Manager's Tools: Newsletter

Three things lousy teams do…and how you can avoid them

July, 2010

We all love the idea of a lone genius—Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mother Theresa. Yet for the last decade we’ve been studying great workplaces and we’ve found the reality is very different. What do great leaders do? What did Edison, Gates, Jobs or even Mother Theresa do well? They built great teams.

This September, Simon & Schuster will publish our latest book, The Orange Revolution, revealing some startling new findings on the characteristics of high-performance teams. The book shares the results of a 350,000-person study on teamwork as well as case studies from Pepsi Beverages Company, Madison Square Garden, Zappos.com and others.

What we found was eye-opening. For instance, what do most poor business teams have in common? Those with below average financial performance, customer satisfaction and employee engagement?

No drive to be great. The breakthrough teams we studied consciously committed to a standard of world-class performance, while average or poor teams went along putting out fires and meeting just enough deadlines to get by.

Fear of honesty. Poor teams are marked by a lack of openness, honest debate and clear expectations. While many of these teams thought they were being “nice” to their fellow teammates, these teams actually had much lower trust scores than in environments where employees openly debated and agreed not to surprise each other.

Selfishness. While breakthrough team members support, recognize, appreciate and cheer others and the group on to victory, poor teams are marked by in-fighting, pettiness and ego. The research proves that great team members appreciate each other’s great work.

Here’s an example of an environment full of appreciation and cheer:

Texas Roadhouse has more than 40,000 employees working in restaurants built to resemble a traditional roadhouse found throughout rural Texas, serving great food amid line dancing and country music. “We have a little giddy up and yee haw here,” one store manager told us.

During our visits, CEO GJ Hart told us a touching story of cheer—that of the Andy’s Outreach Fund. “The genesis goes back to when I was in training and I was working at a restaurant here in Louisville.”

In that location was a 50-year-old dishwasher, James Bryan, who was deaf. “He was just so kind to everyone,” said Hart. About six months after Hart was finished training, Bryan passed away. “As a dishwasher he had struggled to provide for his family. And with five kids, a wife and bills, there was no money for a burial.”

Hart, Founder Kent Taylor, and a group of executives paid out of their own pockets to bury James, but this event changed the CEO’s thinking forever. Texas Roadhouse already had a means for charitable giving. What Hart realized was that it should be used not only to help outsiders, but their own people. “It hit me like a ton of bricks.”

Hart introduced the idea at the company’s annual managing partner conference and within five minutes the managers in attendance had donated $73,000 to help their own. At the next annual managing partner conference, a 20-minute auction raised $410,000.

A volunteer board was appointed, a process for applying for funds was put in place and more than 90 percent of dishwashers, wait staff, meat cutters and bartenders started giving what they could through payroll deduction. Andy’s Outreach Fund was born. The name, by the way, is a nod to Andy the Armadillo, the Texas Roadhouse mascot.

Today, with the funding from employee donations—not to mention a new restaurant that was paid for by employees and where 100 percent of the profits go to Andy’s Outreach—the Fund is able to assist thousands of employees with funerals, fires, natural disasters, abuse situations, medical issues and many other crises that would otherwise render some employees hopeless and homeless. To find out more about this great story, watch the video.

There are few companies in this economic climate that would consider opening a new franchise and giving the profits to help their own, but the cheering at Texas Roadhouse is unique. The idea’s success is a testament to a powerful desire among most people to be supportive of one another and to feel part of a larger whole. It’s one reason the company is so successful, and certainly part of the reason employees come to this restaurant chain and stay.

The Orange Revolution contains many such stories of teams breaking out of the doldrums and creating world-class results. Pre-order your copy today.

How to Achieve Management Mastery

April, 2010

Every year, about 150 people climb Mount Everest. And each year, about five people never come back. Those seem like drastic odds; however, consider how many times the average climbing guide (known as a Sherpa) leads climbing teams up and down the mountain. Why are their chances of survival so much better?

The answer to that question is simple: Sherpas have practiced so much that they are masters at their craft.

The concept of mastery has been studied for centuries. Psychologist Bruce Burns of Michigan State University decided to find out if he could find the answer to the long debated question: How long does it take to achieve mastery? To find an answer, his research focused on a personal passion of his own: chess.

After all, a chess champion’s brain is firing off decisions in split second intervals. And Burn’s research suggests that it’s not because the champion is naturally gifted at the game. Instead, Grand Chess Masters achieve that skill level and ability because they do something that most of us stopped doing after childhood. They practice—a lot. They practice daily.

How does this help you become a master of managing people? Leadership requires practice. It’s just as important for you as it is for a child and their piano lessons, or the Grand Chess Masters, or the elite athlete.

In Burn’s research, top players recognized patterns on the chessboard almost instantly, because they had seen those patterns so often in past games. And in most cases, their first maneuver was the right decision. Just like a Sherpa on the side of Mount Everest recognizes crevices and dangerous weather patterns, or a seasoned musician senses the next stanza when sight-reading a piece of music, or a mother of three knows when a temper tantrum is brewing, the research proved that pattern recognition was advanced through consistent and daily practice.

After his research, Burns concluded, “These results are consistent with the claim that high levels of skill are based on extensive practice.”

In management, you might think you don’t have the time for a lot of study. The truth is, in just about 30 seconds a day you can begin developing the skills used by the very best managers, including how to set clear goals, communicate effectively, build trusting relationships, hold yourself and others accountable for results, and recognize the great work of others. And once you invest your 30 seconds into knowledge building, you’ll be able to “practice” these skills throughout the rest of the day.

Our newest book, The Daily Carrot Principle, is being released this week to help you, as a manager, do just that—simplify the art of mastering management. To accelerate the learning curve of the concepts we presented in our New York Times bestseller, The Carrot Principle, we developed an easily digestible format that builds your knowledge step-by-step, day-by-day. It contains 365 ways to enhance both your career and your life. And it offers a daily Carrot Action on each page that you can immediately put into practice. Read each daily entry while you sip your morning coffee or take your first break. In time, you’ll experience the highest form of mastery: lifting yourself by lifting others.

Developing Olympic-sized Team Spirit

March, 2010

Every business leader wants to build team spirit—getting their department, organization or culture to rally around a unified cause. But it’s easier said than done.

So what can the Olympic Winter Games and a small town in Nebraska teach us about coaching more spirit and energy into your team? It’s a remarkable story:

To show our support for the Games, our parent organization O.C. Tanner granted the first ever Inspiration Awards. Athletes nominated individuals who had been their behind-the-scenes support and strength—the people who “participated” but not in the spotlight. Olympians nominated their coaches, teachers, spouses, and of course, parents. After more than 870,000 votes, skeleton athlete Noelle Pikus-Pace, snowboarder Nick Baumgartner, and Gold medalist bobsledder Curt Tomasevicz earned the opportunity to honor those who inspired them along their Olympic journey with a 14k gold ring (learn more about the stories on the Facebook page).

While all three stories are amazing, it was Curt’s story that made us perk up as leadership authors. The bobsledder said:

“I’m so fortunate to have the support of an entire town, Shelby, Nebraska. And though it might be a small place on the map, their encouragement is enormous. Many hometowns are proud of their athletes, but Shelby has given me the support I needed to make it to the Olympics.

A meager population raised nearly $25,000. They honor my accomplishments with celebration—hosting block parties, golf tournaments and street dances for the entire town to celebrate together. I receive hundreds of emails of encouragement, of love, of admiration and support—emails that bring a smile to my face and make me work hard on their behalf. A Facebook page was created to sell shirts; proceeds [sent] my parents to the Games. Without this family of 690 behind me, I would not be here.”

Consider for a moment the magnitude of Curt’s words—an entire community sharing in a single dream. This is a story business leaders and managers around the globe yearn to emulate. So let’s take some cues from this small town that produced a mighty giant. Here are three ways to develop more spirit in your team:

Root. Curt received email after email from his neighbors and friends and community leaders. He knew peers and leaders were rooting for him and that kept him going. No matter where your team is in relation to the goal, they want to know their co-workers and their manager care and support their daily efforts. Share the great things that happen every day at team meetings and through team emails. Make an attempt to give specific credit in casual settings, as well. Talk up a great team member at the lunch table today—it shows you are paying attention and you are proud of their great work.

Rally around each another. Be aware when a team member needs support to reach a goal or even overcome a difficulty at home. This small town of modest means raised tens of thousands of dollars (during a recession) to keep a hometown hero going. Recognize what challenges each of your employees are facing. If they’re buried in orders at the end of a busy week, step in and organize a rescue party, which includes you helping too. We recently found ourselves in our basement storage room after a pipe burst and flooded our supplies. Now BobAnn Hall and Christy Chatelain led the effort and did the bulk of the work, but our entire team spent time working together to dry out training workbooks and toolkits. A minor disaster brought everyone closer together (and became the source of many new inside jokes).

Celebrate the victories. The neighborhood block parties Curt describes are the equivalent of the corporate team gathering (there really isn’t a corporate equivalent for street dances!). When your team reaches a goal, small or large, celebrate. Winning teams make merry often, it’s that simple. Block out a meeting room for a few hours and have everyone bring their favorite potluck dish. Get ‘em all mingling together with some food and music. Congratulate each team member on their specific contributions and remind them of all the great things they’re doing.

Curt was part of the gold medal-winning four-man bobsled team, an honor the U.S. hasn’t had in more than 60 years. This small town in Nebraska really has cause to celebrate—a home town medal winner and a hometown full of the champions who helped him get there. “They definitely deserve part of my medal,” Curt added. “I hope through this [Inspiration Award] they will know what they mean to me.”

And that leads us to one last tidbit of advice:

You can’t do it on your own. Look around today. You are surrounded by a potential Shelby, Nebraska. It’s your job to give your team a cause and inspire them to achieve gold-medal performances.

Five Ways to Communicate Better with your Employees

February, 2010

Charlie Chaplain, Peter Sellers, Rowan Atkinson. Throughout movie history some actors have been able to hold an audience’s attention without even saying a word.

Likewise as managers, we are constantly sending messages—often without speaking. We communicate by the things we do, the things we don’t do, through our facial expressions, and through our body language. As bosses we send messages all the time, and yet why do so many of our employees feel they’re not receiving adequate communication at work?

Take this data: A survey by Right Management Consultants of employees in 336 organizations revealed that only 30 percent of employees understand their company’s business strategy. That means seven out of every ten people who work for you have little idea of what your organization’s primary goals are. That lack of communication has a direct impact on employee commitment and trust. When we feel left out of the loop, we feel disengaged. It’s that simple.

So what to do?

Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronic (and coincidentally the keynote speaker in our upcoming annual Carrot summit), explains that communication should take precedence over everything else in business. Said Bill, “Leaders don’t pay enough attention to their people. They do so at their peril, because their employees interpret and respond accordingly—in a compliant fashion rather than with their best work.”

That makes perfect sense. When we fail to communicate, employees are left with little understanding of what we can accomplish together. And when employees can’t share in the potential of your team or organization, they achieve only enough to make it through the day. Basically, marginal communication performances by a manager equates to marginal employee performances.

In our research we’ve seen that many managers buy into a dangerous myth: the fear that communicating more effectively will take too much of their already limited time. But, again, if you don’t find time to perform your job, your employees won’t use their time to perform at their full potential.

The truth of the matter is this: keeping the team up to speed with proper communication doesn’t have to take long. Mary Corr, a manager of corporate revenue integrity (isn’t that a great title) at Orlando Health, one of Florida’s most comprehensive private, not-for-profit healthcare networks, shared with us how she guides her team in communicating their goals. She said:

We take 15 minutes of our staff meeting to discuss behaviors we want to change and how we are going to do it. We outline areas of opportunity then detail the small steps we need to take to improve and present ourselves in a positive manner. This has proven to be a successful approach to strengthening our team.

In just fifteen minutes a week, Mary has created an open forum to solve problems and focus on improvements. Opening up communication literally opens the door to success for you, your employees, and your company.

So, what are the gold standards of iconic communicators in business? The best managers:
Set clear guiding values and goals. By clarifying your core strategies and principles you as a manager can better guide the conversations because everyone knows what they’re working toward.
Discuss issues facing the company and the team. By updating your people on the big and small issues facing your team or company in daily huddles, you give people the opportunity to be “invested” in organizational priorities. The more they know, the more likely they are to provide suggestions or focus on solutions in their daily work.
Respond promptly to team member requests for more information. By respectfully answering questions, you strengthen your trust with each team member.
Tell the stories of employee accomplishment to key individuals in the organization. Storytelling (bragging on your people) is one of the most effective ways of communicating your trust in your employees.
Recognize, recognize, recognize. There are few communication activities more powerful than gathering your team to appreciate the great work of an employee. As an exclamation point, end the gathering with a team cheer.

As a manager, you own the spotlight. If your words, actions and interactions don’t properly share the messages you want communicated, your audience won’t know how to respond. Like an actor on the big screen, your team is looking for you to tell the story, to guide them to the next big scene, and to lead them to the performance of a lifetime.

Do you have invisible employees on your team?

January, 2010

View the online version here.

You’re working late again when you hear something outside your door. Tip-tap. Tip-tap.

“Is anyone there?” you ask. You rush into the hall—only to gaze over rows of endless empty cubicles. Just silence.

You sit back down at your computer and look at today’s productivity report. Sure enough, your team’s output was almost the same as yesterday. Tip-tap. There’s that noise again. And then you realize it’s the clock on the wall—the only sound in the building. And you also realize you’re wasting your time reading progress reports that never change. It’s as if your employees aren’t giving much extra effort at all.

Yes, there’s a crisis in business today: Invisible employees. They show up. Their timecards and attendance records prove it. They do their jobs. Your company is surviving. But you never seem to move forward. Why?

Here’s a statistic that should shed some light: By the end of the first year of service, more than 70 percent of employees think their companies don’t care about them or their careers. Gulp.

You can go ahead and argue this point, but let’s say the survey was off by 10 percent, or even twenty. Those are still big enough numbers to deem this situation A Full Blown Corporate Crisis. The short of it is this: when employees feel ignored and unappreciated, they don’t give their best work. They wonder why they should care about their company if their organization doesn’t care about them. They show up on time, and disappear just in time. They expose their faces, talents and skills just enough to show up again tomorrow. And when they’re in the shadows—the dark places where management will never see them—they grumble, moan and reveal their escape routes to other employees.

You may even have a few invisibles working for you.

And yet what if you could convince every single employee in your organization to bring their best attitude, skillset, talent and potential to work? What would your productivity report look like? Progress? You better believe it. The tip-tap you hear outside your door will instantly become a thumping orchestra of people producing—an anthem of achievement.

Impossible? Not at all. In fact, we see it happen in organizations large and small around the world—so much so that we wrote a book about it, aptly called The Invisible Employee. That’s the coolest part. We’ve sat face to face with many of the world’s best managers from the biggest and best companies. These are people who have mastered the art of inspiring others to really make some noise—moving their teams and companies from ordinary to extraordinary by applying three simple steps:

*Set a guiding vision: Most managers believe they’ve already done this; however, ask their employees and you’ll get an entirely different response. Learn how to master the idea of setting and articulating clear goals.
*See employee achievements that move your organization toward its goals: Managers who actively See outperform those who don’t. Learn how to exercise your vision (FYI, Carrots do help) in strategic areas and you’ll gain a perspective shared only by the best managers in the world.
*Celebrate achievements: Here’s the secret sauce that can move mountains. Great managers appreciate the small and large efforts that move their teams forward. This recipe must be honed, practiced, and perfected.

To help you get there, we’re proud to introduce the newly expanded second edition of The Invisible Employee. Amid the pages we’ve sprinkled case studies of real leaders who manage employees in ways that make those people feel valued and engaged. You’ll also get new data that shows how to motivate employees in any economy—even if your company has taken a few hard hits over the past year. And you’ll read a new section on “onboarding” new hires—enhancing speed to productivity and building loyalty and focus.

To find out more about the book and to order your own copy, click here.

Give your employees what they want for the holidays

December, 2009

December is a time of giving. And as a manager, there is no substitute for a sincere thank-you to your employees to help them feel valued and appreciated for their great work. And the holidays are the perfect time, since, frankly, employees are expecting some form of recognition.

Here are a couple of ideas to help your holiday celebrations lead to more productivity in the New Year:

Make the company’s gift your own. Here’s a way to be generous—without spending a dime. You can get more mileage from the company’s holiday gift—whether a fruit basket, turkey, or merchandise item—by personally picking them up and delivering them to your people. As you make the rounds with the gifts, spend a little time with each person and express sincere gratitude for specific contributions. We guarantee the time invested will be well spent.

Don’t forget the card. As important as your gift is to employees this holiday season will be the card that accompanies it. There is no substitute for a sincere thank-you from the boss. Be sure all your communication surrounding your holiday gift is positive and thankful. The ultimate goal of the gift is to make sure employees feel valued and appreciated. After all, they are the ones keeping the doors open every day through this recession.

Measure success. Since you’ve been recognizing throughout the year, it’s helpful to take a moment in December and measure the results of your efforts. Give a quick, verbal survey to your employees and ask what they like and don’t like about their work environment—especially recognition and rewards. The economy is going to heat up and it will become hip to job hop again, so make a plan now to continually improve by creating a workplace where people come and stay committed.

New data shows us how to reward younger and older workers

November, 2009

At the Thanksgiving table Uncle Eddie dives into the mashed potatoes, Cousin Nikki the rolls and salad, Aunt Ruth would drink gravy if she could, and little Tyler saves room for pumpkin pie.

All of us are driven by a desire to dig in, but each of us chooses to receive it in different ways. New research shows the same is true with recognition. While sincere appreciation drives performance in everyone, there are some differences in the way younger and older employees want to receive it.

The findings below are unpublished data from a global study conducted for us by Towers Perrin* for the second edition of The Carrot Principle.

We found people 25 and under (younger employees) are motivated by working with a successful organization and doing exciting, challenging work. Want to keep them happy and engaged? Then give them regular promotions and formal recognition for their work efforts. The data shows their engagement increases as they feel that their work is noticed, has an impact on the company and their own careers, and that the organization cares about them.

We also found that you, as a manager, are the most significant factor in these younger employees’ attitudes towards their organizations. A positive impression of their manager leads to positive impressions of their company, and vice versa.

Of course, we don’t stay young forever (sadly).

As employees develop in their careers, their shifting desires turn from seeking to be noticed to needing to be empowered. Employees age 25 and up (older employees) are primarily driven by a need to feel their company and manager trusts them to perform. These workers are also motivated by doing exciting and challenging work, but thrive on duties with variety. Like younger employees, they want to work with a successful organization with a strong future, but they value more autonomy. While they need recognition to be engaged, they do not need it as frequently as younger workers.

So, can everyone get what they want?

As a manager, it’s your job to help drive engagement at all levels of an employee’s career. We know, it’s a hard job—but that’s why you get the corner office and comfy leather chair.

Here’s one thing to think about as you look to engaging your people. In our research in The Carrot Principle we uncovered the number one driver of engagement for employees universally is Opportunity and Well-being. Employees must feel that they have the necessary opportunity to develop, advance their careers, and enhance their skills. They also need to feel their manager and company care about them as individuals.

“Opportunity and Well-being” is the Thanksgiving meal itself—something everyone wants. From there, however, we see an interesting preference emerge in the number two driver of engagement. Younger employees feel engaged when they are given clear goals and feel “accountability” for the results. Accountability is still important to older workers, but not as important as “trust.” As we age we want to feel that management has faith in our abilities, and we want to feel our leadership has integrity.

So, in short, everyone wants to grow and develop; everyone wants to know their boss cares about them. Younger workers thrive on deadlines and clear responsibility; as we get older we are driven by a need to work in a trust-filled environment.

And we all want recognition. But as we age, we get less and less.

Here’s some more meat from the survey. While 44 percent of those surveyed below the age of 25 say they “frequently receive recognition” at work, by the time someone reaches age 35 that number drops to 30 percent. Again, 44 percent of those under age 25 said recognition was “excellent” in their organization, while only 25 percent of those over age 35 agreed.

So what creates great recognition? In one word: alignment. When appreciation is aligned with values and goals that matter, it is more motivating for younger and older workers alike. For instance, if we say our company is all about customer service, but the majority of our recognition praises operating improvements or teamwork or innovation, we are probably misaligned. It’s an important finding that teaches us to be specific in focusing appreciation on great work that drives our company forward.

But once again we see an interesting split on the second driver of recognition based on age. Appreciation needs to be “meaningful” for the young. In other words, recognition is most effective when the gratitude itself is an important event in the person’s life, evoking positive feelings. The appreciation event should also show that the company cares about them as an individual. For older workers, however, emotion is not as important as is specific acknowledgement of their above-and-beyond “performance.” As we mature, we want to know that our individual or team performance is valued.

Bottom line: Everyone on your team is ready and willing to dig in. While each member will be motivated in slightly unique ways, the good news is that everyone at the table loves Carrots.

*2008 Global Recognition Study commissioned by O.C. Tanner and conducted by Towers Perrin.

Get measurable results with The Carrot Principle

October, 2009

Oh, we remember the cooing. The cute little burps and hiccups. It seems like just yesterday we started with a baby carrot. But today our little baby is now in the real world, creating real results.

It was five years ago when we held our first Carrot Culture Summit in New York. Quite honestly, we weren’t sure if anyone would show up for that first event. Of course, we were thrilled to have more than 100 executives attend, even though it was little more than positive affirmation that the ideas in The Carrot Principle could work.

Did they work? Fast forward five full years to a few weeks ago—business leaders from around the world met in Boston for the fifth annual Summit. And this year, it was all about results—dramatic business results that organizations are seeing from living The Carrot Principle.

Ned Lidvall, CEO of Friendly Ice Cream Corp., and Cheryl Hutchinson, Friendly’s senior director of human resources, kicked off the event with details on how the 500-restaurant, 13,000-employee chain differentiates in their very crowded market.

Said Ned, “Every restaurant has a chicken Caesar salad. The way to win in a sea of sameness is to capture the hearts and heads of your people. You can’t pay people to be creative and passionate. You must create a culture that inspires behaviors through recognition.”

Cheryl added to that comment, saying that her organization turned to Carrots after an eye-opening employee survey in 2004, which showed a majority of workers did not understand the big picture, did not feel thanked for their efforts, and did not feel their manager cared about them.

It’s stories like this that have cultivated growth—both of The Carrot Principle and the organizations who have become our close friends.

Back then, the executive team at Friendly Ice Cream Corp. agreed that a change was in order, but most thought cash rewards would work best. Cheryl put her foot down. “They thought cash was king. They said, ‘Just give them cash or a $10 gift certificate.’ I asked them if they still had a box of trophies in the attic from high school? Yep, everyone did. The items in those boxes tell a story. That’s what recognition is. We want to have something that helps us remember our achievements.”

Cheryl then developed a recognition solution that connected to real business results—such as guest recovery and teamwork. And the results have been outstanding, including a 40-point upswing in trust levels on their employee surveys, not to mention stronger sales, higher guest counts, less guest complaints and lower employee turnover.

“The cost savings from reduced turnover alone funds recognition at Friendly’s,” said Cheryl. “How can you afford not to have a recognition program? It accelerates business results.”

Is that the full scoop? No way. The stories at the Summit continued to pile up.

Charlie Wall, senior vice president for United Water, reported that he is using The Carrot Principle in his 2,600-employee organization (1,800 of which are unionized). The principles are helping drive annual revenue growth of 17.5 percent a year (while revenue for its peer group has been dropping at a double digit rate). Gladys Williams-Tillman, vice president of training with insurance giant Aflac, reported how Carrots recognition training has positively changed their culture and is helping develop the next generation of leaders.

And then, there was the really big story, from Tom Stuewe, senior vice president of North American operations for call center giant Sutherland Global Services. At his 24,000-employee firm, Tom said nothing is as important as attrition. “If attrition kills in most industries, in ours it’s a homicidal maniac.” Why? Because if a call-center employee doesn’t show up, no revenue is earned and no customers are served.

Tom admitted that a 2007 employee survey showed too many Sutherland workers were actively disengaged on the job and dissatisfied with Sutherland as a place to work—certainly leading to high attrition rates.

Call it what you will—luck, smart marketing, smart observation, or destiny—Tom found us during a stopover in an airport one day. He was browsing in Hudson Book and stumbled onto a copy of The Carrot Principle. Tom quickly surmised that this is what had been missing from his organization. “We made it mandatory to read The Carrot Principle,” he said. And the corporation quickly introduced a recognition program tied to their corporate values. “To say we embraced recognition would be an understatement.”

Okay, that’s a cool story-a mere circumstance. But, we all know a good romance doesn’t last unless the moment of intrigue turns into something even better. And, in Tom’s case (and Sutherland Global’s case), it did.

Tom says their six-figure investment in recognition has been paid back 20 times—with more than a $5 million return. “I am amazed at the difference in our company in the last 18 months. People are happier. They don’t put their heads down when you walk by now. There’s a palpable change to enthusiasm levels. And employee survey results show a dramatic increase in just the first year measured: an 11 percent increase in employee ratings of Sutherland as a Great Place to Work, a 13 percent increase in employee loyalty, and a five percent drop in actively disengaged workers.” Survey firm Gallup was “floored” said Tom. “They called our change almost unprecedented.”

Not only that, Sutherland’s monthly attrition has dropped from eight to six percent, paying for the recognition program many times over. “No one can argue with our cost reduction gains,” said Tom. “The numbers come from finance. And they are more than 20 times what we invested.”

Tom summarizes: “Treat your people well, put a recognition program in place, and hold your managers accountable for using it.”

“Ahhh.” (That’s our sigh of pride—watching our baby carrot go out into the real world and help companies and people impact change.)  Yes, Carrots is playing with the big kids now.

Nevertheless, there’s still plenty of room for growth. We’re hoping that with results like these, many more managers (like you) will find that wavy green hairstyle, those bright shiny eyes, and that perfect orange skin hue, extremely attractive.

What are my Employees Thinking when I…?

September, 2009

Last month, we explored some of the most common workplace behaviors and what our bosses think of those behaviors (if you missed it, click here). This month, we’re taking a look at the other side of the ledger—what employees think of their boss’s behaviors. Y-Ouch? Check out what your employees may be thinking about you:

What do my employees think when I sit at their lunch table? Or even take them out for lunch?

Smart managers eat often with their teams to get feedback, build trust or just enjoy the company. When we’ve asked employees what they think of this, the most common responses are…(drum roll please)... “He actually likes us,” and “We’re all in this together.”

When leaders talk about the people who work with them rather than people who work for them, they’re cultivating a true team mentality. You’re not above them or below them. You’re all in the game together, and you’re all willing to pitch in.

What impression do I give my employees when I treat them differently if upper management is around?

Simple answer: You’re employees think: “Phony.”

Yep, toss up a big red flag on this one. This type of behavior eliminates trust, diminishes engagement, and reduces productivity—because your team is now chatting in the corner about how you’re a two-faced fake.

One of the attributes of the really great leaders we’ve studied is that they treat everyone the same, whether it’s an entry level employee or the CEO. If you do find yourself acting differently when you want to impress the higher-ups, use these opportunities with superiors as a way to build up your team members, which will help everyone in the long run.

How does my employee feel when I ask him/her to share an opinion in a group setting?

You’re employee thinks: “Wow, the boss wants my opinion and ideas? I guess I am valued around here.” Employees tell us that it’s very encouraging when their boss listens respectfully to their opinion in front of others. And that makes everyone willing to contribute ideas.

It’s very clear with this that each employee’s opinion matters. You’re in essence saying, “We want to hear from you.” Particularly if you’re asking people who are somewhat shy and may not normally share. We’ve watched great managers who make sure they go around the table before breaking a meeting to call out people if they haven’t made a contribution and ask for their input. Their underlying message is that they want to hear from everybody—even if an employee’s response is “sounds good to me.”

What does my team think of me if I usually come in later than everyone else?

Managers often have very good reasons for coming in late (they’ve been on morning calls or breakfast meetings, they’ve been to another facility, they’ve worked half the night on a problem, etc.). But unless your team has a good idea of where you’ve been, unless your schedule is somewhat transparent, your employees will talk, wondering, “He doesn’t live by the rules. Do we have to?”

Maybe your schedule can’t be shared publicly. But your team should know you are working as hard as you expect them to work, and that you care as much or more than they care. In fact, it may be a positive to teach your employees that your responsibilities to the team stretch beyond the time-clock.

What does my employee think when I present her with an award?

Easy: “I love that someone appreciates my great work.”

Employees feel valued by their boss when they receive awards. Who wouldn’t? Now here’s an idea: If you have a formal award program in your company, you might even let the employee know that you’ve nominated them for an award—regardless of whether they win the award or not. At the Academy Awards, the presenters list all the nominees, as well as the winners, and it’s a great honor even to be in that group.

What do my employees think when I keep negative news from them?

Can you say, “grapevine,” or “anxiety?”

Your workplace (and nature) abhors a vacuum. Be transparent with good news and bad and employees will feel included and be willing to contribute ideas to the solution. Keeping employees informed fosters engagement, trust, and commitment.  And, quite frankly, you need your people even more engaged during tough times than in good times. Clearly there is information about the organization that you may be privy to that you can’t share due to privacy concerns. Use discretion in certain areas, but disclose as much as you can if you want to build trust.

What does my team think when I recognize them as a whole but never individually?

Team awards are a very effective way to celebrate as a group the accomplishment of group-driven initiatives (record sales, project completion, etc.). When faced with the next challenge, teammates think, “We will find a way through this because we are winners, and winners celebrate.” But what do your outstanding team members think when you do not single them out? Those customer service heroes, innovators, those who own problems, team leaders, and so on, feel as if they’re carrying the weight of your “not-so-superstar” employees. They often feel that no one cares about their above-and-beyond contributions, and “good enough” is good enough. In addition to celebrating with your team, make sure you honor individuals who do great work and you will get more of the same.

What message does it send to my team when I work most of the day with my door shut?

While there are times when you need to focus or have private conversations, an open door sends a much more positive message than a closed. A door that’s shut says either the boss can’t be bothered to help the team, or that something bad is happening. Shut the door when you need to, but make sure everyone knows they can reach you via a quick knock or IM.

These are just a few of the areas where managers and employees can improve communication and their working relationship. If you have other questions you’d like us to answer, send us a note.

What’s My Boss Thinking When I…?

August, 2009

What have you done for your boss lately? Ever picked up a cup of coffee for her on your way into the office? Maybe you’ve found yourself joining the company bowling league just because your manager is on the team. Have you ever wondered what s/he thinks of you? Are you kissing up or a hardworking employee who goes above and beyond? Chester spent some time with ABC News last month to share the inside scoop on what your boss really thinks when it comes to your actions.

Here were the questions ABC viewers asked us. Our answers are a peek inside your boss’s mind:

What does my boss think when I show up for work at exactly nine o’clock and leave at exactly five o’clock?

If you arrive just in time for the daily stand-up meeting and are in your car at 5:01 p.m. every evening, the message you’re probably sending is that you’re just there to punch the clock. You don’t really care. Try using the fifteen minute rule, which says if you’re in fifteen minutes early and stay about fifteen minutes late, you’re showing that you are engaged. In this economy you’ve got to be focused on the task at hand, not the clock. Get the job done, which sometimes means working past quitting time.

What is my boss thinking when I don’t speak up in a meeting?

Your boss probably thinks you’re a new form of wallpaper instead of an energized, engaged go-getter. It also looks particularly bad if he catches you playing BrickBreaker on your BlackBerry. Employees who get promoted most often stay focused in meetings and chime in with intelligent comments. With that said, we don’t recommend you become a Chatty Cathy and caution you not to be the person who’s always trying to one-up everybody or only add negative remarks.

Now, what if you’re naturally shy? If you would rather eat glass (or English cooking) than speak up in a meeting, then think about a thoughtful follow-up email to the team that says, “I’ve been thinking about the project. How about we try…?”

What is my boss thinking when I come in late with an excuse?

“The car broke down,” “the traffic was horrible,” “John Travolta high jacked the subway train.” Chester’s father taught him these words to live by: Excuses, even when valid, are never impressive.

To illustrate, Chester was getting his tooth fixed the other day and asked his dentist, “What do you do when an employee shows up late, but with an excuse?” The dentist gave the example of receptionist Sue. Her car had broken down just the day before, on the way to work. Sue found the closest station, caught the next train, walked to work from there and was still ten minutes early. Now that’s impressive. And great employees impress.

What does my boss think when I am talking with my coworkers in non-work related conversations?

Most bosses know that it’s valuable to have a team that connects with each other now and then on last night’s TV shows, what the weekend was like, or who’s leading the office Fantasy Football rankings. But if your boss hears you talking about non-related issues too often, you run the risk of being labeled not only as a slacker but a distraction to others. Keep those personal conversations short and in small groups. A large, long gathering with you in the middle sends bad signals all over the workplace.

What does my boss think when I give feedback, some of which is critical, of his/her work?

Public criticism of your boss is NEVER a good idea. Even in joking. Great teams support each other and their leaders. Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t disagree with her ideas. Pick your battles sparingly, make your arguments to her face and not behind her back, and do it in private. Public dissension sends signals you are trying to undermine your boss or that you may even be gunning for her job.

What is my boss thinking when I’m visibly jealous when someone else is receiving praise?

We’ve all probably seen this happen, or perhaps you’ve been the jealous one. The scene is familiar: Ryan is getting an award, and you look around and can almost hear some of your team members’ thoughts: “That should have been me,” “If the boss were paying attention he’d have seen me do the same thing last week.” Body language can send poor messages. Don’t be a sore loser; be a team builder. Be happy and gracious for those receiving praise. In fact, be the person who recommends others for such recognition. And if you’re the recipient, be a gracious winner. We wouldn’t recommend, for example, that you hold up a giant foam “No. 1” finger during your moment in the sun.

To see Chester’s full ABC News interview visit chesterelton.com. You can see how Chester answered the questions above and others, including: What is my boss going to think if I come into the office all dressed up or if I come in with a pair of blue jeans on? What does my boss think when I organize every event in the office? and others.

The secret to getting more customers and more happiness

July, 2009

Loyalty. We treasure it in our friends. We rely on it in with our customers. And our success, both personally and professionally, is dependent on it.

As managers, we all know our success depends on building strong, long-term relationships with our customers while getting the best out of the people in our care. Multi-award winning researchers Timothy Keiningham and Lerzan Aksoy have found the glue that binds employee and customer relationships together is loyalty.

In their new book Why Loyalty Matters, these Ph.D. experts have found that a whopping nine out of 10 of us believe our workplace doesn’t instill loyalty. That’s frightening—only one person in 10 feels a strong connection to the company where they work, to their peers at work, and even to the people who report directly to them. The data suggests most of us give only as good as we get. In other words, most of us give back an equal level of loyalty to the amount we believe our companies or managers show to us.
 
The costs of this breakdown in company-employee loyalty are enormous. For organizations, lower productivity and higher turnover are just the tip of the iceberg. Keiningham and Aksoy also found employee disloyalty directly impacts the customer experience, lowering client satisfaction and loyalty, and ultimately their spending. The costs to us as individuals are no less serious. Our work directly impacts our happiness. If we are unhappy at work, it is almost certain that we will be unhappy in life.

We concur with the authors when they report the most important element in our happiness at work is in our connections with others—bosses, co-workers, and other associates and clients. But less than five percent of us—fewer than 1 in 20—invest a great deal of time building and sustaining relationships with our colleagues at work.

On the positive side, what Keiningham and Aksoy found to improve this warms our hearts. The most important element in building and sustaining relationships at work is something each of us is capable of doing—showing appreciation. Want to develop employee loyalty? Then understand that recognition of great work is far more important, the authors say, than even money. And it reaps far greater benefits. Their new research shows the best teams are built on relationships and recognition—not by assembling a team of individual stars.

Say the authors, “The idea that something so simple can have such a tremendous impact sounds too good to be true. But this isn’t just a platitude. We carried out the most comprehensive study of loyalty ever conducted, and our research proves it. Building a loyalty driven organization accelerates business results. And loyalty is driven in large part by appreciation.”

Saying I Love You in a Work Appropriate Way

June, 2009

When we speak to corporate groups, we’ll send out pre-surveys that ask employees to note the last time they were recognized. While we’ve shown in our research the most productive workplaces provide specific praise to their people every seven days, the majority of workers we survey say it’s been at least six months since their last public recognition moment, and about a third say it’s been longer than a year. Yikes!

So, with that in mind, how would you rate yourself and your organization on these two scenarios?

On our team when an employee gives a strong effort…

1. Public praise will occur the same day or next.
2. Employees will typically file their taxes at least twice before any appreciation is felt.
3. They’ll be thankful for their jobs—they can go home and hug their dog if they want a warm and fuzzy.

When an employee really delivers exceptional results…

1. The employee will receive an award with specific accolades such as, “Sue, you continue to amaze. The way you managed the shipping consolidation project showed true ownership, one of our core values. Thanks to your team’s work, we are now able to meet customer demands in half the time. Thank you.”
2. She will get praised, but the appreciation will inevitably include the word ‘but,’ as in “Sue, nice work on that project. But I think you could have done it even faster if you had-”
3. The phrase, “she gets recognition every two weeks in her paycheck,” will be bandied about.

We hope that you gave yourself a couple of As. Sadly, research tells us that isn’t the case for the majority of us. Managers, supervisors and other leaders usually don’t know the impact of their actions. And most don’t know where to begin in recognizing their people.

One simple way to begin building a Carrot Culture is to remember that effective recognition is frequent. To hit that “every seven days” goal, your methods will vary from providing specific words of encouragement, to hand writing a note of thanks, to thanking a team member in a staff meeting, and so on.

What’s interesting is that almost all of us understand the need for this type of frequent recognition in our personal lives, but we don’t translate this to our business lives. Think of it this way: Have you ever been in love? How often do you tell your significant other that you love them? In our personal lives, we tell those closest to us that they are important to us just about every day. We say it with three simple words, “I love you.”

At work, it’s even easier. We tell employees that they are important to us by saying just two words, “thank you,” about once a week. But ask yourself, how often do you tell those that work with and for you that you appreciate them?

To illustrate this point, the amazing animator Sean Womack has put together a fabulous little film. It takes about a minute to watch, and we promise you’ll never forget the message.

Check out the world premiere of Don’t Say I Love You right now, and send this link along to anyone you think might benefit from the message.

As another way to get started, check out this month’s tip from our featured Carrot Trainer Chris Kendrick. He has a great idea that will make your recognition efforts more frequent. You can also measure your frequency using our handy Frequency Log here at carrots.com.