High Performance Organization Blog

Reward and Recognition Programs Increase Employee Motivation

jeanyahres — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:53:23 +0000

Money may attract employees to the front door, but something else has to keep them from going out the back. Managing people takes an entirely different approach than it did just a year ago. Managers and supervisors must place equal importance on employee development as they do on customer satisfaction and retention. Today’s workers don’t just expect a paycheck, but good employees also want personal fulfillment and a sense of accomplishment.

Reward and recognition programs are a vital part of creating a motivating work environment. A successful reward and recognition program does not have to be complicated to be effective. A well-administered program allows people to celebrate success, have fun, and feel good about who they are and whom they work for.

The size of your organization and the age of your workforce dictates which type of program works best. One organization improved motivation and almost eliminated turnover by creating a family environment including special incentives.

Every year employees celebrate their work anniversary with a cake and receive $100 for each year employed made out in a check.

Twice a year employees’ children receive a $50 savings bond when they bring in their “all A’s” report card.

They reward employees with a “Safety Bonus Program.” Each employee’s driving record is screened twice a year. Anyone who has a citation is removed from the program. Those employees remaining at the end of the year split $2000.

To minimize the “we-they” syndrome, every Friday employees rotate jobs for one hour. For example, the person in the Sales Department works on the front desk. Someone from Maintenance will work in the Customer Service etc. This builds a stronger team and improves communication within the company.

One of the easiest and most effective programs to initiate is peer recognition. Peer recognition gives employees the power to reward each other for doing a good job. It works because employees themselves know who works hard and deserves recognition. After all, managers can’t be everywhere all the time, and employees are in the best position to catch people doing the right things.

Queen or King for the Quarter. Dayton Metro Housing created the QUEST program to reward their workforce for demonstrating good customer service skills. Each quarter, employees receive three tokens. When they spot a fellow employee or manager providing good customer service, they hand them a QUEST token. At the end of the quarter, the person with the highest number of tokens is crowned king or queen. Those with eight or more tokens are “knighted.” All the King, Queens, and Knights attend a special banquet. At the end of the year all token winners can use their tokens to bid on various awards and prizes. Furthermore, the individual with the highest yearly number of tokens is bequeathed a “scepter.”

You’re Magnificent! At the MAG Insurance Company they use a form of recognition called “You’re Magnificent!” The form is printed in triplicate and given to all employees to nominate each other for outstanding behavior. The top copy goes to the recognized employee. The second copy goes to the employee’s supervisor. The third copy is posted for everyone to see on a bulletin board. Once a month they take the posted copies and randomly draw the names of five individuals called, “You’re Magnificents” for $10 gift certificates. Then three additional “Magnificents” are drawn each quarter for a $250 gift certificate.

Safety Bingo. For every accident free day at the Emory Conference Center Hotel, associates are awarded a bingo number. Each associate has a card and plays the game. A pot grows at the rate of $1 per day with a starting amount of $100. The associate who wins at safety bingo is awarded the cash in the pot. If they go over 100 days without an accident, it increases by $2 per day. If we have an accident, the pot falls back down to $100 and it starts over again. If someone wins, the pot remains at same pay out level, and continues to grow $1 or $2 per day. This program reduced accidents by 50% each year.

Guess Whose Pet This Is? At Industrial Developments International, the “Esprit” Committee organizes fun activities such as the Pet of the Month contest. A pet’s picture is put on the bulletin board and they guess who the owner is.

In its “Thank You Coupon” program, the Texas Credit Union gives each employee seven coupons a year to give to any employees they wish to recognize for going out of their way to help customers or fellow employees. The coupons are redeemed for $10 certificates for food, movies, golf, and the like. Everyone in the company, from the president and vice presidents down, is eligible for a coupon.

A work environment that attracts, keeps, and motivates its workforce is one that gives workers a sense of pride, accomplishment, and purpose in what they do. These informal programs provide an effective strategy for motivating employees and they are simple to administer. They do not cost much, do not take much time, and do not complicate the payroll. Instead of providing cash incentives, you can substitute by providing winners with extra breaks, movie tickets, time off, t-shirts, and other small gifts.

For more tips, techniques and advice visit our website.

Greg Smith | Lead Navigator | 770-860-9464 | Chart Your Course International

Chartcourse.com | HighperformanceOrganization.com

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The Bus Driver Story — One Person Can Transform Your Life

jeanyahres — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:26:48 +0000

Greg Smith speaks about how a bus driver transformed his experience on a bus ride to the Atlanta airport. Greg Smith is a keynote speaker and author. One great employee is better than 100 average employees. One person can change your life, transform your attitude, grow your business and create a powerful bond with your customers.

Greg Smith | Lead Navigator | 770-860-9464 | Chart Your Course International

Chartcourse.com | HighperformanceOrganization.com

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The Beatings Won’t Stop Until the Morale Improves

jeanyahres — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:47:13 +0000

There is a direct correlation between bad management and high employee turnover.

Have you ever experienced a situation similar to this?

The president of the company was frustrated as he watched the sales slide lower during the past four quarters. The leadership team had a brainstorming session and decided the problem was their people. They needed to “motivate” them. So they spent several thousand dollars and hired a motivational speaker to get their workforce fired up.

She gave a great speech and told everyone to think positively, dream big and to make a list of the top ten goals they needed to do to improve their sales. Then they spent another thousand dollars purchasing motivational posters and hung them on the walls around the office. Management was happy thinking this would solve their problem.

Sales improved for about a month and then in predictable fashion, sales started dropping again. So they fired the sales manager and hired a new one to rev up the sales team. Morale plummeted and then their best sales people started quitting one after one. OMG!

Now what? What did they do wrong? What would you do?

The problem was not the people, but the sales process. Yes, it is important you hire the right people, but most of the time the real culprit is not the people, but bad management, bad processes and systems that hamper motivation, growth and efficiency. People want to do a good job. It is up to management to help them, not blame them.

My experience shows me 30% of what most people do at work is non-value added—wasteful rules, policies and sign off. Departments don’t talk to each other and their bureaucratic and diseased processes hamper and frustrate motivated people. When this goes on too long, it demotivates and as a result sales will drop, communication becomes dysfunctional, people become frustrated and employee turnover increases.

You can hire all the motivational speakers you want and hang all the inspirational posters you can buy, but if you don’t fix the real problems, processes, eliminate the bureaucracy and deliver great service you are dead in the water. Optimize your organization first—then bring in the marching bands and motivational speakers. You will have something to celebrate—I guarantee it!

Recognized as a dynamic motivational speaker and leading authority on change management, leadership development and business transformation. Smith teaches people how to build a high energy workplaces that accelerate performance, generate more profits, increases sales and provide outstanding leadership. As a professional motivational keynote speaker and business author, Smith’s motivational and inspirational presentations have been heard by audiences in over 26 countries. He has spoken to hundreds of business associations, human resource associations, healthcare organizations and businesses.

Greg Smith | Lead Navigator | 770-860-9464 | Chart Your Course International

Chartcourse.com | HighperformanceOrganization.com

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DISC Training Classes

jeanyahres — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:14:38 +0000

DISC CERTIFICATION GROUP COACHING
TRAINING PROGRAM
(Live webseminar)

Our DISC training programs provide you with the skills
and knowledge in using our assessments to empower
individuals, enhance team performance, employee selection
and to improve communication.

Upon successful completion of the training, you may
teach and conduct workshops in your organization or
training practice. Each class is limited to five people.

Upcoming dates:

January Class

Jan 10, 12, 23
2:00-3:30 ET

February Class
Feb 6, 9, 14
2:00-3:30 ET

March Class

Mar 5, 7, 12

Limited seating
Cost: $895

For more information click here
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DISC ONE-ON-ONE PERSONALIZED CERTIFICATION
TRAINING CLASS

Greg will arrange a time to meet your personal
time schedule. Includes the facilitator kit and
certification exam.

Cost: $1295
For more information call us at 770-860-9464 or 800-821-2487
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MASTER CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIORAL
STRATEGIST PROGRAM (Two Days)

Upcoming Sessions:

January 24th & 25th

Held in Atlanta or onsite at your business location

Cost: $1950

For more information, click this link:
http://www.chartcourse.com/disctraining.html
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OTHER TRAINING PROGRAMS

We have updated our list of Greg’s keynotes, workshops
and training programs we provide.

http://www.chartcourse.com/workshops.html

Greg’s Videos:
http://www.chartcourse.com/demovideo.html

Greg Smith | Lead Navigator | 770-860-9464 | Chart Your Course International

Chartcourse.com | HighperformanceOrganization.com

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What Makes a Person a Great Leader?

jeanyahres — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:25:46 +0000

What do I get excited about? Ever since I was a kid I felt I had a calling, that I had a purpose in life. I had a passion to make a difference in the world. I knew I wanted to be a leader. I served in the Army for many years and was fortunate to serve under some outstanding leaders and learn from the best. Since those days I have trained other leaders, coached executives and helped to develop hundreds of organizations in over 26 different countries. Along the way, I have helped raise three children and a granddaughter. I have learned many things, but the one piece of knowledge that has always been foremost in my mind is the importance of a leader. A leader is not merely a title or job description, it is an action. Leadership is more about heart and soul than about education or a diploma on the wall. A person only becomes a leader after he or she has proven themselves – ratified themselves in the hearts and minds of those they are leading.

Joel Barker has the best definition of leadership. He says, “A leader is a person you would follow to a place you would not go to by yourself.”

I would like to hear from you on some of the best leaders you admire and why? What makes a person a great leader?

Greg Smith | Lead Navigator | 770-860-9464 | Chart Your Course International

Chartcourse.com | HighperformanceOrganization.com

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Customer Oriented Selling Adds Value

jeanyahres — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:20:14 +0000

For the sixth year in a row, the category of sales representative is one of the top two hardest jobs to fill globally, according to Manpower Group’s 2011 Talent Shortage Survey results.

Another study shows that only 44 percent of respondents attended any kind of formal sales training. However, the Accelerating Revenue Through Learning Study by ES Research Group and ASTD indicates that 96 percent of respondents think that continuous learning is critical to their success.

When you combine a talent shortage with the current lack of training, it creates a perfect storm for problems generating revenue from an area that is critical for an organization’s success.

Although many employers may be delaying hiring due to the economy, they may be surprised later when the labor market becomes tighter. Relevant and exceptional training attracts and retains the best skilled workers. This could be bad news for organizations that are reducing or eliminating training. The storm continues to build, and better and more focused training is necessary to weather it.

And the Surveys Say …

The Manpower Group study points to the following factors, among others, contributing to the shortage of top talent:

Lack of knowledge of business or industry-specific qualifications
Lack of “hard” or technical skills
Lack of “soft” or interpersonal communication skills

In addition, the Accelerating Revenue Through Learning Study names the following factors:

An increasingly complex sales environment Tech-savvy customers conducting their own independent research
The expansion of strategic procurement
Increased competition
Customers who want consultative guidance from people they trust

Given the findings of these two surveys, it is safe to say that without a formalized training process, salespeople won’t be equipped with the tools they need for success. Furthermore, companies cannot hope to retain the best talent or attract the right talent when they are ready to hire.

Here are some more startling facts: Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed for the Accelerating Revenue study said that they believe better selling and influencing skills are highly important in their positions.

Sixty-one percent said they need frameworks, approaches and methodologies they can customize, in order to effectively leverage the sales training they have received.

Finally, the majority of respondents said that relationship-building, problem-solving and listening are critical skills for their jobs.

Desperately Seeking a Solution?

It’s time to become aggressive to stem the tide and weather the storm. Vital Learning’s Customer-Oriented Selling™ is both comprehensive and flexible as a sales skills development tool. The program teaches both process and interpersonal skills to build successful and trusting business relationships, so your customers get what they need to achieve their objectives. In Customer-Oriented Selling, participants learn the following:

How to determine the customer’s objectives and situation factors
How to understand and use key, customer-focused communication skills
Valuable pre- and post-call analysis techniques
How to conduct sales calls using a proven four-phase customer-focused sales process
How to effectively handle obstacles without feeling uncomfortable or becoming adversarial

The program allows organizations to tailor videos and role-play scenarios to their customers, products and services. In addition, one-, two- and three-day implementation options are available.

To help organizations provide ongoing support and measurement, Vital Learning offers a two-hour Skill Builder seminar for in-field follow-up. This seminar gives participants hands-on experience in practicing the program’s skills and methods.

When a talent shortage converges with a need for better skills, hire smart and train well. Your sales team will be more confident in reaching their numbers because you are providing a more strategic approach to training — one targeted to their needs.

Visit the details on our customer service training programs.

Melodae Morris

Leadership Matters — Vital Learning and Chart Your Course International

Greg Smith | Lead Navigator | 770-860-9464 | Chart Your Course International

Chartcourse.com | HighperformanceOrganization.com

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Great Customer Service is Not Grumpy, Grouchy or Gross

jeanyahres — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:49:55 +0000

Most businesses spend more time and energy trying to find new customers than retaining and making their current ones happy. The logic behind customer retention management (CRM) is simple — It costs far less money to keep customers happy than to spend much more money replacing the unhappy ones with new customers. If you take care of your customers they tell their friends about your business and will in the long run end up spending more money. It is not rocket science. Let me provide you an example of what I am talking about.

I dread eating at airports. If you travel as much as I do, you are probably familiar with the “Three G’s” as it applies to airport fare—Grumpy, Grouchy and Gross.

Recently, I had an early flight to catch at the Ontario, California airport. I found myself standing outside the closed and gated doorway to an Applebee’s restaurant ten minutes before opening time. I just knew they would be late opening the doors and I expected to receive the usual grumpy service common at most airports. I was wrong!

Bam! The clock struck five, the lights popped on and this charming and professional person opened the doors. She greeted me with a smile, a warm “hello” and told me to sit anywhere I wanted. I never had seen such a positive attitude at 5:00 in the morning.

As I enjoyed my meal, I watched her cheerfully greet customers, many of which she called by their first name. They were the “regulars” she said. Felicia was the remarkable person who made that small restaurant pleasant and memorable. Next time I return to the Ontario Airport, I guarantee you this is the place I will go to first.

Here are seven steps to build customer loyalty.

1. Select the right people. In the book, From Good to Great, Jim Collins said, “People are not your most important asset, the RIGHT people are.” Most businesses do a miserable job hiring people. They hire just anyone, provide little or no training and place them on the front-line with customers. Spend more time recruiting and hiring the right people with good personalities. Focus on those who are friendly and demonstrate an interest and enthusiasm for the job.

2. Sensationalize the experience for your customers. Good service is not good enough. A Gallup survey showed a customer who is “emotionally connected” to your place of business is likely to spend 46% more money than a customer who is merely “satisfied” but not emotionally bonded.

3. Set performance standards. Outline the behaviors of how employees should act, speak and respond to customer needs and requests. One of our clients developed twenty customer service commandments outlining the actions and behaviors he wanted his service people to provide to customers.

4. Sustain on-going training and reinforcement. Good customer service skills are not natural for most people. Effective customer service training must be reinforced and taught on a recurring basis. For example, the Ritz-Carlton hotels provide a thorough customer service training program for all of its employees during their orientation. Then each supervisor conducts a daily “line-up” to review one of the commandments with his employees ten minutes before each shift.

5. Shower good employees with rewards and recognition. It is hard to find and keep good employees. So do everything in your power to retain and motivate them. Sure, employees want to be paid well, but they also want to be treated with respect and shown appreciation. The front-line supervisor has the greatest impact on motivating and retaining employees.

6. Survey your customers and reduce your defection rate. On average, businesses lose 15-20 percent of their customers each year to their competition. All businesses encounter this, but few do much about it. To improve retention, one client sends out a customer service report card to its top customers every month. This requires an evaluation based on four specific criteria. They tally the results and make sure employees see the scores. This motivates the employees to do a better job.

7. Seek customer complaints with enthusiasm. For every complaint there are at least 10 other customers that visited your business who have the same criticism. A portion of those 10 people just took their business to your competitor. Look at customer complaints as an opportunity for improvement.

You might be interested in our customer service video training library to help train your staff.

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UPCOMING CLASSES AND EVENTS

DISC Certification Group Coaching Training Program
(Webseminar)

Upon successful completion of the training, you may teach and conduct workshops in your organization or training practice. Each class is limited to five people.

Upcoming dates:

December Class
Dec 12, 13, 19
2:00-3:30 p.m. ET
http://ow.ly/6Ogw4

Limited seating
Cost: $895

For more information:
http://www.chartcourse.com/disctraining.html

Greg Smith | Lead Navigator | 770-860-9464 | Chart Your Course International

Chartcourse.com | HighperformanceOrganization.com

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Greg is Riding a Steer!

jeanyahres — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:56:18 +0000

Have I lost my mind? Yes, I am sitting on a Texas Long Horn steer! Many people have accused me of being full of bull – now you know the truth. The real story is I was speaking at a conference in Austin and the resort I was staying at was offering and I just could not resist. If you want to hear more “bull” from Greg, make sure you check out my keynotes and workshops on our website.

Greg Smith | Lead Navigator | 770-860-9464 | Chart Your Course International

Chartcourse.com | HighperformanceOrganization.com

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Six Guidelines for Setting Up a Mentoring Program

jeanyahres — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:54:34 +0000

A mentor is someone who serves as a counselor or guide. Being asked to serve as a mentor is an honor. It indicates that the company has faith in the person’s abilities and trusts him or her to have a positive impact on the career and development of another person.

Many companies have discovered leadership mentoring for new employees not only helps employees settle into their job and company environment, but also increases employee retention. The use of a mentor may be an informal, short-term situation or a more formal, long-term assignment.

In an informal mentoring program, the mentor helps the new employee for a limited period of time. Advice from the mentor may include the most basic of information about everyday routines including tips about “do’s and don’ts” not found in the employee manual to helping the employee learn job responsibilities. A mentor available to answer routine questions also saves time for the supervisor or manager. In addition, new employees often feel more comfortable asking questions of a mentor instead of a supervisor.

In a program of this type, mentors often are volunteers. Forcing someone who does not want to serve as a mentor to do so can quickly create problems. Obviously, someone with a negative attitude, who might encourage a new employee to gripe and complain, should not serve as a mentor.

A more formal version of mentoring occurs when an organization appoints an individual with extensive knowledge and experience to serve as a mentor to a new professional the company feels has excellent potential for growth. The mentor’s role usually lasts for an extended period of time and may not end until the person mentored reaches the level of the mentor.

Whether informal or formal, both parties need to understand the parameters. These may be more important in a long-term, formal mentoring situation, but can also influence the success of short-term, informal mentoring.

The mentor’s role is to teach and advise the new employee. The mentor does not interfere with the supervisor or manager’s decisions. The new employee, while expected to seek the mentor’s advice particularly on critical issues, is not bound to accept that advice.
Confidentiality is important. Both parties need to feel confident that discussions remain between them–not immediately relayed to a supervisor or manager.
Certain areas may be considered off-limits. The mentor needs to outline these areas at the beginning.
Decide in advance how you will communicate. Will you have regularly scheduled meetings? Will discussion be face-to-face, over the telephone or even via E-mail. Both parties need to make their preferences known at the beginning and reach an acceptable compromise if the preferences are different.
Professional relationship: The relationship between the mentor and his or her protégé is a professional one, not a personal one. This is particularly important for the new employee to understand.
Compatibility: It would be helpful to use a behavioral survey/assessment on both the mentee and mentor. This will help both understand each other’s communication styles, strengths and limitations.

Please contact us if we can help you design a customized mentoring program for your organization.

Greg Smith | Lead Navigator | 770-860-9464 | Chart Your Course International

Chartcourse.com | HighperformanceOrganization.com

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Talent Management Strategies and Statistics

jeanyahres — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:03:00 +0000

Successful organizations realize talent management and employee engagement is critical in sustaining their leadership and growth in the marketplace. Attracting and retaining top talented employees in today’s labor market should be the highest priority.

60% of surveyed talent leaders are concerned they could lose key employees to their competitors. Many surveyed companies appear convinced that high potential talent that is not properly developed can be easily poached by competitors.

Deloitte September 2009 Talent Management Study

Employees who have an above average attitude toward their work and their employer will generate 38 percent higher customer satisfaction scores, 22% higher productivity, and 27% higher profits.

The Gallup Organization

Findings revealed 64 percent of employees said they were extremely likely to begin or increase the intensity of their job search. An additional 19 percent said they were somewhat likely to increase their search.

The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Wall Street Journal

Seventy-seven percent of companies said they do not have enough successors to their current senior-level managers already working in their organizations, according to a survey of 168 human resource managers at U.S. companies.

Right Management Consultants

A 2010 survey conducted by the Conference Board showed only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work. This is the lowest level ever recorded by the Conference Board in more than 22 years of research.

The Conference Board

“Good people see good bosses as the wind beneath their wings. . . Employees that lack the confidence in their bosses will leave the organization sooner than later.”

The Hay Group’s The Retention Dilemma

Employee Retention and Job Satisfaction

The cost of attracting, recruiting, hiring, training, and getting new people up to speed is tremendously more costly as well as more wasteful than most realize. Productivity is directly tied to employee retention.

Despite economic changes, the issue of employee retention is here to stay. The labor shortage that plagued employers at the height of the economic boom has not vanished. It may be off the radar now, but it is returning strong as ever. Successful organizations realize employee retention is integral to sustaining their leadership and growth in the marketplace. Those that fail to make employee retention a priority are at risk of losing their top talented people to the competition.

We can help you design an effective employee retention strategy that provides a comprehensive road map for not only attracting and keeping talented employees, but for motivating and engaging them to achieve a higher level of performance—saving organizations countless thousands of dollars.

Our Approach to Talent Management Consulting

Chart Your Course International has developed an excellent reputation for our consultative approach in working with our clients. We believe maximizing human performance and organizational development should be a continuous and systematic improvement process rather than a series of quick fix and flavor-of-the-month type events. The latter merely breeds resistance and skepticism.

We design talent management strategies and processes to grow your organization and implement talent management solutions, creating clearer direction, increased profitability, stronger executive teams, improved communication and happier and more productive employees.

Greg Smith | Lead Navigator | 770-860-9464 | Chart Your Course International

Chartcourse.com | HighperformanceOrganization.com

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