« April 2008 | Main | June 2008 »

May 28, 2008

Whole Foods CEO Back to Blogging?

HC-GK346_Mackey_20070717213148.gifThe Wall Street Journal reported that Chief Executive John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods has started blogging again. Mackey took a hiatus from blogging, due to a long investigation that questioned his anonymous postings on Yahoo Finance message boards.

“The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission spent the past 11 months investigating whether Mr. Mackey's roughly 1,400 anonymous messages under the screen name "Rahodeb" had broken any laws. The commission concluded no action needed to be taken against the chief executive or the company.” Mr. Mackey wrote on the Whole Foods' Web site that his message-board postings were intended to express his competitive personality while defending himself and the company against negative rumors.

 

 

"The main reason I began posting on Yahoo was because I enjoy and learn from online community interactions," wrote Mr. Mackey, arguing that more than 95% of his posts were made in response to defamatory attacks against the company. "I also like to express my viewpoints and I like to argue and debate."

Mr. Mackey said he is glad the investigation is behind him. "I can't tell you how good it feels to be able to write in my blog again," he said.

I wonder if the tone of his blogging and interactions in the social community will change based on this?

 

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:21 AM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

May 27, 2008

Umpqua Bank Creates Social Networking Site - But is it Effective?

Increasingly companies are trying to become part of the social networking scene. For those that need a refresher, social networking often involves grouping specific individuals or organizations together. That is what Umpqua Bank is trying to do. Umpqua has created LocalSpace™.

Umpqua LocalSpace™ is an easy-to-use virtual networking service that allows individuals to connect with the people, content and resources within their community. Potential new customers, vendors and partners from the area are all online and available to all Umpqua customers. According to the Bank, individuals can get beyond the boilerplate information most search sites provide, and really get to know and support the local businesses around you.

Frankly after a couple of minutes of browsing LocalSpace™, the concept sounds interesting, but the content is not presented in an eye-catching way. In fact, I would argue that it is quite basic. It looks to connect individuals and highlights conversation starters, more you should know about the individual or the business and provides photos, files or videos.

Given that this is the information age and I can find information on businesses and individuals in so many interesting and engaging ways – I am not sure this would hold my attention for very long. And I am classified as a baby boomer!

I would love to hear from anyone that is benefitting from LocalSpace™.

While it may seem that I am not very keen on what Umpqua is doing, I believe that every bank should think about how they are going to get involved in the social media space. While it is not too late to play – time is ticking.

So Umpqua deserves a “thumbs-up” for entering the space! I look forward to watching LocalSpace™ evolve. If anyone can innovate – Umpqua can!

Posted by Judy McLeish at 11:45 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Generation Z - "The iGeneration"

Our partner, callcentres.net wrote a great blog article on the next Generation. Generation Z, those born after the mid 1990s, who make up about 18% of the population. This generation is also called the New Silent Generation, Homelander Generation, Vista Generation, Internet generation, iGeneration, Generation Now, Computer Generation, Generation M (Millennium or Multi Task), Millennials, Google Generation, Generation Q (Quiet), Net Gen or Net Natives. Characteristics of this generation are:
  • Computer technology is commonplace.
  • Formative years were during the rise of the World Wide Web.
  • Instant-gratification due to technology.
  • No memory of (or nostalgia for) pre-Internet history.
  • Takes the Internet for granted.
  • Accepts as a norm services such as internet forums, email, Wikipedia, Google, search engines, MySpace, Facebook, imageboards and YouTube.
  • Mass collaboration via Net Communities.
  • Lack of privacy.
  • Expect to speak to an audience even in personal communication.
  • Familiarity with anonymous criticism.

Just when we thought we had only to worry about how to manage Gen Y...companies now have to think about Gen Z!

Posted by Judy McLeish at 10:59 PM | | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

May 23, 2008

Comcast Starting to Benefit From Listening!

Here is a great post from "Managing the Gray" blog on how Comcast is benefitting from listening to its customers.

In summary:

"The short version of the story is that last night I made a snide remark about the lackluster quality of my HD picture on Comcast during the Celtics game. Comcast saw that and tweeted me back minutes later. This morning I got a call from their service center. This afternoon someone came out. Now my HDTV rocks! THAT my friends is customer service and how it should work all the time."

Click here to listen to the podcast and read the post!

 

Posted by Judy McLeish at 03:35 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Formal Job Offer Made & Accepted Over Twitter!

RedMonklogo.bmp

Have you heard of Red Monk? RedMonk is the first analyst firm built on open source. They are dedicated to providing high quality research at no cost, and believe that the dialog that follows is beneficial to us, the community and their clients.

Not only is RedMonk redefining the typical research house, but they are also redefining the way they hire employees. Their most recent analyst was hired over Twitter. Amazing! Check out his twitter post on being offered and accepting the job via Twitter.

Here is what Tom Raftery said about his new job at RedMonk:

“I have long admired the RedMonk model of open sourcing their (our) analysis and so, when James Governor of RedMonk offered me the opportunity to work professionally for RedMonk doing Green tech and sustainability research I nearly bit his hand off! So effective immediately I am an Industry Analyst specialising in the Green tech area. Rock on!”

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:25 AM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

May 22, 2008

Focus on Damage Control and the Mundane Creates Disengagement!

Engagement101.jpg

I just finished a very interesting meeting with an employee at a very large Financial Institution. What she described to me about her state of mind was eye-opening. She claimed that the Bank is so focused on damage-control and forcing highly capable employees into mundane tasks that they becoming disengaged and disinterested.

She stated that when companies are in growth mode with a high focus on innovation and fun - the environment and engagment levels of employees creates an environment in which everyone feels motivated, inspired and committed.

Let us know your thoughts!

Posted by Judy McLeish at 11:12 AM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

We Can All Learn from this "Spirit of Sportsmanship"

Every leader should watch this video. "Great moments happen when someone has the character to do the right thing at the right time."

Click here to view the video.

Thank you to Steve's Coaching Tips for pointing us to this video.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 10:05 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

May 21, 2008

Asking Employees to Smile is Good for Them - Right?

lips.jpg

For years companies have been training their employees to smile. Why? A smile projects a positive image of our company and according to many – smiling had the added benefit of being good for our health.

 

 

But is smiling really good for us?

 

 

Apparently, smiling may not be good for us at all – it may actually hurt our health! According to German scientist of Johann Wolfgang Goethe University employees that are forced to smile and take on-the-job insults suffer more and longer-lasting stress that may harm their health.

Dieter Zapf studied 4,000 volunteers working in a fake call center. Half were allowed to respond in kind to abuse on the other end of the line while the other half had to “suck it up”.

The findings – employees that had to take the abuse suffered more stress symptoms that lasted much longer than those that were able to answer back.

"Every time a person is forced to repress his true feelings there are negative consequences," Zapf said. "We are all able to rein in our emotions but it becomes difficult to do this over a protracted period."

In an interview with the German healthcare magazine Apotheken Umschau, Zapf suggested that people who must keep smiling on the job should get regular breaks to let it out.

 

Think about how many companies have customer service standards that require employees to smile at customers – not matter how difficult they are. Now think about the added stress that this type of standard may be having on the lives of these employees….

 

I am now asking myself, if companies are being unreasonable by asking employees to smile even in the most difficult of situations.

 

What do you think?

 

Click here to read the article.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 07:48 PM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Does Your Onboarding Process Build Emotional Engagement?

We have been already writing about the importance of creating an onboarding process that builds employee engagement. Why?

According to the Wynhurst Group, new employees decide whether they feel at home or not in the first three weeks in a company and 4 per cent of new employees leave a job after a disastrous first day. And the cost of losing an employee in the first year is estimated to be at three times salary.

We recently found an awesome post by David Lee on creating an onboarding process that welcome and inspire new hires. In the post David outlines what The Ritz-Carton, Texas Road House and Southwest are doing differently to build a program that builds employee engagement from Day 1.

In this post, we focus on the Ritz and Southwest, to view his entire post click here.

The Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton focuses on the emotional takeaways that their new hires will experience. Why? According to Diana Oreck, from the Ritz-Carlton - "People don't remember what you said or what you did, but they always remember what they felt." So for each facet of the employee onboarding process, the Ritz asks the following:
 
  • "What's the emotional take-away here? What is the way we are doing this right now and what emotions would a new employee take away from this experience?"
     
  • "Are these the emotions we want to leave them with?" If your answer is no, then ask "What emotions would we like them to experience?" and "How can we create an experience that would naturally elicit these?"

According to Oreck, the examples of emotions you want to elicit in your new employee orientation and onboarding process include welcomed; comfortable and secure; proud; excited; inspired; and confident.

The Ritz starts with a video that helps new hires understand what it would mean if you were in the top 1% in various fields. As images of Tiger Woods and Bill Gates and people in the top 1% of their field flash across the screen, inspiring music plays in the background with the lyrics "What have you done today to make you feel proud?"

The video then transitions into letting the new employee know that being with Ritz-Carlton means they are among the top 1% in the hospitality industry. Imagine how you would feel, as a new hire, if this video were played at your company - Proud? Excited? Secure? Inspired?

The Ritz Carlton balances two important messages in their orientation program: "You are now part of an elite, best-in-class organization," and "We're lucky to have you." At Ritz-Carlton, Oreck and her colleagues tell new hires "Aren't we blessed that you picked the Ritz Carlton for your 'second place'," referring to the second most-important place the person inhabits each day.

Onboarding at Southwest

Southwest Airlines is another company that understands the importance of designing its employee orientation and an onboarding process with the goal of creating positive emotional experiences. According to Cheryl, Hughey, Southwest's director of onboarding other companies seem to focus primarily on creating logistical efficiencies that allowed the new employee to become productive more quickly.
 

"Here's what it is that I think we do differently, or what we emphasize more: in a lot of companies, it seems like if there are online forms to check off and documents that get passed around from HR to the hiring manager to the new employee, they think onboarding has been accomplished. While getting those kinds of logistical things automated can help you get your new employee up to speed and productive more quickly, it won't necessarily help you with retention.
 

If you want them to stay, if you want them to become engaged, you need to make sure you do the "feeling" part of the process, and you do that by showing them how they will make a difference, giving them examples of how their fellow employees make a difference, making them feel welcome as with our Sponsor a New Hire program. It's those kinds of things that lead to not just better retention, but a more inspired workforce."
 

Southwest has designed the onboarding process around four mantras:

  • "Everything Matters"
  • "Think Experience"
  • "What's the Emotional Take Away?"
  • "What's the Perceptual Take Away?

    • We think that more companies should think about the messages they are sending in their onboarding sessions. Are they stimulating the right emotions? Are they building engaged employees or are they just forcing employees to “tick boxes” leading them to ask themselves what am I doing here?

     

     

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 11:50 AM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

    May 20, 2008

    Your competitors are thanking their customers on Twitter – What Are You Doing?

    swatail_bigger.gif  I am a recent convert to the whole Twitter-thing. And frankly, I am amazed by its power! Not only am I benefitting from interesting tips and breaking news but I am witnessing companies interact with their customers firsthand.

    Southwest airlines uses Twitter to interact with its customers. People have been raving about their ability to respond to all sorts of compliments and concerns from customers. But what about, wishing customers a great flight?

    Well, I witnessed it today. Here is the twitter from Southwest to a group of customers.

    Hope you guys had great flights, @azizgilani @benjb75 @jcroft @briansmiley @contactjeff about 3 hours ago from web

    Below is a response from one of the customers!

    @SouthwestAir Thanks for asking. Excellent, on-time smooth flight to Ft. Myers

    Imagine, the power of a company actually taking the time to interact with their customers and wishing them well or thanking them for their patronage. Imagine the ramifications of not joining in the conversation.

    Don’t get left behind…your competitors are listening and interacting with your customers!

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 09:23 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

    Keep Highly Engaged Employees Only - Offer Quitting Bonus!

    quit.jpg

    Every company is focused on engaging their employees. They are creating new rewards and recognition systems, career opportunities, leadership development opportunities – really the gamut all in the name of increasing employee engagement.

    But the reality is – depending on the source, anywhere from 40 – 70 percent of employees can be classified as neutral, middle or the road or agnostic. So what is a company to do? Well, Zappos, the online retailer just may have an interesting solution. According to a recent Harvard Business Review article, Zappos offers employees a quitting bonus. Yes, we did say a bonus to quit.

    “After a week or so in this immersive experience, though, it’s time for what Zappos calls “The Offer.” The fast-growing company, which works hard to recruit people to join, says to its newest employees: “If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you’ve worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus.” Zappos actually bribes its new employees to quit!

    Why? Because if you’re willing to take the company up on the offer, you obviously don’t have the sense of commitment they are looking for. It’s hard to describe the level of energy in the Zappos culture—which means, by definition, it’s not for everybody. Zappos wants to learn if there’s a bad fit between what makes the organization tick and what makes individual employees tick—and it’s willing to pay to learn sooner rather than later. (About ten percent of new call-center employees take the money and run.)” Indeed, CEO Tony Hsieh and his colleagues keep raising the size of the quit-now bonus. Why?

    “It’s a small practice with big implications: Companies don’t engage emotionally with their customers—people do. If you want to create a memorable company, you have to fill your company with memorable people. How are you making sure that you’re filling your organization with the right people? And how much are you willing to pay to find out?”

    We think they are onto something – what do you think?

     

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 02:53 PM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

    Is Your Company Ready for the Hyperconnected?

    connectedworld.jpg 

    The Hyperconnected make up 16% of the global workforce today and another 36% will be joining them soon. Who are the hyperconnected? According to a May 2008 study by Nortel/IDC the hyperconnected are:

    • Found in all countries, although higher in China and the U.S.
    • Found in all industries, but above average in banking and high tech industries.
    • Come from all job functions, but are above average in IT and research and development functions.
    • They come from all levels, but are above average in management positions.
    • 60% are under 35, 7% over 55 years old.
    • 60% are male.

      So what? Well according to the study, the evolution of connectivity will have a significant impact on enterprises.

    • The hyperconnected depend of devices and applications that make them hyperconnected – 47% said a network outage would have an extreme impact on them.
    • The boundary between work and personal connectivity is nonexistent for the hyperconnected. Two-thirds use text or instant messaging for both work and personal use. More than one third use social networking for both.
    • As the baby boomers retire, businesses will find themselves competing for this hyperconnected base of talent.
    • Businesses will need to focus on obtaining the benefits of hyperconnectivity and avoid the risks, such as the leakage of sensitive information.
    When I read this, I shake my head. While it is so obvious, I feel that very few companies really understand the impact that this hyperconnected workforce will have on the workplace. Far too many companies are focused on the risks associated with connectivity and have failed to appreciate the risks of not embracing the new world.

     

     

    To read this great research, click here.

     

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 02:34 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

    May 19, 2008

    Voice Risk Analysis to Identify Those Feigning Sick – Is This a Joke?

    Satellite.jpg

    In the age of employee engagement – I thought this article on using a lie detector to catch out lying workers was a joke. But is it?

    According to the London paper, lie detectors could one day be used to spot people who are "pulling a sickie" from work. The technology is apparently already being used to identify people who make fraudulent benefit claims.
    The technology works by identifying changes in a caller's voice which may indicate they are not telling the truth.

    After successful trials at seven councils, anti-fraud minister James Plaskitt announced last week that the scheme would be extended.

    Now employers have given a cautious welcome to the idea of using the Voice Risk Analysis (VRA) system to identify people who may be lying when they phone in sick.

    Susan Anderson, director of human resources policy at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said the technology could be very useful.

    “She said research from the CBI and insurance firm AXA showed that employers believe 12 per cent of absence was not genuine and that these 'sickies' amounted to 21 million lost days every year, costing businesses £1.6 billion.” =    Personally, I think this story is absolutely ludicrous. Rather than introducing lie detector tests maybe employers should look internally at themselves. Employers should:
    • Look inside - after all it is their responsibility to create an environment that energizes their employers rather than one where they feel the urge to call in sick.
    • Deal with those individuals who are obviously abusing the system. There is no doubt in our mind that employers know who the abusers are. Maybe they should remember that dis-enchanted workers pull down productivity, increase churn and darken the morale of the people around them.

     

    To read the article, click here.

     

     

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 06:07 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

    May 18, 2008

    Transparency and Making Choices

    240px-2008_Sichuan_earthquake_map_no_labels_svg.png 

    What a wonderful blog by Jonathan Schwartz, CEO and President of Sun. He talks about the fact that we live in a world whose traumas and triumphs are visible instantaneously.

    Once you know about a problem, even small attempts to help, multiplied over the long tail of the internet, can make an extraordinary difference.

    His post encourages people to send relief to China – he is sending personal funds and encourages all of us to make a similar choice.

    “Over the past few days, the world has watched an earthquake in China lead to the death and dislocation of countless thousands. The San Francisco Bay Area, where Sun is headquartered, has felt the impact deeply - beyond co-workers, friends and family, we've suffered our own traumas with earthquakes. A cyclone in Myanmar triggered similar thoughts among those of us effected by hurricanes in New Orleans, Louisiana.

    But the world's an increasingly transparent place. And any help, from $1 to $1m, multiplied over the world, makes a difference.

    Which is why I'm sending personal funds to the relief organizations I trust to bring aid to those stricken.

    And I'm encouraging you to take the time to make a similar choice.”

    The power of the social network is extraordinary. As is the power of extraordinary leaders – who lead by example! Thank you Jonathan.  Click here to read his blog.

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 12:22 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

    May 16, 2008

    Shaky Personal Finances Can Impact Job Performance

    money.jpg

    For the first time since 1993, the percentage of people who say their finances are very or fairly secure falls below 60%, the survey shows – according to Abigail Goldman at the Los Angeles Times.

    According to the article, nearly 2 out of 5 people say the state of their personal finances is fairly shaky or very shaky, the poll found. And for the first time since 1993, the percentage of people who said their finances were very or fairly secure fell below 60% -- to 57%, said Times Poll Director Susan Pinkus. "Anything below 60% is sort of like a warning sign of what's coming next," Pinkus said. "It paints the picture of a very grim, weakened economy that is affecting how people are going to spend."

    This doesn’t bode well for corporations as well. Why? Stress over money can affect job performance.

    Financial problems can impact performance in the workplace. What should employers be prepared for?

    Lower productivity.
    • Money worries have been linked to absenteeism and productivity issues, as employees deal with collection calls and increase their personal calls.
    • It can also spur turnover, as employees in need of more money looks for new jobs.
    • Or employees are less productive as they are stretched by keeping up more than one job to pay bills.
      Health problems.
      • Employees feeling stressed over money can be more prone to high blood pressure, weight gain and insomnia, which impact both their health and their performance at work.
        Employers should think of ways to help employees that are feeling financial stress. Here are some tips for Managers:
        • Watch for employees who are struggling with their day-to-day tasks.
        • Provide assistance programs to help employees through difficult times – counseling, education seminars, coaching services.
        • Show empathy and tolerance for those in difficult situations.

        Let us know your thoughts!

         



         

         

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 10:56 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

    Southwest Social Media Site = Awesome!

    southwest.jpg

    Southwest leads the way in wanting to build personal relationships between the employee and the customer. Their new “Nuts About Southwest” site is awesome and encourages lots of participation through - interesting blogs, videos, surveys and news.  Check it out here.

    According to the company:

    “Our goal with the new Nuts About Southwest remains to give our visitors the opportunity to take a look inside Southwest Airlines and to interact with us. This is as much your site as it is ours, and we have expanded our Emerging Media Team to represent an even more diverse cross-section of our Company.


    We want to build a personal relationship between our Team and you, and we need your participation. Everyone is encouraged to join in, and you don’t need to register to read, watch, or comment. However, if you would like to share photos or videos or rate a post, among other things, you will need to complete a profile.

    Southwest Employees try to Live the Southwest Way by displaying the Warrior Spirit, acting with a Servant’s Heart, and embracing a Fun-LUVing Attitude. We will try to do our best to ensure that this site displays those qualities, and we want our home to be a fun place to learn about what we hope is your favorite airline—Southwest, of course. You are the “other half” of this blog, and our Team can’t wait to communicate with you, so get busy posting.”

    I personally think that more companies should take the lead from Southwest!

     

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 07:59 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

    May 15, 2008

    Blogging - Is it on Your Business Agenda?

    It is interesting that when I talk to senior executives at a number of companies (especially banks) – some still don’t know what a blog or wiki is. They haven’t heard of twitter or Second Life. I asked them how they are collaborating with their customers and employees – and I simply get a blank stare. I know that many of you are shaking your heads. How could a large, international company not be monitoring the conversation?

     

     

    Well, in our opinion the credit crunch and its ramifications have caused many companies (especially financial services companies) to put their heads down and get back to the basics which means that things perceived as futuristic like engaging in social media is put on the back burner.

    Unfortunately, I think that far too many companies have their heads down focused on the basics are missing opportunities to engage both their employees and their customers and build loyalty and increase performance.

    In this post, I am making a plea to all of those companies that think that engaging in social media is something that can be put on the back burner….it simply can’t.

    Let’s start with something as simple as blogging. If you think only the fringe are blogging thing again.

    CEO blogs (or blogs written by leaders) – 277 companies were on the list as of February 2008! Here are some examples of CEO (or leaders) blogging: Corporations are also blogging – in fact as of February 2008 – there were 136 organizations on the list! Here is a list of just some:
    • Coca-Cola Conversations
    • Kodak's A Thousand Words Blog
    • Kodak's A Thousand Nerds Blog
    • Delta Airlines - Under the Wing
    • Dell's Direct2Dell in Chinese -
    • Johnson & Johnson: JNJ BTW
    • Yahoo!'s Yodel Anecdotal
    • Boeing: Flight Test Journal
    • Cisco Worldwide Government Affairs' High Tech Policy Web Log -
    • Delta Airlines - Under the Wing
    • EDS (Electronic Data Systems Corp.): EDS' Next Big Thing Blog -
    • GM Smallblock engine blog
    • GUINNESS: The Guinness Blog
    • Hitachi Data Systems: Hu Yoshida's Blog
    • HP blogs (index)

    Interesting – we didn’t see a lot of blogs by financial services companies. Hmm…wouldn’t we think that the banks should be blogging to improve their connections with their customers and employees? Click here to view the list and the links to various corporate and CEO blogs.

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 11:24 AM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

    May 14, 2008

    Akansha - "To Aspire" in Hindi

    aspire.jpg

    What happens if you find yourself working in a contact centre and you are not interested in a Team Manager position, which is the natural career progression? Don’t worry you aren’t alone.  Here are some tips from Crescentia Kalpana D. who talks about how she found herself working in a contact centre and wasn’t interested in the typical career path to people management.  

    “When I looked around, I found that there were many of us who did not really aspire to the Team Manager position. But it seemed like this was the only option available to you. Most of us were in our early twenties and were confused by what we wanted. Those who did know what they wanted didn’t know how to get there. All of us, in this position, were slowly losing interest in our jobs.”

    So how did Crescentia drive employee engagement in a contact centre in Hyderabad? Through a four phased program called Akansha (“To Aspire”).

    “The program was a career guidance program and did not guarantee any of us a promotion. But what it did was engage us – as it took us one step closer to our dreams.”

    • Stage I –During this phase, everyone had an opportunity to interact with various department leads. Each of the department heads provided an overview of the department and the various roles available.
    • Stage II – They were able to go onto the “shop floor” and interact with individuals in the various roles that they had identified as interesting during the first stage of the program.
    • Stage III – They were assigned mentors to help them prepare for the roles that were of most interest to them.  
    • Stage IV – During the last stage of the program, they set up “mock interviews” to check their readiness for the job of their dreams.

      “Even though the program was initiated by us, the company played a major role in the success of the program. While the company already had “Individual Development Plans” and a mentor program, they were stand alone tools. What we did was put them all together in a program called Akansha. There was a gap in the process and we were able to plug it.”

    “We were encouraged to work on the program by the top management. All the of the heads of departments came forward to participate in stage one of the program. As well, we did not have any difficulty finding mentors to help us realize our dreams.”

    The program was a grand success.

    “All of us were filled with energy and were enthusiastic about work again. We were a team of hundred plus coaches. This program gave us a direction to achieve our aspirations. The result of the program was obviously highly engaged employees.”

    Thank you for sharing this information on Akansha.

     

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 09:15 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

    May 13, 2008

    Career Builder Campaign Too Controversial for YouTube!

    logocb.gif

    You will want to check out this video that is “too hot” for YouTube and has been pulled off CareerBuilder’s site.

    Getting Your Affairs in order was intended as a humorous campaign with the goal of spreading the CareerBuilder brand by the online version of word-of-mouth. “Get the 21-30 year-olds to post their resumes and apply to jobs on CareerBuilder and the campaign will be a success.”
    Well this time, they may have pushed it too far with the fourth installment titled Getting Your Affairs in Order.  The subtitle - "An Affirmation of Sexual Relations ..." - helps explain why blogger Joel Cheesman called it “R-rated”. If you watch it, be aware that the content may not be suitable for all viewers.

    Inside Recruiting captured it from an online site to which it had spread – if you want to check it out click here. Thank you to Gautam Ghosh for pointing us here.

     

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 02:16 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

    May 09, 2008

    Flexibility Linked to Performance!

    • flexibility.jpg 

    New research finds a positive relationship between flexible working practices and employee performance. 

    Flexible Working and Performance is the result of a two-year collaboration between Cranfield School of Management and Working Families, the UK's "leading work-life balance campaign organisation".  Seven leading companies took part: Centrica, Citi, KPMG, Lehman Brothers, Microsoft, Pfizer, and the Defence Aerospace Business of Rolls-Royce.

    Key findings of the report include:
    • Everyone involved in flexible working found there to be either a positive impact on individual performance in terms of both quality and quantity.
    • In the majority of cases, flexibility has a positive effect in reducing and managing levels of stress.
    • Flexible workers have higher levels of organizational commitment and, in some cases, higher levels of job satisfaction. 
    • In addition, flexible working was a key competitive strategy in recruitment.

       

    Working Families chief executive, Sarah Jackson OBE, said: "The key findings of project strengthen the business case for flexible working.   The research shows that flexibility has a positive effect on the quality and quantity of work and on employee commitment.  It is also clear that flexible working works best where it is available to all employees".

    Thank you to Ri5 for pointing us to this research.

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 01:35 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

    May 08, 2008

    Power to the People: Tim Horton's Listens and Reinstates Employee!

    Well, good for Tim Hortons for listening! A statement issued by the company's head office Thursday said the person who fired Nicole Lilliman, 27, went too far and that the single mother of four has been reinstated.

    "Unfortunately the action of the manager of this location was not appropriate," the statement read. "With an apology from management Ms. Lilliman has been rehired by the franchisee. We sincerely apologize to our customers for this unfortunate incident."

    Good for Tim Hortons for recognizing that if they can't lead the conversation - they had better be a part of it!

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 04:20 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

    Fired for a Timbit? True? Then Tim Hortons Should "Kill a Stupid Rule"

    timbit.jpg

    Every senior executive knows that creating a differentiated customer experiences drives business. As well, every senior executive knows that if you enable your employees to deliver your brand with passion at every touch point you will have loyal customers for life. So what happened at Tim Hortons a well known quick service Canadian restaurant chain that specializes in fresh coffee, baked goods and lunches?

    According to a newspaper article, Nicole Lilliman was fired yesterday from her Tim Hortons job for giving away ONE 16-cent timbit (donut) to a child who was crying in the store. According to Nicole:

    “The baby was about 11 months old, and she gave her the treat to quiet her, since her mom – a Tims' regular – had been ``having a bad day."

    Sound ludicrous? Well, according to the District Manager, Nicole Mitchell, giving food away is against the rules. Huh? Doesn’t the District Manager know that this is the experience economy? Any great company would have killed that “stupid rule” a long time ago. And frankly most companies would have rewarded an employee that used common sense to help a mother with a crying child.

    I am not a big Tim Hortons fan. Frankly, I don’t really like the experience. I decided I did not want to frequent the stores a long time ago when I noticed a sign in their stores that warned customers that shouldn’t loiter - that made me select Starbucks as my place to enjoy my coffee and the experience. This is just another example of a “stupid rule” that needs to be “killed”!

    If I was running Tim Hortons, I would do a quick audit of all of the other “stupid rules” that prevent the company from enabling its employees from really delivering an experience that will cement customers for life!

    Let us know your thoughts.

     

     

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 07:56 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

    May 06, 2008

    One-size Approach to Measuring Engagement Won't Yield Desired Results

    Picture1.jpg

    McDaniel Partners has partnered with callcentres.net to launch its new Employee Engagement measurement program. The most important tenet of this program is the notion that a "one-size fits all" approach to employee engagement is unlikely to yield the desired results.

    This program recognizes that engagement levels and drivers vary depending on the industry, organization, the person and the job.

    Our interview with Dr. Catriona Wallace is focused on the Employee Engagement measurement program that has been designed specifically for the contact centre industry.

    Here is the interview we conducted:

    Can you please tell me about callcentres.net?

    Established in 1998 callcentres.net is a research, analyst and online publishing business dedicated to the contact centre and outsourcing industries. The head office is based in Sydney Australia with a regional office in Singapore. We are regarded as the leading Contact Centre Analyst organization for the Asia-Pacific region. Our core services are large country-wide industry benchmarking studies of China, India, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam and Indonesia; Customer Engagement research, Employee Engagement Research, Outsourcing industry research, and customized, tailored research for individual clients. callcentres.net is also web information portal for the contact centre industry, publishing newsletters, podcasts, magazines and email broadcasts to our large subscriber base.

    callcentres.net has been doing a great deal of work in the Employee Engagement space. Can you please explain what you refer to as the Employee Engagement Index (EEI)?

    We have been measuring Employee Satisfaction of call centre agents (employees) for many years as well as tracking the very high levels of employee turnover in contact centres across the region. In the last few years we determined that the measured of employee satisfaction as the surrogate measure for the employee experience was inadequate and did not alone strongly predict employee loyalty or performance. Contact centre work is considerably different to other types of service work in nature, it involves high levels of 'emotional labour' by frontline workers and as such the measure of satisfaction which is a cognitive assessment of expectations versus experience does not pick up the emotional aspects of a contact centre agent's job. Subsequently we developed the Contact Centre Employee Engagement Index which assesses both an individual's cognitive and emotional connectedness to a job. The tool is specifically designed for the contact centre work environment.

    The powerful aspect of this tool is that through our partnership with Insight Now, who are experts at measuring agent performance, we can link an employee's performance as measured by the customer (and also their supervisor) to levels of engagement and loyalty.

    How did you test and validate the Contact Centre EEI (CCEEI)?

    The CCEEI has been tested in numerous large contact centres in the UK, South Africa and Australia. We have used data gathered across these diverse countries to test the model's predictive power, generalisability and to see which attributes consistently were statistically significant as drivers of employee loyalty and performance. As we are academically trained researchers the rigour and science behind the model is of utmost importance to us.

    What are the key components of the Index and how did you select them?

    The Contact Centre Employee Engagement Index is a measure 25 aspects of a contact centre job (11 categories) and the employee's resulting psychological and emotional connectedness to their work. We then measure three loyalty indicators which we tie back to the 11 engagement categories. The particular items or attributes measured have been selected based on many years of assessing contact centre work and employee satisfaction and loyalty. As academically trained statisticians we have run many, many statistical tests to determine reliability of questions and scales (Cronbach alpha), internal, external, content and expert validity tests and multiple regression analysis to select only those attribute or questions that can predict employee loyalty and performance.

    Is there really a difference between the engagement factors that you would measure in a call centre versus the rest of the business? If so, what are they?

    What we mean by saying this tool is specifically designed for the contact centre employee is that some variables, for example, Variety of Work (eg inclusion of non-phone work) and Flexible Work conditions (varied break times and roster times and times off the phone) are perhaps more critical in a contact centre than other business units. By this we mean the absence of them has a more critical influence on employee engagement than perhaps in other business units and this is due to the intense and often routine nature of much contact centre work.

    Have you ever seen an employee with a low engagement score that still performs his/her duties well? If so, what percentage of employees does this represent?

    Yes, we have measured employees who have very low engagement but high customer performance scores, but this is a small percentage. Although we do find that there is a statistically significantly positive relationship between engagement, loyalty and performance there are still those employees who are not engaged and not loyal who will perform well. However how prediction with these employees is that this will be a very short term situation.

    Where is the EEI currently being tested? What do the results show to date?

    The CCEEI has been tested in the UK, South Africa and Australia. The results thus far show varied levels of engagement, the lowest being 44/100 and the average level of engagement being about 65/100. We are yet to measure a centre in any country that has highly engaged employees.

    For more information please contact us directly.

     

     

    Posted by Judy McLeish at 01:33 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

    May 05, 2008

    Businesses are Joining the Twitter Conversation - Is Yours?

    Of all of the emerging tools of social media, Twitter is the most conversational. The mobile SMS service lets people chat in compact 140-character spoonfuls. Some use it 20-30 times or more per day, but the average user only posts three times a day.