Category: Supervision | Workplace

The Rush For Time…

Nature never rushes, yet everything gets done.

“You’ve got to drive around ma’am. We have a time to customer service that we have to meet”, drawled the drive-through clerk.

Growing kids have appetites that sometimes seem never-ending. So auntie drove into Burger King. Ordered stuff for the boys amidst repeated requests “will that be all ma’am?” With each question, she felt rushed. She wanted something herself but not one for fast food, she decided to ask for help when she got to the drive-through window. While paying for the kids’ order she asked whether she could get a sandwich. That’s when she was told that she would have to join the line of traffic again to get another sandwich. What in the world? She thought she misunderstood so she sought clarification. That’s when she was told that the employees have a set-time-to-meet-each-order and she was affecting it. In disbelief she asked again. Seven minutes later same response then from supervisor, Patricia on duty. Out of consideration for the growing line of famished drivers waiting behind her, auntie drove away. Lose-lose situation for sure.

The Rush For Time Two

In another incident, the Fedex delivery guy tossed the package at the door. Without ringing the doorbell, he quickly made his getaway. This act repeatedly done over his 6 hour route as he tried to meet his targeted goals. Oh the haste to deliver packages door to door.

Where’s The Service?

There are many more situations that can be shared about the new focus on meeting deadlines to the detriment of Quality service. Dismantled packages. Incorrect orders. Broken pieces. All creates havoc for service departments. So goes the new trend on delivery, Uber-eats and all. Compliance divisions pay thousands of dollars to dissatisfied customers in their attempt to correct terrible behaviors.

Disconnect

There is a severe disconnect. Why not marry the two? Stress to employees and external contract service providers the importance of optimal Quality service while meeting delivery deadlines

Be assured that one cannot exist without the other.

Have you experienced the negatives of the Rush For Time? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!

7 Biggest Recruitment Mistakes Business Owners Make And How To Avoid Them

Financial drain. Legal Risks. Frustrating people problems. Not cool at all. Totally not cool. Mark owns a small Crisp insurance agency where he hires various professionals to manage his clients needs. Because of the market demands his business has been growing faster than anticipated over the past 3 years. His desire to meet the demand has caused him to hire anyone he interviews. Faced with problems in different areas, he does not understand the Hidden reasons some of his workers have quit, not met their job requirements, while others are disgruntled because they have had to do the job of the team members who have slackened, or quit.

Sounds familiar? Sure! It happens so very often and leads to wasted resources. As a professional with a track record of solid business management, I have looked at some of the BIGGEST Recruitment Risks Companies Make That Expose Them To Damaging Financial Drain, Frustrating People Problems, and Serious Legal Risks. I have listed the top 7.

The 7 BIGGEST Recruitment Mistakes Business Owners Make

1. Panic (warm body hiring)

2. Don’t Know Their Why | Business strategy  misalignment

3. Wrong Source of supply

4. One-size-fits-all Interview Specs

5. Compensation Woes

6. The Next Step Disconnect

7. Revolving Cycle That Leads to Financial Drain

If you are a business owner or self-managed leader and these 7 Mistakes resonate, then do something about it. Connect with me to get the full details on these 7 Mistakes, and learn the Polished strategies to avoid them. Can’t wait to connect!

Cheers!

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Change: Commit or Comply?

Look around you. Change is everywhere. In business, politics, technology, relationships, our lives, spouse, children, bodies (yikes!), and more. Change is everywhere! Can we get rid of the awful  feeling that it comes with? Must we comply? Resist? Run? Or simply give in?

My friend’s father was scheduled to do surgery on his leg. While in the hospital he was told that it was beyond surgery and they had to immediately amputate or fear the worse would happen. In no time the decision was made and my friend’s life was turned upside down, or inside out depending on how you look at it.

Immediately the ripple effects at work, among her own children, and in her own personal life could not be missed. Someone had to jump in and smooth the process…and that she did.

Change is constant. Whether it is in our professional life as entrepreneurs or in our personal life. We can’t get out of it. Some bring joy, some sorrow, pain, regret, or disappointment.

Organizations are no different. As professionals we spend most of our professional lives on the job in organizations. So here is a brief discussion on its effects and some tips on how to deal with the pains of change while at work. Our goal is to strengthen commitment as opposed to force compliance on others.

Resistance

We said it before but will say it again…resistance to change can have devastating effects in organizations, politics, and in our own lives.  It can result in:

  • Reduced performance
  • Increased turnover
  • Tardiness
  • Increased arguments and controversy

We resist change. Here’s why:

  • Parochial self-interest
  • Misunderstanding
  • Lack of trust
  • Different assessments
  • Low tolerance for change

 

Here’s how we show it:

Active resistance: Lack of cooperation together with disputes, threat of strikes, and sabotage.

Opposition : Delay, not meeting deadlines or having resources ready when they are needed, and forming coalitions to overturn the change.

Conditional acceptance : Accepting the essence of change while working on its modification.

False acceptance:  Pretending to accept the job while doing nothing to implement it.

Acquiescence:  Accepting the change while reducing commitment to the organization.

Withdrawal:  People simply leave the organization or transfer to another job within the organization that is not affected by the change.

4 Successful Change Management Tactics

We can successfully manage change through persuasion, intervention, edict, and participation.  Of the four … persuasion, intervention and participation will more often result in commitment to change, rather than compliance.

  1. Persuasion. The manager articulates the needs and opportunities and then an expert sells the plan to other managers and subordinates.
  2. Intervention. Identify deficiencies, state new objectives and illustrate how these will be met through members of the organization.
  3. Participation. The manager states the problem, delegates responsibility for deriving solution to a planning group, and then provide for implementation of the planned solution.
  4. Edict is less effective because it operates under the dictatorial mode through ordering everyone to follow the stated change plan. This leads to compliance rather than resistance.

To better manage the natural resistance to change in order to sustain performance in an environment of constant change it is best to:

  • Personalize the benefits of change;
  • Lead, sponsor and communicate throughout the change process;
  • Support people through the difficult points of the change journey;
  • Focus on new behaviors not new attitudes.

Essentially, we can never hide from change. It is inevitable. The traditional form of managing change may be adequate in a slow moving world.  However, in our pop Tart rapidly changing social media environment, the traditional forms of management makes implementing change more difficult.  Therefore adapting the tactics mentioned will go a long way to fuel lasting commitment that will promote business success in the long term.

If you are not in business, you can still apply the same tactics to your own personal life, career, and relationships. Change impacts us all but it is important to remember… when it hits.. no matter what it is

Change the plan but not the Goal

Cheers!