Here is a very easy scenario for you.   You go to work one morning and the boss tells you, “Here is what I want you to do.   Here is the way I want you to do it.  This is the way I want the results to look.  These are the exact steps that I want you to follow.  Do not vary from these steps even a little bit.  Get to work and have a nice day.”

As I write these words I can feel the motivation draining from my own body and mind, just as they would drain from yours. 

Alternatively the boss might tell you, “We need to get these 37 orders processed today.  At the end of the day I need to know that they’ve all been processed, plus I need a report that I can use to track the delivery dates on each one.  Thanks for making this happen. “

As I write those words I find myself asking, “Is that a lot of orders?  More than I would normally do in a day?  If so, what am I going to do to get these orders processed?   Who do I need to ask for help or assistance?  What should the report look like?”

And while I now have more questions than answers, my mind is bubbling with ideas and possibilities; limitations and workarounds; roadblocks and solutions.  In short, I’ve just engaged my brain, my thoughts, and my creativity to find a solution.   I may not know if I can do it, or how I will do it, but I’m sure going to try. 

It may be hard, but it’s going to be fun to figure it out and make it happen!

At least, that’s what your best, most engaged employees are going to tell you.  The one’s that you really need to run your business.  The one’s you can’t afford to lose because they feel bored, undervalued, or underappreciated. 

If you are a leader and you really put yourself into the role described you know exactly what I mean when I say it will be fun to solve the problem and not fun to follow someone else’s solution step by step, with no thought or creativity from me. 

Survey after survey has shown that one of the major things that any high quality employee wants is the ability to be autonomous.  To make decisions on their own, plan their own work, and find creative solutions to problems.  Yet somehow, in the name of management and control, we’ve managed to suck the creativity right out of them by insisting that things be done one way and one way only.   Sometimes we call this process “following procedures”.   Other times we refer to it as “best practices”, which really sounds impressive in terms of the results that someone else got using that procedure.  

The funny thing about “best practices” is that what worked so well for Bob, may not work so well for Sally.   Regardless of what we call it, we need to be careful to not stifle the creativity and autonomy of our best employees.  Instead we need to think about how we would feel if someone always told us exactly what to do and exactly how to do it.  Only then can we begin to unleash the power that is right below the surface for all of our best employees.

At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees.  We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line.  Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.

Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
http://www.ecilearning.com 

Smart companies are spending more and more time on the concept of engaging their workforce and developing highly energized work teams.  In some of my past articles I’ve written about the value of engaged employees and why many companies fail to take advantage of this simple concept  (see Why Don’t More Companies Engage Their Employees?)

But how does one go about the process of creating an engaged workforce, especially when the workforce is currently disengaged? 

There are a couple of factors involved in creating an engaged workforce including trust in the leadership of the company, an ability to utilize the special talents of the employees, and connection that exists between the employees view of life and the goals of the company.

I’ve written before that great teams are built on the foundation of great leadership and that great leadership is built on the foundation of great trust.  No employee can ever be seriously engaged in their job or their company when they lack trust in the leadership.  An employee that doesn’t trust their manager or executive team views every decision with a jaundiced eye.  They make assumptions that every decision is made for all the wrong reasons.  They make jokes about how incompetent the managers are, and look for every excuse to do as little as possible.

Many companies routinely review turnover to discover if an inordinate amount of employees are leaving from specific departments.  High turnover is usually a sure clue of leadership challenges and disengaged employees.  Of course, with so many companies going through downsizing it becomes more and more difficult to use turnover as the measure of a leader.

But downsizing or no downsizing, the employees know exactly who they trust and who they do not.

And just as every employee knows who they trust, they also know exactly what they are good at and what they are not good at.  One of the reasons that engaged employees love their jobs is that they get to feel successful because they are doing the things that they like and are good at.  Too often an employee is hired because they have a specific skill without regard to the employee's talents or preferences.  Employees hired for skill are often good employees, but not great employees.  They become great employees and engaged employees when they get the chance to do what they do best.

Finally, employees want to feel that their company and their company's mission is special in some way.  Regardless of how mundane your product or service may seem on the surface, they are looking for a personal connection and a source of pride through their company.  Whether that means they are involved in the manufacturing of life saving devices, bringing smiles to children through the toys the company sells, or creating a little creature comfort through the company's outstanding chocolate chip cookies, the employees want their job to have meaning, just like their life.  It’s not always apparent on the surface, but employees are looking for a connection between their personal values and the company's products and services.  Employees who make that connection are much more likely to love what they do, create a positive work environment, and have higher productivity.

Of course, there is much more to employee engagement than just these three items, but they are a start.  I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas as to what does, or would, engage you. 

At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees.  We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees
 
When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line.  Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.
 
Until next time.....
 
 
Dave Meyer
http://www.ecilearning.com 

Let me be honest right up front.  I HATE dealing with the airlines.  Business travel always sounds glamorous, but it really is not.  It’s physically and emotionally draining.  And pleasure travel is not much better. 

But the airlines… Oh, the airlines.   They make all of the other pain seem like a trip to Disneyland.  It’s like they are trying to make your life miserable.

It used to be that boarding was done from the back of the plane.  Of course, first class and frequent flyers boarded first.  I had no problem with that.  Even before I earned the privilege I understood the concept of giving benefits to your best customers.  But they didn’t really board from the back. Instead, they would call out rows and anyone who wanted to would board.  They made no attempt to control who boarded, so what would happen would be that you would get in line and then stand there while the guy in 15B stashed all of his stuff, nowhere near the back of the plane.  Of course, he wasn’t alone.  Many others did the same thing, pretty well screwing up any chance you had of boarding efficiently.

Then they changed the boarding process to board by zones.  “This makes sense,” I thought. “They will probably hit window areas first, back of the plane, etc.”   But it didn’t take long for me to figure out that I was in the last group to be boarded, and I was by the window, so my seat mates all had to get out of their seats to let me in.  Once again, I wasn’t alone.  This happened up and down the plane creating all kinds of blockages.  Or course the flight attendants were walking through the cabin closing overhead bins that were “full”.  Except most of them weren’t full.  And people were desperately looking for a place to store their luggage and had to keep opening the same compartments again and again. 

It’s like they are trying to make things tough on their passengers.

Then, in a moment of undisputed brilliance they started charging extra to check your bag through.  And it wasn’t a minimum amount, like $5.  No, it was $20 per bag.  And $25 or $30 each if you wanted to check a second bag.

The response to this from passengers was obvious.  People stopped checking bags.  Instead, they carried more and more things onto the plane, making that boarding process even more torturous.  On one flight I checked my suitcase but carried on my laptop.   When I stored my laptop in the overhead bin I found myself challenged by a flight attendant.  It seems those overhead bins are reserved for people with two carry-ons.

“So,” I said, “I paid more to check my bag and that entitles me to LESS space on the airplane?   I don’t think so“, I said as I sat down, my bag still in the overhead bin. 

It’s like they are trying to take advantage of those people who paid extra. 

And this isn't just with me personally.  Others have worse stories to tell.  In fact one of their passengers did just that.  Follow this link for the video “United breaks guitars”.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo&NR=1&feature=fvwp

It’s like they try to anger their passengers.

But in the context of this blog, what exactly is the point?

Simple.   At ECI Learning Systems we talk about how your corporate culture drives your decision making process, and how the synergy between that culture, the leadership styles, and the employee expectations creates the energy that runs your business.   So what is the culture in these airlines (and it’s not just United) that they make decisions that appear to be so “anti-customer”?   Does anyone really believe that the executives sat around and consciously tried to create a culture that was so anti-customer?

But somehow, they did.  Somehow they created an environment where decision after decision makes their customer experience worse.  I’m far from alone in hating the airlines.  In fact, I’ve yet to speak to anyone who enjoys their customer experience with any of the major airlines. 

Here is the big question.  If the airlines have created this type of toxic customer service experience, have other businesses done the same?  Has YOUR business unwittingly created an environment where decisions are being made that are hurting your business?

If you do not know exactly what your customers are thinking about you, it’s time that you found out.  If you don’t know what decisions your culture is driving, it’s time that you found out.  If you are not sure how your employees are representing your business, it’s time that you found out.

Contact ECI Learning today and discover how your company culture is driving your business. 

Until next time….

Dave Meyer
http://www.ecilearning.com  

The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from one generation to the next, says that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. In business a “dead horse” could mean a product that is no longer marketable, a process that has outlived its usefulness, or possibly even an employee who was once a valued contributor, but now, for all intents and purposes, is "dead."  

Unlike the Dakota Indians, modern businessmen have identified alternatives to simply dismounting a dead horse.  Here is a sample of modern alternatives.

1. Buying a stronger whip.
-  Perhaps the horse is not really dead.  If we merely apply more pressure we can get the results we desire.  This idea seldom works.

2. Changing riders.
-  Changing leaders is a common solution when the dead horse is a poorly performing department or company.  Of course, when the new rider declares that the horse is indeed dead, he is hailed as a visionary.

3. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.
-  This solution has been popularized in recent years by HR departments whose primary mission is to ensure that the company does not get sued.  This solution leads to a large number of dead horses throughout the organization. 

4. Hire outside consultants to study the dead horse and find the best way to use it.
-  Consultants often produce reams of paper reiterating the fact that the horse is indeed dead.  But since they are paid to find ways to properly utilize the dead horse, they always include a series of recommendations that are neither creative, nor useful.

5. Harness several dead horses together for increased speed.
-  We’ve all seen companies that literally reorganize all of their dead horses into one area and then wonder why the department underperforms.

6.  Declare that a dead horse has lower overhead and therefore performs better.
-  You laugh, but I’m guessing that you recognize this solution as one that your company has used. 

7. Rewrite the expected performance requirements for horses.
-  Another solution popularized by HR. This is generally done under the guise of “being fair” to all of the other dead horses in the organization.

8 Hire a coach for the dead horse.
-  Personally I’ve seen this one a number of times.  Sometimes they even call me.  Here’s the hint that the horse is dead.  The call doesn’t come from the dead horse (after all, they can’t talk) but instead comes from the dead horses boss.  Luckily, I refuse to work with dead horses.

9.  Assign the horse to “special projects”.
-  Sometimes these special projects last a few months, but sometimes the dead horses are around for years.  But it doesn’t take long for a dead horse to start to stink.

10.  Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.
 -  Dead horses still weigh a lot.  When a company makes a decision to promote the dead horse to a supervisor they build that weight right into their cost structure.

While this list is not necessarily original, it is nonetheless a too accurate description of how too many organizations handle their “dead horses”.  Look around at your organization.  Do you have one or more “dead horses” on the org chart?   If so, it may be time to heed the wisdom of the Dakota Indians and dismount. 

At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees.  We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line.  Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.

Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
http://www.ecilearning.com 

"We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature." – Edmund Burke

As a leader, you are charged with getting results from your organization, meeting or exceeding your goals and objectives, all while positioning yourself and your organization for future success. 

Positioning for the future is about seeing what is coming next and reacting to it.  It’s about a vision for the future, not based on the past, but based on what is coming next.  It’s about preparing for change before you actually know what the change is.

Being a leader means guiding yourself and your team through constant change.  You see, progress is not possible without change.  Growth is not possible without change.  Improved results are not possible without change.   For centuries experts have agreed that the only certainties in life are death, taxes….. and change.  (With apologies to Ben Franklin.)

Since everyone agrees that change is inevitable, the only question for you is, “Will you be the one driving the change, or will the change run over you?” 

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

But it is not.  One of the fascinating things about working with DISC (see DISC http://blog.ecilearning.com/categories/DiSC.aspx ) is that it helps us to understand not only people's behaviors, but also their goals, motivations, and fears.   And within the US population a full 69% of the people have a fear of change. 

69% …   that’s a lot of people.   And guess who they work for?

This means that as you are looking to the future and thinking about next steps, the people who are working for you are thinking about the present and how to keep things going the way they are.  They like stability and knowing what is going to happen next.  It’s not that their fear of change is an overwhelming, paralyzing fear.  Instead it could be described as trepidation over what might go wrong and a desire to make sure that those bad things don’t happen. 

For many leaders, they don’t understand this natural fear of change, but they do pick up on the fact that their staff are happy and content with the way things are going and don’t see a need for change.  Sometimes this observation leads to a belief that things really are ok the way they are and can sidetrack the leader from doing what needs to be done. 

But let us spend a few moments explaining some of the other truisms about change.  Because while change is inevitable, and while growth cannot happen without change, that should not imply that ALL change is necessarily good or that change automatically means growth. 

It doesn’t.

As the leader, your job is to identify which growth is positive and which is not; which change is necessary and which is not; which change will result in growth and which will not.  You must study change, analyze it, and when necessary, embrace it.  Making the right decisions on which changes to support and which ones not to support is a delineator between a good leader and a great one. 

Making the decisions on change will determine whether you are driving the change and being the leader, or if you will be a bystander and be run over by it.

At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees.  We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:

•           Your Company Culture

•           The Leadership Styles of your key managers

•           The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line.  Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.

Until next time.....

Dave Meyer

http://www.ecilearning.com 

As a young leader I was very focused on getting results.  (See Background and History at http://blog.ecilearning.com/categories/Background%20and%20History.aspx) Getting results is all that I was focused on because getting results meant getting ahead.   Later I realized the value in engaging the people around me because it allowed me to get even more results; all the while improving morale and creating a loyalty that helped me get through some very tough times.  In fact, it would be impossible to overestimate the value of the loyalty that was created.  My loyal employees not only stopped me from doing some dumb things, but they sacrificed their personal time and put in some Herculean efforts to make things happen to make me look good. 

As I got better as a leader and saw my people going above and beyond the call of duty to make things happen, I developed a belief that part of my job was making my employees “happy”.   Now, there’s nothing wrong with making people happy.  I mean, I would not want to take the opposite view and believe that my job was to make people unhappy, but the more I tried to make people happy the more challenging and confusing my role became.  I would gather key people together before making a big decision to get their input.  And then I would try to incorporate as many of their ideas as possible into a solution.  My belief was that as I incorporated their ideas into the final solution that they would buy into the idea and work harder to implement the changes, thereby making everybody happy while solving the problem.

But I was wrong. 

You see, as a leader you must realize that you cannot, and should not, try and make everyone happy.  “Making everyone happy” is the job description of a comedian, not a leader.  The more I tried to make everyone happy, the more confusing the solutions became.  And sometimes by melding too many ideas together we lost the impact that could come from a simpler solution.  We also lost speed of implementation, and, therefore, created more customer impact then we intended.  Instead of analyzing a problem, identifying the best solution, and implementing it, I would dilute a good solution with ideas from others just to show them that I valued their opinion.   Or worse, when it came time for something to change (and something always needs to change) I would become more focused on how to make sure that everyone was happy with the change rather than making sure that the change was properly thought out, properly planned, and properly implemented. 

All of these troubles were caused by my belief that leadership meant making people happy so that they would work harder.

But people don’t work harder when they are “happy”.  They work harder when they are engaged, when they believe in you and the mission, and they believe that you are doing what you believe is best. 

Eventually I realized that my employees were smarter than I was giving them credit for.  They didn’t need to see THEIR solution implemented.  They needed to see the BEST solution implemented.  They needed to know that I could analyze the possibilities, identify the direction, and communicate that clearly to the team.

Here is the question for you?

Are you focused on finding the right solutions, or are you focused on making people happy?  If you really want to get the most from your team, focus on getting your team engaged by creating and implementing the best solutions, not the most popular ones.

At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees.  We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line.  Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.

Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
http://www.ecilearning.com 

The more you study leadership, the more you realize that leadership has more questions than answers.  There are literally thousands of books that you can read about what leadership is, the qualities of a great leader, and even the official “laws of leadership”.  And while there are a variety of styles of leadership, most of these books say the same things in slightly different ways.  Because there really aren’t any new ideas in leadership, just new presentations of ideas that have been around for thousands of years.

As much as many of us lead, we are also followers.  We follow a boss at work or a minister at church.  We may even follow a friend in our social life, taking the lead from them as to what music we listen to, what TV shows we watch and what books to read.    As a student of leadership I find that I have certain authors or experts that I tend to follow and others that I don’t.   Some of this comes down to their style of leadership, or the way they present their thoughts.  Some of their material resonates with me, other material sounds contrived and insincere. 

This whole process of being a follower got me thinking about the basics of leadership.  I thought back to the leaders that I had been associated with in my career.  Some of those were exceptional leaders that I took pride in following.  In some way these leaders inspired me.  Others were leaders in name only.  They failed to inspire me.  I only followed these leaders because I had to, and frankly did as little as possible to support them.  Sometimes I had a choice as to which leader to follow.  Other times, I was given an assignment and the leader was already in place. 

Why did I follow certain leaders, but not others?   Thinking back I found that these exceptional leaders had some traits in common that made me want to follow them. I didn’t recognize these traits so much at the time, but in retrospect it is clear that if I could have asked my potential leaders some questions I would have known up front whether or not they would qualify as exceptional leaders. 

Here are the three questions I would have asked: 
 
Where are you going?

How will you get there?

Why should I trust you?

The first question is a question of vision.   If you are to lead me, where will you lead me?   Do you have a destination in mind?   Do you know what you are trying to accomplish?   Am I able to buy into this vision as something that I find good and meaningful?  How will we know when we have arrived?

That may sound like a lot of questions built into one, and it is.  But a good response to the question of “Where are you going?” would not only build confidence in the followers, but serve as guidepost for our decisions.

The second question is much more tactical.  “How will you get there?” tells me about your value systems, what you believe is important, and your style of leadership.   Do you believe that you will pick us up on your shoulders and carry us to our destination?  Or will we work together as a team, utilizing all of the resources available to us to achieve our objectives.  If you thought that you could carry us there on your own, I knew that you did not value your team members, would not seek counsel or advice, and would be inclined to make mistakes of omission in the process.  To me, the question of “How will you get there?” was as important if not more important than the question of “Where are you going?”

Lastly, I would want to know what this leader is going to do to demonstrate to me that I should trust them.  Any discussion about trust always starts with what a person says.  But more important than what a person says is what a person does.  Trust does not come from your words, but from your actions.  Tell me I should trust you and I will pause in thought.  Show me I can trust you and I will follow you. 

These are the three questions that I would want to ask anyone who might be a potential leader for me.   What three questions would you ask?  

At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees.  We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line.  Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.

Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
http://www.ecilearning.com  

I’ve written a couple of articles about the importance of Employee Engagement and how it can bring positive results to the bottom line.  Many people read the articles and comment about how great it sounds to work for a company like that, but they say that their company doesn’t care about the concept.  With all of the bottom line impact from Employee Engagement, it makes one wonder why more companies don’t apply more focus to the concept. 

That really is a great question and one that deserves a really good answer.

Unfortunately, I don’t have one.

When I speak with executives at any level about the concept of Employee Engagement, they all seem to understand the concept.  They smile; they nod their heads; they make an intelligent comment or two; and then they move the discussion some place else. 

Are they afraid of what a discussion about Employee Engagement might reveal about them or their company?   Are they concerned that I might move from a discussion into a sales pitch?   Or do they really not understand where Employee Engagement fits into their role and into their organization?

The executives that I speak with are generally bright, intelligent people.  They understand the complexities of running their own business, the complexities of financial statements that come from their accountants, and they certainly understand the technical aspects of their business.  In other words, they understand all of the “things” associated with their business.  What they seem to lack is a clear understanding of the impact that people, both ordinary and extraordinary, have on their business. 

For most executives, their careers started out much the way mine did (see Background and History on the blog site).  They find themselves rewarded for getting results and having success in their jobs.  As they progress up the career ladder they get better at doing the things that they already do best.  But they don’t get better at the skills that separate average executives from top-notch executives; engaging and inspiring their people.

Sometimes you will find a progressive executive who has done some reading on Employee Engagement, but has never really experienced it firsthand.  Since they are anxious to learn new things and apply them to the business, and since they see the value of Employee Engagement they do what comes natural to them.

They delegate it to someone else.

The receiving party is generally the VP of Human Resources.  Logical, right?  After all, the Human Resources department is focused on people and this is a people issue.   He may even ask for reports to measure “how that whole Employee Engagement thing” is coming along.  And the VP of HR then sometimes implements something like an Organizational Survey to measure the level of Employee Engagement, thereby furthering the myth that Employee Engagement can be delegated.

Employee Engagement starts at the top of the organization with a strong commitment to delivering world class products and services.  With that comes a pledge to ensuring that every employee is dedicated to, and believes in, the same concept.   This is how Employee Engagement gets started.  

At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees.  We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line.  Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.

Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
http://www.ecilearning.com 

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...”  -  Charles Dickens

Recently I had a very interesting experience when visiting two companies.  Both companies were of similar size, in similar industries, with similar revenues, but different levels of profitability.

When I walked in the door at the first company I was met by a smiling receptionist who asked my name, and who I was there to see.  She called back to confirm my appointment and then offered me something to drink while I waited.  She continued working while talking with me and answering the phone. 

“Are you here for a job interview?” she asked.

“No” I replied.  “Are you hiring?”

“I think in some ways we always are” she replied.  “We don’t post our job openings any place, but we always seem to have new people here.  I think they are always looking for the right people.”

All this time she was completing paperwork at her desk, talking with me, and answering the phone with a smile in her voice. 

A few minutes later my appointment came out to greet me and we headed back to her office.  The walls of the office were adorned with group photos of the employees in their various endeavors.  Some were clearly work related, celebrating the launch of a new product or service.  Some were of the groups at play outside of the office.

Later, during a break in my meetings, I bumped into a technical employee who looked like he had been having a very rough day. 

“I’ve been here since 2AM” he told me.  “I got paged in for a technical issue and have been working it ever since.”

“Does this happen a lot?” I asked. 

“It happens” he replied.  “I don’t mind.  It’s what I do.”

He went on to tell me how much he liked his job, liked the company he was working for, and how calling him in made him feel “special” because he felt needed.  Was he getting paid extra for coming in at 2AM?  Nope.  But he didn’t give that much thought.  He liked what he was doing and where he was working and that was what was important to him.

A few weeks later I walked into the other company.  At the receptionist desk it was clear that I was bothering the young lady who was trying to read her magazine. 
“Sit” she said, and I complied.

I tied to make small talk by asking her how she liked her job.

“No one likes their job” was her response.  “I get paid to be here.”

Looking around the office area you could not help but notice the sparseness.  Lots of cubes; some occupied, others not.  The walls were either bare or they had those silly, framed motivational posters.

“Soar like an eagle” one said.  Another one extolled the positive aspects of teamwork. 

Once again, I found myself with the opportunity to chat with a couple of the employees.  They weren’t very talkative and didn’t have much to say.  They were watching the clock, anxious for 5PM to arrive so they could leave. 

I asked one employee how long they had been working their.  He replied with an expletive. 

“Why are you still here?” I asked him. 

“It’s a job” was the reply.

I had other conversations with people at both of these companies, but the pattern was very consistent.   At the first company the employees were happy and engaged.  Being there was more than just work for them, it was part of who they were.  They didn’t look for or ask for special privileges or extra pay. Instead they looked at each day as a chance to be with their friends and do things that they liked and enjoyed.  They didn’t have jobs.  Instead, they were part of something bigger.

At the second company, the people I met did as little as possible, as seldom as possible. They viewed each day as another day in their life that they would never get back.  By doing as little work as possible, they hoped to stretch out their jobs as long as they could so they would keep getting paid.  I actually heard them use the word “peons” when talking about their role in the company.  The people they worked with were not their friends and they couldn’t wait for the day to end so they could leave. 

Profitability?

The first company, probably due to the high level of employee dedication and engagement, was profitable and moving forward.  Not surprising, the second company was struggling every day with profitability declining. 

As an employee, or as a CEO, ask yourself this question.

Which company would you rather work for?

At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees.  We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line.  Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.

Until next time....

Dave Meyer
http://www.ecilearning.com

If you are a business executive you are no doubt familiar with the concept of ROI.   ROI stands for Return on Investment and measures the increase in value or profitability on money that is spent.  For example, if the company spends $1000 on marketing they expect additional sales in excess of $1000 to cover their costs and provide them with additional profits.  Failure to earn back the dollars spent plus additional revenue will likely result in them not investing more on that same plan. 

Businesses routinely measure their ROI on all types of expenditures and are constantly looking to maximize their ROI by comparing their various investments against each other.  The higher the ROI the happier the company.

So what is ROE?

ROE stands for Return on Employees and measures the value that you are receiving from each employee in comparison to the salaries and benefits that they are paid.  The more return you receive from each employee the more you want to continue to invest in them.  While those employees who have a small or negative return might find themselves being replaced by new employees with a higher potential.

Why have you never heard of ROE?

Maybe because most companies fail to measure the return from their biggest ongoing investment:  their employees. 

For most companies, the closest thing they do to measuring their ROE is the annual performance review.  The purpose of the annual performance review is to identify where each employee is doing well (providing a positive return) and those areas where the employee is not doing as well (providing no or very little return).   Theoretically, the annual performance review is the perfect time to accurately measure the ROE of every employee in the organization and determine who to invest in, where to invest, and how much to invest. 

Of course you and I know better.  For too many managers the annual performance review is an unpleasant task that is required to be completed, in a limited timeframe, following a rigid format, that doesn’t allow or encourage any real attempt at measuring how valuable each employee really is.  Managers often view performance reviews as a chore, required by Human Resources, forced on them when they have the least available time and keeps them from doing the things that are really important, like completing their weekly status reports.  

It’s no wonder that most performance reviews are not worth the electrons used to create them.

It’s time for companies to take a whole new view of their employees and start to measure the return each employee brings them.  Performance reviews are a possible place to start, but not the way most companies currently do them.  It’s time to start looking for a Return on Employee for every employee, and that means providing the same diligence to our employees that we do to all of our other investments.

Until next time…..

Dave Meyer
http://www.ecilearning.com