Earnest Consulting Group

Treat Everyone as Your Customer: An Organizational Paradigm Shift

October 11, 2023 | Business Development, Communication, Self Help

Image taken from Adobe stock The notion of treating everyone as a customer began with me in 2011. Our organization deployed an employee opinion survey, and the business segment results I led were not good. On a 1-5 scale, with five being excellent, our company (more like me) received a 3.8 for “work environment,” which addressed cleanliness, equipment maintenance, having the proper equipment to do their work, and physical conditions (light, climate, and appearance). Since I was directly responsible for all of these items, it sent me a message that I was not adequately giving our employees the environment needed to…

I Don’t Do Mondays! Part III – Mondays are a Mindset

May 27, 2020 | Communication, Leadership, Self Help, Time Management

This is the final post in a three-part series–why I don’t buy into all the negatives associated with Mondays. In Part 1, I shared my tips for prior planning: how a little forethought can help us avoid the Monday blues. In Part 2, I talked about setting boundaries--how to take more control so I can start the week more productively. Today, I’ll cover the importance of mindset: what we can do to reframe the way we think about Mondays. WHY WE GET “A CASE OF THE MONDAYS” Changing our mindset about Mondays begins with understanding why they can be such…

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – Business Edition

December 14, 2018 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership, Teamwork, Trust

Photo by sea turtle on Flickr ''Twas the night before Christmas, all had left for the holiday break. But I was at the office stirring, for rarely a break did I take. Never resting, always doing. Not having fun, and burnout ensuing. With engagement low, and turnover high, Unless attitudes changed, my dream would surely die. If only my people were loyal and engaged in their responsibilities, And showed behaviors like teamwork, instead of showing their hostilities. For a change, I took a look at myself, and for the first time I did see, That the problem wasn't my employees,…

Did We Respond or React?

October 16, 2018 | Communication, Leadership, Trust

Photo by aaron gilson on Flickr One of Merriam-Webster's definitions for the word "react" is "to act in opposition to a force or influence." One of Merriam-Webster's definitions for the word "respond" is "to say something in return." Given these definitions and some of my experiences, here is what I have learned: Along with the spoken message, reacting involves some type of behavior. It could be defensiveness, manipulation, passive-aggressiveness, or rage. Reacting comes from someone who is either angry or scared or both. Often, that feeling of anger or fear is triggered by the message being heard, and usually, this is…

Every Workplace Needs Standards of Behavior

October 4, 2016 | Communication, Teamwork

Photo by f3nd1 on Flickr During a time of unprecedented growth at our company, we decided that we as the senior leaders must be the ones that drive the culture. WE needed to define the "why" at our company and more importantly define the standards of behavior that help to support the "why". If neither the "why" nor the behaviors were defined by us, they would still be defined by others, but they may not be consistent with the senior leaders values. A company standards of behavior which is created by senior leadership in collaboration with other company employees helps define the values that support…

You’ve Been Promoted To Supervisor. Now What?

May 18, 2016 | Communication, Leadership, Trust

Photo by David Blackwell on Flickr Your boss quit. Management has promoted you to supervisor. Please check out my short video about what to do when you have been promoted from a non-leadership position to your first one as a leader. https://youtu.be/EGu1e84mNYw What would you say in your first conversation with your direct reports after you had been promoted?

Managers Can Apply Nursing Principles To Leadership

May 12, 2016 | Communication, Leadership, Trust

Photo by OnCall team on Flickr Since entering into the healthcare market over a decade ago, more than one person/organization has told me the importance of hourly rounding on patients in the hospital setting. Hourly rounding can address trips to the restroom, pain assessment, and simple needs such as drinks and food. Studies have shown that it reduces patient falls which are very dangerous for patients and very expensive for hospitals. The same can be said too for rounding on employees. Rounding on employees at the very least on a quarterly basis gives employees an opportunity to communicate with their…

Employee Feedback: Sugar-Coated or Bad Medicine?

February 1, 2016 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership

Photo by Ramchandran Maharajapuram on Flickr I have to admit the title of this article forced me to listen to "Bad Medicine" by Bon Jovi and the song is still in my head (People younger than 40, YouTube it. Yes. Bon Jovi used to wear spandex and had big long hair). I have seen at least 2 articles in the Wall Street Journal which state in one way or another we should lessen the amount of negative feedback we give employees. The links can be found below: The Trouble with Grading Employees Everything is Awesome! Why You Can't Tell Your…

Video Blog – Peer Interviewing

July 31, 2015 | Communication, Leadership, Trust

Want to lower turnover and build trust with your current employees? Include them in the hiring process with peer interviewing! [embed]https://youtu.be/eeo7sHSRFdU[/embed]

Work Environment Does Make A Positive Difference

July 29, 2015 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Trust

Photo by tifotter on Flickr When employees do not have the correct tools to do a job, they find "work arounds" to keep things moving. I have heard stories about nurse's using coffee makers to generate hot water to bathe patients because their facilities did not generate enough. I have seen workers shovel large amounts of gravel by hand for multiple days because the company's one payloader was broke down. Employees also clean their own work areas and empty their own trash because custodial services do not complete their tasks and management does not address the issue. I have seen crazy things done to a copier…