by Melanie DePaoli

    This article was published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

You see me one time. This is someone’s license plate in the community that I am living. Since it is on a Corvette, at first I just thought it was funny. The more I saw it, the more it got me thinking—it’s true! We make decisions all the time based on this simple philosophy.

Prospective clients normally make their decision about a company with the very first person they meet or speak to and within the first minute. WOW that is a lot of pressure! It sounds like interviewing for a job . . . wait it is!

Think about when you hire a new employee. You are very selective, want the most for the best price and try to decide if you will like the person’s personality—if they will fit. Is this someone you can work with? Is this someone who your current team will work well with? Will this person be able to help us grow? Will this person be able to grow with the company? A lot of companies believe that most skills can be taught while personality cannot.

This is why it is so important to have a strong culture and to define what it is that your company stands for. By taking the time to define this, you create a work environment with standards for how decisions are made, a set of expectations for how customers will be treated and employees will interact, and you establish boundaries of what is right and wrong.

By defining your culture you also create what your internal perception and a desired external perception of your company. The internal perception is how the employees perceive each other and how they perceive the company. Do they work for a company that they cannot stand or is it a company that they feel supported by and takes care of them?

When people hear [insert your company name], what do you want them to think? What do they need to think in order for you to turn the prospect into a client? This is your external perception or your brand. Money can only buy so much; eventually true colors always reveal themselves. This being said, why risk walking a path that will end up costing you more in the end. Take the time and do it right from the start: define your culture so your culture becomes your brand and your employees and clients are saying the same message because they WANT to.

Mel DePaoli is the president and founder of Omicle located in Seattle, WA. She is also interviewing companies for her upcoming book series Brand or Culture: Which Comes First. Please visit www.omicle.com for more information about how Omicle can become your Catalyst for Discovery and www.brandorculture.com to get involved in the Brand or Culture Debate! Ms. DePaoli can be reached at mel@omicle.com.

by Bruce Newman

   This article was published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

I recently wrote a brief article that discussed the growing number of companies who have contacted us and require direct help with analyzing their employment-related expenses in order to sustain their businesses through difficult economic times.

My posting continued, a thorough “Needs Assessment” will assist a corporate employer (very small businesses to medium-sized businesses) to determine which positions need to be continually maintained, and which positions can be either consolidated or contracted out to one or more expert, rated outstanding consultants.

Two of the biggest mistakes that companies are making is 1) waiting until they are in a complete crisis and then eliminating the wrong people and the wrong jobs, and 2) trying to go to numerous impersonal online services to try to find consultants and freelancers on a trial-and-error basis. In our professional practice we eliminate the trial-and-error issue completely.

Below are several of the numerous responses I received.

One thing a company almost always forgets is a Threat & Risk assessment.  They then go on a cost cutting spree and in today’s litigation happy world, can end up in a major legal battle or spend a lot to pay a settlement to keep things quiet.  I am currently helping a small business that cut back and never thought about a threat assessment. They are currently getting ready for trial.  What they would have spent on a TRA was a fraction of the cost of their first retainer for outside counsel.

This is big business today. People at the top have no idea what anyone below their group of cronies does. As such, when payroll needs to be cut they single out positions and not people. And even immediate supervisors for the most part don’t know what the job function reporting to them takes to get accomplished because chances are they got their position because of who they knew and not necessarily because they were the right person for the position or held the position previously.
  
Bruce - I agree completely, continuously keeping an organization thin is a much better proposition than expanding then contracting. Better run sales organizations should be doing this every day! EVERY DAY!

The evaluation of potential is a powerful tool, which, if undertaken, can restructure an organization by placing people in a position where they can function effectively.  It therefore promotes the development and implementation of strategic plans of growth while often resolving existing difficulties that, in the new framework often turn out to be trivial. 

One of the largest employment-related expenses is the cost of business communications. With the most expensive employees (namely management) spending upwards of 90% of their time on business communications and even the front-line assembly worker still spending upwards of 20% of their time on business communications, the real savings come from switching from traditional means of business communications to cloud communications systems where both time and cost can easily be reduced by half if not closer to 80% of today’s costs.

While these are only some of the responses I received, they all denote the importance that companies need external evaluations to remain lean and safe.  It is through these evaluations that improved gains in productivity can also be attained.

Bruce Newman is a consulting guru and the Vice President at The Productivity Institute, LLC (PI)(http://www.prodinst.com) which provides prodinst by matching the specific software products and services needs of companies to rated outstanding consultants who can meet those needs. Any company that wishes to improve their productivity can sign up for this free referral service and be contacted by up to five rated outstanding consultants. PI also offers a Needs Assessments that can greatly help a company improve productivity and become more cost competitive.

by Patrick Seaton

   This article was published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

Have you ever thought about the difference between Firefighters and Pyrotechnicians? 

Firefighters: They wait in the firehouse until the alarm goes off.  Then they race to the scene of the fire, put it out, and then go back and wait for the next fire.  Despite the fact that they do occasional fire safety education, they are reactive in their work.

Pyrotechnicians: They select the fireworks that will go off, the sequence, the music, and the timing.  They are totally proactive in their jobs.

So what are you?  What about your staff?  What did you hire?  What is supported and recognized in your company culture?  What do you need to drive your company forward?

What I offer to you this month is to consider if you have trained and conditioned your employees to be the consummate firefighter, while urging them to become better pyrotechnicians. 

The problem is this.  Proactive skills are exactly that – skills.  They need to be learned, practiced, and fine-tuned if we are to be good at them.  When we are constantly fighting fires, we may only have a few short minutes to put on our “proactive” hat.  Just when we think we’ll have time to do something proactive – DING! DING! DING! The fire alarm goes off again and we rush off to put out the next fire.

Another thing that really perplexes me is the following:  Why is it that we very often rush through, or skip the planning stage of a project?  Instead we get so excited to jump right in and begin “doing something” and/or we say that there isn’t enough time to plan it all out. 

And when a project is assigned to us, why we are urged to get quick answers and results?  We feel pressured to start “working.” 

What I don’t understand is that while we don’t/can’t/won’t take the time to plan up front for 2 or 3 hours, we almost always hit the point in the project when we need to “regroup.”  “Regroup” has become a common phrase in companies today.  We “regroup” because things aren’t going the way we anticipated.  How is it that we can always find the 15 hours (or 10, or 20) needed to undo the work that was done, fix the problem, redo the work, and get back to where we were before we “regrouped,” but we rarely find the time for a couple hours of planning up front?

Taking the time to plan and prepare for upcoming changes, projects, and strategic initiatives does not have to be complicated.  Remember that people accept change better when there is a focus on processes, when they are included in the process, when they are allowed and encouraged to ask questions or voice concerns, and when they feel that there is a plan in place so that they don’t have to “regroup” later.

So if you really want people to be proactive and help drive your company forward toward a great future, create opportunities for them to build and hone their proactive skills.  The first step to becoming proactive is to learn to plan. 

Until next month!

Benefits
1. Lower costs by eliminating rework and “regrouping”
2. Increase productivity by making sure there is a plan and people know their priorities that will bring them closer to the goals
3. Improve morale by opening communication lines, minimizing stress and frustration for those who typically don’t have a role in the planning process, and validating employees’ contributions to the organization’s strategic goals
4. Develop management by giving them a vehicle for learning how to be proactive

Best Practices
1. Conduct a planning session every major project or initiative
2. Make sure that the goal is clear and attainable (stretch is OK)
3. Make sure the project or initiative champion participates in the session
3. Use a facilitator from outside the area (or organization) to bring fresh perspectives and unbiased suggestions to the group

Patrick Seaton
Innovative Management Tools LLC
www.innovmgmt.com
pdseaton@innovmgmt.com
715-340-9606

by Greg Chartier, Ph.D., SPHR

    This article was published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

It seems like it was only yesterday, when most workplace gossip was confined to watercooler breaks and clandestine meetings in the break room. Once uttered, gossip vanished like the last donut. Unfortunately, that is no longer true today. Technology has now created the ability for these workplace rants and raves to be captured forever.  Welcome to the world of blogging.

Blogging is simply an on-line diary, written by anyone and, in may cases, contributed to by readers.  New postings are at the top of the page and visitors can read what’s new and can comment, add a link, email the writer, or just do nothing.  For larger firms, employee blogs have become all too common, especially after major changes in pension benefits, health care costs or as the result of large layoffs.

The best way to deal with any problem is to avoid it entirely. Establishing a blogging policy allows you to discourage your employees from using a blog to say untrue or derogatory things about you.  If it’s too late, the second best course of action may be to ignore the blog. As an alternative, you might ask the employee to remove the offending material but there are, sadly, some legalities that we have to discuss first.

If the content of the blog is discriminatory or harassing, treat the blog as if the employee was discriminating or harassing someone in the office.  Disciplinary action is certainly appropriate. Discrimination and harassment require employers to take action and ignoring the issues will not protect you from problems with third party agencies.

If the content of the blog is not obviously discriminatory or it is only derogatory toward you, the employer, we have to approach it in an entirely different way.  While every state is different, generally employees are allowed to engage in “legal recreational activities outside of work hours.”  What that means is that your employees can use their blogs to say unflattering and rude things about you but if you cannot show that their words create a conflict of interest or that they are saying things that are false, there may not be much you can do about it.

Employee blogging could also be protected speech under the National Labor Relations Act or whistleblower laws. The NLRA allows employees to discuss the terms and conditions of employment with the purpose of engaging in collective action to change them. Whistleblower laws in some states protect employees from retaliation if they report illegal or unethical behavior to government officials or agency management.

New York State specifically has laws prohibiting an employer from disciplining an employee for participating in legal recreational activities unless that activity creates “a material conflict of interest related to the employer’s business interest.”

I tell my clients to put things in perspective and that communicating with your employees and letting them know what’s going on will preclude anyone’s blog from becoming embarrassing or, in the worst case, from creating a legal problem.

Greg Chartier is Principal of The Office of Gregory J Chartier, a Human Resources Consulting firm and is a well-known management consultant, educator and speaker.  His practice consists of two broad areas:  Human Resources management and outsourcing for firms of less than 100 employees and Management Training. His business experience includes management positions with Pfizer, The Chase Manhattan Bank, The Bank of New York and Johnson and Johnson.  Greg is a Board Member of the Business Council of Westchester and the Chair of the Human Resources Council.  He is also a Board Member of the Job Service Employers Council (JSEC) of the New York State Department of Labor.  Greg can be reached at greg.chartier@att.net and by phone at 914-548-1689.

   by Victoria Duff

     This article was originally published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

There comes a time when every executive or entrepreneur realizes that he needs help – the kind of help that nobody in his company can provide.  Usually it is a task that requires specialized expertise and he either doesn’t have the proper skill set or has no time to devote and can’t spare any of his employees for the job.

When you define what you need and hire a well-regarded consultant to fill that need, you not only get the task done properly but you save a lot of money and anguish.  On the other hand, the wrong consultant hired for a vague reason can cause a lot of expensive damage, and waste valuable time.

Define your need
First:  Ask yourself what you want to happen that isn’t happening.  If you are in doubt about the true source of poor performance or cannot decide where change is needed, you might want to ask for a short review and recommendations from the consultant you are considering hiring.  You should expect to pay for this, but it will allow you to evaluate the consultant’s work before committing to an extensive engagement.

Second: Ask some questions.  Asking the right questions of people who are close to the problem will give you an idea where the source of the problem might lie.  A good way to limit consulting costs and increase the likelihood of a successful project is to know exactly what you want the consultant to accomplish and be able to describe that goal during your initial consultation. 

Third: A large national consulting firm is not necessarily your best choice.  You might be better served by an independent consultant who has experience in your industry and who specializes in small or mid-size companies.  Such a consultant usually has experience gained in a large company but can customize her services to suit the needs of your company, while a consultant from a large national firm will most likely present solutions that involve proprietary packaged services offered by that firm. 

Look for skills
Using a consultant referral service is a good way to find a choice of consultants - particularly one that constantly rates consultants; however, it is not necessarily to your advantage to deal with referral services that encourage consultants to bid for jobs based on price.  While you may need to keep costs within budget, your aim is to find a professional with the right set of skills, not simply the lowest price provider.  All good consultants will try to cooperate with you if you tell them your budget.   Do not fall for a sharp sales pitch or the least expensive fees.  Look for consultants that have been pre-vetted by a person or service you can trust.  An outstanding consultant might charge a little more but the added value she brings will prove the bargain.

Never forget you are hiring a professional for his or her skill and experience with subject matter that you may not have mastered.  Let the consultant demonstrate what he knows.  You should not feel as though you need to learn how to do the consultant’s job.  The most important way to assure you will have a good experience hiring a consultant is to look for someone who can display skills.  A promise of great results is merely a sales technique.  What you are looking for is years of work experience that demonstrate mastery of a skill set.  A good consultant should be able to describe his procedures for discovery, how he manages the project, and how he expects to provide your solution.  Such information from a prospective consultant allows you to make an intelligent decision based on facts rather than sales tactics.   

Victoria Duff, founder of Southern California-based aBusinessPlan.com, is a widely acclaimed start-up facilitator, enterprise analyst, strategic advisor, venture finance catalyst, investor liaison, author, and speaker.  Her depth of experience lends itself well to efficiently providing solutions to over a decade of happy repeat clients.  Her advisory practice can be found at:  www.aBusinessPlan.com  Ms. Duff is available on a retainer or project basis vduff@abusinessplan.com .