12 things managers must do to create a great workplace 9 of 12

8 May 2012 Leave a comment

9. Doing Quality Work

Highly productive employees tell us there is a vast difference between being assigned to a team and actually identifying with that team. It’s a common experience — our manager assigns us to a workgroup and our name is added to the roster. Just because our names are added, however, doesn’t mean that we psychologically join the team, especially if we are afraid the other members don’t share our commitment to producing quality work. Helping all team members identify the characteristics that will result in a quality product can lead to greater efficiency and increased productivity.

Trusting that one’s coworkers share a commitment to quality is a key to great team performance and is one of the 12 key discoveries from a multiyear research effort by The Gallup Organization.

[Our objective was to identify the consistent dimensions of workplaces with high levels of four critical outcomes: employee retention, customer satisfaction, productivity and profitability. The research identified 12 dimensions that consistently correlate with these four outcomes -- dimensions Gallup now uses to measure the health of a workplace. An associated research effort, in which Gallup studied more than 80,000 managers, focused on discovering what great managers do to create quality workplaces.

When employees are asked, "Are you committed to quality?" they all answer in the affirmative. This reflects employees' natural, human tendency to think highly of the work they produce. Since the answer is always the same, however, the question does not differentiate the most and least productive workgroups. Much more revealing are the answers to "My associates are committed to doing quality work." Employees want their coworkers to share their commitment to quality, and want to be part of an organization that challenges and enables them to excel.

Often, the definition of quality sets the tone of a workplace culture. If quality is defined as the absence of defects or mistakes, we indirectly encourage employees to cover up mistakes or problems quickly, without drawing attention to them. In the best workplaces, managers realize that human beings will make mistakes, and can learn from correcting them. In these workplaces, quality is defined as the process of recognizing and solving problems. In healthy workplaces, employees understand that a customer's loyalty can actually increase if the employees take a positive approach toward problem solving. The best managers and workgroups do not scapegoat; rather, they see quality issues as a challenge to improve their product or service and, thus, to increase customer loyalty.

A problem can also bring out a greater sense of teamwork. Employees who are committed to doing quality work know that a problem can improve their team cohesiveness. They use the power of the team not only to overcome the crisis, but to correct the process to avoid future problems, and move on to greater productivity and quality. Interestingly, some of the most productive teamwork is observed during these times of crisis. The excellence and the spirit of teamwork that emerge from effective problem solving are the stuff of great workplaces.]

Please leave a comment, or phone me on 0412 921 292 if you’d like some help in your business to implement any of what you’ve read here.

Filed under Business, Customer Service, Management, Measurement, Organisation, Performance, Productivity Tagged with , , , , , ,

Forgetting your customers could spell the end

17 April 2012 Leave a comment

Any time a company’s office decor becomes more important than its product, you can assume that the company is declining from its Prime. It’s beginning to age.

Companies slip into middle age when they start to lose their flexibility, when they lose their appetite for innovation. Of course, despite a company’s failure to continue to innovate, sales may continue to rise for a few years, thanks to residual momentum and its good name. However, these earnings often reflect price increases rather than rising sales and eventually those high prices will consume market share. With the company’s neglected research and development producing no new products or services, the aging company tends to spend its money unproductively on benefits, buildings, and dividends. Meetings lengthen because no one cares that time is being stolen from productive work, and form supersedes function. The finance department, with its focus on return on investment, has more sway than marketing, research or sales; the picture is pretty glum.

“If courage wasn’t a standard result of aging, it meant that the young could somehow acquire it as well.” Lawana Blackwell

The denial is organisational rather than personal dishonesty. Individually, people do speak about their fears and worries, but when they get together, their behaviour changes, and they act as if there is nothing to worry about. People recognise that the company has lost its vitality, but they are afraid to speak out. Panic sets in when, as has been inevitable, sales start to slip, and cash flow turns negative.

According to Adizes, the four stages of an aging organisation are:

  1. Stability,
  2. Aristocracy,
  3. Recrimination, and
  4. Bureaucracy, which then leads to Death. Read more of this post

Filed under Business, Customer Service, Directorship, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Management, Organisation, Performance, Planning, Strategy, Systems Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Do you know when to lose a customer?

15 September 2011 Leave a comment

A loyal customer is a profitable customer, right? Wrong! Or at least, not necessarily.  According to research by Reinartz and Kumar reported in HBR, July 2002, there is a very weak correlation between loyalty and profitability, yet businesses still spend big to engender loyalty.  Are you investing in the most profitable customers?  This article entitled ‘Mismanagement of Loyalty‘ details the research and recommends clear strategies for optimising ROI from your customers.

Filed under Business, Customer Service, Marketing, Performance, Profit, Selling, Strategy Tagged with , , , , , ,

How to achieve Tipping Point Leadership

14 September 2011 Leave a comment

How many managers face obstacles that include:

  • people locked into a stagnant culture,
  • limited resources,
  • demotivated staff, and
  • opposition from powerful interests?

A now famous article in the Harvard Business Review, titled ‘Tipping Point Leadership’ (W Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, April 2003) offers a helpful example of how to constructively tackle these issues, which I summarise here together with practical steps to apply in your own or any situation. Read more of this post

Filed under Business, Customer Service, Directorship, Leadership, Management, Marketing, Measurement, Organisation, Performance, Planning, Productivity, Strategy, Systems, Training Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Is the customer always right?

23 May 2011 Leave a comment

Apparently not, according to an article published in the 7-13 October 2010 issue of BRW.  “Difficult and late-paying clients should not always be indulged.  There are times when you have to cut them loose.“  But is the client at fault; or is it the responsibility of the supplier to properly identify their ‘ideal client profile’ and select clients accordingly, managing expectations from the outset?  Read the article entitled ‘Sack the Customer‘ and leave your comment.

Filed under Business, Customer Service, Marketing, Performance, Selling, Strategy Tagged with , , , , ,

Consultants fail to deliver

17 May 2011 Leave a comment

New research reported in Management Today, June 2011 edition, reveals that the ‘overwhelming majority of consultants do not deliver on client expectations‘.  So how do you ensure external expertise is well applied so that you’re part of the mere 30% whose expectations are met or exceeded?

The Consulting Client Satisfaction Survey February 2011 conducted globally by the RFP Company examines the factors behind client’s overall satisfaction with results achieved when working with management consultants.  It shows that more than 70% of consultant engagements fail to fully, let alone exceed, the results that the client expected.

The survey reveals some strengths of consulting firms; but shows that these are not significant contributors to client satisfaction.  The quality of the individual consultants assigned and their focus on the project at hand are identified as areas of greatest relevance to satisfaction.

Importantly, the survey goes on to examine the responsibilities of the client for selecting an appropriate firm for their needs and proactively engaging with that firm.

My own experience reveals that most clients don’t know what they don’t know, so are particularly weak at defining their own needs and making appropriate selections of consultants and coaches to assist them, particularly when a multi-disciplinary approach is required.

The formation of www.MultiCOACH.biz is part of my own response to this dilemma, a cooperative of multi-disciplined coaches, consultants and practitioners coordinated to assist owners and managers of small and large organisations with both needs analysis and solution delivery.

Filed under Business, Coaching, Customer Service, Management, Measurement, Organisation, Performance, Productivity Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Richard Branson on Hiring the Best

24 March 2011 Leave a comment

Someone once told me that ‘employing one good person is equivalent to hiring 3 average people‘.  I’ve worked on that principle ever since, and it’s proven itself over and over again.

So it’s encouraging to read that Richard Branson shares this among other sentiments expressed in the article entitled Hiring the Best which appeared in BRW magazine, page 16 of the 25 Nov – 1 Dec 2010 edition.

Now, if people really are your most important asset, and the best are worth so much more than the average, are you prepared to pay them what they’re worth?

Filed under Business, Customer Service, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Performance, Productivity, Recruitment Tagged with , , , , , ,

Are you using email or is it using you?

22 March 2011 Leave a comment

Spam isn’t the problem.  You are!  That’s according to an article entitled Slaves to Email which appeared in BRW magazine, page 44, 13 Jan – 2 Feb 2011 edition.

The quoted figures confirm what most of us already know, and the others are in denial about.

The article includes clear and easy recommendations.  Best results if you get everyone you know to put them into practice.  And if you’re not sure how, I can deliver a workshop which shows you and your whole team exactly what to do to improve team productivity, including management of that infamous time stealer – email.

Filed under Business, Customer Service, Management, Organisation, Performance, Personal, Productivity, Systems, Technology, Training Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

How to prevent a customer service crisis

22 October 2010 Leave a comment

Portrait of Ken BlanchardKen Blanchard, as reported in an interview on www.mycustomer.com, explains where firms are going wrong with their customer service strategies – and how to solve these issues.
When Ken Blanchard’s influential book Raving Fans hit the shelves back in 1993, the internet was still very much in its nascent stages. While the business management guru’s book sermonised on the kind of service excellence that turns a customer into a lifetime customer and advocate of your products or services, few would have guessed that its message would take on even great significance as the internet evolved. Even Blanchard admits that he has been taken by surprise by the power of the internet as it has matured into Web 2.0.
“Raving fans are people who are so blown away, so amazed by the way that you have dealt with them that they want to brag about you. The research originally said that if you had a raving fan experience you would tell 20 other people. Nowadays you can tell thousands of people!” he says.
“The reason Obama won the last election was because Hillary Clinton and McCain were running 1990s campaigns and he was running a 2010 campaign and he was using social media. So it is an exciting time. And you can really create raving fans online now and it is important.”
But while the benefits of raving fans may be greater than ever, thanks to the advocate accelerant of social media, the process of creating fans remains very much the same as when Raving Fans was first written, according to Blanchard, who suggests there are three steps to this level of engagement. Read more of this post

Filed under Business, Customer Service, Recruitment Tagged with , ,

Moments of truth are your brand

18 October 2010 2 Comments

Are you satisfied with the number of clients you have? How often do they return for repeat business? Do you make it easy and enjoyable for them to do business with you?

All of these, and many others, result from the ‘moments of truth’ in your business. They create lasting impressions that determine whether or not you will turn the most sceptical client into your company’s biggest advocate.

So, what is a moment of truth?

It’s a sliver of time when clients or prospects interact with you and your business and decide whether or not to do business with you, to share you with their network, or to use your products/services again and again.

Jan Carlzon, in his book, Moments of Truth, defines them as “anytime a customer comes into contact with any aspect of a business, however remote, [as] an opportunity to form an impression.”

By strengthening the moments of truth in your business, you can accelerate your business’ growth to ensure your clients remain and continue up the ‘trust ladder’.  The result is an increase in client acquisition, retention, and sales.

As a business owner, you want to be aware of common moments of truth, such as:

Read more of this post

Filed under Business, Customer Service, Marketing, Performance, Planning, Selling, Strategy Tagged with , , , , , ,

← Older posts

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 83 other followers