Sorry managers, but training employees is not just a necessary part of your job, it’s essential. Employees may go through corporate training programs to learn the basics of their jobs, but knowing the basics isn’t enough to succeed.
Managers often complain about how much time it takes their people to get up to speed. When I begin asking questions, inevitably it’s clear that no one is shepherding these people through what they need to learn.
The OMICRON variant of COVID is hitting different parts of the country in waves. New York City, for example, has suffered quite a bit as the level of contagion has been higher and more aggressive than previous waves of the virus.
To illustrate, at the end of December a third of the New York City Fire Department was out on leave because of the volume of people who had contracted the virus.
Recently, CNBC and Catalyst released a report, “The Great Work/Life Divide: How employee desire for flexibility and employer concern is driving the future of work”. The key results of this report continue the theme we have been discussing in recent months.
The report reveals that half of working Americans want to change careers for two key reasons: (1) the perception that employers haven’t cared about their issues during the pandemic, and (2) the need for flexibility, whether it is location, when they work or how they work.
Why is employee engagement so important? Obviously, there are myriad answers, but at the core, the more engaged your employees are the better they will do their jobs. Better job performance results in fewer mistakes, which ultimately leads to more satisfied clients.
You know what absenteeism is, but are you familiar with presenteeism? This happens when employees show up at work and simply go through the motions of their jobs. They do the minimum amount of work without calling attention to their declining effectiveness and productivity.
The recent appearance of inflation in the economic data has spurred on price increases. With choruses of “welcome back” and “we’re returning to business as usual”, companies are charging more while offering the same or less as they did before the price increases.
While that may have worked in the past, today’s buyers expect more when prices go up.
It’s time to climb out from under the rock! If you haven’t already started, begin reconnecting with people. In the past 15 months, there has been a decided change in how we stayed in touch with people who matter to us. During this month of June, we’re going to explore how you can relaunch these connections.
Today’s focus is on how to get started. Of course, you can randomly reach out to people, but after a few weeks the randomness will keep you from making progress. Make a list of 20 people and commit to reaching out to an average of five people a week for this month.
Thank you for your feedback from last week’s column about bad customer service. As people shared their woes about their own negative experiences, one common theme emerged.
Most employees need to be managed.
I don’t know what it is about the last few weeks, but I’ve experienced an onslaught of bad customer service. Here is a sampling of these unexpectedly unfortunate instances.
+ A flowering plant arrived dead from a reputable florist: “We’re sorry you were disappointed”.
+ Bathtub drain backed up in a hotel: “Oh, that happens sometimes”.
The recent announcement of Jeff Bezos stepping aside as Amazon.com CEO to become the firm’s executive chairman has captured much attention in the business press. Do you even remember that Amazon started off as “just” a bookseller?
I’ll leave it to others to describe the myriad accomplishments and innovations that Amazon has pioneered over the years. What this triggers, though, is how we can apply some concepts to our complex business environment.
“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
– George Bernard Shaw
People who are waiting for things to “return to normal’ or “return to the way they were before” are in for a shock. It’s not going to happen.