Boo Y'all

I'm never one to miss an opprtunity to celebrate, so with Halloween just a week away why not set a short term goal with your team and reward the behavior you want to see more of.  

Idea of the month:  Sweet Service

Goal: Offer specific rewards for specific behavior.

How it works:  Outline your expectations and then deliver the prizes on Halloween.  You could even dress up to deliver them!

Here's a few ideas.  

Junior Mints for convincing a customer to sign-up for the season, or agree to monthly EFT payments that show their commit-mint.

100 Grand Bar for setting up a customer pre-buy for the year, or selling an add-on service.

Snickers  for  telling a funny joke that made the whole office chuckle. 

Almond Joy for tactfully dealing with a long-time, painful customer who some say is a little 'nuts'

Smarties for skillfully solving a problem in the office

Have a good and plenty week!

What other ideas do you have?  Please share!

70/20/10

70% of learning comes from on-the-job activities, 20% comes from coaching and feedback and only 10% comes from formal training.

Here’s a tip for that 20%. 

Consider the employee.  How long have they been on the task?  If they are new to the process then you’ll want to be more directive. 

Tell the employee what to do, have them job shadow, make time to observe them and definitely deliver positive feedback when they get it right.

I.e. “Here’s the greeting you should use”.

If they have been around awhile and know the task, then aim to support their efforts and ask questions to understand why they aren’t meeting the goal. 

Solve that issue instead. 

I.e. "How come you aren’t using the greeting?"

If you need numbers, here they are: 

Directive coaching:    4:1      you talk: employee talks

Supportive coaching:  1:4    you talk: employee talks

'Cause I said so

You will be asking your team to change something today, this week or this month. That's probably the only thing that's not changing.  Are you getting resistance?  

Why not try a little improv from the actor's studio.  Here's how it works.  In improv, whatever the other person says, you reply with yes and...  

This helps the actors work together to build a story and is more effective than blocking it with a no, or because I said so, or because 'they' say we have to.

You:  Hey team, starting today we are going to use blue paper for invoices. We've discovered that blue is a calming color and people will be faster to pay.  Using blue paper will save you some of the follow up calls you've told me you don't like.

Team:  What!  I like the white paper!

You:  Yes and white is a nice color.  Blue is more calming.

Team:  What will will do with all the leftover white paper?

You: Yes and I'm glad you brought that up.  Let's brainstorm some options.

That sounds more collaborative doesn't it? 

5 to 1

You've heard me say it before, so think of this as a friendly reminder.

One of the best ways to build a better relationship with your team is to express appreciation.  And research shows that the ratio of positive to negative interactions is 5:1.

Don't break out a spreadsheet and count five compliments before offering criticism, but do be mindful of the ratio.

Think about the paperclip rule:  Put 5 paperclips in your left pocket in the morning and every time you offer some positive feedback, move 1 paperclip to the right pocket.  This physical reminder can help you seeking out the good in what people are doing. The negative will come naturally. 

If you need help spotting the positive, look for;

- someone on the phone using a pleasant tone

- a team member who logs thorough notes

- a co-worker who comes in with a smile 

- someone who responds in a timely fashion to an email request

They are out there!  Turn your attention to the positive and you will find it. 

Well, maybe this one time...

One of the biggest complaints employees have about Management is...drum roll...inconsistency.

I've heard comments like, "I don't know who is going to show up - happy, charming boss or cranky, intense boss."

I've also heard that "some people get away with things" that others don't.

Consistency and fairness builds loyalty and engagement.  That sounds good.  How can you do it?

Keep your tone and personality consistent.  That might mean taking a moment before you walk into the office to breathe and smile.

Make the rules clear and follow-through with each person.  Change the communication style to match the employee not the message.

If you are having trouble with one person and you sense it's because of your long standing (good or bad) relationship with them, role play conversations with a fellow manager.  Ask them to help you take the bias out of the conversation.

On another note...

Have you called your office lately? How's the greeting? We've running a short, interactive and effective webinar Oct 1st and the topic is great greetings.  

For more information or to join us  click here.

Are you out there?

Do you have remote workers?  Perhaps you are letting people telecommute a couple of days a week, or maybe you are saving office space and letting people work from home or maybe you have employees in remote locations.  Whatever the case, managing remotely can be a challenge.  Here's a tip.

Be clear about goals but don't just focus on the outcome pay attention to the process.

For example:

You've decided to focus on adding cell phone numbers and texting options for your customers.  You've told the team their specific goal - 10 a day.  

Your in-house employee is producing 8 a day but you hear her ask, so you know her intentions are good.  

Your remote employee is producing 8 a day, but you don't hear her ask.  It's easy to assume she's not trying.

What's the solution?  Engage the remote worker in the conversation about the goal.  Tell her that 10/day is the goal and ask how would she like to be assessed and assisted.

What's worked for you?

Focused Goals part 2

Well some interesting boats were drawn; sailboats, tugboats, speed boats, cruise ships etc.

The purpose? I had a specific boat in mind and none of you drew it.  How come? Because I didn't share my goal.

What boat you ask?  A shell.  My daughters row, so I'm focused on 4's and 8's.  

If I really wanted your success I should have been more specific in my request.  

Tip: Make your expectations SMART. 

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Timely

Example:  Complete a professional development course online, or classroom by December 21, 2013.  Completion will be measured by teaching that skill at a team meeting and a certificate of completion. 

If you are having trouble making your team goal SMART, email it to me, I'd be pleased to help.