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.

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?

Keys to Being a Successful Manager

I’ve always said that people join companies but they quit managers. If a company has ineffective or incompetent management, they threaten losing valuable employees. LaSalle Network’s most successful managers share a few traits.

First and foremost, they know their team on a personal level and enjoy spending time with them. Our manager’s invest a great deal of time getting to know their employees and understanding their strengths, weaknesses, passions and desires. This allows them to delegate tasks according to the team member’s abilities.

LaSalle’s most successful managers are also always available. I believe this “on-call” mentality originates from the top down, as I would never ask my managers to do what I wouldn’t. I’ve made it a staple of my career to always be available to my staff beyond working hours. This helps permeate the
organization as intelligent staff can differentiate genuineness from a hyperbole.

At LaSalle, we stress the art of over communicating. Our managers are constantly talking with their teams, troubleshooting problems and answering questions. Each business unit meets with their manager formally twice a day and informally multiple times.

LaSalle’s managers also set ambitious goals for themselves and their team. They have a vision of the product they want to achieve and a plan for how they are going to accomplish it. At LaSalle, we use metric-driven goals to constantly evaluate our performance. Our managers are continually pushing their teams to achieve these goals, while challenging their objections and engaging them in new ways of thinking.

I strongly believe that a great manager can be crafted, and that all of these skills can be honed to perfection. It just takes time, persistence and a strong work ethic.

Are Job Seekers Above Receiving Training?

If you read "Help Wanted: In Unexpected Twist, Some Skilled Jobs Go Begging," in the Wall Street Journal, you know that Union Pacific is having difficulty finding workers with the necessary skill sets for their open positions. But Union Pacific isn't the only company struggling with this problem. Companies across the U.S. are willing to hire, but can't find candidates with the right level of experience.

Should these subpar candidates be hired merely to lower the unemployment rate? No. However, if companies find strong, hard working candidates, why not offer the position at a lower compensation rate for the first 6-18 months while the "A" candidates (that are lacking a few of the job requirements) are trained in the desired skills? Not only will this help the unemployment rate, but it will also eliminate the lack of qualified workers in the job market. Training is effective, builds loyalty and protects a company from turnover. And the best part is that training can be given to all employees in any division of a company.

But there's always two sides to a coin. While companies need to be willing to offer training programs to augment the desired skill set, employees and candidates need to be willing to take the pay cut and accept training. Job seekers today need to realize they don't have the skills companies are looking for. They need to realize they aren't worth the salaries they were making one, two, three years ago. They need to appreciate an opportunity to be invested in and trained. They should be the first ones in the office and the last ones to leave. If they can do this, then companies should be expected to train and develop hard working, intelligent people.

Now is the time for companies to train their own, at any level, and create their own stable of go-getters. The question is, are there people out there willing to commit themselves if this opportunity arrives?

Why Jobs Are Still Going Unfilled

I wrote this post several weeks ago for the Crain's Chicago Business small business blog, Enterprise City, and I thought I'd share...

With unemployment still in the 9% range, many people are wondering why any job is going unfilled. It's a logical question, with a logical answer. 

Many companies, large and small, got fat during the good economy of 2002 to 2007 — and they don't want to make the same mistake again. While they were growing during this stretch, they added people without always having a strategy or reason to do so. There was business to fulfill, and they needed people.

Haphazardly adding employees achieved two results for many companies:

1. They overpaid for talent. 

2. They hired people who weren't the right level of talent for the job. 

Over the past 18 months, companies have realized they can work more efficiently, make profits and have less turnover and higher morale. Or at least equal morale as before the recession. (Having good morale with a lazy workforce isn't positive, either.) Why? Because many of the people they let go were their lowest performers. 

Don't get me wrong — there were some very talented people let go in the past three years for very legitimate reasons. However, there are more people who were let go because they were the least-valuable people in their department and in their organization. I meet with CEOs, vice-presidents of HR, CFOs, etc., all the time, and not once have one of them said they were letting go of their "best" employee because of the economy. 

Unemployed professionals need to look at their communication skills, their experience and their compensation and figure out why they are unemployed and what they can improve on to make it back into the workforce. 

It's hard to take a step back in pay. However, if no one is willing to pay you what you were making . . . do you have another choice?

How to Grow Your Company in 2010

Despite this recession, there are still ways to grow your business in 2010. A common misconception is to focus on gaining new business, but the secret may actually be right before your eyes. Focusing on what you already have – internal staff and external customers – may be the key to success.

Internal: Power to the People

Without happy, committed employees, your business cannot thrive. Keeping your employees both engaged and motivated leads to higher productivity and lower employee turnover. So empower your staff, and your business will be booming in no time.

Engagement: More than Just a Diamond Ring

The first step in empowering your staff is to get them engaged. Make sure your employees are aware of your firm’s vision, brand, and culture. Communicate openly to keep them informed, internally and externally. Show new employees how they fit in with the big picture of your company. Engaged employees care about the success of the company as a whole and will want to do their part to contribute.

• Show you care about your employees, and they will care in return. Give them a chance to ask questions and voice their concerns, and be sure to address them in a timely fashion. Be open and receptive to feedback by not always talking, but doing your fair share of listening as well.

• Be candid. In performance evaluations, provide constructive criticism to help employees get better at what they do. Highlight strengths, but don’t ignore weaknesses. Provide suggestions on ways to increase productivity. The employees will appreciate your honesty, and you will see tangible results.

• Stay passionate. Your energy is contagious, so spark the fire inside your employees. Run around. Hoot and holler. Play games. Laugh. Show enthusiasm for the company and its goals, and your employees will buy in to your vision.

• Emphasize teamwork. If your employees are friends, they will likely make a more open and effective team. Maybe now is the time for a company outing, happy hour, or game night.

Motivation: You Don’t Need a Whip

There’s no standard for motivation. While money is often a driving force, it shouldn’t be the only thing motivating your employees to get out of bed in the morning. Motivated employees have an inner drive for personal success. Figure out what employees value and find a way to spark their intrinsic interests.

• Capitalize on strengths. Get to know the strengths of your employees, and capitalize on them. Don’t have your best salesman running the accounting division. Have employees do what they enjoy, so they look forward to coming to the office.

• Set challenging, but attainable, goals. Raise the bar, and give your employees a chance to reach it on their own. They will appreciate the autonomy and take pride in the end result.

• Recognize accomplishments. Show support and appreciation for your employees’ accomplishments. Something as simple as lunch or a high-five should do the trick.

External: The Customer’s Always Right

Making sure your employees are happy will also keep your customers happy. Gaining business from new customers is nice, but retaining the customers you already have is more important.

• Jump on the bandwagon! Loyal customers not only provide you with their business, but they can also give great recommendations to others. Once you get some die-hard followers raving about your company, you cannot just expect their friends to follow. Don’t be afraid to ask your loyal customers for referrals or recommendations. Odds are, they’ll be more than happy to spread the word about your amazing product or service.

• Give them some lovin’. Establishing a loyal customer base will give you steady, reliable business. Thus, it is essential to set aside time to connect with your existing customers and show your appreciation. Send personal e-mails, follow their blogs, and stay connected with social media. But don’t just stop there. Going beyond digital communication will bring the love to a whole new level. Send a welcome mat if a customer is moving to a new house. Check out the gift registry for an upcoming wedding or baby shower. Send a birthday or holiday card when the time is right. Whatever you do, go above and beyond to really show you care.

• "You guys do what?!" Often times, customers who have been loyal to a company for years don’t actually know everything it does. Make sure your customers are aware of all of your company’s services, not just the ones they personally use. Ask them about their unmet needs and take some time to re-educate these folks about your company’s latest products or services. Just because they’re loyal doesn’t mean they’re informed. Utilize the power of information, and business may fall right into your lap.

The 2010 Opportunity

Not all statistics resulting from this economic downturn are negative. Yes, the unemployment rate has reached double digits and the number of unemployed persons hovers at 15.4 million, yet a huge opportunity lies at the fingertips of many American employers.

United States labor productivity spiked to 8.1 percent during the third quarter of 2009, the biggest increase in six years. Now, more than ever before, staff members are doing more with less. Since December 2007, there have been nearly 50,000 recorded mass layoffs, and employees who survived these cuts are becoming substantially more productive during working hours.

Production breeds more production, and in order for companies to grow in 2010, employee output must be recognized, measured and incentivized.

In anticipation of Friday's unemployment numbers, here are some thoughts on beginning 2010 strong.

Solidify Best Practices

Out of tough times comes ingenuity, and business leaders must leverage the knowledge and experience they have accumulated and implement department and company-wide policies to support continued employee productivity. Take notice of the best practices implemented during these difficult times, and don’t let them fall to the wayside when business improves. What is efficient and effective during a down economy will likely be just as useful when the market turns around. Document the improvements made to processes and protocol in the present so the company can continue to garner results from them in the future. Make executing job duties easier for the workforce by having established and well-known best practices in place, and be sure these guidelines are thoroughly disseminated throughout the entire organization.

Measure Success

Higher productivity and best practices are necessary, but without goals and benchmarks to drive progress, newly established guidelines are worthless. When benchmarks are in place, employees have a tangible goal towards which to work and will feel satisfied when their objectives are accomplished. Most employees need a balance between autonomy and guidance from their superiors to achieve optimal productivity. Providing clear targets to focus employee efforts will allow individuals to execute more efficiently, as well as garner increased employment satisfaction.

Prevent Burnout

A bonus check every quarter does not necessarily equate to satisfaction at work. While monetary bonuses and incentives can be effective, the key to promoting true employee happiness lies in the small things. Listen to employee feedback and implement new initiatives within budgetary restraints. Small rewards can go a long way, and employees will appreciate management’s interest in their opinions and will be motivated to produce if they feel their voice has been heard and respected.

Business of Golf and People

I recently spoke with Mark Henricks at Entrepreneur about tips for improving your business golf game. This seems to be a pretty popular topic in the business world since many business people enjoy the game of golf and it's conducive to doing business. While the idea of business golf parlays business into a sport, many oversee the reverse connection - the game of golf easily translates into people management. Here's how...

The Swing

Your golf swing is what determines if your ball lands on the green or somewhere in the rough. It makes an enormous impact on the success of your game, just like your management style makes an enormous impact on the success of your people. Both require flexibility, energy and follow through.

The Fairway and Rough

It's always an easier shot when you're hitting from the fairway rather than the rough because the environment is much more agreeable. Same goes with managing people. People are easier to manage in a company within an agreeable environment, which requires a great company culture.

The Caddie

When you need a little help in golf, you turn to your caddie. As a professional, you should gain input and insight from the people around you to make the best decision possible. You need to leverage your relationships to better your company and your reports.

The Divots

When you create divot on the golf course, you repair it. Same goes with employee issues. If there's an issue with an employee that's proving to be hazardous, you tackle it and try to repair it.

The Green

On the green, it's all about the details. The smallest inch can sink a shot or up your handicap. With people, details matter. The smallest gesture can motivate masses and improve your company handicap.

The Club House

After the game, it's time to hit the club house for a few drinks with your buddies. Golf is a social game, as is business. It's important for managers to get their employees on a personal level, and maybe even take them out for a drink or two every once in a while.