10 Easy (no/low cost) New Year’s Resolutions for Managers

As we approach the time of year where we start to reflect on the past and give thought to the New Year, many of us start to make our New Year’s resolutions. Realistically, in our personal lives, how many of us actually make resolutions we know we can keep and actually achieve? I am certainly in no position to offer advice on personal resolutions, but what I am proposing is a list of (business) New Year’s resolutions for managers. This is a list of simple, mostly low cost/no cost resolutions for managers to help get their New Year off to a great start and sustain the momentum throughout the entire year. As a manager, you may not need to resolve to do all of these things, in fact, you may do many of them now, but even if there is one thing off the list you resolve to do, than you are already in good shape to kick off 2013!

1. Say “Good Morning” to your staff – in fact, say good morning to people who aren’t your staff! There is nothing worse than a manager arriving to work and making a beeline straight for their office without greeting anyone. Nothing says, “leave me alone” quite like this approach.

2. Keep your door open – when not on conference calls or meeting with someone else, keep your door open. The subtlety of this is not lost on employees – believe me. There is nothing worse than a manager who professes to have an open door policy and then, quite literally, their door is NEVER open!

3. Keep your commitments – there are very few things that drive employees ‘crazy more than when they are supposed to have a meeting with you and you are still on another call or in another meeting, etc. Worse yet, is when you allow one employee’s meeting time to impede on another’s meeting time. You should simply inform the first employee that you have committed to another scheduled meeting but you are happy to resume the conversation at a later date/time. This shows both employees that their time is important to you but it is also shows them that you honour your (time) commitments.

4. Say “Thank you” more often – this is the purest form of non-monetary recognition and it costs NOTHING! A sincere thank you for your employee’s efforts, results, etc. goes a long way. Your employees just want to know that YOU know that they exist and are important. A little thanks is very much appreciated by them – especially when it isn’t just given during the holiday season or at performance review time.

5. Let them knock off early – nothing surprises an employee more, or is more appreciated, than a manager taking the initiative to come to an employee early on Friday afternoon, before a long weekend, or before their vacation starts and telling them to go home early. For this to work, the manager needs to make sure the employee’s workload/schedule is clear or can be deferred to another day. Simply go up to the employee at 1pm and tell them that you want them out of here in 1 hr. or less because you want them to get a head start on vacation, etc.

6. Remember their birthday and work anniversary – not necessarily with cards, presents and announcements, but a simple verbal recognition of their birthday or work anniversary means a lot. Your employee feels valued, acknowledged and appreciated. I have witnessed firsthand the effect of a manager coming in one day and thanking an employee for their past 3 years of service. The employee was blown away and couldn’t believe that the manager was that invested in them.

7. Provide impromptu break time– nothing breaks up the monotony of a workday Wednesday in the middle of February like a manager “sponsored” break. Bring in a box of donuts or some other treat for staff. Encourage a 10 mins coffee/donut break as a team for no reason other than to talk (read – team build). It isn’t to “reward” them for something; it is just to show that you care as a manager.

8. Walk around more – no, not outside on your lunch (although that might quality as a personal resolution!) I am talking about walking around your office floor, production shop, etc. Meaning, take the time to walk around at various times and see what is going on with your employees. Chat them up about their work, work challenges/successes, etc. You will be amazed how much respect you gain by doing this and how much your employees are willing to share when this becomes part of your daily/weekly routine.

9. Remember the details – about your employees’ personal lives. I am not suggesting you need to know every little detail, especially if you have a staff of 50; however, remembering little things like spouses names (or even that they have a spouse), children’s names (or even that they have children), life events (1st day of school, graduations, etc.) or personal achievements (obtained their black belt in karate) shows that you are invested in your employees and they are integral to the team. It shows that you don’t view them as an employee number, or another performance review you have to do. They have a face, a name and a LIFE.

10. Be a LEADER not just a manager – by resolving to do things differently (i.e. follow these resolutions), leading by example, focusing on engaging your employees and accomplishing work successes through your people you are on your way to becoming a better leader. By working with your people and through your people you are becoming a true leader. Managers direct people in order to achieve daily/weekly/monthly outcomes. Leaders focus on engaging their people in the bigger picture/greater cause. They provide a vision and show their employees how they contribute to the organization as a whole. Leaders are sincere individuals who build trust and rapport with employees and effectively engage them in their work efforts.

So what do you think?  None of these are too challenging……right!?  Is there a way that you can incorporate at least one thing on this list into your management practice?  I believe that you will find that once you make one of these resolutions a “habit”, it then becomes part of your managerial DNA. To that extent, I wish you all the best for the holiday season and a prosperous New Year!

Image courtesy of sdmania/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

LinkedIn: Connection Tip Etiquette

LinkedIn is a powerful tool – no kidding huh!? It seems like every day/week/month there are different ways to enhance and expand your online presence with LinkedIn. Whether it is LinkedIn groups, the ability to make (and receive) recommendations or simply being able to follow industry subject matter experts, there are an abundance of ways to obtain value from being on LinkedIn. I have been on LinkedIn for several years and have made many valuable business connections during this time. I have also had the chance to participate in group discussions, share information with colleagues, meet new people (virtually) from around the globe and connect to professionals from many different industries and professions. To that extent, I feel that there is a certain level of (business) etiquette that should be displayed when utilizing LinkedIn. Therefore, in order to more effectively expand your network and grow your valuable connections, I want to provide you with some basic LinkedIn connection etiquette tips that I have gleaned from my years using LinkedIn.

1. John Doe indicates that you are a Friend – When reaching out to someone, especially if you have never had contact with them before, you should provide a frame of reference or a brief note in your connection request. There is nothing worse than receiving a connection request from someone you don’t know with this message, especially when I have never spoken with or met John Doe before. Take the time to use InMail if you have a premium account and send a personal note with why you want to connect and what you see as the benefit to both of you in connecting. If you don’t have InMail and you are not connected via groups, than the “Friend” option might be the only lead in, but then all the more reason to personalize the note that you send to the person with whom you wish to connect.  I am not saying to write two pages, but 2-3 well-crafted sentences like, “I came across your profile on LinkedIn the other day when I was searching for blogs on xyx topic. I was interested in the ideas you had to present and would like to connect on LinkedIn as we both blog about abc and may be able to share some ideas.”

2. The Power of LinkedIn Groups – before trying to make a connection, you should check to see if you are members of a shared group. Part of the power of LinkedIn groups is that it more easily allows you to make connections with professionals in that same group. In your connection request list, simply select that you are part of the same group and provide a 2-3 sentence intro on why you would like to connect. This way, the person you are looking to connect with receives an email that looks like this, “Jane Doe indicates that you are a fellow member of the Business Persons of Canada group.” You should then follow this with a personal note such as, “Hi Sue, I was reading an article on the Business Persons of Canada group the other day that you posted and found it very informative. As we both work in the same industry, I was hoping you would be open to connecting on LinkedIn.” I have used this approach many times and I am batting almost 1.000 with this approach as the other person almost always accepts my invite request.

3. “I’d like to add you to my professional network.” – This one is my personal pet peeve.  If you don’t follow tip # 1 or tip #2, this is the other message that the person receives. Warm and friendly huh? It is important to have a goal or purpose while on LinkedIn. When you blast out a bunch of connection requests with this canned message it looks like you are trying to collect a bunch of baseball cards in the hope that one or two might turn out to be that elusive Honus Wagner card. (In other words, you portray the image that you are trying to pad your connection database in the hopes that there might be a payoff for with your connections, whether it be a job, a sale, etc.)  It can be very off-putting for the recipient to receive this message as it makes the connection request very one-sided. I have heard the following analogy used before: Let’s say you were at a networking event at your local Chamber of Commerce (remember – LinkedIn is a virtual chamber of commerce) and you simply walked up to someone and handed them your business card and said “Let’s connect!” How weird would that be? So why do we do it online? Provide the intro and a brief reason for why you want to connect and the other party will almost always reciprocate. Remember, LinkedIn is social media….hence the need to be “social!”  Networking on LinkedIn is a two-way street – you have to give to receive.
4. Respond to Group Comments – I mentioned before about the power of LinkedIn groups. Part of the beauty of LinkedIn is how easy it is to interact in LinkedIn groups. You can ask questions, answer questions, provide advice, post articles and information, etc. A huge part of the give and receive process of LinkedIn is having other professionals comment on something you posted – whether it is an article, advice or an answer to a question. I recommend, and I personally make it a point, to respond to each and every comment that someone makes when they respond to something I posted in a LinkedIn group. I have had some great virtual discussions this way and have made some great connections. At the very least, I recommend that you thank the other person for taking the time to read and comment on whatever it is you posted. Remember, it is called social media for a reason!

These etiquette suggestions are meant to provide a bit of direction and guidance to help you expand your online presence and leverage the power of LinkedIn. By following some of these tips, you may find your network increasing at a rapid rate and you will also be giving and receiving greater value while utilizing LinkedIn.  I also look forward to receiving your personal LinkedIn invite to connect – if we haven’t already!

Photo credit: Sheila Scarborough

Recognition Programs, Engagement & the Bottom Line

Recognition Programs Improve Engagement and the Organization’s Bottom Line

SHRM and Globoforce released their twice yearly survey on November 15th. The topic of this survey happened to be one of my favorites – recognition programs. The results of this survey indicate that recognition programs continue to consistently improve engagement. This comes as no surprise, when tracked, the success rate of recognition programs is generally high. 82% of survey respondents said their recognition program has improved employee engagement. That’s huge! As we all know, engagement is something that every company struggles with from time to time, and it’s a hard battle. There’s no easy, spelled-out way to keep employees engaged and productive. Recognition programs serve as a tool to help in the
battle of engagement. A rewarding atmosphere should be part of your organization’s core culture, no program alone will help instill that.

Only 54% of participants reported that their recognition program had helped retain employees.  While that number could certainly be higher, over half is still very significant. Increasing retention would be a great way for recognition programs to prove their fiscal worth.  Engagement is great, and can lead to better productivity, but all of this is far less tangible than retention. Perhaps the results would be better if the retainment levels had actually been tracked, as opposed to asking HR pros whether or not they thought the programs helped retain employees. That’s a fairly subjective approach, so it’s hard to say what the less than half (49%) of those who responded to the survey said that it helped the companies financial bottom line.

There’s a huge disconnect between people who think recognition helps with engagement (82%,) and those who think it helps with finances(49%.) In all honesty, I am a little bewildered by this. We all struggle to keep employees engaged, because engaged employees tend to work harder and be more productive, right? And more productive employees are more profitable employees, right? So how can there be a 33% gap in people who think recognition programs help with engagement, and people who think they help the companies’ finances? Perhaps I am mistaken, but I think some HR executives may need to realize engagement and profit are correlated.

 Recognition programs are a good idea, period. Surveys like these continue to prove that they are effective in improving employee loyalty. Everyone likes to feel that their hard work is appreciated and noticed, otherwise, what’s the point? Scott was right when he said that recognition needs to be in your organization’s DNA in order for it’s results to be successful. So don’t just get a program, get with it! Start letting your employees know how much their hard work and dedication means to you.

Today’s guest blog post was from Emily Manke.  Emily is an Outreach Coordinator at onlinehumanresources.net. You can read her regular blog here.

Image courtesy of jscreationzs/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Performance (Review) Anxiety

In a blog post from Oct of this year, I blogged about how to prepare for the performance review process from the managerial side of things. For this post, I thought it would be helpful to provide some insight from the employee side of things as you prepare to have your performance review with your manager. Many organizations give their employees the opportunity to do a “self-appraisal” that they can then provide to their manager prior to their performance review being conducted. This is a great opportunity for you to provide some perspective to your manager on all the great and wonderful things that you have done throughout the year. ….and believe me, there are going to be some things that your manager has forgotten about. The “recency effect” comes in to play all too often during this process. That is, whatever you did (or didn’t do) in the last 3-4 months is often what your manager will remember and is what finds its way onto your performance review and ultimately your final rating. For those organizations that have a merit or performance based compensation system, your performance review rating will also have a financial impact on your salary/wage so it is in your best interest to prepare for this meeting in earnest.

Now I know there are many folks out there who view completing the self-appraisal as a make work project. They don’t believe that it affects anything or that the manager even looks at it. If you feel this is the case, than you might have greater issues with your job/manager/company than just a performance assessment and I probably can’t convince you that the self-appraisal will add any value. For those of you still reading, here is a list of suggestions to follow that will allow you to realize a productive performance review meeting with your manager and set you up for success moving forward:

1. Prepare – make sure you complete your self –appraisal. You will be surprised at just how much a well prepared and well documented self-appraisal can impact your performance meeting. For managers that did a lousy job documenting/recognizing your accomplishments, this is your opportunity to be the best player agent you can be. Sing out about your accomplishments, the great projects you worked on and the fantastic results you realized. Document how your support of the corporate values increased sales, customer satisfaction, etc. Show how your brilliance in negotiation realized the company a 15% savings on its office supplies…..you get the picture. You HAVE to document and now is not the time to be modest. I am not saying to lie – that is going to have its own consequences, but don’t be afraid to toot your own horn (as long as it is backed up with facts/results.)

2. Take ownership – of your career path and your development plan. If you want to be in charge of the toaster making department, say so. Identify what you are willing to do to get there. If you know you need some training in finance or another area, identify and ask for it on your performance review as part of your development plan. If you require more coaching and support from you manager in order to get there, than ask for it. If you need him/her to introduce you to another manager in the company to help with your development – than ask for it. If you need a mentor – ask for it…you get the picture. Remember, your manager’s main interest is in making sure you are trained and competent in your current job, not another job, so you will need to take the reins on this one.

3. Know what time(s) work best – this is a bit of a judgment call, but you need to know your manager a bit. Are they a morning person? If so, try to schedule your review for early in the morning – say 9am, once they have had a chance to check their email and have a coffee. Don’t get that performance meeting right after lunch or last in the day – the attention span just won’t be there. Remember, you owe it to yourself to have a productive meeting; subtle things like picking the right time of day can really help you. Also, work with your manager to make sure it is in a quiet area (preferably an office with a closed door) so neither of you will be interrupted.

4. Remove job obstacles – one of the indicators of a productive performance meeting is when you and your manager can talk about obstacles to your success. If there is a process or constraint that is prohibiting you from moving from “Meets Expectations” to” Exceeds Expectations,” identify what it is and ask your manager’s help in removing it. (This doesn’t work if the obstacle IS your manager…..sorry.)

5. Set yourself up for next year – going into the meeting you should also identify your goals and action plans for the next performance cycle. Get in the driver’s seat; don’t wait for your manager to tell you what you should be focusing on. Take the initiative (they will appreciate it) and identify how you plan to add greater value in your role and excel/exceed. This shows your manager that you have made the connection between what you do and how it impacts the bottom line of the business.

These are but a handful of helpful hints (H3) that will help you out during your preparation and planning and ultimately your actual performance meeting during the performance review cycle. Take ownership of your review and don’t assume anything (i.e. that your manager will ‘remember’, everything etc.) Check some of your natural modesty at the door when preparing for the meeting. I wish you the best of luck and as always, I welcome your comments and feedback.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

New Year Goals & Resolutions – HR style!

(A.k.a. Avoiding Goal Hangover Syndrome – GHS)

Hard to believe it is getting to be that time of year where we are all knee deep in strategic planning and are working on our goals and objectives for 2013. Like most of you, I am not sure where 2012 went (or for that matter, 2011, 2010, etc.) We are currently finished our business planning and are now putting the final touches on our strategic HR plan and finalizing our dept. goals/objectives/initiatives for next year. Traditionally at this time of year, I always take look back to reflect on what the team accomplished vs. what we said we would do. It seems like year over year the team delivers on our commitments and provides organizational value in the face of constant change and ever changing environmental factors. Yet, when I reflect back, I always feel such a sense of pride in my team(s) but a sense of personal dissatisfaction or let down with myself. Perhaps that is part of the inherent inferiority complex that many HR professionals (myself included) tend to have?

There are always those goals and initiatives that were set a year ago that I was sure I/we would accomplish the following year. I was convinced they would add great value to our organization. They would elevate our Talent Acquisition and Retention goals. We would BE that employer of choice. Our managers would be developed into leaders. Our succession plans would be fully implemented and performance management would be a well-oiled machine. To be perfectly objective, and to a certain extent, many positive steps were taken towards achieving these end results. However, as I tend to do every year, I set these lofty goals and objectives for myself and my team and then feel melancholy at the end of the year when not everything was completed. Why do I do this every year? Why do we as HR professionals tend to do this to ourselves? We are our own worst enemies. We literally set ourselves up for failure by shooting for the moon every year and then feel let down when we “only” reached the sky!

Now, I am not suggesting at all that we lower the bar on our expectations of what we can and should do as HR professionals. I think that personally I tend to not account enough for all the external factors and organizational change elements that come up during the year that HR must devote its resources and time towards addressing. What comes to mind, and most notably, is the direct support we give to our managers and operations partners in the areas of employee relations, training, etc. that just happen to “crop up” because, well, we are in the people business! Reflecting back again, I think the other reason, as HR professionals, we tend to set all these lofty goals and objectives is because we are so passionate about what we do. Many of the HR professionals I have had the privilege of meeting, working with/for and leading, tend to be very passionate about their profession. We (HR) are a well-read group who keep up to date on our industry and professional trends. The best HR business partners are well skilled at identifying organizational gaps and applying HR business solutions towards solving these problems. We get very ambitious about how we want to support our businesses because we see so much opportunity to add value at every turn.

So, having said that, what is my plan to avoid that end of year goal “hangover” feeling? Simple, I am going to go back to basics and feel good that there is nothing wrong with doing that! This year, when finalizing our goals and objectives, instead of trying to address all organizational gaps, challenges and opportunities in 12 months, I am going to focus on 2-3 areas that I believe, if addressed, will add the greatest organizational value and IMPACT. (Less IS more!) The HR goals and objectives that are set will directly address these 2-3 specific areas and provide an immediate (in that year) impact to the business. The goals and objectives will (have to) align with the overall HR strategy (mid and long term) which of course aligns with the business strategy. However, by taking into consideration what needs to done along with what myself and my team can do, we will set ourselves up for a great year and deliver greater value to our clients. This way, I am convinced that at the end of 2013, when I look back on the year that was, I will NOT have goal hangover syndrome (GHS). Instead, I will genuinely feel great about all that we accomplished in the year and look forward to greater things for the following year.

The more I think about it, the more sense it makes. I mean, really, if in one year we did all those things I mentioned before (employer of choice, managers developed into leaders, succession plans fully implemented, workforce planning fully functioning and performance management is a well-oiled machine) we would not be needed anymore as HR professionals, or it would be time for me to write my first book! Now say it with me, “Less IS more,” “Less IS more,” “Less IS more.” What about you? Do you ever experience goal hangover syndrome (GHS)? How are you going to avoid it in 2013? As always, I welcome your comments and feedback.

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

5 Ways to Bring your Employee Survey to Life

For many HR and Management professionals we will soon be turning our attention to preparing and delivering our annual employee surveys. (a.k.a. the employee “engagement” survey). This is the process where employers ask their employees to rate/comment on all things related to the company and where they pledge to “fix” items that employees rate low. For many organizations, the true challenge becomes trying to sustain activities related to the survey. The worse thing that you can possibly do is survey your employee population and then fail to communicate back to your staff on what they told you and what you are going to do to address any gaps.

The employee survey can, and often is, a great measuring stick (at the very least, a temperature check) on where your employees stand with your organization. Hopefully you have established an environment of trust where employees will honestly rate the factors you wish to measure and will provide candid commentary on what is working and what can be approved. To that extent, here are some suggestions on how to bring your survey to life and provide value to your organization through the survey efforts:

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate – identify the best channels through which your organization communicates to its employees. Then, provide them with the details about the survey. Tell your employees when they will be surveyed, in what form the survey will take place (paper, electronic, etc.), how long it will be open for and most importantly – why you are surveying and what you will do with the results. Communicate via your intranet site, email, department meetings, 1:1 coaching sessions, etc. Your managers should be your survey champions to aid in this communication process. Once you have the survey results back, make sure you communicate these results back to your staff. Whatever you do, do NOT keep them a big mystery. There is nothing worse than organizations that survey their staff and then tell them NOTHING afterwards about the results. It leaves staff wondering, “wow, were the results so bad they don’t even want to reveal them?” (This may or may not even be factual!)

2. Formulate your action plan (in a timely manner) – once you have the results do not delay in communicating (per point #1), but just as important, do not delay in formulating your action plan to address survey gaps. You should identify 2-3 key areas to address and formulate your plans around those areas. Identify what gaps cause your organization the most heartburn and focus on those. If your gap is around communication focus on that. Perhaps your gap is more around proper employee recognition, if so, focus on that area. Most of all, as a leadership team, you need to WANT to address/fix these gaps because they are important to you and your company and they align with your values.

3. Solicit more info from your employees – part of the solution in addressing survey gaps is to gather more information from your employees. Whether you call them focus groups or something else, getting a cross section of employees together to gather supporting information will help solidify your action plans and ensure that they are aligned with what your employees are telling you and that they address root cause issues. Many times I have found that the really important information comes out in the employee comment sections of the survey and/or during these employee open forum meetings. Many clarifying points and discussion items come out of candid conversation with your staff and most importantly, it is NEVER a bad thing to talk to your employees!

4. Establish an employee survey action team – the key point here is that through some democratic process, a team of employee and management representatives meet on a regular basis (e.g. monthly) to discuss the survey action items, measure progress against the action items and the gaps they are addressing and provide feedback into future plans. This sends the message to your employees that the survey is an important event and needs to be continually discussed, action plans tweaked and progress communicated. It also ensures that the feedback loop (which includes observations, impacts and agreements) remains a focus. Typically survey action teams have a goal of providing feedback to the senior leadership team on progress against survey initiatives, thus ensuring an alignment between the survey results and what is being addressed. In the same matter, if also ensure an alignment between what the employees have told the leadership team and what the leadership has chosen to address because it is important to both parties.

5. Make the survey a standing agenda item – whether it is at Sr. leadership meetings, departmental meetings or employee town hall meetings, the survey (and its related action items) should be a standing agenda item. Staff at all levels should be versed in the results, the action items and what is being done to address them. This is a key way to bring the survey and its initiatives to life, to sustain the activities related to the survey and to make sure that you are moving from an event driven environment to one of continuous improvement. If the focus (cultural DNA) remains focused on addressing employee engagement and staff and managers are always focused on improving this area, the frequency of your official surveys may change as you will now have the pulse of the organization.

I encourage you to take into consideration these items as you roll out your next employee survey. You may find one or two items helpful as you focus on your own organization and addressing gaps that come out of your survey. As always, I welcome your feedback and comments.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net