3 Signs of a Miserable Job

A mission in the businesses that I work with is to help create “Drama-Free work environments.” Perhaps the most critical element that impacts the potential achievement of this dream is the level of positive engagement between leaders and followers.

2017 engagement data reveals the following statistics:

• 51% of the U.S. workforce is not engaged (Gallup)
• Disengaged workers cause massive losses in productivity – between $450 and $500 billion a year (Mental Health America)
• Only 16% of employees said they felt “connected and engaged” by employers (EmployeeChannel)
• It can cost 33% of an employee’s salary to replace him/her (HR Dive)

Originally titled The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, Patrick Lencioni’s The Truth About Employee Engagement gives us three simple causes that impact the level of job misery, or phrased differently, disengagement.

• Anonymity…people have a need to be known, appreciated and understood;
• Irrelevance…fulfillment occurs when the work a person does matters, and makes a difference;
• Immeasurement…if my performance isn’t measured, how can I know if I’m winning?

Leadership Challenge: as a leader, ask yourself (and for that matter, your employees!) whether any of these three causes exist in your work environment? If so, then there is a strong chance that both disengagement and drama are active participants in your current culture.

This becomes an urgent call-to-action to make improvements before you become a contributor to this alarming statistic…

• 75% of the causes of employee turnover are preventable (HR Dive)

Sales Relationships 101: Legendary Customer Service, Support & Satisfaction

In the sales world, ensuring that proper service, support & satisfaction levels exist requires consistent & frequent engagement with your customers, including any combination of the following tactics:

* the business’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is closely monitored by Sales Management to make certain that all the necessary activities are occurring, being updated and remain current

* the Sales Team is being challenged during weekly sales meetings for updates on key clients (a prudent method for monitoring any salesperson’s awareness with regard to the status of their customers)

* periodic customer surveys (either electronic or via phone, depending on the type of client base) should be administered to gauge current levels of satisfaction with regard to: responsiveness, delivery times, product quality and assortment, etc.; while further ascertaining details about any concerns

* random follow-up calls to customers conducted by Sales Managers in order to get instantaneous feedback with regard to their customer’s current needs & levels of satisfaction, as well as their Sales Team’s performance

* the aforementioned weekly sales meetings provide an obvious forum for the sales team to share examples of actual sales success stories and best-practices with regard to what is working with customers, and/or changes in the marketplace that should be addressed

Further, Sales Managers must provide periodic updates to their team providing  commentary on any recent “wins” or key findings. This additional information sharing can be utilized by your salesforce as part of their selling “toolbox.”

Importantly, sales success stories should be ideally spread throughout the entire organization, directed at creating a collaborative culture and spirit of camaraderie across the company.

Finally, from a brand enhancement perspective, customers should be solicited for testimonials about the company which can be utilized by the marketing team for promotion of the business (which also can be utilized to celebrate the sales team successes).

Why not conduct a self-assessment of your organization’s sales operation to validate that these activities are consistently occurring?  It couldn’t hurt!

Pulse on your Employees

Last night, I was speaking with a friend who had just left an important position with their company due to an intolerable, demeaning boss.  This now former-employee was experienced and competent, and served in a high-demand role.

I recently read an article citing a study by Wayne Hochwarter at the FSU College of Business.   It analyzed why dissatisfied employees leave their jobs, revealing the following:

• 31 % received the “silent treatment” (communication)
• 37 % noted that credit was not given when due (one-minute praisings)
• 39 % stated their supervisor failed to keep promises (commitment)
• 27 % felt that their supervisor made negative comments about them to others (integrity)
• 23 % said their “leader” blamed others to cover up mistakes (honesty)

These unbelievable yet actual, every-day events validate the concept that in many cases, good employees leave companies based on their management (or lack thereof!).

Take a pulse on your style and rest assured that any of these actions do not reflect leadership.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Multiple Mental Suppliers

One of my favorite leadership reads is “Winning” by the legendary Jack Welch, former CEO of G.E.

Mr. Welch had a philosophy that included getting “every brain into the game”, i.e. take advantage of the experience and mind power of your entire team and you may be surprised about what you collectively come up with!

In the press of business urgency, I’ve noticed that leaders tend to make “rapid-fire” decisions, often without utilizing all of the information available to achieve the optimal “fact-based” conclusion.

Additionally, without promoting and fostering a participative atmosphere to begin with, many employees become reluctant, or even afraid, to “speak-up” or share their insights.

By setting an expectation that the thoughts and wisdom of others is cherished and appreciated, notice how this facilitates better decision-making, as well as the evolution of a healthier culture.