Posted on Sat, Jan 21, 2012 @ 11:48 AM
Why Worry About Customer and Employee Retention?
What is the cost of employee turnover? A number of research studies have calculated this, and it is expensive. We all know that.
But what is the cost of customer turnover? How do we calculate the amount of revenue we lose from this customer over the next year? 2 Years? 5 years. Incalculable, but very costly!
It is no wonder that the best companies spend tremendous time, energy, and resources on retaining both employees and customers. There are arguably no better dollars spent than these.
Organizational Culture. One of the critical factors that we look at when we begin working with a client is how the organizational culture contributes to employee and customer retention. An office that is welcoming and helpful makes customers feel wanted and valued. Employees who go out of their way to help each other and their customers provide an atmosphere of shared experience.
Intentional Value. Spending the time and energy to honestly understand our company’s culture is worth more than we can imagine. Look around at the world-class companies in any industry. They generally have a culture that puts their customers and their employees at the top of the value list. This is no accident. They intentionally commit to this because they have discovered that there is no better value available.
Focusing time and attention to retention of your employees AND your customers will contribute significantly to an increase in your bottom line.
Posted on Thu, Aug 25, 2011 @ 08:00 AM
One of my more challenging coaching experiences occurred when I found myself face-to-face with an extremely confident individual. He was not just confident; he was convinced that he knew the answers to practically everything. He spoke loudly and rapidly, as if he couldn’t get the words out fast enough. It was exhausting.
During the first 20 minutes I spent with this gentleman I realized what his co-workers experienced every day. They did not know how to slow him down or how to get him to listen to their suggestions or solutions. He already had them, so why should he listen to anyone else.
Listen first. I learned years ago from one of my mentors that the real work with extreme personalities is twofold:
- Listen long enough to let them know that you value what they have to say.
- Once you have heard them, have the courage to point out the short-term effectiveness of this behavior, but how ineffective it is in the long term. What they gain in short term solutions actually inhibits the growth of their team.
Benevolent Intent. At AFPD we believe in the concept of benevolent intent– most people in most situations are trying to do the best they can. Extreme personalities want to get problems solved and they want to demonstrate their worth to their teams, to their bosses, to their companies.
When extreme personalities see that their method of communication is self-defeating, it becomes much easier to help them move to a middle ground that works better for everyone.
Posted on Mon, Jun 27, 2011 @ 03:12 PM
Executives in our coaching program showed significant improvement in Emotional Intelligence competencies.
Study participants improved:
71% in Self-Awareness
63% in Self-Management
59% in Social Awareness
58% in Relationship Management
Posted on Mon, Jun 27, 2011 @ 03:10 PM
Data from a reputable survey show that executive coaching yields a Return On Investment (ROI) of 6 times the cost.
Posted on Mon, Jun 27, 2011 @ 03:08 PM
90% of leaders who participated in our in-depth leadership development program said that it made them a better leader.
Posted on Mon, Jan 31, 2011 @ 03:00 AM
I like the way I am. I don’t want to change. I am good enough. Leave me alone.
Have you ever tried to work with a person or a group like that? Apathy, what do you do when you are faced with it? It is really hard to get through.
Why do individuals and groups become apathetic?
Here are some thoughts:
It might cover something. What might that be? What is the person (or group) afraid to look at or reveal to others?
Fear of criticism. Raising the bar implies criticism. Maybe the group views acceptance of mediocrity as being kind to each other.
Conflict aversion. This is related to fear of criticism…I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, so I won’t mention that I see a possible improvement or an error.
No burning platform. Maybe they are unaware of any reason to change. Good enough is good enough. Change is hard and the status quo is comfortable.
Lack of awareness that things can be different. We have never seen it done any other way.
No competition. If we are the only providers of this service, we might not be very good, but we are the best there is.
Here are some possible antidotes:
Challenge with specifics. Apathy thrives on generalities. Require specific improvements.
Measure outcomes. You know the acronym…Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Bounded (SMART).
Educate. Increase awareness of competition and the accomplishments of others.
Make challenge acceptable. Normalize challenging the process and each other.
Ban personal attacks. Create an atmosphere that allows objective dialogue only, no personal attacking.
Posted on Mon, Jan 17, 2011 @ 03:00 AM
Turnover at the Executive level is extremely expensive and disrupting to an organization. The average cost to replace an executive is three times his/her salary and the organizational turmoil that is caused is almost inestimable.
Executive coaching is a viable option to prevent a potential high performer from derailing and causing loss and disturbance to the organization.
Interventional Coaching engages the coachee’s leader in the process in a much more active role than in developmental coaching. The process is more focused on goals that are agreed upon by the leader, the coachee, and the coach. The meetings alternate between private meetings with the coach and the coachee, and meetings that include the leader.
Typically the process includes:
- Initial meeting with the coachee’s leader to confirm needs.
- Coach meeting with coachee privately to begin to establish relationship.
- Coach, coachee, and leader meeting together to establish goals and objectives of coaching program.
- Administration and interpretation of assessment materials.
- Coach and coachee begin in-depth coaching on a regular weekly or biweekly basis, analyze data, identify style and personality issues and determine how those issues promote or detract from the individual’s effectiveness, and create a plan to address goals and objectives that are surfaced.
- Periodic meetings with the coachee, the leader, and the coach to ensure that progress is being made in the areas of concern for the organization.
Interventional coaching is a proven method to produce behavioral change in individuals. When the person who is struggling is a valuable leader in your organization, you will typically see a high return on investment.
Posted on Mon, Jan 03, 2011 @ 03:00 AM
Assessments can be on of the most meaningful experiences in an employee’s career. There are myriads to choose from now. How do you select the right one for your team?
Over the years I have been surprised at the methodology I have seen applied to selecting 360 assessments in organizations. Sometimes the selection is based on a referral; sometimes the selection is based on familiarity, “I took that in my last job”. It might be published by a well known organization or an internet search may have turned it up.
Here are some important criteria to keep in mind as you are selecting a 360 Assessment for your team or organization.
Know who you want to measure. What level of employee are you measuring? Do you want to assess senior executives or first-line supervisors?
Know what you want to measure. What are the skills or behavioral competencies that you want to measure? If you have corporate leadership competencies articulated, analyze how many of those are addressed on the assessment tool.
The tool should be convenient. Ease of use will determine how many raters actually complete the survey. If it is complicated or too lengthy the quality and quantity of respondents will suffer.
Results should be clear and easy to understand. The results should be clear and logical. Participants shouldn’t need a degree in statistics to understand their report.
If you want your organization to have the best return on the investment of time and money for 360 assessments, analyze and choose carefully.
Posted on Mon, Dec 20, 2010 @ 03:00 AM
Do you have a colleague who includes a lot of detail in their conversation?
Do they seem to go on and on?
Do you wish they would deliver their message with fewer words?
Me too. But when I need the information that they have, I need to learn to manage my impatience and effectively communicate by being a good listener.
Here are 4 strategies to be a good listener. (Even if you don’t want to.)
- Listen for nuggets of information that you need. Focus on those.
- Ask questions to steer the conversation in the direction that you need it to go.
- Take notes. Discipline your wandering mind by writing down salient points.
- Challenge yourself to learn something. If your colleague’s mind works differently from yours, you may pick up something valuable.
I hope I have been brief enough!
Posted on Mon, Dec 06, 2010 @ 03:00 AM
When I was 26, I volunteered to be the “Assistant to the Director” of a two week summer day camp program. I was to function as her “go-fer” and runner. Four days before the camp started, she broke her ankle. Suddenly I was on point. It was before the days of cell phones and instant messaging, so I was able to confer with her only once or twice a day, tethered to a phone on the wall. She was there (at home) to guide me, but the job was really on my shoulders.
Looking back on it, I bet she was more stressed and frustrated than I was. I bet she did not want to be directing me; she probably wanted to be doing the job herself. But we did it. We worked together and successfully directed a program for 300 kids with a crippled director and a green assistant.
It was risky. It was scary. It was a stretch. It was stressful. I have never learned more in two weeks time. Not even in an MBA course.
So what is the point? We all know that sometimes it feels like it is easier to do it yourself than to teach someone else, then follow-up, and correct and review.
Maybe that is a big stretch for you, to let go, to trust and support instead of being the doer. And besides, you feel bad because the extra work stresses your staff. They have enough to do. So you just keep doing it yourself. No one stretches, no one is stressed, and no one grows.
Can you remember a time that someone gave you a stretch assignment? It was hard, but you did it. How did you feel when you were successful?
Are you willing to be a teacher to someone else? Let them stretch their wings? Can you let go long enough to do that for a staff member? They might complain in the moment, but they will always be grateful.
Thanks Ruth, you really taught me a lot.