Driving Success in Your Business—Creating a Culture of Leaders
By Bob Furniss, President of Touchpoint Associates, Inc.
FedEx is a company that has redefined quality in America. When a customer drops off a package in a FedEx box, he or she leaves with the expectation that the package will be delivered 100% of the time. And FedEx seems to deliver on this promise most of the time—it measures success in the hundredths of a percentage point.
Act Now! Activate a FREE three days trial to ManagerCrossing.com, because you know how important it is to know about all the jobs.
So how did FedEx create a company with a culture for quality every time? It started with the baseline of caring for the employee first. Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, said it this way: "Take care of your people; they, in turn, will deliver the impeccable service demanded by customers, who will reward us with the profitability necessary to secure our future."
While the same concepts apply to businesses of all sizes, small businesses often struggle to keep a focus on the employee. The day-to-day issues seem to consume the day, and often the employees feel less than engaged.
What does "take care of your people" mean? Here are four ways to build relationships with your employees:
Cast a vision and communicate it at every level. What is your vision? What is your mission as a company? Is it more than something that is in a frame on a wall in the center? Have you tied your mission to your objectives? Do your objectives focus on the customer or on internal expectations or metrics? Try this: spend some time with your employees tomorrow and ask them to tell you the two most important things they do every day. Let's hope that one of the answers has something to do with taking care of the customer. You may be surprised at the results.
Begin to communicate at a new level. Effective communication is the key to a successful workplace. Several years ago, working with Michael Tamer and Scott Thomas of Tamer Partners Corporation, we developed a communications program called the communication WEAVE®, which has been implemented in companies across America. The WEAVE is a simple yet effective way to interact with other managers and employees. Here's how it works:
W: Welcome on a personal note. You probably know this as a basic human need, but we sometimes forget to make it a priority when we move into the business environment.
E: Explain your intentions. Move to the business that you need to address. Communicate both the "what" and the "why." If they understand why there is a change or why a new policy was implemented, they will have the ability to make good decisions when talking with customers.
A: Acknowledge their response. Model active listening by acknowledging what they say and tie the business's needs back to their responses.
V: Verify that all needs have been met. Ensure that the employee understands how to implement what you have discussed. This is often the part of the equation that goes unfinished. Do you understand? Do you need anything else? Are we on the same page?
E: Exit on the personal. If you started the conversation on a personal note, end it the same way. By actively listening to their side of the conversation, you should have a way to tie back to something that they have said.
Coach for a change in behavior. Coach for the purpose of improving behavior, not to finish one more monitoring session. In some companies across America, coaching of employees has moved from true coaching to just completing monitoring forms and meeting quality numbers. The next time you have a coaching opportunity, ask your employees for their feedback first; this may actually change your feedback. Also, calibrate as a last step and ensure that they understand the expectation and plan to move toward action or a change in behavior.
Lead with your heart. Recent research shows that 65% of people who leave jobs don't leave their companies but leave their managers. Employees want to feel valued and build relationships with their leaders. People will often stay with tough jobs if their relationships with their managers are strong. Yet many managers have not mastered the skill of building relationships with their teams. Try this test:
List each member of your team—first and last name.
List the names of their spouses, significant others, and children if they have them.
List the most significant event in each of their professional lives in the past six months.
List the most significant event in each of their personal lives in the past six months.
List their passions in life—hobbies, interests, sports teams, etc.
You may be surprised at what you don't know. This basic information can be the first step in developing a relationship.
Implementations of these ideas are good first steps toward creating a culture where people feel valued and as if they are part of something important. We all have seen the success of FedEx over the past 20 years. I believe it all began with Mr. Smith's basic concept of "taking care of people first." What are you doing to take care of your people?
About the Author:
Bob Furniss, president of Touchpoint Associates (www.touchpointassociates.com), works with organizations to increase productivity and profits by bringing out the best in their people. Furniss, a featured conference speaker and member of the National Speaker Association, provides keynotes, workshops, and consulting services to help companies redefine success.
Meg , Oak Park, IL
The email alerts sent by ManagerCrossing are cool. I got a job through this feature of the website. Thanks!
Derek , Arlington, TX
I got a job through ManagerCrossing. It was very helpful as I could focus towards the particular listings I wanted.
Deborah , Lighthouse Point, FL
I found it really helpful as I got a couple of job leads through ManagerCrossing, and got my new job.
Leigh , Denver, CO
I liked the 'My hotlist' feature on ManagerCrossing. It was the best of the abundant of features on the site.
Mandie , Quincy, MA
ManagerCrossing has a large quantity of jobs which are updated very frequently--ensuring freshness.
To compare ManagerCrossing with other job sites
Bring Order and Structure to Your Management Job Search
You have perseverance and can accomplish anything you put your mind to and finding the ideal management job is no exception. We have a tradition of helping our members accomplish anything they set their mind to. With complete information about every management job in the market at your fingertips you are going to go far.
You have very high standards for the sort of employer you are working for and also for yourself. You are not afraid to work hard to fulfill your duties because you value security and peaceful living. We give you the tools to pursue your dreams for you and your family.
Become part of a tradition of research excellence that has elevated the careers of countless management professionals just like you.
Complete the sign up process today and become part of our site today.
Tell us where to send your access instructions:
Total Jobs on ManagerCrossing
349,437
New Manager Jobs This Week
94,498
Jobs on EmploymentCrossing Network Available to Our Members
Assistant Director of Admissions #11039 United States-CA-Berkeley
Responsibilities
Review and evaluate complex admission cases; prepare strategy and design for recruitment programs; Represent the Berkeley MBA prog...
Manager careers are found in almost all kinds of businesses. The different industries need people to manage their business according to the employers' standards. There are entry level jobs for manager careers but most companies prefer years of experience. Educational attainment is essential in getting qualified for the job. Other requirements var...
EmploymentCrossing and its services are very impressive. I am grateful to the customer service representatives as they were very helpful. I would definitely recommend the website to my friends.
Laurie , Dallas, TX
ManagerCrossing provides an excellent service. I have recommended the website to many people.
Danielle , Hartford
ManagerCrossing has a huge quantity of jobs. Amazing website!
See Every Manager Job We Can Find on the Internet!
Unlike other sites, ManagerCrossing works for you and does not charge employers to post jobs and actually goes out and researches jobs for you. The jobs you see are the jobs we find for you and not the ones employers are paying us to post.
Reason 29: ManagerCrossing is used by many outplacement firms whose job it is to know the market. Imagine having that same information at your own disposal.
Bring Order and Structure to Your Management Job Search
Start doing things the way they should be done.
Make objective career decisions with unbiased research, facts and information about management jobs. Your perseverance, follow through and dependability will all pay off when you have access to:
Management jobs from every company employer career webpage we can find.
Management jobs from every management job source we can find.
Management jobs from every job board we can find.
Management jobs from every newspaper classified ad we can find.
Management jobs from every specialized management publication we can find.
Management jobs from every federal, state and local government career page we can find.
Management jobs from every public interest, nonprofit and other career page we can find.
Tell us where to send your access instructions:
Today at ManagerCrossing
21,567 - Jobs found in last 24 Hours94,498 - Jobs found in last 7 Days349,437 - Total Jobs Found
Your privacy is guaranteed. We will never give out, lease, or sell your personal information.
ManagerCrossing - #1 Job Aggregation and Private Job-Opening Research Service — The Most Quality Jobs Anywhere
ManagerCrossing is the first job consolidation service in the employment industry to seek to include every job that exists and not charge employers to post jobs on its site.
ManagerCrossing uses sophisticated technology and manual work to comb employer websites and other job boards for jobs and bring them all to its site.
