Our New Blog: Building a Better Workplace

Hey, have you checked out our Blog posts this week on BuildingABetterWorkplace.com?

Hire better. Manage better. Keep them safe.

How To Impact Your Workplace (Video)

How Radio Makes Better Managers

Test-Drive Job Candidates

I appreciate that you have been a follower and/or subscriber to this Blog. But, this Blog will, sadly, be coming to an end in a few short weeks. We encourage you to join us in our new location at BuildingABetterWorkplace.com.

If you would like to subscribe to our NEW RSS Feed, simply click this link: http://buildingabetterworkplace.com/?feed=rss2

If you prefer to receive our posts by email, then click this link: Subscribe to Building A Better Workplace - with Kevin Burns by Email

Come on over to the new location. Things are happening there.

This Blog Is Closing

I appreciate that you have been a follower and/or subscriber to this Blog. It has been my pleasure to work for you. But as I attempt to streamline our educational component, this Blog will, sadly, be coming to an end.

As we move all of our posting to one central Blog location, BuildingABetterWorkplace.com, this Blog will cease to exist after the next 30 days.

I encourage you to join us in our new location at BuildingABetterWorkplace.com.
If you would like to subscribe to our RSS Feed, simply click this link: http://buildingabetterworkplace.com/?feed=rss2

If you prefer to receive our posts by email, then click this link: Subscribe to Building A Better Workplace - with Kevin Burns by Email

Again, thanks for the opportunity to serve you. I hope you'll join us at our new Blog location.

With gr-Attitude,
Kevin Burns

How To Make Easy Course Corrections

Back in the days before 9-11, I found myself on an overnight flight across the Atlantic Ocean to England. Seated all around me were drunken, Estonian sailors who had proceeded in 1.5 hours to drink the airplane dry of any and all alcohol. At only three hours into the eight-hour flight, I was becoming increasingly agitated by the drunken sailor next to me who insisted on practicing his 3-word English vocabulary replete with spittle, belches and the occasional waft of stomach gases.

The flight attendant, sensing my agitation, took pity on me and asked me to accompany her to the back of the plane. In the back galley, there were several seats occupied by other flight attendants and I was invited to take a seat amongst them and take a break from the beer-burpy-spittle sailor.

After about an hour of quiet, being served coffee and tea and a few munchy snacks, the Chief Flight Attendant asked if I would be interested in meeting the Captain and seeing the cockpit (remember, this was pre 9-11).

Upon opening the cockpit doors, I found the pilot and co-pilot facing one another and playing a game of cards to which the captain chuckled, "I'll bet you're wondering who's flying this thing huh?"

The captain then proceeded to show me how it all worked. To my amazement, I learned that once in the air, the computer flew the plane. The Captain pulled up our flight path on the computer screen which indicated anything but a straight line.

"At 40,000 feet, it's windy and our plane gets knocked off course all of the time," the Captain said. "The computer's job is to make a small series of corrections along the way to keep us on our course so we don't end up in Spain when we were heading for England."

This story illustrates the useful strategy of small course corrections versus the major reactive strategy of trying to recover from a serious, uncorrected error along the way. This same strategy can be applied to daily interaction and communication with employees to make small course corrections so that you don't end up in Spain when you were heading for England.

The Annual Performance Review, as many managers have explained it to me, is like ending up nowhere near where you were headed. The Annual Performance Review only allows for major corrections - the big things that went unsaid for months and were never dealt with when they should have been.

However, Tweaking™ your employees daily in simple ten-second interactions daily will give your people better feedback, better direction and build better trust culminating in better loyalty and reduced turnover.

Remember, if you prefer chaotic crisis intervention, putting out major fires and stressing yourself out in dealing with setback, by all means, stick with the Annual Performance Review of having only one discussion around each employee's performance per year. But if you want to watch your employees get better every day, watch them improve their performance, increase their engagement levels and come together as a cohesive team, then I suggest the Tweak™ Strategy for management.

Small course corrections are much easier to do but require you to pay more attention to your people.



For more information on how Kevin can help your managers get better at communicating with employees and building engagement, value and culture, check here: http://kevburns.com/speaking/tweak-a-new-management-strategy

25 Percent To Jump Ship In New Year

As you gather for your Christmas parties, (sorry, Holiday Parties - my PC vocab is underutilized), be aware that this is likely the last party for many of your staff. If the numbers are right, and they usually are pretty close, almost every survey indicates that up to 25% of employees are willing to jump ship in the New Year as soon as a better offer comes along.

Y'see, as a manager, you've been doing a terrible job of building employee loyalty. In fact, while you are in your all-too-often management meetings or locked away in your office with the door closed, your staff are whining about their jobs and how they're ready to jump ship at the first opportunity. It's probably because you don't say enough to them about how much you value their contribution.

Oh sure, you talk to them about how you fought for a raise and how your hands are tied by senior managment, but other than that, you really don't say much do you?

The truth is, although more money is always nice, it isn't the reason your people are secretly planning to leave. No, they're planning their exit strategy because they don't feel fulfilled in their work because no one tells them that their contribution is important, that the work matters or that their talent is recognized.

But you're not comfortable with that are you? That's too touchy-feely (Eew). Better to just keep it simple and throw out a few basic but non-commital platitudes in the "annual" performance review. That way, your ass is covered if they ever raise a stink about something you said that may have been heartfelt.

At this time of the year, people have gift-giving on their minds. Eyes and faceslight up when they get a gift. Think of how much your people would light up and light a fire under themselves if they got a regular gift: someone who articulates that they are appreciated.

But there will be no gift come the New Year. No, your lump of coal will be to train their replacement in the New Year. And when that person leaves, then you will do it again, and again and blame it all on a lack of employee engagement. It's always easier to blame turnover on "problem" or "issue" employees.

But Employee Engagement isn't the problem. Management enagagement is the problem. Employees will engage in direct proportion to their direct manager's engagement of them. Without engagement, their is no employee loyalty.

Stop looking for tips and tricks to fix your people. They don't work long-term. What works is honesty. Talk to them. Appreciate them. Be grateful for their work. That's how you keep them. All it takes is a little humility. But that seems to be the problem doesn't it? You think being humble equates to weakness. Not much wonder they're leaving you.

--

For more information on how Kevin can help your managers get better at communicating with employees and building engagement, value and culture, check here: http://kevburns.com/speaking/tweak-a-new-management-strategy

Why HR And Management Are To Blame

Below is an excerpt from Kevin's forthcoming book, Tweak™ - Building A Better Workplace In 10 Seconds Or Less!

--

Ultimately, every organization having difficulty with turnover, staff retention, customer retention and recruiting can point their fingers and blame one of two things within their organization: Human Resources (the people they hire) and Management (how they manage them). That's it. Simple. It's either Management or HR to blame for where your company is today.

Are you employing the same kinds of people you did 20 years ago? Are you managing the same staff you did 20 years ago? Are you using the same technology from 20 years ago? Overwhelmingly the answer is "NO."

So why are you hiring the same way you did 20 years ago and still using outdated management practices? The truth is, both conventional (what we've come to know as conventional) Management practices and conventional Human Resources practices are out of date. What ultimately holds almost every organization back is the people they hire and how they're managed. And what propels and organization forward is exactly the same: the people they hire and how they're managed.

Knowing this, why do you think so little effort is spent by organizations in training managers to a level of excellence and/or deploying a forward-thinking and highly-motivated staff of recruiters to go out and steal the best talent in the market?

Is it because companies are happy with mediocrity: a middle-of-the-pack performance? Or is it because that's what everyone else is doing? We don't think companies are "happy" with being in the middle of the pack - that's just where they end up when they follow someone else's model for management and HR.

Not everyone can be a Google or a Starbucks or a Netflix: industry/market leaders. Once your industry has a leader, everyone else automatically becomes a follower. Following another company's management practices or their hiring practices or their training practices will only make you a shadow of what they are. That is no way to ever achieve market-leader status nor is it any way to ever be top-of-the-heap when it comes to attracting the best talent, the best ideas and the best managers.

When companies pay big money for expertise from outside resources, they had better be getting ideas and strategies that weren't even thought of 20 years ago. I know professional "speakers" that if they were to open a book written in the last five years, they would have to scrap everything they're currently preaching because it's old, outdated and just doesn't work anymore. Consultants offering up the same ideas they offered to clients twenty years ago shouldn't be rewarded for not being current. Management trainers who regurgitate old concepts built on hierarchy, bureaucracy, planning and control should refund their paychecks. Google did not achieve market-leader status by doing what everyone else is doing.

This is a new time, a new market, with new faces employing new ideas, new concepts and new values. And the changes are only going to get bigger and faster. In fact, in the year 2015, seventy-five percent of your workforce is going to be either over age 50 or under age 30. That means you are more likely to see seventy year-olds working alongside twenty year-olds. Are your managers prepared to manage a 50-year age disparity? If you think you can manage a Gen Y the same way you've managed a Baby Boomer, because you've always managed that way, you're sadly mistaken. You will not be ready and your company will suffer as a result.

For more on Kevin's Tweak™ Management program, check out http://kevburns.com/speaking/tweak-a-new-management-strategy
--
Like this post? Pass it on.

Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.

And join us on Facebook

Kevin Burns – Workplace Expert – Management Consultant – Keynote Speaker

Nine-Minute Seminar On Future Workplaces

I have just posted a new mini-seminar on where workplaces are headed over the next three years. It addresses the challenges in management, generations and hiring. Take nine minutes out for yourself today and view the mini-seminar.

What The Future Holds - A Mini-Seminar

- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns – Workplace Expert – Management Consultant – Keynote Speaker

Closing Time And Employee Engagement

"We're closing in five minutes!!!!"

How many times have you been told that by "customer service" personnel (yes I used quotations on purpose)?

I have even been yelled at upon entering the store twenty-five minutes before closing. What does that say about the staff? Worse yet, what does that say about management that lets staff get away with, in essence, saying, "your needs are less important than me getting out of here so hurry up Buster."

While looking at expensive dishes in a small, Independant store, I was approached hurriedly by the sales clerk who seemed impatient that we were still in the store so close to closing time.

Exasperated she exclaimed, " we are closing in like two minutes."

I immediately shot back, "we'll leave then" looking her square in the eye.

She backpedaled making some lame apology. Too late. I didn't want to buy here anymore.

The evidence in retail establishments is staggering but this happens in every organization: people who don't want to start something that they know they can't finish before closing time. Clock watchers are time-thieves. They cost your organization money and productivity and take a big bite out of a culture that claims to be customer-focused.

How your people handle the end of the day is more tell-tale than how they handle the start of the day - especially around engagement.

If you, as a customer, get the warning that they will soon be closing, walk away. You deserve to be treated better. Besides, there's a huge difference between locking the doors and being "closed."


- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns – Workplace Expert - Management Consultant - Keynote Speaker

Some People Need To Be Left Behind

I sat on a panel at a Chief Information Officers' Conference this week with other thought-leaders from around North America. One of the questions posed to me concerned the push by populist politicians to gain points with the public by endorsing a "leave no child behind" policy when it comes to education and how a policy like this will affect workplaces in the future.

The truth is, although noble, it is not reality-based - at least not in the workplace. In the workplace, not everyone moves ahead. Some people get left behind. Some perform better than others. Some are management material. Some are not. Some are leaders. Some are followers. Some succeed. Some fail. Some are promoted. Some get laid-off. Many get left behind. Maybe you've been left behind once or twice yourself. If you did, I'll bet it changed who you are and how you apply yourself. If it didn't then you'll likely be left behind again.

Success is not a right. It is a privilege. It is earned. It is not simply given away.

In the real world, we don't turn low-achievers into managers and corporate executives. Bottom-achievers are the first to be laid-off when the economy turns. Look, we are already whining, moaning and complaining about poor service, low initiative, poor employee engagement, declining morale, rock-bottom motivation and terrible work-ethic. I'm not sure how lowering the bar so that more mediocre employees can squeak through university makes our workplaces better.

Sorry, but sometimes we need to leave people behind. Not everyone is a top-achiever. Not everyone is a star employee. Not everyone is future management material. If we lower the bar in education, the expectation next will be to lower the bar in employment. And that, in my estimation, is non-negotiable.

We need to raise the bar when it comes to personal performance, to how we deliver service, to how we engage in our work. Removing the consequences of not applying oneself seems counterproductive.

People need to experience difficulty and turmoil. It shapes character and resilience. People learn more from failure than from an easy ride. And I am all for those who do the work, make the effort and achieve what they are capable of. THAT builds better and more cohesive workplaces and I am completely and utterly in favor of that.

If you're still having trouble with this, imagine a world that leaves no person behind when it comes to testing for a Driver's License. Now do you see my point?


- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns – Workplace Expert - Management Consultant - Keynote Speaker

The Critical Key To Succession

Succession Planning is on the minds of many organizations today. As older workers retire, the challenge is to get the information out of the heads of the retiring workers and into the heads of a new generation of workers.

And this is where it all falls apart.

Don't even try.

Yes, get the information out of the heads of your retiring workers. Yes, do whatever is necessary to get retiring workers to commit to disseminating what they know and yes, put it someplace where future generations of workers can get to it.

But don't expect that the new generation of worker will WANT to put all of that information into their own heads. They won't. They don't. In fact, what's the point? They change jobs more often than any other generation. Really? Do you want to invest in getting the info into their heads only to have them walk away from the job within a year or two?

No. Put it in a place where everyone can access it. Get it on video, audio, written word, seminar, workshop, PowerPoint but DO SOMETHING.

Generation Y is probably the best generation for being able to locate information only when they need it and not have to walk around with it in their heads. Theirs is a generation of written (albeit short form text code but it is written) word. They will want to access the writing or video or other media. That's where it should be anyway - not wasting away in someone's head where you're going to have to try to retrieve it when they leave.

Think ahead.

- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker

How To Build Better Teams And Engagement

Organizations spend a lot of money on trying to build better teams, better culture and better communication in an attempt to build better engagement. Companies want their workplaces to be more warm and fuzzy, friendly and personal so that employees might connect better with their work, coworkers and managers. And yet these same companies still hire using the most impersonal (and broken) model available: ARIH (Advertise-Résumé-Interview-Hire).

Advertising job duties (instead of desired personal qualities), selecting shortlist candidates based on impersonal stuff written on paper (applications and résumés), asking interviewees questions from a prepared list of impersonal questions and then hiring based on who was best able to remain cool and detached from stress during the interview seems like a surefire strategy to hire cold and impersonal people. All you create are workplaces that make it difficult to build organic teams and a sense of personal connection to the work.

Still, companies complain about employee disengagement, employees who don’t feel a connection to the mission of the company, employees who lack any sense that their work matters, employees who don’t really like or respect their co-workers or their boss. Yet these same companies continue to use the detached approach to hire people who they will later complain aren't connected to their work.

If the whole hiring process is based on disconnect, is it really a surprise that your people end up disconnected from their work, boss and workplace? Really?

If you want to change your culture and build your team organically, you must first change up those who do the hiring, conduct the interviews and set the tone for the expectations of the new employee. The first point of contact of most organizations is Human Resources and it needs to change.

Start hiring personable HR people who are prepared to have side-by-side conversations with potential employees instead of the adversarial model of job-candidate facing the power-panel of intimidating interviewers. Get rid of the "power trip" and start finding ways to make connections with candidates. Start building relationships instead of attempting to justify your job.

If you want to attract people who connect naturally to other people, their work and contribute to a warmer culture, you need to model that behavior for every new employee right from the very first contact with your company.

A couple of ideas that attract a completely different candidate can be found here http://buildingabetterworkplace.com/?p=971 Sadly, most HR people would find a million reasons why it can't be done that way because it is out of their comfort zone. But it can be done and is being done. And it works.

If you keep doing what you've always done, you're going to keep getting what you've always gotten.


- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker

A Place To Go To Die

I spoke with a manager today whose employees score their workplace low on "passion for the work" while at the same time, that same company boasts of some of the longest serving employees in any industry.

Simply put, although the employees don't have a lot of passion for their work, they are willing to put aside their apathy for the work and stick it out for 30 plus years - all the way to retirement.

Got a few of these in your own workplace? How would you manage and/or attempt to change a Culture like this?

- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker

Relevant Managers vs Irrelevant Managers

Irrelevant managers say things like: I don't have time to read management books. I don't have time to subscribe to management Blogs and email newsletters. I don't have time to get away to attend that seminar on working with the new generation. I don't have time to work with social media. I don't have time to coddle every one of my employees just to tell them they're doing a good job. I don't have time to go over it and over it again just because a few don't get it.

Relevant managers say things like: I make it a point to read at least 4 new management books each year to stay current. I subscribe to a handful of solid management thought-leaders by email and Blog because they inspire me with new ideas. I have worked out a schedule to attend at least one seminar or training session each year that can help me help my employees. Since I started working with social media, I now see how employees and customers use it to communicate better. I reach out to each employee everyday so that they feel value in the work they do and valued for the contribution they make. I will do whatever I have to do to make sure that every employee gets it right and does it right because our customers deserve our best.

So, are you too busy for the people who depend on you to be your best or are you just too self-absorbed to really care? If you cared, don't you think you'd do something about it?

- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker

New Productivity Tool

I don't often openly endorse a product but this one is a brilliant tool for anyone wanting to help build better performance for themselves and their company. And it's FREE.

http://idonethis.com/ is a brilliantly simple program to get you focused on not just keeping busy ... but more importantly, being productive. And I am using it and loving it.

I get an email at the end of each work day asking me to take a few moments to itemize the things that got done today - hence the name "I Done This." Then, by simply replying to the email, my accomplishments are placed on a calendar of things I got done. Once you register, you can view your calendar of accomplishments and all of your past history at any time.

Anything that didn't get down today gets moved to the top of the To-Do list (your own list) for tomorrow. This is so much MORE than simple time management.

This is about that voice in your own head that forces you to make decisions, take action and get things done. And did I mention it's free?

Start focusing on what you DID get done and stop placing too much emphasis on what still needs doing. You, like me, will find yourself working smarter and getting a lot more done in the same amount of time.


- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker

All The Time In The World To Complain

I want to follow up yesterday's post Fixing Tomorrow's Problems With Yesterday's Ideas as I have received some concerns by email.

What I was referring to yesterday is how we hire, manage, communicate and build workable cultures has changed from 30 years ago. Unfortunately companies are still hiring, managing, communicating and are not making any adjustments to culture any different than 30 years ago and yet are throwing their hands up in the air and complaining about turnover, poor retention, absenteeism, lack of loyalty, poor engagement, poor work ethic and a terrible entitlement mentality in their employees.

They are lost for answers and end up hiring outside consultants who also still employ 30 year old philosophies.

We are in the information age but no one seems to want to do the work to keep current or to read anything for fear that they might have to make changes to how they do things.

The key to building better workplaces is NOT in reacting to changes in the marketplace but in being AHEAD of those changes. That requires a commitment to learning and a commitment to keeping current.

Sadly, most will say they don't have the time to keep current - but apparently they have all the time in the world to complain about it.


- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker

Fixing Tomorrow's Problems With Yesterday's Ideas

Thirty years ago there were no smart phones, no Twitter, no Facebook, no Blogging, no Generation Y in the workplace, no retiring Baby Boomers, no handheld GPS, no laptops, no tablet computers, no MP3 players, no workplace drug testing, no perpetual job-hopping, no workers' smug sense of entitlement, no focus on ergonomics in the workplace, no leadership development for middle managers, no outsourcing to third-world countries, no growing use of part-time and contract employees, no instant access to training videos on YouTube, no text-messaging at work, no telecommuting, no Corporate Culture initiatives, no succession-planning strategies, no anti-bullying programs and no stringent workplace safety programs.

It is a different workplace today than it was thirty years ago.

So why then, are so many organizations and so-called experts clinging to outdated models of management and organizational development when the workplace is clearly a different place today than it was 30 years ago?

What worked thirty years ago will not work today. And it certainly wont work tomorrow. If you're not keeping up - then you're falling behind.

The world won't stop changing just because you're not up to speed. If you're not prepared to read the Blog posts, the books, view the videos, attend the seminars and take a portion of your day, everyday, just to stay current, then you're in the way. You're holding up your organization or, at the very least, giving your organization some very bad advice.

If you don't want to do the work of staying ahead of the changes instead of always having to react to them, then maybe it's time you stepped aside and let someone else take your place - someone who is prepared to offer real-world, current solutions to today's challenges.


- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker

How To Define Workplace Success

It's very simple to define a great workplace. A great workplace is one that has a lineup of high-performers wanting to come work there.

Plain and simple, that's all that's necessary. No need to talk of management, money or culture. Any workplace that has a lineup of people willing to come over and work obviously is firing on all cylinders: management, money and culture.

Let me put it this way: who would you rather do business with? A company that has attracted all of the industry's top performers or a company that struggles to attract the leftover mediocre employees?

If you want to build a better workplace, you have to start with the end-goal in mind - creating a lineup of high-performing job-applicants - and point everything you do at that. Simple.


- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker

Delicate Little Egos At Work

Funny how people only seem to want to hear compliments and not necessarily listen to good advice. Because of insular and delicate little egos, constructive criticism is increasingly being viewed as criticism - which in the receiver's mind isn't constructive - it's destructive.

You were told by your parents, lovingly I suppose, that you are special. Well, the workplace surveys would say that most workplaces don't hire special people. Largely, workplaces hire mediocre people with mediocre past employment and mediocre resumés touting perhaps competence but certainly not excellence. Very few people achieve excellence. For those who do achieve excellence, well, they're not standing in the same job-line as you. It is rare that those people need to line up with resumé in hand to compete for a mediocre job.

So, how do you move from competence to excellence? You ask for constructive feedback.

But your co-workers say nothing (the reason 360 degree feedback rarely works as advertised) for fear of creating animosity. Your co-workers don't want to get on your bad side because they've seen how vindictive you can be when your delicate little ego gets bruised. Your managers say little because they weren't trained properly in how to build trust with you resulting in any input they offer as sounding like a personal attack. And, customers never tell you why they chose another vendor because you never bother to ask, so that you can avoid hearing that there was something wrong with you and not the product or the price.

So unless you've done something wrong, you're likely to never hear a thing from anyone - which, if you did, you would probably interpret as criticism - a personal attack. Remember how you acted the last time someone attacked you.

Y'know, once upon a time, you asked people's advice - people who have been where you are and who have been successful. But now you don't because you have YouTube - the perfect way to avoid being judged. Now, unless you ask or click, you don't want to hear what people think.

You especially don't want to hear that its your fault - especially if it is. And when you do ask someone else to chime in, you only want to hear compliments - not necessarily what you NEED to hear.

- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker

Why Working Hard May Not Be Rewarded

You've heard it before. That person who feels that just because they "worked hard" they deserve to be rewarded.

So let's say you started out driving from Detroit and drove for ten hours. You should end up in New York after 10 hours of driving. But you could just as easily end up in Des Moines, Iowa after ten hours because you made one incorrect decision leaving Detroit. You still drove for ten hours. The effort remains the same. The result? Very different.

So if you end up in Des Moines, do you deserve to be in New York just because you drove ten hours?

Working on a complex Algebra equation for hours only to end up with the incorrect answer doesn't get you a passing grade just because you worked hard.

Working hard on the wrong thing doesn't get you a reward, a raise or a promotion. It may get you ridicule though - especially if you whine that you should be rewarded for your effort.

You don't get rewarded just because you're busy. You get rewarded for your results. Keep that in mind when you get passed over for promotion or a raise. Working hard and getting results don't always coexist. Sometimes they do but not always.


- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker

Front-line People Reflect Their Managers

I worked with and addressed a group of retail managers this morning. The first message that I made abundantly clear was this:

"To become an outstanding retail manager, you need to first become an outstanding retail customer. Once you've experienced both good and bad service alike, only then can you differentiate. Only when you have set a standard of how you wish to be served can you demand of your staff any sort of standard. If you show apathy in being a customer, you will show apathy in how you train, apathy in how you hire, apathy in how you communicate and apathy in how you manage. The people on the front-line of service are a good reflection of their immediate supervisor's willingness to train and develop his or her people."

You know, come to think of it, this doesn't just apply to retail.


- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker

Playing The Odds With Customer Service

The printing order I needed on Friday arrived the following Monday. I had placed my order nine days previous and had chosen 7-Day Expedited Shipping and paid a premium for it. They, VistaPrint, missed the deadline because they shipped it by standard mail.

First they first offered a re-order - which seemed pointless since I hadn't yet received the first order. Then they offered a credit which I refused as I didn't want a credit, I wanted a refund - especially since they promised guaranteed delivery and then missed it. They complied and I was refunded.

Upon thinking about it, it seems that they are a company playing the odds. Here's what I mean: by offering a premium purchase option for delivery within 7 days, if they were to ship by Express Post, they would be guaranteed to have it delivered within 3-5 days. But standard Expedited Parcel usually arrives within 7 days. So instead of actually paying extra to ensure every parcel arrives on-time, they are playing the odds - the odds that they only have to pay out on the rare occassion that the Post Office doesn't get it there within 7 days. Do the math. This questionable practice could be a huge financial saving to them but they are taking a risk with their customers.

The third option, a full refund is the only costly option for them and ONLY when their customers say no to the first two options.

I will not do business with them again because they failed in their promise and their web site has no contact info, phone numbers or email addresses. I used to be a regular customer. But this time, I had to Google to find a phone number and got it from a third-party web site whose users complained about the same things as I did here.

So let me ask you, are you treating your customers in a similar way? Do you hide behind your email, voicemail, phone trees and hidden contact info on your web site? Do you make your customers work hard to reach you? Can you think of anything more rude? You know it irks you when it happens to you so why do you do it to others? You are NEVER too busy for your customers.

Here's my commitment to my customers and prospective clients: if you want to reach me directly, my direct telephone number to MY desk is 403-770-2928 and MY email address is abetterworkplace@gmail.com. I answer my own emails and I answer my own phone. I have voicemail, sure, but it gets delivered as an MP3 file directly to my iPhone when I am out and I can call you back as soon as I get your message. I AM available to you.

By the way, I wrote this while waiting on Hold to speak to someone at the phone company, Telus. So far, 48 minutes on Hold and counting....finally, someone. Gotta go.


- Like this post? Pass it on.
Or better yet, Invite Kevin to address this issue live at your next meeting.
And join us on Facebook
Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker