The Employee Factor

10 Things Your Boss Hates About You

We love the article written by the Guardian on April 2^nd. Mira Katbamna reveals 10 things your boss hates about you. What are they? We have provided the top ten as outlined below:

Lateness - Everyone has days when the bus breaks down, the washing machine packs up, or the alarm doesn't go off. The problem is that some people have those days Monday through Friday. But what really cheeses off your boss is your lame excuse. "It shows you don't care," says Louis Halpern, CEO at advertising agency Halpern Cowan. "Why they can't just tell you that they find it hard to get out of bed and be done with it I don't know. It really makes me furious."
Lack of initiative - "Don't ask me if you should buy lunch for the client, if the client is coming at noon," said one infuriated manager. "Call up the client and ask if they want lunch." Actually that's not quite what he said: there was a lot more swearing in the original version. Managers absolutely hate being bothered by stuff that really, if you thought about it for even a second, you could work out for yourself. They also hate constant updates and being CCd in on everything. They pay you to do a job - get on with it...
Too much initiative ... unless you're an idiot. A marketing manager for a large educational charity reports that if there's one thing worse than lack of initiative, it's completely ignoring instructions to go off and do something else instead. She recently found herself on stage, ready to announce the winner of an award. When the person responsible for counting the votes turned up, he showed off a new, whizzy and completely redundant colour-coded method for counting the votes. Unfortunately, devising the new programme meant he hadn't actually had time to ... count the votes.
Bitching and whining - So Julie from third floor might not have said hello to you this morning, and that might well be because she's an unfriendly cow, but in the context of say, the war in Iraq, does it really merit a four-hour disquisition? Your boss doesn't think so. On the other hand, while bitching is bad, whining is worse. "What really annoys me is when we buy new equipment or take everyone out, and all I hear the next day is 'We should have bought a bigger TV' or 'We could have gone to a nicer restaurant'" says Halpern. "And that's when we've spent £5,000."
Disloyalty - Although none of the managers came out and said that they hated their staff for talking over them in meetings, pointing out their errors in public, or preventing the bonus-related project coming in on time, Mann says it's a major issue. "People used to close ranks, but it doesn't happen quite as much as it used to," she says. "Managers usually feel obliged to look after their staff, but if their staff don't feel the same way, the lack of loyalty is always a problem for the boss."
Lack of passion. Or interest - It might come as a surprise to you, but your boss has a life outside work. They too find it hard to get up in the morning. And they find the managing director's speeches as boring as you do. But they have to stay motivated, because they are the boss. So, when you fall asleep in meetings, can't remember the names of your accounts and tell them it doesn't matter whether the email goes today or tomorrow, it reminds them that they don't really give a toss either, but that it's their job to make themselves, and you, care. Then they get really, really irritated.
Trying to be their best friend - They don't want to go down the pub with you, they don't want to hear about what you really think of their boss, and they most certainly don't want to know what happened between you and Andy in the loos last Friday. They like you, but they know from bitter experience that if they show too much interest, you'll start treating them like a friend and refuse to take orders.
Petty lying - Saying that you missed the call because your mobile has run out of power. That you didn't get the email. That you've sent the report but there must be a technical glitch. That the meeting has run over and it's not worth you coming back to the office. That you've lost two big taxi receipts. That you're working from home today. That you have to go to a funeral, the dentist, the doctor, your mum's house, your best friend's cousin's wedding. Whatever. The biggest insult is that you think they believe you.
Childishness - I'm paraphrasing, but the key message here is: "I'm not your mum. Don't email me about the brand of toilet paper in the loo. Don't leave the kitchen in a mess. Don't ask me for a new biro. I'm not going to clean up after you and I don't care about this crap." You get the idea.
Wanting their job - They spend all their time and energy trying to protect you from the higher-uppers, you spend all your energy complaining about them. And then, on top of that, you want their job? Unforgivable.

Let us know what you would add!

Posted by Judy McLeish at 01:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Owenbloggers - Talk about Evangelism!

First of all thank you to the Church of the Customer blog for finding Owenbloggers.com. What is Owenbloggers?

Owenbloggers was founded by 17 current students, 3 admitted incoming students, and alumni, all writing constantly about their experiences at Vanderbilt. They call themselves die-hard Owen evangelists, who work hours and hours each week (on top of their hectic MBA course load) to write, update, and syndicate pages to thousands of viewers per week. What do they write on? Well, of course their experience at Owen. In their own words:

“Our idea is simple: Tell it all. Tell the good. Tell the bad. Tell the unexpected. Let every prospective student know EXACTLY what they’re in for. We feel better information makes better informed consumers. The response so far has been overwhelming. Very overwhelming. Every prospective student I’ve talked to said OwenBloggers has made a difference in their decision. We receive emails every week from people all over the map: recruiters, students, faculty and alumni telling us how much more they’ve learned about Owen because of our site.” What a great concept. Imagine having a spot where someone could go to hear the “real scoop” from those that are actually at or have been at the school.

Have a look at the video to see what we mean!

Congratulations Owenbloggers!

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Employee Office Pools = Good for Business

With March Madness (NCAA basketball tournament) just finished and the NHL playoffs just underway offices pools are all a-buzz.

Typically thought to sap productivity, experts are now suggesting we see them for what they really are – informal team-building exercises that help employees get to know each other better, while building morale and camaraderie. In a nutshell? Office pools may create “the bonding experience” that so many people are looking for at work.

As well, office pools may also break down silos and get disparate groups of people talking and sharing ideas. What a great way for IT to start talking to internal audit!

Have a look at the article by Dave McGinn, Financial Post, for more reasons to feel good about that $10 you’ve just invested in your team’s success and good luck!

Posted by Judy McLeish at 04:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Banks Should Look at the Dabbawalla!

We loved the post by Seth Godin on the phenomenon of the Dabbawalla. The fact that these men deliver thousands of lunches every single day in Mumbai…and the reported error rate is one in six million.

We asked the same question – how is this possible? According to Seth, the Dabbawallas know their customers. If they rotated the people around, it would never work.

We spend most of our working lives consulting to banks. We think that they could learn a lot from the Dabbawalla. How? They need to put a premium on their frontline staff, who know their customers and reward them to stay and build lasting long-term relationships.

At so many Banks, the reward is moving to Head Office – farther away from the customers and the relationships that are so precious to their survival. If they followed the basic tenent of "knowing their customer" they would easily differentiate themselves in the marketplace.

Thank you Seth for this very interesting post. We think a lot of companies could learn from the Dabbawalla!

Posted by Judy McLeish at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

How Can Employees Build Rapport?

So many companies are asking their employees to build rapport with customers? So what is rapport?

Rapport is a customer’s perception of having an enjoyable interaction with a service provider that is characterized by a personal connection between the two parties.

What can employees do to establish rapport with the customers ? It is easier than you think:

Find something in common. Employees need to understand that people tend to relate to those that are most like themselves. Therefore, they need to find something that they share in common with the person they are interacting with – travel; children; bridge? Once an employee identifies something that they have in common with the customer – this will help the customer see them as someone that “is just like themselves”.
Encourage the customer to talk about themselves. “The more you talk about yourself or your business, the more you turn people away. In general, people don’t take an active interest in a stranger’s life. Therefore, stand out by building a relationship through talking about the other person and offering compliments when appropriate.”
Talk about what the person is interested in. That’s right. Employees need to take notes. They need to remember the little details – a trip; a child in college; a sick parent – and they need to engage the customer in a conversation that they are interested in. This will build rapport.
Keep a positive attitude. Remember, people naturally want to be around upbeat and positive people. Check your attitude and make sure you leave any negativity at the door
Following these basic tips will help your employees build rapport with customers.
Have a look at a humorous view on how to build rapport. Watch the YouTube Video from National Australia Bank – who has a slightly different view on how employees can build RAPPORT!

Posted by Judy McLeish at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What Drives Your Company's Culture?

Have a listen to the BNET video with Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer, who elaborates on what type of employees the software giant wants and what characterizes its environment. Steve Ballmer talks about the two personal characteristics and six core values that create the Microsoft culture. What are the two personal characteristics? Microsoft only wants to hire people that are:

Very bright
And very intense

What are the six core values that guide the company and its culture?

Integrity
Accountability
Want people making “big bold bets”
Collaboration
Dedication to making others better
Desire to change the world – winning = number of customers they have.

According to Steve, these are the hallmarks that characterize what it is like to work at Microsoft. What is interesting about the interview is Microsoft’s clarity around its culture and the personal characteristics of the people it hires to create the culture.

What are the personal characteristics and core values that characterize your company?

Posted by Judy McLeish at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Loyalty = Create Fewer Miserable Moments

We recently came across a Bank who is focused building customer satisfaction and advocacy through:

Making clients feel valued.
Offering the best, timely solutions.
Providing good service.
Providing good overall value.
Creating fewer Miserable Moments!

Creating fewer “Miserable Moments” – now you have our attention, but what does that mean? If you were an employee – would you know what to do? What constitutes a Miserable Moment? Hmm, I can think of a number of things. So how are they training their staff to create fewer Miserable Moments to “in their own words” generate Magic Moments? Huh? This is not Disney? This is not an entertainment company. This is a Bank? How can you ask your employees to reduce Miserable Moments and Maintain HIGH Magic?

If I was a Leader at this company – I would start again and create clear, customer service standards. Why? Because employees need to understand what they need to do in order to deliver the desired experience. If the end goal is to create value through more efficient professional service – tell them what to do. Don’t just tell them that "lack of communication" and "inefficiency" are key drivers of Miserable Moments. If I was an employee - would I know what to do? Would I be energized and excited by being told that I had to reduce the number of Miserable Moments I delivered? Probably not! Would I shake my head, if I was told that I had to deliver "High Magic" - absolutely!

Employees are not magicians. They need direction. They need coaching. They need tools and information. They need leadership. But most importantly they need clarity. They need to be able to deliver systematic consistency to clients’ everyday – and the only way they can do this for the company to help them understand in clear English – not magic – what they are to do.

Help your employees succeed. Give them something to believe in. Don’t disengage them by telling them to deliver something they don’t know how to deliver. And delivering High Magic won’t mean anything to them unless they are Disney.

What do you think?

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Why Do Women Think Sex is the Answer?

Why would a business magazine have a naked woman on the front cover? The April cover of WIRED magazine, while provocative, has me thinking. I completely agree with the fact that the next area for business success will be transparency, but what I am struggling with is why did they choose a naked woman to make the point?

According to the magazine: “The April cover of WIRED features a package of stories about radical transparency, our notion that the next model of business success is laying your company bare to the world—sharing secrets with your rivals, blogging about ideas as you have them, and copping to fumbles and foibles as you make them. The concept was crisp, but we all struggled with how to portray a pretty complex idea in the three-second visual byte that is the modern magazine cover. If you're talking about transparency, the obvious metaphor is clear: you're naked.”

Frankly the whole “naked” thing was quite timely, for me. Why? Well lately I have been struggling with why smart women continue to think they need to use their looks and sex appeal to get ahead in business.

I was recently out at a corporate function. I arrived only to find the woman that I had recommended draped all over her boss – with everything “hanging” out. Why would a 40-something woman, who was quite senior and obviously smart feel that she had to stoop to this level? Look I may have excused her behavior is she was younger and single - but come on - why in her forties does she still feel that this is the best method to "make friends and influence people?"

Why do women feel they need to behave like this, especially women with proven business track records? I wish they realized the impact their behavior has on both themselves, other women and their company.

They are lowering their status – with both men and women. While flirting may make you more popular at the pub, men won’t take you as seriously and may not consider that you have the proper judgment for the “important” stuff. As well, women won’t respect you.
They are tarnishing their personal brand - that’s right, you may be smart – but all of your colleagues will start to wonder why you were actually hired.
They are tarnishing the companny's brand - whether you like it or not, you behavior reflects on both you and your company. Is this behavior ok in the workplace? If not, why is it ok in a pub? Remember, everyone is watching how you represent the brand both inside and outside of the workplace. What message are you sending?
Oh and by the way, in case they thought this behavior was ok - this was not the kind of "transparency" in business that WIRED was referring to!

So thank you WIRED. While, I wish you could have thought of something else to demonstrate transparency – your front cover is particularly timely. I think women everywhere do themselves a disservice by “using their body over their brains” to get ahead.

Next time you think about draping yourself all over your boss and other colleagues – you may want to think twice!

Posted by Judy McLeish at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Thought of the Day

Despair Inc. captures what we see every day:

Everyone is now focused on creating a better service experience.
Everyone wants to be a retailer.
Everyone wants to be #1.
Everyone wants to imitate Disney, Starbucks, or Whole Foods.
Everyone wants engaged and committed employees.

Remember to be great you must make the "common uncommon" You must break rules. You must take risks. You must believe - in yourself and what you are doing!

Where do you stand?

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Energize, Excite, Engage Employees!

energize We love David Maister’s videocast on The Profit Formula. Why? It supports our belief that companies succeed, if they have highly engaged and committed employees. According to David:

You don’t make money by occasional excellence. You make money by consistency. It doesn’t matter what the best people do – it matters what everybody on the team does. We can’t agree more – it is essential that a company is relentless in its desire for consistency. He then asks the next question – which we can’t agree with more… Under what circumstances does excellence occur? It occurs, if and only if, you can energize, excite and engage your people. If your people come to work energized about what they do – if they come to work thinking this is “fun” then they go the extra mile.

So how do you energize your people? According to David – your Managers, of course. It is the Managers that are responsible for both profit and for people’s lives. They need to give the people they work with meaning and make them energized about what they do. It is the character of the individual Manager that creates excitement. If you put someone in charge that actually believes that what you do has meaning – then they have a higher probability of convincing everybody else.

Managers with the Right Ideology = Energized Employees = Profit Thank you David for your invaluable insights. How many companies are selecting Managers based on their character? Based on their ability to energize and excite employees – probably not as many as there should be!

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Employee Experience? A Resounding Yes!

We recently had the fortune of conducting an "email" interview with Erika Andersen the author of the bestseller "Growing Great Employees". What did we want to find out? We were very interested in Erika's viewpoint on the value of creating employee experiences.

We asked Erika seven questions.

What is your definition of an employee experience? And how important do you think it is to growing great employees?

I’d define employee experience both as the feeling someone has, day-to-day, as an employee of an organization, and his or her feeling about that organization. I think a good employee experience is critical to growing great employees – and research backs me up! Employees who feel positive about and loyal to their employers tend to be more productive and stay longer. From my point of view, listening is central to a great employee experience. I’ve devoted the first chapter of Growing great Employees to the skill of listening, as you know, because I feel it’s so foundational to creating an environment that supports trust, engagement, and growth. In other words – I believe listening provides the basis for creating a great employee experience.

Do you think that employee engagement is enhanced if a company mirrors its customer experience on the inside – in other words builds the customer experience from the inside-out? If so, which companies do you think are leading the way?

Yes – I think the smartest companies recognize that employees who are having a great experience can provide a great customer experience. One company that does a wonderful job in this regard is Union Square Hospitality Group, a restaurant company based in New York. When they first became clients of ours in the early 90s, they were in the process of expanding from one very successful restaurant in New York City, Union Square Café, to two. We encouraged the CEO, Danny Meyer – a lovely, visionary leader – to make explicit his core values, so that people could know what those values were and work toward embodying them even when he wasn’t around. He formalized the experience he wanted to create as “Enlightened Hospitality”; its five tenets are “take care of each other,” “take care of the guest,” “take care of the vendor,” “take care of the community,” and “take care of the bottom line.” You notice the very first one is “take care of each other”! And they actually do this – so that the basic experience employees have is of being in a supportive and caring “work family.” USHG has a turnover less than half that of the average restaurant company, and they now have 11 restaurant and related business in New York – and they’ve just partnered with a Japanese company to open Union Square Tokyo!

What are employees looking for in terms of psychological, emotional, as well as economic benefits?

In my experience, almost everyone wants a few essential things at work: to feel respected and trusted, to feel they have some influence over decisions that affect them, to feel successful and competent.
Then there are the more person-specific experiences: some employees want security, while others want the chance to take risks. Some employees like a very expressive, loose environment, while others like a workplace that’s more quiet and structured.
If an organization can create an environment that offers the basic human experience that all employees are looking for (in the first paragraph, above), they’ll be able to attract great candidates, and then they can sort for those who will be a “fit” for the more specific nuances of their particular culture.

How important is it for companies to create meaning for employees? And if it is important, what is required?

I don’t think companies can create meaning for employees. I think company leaders can get very clear about what’s meaningful in the work they do, express that clearly – and then look for employees who resonate with that meaning. For example, the mission of my company, Proteus International, is “to help our clients clarify and move toward their hoped-for future.” We’re passionate about this – and we work to offer this support to all our clients. Because we’re explicit that this is the core meaning of our work, it’s easy for people thinking about joining our organization to know “what we’re about” and to decide whether or not it has meaning for them.

What are the most important factors that shape an employee experience?

It seems to me that consistency is key: consistency in a company’s policies, consistency in the execution of those policies, and consistency in the behavior of those in senior positions in the company – perhaps most especially of the employee’s manager – in regards to those policies. For example, if a company purports to have a zero tolerance policy on harassment, but they also have in place policies that allow men to be paid more than women for doing the same work, or if the policy is enforced in some instances but not others, or if the person’s manager doesn’t adhere to the policy…it creates a bad employee experience. In other words, I don’t believe a company can create good employee experience if employees don’t feel the company can be trusted to keep its promises.

With the new focus on “war for talent” do you think companies have swung the pendulum too far in their efforts to attract new talent versus nurturing and growing their existing employee base?

Actually, most of the companies we work with are pretty focused on trying their best to recruit and promote from within. They’ve realized that it saves tremendous amounts of money and time, and yields employees who are more committed and enthusiastic…not only those who are promoted, but others who see them being promoted.

How can companies better ensure that their most precious assets, which take the elevator down every night, come back the next day with a positive attitude?

Listen to them, give them choices whenever possible, assume they want to do great work. Tell them honestly when they need to do something differently, and support them to change. Be clear and realistic in your expectations, and give them the resources, authority, skills and knowledge they need to fulfill those expectations. Believe in their potential, and want to help them succeed. When they do succeed, celebrate and give credit for those successes.

We want to thank Erika for taking the time to answer our questions. Anyone wondering if they should bother building an employee experience should read this interview! The answer is a resounding YES!

Posted by Judy McLeish at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Common Factors Drive Employee Engagement

What is your company doing to drive employee engagement? Do they have varying strategies depending on the age group of employees? If so, you might want to let them know that this may not be necessary.

A recent survey released by Watson Wyatt Worldwide shows that there are three common factors that drive employee engagement regardless of the age of the employees. What are they?

Management’s ability to demonstrate leadership and strategic direction builds confidence in the prospects for long-term growth and success. Every generation, with the exception of the 30-39 group placed this as the number one driver of engagement.
Having effective rewards programs was cited as the second driver of employee engagement. Again, in all age groups except the 30-39 group this was the number two driver of employee engagement.
And finally delivering clear two-way employee communication was cited as the third driver of employee engagement.

What is interesting about this survey is the commonalities that exist across all age groups. Companies that focus on the top three drivers will have a better chance of creating a engaged and committed workforce.
However, this will not be a straightforward exercise.
Less than half of the survey participants (44%) currently trust their company’s leadership and that level of trust drops substantially at lower levels of the organization. As well, only 43% of employees say their leaders respond to questions with “straight answers”. These statistics will make it very difficult for companies to deliver on the number one driver of employee engagement. In order to ensure that leaders demonstrate their ability to lead, we would suggest the following:

Leader’s need to break out of their comfort zone and create programs that help demonstrate to the employee base that they can trust them and that they are “indeed human”.
Leaders need to “be real”. In other words they need to show their personality. As well, they need to be accessible. Don’t just say you are accessible.
Leader’s need to be accessible. Employees can’t trust you, if they don’t know you. So if they are telling you they don’t trust you – open your door and truly invite them in!
Make it a safe environment for employees to really share what is going on. If you make it so that employees are afraid to deliver bad news – how can you build an environment of trust?

If you are a Leader that asks – “if it isn’t broken why should we fix it” – then you might want to look at the reasons why you should be building trust and demonstrating your ability to lead. Why? Employee engagement directly impacts your bottom-line.

Companies with low levels of engagement had productivity per employee of $328,000, and a market premium of -8.8%.
Companies with high levels of engagement enjoyed productivity per employee of $484,000, and a market premium of 6.8%.

Which company would you rather work for? Which company would you rather lead?

Posted by Judy McLeish at 07:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Customers Want a Genuine Smile

“A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.” Chinese Proverb

What does that mean? Customers have sincerity radar. They can tell if you are “faking it”. There are three components to a warm and sincere greeting – your smile; your handshake; and making eye contact.

What’s in a smile? A smile says – “I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you.” People who smile tend to manage, teach and sell more effectively. Why? The smile:

Is a messenger of your good will.
Brightens the lives of all who see it.
Can help someone under pressure realize that all is not hopeless.

An insincere grin doesn’t fool anybody. People want to see a real smile, a heartwarming smile, a smile that comes from within. We loved the blog by Even Happier, which provided the one-minute guide to spotting a fake smile.

With a genuine smile the eyes’ muscles are contracted pulling the cheeks upward producing wrinkles around the eyes. How can you spot a fake smile?

The eye muscles are just squeezed and the cheeks are pulled upward from below, not from above.
The onset of a fake smile is often abrupt, the moment of maximum contraction is held too long and the disappearance is either abrupt or irregular.
Genuine smiles generally last between 0.5 and 4 seconds, fake smiles are either shorter or longer.
Have a look at the BBC quiz that shows 20 smiling faces and allows you to determine whether or not the smile is genuine or fake. It is a great test of your ability to determine whether a smile is fake or not!

If you are a company trying to teach your employees how to smile more at customers get them to practice this simple technique. Have them smile at someone once every hour of the day for a week and then ask them to come back and talk about the results. We are willing to bet that this simple technique will make them and those around them feel happier!

Posted by Judy McLeish at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

April 16, 2007

10 Things Your Boss Hates About You

April 14, 2007

Owenbloggers - Talk about Evangelism!

April 13, 2007

Employee Office Pools = Good for Business

April 12, 2007

Banks Should Look at the Dabbawalla!

April 11, 2007

How Can Employees Build Rapport?

April 10, 2007

What Drives Your Company's Culture?

April 09, 2007

Loyalty = Create Fewer Miserable Moments

April 06, 2007

Why Do Women Think Sex is the Answer?

Thought of the Day

April 05, 2007

Energize, Excite, Engage Employees!

April 04, 2007

Employee Experience? A Resounding Yes!

April 03, 2007

Common Factors Drive Employee Engagement

April 02, 2007

Customers Want a Genuine Smile