News
ROI Linked to Ability to Manage Change
Nov 4th
Change is in the air. It’s all around us … in the physical sense the leaves are changing, the crisp cooler weather tells us that winter is on our heels. And change is inevitable in our current economic climate. Our ability and effectiveness to manage that change can mean the difference between running a successful business and running out of business. Poorly managed change in the workplace leads to stress which, in turn, creates poor job performance, more absenteeism and increased employee turnover.
A recent survey by the American Psychological Association revealed that 74 percent of Americans identified work as the main cause of their stress; this is a 15 percent increase over the year before. Over half of the participants acknowledged that stress negatively affects their job performances. They also admitted that the mental and physical manifestations of stress caused them to leave or consider leaving positions. Forty-eight percent of employers surveyed recognized the problem, but only 5 percent were addressing the issue. Companies large and small must recognize the need for change management because the costs are high.
Keeping up with the global market, economic trends, information and technology requires companies to implement frequent changes. These changes, while often necessary, can cost millions. An individual company’s return on investment (ROI) for change is determined by how effectively that company implements the necessary changes. A study reported by the Graziadio Business Report of Pepperdine University revealed that companies with a strong change management program had an average ROI of 143percent while those without had an average ROI of 35percent. So, how does this affect the bottom line? A ROI of 143percent translates to a 43 cent gain for every dollar spent while a ROI of 35percent is a 65 cent loss for every dollar spent.
Half of all businesses recognize they are not managing change effectively, yet only 5 percent do anything about it! Yikes! Make a choice to better manage change in your organization. It is clear this is one factor that has a direct link to an organization’s success. Do you want to know how you score? Learn how effective you are at managing change by taking a free assessment. This assessment measures 17 personality traits and provides respondents with a snapshot and score in a variety of areas like time management, creativity and sensitivity. The personality assessment is available at www.northstar360.com/assessments. This is a complimentary assessment provided by NorthStar360.
Change: How to Effectively Manage It?
Nov 4th
Change can be scary. There’s no doubt about it. And, as leaders, it’s our duty to help our organizations navigate change seamlessly. Sometimes this voyage may seem like a trip down The Nile. Change can evoke anxiety, stress and fear for our employees. Fortunately, it is possible to reduce employee stress (and the turnover that comes along with it) with effective change management. Being an effective leader means managing change by understanding what factors influence behavior, how to address employee concerns and manage resistance. Addressing employee concerns can help reduce turnover and encourage engagement. The Society for Resource Management currently estimates that replacing an IT employee costs $80,000. They also previously estimated that it costs $3,500 to replace each employee earning $8.00 an hour; another incentive to better manage change at our organizations. So, what can we do? Where do we start?
As leaders the area that can seem most intimidating is receiving resistance to change from staff. The best leaders learn resilience by focusing on areas they are able to control. Even in the midst of change, people are able to control emotional responses, influence the change and take care of themselves. People practice resilience when they:
• Assess the situation at hand
• Consider solutions and actions
• Select the best choice
• Take action
• Learn what does and does not work
• Modify actions or behaviors to achieve results
Any leaders who feel that they react out of resistance, rather than acting with resilience, can benefit from creating a personal action plan. By enhancing their change management skills, leaders will be equipped to address problems and manage resistant employees.
Observe reactions to change. Leaders need to link organizational goals to their employees’ drives, needs and wants. This starts with observation. Observing and assessing personal and employee responses to change, provides leaders with the opportunities to address problems and find appropriate solutions, once assessments are made, problems must be addressed at the process and behavioral levels.
Clear and constant communication is essential to managing resistance at the process level. Various studies confirm that most failed changes are directly related to poor management and communication. Successful leaders understand that effective communication reduces resistance and motivates change. Articulate a clear vision of the future: Engage employees by explaining how change is necessary for long-term company success.
Identify goals for change and explain why the change must happen: Outline how change will help achieve specific goals. Communicate clearly about issues and respect dissenting opinions: Allow employees to voice their opinions, even if they are negative. They will be more open to change if they feel their opinions are heard.
Companies that invest in change management programs, (such as the Change Management workshop offered by NorthStar360) are statistically more successful than companies that do not. When all is said and done, effective change requires effective change management. Smoothly implemented organizational change reduces employee stress which saves money by reducing turnover and increasing productivity. Managing change effectively takes work, but the long-term fiscal and emotional payoff is worth it.
Customer is King: Customer Service Checklist
Nov 4th
Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s breathed and lived customer service. His legacy and his enduring passion for customer service still rings true throughout McDonald’s corporate hallways. The following check list is used as a training tool for front counter people. We can use this checklist to all the “customers” in our organizations.
1. The customer is the most important person in our business.
2. The customer is not dependent on us…we are dependent on the customer.
3. The customer is not an interruption of our work; but the purpose of it.
4. The customer does us an honor when calling on us. We are not doing the customer a favor by serving him/her.
5. The customer is part of our business, not an outsider. The customer is our guest.
6. The customer is not a cold statistic, but flesh and blood, a human with feelings and emotions like our own.
7. The customer is not someone to argue with our match wits with.
8. The customer is one who brings us his/her wants. Our job is to fill them.
9. The customer is deserving of the most courteous and attentive treatment we can provide.
10. The customer has the right to expect an employee to present a neat, clean appearance.
Karl Albrecht and Ron Zemke say it best…”Whether service is your primary product or only a part of it, delivery must be effective, efficient, and dependable if it is to have value to the customer. The service must be predictable, and uniform; the customer has to be able to depend on what it will look like on delivery, how long it will take to deliver, and what it will cost. A Big Mac is a Big Mac is a Big Mac”.
Worth the Risk?
Nov 4th
Irrespective of your job title, sales manager, company president, CEO, or just running your one man operation, sooner or later life will call on you to take risks. William Ellery Channing once wrote… There are seasons, in human affairs, when new depths seem to be broken up in the soul. When new wants are unfolded in multitudes and a new and undefined good is thirsted for. There are periods when to dare, is the highest wisdom.
Let’s look at a person who had the courage to take a risk. Mary Kay Ash had the ridiculous idea that beauty products would sell at home beauty shows. In her heart she believed that skin care products could be sold to women looking for ways to improve their looks, image and potential for success. Mary Kay had risked her entire life savings on this idea and ventured forth in spite of criticism from friends and family. Her first home show brought in a grand total of $1.50 in sales. Not what you would call a good return on her investment. However she was just getting started. She practiced and improved her selling skills, presentation techniques, refined the packaging and gave herself a much needed attitude adjustment. She did $34,000 in retail sales the first year. Fifteen years later, Mary Kay had 150,000 independent consultants, and 3,000 directors producing gross sales of $200 million.
In the fifth century B.C., the Greek historian Herodotus scripted eight simple words that ring as true today, in this age of high technology and space exploration as they did when human civilization was just beginning to explore the world within and without.
“Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.”
Take heed in Herodotus words. Weigh all the facts, complete your due diligence; and prepare your heart, mind, body and soul. Then move forward with a clear vision and faith knowing that time well spent will yield your just rewards. Finally, just before going to sleep do not be too proud to ask for help and leave it in someone else’s hands.
Emotional Intelligence? The Buzz Word That’s Elevating Employee Productivity
Sep 28th
Why should your business be interested in an esoteric subject such as Emotional Intelligence? Why should your firm invest training dollars in a program designed to increase emotional competencies for your staff? Does it make a difference when employees are aware of their feelings, values and goals?
For any business that would like to see increases in productivity and efficiency, more effective sales people, more creative teams and more nimble management—the answer is an unequivocal yes.
Psychologists knew the traditional IQ test did not measure all of the factors that comprise an effective, successful, happily productive person. Competence at “book learning” is not the only, and perhaps not the most important, measure of intelligence. Many of the other factors that psychologists found to be important in making people successful in business and in life are included in the terms Emotional Intelligence or emotional competence. The more we are aware of our own emotions, the more control we have over them; and the more we empathize with the emotions of others, the more emotionally intelligent we become. Emotionally competent people have self-confidence, which makes them good leaders and active team players. They maintain an optimistic outlook on life, which helps them overcome obstacles. Their ability to delay gratification and to manage stress, anger, envy and other negative emotions helps them build productive relationships and complete difficult tasks.
Emotional Intelligence is not some New Age, touchy-feely concept. In fact, the United States Air Force saved three million dollars by using Emotional Intelligence screening to select recruiters. Those who had the most Emotional Intelligence were three times as effective as the general candidates. The more emotionally competent recruiters also stayed on the job longer, cutting training costs. The General Accounting Office reported an annual savings of $3,000,000 per year on a $10,000 investment in screening. It certainly seems that Emotional Intelligence is important for most roles in a business. But business people have one overriding question: how does it affect the bottom line? Can putting employees in touch with their emotions actually make them more productive?
Increasing Emotional Intelligence Just Makes ‘Cents’
Sep 28th
Daniel Goleman first brought Emotional Intelligence from the academic ivory tower into the world of business with his 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. In a more recent book, he draws on over two hundred studies, done in various countries, and finds that emotional competence accounts for two-thirds to four-fifths of the difference between top performers and average employees. Screening prospective employees for certain positions makes good common sense. Sales people need to be optimistic. They must be able to delay gratification, control their emotions and have empathy with others. For example, when L’Oreal used emotional intelligence as a selection criterion for hiring sales representatives, they found that emotionally intelligent people outsold their colleagues by $91,370 a year, on the average. Emotional Intelligence is important in building teams and networks within a firm. It is vital for leaders at all levels, including executives. Retail store managers who were best able to manage stress had higher net profits and more sales per square foot, per employee and per inventory dollar.
A large beverage company screened executives for Emotional Intelligence. Before it began screening, half its executives left within two years, usually because they did not perform well. Executives selected for Emotional Intelligence stayed longer, earned higher performance bonuses and outperformed targets set for them by 15% to 20%.
Clearly, a business can improve its bottom line by screening appropriately for Emotional Intelligence. But that is only a fraction of what businesses need. When Emotional Intelligence makes such a difference, can an organization afford to stop with screening alone? Can businesses increase profits by offering training to increase the emotional competence of existing staff? Emotional competencies can be learned. With a good training program in Emotional Intelligence, an organization can maximize the potential of the employees it already has, from the top to the bottom of the organizational chart.
Like any type of intelligence, Emotional Intelligence includes both an inherent and a learned component. Pupils learn at school the skills they need to score well on traditional IQ tests. Training programs, such as our session Emotional Intelligence: The Pathway of Personal Success, teach adults the skills needed to become more emotionally competent. With the right training in emotional intelligence, businesses gain more emotionally competent staff members who function more efficiently, cooperate more productively and remain with the company longer.
A good training program in Emotional Intelligence includes work on integrity, awareness, responsibility, self-mastery, clarity, definition, action and self-valuing. Integrity is the ability to act on principle rather than on emotion. It includes the ability to delay gratification and to harness emotion in service of the principles that infuse our lives. Our principles determine how we perceive events and people; how we judge success or failure; whether we are optimistic and cheerful or pessimistic and joyless. At work and in life, we face key moments that are challenging, distressing, even painful. Good training in Emotional Intelligence helps your staff understand that the reality of the key moment cannot change, but that the interior response to it is a personal choice. They can focus on the task at hand, and make the choices that are most productive without wasting time blaming, resenting or complaining. Training can help your staff members take responsibility for their choices. They will know their life goals and have a clear vision of the path they will follow, making them more productive and capable of advancing. As your employees become aware of their own emotions and learn to control them in service of their life goals, your workplace will become not only more pleasant, but more productive. You will be able to promote from within more often, cutting training costs.
“Your teams will function more efficiently and productively when leaders choose to listen with empathy and team players take responsibility for their choices,” explains Susan Riddering, vice president of NorthStar360. “Training in Emotional Intelligence increases managerial skills, team building and employee competence at all levels – and that inevitably improves the bottom line.”
Emotional Intelligence: How Do You Score?
Sep 28th
For decades, a lot of emphasis has been put on certain aspects of intelligence such as logical reasoning, math skills, spatial skills, understanding analogies and verbal skills. Researchers were puzzled by the fact that while IQ could predict to a significant degree academic performance and, to some degree, professional and personal success, there was something missing in the equation. Some of those with remarkable IQ scores were doing poorly in life. The missing part of this success equation: emotional intelligence. Thanks to the groundbreaking book by Daniel Goleman, which is based on years of research by numerous scientists such as Peter Salovey, John Meyer, Howard Gardner, Robert Sternberg and Jack Block, just to name a few. For various reasons and thanks to a wide range of abilities, people with high emotional intelligence tend to be more successful in life than those with lower EIQ even if their classical IQ is average.
NorthStar360 provides a complimentary Emotional Intelligence and Personality Profile. Go ahead; see how you measure up! This emotional intelligence/ personality profile test will evaluate several aspects of your emotional intelligence and will suggest ways to improve it. Please be honest and answer according to what you really do, feel or think, rather than what you think is considered right in this test.
After finishing this three-minute questionnaire, you will receive a Report via your company email account. This assessment measures 17 personality traits and provides respondents with a snapshot and score in a variety of areas like time management, creativity and sensitivity. The personality assessment is available at www.northstar360.com/assessments.
This is a complimentary assessment provided by NorthStar360. No trick, no gimmicks, just great data for you to consider. So, how do you measure up?
Time Management Best Practice: Time Blocking
Sep 28th
Finding ways to squeeze a few extra minutes out of every hour is every busy person’s favorite magic trick. We don’t have the ability to waive our magic wand with an “Abracadabra”, but we can take advantage of time management strategies to help us maximize our time. The first magic trick up our sleeve is time blocking: a popular approach to time management addressed by many of the gurus in the time management field.
Time blocking does just that, block out specific time periods for project work, meetings and specific tasks. The reason for this is that interruptions are major time wasters. On average, every interruption is costing anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes of lost time as you must regroup and refocus back to the task at hand.
For this reason, time blocking advocates recommend that you set aside specific blocks of time for specific tasks. During the time block, ONLY work on that task, not allowing the distraction of email pop-ups, telephone calls or drop-in meetings. It’s also important to stick to the time allotted; start and stop on the clock. Admittedly, this is no small task and is very difficult to do, especially for those operating in a primarily responsive mode or worse, crisis mode. Of course, this requires balance as client needs and requests should be addressed quickly. This doesn’t preclude the use of time blocking, however. To start, try time blocking just a portion of the day to start. Below are a few tips to utilize time blocking as part of your time management strategy.
- Create a list of the important activities in your work week. Most importantly, include those you’re not getting to but know you should. Next, block out specific times over the next two days to work on one or two of these projects and commit to working on just a specific task without interruptions. Reduce your own hesitation by scheduling these blocks at a time that isn’t a known “busy” period for your business. Refer to this list each time you schedule yourself so you put these important items in the calendar.
- Turn off the alerts on your email service. Allow yourself two, three if you must, time periods per day for emails and phone follow up. During that time, read and process emails and phone calls and nothing else. Read emails and respond, archive or delete. Don’t waste time reading and leaving them for later to respond. If you don’t have time to respond, don’t look at your emails!
- Commit to following your time plan; make it your personal policy that if it’s on the calendar, that’s what will happen with the exception of true emergencies.
The time blocking approach to time management can be a very difficult transition, particularly if you are dealing with customers face to face for much of your day. If your job description includes ONLY customer service activities, it may be that your entire day is blocked for customer service, but are there particular times of day when certain clients are easier to reach? Might there be value in blocking time for certain customer categories, geographies, order types or shipping time frames? Recognize, however, that time blocked for customer oriented activities such as follow up, answering questions, creating proposals and making proactive telephone calls are all “blockable” activities, which might just reduce crisis related activities!
A Time for Time Management
Sep 3rd
Labor Day has come and gone; the symbolic “end of summer.” Many of us will reluctantly turn our attention away from summer recreations and will approach our work with renewed focus. Autumn brings a relentless schedule of deadlines, meetings and other challenges. Preparing a time management strategy is one way to improve our overall personal effectiveness. Time is constant, we can’t beat it, but we can manage it. Below are five time management strategies to improve personal effectiveness and success within your organization.
- Take the first 30 minutes of every day to plan your day. Don’t start your day until you complete your time plan. The most important time of your day is the time you schedule to schedule time.
- Put up a “Do not disturb” sign when you absolutely have to get work done.
- Block out other distractions like Facebook and other forms of social media unless you use these tools to generate business.
- Take five minutes before every call and task to decide what result you want to achieve. This will help you know what success looks like before you start. And it will also slow time down. Take five minutes after each call and activity to determine whether your desired result was achieved. If not, what was missing? How do you put what’s missing in your next call or activity?
- Carry a schedule and record all your thoughts, conversations and activities for a week. This will help you understand how much you can get done during the course of a day and where your precious moments are going. You’ll see how much time is actually spent producing results and how much time is wasted on unproductive thoughts, conversations and actions.
Remember that it’s impossible to get everything done. Also remember that odds are good that 20 percent of your thoughts, conversations and activities produce 80 percent of your results. We have to learn to let go of the “nitty gritty” and spend our time on the things that produce results.
Employee Engagement: Moving Past the Corporate Catch Phrase
Sep 3rd
Engaged employees are essential, critical to having a successful business. This is not a surprise to us. But how? Establishing and strengthening emotional bonds between the organization and employees is not a new concept by any means. We know that organizations and leaders must set (and communicate!) clear visions and goals; they need to encourage the spread of this vision throughout the company.
“To capture the hearts of our employees, it is essential that we tell them what we stand for and where we are going,” according to Jim Harris in his book Getting Employees to Fall in Love With Your Company. Employee engagement is not a new buzz word or an old adage that is being revisited. Simply stated it is an approach to business and employees that is producing exceptional results. Simply having a mission statement or employee program does not constitute change. Mentalities and attitudes must be altered for the better in order for this belief of employee engagement to take hold and thrive within an organization. Proper training, marketing and support are mandatory for engagement to thrive in any corporate culture.
Go beyond catchy slogans and shallow efforts to keep employees on-target. True employee engagement not only requires, but demands a comprehensive, strategic approach that creates positive, lasting results when implemented effectively. Employee engagement encourages productive and dedicated team members with vested interest in the company, managers motivated by positive results and a bottom line that benefits from increased employee retention and efficient operations. Simply stated, employee engagement is vital to building and maintaining a successful organization. And the good news – once an this culture is created, engagement becomes ‘the way we do things around here’ and it does not have to be recreated year after year. The best place to start is with an assessment to measure engagement. Measuring your employee’s passion about work and the work environment can be as simple as issuing a survey with a few scales questions around the ideas of:
• Job satisfaction
• Productivity
• Quality of peers
• Likelihood to change jobs
• Likelihood to recommend company products or services
• Likelihood to recommend as a great place to work
• Satisfaction with compensation & benefits
Use a scale (like the Likert scale) to measure levels of engagement and don’t forget to gather compliments in addition to concerns. Often times open ended questions can provide invaluable insight to your organization to learn areas for improvement and areas that are working. Engaged employees are a win-win for organizations; providing a better bottom line and a happier, healthier work environment for all.