Here are some interesting statistics from some recent studies:
only 41% of employees believe their managers listen to the ideas they present to them.
37% (more than a third) felt their company's management was inaccessible to them.
a majority 60% felt their company's suggestion program was ineffective.
But here's the interesting part. According to one research firm, each employee suggestion was worth approximately $6,000 to a company in cost savings, etc.
So why does it sound like hardly anybody is listening?
One reason (and the one close to half of the people participating in the studies mentioned above would probably believe) is that employee suggestion boxes are just there for show. A sop to keep the employees quiet.
The big reason - at least what I would hope - is like so many other well intentioned projects, many (and perhaps most) employee suggestion programs do not have systems in place to handle the incoming suggestions. Is there a central place to accumulate them? Is there staff assigned to review, filter and pass on the most "promising" suggestions?
Hanging out a box for people to put pieces of paper in isn't a system - it is a recipe for further employee frustration and disengagement.
If you want input, then make it possible to listen.
02 September, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
why won't they listen?
it goes both ways
We all want the people in service positions (clerks, waiters, etc.) to smile, be polite, show respect, man, the list just goes on and on.
You want a harried, stressed out service person to brighten up and actually pay some attention to you? Try giving them what you are hoping to get from them (no not whatever you are buying!). Smile, and say good morning, if they make a mistake smile again and tell them "that's OK, happens to all of us." When they tell you to have a good day, respond in kind: "and you as well!"
The Golden Rule applies to customers the same as it does to vendors.
19 August, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
You want a harried, stressed out service person to brighten up and actually pay some attention to you? Try giving them what you are hoping to get from them (no not whatever you are buying!). Smile, and say good morning, if they make a mistake smile again and tell them "that's OK, happens to all of us." When they tell you to have a good day, respond in kind: "and you as well!"
The Golden Rule applies to customers the same as it does to vendors.
19 August, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
effectable
Scott Ginsberg (the name-tag guy) is coming out with a new book "-able". As with a lot of his stuff, Scott has highlighted something that should be obvious to most of us, but sometimes lies hidden: by applying yourself in the ways you are most "able" you can make things happen... in fact you will greatly increase the probability of those things happening.
So let me add my own "able" word to that lexicon: "effectable".
If you are effectable, you are actually "able" in two ways:
1. You regularly effect positive change (i.e., make things happen; setting things up for others to be effective) both in yourself and in the world around you.
2. You are effective. Of course I mean effective in my definition of the word: "doing the right things, the right way for you". Using your strengths and finding ways around your vulnerabilities.
The two are intertwined. If you are effective, you will be getting things done that need to be done to advance your goals. Even better you will be doing them in ways that strengthen and energize you rather than weakening and draining you. You also set an example for others around you, creating an environment that allows for positive change and for them to be effective and deliver outstanding results whatever the endeavor. This is the stuff that drives successful individuals and successful teams.
Don't just stop at being effective, be effectable, make things happen for yourself and for everyone around you.
You can find Scott's book on Amazon by clicking here.
You can learn more about the book and Scott's philosophy by clicking here to go to his blog
17 August, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
So let me add my own "able" word to that lexicon: "effectable".
If you are effectable, you are actually "able" in two ways:
1. You regularly effect positive change (i.e., make things happen; setting things up for others to be effective) both in yourself and in the world around you.
2. You are effective. Of course I mean effective in my definition of the word: "doing the right things, the right way for you". Using your strengths and finding ways around your vulnerabilities.
The two are intertwined. If you are effective, you will be getting things done that need to be done to advance your goals. Even better you will be doing them in ways that strengthen and energize you rather than weakening and draining you. You also set an example for others around you, creating an environment that allows for positive change and for them to be effective and deliver outstanding results whatever the endeavor. This is the stuff that drives successful individuals and successful teams.
Don't just stop at being effective, be effectable, make things happen for yourself and for everyone around you.
You can find Scott's book on Amazon by clicking here.
You can learn more about the book and Scott's philosophy by clicking here to go to his blog
17 August, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
the simple things
I stopped in at a local restaurant the other day to double check with a manager about some stuff I had arranged with them. It was late in the afternoon, and the restaurant wasn't that busy, in fact a group of wait-staff was clustered around a service counter talking to one another. I stood at the hostess station figuring I would be in and out fairly quickly. Five minutes later, I was still standing at the hostess station, waiting. The wait-staff occasionally glanced my way without any sign of acknowledgment or greeting, and who knows where a hostess might have been. Finally someone approached with some menus, and luckily it was the manager I had come to see.
Now here is the amazing part. The manager and I sat down to discuss things, and while we were sitting, a line formed at the hostess station, and they were ignored just as I was! Finally, the manager pointed this out to some of the staff and someone wandered over and got the customers to tables.
Why would something like this happen? Is it simply that the staff just does not care? Admittedly this was not a fancy restaurant, and some might consider working there as no big deal and so what if I get fired, but I would like to think it was more a lack of procedure and process. Does the restaurant have a written policy that customers will be greeted within a certain amount of time? What if the hostess station is empty? Is there a written procedure about who should cover the station if the host or hostess is away? Are there designated wait staff that can double as host or hostesses? Maybe these procedures exist, but weren't being followed because it was "slow".
What would it cost this restaurant to put these kind of processes in place (or enforce them even in slow times)? Nothing. How might it affect a customer's perception of the business? (Do I really need to answer that?) I often hear the excuse that customer service which delights is great for other companies, but it costs too much for "us" to provide extra service. Really? A little bit of time is too much to invest?
12 August, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
Now here is the amazing part. The manager and I sat down to discuss things, and while we were sitting, a line formed at the hostess station, and they were ignored just as I was! Finally, the manager pointed this out to some of the staff and someone wandered over and got the customers to tables.
Why would something like this happen? Is it simply that the staff just does not care? Admittedly this was not a fancy restaurant, and some might consider working there as no big deal and so what if I get fired, but I would like to think it was more a lack of procedure and process. Does the restaurant have a written policy that customers will be greeted within a certain amount of time? What if the hostess station is empty? Is there a written procedure about who should cover the station if the host or hostess is away? Are there designated wait staff that can double as host or hostesses? Maybe these procedures exist, but weren't being followed because it was "slow".
What would it cost this restaurant to put these kind of processes in place (or enforce them even in slow times)? Nothing. How might it affect a customer's perception of the business? (Do I really need to answer that?) I often hear the excuse that customer service which delights is great for other companies, but it costs too much for "us" to provide extra service. Really? A little bit of time is too much to invest?
12 August, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
charcoal vs. propane
With summer in full swing, the smell of cookouts pervades the air. When I was a kid, we had block parties on the fourth of July. We would gather in one neighbor's yard, the dads would bring their Webers, and after some unintentional flame throwing utilizing lighter fluid (egged on by the kids), the charcoal would catch and the burgers and dogs were on their way. Today, you are far more likely to find propane grills cooking the burgers and dogs, but you can still find some old die hards lighting up charcoal, and claiming that food just tastes better done over hot coals vs. propane flame.
I admit to using propane. To me the fun in the picnic is being with family and friends, laughing, playing, and just generally having a good time, so I cook the way that is easiest and most enjoyable for me. And that is the point. The objective of the cook-out is not really to prepare the food a certain way, the objective is to enjoy the time together, to take a break from work, and any of the other cares we have.
There lies effectiveness! Getting to the goal in ways that we were are most comfortable with. When we who are grilling get to sit down with friends and family and enjoy the company, after we cook the way we like and are most comfortable with - be it coals or propane. When we enjoy the trip, the destination is even more satisfying.
04 July, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
I admit to using propane. To me the fun in the picnic is being with family and friends, laughing, playing, and just generally having a good time, so I cook the way that is easiest and most enjoyable for me. And that is the point. The objective of the cook-out is not really to prepare the food a certain way, the objective is to enjoy the time together, to take a break from work, and any of the other cares we have.
There lies effectiveness! Getting to the goal in ways that we were are most comfortable with. When we who are grilling get to sit down with friends and family and enjoy the company, after we cook the way we like and are most comfortable with - be it coals or propane. When we enjoy the trip, the destination is even more satisfying.
04 July, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
yes, but...
It is an oldie but a goody. "Yes, but...". It is such a wonderful phrase, because it lets you agree with the problem, and then bring up what sounds like a perfectly sensible objection and probably intractable problem: "Yes improving our service will attract customers, but what about the cost to hire the new people to give that service?"
Noticeably missing from the "but" are suggestions to address the problem. "Yes, but" is a simple way to politely tell someone with an idea to shut up and sit down, or worse, a way for you to shoot down your own ideas.
Next time you hear anyone (or yourself), say "Yes, but..." offer an idea about how to solve the "but" problem. If that encounters a "Yes, but..." then offer a solution to that one. Start a discussion, get people (or again, yourself) thinking, and more importantly, moving in a different direction The status-quo is easy, but it is static. Growth is not achieved by standing still.
03 July, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
Noticeably missing from the "but" are suggestions to address the problem. "Yes, but" is a simple way to politely tell someone with an idea to shut up and sit down, or worse, a way for you to shoot down your own ideas.
Next time you hear anyone (or yourself), say "Yes, but..." offer an idea about how to solve the "but" problem. If that encounters a "Yes, but..." then offer a solution to that one. Start a discussion, get people (or again, yourself) thinking, and more importantly, moving in a different direction The status-quo is easy, but it is static. Growth is not achieved by standing still.
03 July, 2010 | mtomsho | Leave comment - 0
