Category Archives: Social Media

The Power of Revenue Generation for Managers

Posted on January 16, 2013 | 1 Comment

When it comes to doing business, every place is different, even from location to location. And yet, there are aspects that are the same in all businesses.

These basic commonalities come to life in the idea of the Power of 3:

  • Revenue Generation
  • Business Processes
  • People

In our everyday vernacular, “revenue” is the top-line for location sales. The more formal definition is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. And for managers everywhere, this is the frequently checked indicator of their success or failure.

Revenue is a key indicator of business performance; it allows the manager and owner to keep a pulse on where they are headed, what is working and what to watch out for. Adding the cost of revenue completes the picture.

To maximize revenue, successful companies create objectives to drive the right behaviors in their business.  In the Power of 3 these are:

•              Customer Acquisition – attracting new customers

•              Customer Satisfaction – keeping the loyal customers coming back

•              Customer Profitability – making more money on each customer or transaction

According to Guarraia, Carey, Corbett and Neuhaus in “Lean Six Sigma for the Services Industry”, research shows companies that apply an upfront diagnostic to identify critical opportunities yield the biggest gains.

Revenue grows when you analyze the business and identify the biggest opportunities to increase profits, set performance goals as measured against internal and external benchmarks and prioritize areas of improvement and opportunities to yield the greatest economic benefit.

I am reminded of a client who owned a high-volume restaurant within a casino hotel.

To increase revenue, we first, diagnosed the operation and  all agreed we needed a strategy with tactics to increase the customer per person average check (PPA). That was more important than attracting new customers. Why?  Their average spend per customer was well below their competitive set.

By re-engineering their menu and adjusting prices on new menu items to match their competitors they could increase their PPA 10.08%. In addition, they eliminated a “loss leader” breakfast special resulting in lost customers. This was by design – the special was a lot of work for the staff with limited return.

After executing a comprehensive plan against  the Customer Profitability component of P3, the restaurant  exceeded their revenue goal while sustaining a modest customer count decrease. Success!

Examples of other tactics that could be employed include:

1. Customer Acquisition – Differentiation by distinguishing core offerings from the competition and the use of technology and social media to raise awareness

2. Customer Satisfaction – Innovation by enhancing the customer experience through raising loyalty and creating repeat visits

3. Customer Profitability – Adaptation by using deals and pricing while maintaining a value perception, allowing for greater per transaction or sales margins

By executing the Power of 3, companies and their management teams can compete for new customers, improve the customer experience and enhance the customer value perception. These companies benefit greatly by being on the right road to achieving greater revenue.

By, Debra Koenig, President of B2A Consulting | 30 years of experience as a  business executive with leadership and consulting skills in Fortune 500 and private equity portfolio companies.

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“There is a better way to do it – find it.” – Thomas Edison

Posted on January 9, 2013 | 1 Comment

Is the digital or the mobile age focused on doing it a better way?  Technology has improved things in so many ways, but in so many ways it has made our lives more difficult. Regardless, technology is changing so rapidly and is doing such amazing things that we all need to get on the wagon or get left behind.

Michael Porter, the leading authority in strategic planning, states the companies that become best-in-class at fulfilling a particular market niche are the companies that achieve the highest ROI.  In Joan Magretta’s book, “Understanding Michael Porter”, she points out how companies like IKEA, Nucor, Walmart and even McDonald’s found a niche, leveraged that niche and became the unrivaled leader serving that niche.

As companies enter into the technology race, one of their biggest challenges is staying true to why their customers buy from them.  Technology can be very cool, however there is a cost to all the features. If all of the cool additional features you are adding to your products or services aren’t the reason your customer buys from you, then you are just wasting money.  Ultimately you could be losing market share because you are no longer competitive in the areas most important to your customers. Technology can also be overwhelming to us average users.  Sure, we may think we want to experience all of the cool stuff that is available but if it is more difficult or clutters up the original value of using it, then we put it aside altogether. The beauty of many of the Apple products from the iPod to the iPad is the initial ease-of-use and clear simplicity to consume exactly what the user wants.

I speak to this because at my company, Red Book Solutions, we are on the cusp of a major, innovative shift in how our flagship product can be consumed. We are well down the road in developing our mobile/digital application of The Manager’s Red Book.  We purposely delayed this next step because technology just wasn’t in a position to deliver a viable product that could offer the services we believe were core to why people bought from us—until now.  We believe our core value proposition is delivering a tool that helps managers get organized and fully prepared for their day so they can achieve higher levels of profitability in their business or location. The key to why corporations, franchisors, franchisees, location managers and owners buy is that the tools are all about them focusing on their way of doing business. Our 100,000 clients want full customization that is kept current and fresh and is delivered at a price that does not dent their wallets.

Moreover, our product couldn’t be tied down to a clunky machine, it had to be on the move with our managers like it is today. We needed to wait until technology truly became mobile without interruption. We believe a mobile/digital application must not only deliver these core areas but should be robust enough to evolve to continuously make it better.  The Manager’s Red Book has always been a plug-and-play solution. Our mobile/digital solution will be plug-and-play as well. We believe this is critical because most multi-unit location operators do not have the bandwidth to add another extensive training session to their managers’ already overloaded plates.  They need help and results now. We are excited that technology is going to allow us to build the right tool that is even greater at making good managers better.

So technology is pushing us this direction.  What direction is it pushing you?  Porter might suggest that you determine why your customers buy from you and make sure the new ideas you implement are consistent with making this experience best-in-class in your clients’ eyes, not just yours. Don’t spend your time chasing the shiny new gadget or toy that your customers don’t really want.  As Cam Lanier, the CEO of Instawares Holding Company once said to me, “Don’t make dog food the dogs won’t eat!”

By Greg Thiesen, President and CEO, Red Book Solutions and B2A – Over 30 years of experience in various areas – President and CEO of  Red Book Solutions and B2A, Turnaround Specialist with Doering and Eastwood, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer for a major division of Conagra, Inc. and Senior Manager and a Certified Public Accountant with Ernst and Young.

Learn more about the upcoming digital solution and all the changes happening at Red Book in the New Year in this new press release.

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Negotiation Skills that Make Good Managers Better

Posted on November 14, 2012 | Leave a comment

Negotiating and the “Art of the Deal” are not new. We do this every day in multiple ways, from arranging services for our homes to renegotiating a business lease.

Recently, this subject has increased in popular attention. One example is the new television
show “Market Warriors” where four experts are given money to purchase items at antique markets, presumably for a steal, and then try to resell them for a profit. Another is that there are an increasing number of experts lending their voices to this hot topic.

Last week I attended the International Franchise Association’s Executive Leadership Conference and had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Victoria Medvec, a Professor at the Kellogg School and a prominent lecturer. She has developed a 10 step process that covers familiar ground but with added new tactics I found especially interesting.

Negotiation is a two-phase process beginning with Preparation and proceeding to Execution. Dr .Medvec repeatedly emphasized the importance of work done in advance of the actual face-to-face exchange.  It’s vital to have clear ideas about both your position and that of the person you are negotiating with. You may be familiar with the process of making detailed lists of the desires you have and concessions you are willing to make, and then weighting them by what’s most and least important to both parties.  Do your homework.

In all cases, there are several issues that should be considered for both parties.  It’s helpful to develop scenarios and then rank them. This involves understanding the extremes – most wanted and least acceptable. Find the BATNA for each side. BATNA refers to the “best alternative to a negotiated agreement.” The other end of the continuum, Reservation Point, is at what point in the discussion you are willing to “walk away”– meaning it’s not worthwhile to continue as there are no longer any benefits to you. At the end of this phase you should have at least four benchmarks, BATNAs and Reservation Points for both parties.

Now it is on to execution. There are several strategies to help you attain a favorable deal.

The first tip is to include several items in a package to improve the possibility for trade-offs and a more complete, acceptable deal.  Having more options in the mix enhances the chance for a deal because you have more potential for contingencies and space to negotiate.

A second tip is called the Anchoring Move.  There are mixed opinions about this strategy but I tend to agree with Dr. Medvec.  This involves which side goes first to make their initial offer or proposal.  Some argue that this is a weak play because it divulges your position too early and you might be forced to make further concessions. To the contrary, you should present a position built upon a thoroughly explained and detailed rationale.  This method creates a centering “anchor” for the entire discussion, rather than a starting point and a downward spiral. Indeed, “he or she who makes the first offer wins.”

A third tactic is called Concession Room.  It builds on the previous two points. When you develop a package proposal, it is advantageous to include items that vary in importance. Some will be essential to the discussion, while others could be “throw-ins.” As a result, your “package” presents you with more opportunities to be flexible and enhance your outcome. For example, in negotiations it is common to request more than you really expect to get—your BATNA. Some situations lend themselves to making outrageous demands with your Concession Room, or BATNA, as your fall back. Concessions are regarded favorably and encourage others to feel as though they are winning.

So what’s really the “art of the deal?” The answer, quite simply, is that it is a process that has two important phases. To avoid haggling or a stalemate, do your homework and follow the tips on execution. You’ll find yourself more often than not in the winner’s circle to the key issues that matter to you.

By, Debra Koenig, President of B2A Consulting | 30 years of experience as a  business executive with leadership and consulting skills in Fortune 500 and private equity portfolio companies.

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It’ll Be Remembered Longer On Paper

Posted on November 7, 2012 | 2 Comments

Paper lasts the test of time. We have printed documents dating back over two millennial that can still be read and enjoyed today. No system upgrades or hard drive crashes can prevent us from going to a museum and seeing the original Dead Sea Scrolls or Vitruvian Man.   But the timelessness of paper is not reserved for the world’s great masterpieces.  It can be just as important – and practical – for management tools, instruction manuals and employee communications.

Lessons they won’t forget

Let’s face it, you can provide the best training in the world, but if your team doesn’t understand and retain the core concepts or policies, you’ve wasted your time and your investment.

Online programs are one effective training method and can be rolled out to a large workforce simultaneously.  In-person sessions, aided by PowerPoint or other electronic presentation tools are also good ways of getting a message across.  But once your people walk out the door, how sure can you be that they’ve really absorbed your key messages or that they’ll remember them when they need them?

As handy as it can be to have a website with your programs and policies, it’s not always easy to stop what you’re doing, boot up the computer and start searching for an online reference.  This is especially true for managers and employees in retail contexts or for sales forces that are regularly on the road and may not always have easy web access.

Providing after-training materials in a print format is one way to ensure that your team always has important information on hand.  Personally, I often find it easier to flip open a manual, run my finger down the table of contents and find the info I need or quickly refer to a “cheat sheet”.  Many experts will also tell you that it’s not only easier to navigate a printed document but that we actually learn better from print than we do from something on-screen.

Some of these experts argue that it’s because print carries a certain “authority” compared to online information, which makes our brain take it more seriously.  Others attribute it to the ease of navigation of a paper report compared to scrolling (as per my point above).  And yet others say there is a cognitive link between understanding and the physical nature of the printed word.  Whatever the case, the effectiveness of print is something to keep in mind when considering the best method to deliver your important messaging.

Keeping track of your day

When you’re a busy manager, you have a lot to remember.  Every day, we juggle meetings with our staff, bosses, consultants or new customers, not to mention retain a slew of family and private commitments.  The arrival of the electronic scheduler has been a boon in many ways, but it’s also given other people access to our calendars.  How many of us get up in the morning believing we have a relatively free day, only to get to the office and find out we’ve been booked with wall to wall meetings?

A lot of people, myself included, end up printing out their schedule and carrying it around with them to ensure they can keep track of where they need to be, when and with whom.  We often don’t have the opportunity to get back to our desk for hours to check our calendar.  And as much as I love the convenience of my handheld, it’s a lot more subtle sneaking a glance at my printed schedule in a folder than scrolling down its mini-screen to figure out where I have to be next.  Plus, I can just recycle my printed sheet at the end of the day!

A few things worth remembering

So despite my appreciation for the wonders of digital communication, paper continues to play a very important and practical part in my daily role as a manager – whether I’m at a training session, at the office or on the road.  Interestingly, I’ve learned that there may be some science behind my faith in the power of print.

Here are some examples of the thought-provoking conclusions surrounding the power of print to facilitate understanding and information recall.

  • Paper is a better tool for fully assimilating information because you read “more deeply” in print.  This has been attributed to factors such as the ease and speed of visually/spatially locating content on a printed page compared to a screen and the distractions of reading online.
  • Paper matters.  The feeling of literally being in touch with the text is lost when your actions – clicking with the mouse, pointing on touch screens, or scrolling with keys or on touch pads – takes place at a distance from the digital text, which is somehow, somewhere inside the computer, the e-book or the mobile phone.  Less focus speaks to a lack of full understanding and compromises long-term retention of information.
  • Paper is friendly. In a survey of MBA students, 75-80% said that they would not recommend an e-reader for in-class learning because it was too rigid for use in the fast-paced classroom environment.  They noted that you can’t move between pages, documents, charts and graphs easily enough compared to the paper alternatives.  They also pointed out that it’s harder to go back and refer to e-materials later in case you forget a detail.
  • Paper is permanent and portable.  In a very literal and physical sense, paper lasts.  While technology evolves at a dizzying rate, you can keep a printed manual or fact sheet as long as you want and carry it with you just about anywhere.  Plus, it can be easily recycled once it’s served its purpose, which isn’t the case with a lot of electronics.

Based on this work of researchers from around the world – not to mention my own personal experience – I like to draw a parallel between the relative permanence of paper and the longevity of the memories we keep.  While the screen is by nature more temporary, paper can leave a truly lasting impression on your team.

By guest blogger Kathy Wholley | Director of Advertising & Communications at Domtar. In this role, she is responsible for the marketing communications and advertising functions of Domtar’s pulp & paper business.  Additionally, she manages environmental communications on behalf of the business, which includes the Domtar EarthChoice® brand.  Kathy is also responsible for Domtar’s paper advocacy campaign known as “Paper Because”, which was launched in 2010 and was meant to demonstrate paper’s value to businesses and people that use paper every day. Kathy has 21 years of experience in the paper industry in a variety of sales and marketing positions with Willamette Industries, Weyerhaeuser and Domtar. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Clemson University.

Kathy is an experienced manager who also heads Domtar’s Paper Because initiative which highlights the key role paper plays in our lives and the reasons why it’s an environmentally sound choice.

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What makes a manager NAUGHTY or NICE?

Posted on October 31, 2012 | 2 Comments

As we look ahead to planning for successes in the New Year, and reflect on our shortcomings from this year, it’s important to consider what makes us naughty or nice as managers. Is it the time and attention we pay to employee retention and training? Is it the way we setup our operations to be organized and compliant within our select industries? Or maybe, it’s simply how we strive to evolve as managers and as human beings.

“Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.” –John Maxwell

With that in mind, let’s refocus during this final stretch of the year on our potential and what we can do to feed it and help it grow. Among my many personal goals as the year wraps up is to give re-energized concentration to the important items on my list and let the rest go. This one goal has continued to challenge me throughout this past year, as projects come and go that test my resolve to focus on the primary goals of my position and not get sidetracked for too long. My resolution for this last leg of the year is to give my absolute attention to the long-term goals that I believe will bring me the most success in the New Year. If you stop to think about where you are in your goals for the year, what should you focus on before the clock tolls 2013?

Now you may be wondering, “Where will I start?” PRACTICE THE ONE-A-DAY PRINCIPLE. You can’t please everybody all the time but you can do something extraordinary for one person each day (and maybe that person is yourself!).“Find a customer, colleague, relative or friend each day and do something remarkable. Using the one-a-day principle will make your business and life remarkable.”—Mark Sanborn, leadership development speaker and author of the best-selling book The Encore Effect.

Next, start prepping for the New Year – GET ORGANIZED! If disorder has been plaguing your progress this year, now is the time for fall cleaning. Instead of spring cleaning when you’re wiping away cob webs and dusting dark corners, fall cleaning should focus on aligning processes and tasks you attack regularly with a system that can help you stay on top of them. For the managers who utilize the Manager’s Red Book or its companion products, that system may already be in place, but there is always room for improvement.

Finally, STOP USING THE “BAD THING” LABEL. Whenever something happens that is not in line with our desires it’s okay to be disappointed. What we need to stop doing is labeling it a “bad thing” because usually, failures breed your next big success. This is how we learn and grow. “When Greyston Bakery filled its first order for brownies for Ben & Jerry’s, the thin brownie sheets stuck together in 50-pound lumps and could not be separated. You could certainly label this a “bad thing.” But Ben pondered what to do and ultimately Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream was born— one of Ben & Jerry’s most popular products. So don’t stick “bad thing” on whatever happens to you that you don’t like initially. Who knows, that may be the very thing that you need to break out into a brilliant new future.” —Srikumar Rao, professor teaching personal mastery and the best-selling author of Are You Ready to Succeed?

The bottom lines is, prepare to excel next year by taking stock of this year and then charge forward. I keep asking myself: What battles did I fight and not win this year? Are any of those battles worth continuing? Why didn’t I win them and what can I do to win them next year? When you find the answers to these questions, you are ready to face a new year – tougher, smarter and stronger than ever before. See you on the other side!

SPECIAL NOTE: To help managers meet their goals for a brighter New Year, we’ve launched a promotion that offers opportunities to win great prizes just for trying a new Red Book product or adding a new location. Learn more at www.bettermanagers.com/naughtyornice – the contest deadline is December 31st and there are multiple ways to participate to get extra entries into the prize drawing.

By, Danielle Lafontaine, Marketing Communications Manager, Red Book Solutions | 5 Years – Digital & Traditional Marketing Copywriter with Ad Agency and Corporate Marketing Experience | Social Media Guru & Community Builder with B2B and B2C Chops

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New Hiring Pitfalls to Watch Out For

Posted on October 24, 2012 | 2 Comments

With the approaching holiday season, organizations may be looking to add staff.  Unless you’re new to your job, you’ve probably done some interviewing and hiring and may be comfortable with your processes and ability to bring in new staff.

As with all processes, it never hurts to review them to be sure they are current, effective and comply with any changed regulatory conditions. Recent trends may cause you to reconsider some of the ways you conduct your interviewing and hiring activities.

Resume fraud: If candidates for high profile positions like the CEO of Yahoo or the head football coach at Notre Dame University do it, you can bet lots of others embellish their resumes (or outright lie!).  Statistics vary but you can assume that some percentage of candidates have created resumes or provided applications with:

  • Information that is misleading
    • Claims of false degrees
    • Altered employment dates
    • Inaccurate job descriptions
    • Inflated salary claims
    • Falsified references

Take the time to verify employment and educational credentials if they are required qualifications for the position.  Ask interview questions to uncover places where a candidate might have stretched the truth.

Interview questions: Although you may be an expert in what’s legal to ask and what might open you up to claims of employment discrimination, be sure you’ve trained anyone else who interviews for you about what can and can’t be discussed in an interview. It may be tempting to break the ice with questions about family or other interests, but if the conversation reveals protected information (even if volunteered by the candidate), it can come back to bite you.  Keep all questions job-related to be safe.

Social media information: After it got a lot of bad press a couple years ago, I doubt anyone is requiring candidates to reveal their Facebook passwords so the prospective employer can check them out, but it isn’t uncommon these days for hiring managers to check out candidates on Google, Facebook or LinkedIn.  Savvy candidates know enough to scrub their profiles for any information that may harm their chances for future employment, but they might not remember to remove information about groups they may belong to – religious, health, political or social information that may be protected under Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines and may not be appropriate for prospective employers to consider in making hiring decisions.

I don’t generally check out Facebook, but I do look at LinkedIn for some positions and usually Google the companies a candidate has worked for.  I discovered that one candidate’s most recent employer was part of Colorado’s legal medical marijuana industry.  I didn’t make an employment decision based on that information, but it was helpful to have so I could ask questions about the job’s responsibilities in the challenging field he worked in.

Background checks: If resumes can be falsified and you have to be careful about social media sites, using a service to check someone’s background is a good idea, right? Except that one firm recently agreed to pay a $2.6 million fine for failing to ensure the accuracy of the information it was providing.  Accusations against background screening firms include confusing people with similar names, listing one offense multiple times and failing to get updates that may show previously reported information was inaccurate or has been changed.  In addition, if you require credit checks, you will want to show why that information is related to the position you are hiring for (restaurant servers who handle customer credit cards may need to be screened, but the restaurant dishwasher or marketing intern may not).  And a new Fair Credit Reporting Act notice will be effective in 2013, so be sure you are using the right forms.

E-Verify: I’ve used this system for years and find it quick, simple and reliable.  Incorporate this into your other on-boarding activities if you haven’t already.  It’s no more cumbersome than getting a completed W-4 or emergency contact information and it can save you from being the subject of an audit later on. You don’t need to be an expert on immigration issues to use the system, and if you have any government contracts (check with your state as those rules vary), you may be obligated to use it.  In Colorado, the Division of Labor also requires an Affirmation of Legal Status form (recently updated for October 2012) in addition to the I-9 confirmation.

The amount of effort you put into formulating the job description, posting it, screening and interviewing, plus the months of training to successfully on-board a new employee are just some of the challenges in recruiting and hiring the right candidates. You can make it a whole lot easier on yourself by paying attention to your process.  You can have confidence that you’re following the law and making good decisions.

By, Nancy Lane, Human Resource Manager at Red Book Solutions and B2A, LLC – 30 years of experience in education, medical imaging, oil & gas and business services.

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Breaking Process with Real Life Training

Posted on October 17, 2012 | 2 Comments

First, we hire. Then we train on processes designed before the person was even with the company. Finally, we let our employees go free, continuing to implement the processes on their own.

Processes are great. They allow us to define job roles, always know the next step and tie up loose ends. However, those processes can take on a life of their own and employees find loop holes – or rather short cuts, that can be detrimental to the organization’s real goals.

After the training process is over, when should you check in with that person to make sure they are using, and remember, all of the tools you gave them to do their job?

Real life may have changed since the position was defined. It’s important to check in with your employees to determine what they think should change based on what they do every day. Are the scripts they were trained with relevant? What road blocks are they encountering that weren’t discussed in training?

Your job as a manager is to assist in making your employees better. Challenging your employees to improve their job is a great way to retain a great employee. Continuing training throughout employment will not only make your employees better, but it increases productivity and decreases turnover rates. Whether it’s retraining an employee on a program, implementing a new task, or updating processes to better assist the employee and customer; training employees keeps them engaged.

How is this done? Once you’ve decided to do some additional training with your team:

  • Schedule a meeting with each person on your team
  • Discuss what challenges they have
  • Identify  which processes they would like to see updated
  • Determine their interests in learning something new
  • Put in place a follow-up meeting to share what was discovered and what actions have or will be taken

Part of my job as a Training Manager is to make sure that our training restaurants are up to par. I discussed how to do that with my supervisor. My first suggestion was to visit each, about 65, in every part of the country myself – If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself…right? No, that was unrealistic and expensive. So we determined the best course was to enlist our field staff. The way my predecessors and I were handling the training stores was not efficient, and in some cases not effective for the learner going through training. My boss and I talked about the important days in training and where we needed to set expectations for the learner and mentor relationship. We decided the regional field person would be in the training store the first and last days of training. This has been helpful all around and our regional field team has been completely open to it.

Your job will be to decide what you think needs to improve.  You can ask your team to give you a draft of a new process or ideas to make their jobs more efficient and effective. Review it. Make changes. Train it.

There are so many things that change the way we do our jobs every day. As managers, we have to realize that change is important to the overall productivity of the team. Taking the time to check in with them on how they do their job and not what they’re doing, will give you a great team of people committed to coming to work with a positive attitude.

By guest blogger Christina Sorrillo, Training Manager in the restaurant industry, professional business organizer, event planner, blogger…and life lover! Christina is currently a Training Manager at Quiznos. Previously she was a Customer Relations Manager at Land Rover AutoNation and Customer Relations Manager at Northridge Toyota. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado.

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New Bosses—What About Your People?

Posted on October 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

Over the years, I have watched a lot of people get promoted into management roles, or I have hired people into senior management.  In almost every case I have seen two contrasting sets of emotions.

First is the general excitement about the new position.  People want to make a difference and they have a lot of ideas about how they are going to move their department or the company forward.  Second, there is a certain amount of anxiety because they wonder if they are going to be able to deliver what they promised. These two emotions are obviously about just them, the new boss, but they miss the boat when they don’t think about the repercussions of their new role on everyone else.What I want to talk about are the people who will now be working for you—their state of mind.

To be successful you need to take into account how they are feeling:
•    Are they both excited and anxious or are they just stressing out?
•    Were they happy the way things were and don’t see any reason for changes?
•    Did any of them hope to get your job?
•    Will any of them actually feel comfortable enough to tell you how they “really” feel?

Let’s be honest. The people who are now working for you are going through their own hell.  They are in unknown territory, which makes a person insecure, and no one is happy to be in that place.  They try to talk themselves into believing everything will be okay, but in truth they fear you will either fire them or make their life so miserable they will probably need to leave.  I realize I am exaggerating a bit but don’t kid yourself. These feelings are real and will affect each person’s ability to work. So what can you do to help them through this extremely difficult time to regain their footing?

Four Simple Steps to be a Better New Boss

STEP 1: Get interviewed by your new employees
In the Harvard Business Review Blog Priscilla Claman, President of Career Strategies, states that when someone gets a new boss they should take the initiative and set up an interview with them and get themselves hired again.  Take this suggestion but turn the tables and have your employees interview you. Through the interview process allow them the opportunity to ask you questions that would determine if they would hire you as their boss.  You’ll gain immediate insights on what is important to them in a manager. As in all interviews, ask questions of them as well to understand their perspective on the role you are filling and the culture you will be working in.  A great one to start with is, “What do they feel would make a person successful in this position.”

STEP 2: Learn before you lead
Once the interviews are completed, go out of your way to understand exactly what everyone is doing.  Park your ego for a second—don’t criticize, don’t judge and don’t be afraid to let them know when you have no clue what they are doing and why.  Be a completely objective observer.  Remember your people didn’t ask for this change and they probably believe they are doing a good job.  They do not want to hear how smart you are and how you are hear to solve their problems.  What they want to hear and see is that you want to understand what they do on an individual level.

STEP 3: Give them their moment in the sun
Next, let your people have a few wins early on. This allows them to regain their stride and they will start feeling better about their job and you.  A happy employee performs at a higher level.  Don’t forget to give them credit publicly. When you share your employee and team successes the goodwill spreads exponentially.

STEP 4: Tell them, Tell them again, Tell them again
Lastly, over-communicate.  Let your people know your expectations, your vision, your dreams, your fears and what you don’t understand. Humanize yourself and don’t put yourself on a pedestal—they cannot connect with you there. In the end, you need them to help you get where you want to go. But they can’t do it if you don’t tell them where you are going and empower them to help you get there.

Congratulations on your new job, the fun is just beginning.

By, Greg Thiesen, President and CEO, Red Book Solutions and B2A – Over 30 years of experience in various areas – President and CEO of  Red Book Solutions and B2A, Turnaround Specialist with Doering and Eastwood, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer for a major division of Conagra, Inc. and Senior Manager and a Certified Public Accountant with Ernst and Young

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Sustaining Training Beyond the “Event”

Posted on October 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

As you are aware, the market can change quickly and there is more and more information out there we all need to digest and incorporate into our work. In my role in human resources, I was challenged with helping our employees stay current. My route? There isn’t just one, but I can tell you I am creating an internal university program of courses using our manager and employee playbooks every day to reinforce what we learn.

My challenge is one that all organizations face, whether it comes in the form of training for new staff, training on new systems or products, or retraining people who aren’t meeting performance targets.  These efforts can be expensive and time-consuming, but are critical to keep things running smoothly. So we all want to be sure our training activities are effective and sustainable.

There are lots of companies that provide seminars offering good information about new skills or approaches to common management concerns.  People generally feel good about attending the class and are eager to try out their new strategies.  Then life gets in the way.  The business at hand gets the focus. There is often something else more pressing at work that takes priority over applying the recent training.  Before long, the enthusiasm and energy of the training has been drowned out by the daily demands and it seems like the event never happened.

The other scenario is that a manager with the best intentions comes back from a training session and what seemed perfectly reasonable in the classroom, is confusing or hard to implement in real life.  Even though the learning is still fresh and the trainee is willing to try out the new skills, it’s not easy to make the transition from the classroom to the real workplace.

What’s lacking in these scenarios is the chance to practice and reinforce the lessons learned so that they won’t be hard to implement or easily forgotten.  The graph shows how the impact of new training fades quickly if it isn’t reinforced, but training that is reinforced provides sustainable results.  Zig Ziglar uses the equation “Will + Skill + Refill = Success” to indicate that a willing learner plus the new training still need practice and reinforcement to achieve success.

So how do you reinforce the training messages?  Think about what you did when you got a new puppy or had to potty train your first child.  The methods used to reinforce business training really aren’t that much different than what you did in those situations.  You help your trainee (or puppy or toddler) by providing opportunities to practice, coaching them through the activity repeatedly over several days or weeks and providing encouragement and rewards for success; maybe even sprinkle in some negative reinforcement to get the point across on the importance of being a good student.

Some basic training reinforcement tips include:

  • Provide training handouts (see examples): if trainees have a handy reference that summarizes  key information and can refer to it, they are more likely to retain information and practice the right way.
  • Coach trainees as they incorporate their new skills into their routine: This can be done in the training session or as a follow up activity.  Allowing everyone to try out their new skills in the training environment helps them build the confidence to be effective when it counts.
  • Don’t wait for perfection before recognizing or rewarding the new skills: Even if it didn’t work perfectly the first time, support the trainee with kudos for what worked and encouragement for improving the areas that still need work.
  • Reinforce training messages: Use your regular communication methods (meetings, newsletters, intranet, etc.) or have contests or other fun activities to encourage and promote the new behaviors.
  • Set a good example:  Whether you are the trainer or simply someone who is an expert in the subject area, be aware that you are the model for those in your organization.
  • Celebrate success: Praise the people who have incorporated the new skills into their routine and highlight the additional benefit the organization receives from the person’s new contributions.

Good managers can leverage training activities – whether provided by internal resources or by outside experts – if they support and reinforce the learning through simple, easy to use techniques.  Think of it as a vital part of the training investment.  You wouldn’t spend money on something that didn’t work for longer than one day.  Add these steps to your training programs and see how you like the results.  If it works for your dog, it should work for your staff!

By, Nancy Lane, Human Resource Manager at Red Book Solutions and B2A, LLC – 30 years of experience in education, medical imaging, oil & gas and business services.

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Communication – Keeping Them and YOU “In The Know”

Posted on October 1, 2012 | 1 Comment

Communication is essential to quality service, training and selling. Effective communication in any area of hotel operations will lead to continued and future success. Surveys have shown that your team wants you to communicate with them. In fact, surveyed staff members rated “Being In The Know” as the number one factor in their motivation; even ahead of higher pay. Hard to believe…but not if you understand your staff.

When you have information that is important to your operations make sure that you present the information in both a timely and effective manner. Holding back information from your staff can lead to misinterpretation and misinformation. Don’t allow the rumor mill to begin or it can be very dangerous to employee morale.

By providing good communication internally your team will be more likely to reciprocate the behavior with external communication as well; better providing you with a good level of service requests, comments, compliments and complaints.

In my 17 years of hotel operations experience, one thing always held true– Communication Is Key. Effective communications skills will always be number 1 in my book. I recall all the logs I used to have for every department. We had a complaints log, service request log, communication log, key log, welcome call log, wake-up calls, and so on. Then I was introduced to an amazing product provided by Red Book Solution– The Managers Red Book. This one communication log took all those books I had and put it into a comprehensive, one stop shop for all things services related. During the development of Choice Hotels Performance Engagement program I had the distinct pleasure to partnering up with Red Book Solutions, assisting in the creation of the Choice University’s Mangers Red Book.

I am a stickler for keeping staff in the know. I always want to make sure that management and ownership have the same access to property logs as the rest of the staff does. Using the CU Red Book will lead to better internal communications and better time management. It also helps you follow best practices and track all the components that lead to a better overall guest experience. Having this information at your staff’s fingertips will also lead to better service recovery, help increase Choice Privileges sign-ups, and assist with CP recognition. Imagine coming in to work after a few days off and being able to pick up a book and see that your guest service is operating at peak performance. You will begin to see trends in operations and service performance, which will help you identify training opportunities for areas your property could use improvement on. The trends can assist you in finding out which rooms might need a little more TLC than just the “band-aid method”.

In conclusion; I will leave you with a few quotes:

I’m a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they’re interested in. Bill Gates

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. George Bernard Shaw 

Guest Service at its best is just another form of great communication! Sean Patrick Tibbetts

By, Sean Tibbetts, Senior Operations Performance Trainer, Choice Hotels International- Choice University

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Posted in best manager blog, Better Managers, Communication, Compliance Management, Consulting, customer satisfaction, Customer Service, Employees, franchise, franchise management blog, Gen Y, Guest Blogger, Human Resources, KPI, leading managers blog, Management, management solutions, management tools, marketing, Nancy Lane, Networking, Performance, Performance Lever Series, Priority Management, productivity, ranked #1, Six Sigma, Social Media, Stress, Task Management, team, top management blog, Training

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