Workplace Training Newsletter Central - Workplace Training Edition
Delegation in the workplace Newsletter for June
So, whenever I'm trying to think about what a great leader
should do, I always come back to my captain of the ship story. I think this is
an important story, so I'm going to tell you now. So, we must imagine that
you're going on a cruise. Quite a big ship, maybe 200 people. And as you come
up the gang plank, the captain welcomes you by name to the, to the ship. And
he's welcoming everyone. He goes, "Louise, good to see you. Miles, welcome
to the cruise. Sally, great, come on in." And he knows the name of
everybody on sights they approach his ship. And you think, that's amazing, how
does he do that? Once you're on board, you have a look and you find that what
he does is he looks at every passport and he memorize the face and the name of
every passenger, so he can greet them personally because he cares about
customer care. So, you think, well, that's great. And, he's obviously a good
captain. And you go down to your cabin, and when you get to your cabin there's a
little folded cardboard sign on your pillow. And it says, Dear, Dave or
whatever, your bed was made for you personally by the captain because he cares
about quality. And you think, well, that's a bit freaky. Does he make every bed
on this ship? He can't have time for that. Has he made just mine? In which
case, why? Has he chosen me at random? Does he like me? What’s going on? So,
you kind of think that's a bit odd. And of course, the best way to ensure
quality on the ship, is not to make every bed yourself, it’s to make sure
there's a system for training the bedmakers, which we'll come back to. So,
you're beginning to wonder, is he a good captain or not? He clearly cares about
customer care and quality, but does that make him a good captain? So, anyway,
you try to put that out of your mind. You get changed, you go down to dinner,
and your meal is served to you by a whole lot of waiters in very smart black
and white outfits. And then you think, hang on a minute, I recognize that
waiter. And of course, it's the captain serving the soup. He likes to serve the
soup, every night because he likes to be in touch with the workers. In touch
with his staff. And I don't mean workers in any derogatory way, by the way, I
mean they're great. They’re the ones who do the work. So, you're thinking, well
you know, that's a bit weird the captain's serving the soup. I mean it's great
that he's in touch with the workers but, but who's steering the ship while the
captain is serving my dinner? So, after your meal, which is very delicious by
the way, you decide to find out who is steering the ship. Maybe it's being
steered by a bedmaker, or a waiter. So, on your way to the bridge, not very
anatomically correct this, but anyway you go passed the engine room and the
door to the engine room is slightly ajar and in the dark, and all the steam,
and noise of the engine room, just illuminated by the orange glow of the
furnace, you can see a figuratively coal into the boiler. And of course, it's
the captain. Cause the normal boiler stoker is off sick, and the captain, who
used to be a champion boiler stoker himself, has said, “No worries, I don't
mind getting my hands dirty. “So, he's gone to stoke the boiler. So, we're
really worrying about who's steering the ship now. And even though the captain
cares about customer care, cares about quality, he's in touch with the workers,
he’s got the biggest muscles on the ship from his boiler stoking activities,
he's not afraid to get his hands dirty, despite all these things, we’re
thinking he might not be a very good captain. Anyway, so you go on up to the,
the bridge and of course there's nobody there. And the ship is just drifting at
random. And in fact, there are icebergs dotted around. And the ship is heading
towards one of the icebergs. So, at this point you start thinking, “Oh no, I'm
going to have to steer the ship. What do I do? “So anyway, you, you take the
wheel and you're about to turn, turn the ship the wrong way, when the captain
comes running up from the boiler room still a bit sweaty, and he grabs the
wheel and he just manages to swerve the ship and avoid the iceberg. And he
goes, "Whoa, that was a close one. I thought we were a goner then. Whew,
still, anyway it worked out fine in the end, that's the main thing. “And then
he says, "God, I love this job, it’s so exciting. There’s never a dull
moment. “And what are you thinking? Cause I'm thinking, he's not a very good
captain. I don't want a captain who cares about quality, customer care,
workers, biggest muscles, gets his hands dirty. All I want, is a captain who's
on the bridge making sure everything's allrightnik doesn’t want him to do any
of those things. I want him to delegate all that stuff. So, a good boss, is not
somebody who's always running around doing things, it's somebody who's in control.
I used to work for a boss once, and he used to drive the forklift truck in the
evening, sometimes. If a lorry needed loading, he'd get on the truck and help.
And everyone thought he was great, and he loved doing it. But, he was a rubbish
boss. He should have been in his office thinking about next year's strategy or
whatever. So, the essence of management isn't to just do everybody else’s jobs
and become the highest paid waiter on the ship, while the ship goes into an
iceberg. The essence of management is to make sure that everything's being
done. To build a machine of people that will do the job for you. Building a
machine of people, I think that's what leadership's is all about. And if you
think about the areas the captain must cover, it's people, systems, and vision.
So, he's got to make sure that he's got the right people in the right jobs, and
that they're motivated. He’s got to make sure that the system works. There’s a
system for everything. So, the bed making, is there a quality control system?
Is everybody trained? Is there traceability? If there's a problem with the bed,
can he trace it back to who made it and retrain them? So, there should be a
system for everything. And then there should be a vision for where the
company's going. So, people, systems, and vision are the three things that the
captain's got to do. And if he doesn't do those, then there'll be problems. So,
if the ship does run aground, it's the captain's fault. And now, what about if
the captain is nipped into the toilet for five minutes, and somebody else is
steering and the ship runs aground? Who gets court marshalled he blame the
temporary person who's steering? The answer is no. Because he chose that
person, and he put theming charge of steering while he was in the toilet. So,
the captain is always responsible, even when he's asleep. Even when he's
unconscious, ill for week, he can't use that as an excuse. Because he is
supposed to of set up the systems and make sure he's got the right people. So,
he is responsible for everything on the ship. Everything’s management's fault.
So, if the soup is a bit salty, that’s the captain's fault. He can't blame the
chef, he's supposed to have got a good chef. He’s supposed to have checked on
the chef by sampling the soup occasionally. If one bed is not made, it's the
captain's fault. Because he should have put the good manager in charge of the
bed making. And he should have made sure that that manager has a system. So,
everything's management's fault and everything is therefore the captain's fault.
So, in a way, he does nothing. Cause he stands around on the bridge saying,
“Are the beds being made? Do we have a system for the beds? "So, in a way,
that's all he does. But, in another way, he's responsible for everything on the
ship. Now, suppose he's got everything running smoothly, and all the systems
are running, the people are great, everything just works. Which I think most
ships are probably like. What happens if he's standing on the bed, going,
"Everything okay?" And it all is. And a disgruntled bedmaker, who
thinks, "Whew, that captain, he gets paid loads and does nothing. He just
stands around on the bridge. “The disgruntled bedmaker pushes the captain off,
into the sea. And he falls into the sea and he drown. What will happen, by the
way, this is only pretend don't worry, what will happen to the ship? And the
answer is, absolutely nothing to start with. People won't even notice that the
captains isn't there. Perhaps after a few days, they might think, “mm, I
haven't seen the captain for a while. “But because they're good people, they're
trained, they, they've got their systems, they actually don't need the captain
anymore. So, nothing will happen to start with. But of course, we do still need
the captain. Because longer term, we will miss the captain. Because what will
happen in a few months’ time, is that the environment will change. And
therefore, will need new systems. And, and we'll need a different vision as
well. And the environment could be our competitors, it could be our customers, whatever.
But also, the people will gradually become out of date, they’ll become bored,
they won't be motivated anymore, or the work they're required to do will change
subtlety. And so, the arrangement of people constantly needs tinkering with to
keep it as good as it can be. So, we will start to notice that the captains
missing after a few weeks, or a few months. So, if you've got a boss who when
he or she goes on holiday, you think, "Well, I don't really miss them.
“That doesn't prove that they do nothing, it actually means they're a good
boss. The place should run for a week or two without the boss. And I'm always
amazed on training courses when it's just a one-day course and you've got
people on the phone every interval, every coffee or tea break, "Yeah,
yeah, it's on the third shelf alone. Yes, it's in the blue folder. Yeah, tell
him he can have it. No, tell him he's got to pay an extra five quid." And
you just think, "They can't do without that person, for just quarter of a
day. “And really, everything should run absolutely fine without that boss. He
shouldn't need to be phoning back base the whole time. Now, they're going to
come to delegation, look at it in more detail later. But it's key. I think the
essence of a manager, is somebody who's set everything up wells that it runs.
Or somebody who's trying to set up all the systems and get all the people
right, so it will just run itself. That’s what we want to see. So, people,
systems, and vision. A machine of people, that's the essence of what a leader is
all about.
Think of a message that was supposed to be communicated
widely within your organization. It could be anything, a new phone system being
installed, or a new process for requesting travel reimbursements. Maybe people
were told to cut back on their copy machine use. Or an important goal was met
last month, and the leadership wanted to celebrate the victory. Select a
situation that seems typical of the communication in your workplace. Now in the
Exercise File titled Practice Exercises, assess your company on its
communication effectiveness. First, who were the receivers, or the people who
heard the news? Did the right people get the message in your situation? One of
the leading communication problems is assuming that everyone who needs to get a
message got that message. When we take the time to identify each party who
should receive a message, we’ll avoid this common problem. Next, who was the
sender of the message? Was the sender the best person for the job? Why, or why
not? Third, what was the intended message?
Customer Service Blog News
Happy customers make great brand evangelists. But have you
ever thought of the unhappy ones, as an influencer marketing opportunity? In
this video, we will dive into their importance and the steps you may take to
turn your customer service challenges into a marketing opportunity. In 2009, a
singer-songwriter, Dave Carroll, was flying with United Airlines from Canada to
Nebraska via Chicago. Upon landing in the layover city, he heard a passenger
behind him scream. “My God, they are throwing guitars out there. “Sure enough,
his $3500 Taylor guitar was one of them. Upon arrival to his destination, he
discovered that the guitar's neck was broken off. Nine months of his back and forth
with United, weren’t crowned with success. So, the songwriter wrote a song,
United Breaks Guitars. He also produced a brilliant music video to accompany it
and uploaded it to YouTube. Within four days of the upload, Dave’s song was
viewed by more than 1.5 million people. It went viral and the viewer count
tripled in the next three months.
Email Communication Newsletter 2018
Email and blogs are unique because they're used for a range
of purposes and in business writing, you need to adhere to some basic principles
to unleash their full potential. While email might be the most profound
information sharing tool at our disposal, it has some relevant pitfalls. It’s
too easy to send and email's the wrong choice for an essay or a long form
professional correspondence. It can allow you to be too casual or slip into
social correspondence. Include long documents as attachments. Not in the body
of the email. So here are some ways to keep your email professional and
effective. First, use the subject line and make it count. If you're asking a
question, make that your subject line. Are you saying thank you? Make that your
subject line. What if you're writing to ask for a job? I think you can see
where we're going. You’d be surprised how often hi or quick question clutter up
an inbox. If you keep the subject relevant, then you've prepared your recipient
to answer or otherwise receive your message. Next, in the body of the email,
don't bury the lead. This is a term from journalism that means hide the
information. State exactly what you need up front. Don’t write an essay. That’s
right don't use email to compose an essay. Because email moves so quickly, take
advantage of that speed by not slowing your reader down. Also consider using
graphic highlighting techniques in your emails. You can chunk your information
to make your points clear, succinct and direct. If you have a list, use bullets
or numbers. When discussing dates, times, numbers, important people or topics,
bold them. Another tip is to keep professional email brief, appropriate and
polite. Even if you have a sparkling wit, save it for personal correspondence.
The probability of being misunderstood is simply too high. I know I've said
this before but always use proper grammar and spelling. It shows you put care
into your words and demonstrates thought and professionalism. Last, minimize
social media jargon, abbreviations and emoticons in your email. This could be
interpreted as sloppy, careless or immature. Your written work is an extension
of your identity and can impact your reputation and credibility.
Professionalism is contagious. By setting a standard for your business
communication, you train others to respond in kind. If you send every email
with clear subject organized to highlight the information you need to distribute
or receive and always use a professional tone, you provide a template for clearcommunication. With blogs, the ability to rapidly update information creates
the temptation to write for quantity over quality. Always check your facts,
spelling and usage before hitting Publish. You may be more rushed in blogs than
in other formats. It’s up to you to create a buffer to allow yourself the time
to proofread your work. Also, remember to make sure your headlines are relevant
and that your hyperlinks work. This is often your direct line of communication
to the masses. Make sure you always represent yourself and your company
professionally even if your voice is casual or funny. Always consider your
audience and what you want them to draw from your post. Ask yourself if it
could be misread or misinterpreted. Proofreading often comes down to giving
yourself time to reread what you've written whether it's an email or a blog.
Remember to think about who will receive it and what they should take away from
your writing.
Harassment and Bullying Newsletter Update for June in 2018
Let's start with two hard truths. One, everyone including
you will have performance challenges at some point in their careers. Two, poor
performance is your responsibility. As a manager growing your leadership bones,
you must ask yourself, is it me or is it them? In my experience, the answer is
often a bit of both, but it starts with you. So, let's look at the most common
performance issues. Poor quality work. Lack of time management and productivity.
Absenteeism. Poor communication. Harassment and bullying. Stakeholder or
customer complaints. As a manager, you can do a lot to avoid major performance
issues by making sure you're setting goals and expectations with your people
and regularly checking in with them. It’s also a good idea to recognize good
performance publicly and offer constructive criticism privately and when you
learn about a performance issue, do not let it simmer. Deal with it. You might
also want to do a little self-assessment of your own. What kind of leadership
or communication skills do you need to improve on? So, dig deep. Own your part.
And now, let's move on to some writing prompts that will help you prepare for
that initial performance conversation. One, what are the facts? Two, being as
objective as possible, what is the impact of your employee's performance on
your team or organization? And three, what changes must be made to turn things
around? Use these prompts to think through, write and practice an opening
statement that’s free of accusation and full of facts. Now, let's explore the
10 guidelines for handling that first conversation and for ongoing performance
coaching. Number one, set a meeting. Explain the purpose of the meeting and set
the tone. Something like I'd like to discuss your performance and offer my
support in finding some solutions. Number two, share what you've observed and
offer specifics objectively. This is where your opening statement comes inland
where you want to be sure it's free of accusation. For example, according to
the data, your numbers are down by 40%. Number three, ask for input and
feedback on your observations. Remember, this is a two-way conversation you’re
both collaborating on to solves get your employee's perspective. It might
reveal the reasons that they're not performing well like inadequate training or
resources or circumstances in their personal lives. Number four, ask for
reflection about how their behaviour impacts the team and organization. When
people understand their impact on others, it generally motivates them to make
changes. Number five, tell them what behaviour is expected. Simply stated, be
clear about the behaviour the results you need to see. Number six, ask
open-ended questions to find solutions. Once you've clarified what you expect,
brainstorm with your employee to generate options and right actions. Number
seven, agree on a course of action and write it down. Number eight, identify
the stakeholders. Resolving performance issues may require reporting out to
others like your boss or HR. So, make sure you list the people you’ll be
sharing your results with. Number nine, define the consequences if expectations
are not met. Now, this is highly situational. In some cases, it could be
monetary as in the payout of bonuses or it could mean the difference between
promotion and no promotion or being reassigned or even laid off. Whatever the
consequence, be clear and specific. Finally, number 10, create a follow-up
structure for progress check ins. Remember, you're coaching for results so it's
not a one and done. You have as much accountability for your employee's
progress as they do. So, to be successful in performance coaching
conversations, let me leave you with this. Clear your head and do your best.
Hold the perspective that all human beings are capable of course correction and
change. This perspective will help you set a positive tone and focus on getting
results that benefit you, your employee and your organization.
Onboarding, even when it's not called onboarding, takes
place at every organization. Sometimes people call it socialization. Sometimes
they call it onboarding. Either way, it refers to the ways new employees gain
the needed knowledge and skills required to be effective in the organization.
Companies use meetings with lectures, videos, lots of printed material, and
increasingly, computer-based experiences. These efforts cover lots of technical
needs such as forms for payroll and benefits, as well as other information
about the company mission and history. Research does indicate that quality
onboarding efforts support employee satisfaction and retention. Firms not
systematically thinking about onboarding should be. Having said that, let's be
honest. Onboarding in most organizations is usually just some sort of
orientation process. One the new hires don't enjoy. The new employees are
assembled in a conference room, asked to fill out a million forms and asked to
read or listen to a million facts about the company.
Retail Den Newsletter for June 2018
Great performance begins with clarity. That clarity must
have thought in context with an understanding of the company's vision, mission,
values and strategic goals. If clarity is not gained at the outset, performance
can easily veer off track, even while the employee thinks they ‘redoing a good
job. For example, say a retail clerk gets a new job at Nordstrom’s. Previously,
he worked in a retail chain known for its poor customer service. To provide
clarity that new employee must be trained that the customer's always right.
Without that training, the clerk may feel it's his number one job to save
Nordstrom's money on the spot, argue with a shopper, and in the process tarnish
a valuable customer relationship’s gain clarity I suggest managers ask
employees these two questions: Number one, what are the most important things
you do every day? And two, how do you know if you are doing them well without
having to ask me or that my having to tell you? Until you and your employees
can answer these two questions in concert, performance is guaranteed to
suffering any system. Let’s examine each in turn. When I do workshops with
CEOs, they often invite their HR executive, which allows me to show this
challenge of clarity. I ask the CEO and HR exec to get out a piece of paper and
then, out of view of each other, write down the three most important things
they both think that the HR person does every day. Then I ask them to show
their lists and they never match. As the saying goes, they were not even on the
same page. Now afterwards, they get to discuss what the most important things
are and gain the clarity they assume was there but was not. So where do you go
from there? Let me use an example to illustrate. Let’s say that we agree that
the number one most important thing everyone's responsible for doing is to create a great client customer or patient relationship. That is true north in
an experienced economy. Armed with this clarity we can then ask how to do you
know if you're helping to create great client experience? All performance comes
down to two benchmarks. Quantity and quality. Take a call centre employee that
supports Nordstrom’s online sales. They work in a culture where the customer is
always right. They receive a given quantity of calls and perform at a certain
quality on those calls. The number of calls can be compared to the desired
benchmark. The quality of calls can be based on real time surveys sent out
after the call. Some call centres have a screen where these metrics generated
in real time directly in front of the worker. Now that's clarity. Of course,
many jobs are more complicated than that. Clarifying knowledge job benchmarks
requires a deeper conversation. In terms of quantity, the attorney must build
2,000 hours a year while producing great client results and satisfaction, the
quality benchmark. The marketer must get X number of prospect views or generate
X number of leads or sales. From a qualitative experience, a survey may
determine if the clients had an engaging experience and would-be willing to
refer others as a result. I think you're getting the picture. Once you have
clarity on what's important you can benchmark for quantity and quality results.
Because we still want to set and achieve benchmarks. That’s one thing that
hasn't changed with performance management. I encourage you to try this simple
exercise I described. Ask the people you manage what are the three most
important things you do every day and go from there.
Journalism Today Newsletter June 2018
If you're stuck with a blank page and no ideas, go to the
headlines. What’s being covered in the news? What are the stories people are
talking about? What’s trending on social media? Take these topics and then ask
yourself, is there a news peg I can use to hook readers? How can I incorporate
what everyone is talking about into a post? Take this one from Frederick who is
a student at MIT. He used the news of the news of Thea's founder's net worth
to talk about the media's obsession with tech wealth and valuations. This one
from Emily, a Brandie University undergrad, used the rise of student protests
as catalyst to talk about what was happening on her campus and how social media
was being used to gain widespread support. You want to use current events as a
conversation starter, or in a way that connects it back to your own major, area
of study, or interests. Take this post that was written by Secularise journalism student at the University. She weighed in on the standards and ethics
of news coverage of the San Bernard shooting, or this one from Sydney who
studies computer science at Duke and used her experience to talk about the GE
CEO's plan to provide coding lessons to all new hires. As an editor, I'm always
on the lookout for great newsy content. If you want to get the attention of a
LinkedIn editor, and potentially reach more people, be sure to add #Student
Voices at the bottom of your posting the body. We find that our readers really
engage with posts that offer unique insights or perspectives on timely topics,
particularly in the professional sphere. So, if you're looking to get your
posts promoted beyond just your network, this is a great way to do it.
The Time Management Times – June Edition
It is known that we all perceive time somewhat differently.
And so, when it comes to doing business, it’s crucial to be aware of what to
expect and how to manage perceptions that others have of time. For example,
watch this commercial about a brand of fast food. A young couple meets at a
party. The man in the commercial moves things along fast with the help of the
fast food chain. - Call me sometime. - Absolutely, yeah. (phone rings)- Hello?
- Hi, it's Mike. From the party? How about dinner? - Okay. - A comical way to
poke fun at the fast, convenient, and just-in-time culture of the United
States. But is it true? Does culture value time more,
use it as a commodity, and manage it with all sorts of gadgets? The answer, for
the most part, is yes. As with many other cultural dimensions, we tend to group
countries together to compare them. Now, every individual in each of these
countries, however, has their own personal style and their own preference which
may not be consistent.
Look for the easiest answer as it is often the best too. It's normally the right answer too. Learning the best way to support your team or customers is a good step to creating a booming business. Meeting everybody's expectations at times can be difficult but fulfilling them one at a time could be easier. Speak to someone in your business about workplace health and safety as it affects everyone.
Show your team members that you are a fantastic leader by becoming involved in each activity. Do not micromanage though. Delegation training will also assist you and your team with completing correctly. Communication within the workplace and with customers will help to grow relationships that make a happier office. Clients notice when you have adequately trained staff members working together.
Mentoring and coaching your employees will assist them in more ways than one. Complaints will need to be handled efficiently with the upmost care. Effective delegation of tasks will help get things done effectively and economically. Effective communication helps to ensure that messages are understood how they have to be.
Business mistakes do not have to be pricey, if you get training beforehand. Learn to spot the major issues when they are only small issues. Discuss any Expectations to make sure that you have the ability to meet them. If your staff like you they will work harder for you. Giving your staff members different things to focus on will help them become more inspired through the day.
Look for the easiest answer as it is often the best too. It's normally the right answer too. Learning the best way to support your team or customers is a good step to creating a booming business. Meeting everybody's expectations at times can be difficult but fulfilling them one at a time could be easier. Speak to someone in your business about workplace health and safety as it affects everyone.
Show your team members that you are a fantastic leader by becoming involved in each activity. Do not micromanage though. Delegation training will also assist you and your team with completing correctly. Communication within the workplace and with customers will help to grow relationships that make a happier office. Clients notice when you have adequately trained staff members working together.
Mentoring and coaching your employees will assist them in more ways than one. Complaints will need to be handled efficiently with the upmost care. Effective delegation of tasks will help get things done effectively and economically. Effective communication helps to ensure that messages are understood how they have to be.
Business mistakes do not have to be pricey, if you get training beforehand. Learn to spot the major issues when they are only small issues. Discuss any Expectations to make sure that you have the ability to meet them. If your staff like you they will work harder for you. Giving your staff members different things to focus on will help them become more inspired through the day.