best and most efficient service possible. As improvements were made, staff began to see the progress which in turn, kept staff motivated and motivating others!
The lesson for the business owner was clear: staying motivated starts with strong, constant and consistent leadership. That means tapping into your own motivation and then communicating your excitement, drive and sense of purpose to your team.
Let's face it, how can you expect to keep your team motivated if you are not? Motivated teams have been proven time and time again to be more productive, more efficient and more involved in the business, especially where a motivated leader/manager is providing clear direction and an environment that fosters the achievement of goals.
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: Leadership (April 2008)
"Leadership" is one of those words that is often thrown around in the workplace - "He shows real leadership", "Her leadership style is very confrontational". But have you ever really considered what being a leader is - what it takes to lead your business and your team?
Sometimes good management style and techniques are confused with good leadership. Just because you have your team on side and doing the work you assign them doesn't necessarily make you a good leader. While delegating, rewarding your team and controlling your business are all important activities, they are also the tools of a good manager.
You cannot begin understanding leadership until you consider "What is management?"
"Management" is a process. The objective of the process is to get things done as efficiently and effectively as possible by directing and controlling others. In practice that means controlling workflow, directing the activities of the team, working within a defined set of parameters and maintaining production.
A good manager has 3 overarching goals:
- To ensure their team has all the resources it needs to get the job done
- To promote an environment of creativity, productivity and trust that will allow team members to develop and grow
- To make their role redundant (by that we mean, develop and coach the team to share knowledge and experience and through implementing procedures, enable the team to control its work output)
Much of what you have been trying to achieve through transformation looks very much like building sound management practices: you have freed up time to develop and mentor your team; you have started building a culture of continuous improvement in which your team is encouraged to contribute ideas and suggestions; and you are, through systemising your business, sharing critical knowledge and skills to enable the business to continue without you while you market and promote your services.
These management skills are absolutely essential for a well run business. Why then is leadership so important?
"Leadership" is not about directing, controlling or maintaining order. Unlike management, leadership is about getting your team to go that extra step and do things they would not normally do. Leadership is about creating a vision of the business so powerful (and tangible) that your team willingly follow and participate in those activities essential for transformation.
There are eight essential characteristics of a great leader:
- The focus is on the future
- They are passionate about their goals and share their passion with others
- Leaders take pride in what they do and maintain high standards for themselves and others
- Leaders are also patient, recognising that others need time to understand the vision
- They persevere to overcome obstacles
- Their enthusiasm is contagious
- Despite their excitement about the future, leaders take the hard decisions when required
- And finally, the mantra of great leaders is "It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission"
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: Create the Right Environment (March 2008)
A manager is a motivator and hence you need to ensure that you and your managers are motivating your staff to come to work every day.
To generate job satisfaction and an environment that will stimulate and encourage your team to attend work you will need to asses and apply the following where possible:
- Encourage internal promotion and select new recruits with care if this is part of your job. You will need to help new staff member settle in their positions and old staff members to feel comfortable with the new recruit.
- Review and assess jobs regularly so that your staff member knows you are aware of their activities and responsibilities. You like to enjoy your job so you need to ensure you can help them enjoy theirs.
- Recognise and give regular feedback to your employees. Understand the importance of their work and show your appreciation.
- Ensure people are paid fairly and competitively. Remember money does motivate people and they should be rewarded accordingly.
- Provide acceptable working conditions for all staff. Where possible implement new systems and technology and give your staff as many facilities as possible.
- Always have regular meetings which identifies work in progress. This can also be an ideal time to have group discussions and input for certain business activities or decisions.
- Set and revisit objectives or targets. These must be clear, concise , measurable and regularly assessed to ensure that everyone is on track.
- Measure individual staff members contribution.
- Set high standards. These may require people to take an extra step or go out side of their boundaries, however this is what it is meant to do. You want your team to be able to take calculated risks and grow with your business.
- Never make promises. You shouldn't make promises if your intentions are otherwise. Offering rewards and then retracting them will make your staff angry and lack confidence in you.
- Be honest with your staff. If you have bad news tell them as it is better coming from you instead of anyone else. Honesty also relates to good news. Praise them where you can.
- You must set an example to your staff as if you imply a bad or unprofessional impression then they will assume that this is the standard the behaviour will be accepted.
- Measure absenteeism and staff turnover. This will be clear indicator if staff are finding their positions difficult or unsatisfying and will present a pattern of what the company must do to ensure that the position is filled should staff leave.
Having a fair, diplomatic and structured environment will keep your employees active and enjoying their jobs.
By simply applying the techniques above you will be able to have a more efficient and accepting work environment for your employees to attend to every day.
It is a fact of business that at some stage, you will encounter a dissatisfied client. Even the most systemised and efficient business is not immune to the client who thinks you are not providing value for money.
While introducing service standards and endeavouring to manage expectations will minimise the number of dissatisfied clients, it is important to ensure you have programs in place that allow you to take responsibility and resolve the issue to limit the potential cost to your business.
Dissatisfied clients cost your business money. Not only does it immediately affect your bottom line, but dissatisfied clients can cost you potential new clients. Some researchers suggest that each dissatisfied client is likely to tell 8 - 10+ people about their experience and the more dissatisfied clients you have, the more people are going to have a negative impression about your business.
Dissatisfaction arises for a number of reasons but it is generally because a client does not perceive value in your service. "Value" is calculated simply as:
In other words, a client perceives value when the quality of the service is greater than the cost.
Introducing client satisfaction surveys will help in identifying dissatisfied clients and give you a strong indication of areas of improvement in your business. While this will capture the vocal clients, how do you identify those dissatisfied clients who don't bother to complete the survey or just "vote with their feet" and don't come back?
A simple way to spot dissatisfied clients is to pay attention to the signals you are given such as heavy sighing, avoiding phone calls and letters or making sarcastic comments. Clients who are reluctant to interact with you and your team members are often unhappy with service but are reluctant to say anything directly. Unfortunately, while these clients are reluctant to say anything to you, they are not so shy in saying it to their friends and family who will also happily pass on negative press.
To stop this negative publicity, it becomes even more important to clearly focus on managing client expectations at the start of each job. A complaint resolution process will deal with issues after a complaint is made, but you and your team can deal with issues of dissatisfaction before they get to that point. Your prompt action will ensure you recover the situation and will, in many cases, turn this dissatisfied client into a loyal one who will actively refer you new business.
We suggest using a simple process to deal with issues of dissatisfaction before they become complaints:
Encouraging your staff to manage expectations and address dissatisfaction before it turns into a complaint will ensure you have happy clients who actively promote your business. Remember that a client who complains is a great reminder of ways you can improve.
