by Beth | Apr 18, 2018 | Company Culture, Good Management, Leadership
My daughter, Katy, starts cheerleading practice soon. As the lead cheerleader, she wants to wear a great outfit on the first day. She looked high and low for her favorite pair of cheer shorts, but to no avail. Bitterly disappointed, she bought another pair, but still, she wanted to find her favorites.
Then, it struck her. They might be in the trunk of her car. “My trunk is the new junk drawer,” she exclaimed! “I throw everything back there.” Sure enough, upon searching her trunk, there were her beloved shorts along with 2 blankets, a shirt that had also she “lost”, a curling iron, a pair of shoes, and some Valentine’s Day wrapping paper that she doesn’t remember buying.
Katy took a few hours to get everything back to where it was supposed to be, and life appears to have calmed for my teenage daughter.
Does Katy’s struggle sound familiar? Often, we spend an immense amount of time looking for things we already have, only to repurchase and rediscover the item along with a series of other things you had forgotten about. The same can be true for your office, talent pool and business processes.
You know when it is time to clean up when EVERY little task takes way more time than it should. You look for a document but can’t easily find it due to an unorganized filling system. You look for a colleague’s phone number, but it was not entered into your contact database. All these little tasks end up taking an inordinate amount of time; time that could be spent on business activities.
This time of year, I encourage you to shake out the rugs in your business departments, clean up job descriptions, re-organize the filing cabinets, create new habits to prevent the loss of information and start the spring with a new, ruthlessly organized…trunk. You will be glad that you did.
by Beth | Apr 4, 2018 | Company Culture, Employee Retention
My daughter, Katy was just selected to participate in a Chem-a-thon, a chemistry marathon through her high school. It is a very high honor… sort of.
For those students who are selected, they “get” to drive on a bus for 1 ½ hours to go take a 4-hour standardized test, then drive back to school for another 1 ½ hours in the middle of the hardest year and the most challenging time of year in high school. In addition, they are still held accountable for other tests, papers and group projects that are due before the end of the year. As Katy so eloquently put it, “You want to be chosen. You just don’t want to DO it. AND, I even have to BUY my own t-shirt!”
So, is this reward really a reward?
While I was at a clients’ office this past week, I overheard some employees complaining about being “rewarded” for being chosen to sit on an advisory committee for their boss. Same thing. They wanted to be chosen, but there were so many extra projects that were required, with no extra time to complete them and no extra resources to get the projects completed. One employee sighed “Working all weekend is NOT a reward!”
Rewarding your employees can be so satisfying for both parties. It can dramatically improve morale and it is a great way to create a culture that all parties love. Just make sure that the reward is actually a reward.
And, please, please PLEASE don’t make them buy their own t-shirts!
by Beth | Jan 17, 2018 | Company Culture
Jeremy is a designer for Calvin Klein. He has worked for his boss, Suzanne, for many years in multiple positions and capacities. They have a fantastic working relationship and have for a long time.
Earlier this year, Jeremy’ sister was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer and was given 6 months to a year to live. Jeremy and his sister have always been very close so this was devastating news. For the next several months, Jeremy traveled as often as possible from New York to Texas to spend as much time with his sister as possible, then flying back to go work.
As his sister got worse, death was imminent. In October, Suzanne called Jeremy into her office and said “I want you to buy a one-way ticket to Texas. Don’t come back until this is over. You need to be with your family right now.”
Jeremy got to spend several weeks with his sister before she passed away. He said, “[Suzanne] gave me a gift that I can never re-pay.”
I wanted to highlight a story that shows bosses and employees can be loyal and supportive of each other. We can treat each other as human beings and love each other through the hardest times of our lives. It is called the human experience. This story exemplifies when the work environment and culture are at their finest.
For all the great bosses and employees out there, keep up the good work. And for Suzanne? You are the epitome of the greatest boss ever. Nice work!
by Beth | Sep 28, 2017 | Company Culture
There are plenty of great words that start with the letter F that you might use to describe the people you work with and the culture within your organization. Words come to mind such as Fun, Fantastic, Fabulous, Fulfilling, Fast, Fundamental, Fantabulous, Functioning, Fitting, Fashionable, Friendly, Fortunate, Famous, Fortuitous… just to name a few. But there is one F-word that you should NEVER use to describe your work environment:
Family
That’s right. Never EVER use the word “family” to describe the people you work with.
A family is a group of people closely related by blood, and you can’t do anything about that. You can’t fire your cousin from being your cousin if he or she constantly makes poor choices and avoidable mistakes, but you can (and should) fire any person who works for you who does that. I hear it all the time:
“He told me that we were family, and then he fired me!”
“Family doesn’t fire you.”
“She lied. We weren’t family. If we were, I wouldn’t have gotten fired.”
If you are searching for a word that describes your company culture, try some of these: Tribe, Troupe, Village, Community, Group, Team… But don’t confuse your employees by using the term “family”.
Replace that family tree with an organizational chart.
by Beth | Nov 18, 2016 | Attitude, Company Culture, Employee Retention, Good Management, Leadership
In my early 20’s, I worked as a manager in a retail store, and one of my co-workers was a middle aged woman with three children. After working there for some time, her husband was offered not only his dream job, but also the opportunity to move back to California near both of their families. It was a perfect fit for everyone, and my co-worker and her family were beyond ecstatic.
Our boss, however, was less than thrilled. Rather than share in her excitement, she was furious at my co-worker for leaving the organization. “How could you possibly leave me now?! I depend on you!” This woman gave my co-worker the silent treatment for the remaining 2 weeks of her notice. On her last day, my co-worker hugged me tight and told me, “Don’t stay here for much longer. This is a toxic place to work.”
During that time, I learned one small lesson of what NOT to do as a boss.
I made a vow that when my staff turned in their notices, I would handle it differently. I would tell them how happy I was for their new opportunity and I would ask them how I could help them leave on a good note, with the door left open for the future. Most of all, I would thank them for their service to my business. This commitment to my staff even as they were leaving my employment has served me well in countless ways, not the least of which is the fact that allowing someone to exit on a good note feels good to all parties: you, them, their co-workers, your clients, etc.
Everyone has had a bad boss. Not all bad bosses stay bad bosses; in the case of my former boss, she was under extreme stress at the time, so her behavior had a lot to do with that. (In fact, the business ended up closing several years later.) Today, she and I are on great terms, and I adore her.
Tell me what lessons you learned from your bad boss! Inquiring minds want to know…
by Beth | Sep 30, 2016 | Company Culture, Leadership
Have you ever seen a bunch of live crabs put into a bowl? They crawl on top of each other to get out, and the crab on top is pulled down by the others. Ultimately, there is so much fighting for the top position that the crabs just wear themselves out. What a crabby bunch. (Pun intended)
So what do you do when you have your own bunch of crabby employees?
Whatever you do, don’t be a crab back at them – it’s the equivalent of that crab bowl, with everyone stepping on everyone else. In other words, quit complaining! This is the moment when you need to be the leader and help elevate everyone’s mood and energy level.
Here are a few suggestions:
Bring Legos to a Staff Meeting: One reason that people get crabby is because they need a distraction. Instead of your ordinary Monday morning staff meeting, do something different to help your employees think outside the bowl. (Click HERE to read my blog on this subject.)
Encourage Volunteering: There have been many studies that prove getting out of the office improves productivity, creativity and morale. I have a client who has a volunteer policy: A different employee per month chooses their favorite charity and on the last Friday of the month the whole team goes to volunteer.
Re-Stating the End Goal: Many candidates talk about how unhappy they are at work; one common reason is because they have lost sight of the company goal and how they fit into that picture. Why are we doing what we are doing? What is my purpose here in this company? How are my efforts contributing to the big picture? The more articulate you as the leader can be about this, the more satisfied your staff will be.
Say Thank You: Thank you! I am continually surprised by how effective a simple “thank you” is. I received communication from several employees from my restaurant this weekend (we are planning a reunion!), and many of them have told me how my thanking them before they left every day had a huge impact on them as employees. Several have adopted that habit as leaders. (Click HERE to read my blog on this subject.)
One final tip: Remember that organizational attitude flows from the top down. If your crabby employees complain all the time, ask yourself if you are complaining all the time. If so, try these tips for yourself!
