Oh Thank Heaven for 2011!

This is the time everyone, businesses included, look back at last year and see what they can adjust to make the next year even better.  Or "If Nothing Changes, NOTHING Changes!"

People use many systems to review, what's yours? 

I'll give you one to consider for personal world.  On a scale 1-5/5 best, how would you rate yourself in the following areas:

• personal world,
• friendships, marriage, kids, collegues and friends
• finances
• careeer
• spiritual
• health

If you rated your self less than 5 in an area why?  If it's a 2 what will make it a 3, 4 and so on?  There in is your A.I.L.-Action Item List.

Work on 1 thing a month and you'll be amazed and the change you will have the beggining of 2012!

Remember to 'touch' your VALUES every day! Values are those things you spend time, money, investments, hard work on. Don't waste your time on things that don't fit within your VALUES. You'll waste your time.
-God
-Your spouse
-Self
-Family
-Career, your dreams
-Others
-Finances
-Fun
-Health
-Spiritual

Happy New Year

Leave your problems at the door, or not!

Henry Ford once said, “Why is it that I always get the whole person when what I really want is a pair of hands?”

People’s problems are costing companies millions of dollars a year!  Check these stats out:

·Divorce costs U.S. businesses just over $11 billion annually.

·Family crises involving dependents cost businesses another $9 billion per year.

·87% of absenteeism is due to family problems not sickness.

·The death of a loved one, close friend, colleague is the grief incident that costs businesses the most annually - $37.5 billion.

·Major lifestyle changes for workers themselves (as opposed to crises involving their dependents) cost employers $2.4 billion annually

Have you ever seen people leave their problems at the door?  To make things worse you have companies that have no resources to assist their people so they both lose.  Life happens!

Many of you reading this today might be nodding your head in agreement and maybe even wished you would have had some help at some point in your career.  I wish we were all perfect and didn’t have problems but that’s just not the case.

87% of employees say they will work harder for a company that is willing to help them with their personal problems.  Wow, that is a huge number.  People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!  No one wants to be a number that just walks in and then out at the end of the day.  They want to know they are valued and 'known!'  They want their world to count for something.  Everyone wants to feel they matter to someone!

In my next blog we will begin to dig into what other companies are doing and what really works.  There are so many ways to make this thing work for both employer and employee.  Happy employee happy bottom line I always say!

Jim Rohn says,

“Learn to help people with more than their job: help them with their lives!”

Until next time,

Helping make life work at home and office!

Don't Stress!

What?  Don't stress?  You're not sitting where I'm sitting!

I know this is very basic and it was something that came back to mind when I was speaking to my son about graduating in May.  I was asking him what his plan was to graduate and his response was "I'm too stressed to think about it!"

So I proceeded to tell/preach/lecture/go off/advise and all those prolific things to help my young sky walker!

How many credits do you need to graduate?
Divide that by weeks left of school.
How much needs to be done weekly?
How much needs to be done daily?
And work the plan daily!

GET A PLAN, WORK THE PLAN!

Stress ensues where there is no plan because there is no work till the plan is clear.  Make sense?  Once clarity is there the strategy how to get there, man power that is needed, resources required and so on.  It's then the work can begin and you can measure your progress and progress eliminates stress!

"Progress begets momentum!"  ~Scott Barnard

I was working with one of my clients and we were discussing his 5 year plan.  He wants the phone to be ringing and capture 120 calls a week with 12 service trucks.  (The Plan).  He currently has 2 trucks and capturing 30 calls.

In order for the phone to ring there has to be a strategy; advertising, call center, right personnel, training etc.  Once the phone starts ringing he will need to have the infra structure; men and trucks ready to handle the higher volume of calls.  There again is the strategy to get more people, buy trucks, train etc. (The Work).

Very simplistic but safe to say you eliminate a lot of stress by having a Plan that you can break down year, month and daily to Work on.  No plan, lots of stress!.

Get a plan, work the plan!

If...

If you agree that the right people equal a better bottom line then what are you doing...?

This is a philosophy to you or a quest?  Either..."If nothing changes nothing changes!"

On boarding-vital to a new hires success!

Providing a positive new hire on boarding and employee transition experience is essential to helping your workforce remain motivated, satisfied and productive.

The concept behind employee onboarding is best defined as a systematic and comprehensive approach to orienting a new employee to help them get "on board."  There are two high-level goals of the onboarding process:

1. To make new employees feel welcome and comfortable in their new surroundings
2. To minimize the time before new employees are productive members of their new workgroup.

Building an Onboarding Program

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A good onboarding program must address:

Company / Departmental Overviews

•          Corporate and departmental overviews generally includes going over items such as the vision / mission statement of the company or department, along with organization charts and value statements.  The purpose of these onboarding activities is to give the new hire a feel for the overall mission of the company, and to introduce them to the objectives and goals of their particular department.

Job Expectations

•          These are the very specific job expectations of the new employee.  This can include any training they might have to go through, job descriptions and expectations, and the company's performance management or appraisal process.

Policies and Procedures

•          The policies and procedures section can range from items like hostile work environments and affirmative action policies, all the way through employee compensation guidelines.  If you have a fit-for-duty program or a system to resolve complaints, these policies and procedures should be shared with the employee early on.

Administrative Housekeeping Items

•          Although these administrative "housekeeping" items might also sound like policies and procedures, these are generally less formal matters that still need to be reviewed such as normal work hours, overtime pay, and inclement weather practices.  This section should also include contact numbers (both at the company) as well as contacts outside the workplace for the employee.  For example, telephone numbers of relatives in case the employee becomes ill at work.

f     Follow these simple guideline and you will ensure a smooth on boarding.

  

How NOT to Hire!

Bad hires cost companies, well, I don't have to tell you but it's better to hire right the first time.

How NOT to hire:

• Emergency.  These can prove to be most costly!
• Look the part.  Unless they can complete a battery of steps to prove they are the right person for the job it might look right but it ain't right!
• Recommended by someone without checking them out.  Still has to pass your hiring process.
• Only when you need someone.  Should always have the pipe line full!
• Get the cheapest guy for the job.  That philosophy reminds me of the saying; "Pay peanuts get monkeys!"

Hiring has to be a major focus of your overall strategy.  Don't do it off the cuff.

Great people make a great company.  Bad people...

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"Treat Them Right"

Everyone would agree that a happy employee is a better employee.

How do you get a happy employee?

• Value them
• Include them
• Train them
• Trust them
• Believe in them
• Let them

What you sow you will reap!  Happy bottom Line!

Your Culture-Is it breaking the Bank?

Culture = "...culture describes and governs the ways a company's owners and employees think, feel and act about their work place."


Do your people love coming to work?  Would they recommend others to work for your company?  When they talk to their friends about where they work what is the conversation?


Statistics tell us that most employees fall into the following categories:

• 10% are loyal, excited and committed to the vision
• 20% are so so but would take a better offer if it came along
• 10% are actively looking else where
• 60% are disgruntle, disruptive and discouraging others

Does that surprise you?  How do you get more of your folks in the top 10%?  Culture!  This list is not complete but safe to say it make a huge difference in your people and their productivity.

• flex time
• face time with their supervisor
• a supervisor that cares
• a company that cares about their families and includes them
• a path to solve colleague issues
• understand and see their contribution to the vision 
• being equip to accomplish the vision
• company events
• recognition and feel valued is one of the biggest

Like I said this is a short list but a powerful list.  The greatest thing you can do for your bottom line is ensure that people believe in the vision, equip to fulfill the vision and rewarded together as a team when you reach goals toward the vision.

Until next time, look at your people differently.  They are your bottom line!

Hire right, train them right, coach them right-Your bottom line will get right!

If this formula is a part of your hiring DNA then your bottom line will get right.

• Hire Right-To replace someone cost 3 X's a person's salary.
• Train Right-Solid training and on-going training based on job description with accountability and reviews will ensure the best possible success for the new hire.
• Coach Right-Do you have a relationship with your new hire?  People who feel known, cared for as an individual will produce at a much higher % guarantee you!
• Bottom Line-If your new hire produces what you trained him/her to produce and is happy working at your company the bi product is a happy bottom line!

We will discuss how your culture is making or breaking the bank!