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Owners versus Renters
April 10, 2015 | Communication, Leadership, Trust
Photo by Roey Ahram on Flickr Last week, I had the chance to catch up with an old friend from Purdue for the first time in 15 years. I think this is one of the greatest benefits from founding Earnest Consulting Group; reconnecting with old friends. He indicated that he looked at our web site and really liked the quote, "our goal as leaders is to create a culture that creates owners rather than renters." I first heard this quote in the book Hardwiring Excellence by Quint Studer. He indicated to me that as a leader he needed to help each worker "own" their…
Handwritten Thank You Notes Are #1
April 9, 2015 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership
Photo by Rick Payette on Flickr Remember the days when we were excited to go to the mailbox with the prospect of receiving a letter, note, or card from someone? I have to admit that there are some people with whom I would have never stayed in touch if it hadn't been for e-mail and social networking. I have never been known for my written correspondence. Nonetheless, I believe it is still an important means of communication. In the year of 2015, I personally hope to increase the amount of written correspondence that leaves my desk. In my experience, people still…
Addressing Turnover Also Means Addressing Surprise Departures
April 3, 2015 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership, Trust
We've all known that turnover costs companies money, and high turnover costs companies lots of money. The costs depends on the industry and company's cost structure. We do know that turnover costs are derived from the cost of recruiting, training, and the cost of integrating employees into the organization. There are also soft costs that can be a little more tricky to quantify like the cost of grief of having a vacated position or the oppurtunity cost of losing out on other opportunities because of the lack of manpower. That is why it is so important to address turnover as it costs…
How To Effectively Utilize an Organization’s Suggestion Box
March 18, 2015 | Communication, Leadership
I was recently at a meeting where someone came up with the "suggestion" to have a suggestion box. The meeting was with a non-profit organization where I volunteer some time helping with their strategic planning. A suggestion box can be a good tool to collect feedback from its employees or members if it is implemented and used properly. However, receiving the feedback is not the most important piece of this exercise. The most important is responding or acting on the feedback received. One way that any organization can help make its employees or members become apathetic is to solicit feedback but not address it.…
Take Up Issues With Co-Workers Before Involving Superiors
March 17, 2015 | Communication, Teamwork
Most of my blog posts are written to leaders of organizations but this one I am speaking not only to leaders but all team members.. About 4 years ago, I had visited one of our locations to oversee some projects as well as use that time to better know our teammates at that location. It had seen some turnover with the center managers, and our senior management team wanted to have more presence at that location to show support to our team members. About 3 hours into my visit, an employee who we will call Gertrude came into the area…
VA’s Quality of Care Not The Problem, It’s People
March 13, 2015 | Communication, Leadership, Teamwork
The Department of Veterans Affairs has been under extreme pressure as of late. We have seen a resignation from their top official, intense heat put on the new Secretary Robert McDonald, strong language from Congress in some cases to scrap the whole system, and outcry from Veteran Service Organizations such as the VFW and American Legion I would agree that the VA has opportunities for improvement, however, I do not see quality of care as the root of the issues in the media. I see "people" as the root of the issues, more specifically investment into the VA's people. Some…
The Human Element – What Does that Mean?
March 5, 2015 | Communication, Leadership
Throughout BetterYourCompany.com, we find the term the “human element”. The “human element” at its foundation is about adding passion and purpose to your job, career, vocation, business, school, or place of worship. A phone menu system designed to improve customer service, a statement reporting a company’s financial health, and a business development plan only have a purpose if someone has defined it and all three items do not possess passion by themselves. No object or idea possesses passion without people. Some people do not struggle finding purpose or passion in their work. I was fortunate enough to help found a company that provided Primary Care treatment to…
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