Past Five

Top Performers Uncover Mediocrity in Peers

As companies grow, mediocrity begins to infiltrate staff…it’s inevitable…with more employees and various office locations, it’s difficult to ensure everyone is producing at their highest potential.

Inevitably, there are employees who skate by, carried along by their high performing peers.

I’ve found that if a company retains top employees, and maintains an open door policy, those performers are likely to identify their sub-par peers.

Rock star employees who consistently go above and beyond don’t want to work alongside a slacker. They want to be challenged, pushed and stimulated.

Top performers are usually deeply invested in the company culture and care about their professional development. They expect their colleagues to share these sentiments.

If a company is growing and has concerns over the work product of certain staff members, they need to look to their top performers for insight. Listen to employees talk or ask employees their thoughts. If the company has fostered a collaborative, open door environment, employees won’t hesitate to speak the truth.

The Best Places to Work Put Employees First

Last night, I attended the Daily Herald Business Ledger ceremony for the Best Places to Work in Illinois in 2012. LaSalle was honored in the small and medium size company category. It is a huge honor to be recognized and I am proud of every employee’s contribution to the award.

The keynote speaker, Thomas A. Klobucher, CEO of Thomas Interior Systems, explained why each company made the list using three words: putting employees first. Companies today that have the most unique culture and the most dedicated employees almost always put their staff first.

Happy employees treat customers better, subsequently improving customer service levels and sales at the organization.

Last night reinforced my belief that retaining and engaging staff is not all about monetary incentives. Almost every company that was honored offers training programs, uses recognition tools, provides regular feedback and spends quality time with employees.

They also do fun things as a company, like happy hours, baseball games, March madness parties, potlucks, sumo wrestling competitions and volunteering.

The ceremony attested to the fact that every company, regardless of its size, has the potential to be a great place to work.

Congratulations to all of my co-workers at LaSalle!

Increase Employee Moral: Move Their Desks!

Did you ever consider that your teachers were onto something when they had you change desk locations and seat partners every few months?

They knew that sometimes who you sit next to can be as important as the topic at hand. It’s as true in business as it is in education.

Think about it. If an employee sits next to a “chatty Kathy,” they get less work done because they are distracted. If they share space with a colleague who hates their job, that negativity rubs off.

Having staff rotate desks can bring a new spark to the workplace, boost energy and increase moral.

I’ve seen it happen. Employees who were underperforming improved substantially once they were removed from the distractions of their neighbor. Workers who appeared burnt out were revitalized after relocating next to a staff member with seemingly inexhaustible energy.

I’m not saying this will work every time, but it’s a simple concept that’s easy to implement and carries measurable results.

Four Ways to Retain Employees

First Business recently aired a segment about unhappiness at work. They stated that employees’ discontent with their positions stems from the fact that they are accepting opportunities they normally wouldn’t just to have job.

As a result, employees do not have loyalty to their organization and are willing to jump ship for a better opportunity. So how do companies retain their employees and increase staff satisfaction? There’s a few ways.

1. Involve staff in important decisions: Employees want to know that their thoughts and opinions matter. They want to know that they are more than just a number. Involving staff in important decisions demonstrates that you value their opinion. This can be done in a variety of ways; implement a staff council, meet one-on-one with team members or bring lower level employees into management meetings.
2. Schedule time with employees: Set aside time regularly to meet with staff in order to discuss what motivates them. For some it’s face time, for others it’s outward recognition. In order to best retain employees, it’s essential to know what keeps them happy and motivated.
3. Use awards and recognition tools: Everyone wants recognition for a job well done, but the medium of recognition, as I mentioned above, is different for every employee. A few recognition tools include public praise, an award or a private conversation.
4. Invest in them: Most employees want to continue to develop their skills while learning new ones. Offering training sessions and having employees attend webinars and conferences will feed their desire to learn while augmenting their skill sets. At the same time, push employees to achieve their potential. Trusting them with new and challenging tasks demonstrates confidence in their abilities and the new skills they have acquired.

Embrace the Madness

Companies that attempt to squash the fun and energy of March Madness are approaching the situation the wrong way. The games are an ideal opportunity to boost employee morale and thank clients.

Limiting an employee’s ability to watch or discuss the games is exactly the reason articles are predicting a decrease in worker productivity during this time period. The more a person is told they can’t do something, the more they want to.

So embrace it, encourage staff to wear their favorite college jersey or start companywide brackets. Maybe even consider bringing in a few T.Vs for employees to watch the games during lunch. Allowing staff a minor “indulgence” has been known to increase productivity and spur creativity. Not to mention it will do wonders for morale.

March Madness is also the ideal time to thank clients outside of the holiday season. We throw an annual March Madness open house, where we invite all of our clients and bring in hot dog vendors, a popcorn stand, beer and snacks. The open house allows us to show our appreciation for our clients and is also a more casual forum that facilitates relaxed dialogue and helps our staff and clients connect on a more personal level.

But it’s not necessary to spend a lot of money to thank clients. Companies could hold a bracket challenge with a small prize for the winner. Any other ideas?

Going Back to Basics

Last month I had the opportunity to see Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz speak at an Entrepreneurs' Organization event. Schultz spoke about his 2008 decision to shut down every U.S. Starbucks for a few hours in order to re-energize and re-educate his employees on how to make the perfect espresso. The goal of the closure was to revisit their standards of quality and improve the "Starbucks Experience."

I thought this was brilliant. And I decided to do the same.

Last Wednesday, LaSalle had a four hour hands-on meeting to re-gain our focus and re-educate ourselves on LaSalle's basic principles, values, and core competencies. 

We went over the basics of our business: recruiting, interviewing, and selling, but most importantly, I wanted to emphasize the importance of empathy, LaSalle's primary core competency. Whether it's client, candidate, or employee relationships, understanding what the other person is going through is key to success.

As I told all our staff in Wednesday's meeting, I have had their jobs. I audited time sheets, processed invoices, made collection calls, stuff envelopes, licked envelopes, did reference calls, recruited permanent candidates, cold-called companies for five hours straight, the whole nine yards. I did it all. I empathize.

Whether you're a new salesperson, a longtime manager or an office assistant, the key to success is putting yourself in the other person's shoes. Your livelihood depends on others success and theirs on you. While it's easy to get caught up in your day or your duties, your individual successes will come from having empathy for your co-workers, clients, customers, and in our industry, candidates.

Though 2011 is shaping out to be one of LaSalle's best years, as a CEO it's important to continually motivate and re-engage your staff. Whether it's re-teaching the basics, empowering employees to make a difference or instilling the value of empathy, as a leader it's important to take the time to re-instill these values. And if it takes shutting down the business for a few hours then so be it. The long-term gain is worth the short-term loss.

A Great Accomplishment

I am very proud to announce that LaSalle Network was just named the “Top Five Best Staffing Firms to Work For” by Staffing Industry Analysts, the global advisor on contingent work.

This is a huge honor to be recognized by the staffing industry’s leading analyst and I am very proud of every LaSalle employee for contributing to this award.

When I started LaSalle in 1998, I made it a priority to put my employee’s first. I had previously worked in multiple companies where I didn’t feel appreciated or recognized, and I never wanted my staff to feel like this.

I implemented a team-based staffing structure, fostering collaboration instead of competition, and encouraged a policy of honest and open communication between management and staff. I wanted to make sure every employee always felt they could voice their concerns and their opinion mattered regardless.

Ultimately, the more employees know they have support from you, the more they will support your organization.

Congratulations to all of my co-workers at LaSalle...now the entire industry knows that being a LaSallian is truly something special!

The Art of Over-Communicating

I recently read a blog that stated “recruiters over communicating with hiring managers” was a sign that a supplier is not acting in the clients’ best interest.

I highly disagree with this statement. Over-communicating, especially in the staffing industry, elicits strong relationships, trust, and success.

In order to build this trust and give your clients what they want, you must know the ins-and-outs of your clients: their business model, management philosophy, company culture, etc. It may take an extra phone call or meeting to learn this crucial information, but you can never obtain too much knowledge about what type of candidate would be a good fit.

It is also important to keep in mind that businesses change and so do their needs. If your client wanted one thing the prior year, it does not mean they will feel the same the next. You should continually check in on your clients to find out about possible internal re-structuring or changes in their marketplace or industry.

Clients want quality, speed, and affordability in a vendor, but there is no substitute for a reliable and trustworthy partner. Of course individual judgments are crucial, such as if your client tells you they want a certain level of communication. But, the key is to not be shy because you're afraid of over-communicating.

The Power of People

Each year, there’s always a catalyst that really makes me evaluate my life and the people in it. This year, the snowstorm did just that.

Like most Chicago companies, LaSalle was closed on the day of the blizzard. With 50mph winds, ice, snow and sleet, it was not safe for anyone to brave the weather. Granted I live close to our downtown office and was able to come into work, but most of my employees live in the suburbs or other areas of Chicago, making it nearly impossible to get to the office.

When I walked into the office at 7am on Tuesday, our accounting clerk was at her desk working diligently to make sure payroll was received and ready for next day. Thousands of employees were counting on her, and she did not disappoint. Likewise LaSalle’s head of human resources and operations came in to decorate a fellow employee’s desk for her Re-Birthday, a celebration I throw for the anniversary of each employee’s hire date. And even our staff accountant braved the storm to help a fellow co-worker.

Not only did these women impressively find a way to make it into the office, but they came in because they knew others were counting on them. And while only a few people were physically at LaSalle on Wednesday, I received countless emails and calls from other employees who spent the day working from home.

While I wouldn’t wish another massive storm upon Chicago again, occurrences like these reinforce and remind you what the best part of being a CEO is; the ability to choose the people you get to work with each day. And this blizzard did just that, reinforced that LaSalle has the most dedicated, committed, and well, fearless employees in Chicago.

The Importance of Pride

“If a man is called a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and Earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well,” Martin Luther King Jr.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate this blog post to King’s values of hard work, determination, and pride.

Though King’s quotes were recited almost five decades ago, they still hold true today. Regardless of your job or industry, every employee should always be working to their fullest potential.

Every job whether entry-level or management, temporary or permanent, non-profit or corporate is important and affects other people regardless if you are saving a life, writing a financial report, or making the streets cleaner. And yet, while there are hardships and stress in every job, success and achievement, as exemplified by King, will only come from overcoming obstacles. After all, success is never handed to you, it is created by you.

In 2011, every employee whether working as a technician, a secretary, a accountant, a doctor, or a streetsweeper should make it a resolution to A) Go above and beyond their job duties of work and B) Take pride in every task, both large and small. Even if a raise or a promotion is not in close sight, your efforts will be noticed and undoubtedly be acknowledged in some way. And once you realize your importance, pride will come naturally.