by Michelle Geromel | Human Capital, Productivity
I was recently talking with one of my 1-on-1 coaching clients about imbalances in their team, and how that had negatively impacted their best and brightest people. Our best resources deserve to be elevated and honored for their loyalty, commitment and rock-star status. But often, especially when we are so busy doing the day to day, they are not. This includes hiring the best person for the job – period. There is a lot of talk these days about doing the opposite. And honestly, that isn’t going to net you the best outcomes. I’m not saying don’t cast a wide net, with open arms for all possibilities. But let’s make sure we hire based on capability, not something else (including desperation). Because when we hire for other reasons, everyone suffers (including your new hire). The other part of this equation is: If you allow sub-par resources to remain sub-par (by refusing to help them reach their potential; refusing to manage them and give them direction; refusing to give heart-centered accountability and definitions of success people crave; or refusing to admit you made a hiring mistake) then you will loose your best people. I know in the past few years, there are pockets of our economy where employers were desperate to have anyone work for them. However, to state the obvious – desperation is never a good long term strategy. And while it is understandable in the moment, that energy will harm a business faster than anything else. Yes, that can mean some difficult conversations and difficult actions. Yes, that can be painful in the short term. And yes, a...
by Michelle Geromel | Human Capital
Whenever morale decreases or there is room in the budget for things besides the basics, the idea of employee rewards are something management begins to think about. As a former Human Capital consultant, my feeling is that employee morale is never something that should be put on the back burner, because our people are our business. Literally. And while I do understand the constraints of business, there are often things management can do for employee morale that cost very little. Some of these suggestions will only apply to union or non-union employees, but use them or adjust accordingly. 1) Rewarding Performance With a Pre-Paid Cards: This works for both union and non union employees. However, normally unions will only allow incentives to be used as a reward for contribution of ideas in the employee suggestion box. When creating this type of reward, make sure to ask those in your target group, what types of rewards work for them. For example, when I was working as a management consultant at Deloitte, our firm often gave us Starbucks gift certificates. We were very happy with these. Around the same time, I was working with customer service representatives at a client. They said Starbucks cards did not interest them but places like Circle K did because that?s where they bought their gas, and gas cards for their favorite gas stations was much more important than coffee. Therefore, when choosing a reward, make sure the reward is something your target audience will value and be excited about receiving. 2) Rewarding Group Performance with In-House Lunch: With union employees it is often difficult to...
by Michelle Geromel | Human Capital
There is a lot of talk these days about Male Energy. And unfortunately a lot of that talk makes it sound like to have Male Energy is “wrong.” And that the only logical energy to possess is Female Energy. The logic is a little off. The reason for wars, the greed of SOME corporations, and oppression of women is that there was/is an imbalance in the world right now. Where there is and has been for thousands of years too much male energy, and not enough female energy. This doesn’t make Male Energy wrong. It just is pointing out to us, that there is a current imbalance in the world. The is a lot of Yang/Male Energy being exonerated and yet Ying/Female Energy has been suppressed and not honored or encouraged. And so I suppose it is only natural that some people in an attempt to tip the scales to be more balanced, have completely gone off the deep end. And are blaming Yang, Male Energy for all the ills of the earth. It is a lack of balance, and a lack of Ying, Female Energy being allowed to CO-EXIST that is the reason for these issues. In my opinion, there is nothing “wrong” with Male Energy. Just like there is nothing “wrong” with Female Energy. The world needs both. And men – actually do need more Male Energy than Female Energy. And women – we need mostly Female Energy, but mixed with a little Male Energy. (Hence the dot in the middle of each side of the Ying/Yang symbol filled with the opposite side of the spectrum.) Women...
by Michelle Geromel | Human Capital
Knowledge Management is something a lot of business owners think about, but don’t really see the value in until a key employee leaves and things become a muddled mess. While I can’t guarantee that a new employee’s transition into the fold won’t be less than smooth, I do know from experience, that a way to help someone succeed and feel good about their job is to give them the tools to do so. And knowledge management is one of those tools. Yes it’s another task for you to manager (unless you have a great training person) but it’s worth it in my opinion. Start by having each employee in the office make a list of what they do on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Also ask them to let you know what systems they use. And make sure that you have a way to access their accounts with an Admin override should they leave suddenly. I would suggest that if you have someone handling your AP/AR that you also make sure they leave for you (and you alone) the passwords to all of your accounts. So that you can access them if they are gone. For example, if an employee is receiving your office bills online make sure that you understand where those bills are going to (what email). And also make sure you also have the ability to access the accounts directly online as well. Make sure to communicate why you are doing this. Employees are sometimes wary for sharing knowledge because it is in a way, power. They may worry you are trying to reduce the...
by Michelle Geromel | Human Capital
Most of us our aware when we ourselves sabotage our business, out of fear of success, or some other subconscious belief. And when this is happening, we ourselves may not be immediately conscious of it. Until it happens enough for us to take notice and fix it! And business owners can also be unaware when an employee does the same thing. For example, many of the clients I worked with took a hit during this most recent recession. And, given that many businesses were no longer around, the fact that my clients were standing was a testament to their tenacity. But often, their long time employees don’t necessarily see it that way. They blamed my clients for the bad times, and seemed oblivious (from my perspective) of my clients having taken such good care of their employees when the times were good. However, the employees just wanted great bonuses and lots of overtime, even when the market was no longer allowing for that. So when hours became cut, the holiday party, bonuses and vacations were cut – there was resentment. A few employees out and out started stealing from these companies. Others were claiming hours worked that were bogus. (Another form of stealing.) Which is of course a much easier thing to manage and address than more subtle forms of sabotage. More subtle forms of sabotage can actually be more costly and are often overlooked because it is with the day to day operations staff in the office, not in the field or on the floor. Some examples of this type of sabotage I have seen from either employees...
