ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
Tap Employee Passion For Business Success
Meriwether Lewis set the stage for the Corps of Discovery's success before one single "employee" had been hired. From the outset Lewis and Clark engendered a communications culture that brought in the right prospects, then kept morale high and increased the productivity of those eventually hired. More important, Lewis' communication culture not only outlined the day-to-day duties of Corps member, it imbued "employees" with a sense of mission and meaning. He ruthlessly searched for just the right recruits. Lewis sought the strong, skilled and eager, rejecting the weak, ignorant, and unmanageable. And through properly communicating his needs, he was able to get the people who could learn and live his "brand" to apply. Prospects were told openly and honestly about working conditions: you will be in hostile territory, surrounded by hostile people. You must rely on your own devices for food and shelter, and you could die. They learned about benefits: "great personal rewards will be bestowed upon you by a grateful government," if you are selected. Lewis took his "employees" one step farther: you will go, he told them, where no non-natives have gone before. You will help find the Northwest Passage. You will aid in the advancement of science, discovering new places, new species and new peoples. The mission is one of critical importance to the security of the new nation. It was this open, honest communication of the emotional aspects, the meaning of the job that unleashed the potential of the Corps of Discovery as "brand emissaries." Why Bother Communicating With Employees? Sure, you're saying, when it's a matter of life and death, and you must depend on the person next to you for your survival, it makes sense. But, we're just talking about business here. The same goes for business. Employees are your most important audience, and that they hold the keys to your organization's success. Let's examine the facts to find out why this assertion is true. Companies spend millions of dollars each year developing mission and vision statements, identifying their brand, and then communicating their brand promise through various media. Employees are the primary "media" in the majority of brand contacts. In most companies, employees don't understand the brand promise well enough to communicate it, let alone live it and articulate it clearly. Gallup research of 300,000 businesses indicates that 75% to 80% of your people are achieving much less and feeling far less enthusiastic about their work than they could be. If all your employees were "fully engaged", Gallup says, your customers would be 70% more loyal, your turnover would drop by 70%, and your profits would jump 40%. The research also found that consumers who felt fast food restaurant employees did a great job were five to six times more likely to come back to that brand. At banks where employees stood out, the customer was six to 20 times more likely to continue the relationship. Additionally, great employees also tend to engender "passionate" customers. For example, customers who praised store-level associates were 16 times more likely to be passionate about the retailer's brand. Get employees on board from an emotional perspective and they carry their passion out to customers. Passionate customers carry it beyond to prospects through word-of-mouth. Need an example? Let's look at SAS Institute, a company with a clear mission developed from today's new realities. In its mission, SAS embraces lifelong learning for employees and service that is focused on customers with improvements driven by those customers. Employees want a company that understands they have a life outside of work, that they have a need for learning and development beyond the strictly job-related. Recognizing this, the company built a 200-acre corporate campus, landscaped to encourage outdoor leisure. Thousands of acres adjacent to the SAS campus were bought and made available for employees to buy and build their homes. A private junior and senior high has been opened on campus so parents can have lunch with their kids. Employees are treated like university faculty and are helped by the company to pursue their own intellectual interests, as well as their job-related ones. As a result, instead of the typical 20 percent turnover of software companies, SAS has had turnover of less than four percent. SAS has a 95 percent annual renewal rate among its customers, and revenues increased from $653 million in 1996 to $1.13 billion in 2001. So, take a lesson from Meriwether Lewis: communicate your brand position with your employees, tell them openly and honestly what's happening inside the company, and unleash some passionate results of your own. About The Author: Harry Hoover is managing principal of Hoover ink PR, http://www.hoover-ink.com. He has 26 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom line messages that ensure success for serious businesses like Brent Dees Financial Planning, Duke Energy, Levolor, North Carolina Tourism, Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems, VELUX and Verbatim.
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The High Cost of Employee Turnover Among Project Managers Imagine for a moment this scenario from a frustrated Senior Manager of a large pharmaceutical organization: "Our organization has experienced a large turnover among project managers in the past year. This creates problems providing ongoing quality and service to our stakeholders. We just don't know what is causing the problem!" Sound familiar? Well you're not alone. I remember that filmmaker Woody Allen once said that "80% of success is showing up." However, the greater challenge is finding ways to keep people there. Think it Over Every decision is a deliberate act. It's the result of a well rehearsed pattern. Using this pattern, we often gather data, analyze it and draw conclusions without much conscious effort. We do it because it works. And it works because our life experience has refined the technique that brings us the best results -- most of the time. Project Management - The Traveling Product Manager Various studies ? and common sense ? indicate that involving customers increases the likelihood that your product will meet customer requirements (I hope these studies weren't funded with my tax dollars!) How to Say No Rejection hurts. No one likes to give it or to receive it. We all wish we could live in a world where everyone said "yes." And yet sometimes you have to say "no." Rules for Running a Meeting As an experienced manager, I can announce without a doubt that the primary reason for lack of effectiveness in the contemporary business world is that people don't follow the rules for running a meeting. Thousands meetings are conducted each day and most of the meeting chairmen have not even heard of the rules for running a meeting. Therefore, the following article includes a brief description of the basic rules for running a meeting. How Your Feelings and Those of Your Employees Can Make The Difference How we feel is really more important than what we know. This is because how we feel plays a bigger role in our behavior than knowing what we should or should not do. For instance, we "know" smoking is bad for us. We see research that tell us auto accident injuries and deaths can be greatly reduced by using seat belts. We "know" that brushing our teeth after each meal fights tooth decay. Despite these facts that we "know", many of us smoke, don't use seat belts, and fail to brush after eating. We have other needs and feelings that are stronger and take the place of our "knowing" what we should do. The Top 5 Signals That Your Business Is Running You Starting your own business is a great undertaking but running the day-to-day aspects of your business is the true challenge you will face as an entrepreneur. Do you find that the business you started to suit your lifestyle somehow taken over your life and home? If this sounds familiar, then your business is running you. Learn how to run your business again with these top five warning signs and helpful tips. How To Decrease Profits Without Really Trying Hurting your sales efforts can be accomplished easily with the proper guidance. The following effective yet simple ideas are designed to generate results when implemented into your sales strategy. The 10 Realities of Change I've seen several articles that begin with lines like "the only constant today is change." I assert that change that is constant can't really be called change. It's simply a new reality. It's time that we accept that things simply don't stay the same and speed to change is the new reality of business. Like any other new reality it requires new responses. Why Your Business Needs an E-Mail Policy Why is it imperative to have a company E-Mail Policy? It is simply good business, that's why! In addition, having a clear and detailed e-mail policy in place, one that employees sign and date before they are allowed access through your businesss' computers, is critical to you being able to enforce or react to situations that may arise at a later date. The Retailers Calendar The Julian calendar we use to pass the time every day, every week, every month and every year is the one most commonly used by businesses. Its general availability and familiarity make it a natural selection. One Thing You Cant Hide One of the most important of all motivators at work is consideration. Employees report that the best managers they ever had were people who cared about them as people and as friends. These managers took the time to ask them questions about their lives, and to listen patiently while they talked about the dilemmas and problems and situations in their families. The more that the employees felt that the boss liked them and respected them, the more empowered and motivated they felt. Selecting a Business Broker or Intermediary to Help You Sell Your Business As crazy as it seems, some people spend more time choosing a coffee machine than they do selecting the business broker or intermediary that will sell their business. This can be a fatal mistake that can cost time, money, and sometimes the ability to sell the business at all. Five Steps to Better Employee Management Hiring employees is a huge responsibility. Before hiring anyone, be sure to carefully analyze your needs in terms of extra assistance. Character: Is It Necessary In Leadership? (Part Two) In the first part of this two part article, I talked about the importance of character in leadership. After all, the best leadership involves the people bonding with the leader in deep, human, emotional ways. The passive way of looking at character is that the bonding won't happen if the people are confused about or disdain your character. But there is also an active way of looking at character: You can use aspects of your character to actually promote results. Your best character traits can be turned results-multipliers. Here's how. Creating A Vision ? Bringing Your Dreams Into Reality Do you have some goals you want to achieve or dreams you want to fulfill? A useful tool in reaching the outcomes you desire is the creation of a vision, which can be short or long-term. I recommend writing down specifics to add clarity and focus. Manage Your Time - Save Your Business. If you work from home, chances are you already know that you're really pulling "double duty". You probably work on your business while doing the laundry, corralling the kids, or fixing dinner... and let's not forget all the phone calls from family and friends expecting you to run errands or just "go out" for an afternoon of fun. Your Appraisal System Can Be Better ? Overcome These Nine Serious Failings This article is directed at senior managers. As a senior colleague you have the authority to make tremendous improvements. You can have maximum effect in improving your existing appraisal system or starting one that contributes to profits or other targets. 10 Steps When You Need Help in Your Business If you think ahead and plan, many nightmare panic and chaos situations can be overcome. By ensuring that you have a great group of people around you, there will be more to fall back on when the going gets tough - because that, as they say, when the tough really do get going. Big challenges can be very difficult to face - and they can be fascinating and exhilarating. So here's some thoughts on how to make the best of these times, by getting ready in advance and making it work. Why I always Keep my Promises Integrity is very important to me, and I try hard to 'do unto others as I would wish them do unto me'. It hasn't always worked that way for me though.There have been times in my previous career - times that I can remember vividly even now - when promises were not kept, things were borrowed, never to be returned and where I was not on the best end of wheeling and dealing that are part of corporate politics.For me, creating honourable relationships with my people has always been important. It is a two-way street. Once when my wife was very ill, my management team told me not to come in, despite it being a very busy time. I told them, thank-you, and I would come and go, in the comfort that they thought enough of me; of us; to tell me to do that.I didn't need to ask, but what they said to me at that time came from an environment of fairness, honesty and trust had grown over time. They knew that if it had been them, I would have offered the same.It was as if, as Steven Covey says, in 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People', I had enough credit in my 'emotional bank account' to tide me over. I'd never realised that I had that credit, but looking back, my standards and values were daily deposits. You get back what you give out.There's no better time to start than right now.
|
|
|
|
|
