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Showing posts from May, 2009

WORKING IS UNHEALTHY

  Recent research by Kelly Services in 33 countries indicates that 29 percent of the employees perceive their work as unhealthy. One in eight (13 percent) employees report being sick, while they actually are not. Employees report problems with sleeping and stress due to the lack of recognition at work.   This lack of recognition is actually  very important. It is key to give your employees the feeling that they are needed. And it is relatively easy to recognize people for what they did. It only costs a little bit of time from the manager. The same applies to the manager himself. He or she really wants to be valued and appreciated as well. In a lot of organizations the attention goes to the leaders and to talent management. But where are the managers?? They are really the glue in any organization and most of the time they feel really being squeezed between the demands of the leadership team on one hand and the frontline on the other.   What can you do? Just ask people wh

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

  I did ask that question to several specialized groups in innovation. The common denominator in the answers is that innovation is the responsibility of a team.   No single person should hold that responsibility. But this is the phase when there is already an idea or an issue to be solved. People agree that all the relevant functions need to be involved.   Okay, but what happens if the idea is implemented. What happens then to the team? Will it be dissolved or …? In the current market it is crucial that innovation is not a one-off activity. The recent developments in the financial markets,   technology,   and politics stress the need for ongoing innovation.   And every employee should be engaged in this process of generating ideas to improve the process and/or to meet   the constantly changing customer needs. Only the leadership team can create an environment where this mindset can grows.   And who should be the main driver in the leadership team? My suggestion would be

THE GROW-MODEL FOR PERSONAL AS WELL AS BUSINESS GROWTH

When I have a coaching client, they usually come to me because they have a problem. Let’s say that the coachee is out of work. He wants a new job, but he also would like support in defining which job/career is an excellent fit to his needs and passion.   One of the coaching tools we use is called the GROW-model. This is quite straightforward and powerful. G = what are your Goals? What is it that you really want? R = what is the current Reality? Where do we start from today? O = what are your Options to achieve that Goal? What are the alternatives? W = what Will you do? What is your next step?   As a goal the coachee might have two goals, to reduce his current expenses (as he has no income now) as well as to find a new job. The current reality is that he has high fixed spending on his mortgage and the tuition of his children in the university. He also didn’t like his previous job, so he really wants to make a switch to a different career. He has many options. His f

THE SOFT SIDES OF CHANGE ARE THE TOUGHEST

Recently two studies from IBM as well as from McKinsey clearly highlight the urgent need to focus on the soft aspects of change, rather than on the hard aspects. This is a must to succeed in today’s ever faster changing environments.   In 2008, a McKinsey survey of 3,199 executives around the world found that only one transformation in three succeeds. Other studies over the past ten years reveal remarkably similar results. It seems that, despite prolific output, the field of change management hasn’t led to more successful change programs.   IBM found that, on average, 41 percent of projects were considered successful in meeting project objectives within planned time, budget and quality constraints, compared to the remaining 59 percent of projects which missed at least one objective or failed entirely.   Although the results from the IBM study are ‘better’, it is clear that the practice of change management needs to improve substantially.   What needs to be done to imp

THE KEY IS TRUST

In any service industry the product (i.e. the service) which gets delivered to the customer is the person who delivers the service. The quality of the service is perceived through the behaviour of the person who delivers. So, if you buy consulting services, the quality of the service is identical to the quality of the consultant. If you hire a project manager, it is the way in which he or she performs, which determines your perception of the service itself. The same is true for the maintenance engineer who comes and fixes the hardware problem in your pc or server.   This means that there is huge influence from the people who deliver services on the level of customer satisfaction. This means that it is crucial to make sure that your people are properly trained to perform the requested services, as well as that they are satisfied themselves. A satisfied employee will deliver much better services than an unsatisfied employee.   As a company you can put in a lot of money and effo

THE FRONTLINE: YOUR REAL BUSINESS CARD

 What most people tend to overlook in service companies is that the customer identifies your company with the way they are treated by your frontline people. If they are treated nice, polite and effective, they think you have a great company. And if they are treated with disinterest and no respect the customer has a negative perception about your company.   Let me share with you a recent experience with my golf club. This club is   ranked within the top 20 courses in the country. And they want to be within the top 10. The way a customer experiences this golf club is determined by (of course) the course AND by the employees they meet. The frontline people in the golf club are the shop assistants, the waitresses in the restaurant and the green keepers. Any customer will meet those people.   In the shop there is almost every other week a new assistant. This obviously is not a good sign. Why don’t they want to stay? These new employees don’t know the members and they are trained

SOS FOR INNOVATION

With all the focus on the financial crisis, lay offs and closure of companies, most organizations tend to forget that innovation is crucial to their survival. If you don’t make sure that customers will keep on buying your services (now and in the future), you are on a dead-end street. So, you have to make time and resources available for innovation on an ongoing basis.   This innovation has to be S USTAINABLE, O PEN AND S IGNIFICANT (SOS).   An innovation is sustainable when it focuses on economical, social and environmental benefits. Customers will only buy your services when there is no negative impact on the environment. More and more will they demand green services. Organizations also have a social responsibility for their employees, their neighbours and their community. You also have to create a culture of innovation within your organization. Otherwise the innovation will be a one-off activity and that will not give you sustainable success. All the employees have to b

SAVING COSTS OR INCREASING ROI

The financial crisis is taking all the headlines. Not only in the news, but also ‘the men in the street’ is talking about it. This is quite understandable; given the impact it has on every individual. Whether you lost your job, lost your money or are worried about the safety of your savings.   However, the more you talk about it, the more energy you attach to it. And things, which you give energy, will grow. This is one of the reasons why a recession will grow and continue.   Also the people are felling worried and uncertain. It is better to focus your energy on positive outcomes. That will make you feel fulfilled and enthusiastic. Instead of focussing on cost cutting or lay offs it is much better to focus on what you do want to achieve. What are goals, which get you, and your employees fired up?   As a leader you are not alone in this task. If you engage your employees you will surprised about their ideas and commitment. That starts by being open (and sometimes even bein

RUNNING SERVICES

Last week I had to buy a new pair of running shoes. Because I do run three times per week, I need to buy regularly new shoes. After   a certain mileage the cushioning is not working properly anymore. Most of the time a starting pain in my Achilles heal is the right indicator…   I do go to a specialized shop called Run2Day. They are an example of services which are really designed to fit the customer. First you have to show your old shoes, so they can see how your usage is. Then you have to run a short distance, which is recorded on video. Once that analysis is done, they know what your needs are. Of course they have asked you how many tomes you run and what the distance is. Then they w some models which are suitable for your style. You try them on and you can even run with them outside of the shop to really test how they feel. If needed you can try on other pairs to match them. If you have made a choice, they tape you again on the video camera to see whether you get the right sup

REWARDING ROLES OR FEARFUL FUNCTIONING

The lay offs are cascading through geographies, regions and countries. It started in the US, Europe is now following and soon it will be in the East. Whether all share the same reason for those lay offs is very doubtful. It looks that many companies gratefully use the financial crisis as an argument to get rid of some people.   The main goal of these lay offs is to have cost savings. This will be the case in the short run. In the long run this might very well be different.   The employees who are ‘allowed’ to stay will have to perform the extra work, which normally the laid off employees would do. This means adding extra hours to an already very busy job. It has also an impact on customers. They used to have e.g. a dedicated account manager who knew them and their business and now he or she is gone. It happened a couple of years ago when I did choose a bank, because I would get a personal account manager. He knew my financial situation, my goals and my challenges. Then he was lai

RETAIL AND SERVICE

Last week I had two quite distinct experiences with the customer service offered in retail stores.   In the first store , I was looking at the video cameras, because it would be nice to have a videoblog as well, isn’t it? I was looking whether they had the Flip Video which was featured in the last FC issue. I was the only person in the store, but he didn’t pay any attention, as he started to vacuum clean the entrance. So, I decided not to wait and ask for help. When I told him that I was looking for the Flip Video, he asked me whether I knew the part number, so he could check it in the computer….?! The computer did not know about this product. Then I checked the other cameras. For which he had to open the special display. When he handed me one of the cameras I tried to use it, but it didn’t work. He said that is because the battery is not inserted. As he made no effort to correct this, I stopped my search……..   I have nothing personal against this young man. There is a lot to

OUTGREENING THE STATUS QUO

I just finished reading the new book from Thomas Friedman, Hot, Flat and Crowded. It is a real eye opener and not   for those with a weak heart. After the credit crunch, he says we are very close to the climate crunch.   He makes it clear that the green revolution we need will be the biggest innovation project in history. It will change everything, from what you put into your car to what you see on your electric bill.   This is not going to happen overnight. He sees an important role for governments to facilitate all this. But that will be rather difficult, as most governments tend to favour the interest of the powerful oil and gas lobby. So, this comes back to the willingness of governments, of companies and of individuals to change. And most would like to see that others change first………   This is especially true in this area of energy consumption. People will only buy these new green products and services if they are better and or cheaper than what they have now.  

WHO CARES ABOUT THE CUSTOMER?

Last week my friend from New York arrived in Amsterdam. The checking out lasted longer than other flights which arrived earlier. So I called her and asked what the problem was. It appeared that 2 containers of luggage were missing. Not just a couple of suitcases, but 2 whole containers! And this was a direct flight. How is that possible? How can those be missed?   Okay, you have to accept the fact that it happened. Then she had to register her loss. Because there were so many people involved, she just got a blank form which was not filled out. Only a phone number was written on it. That was her only ‘proof’ of her missing luggage. They could not inform her when her luggage would be arriving, although there are 4 flights daily.   This is the most striking issue of customer service. It can happen that your luggage get lost. But the key information that you need as a customer is when your luggage will be arriving after the incident. As a customer you need to plan for that. Do

LOVING LEADERSHIP

Currently I am reading the great book ‘ The Power of Design’ from Richard Farson. In his discussion about leadership he says the following: “Love and passion are the organizing forces in leadership and management, overriding technique or skill, just as they are in almost everything that is worthwhile – romance, parenthood, creativity. Leadership is then like being in love”.   Further he discusses the new requirements for leadership. What does today’s manager need to think about? The paradoxical nature of human affairs. The necessary conditions for achieving innovation. An understanding of the true nature of success and failure. An understanding of the changing workforce. An appreciation of the new context of work. A commitment to a new ethics of leadership. The development of a courageous vision.     This puts a high emphasis on learning and accepting these new qualities and new learnings. But love for learning is a conditio sine qua non for leaders in this

LEVERAGE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

There is a lot been written about the importance of the experience economy. That what really counts is the customers’ experience.   When we are talking about the customer, who is really the customer in a service environment? In a business –to- consumer setting, the customer is the user of your services. For instance the customer is the guest in a hotel, the person whose washing machine is getting repaired, or the man who wants to get a new passport from the government.   In a business-to-business setting things are less obvious. There are more customers involved. You have the ‘decision making unit’ , the business manager who decides to buy your services, The purchasing manager who does the negotiations and the contracts. And of course there is the user of your services. This is also not so clear. If you buy IT services, who is then the user? Is it the CIO, the IT operations manager or the end-user, an office worker, who needs those services? Or take another example, a flo

INNOVATION: WHERE TO START?

The current state of the economy is ideal for making a fresh start. There is so much changing inside and outside of the organization that you need to formulate an adequate response. It was Susan Jeffers who said: “if you do what you did, you get what you got”. This is true ate the personal level as well as at the organizational level.   So, assuming that you want better results, you have to do something differently. And all doing starts with your thinking. This means that ‘fresh’ thinking is required. This applies to all leaders, managers and employees. To make a start with fresh thinking, you can gather a diverse group of people, people from different age groups, race, gender, experience, functions etc. Even better is to reach out for people outside of the company’s boundaries. For instance if you want to cultivate growth, you can involve a farmer or a biologist. If you want to excel at your service delivery, you have to involve your (potential) customers.   Going to semin

HEALTH CARE OR HEALTH BUSINESS?

The New Year started with a challenge. My mother had to go into the hospital urgently. On New Year’s Day I phoned the doctor on duty, because her condition was worsening fast. Fortunately she came rather fast and after my explanation of the situation. She did some investigation and decided that she had to be transported to the hospital. Soon the ambulance came and the medical people started with the diagnosis again. They ‘decided’ to take her to the hospital. In the hospital the expert started with his diagnosis and they took some pictures. After quite a while he talked with us and explained what his conclusion was and that she had to be removed to another hospital. However there were no ambulances available so we had to wait several hours.   Once we arrived in the other hospital, my mother was brought into the first aid department and the whole process started again. We had to wait for a doctor to diagnose her, but it was busy so we waited again several hours. I asked why we had

For the environment………

In most hotel rooms you will find a card in the bathroom, which says: ‘Together we can contribute to improving the environment. We should avoid unnecessary use of water or detergent. If you leave your towel in the bathtub, we will replace it with another one; if you think you can use it again, please leave it on the towel rail.’   Obviously this sounds good and it triggers me to consciously support the environment. And it does it a positive way. There is no threat in it. So, it is easy for me to comply and to hang my towel on the rack after usage.   But guess what happens when I return and my room is cleaned? A new one replaces the towel. Well, I thought that must be a mistake. But the next day, the same happens, my towel is replaced again!   What does this mean? Actually two things, which are crucial for implementing any new service. The people (in this case: the maids who clean the room) who have to deliver the service have to be instructed on the new

Flying with a top (?) innovative carrier.

Last week   I did fly with Emirates. As they are   number 42 in FC’s top 50, I had high expectations. However it is clear that they look for their innovation towards their airplanes, technologies and procedures, rather than at the customer experience.   The customer experience starts already with checking in. There were long waiting lines and the person checking me in, had not very much experience with tall people who need leg space. Their seats are more close to each other than on other airlines, so the least I needed was an aisles seat. Well after a long wait she finally provided me with an aisles seat. Then we had to wait in the security area before going to the gate. This resulted in huge waiting lines. If they had informed us about this, we would have gone straights to the gate and not waited. Just providing that information would have been very helpful. As we had a stopover in Dubai we had get to another gate and flight, but we were not informed on which gate we needed to

CUSTOMER SERVICE: DIFFERENTIATOR OR NUISSANCE?

Last week my car had to have maintenance. I went to a general service provider, so not a brand dealer. They are located close to where I live, the pricing is excellent and the quality is very good. But the best reason to be their customer is the service they provide. They are open till well after 5 pm and on Saturdays, which is exceptional. They discuss with me what the best and cheapest solution is to certain problems. When they are working on my car, I get a rental car for free! And when I returned with a problem, they immediately helped me out, without any waiting time. There are many customers who like them very well, as it is rather busy at this Saturday morning. The owner explains to me that he get new customers from dealers who show them their invoices. He is really surprised by the hours, which are charged, as well as with the rates. These dealers even tell him to charge more. But he says that he only charges for the real hours worked and for a reasonable price. Wow, that

CUSTOMER SERVICE: nuisance or added value?

Last month I did fly from Paris to Mexico City, where I was supposed to catch the next flight to Puerto Vallarta. Yes. I needed some sun and warmth…. While we were already boarded in Paris and waiting to take off, the message came that there was a delay due to maintenance issues. Well, that is not a problem in itself, as I rather wait than fly with troubles. The delay lasted for more than 1,5 hours.   So, when we arrived at Mexico City I did miss my connection to Puerto Vallarta. Many more people missed their connection. However, nobody told us what to do next. Finally we did find out that we had to go to the customer service office of this particular airline. It was a challenge to find it, as it was located next to the parking garage and there were no signs at all. After searching for a while, we did find the office, or rather the closed door to the office. There was a small sign on it which mentioned that they were only open between 12 and 2 pm. And the current time was 11 pm

CONFORMITY KILLS INNOVATION

In many organizations people are encouraged to continue with   ‘business as usual’ and to maintain the status quo. When you think about this, it is quite logical to behave in this way.   The current leaders and managers have risen to their position, because they supported this current way of doing business. And apparently they were good at it, otherwise they would not have been promoted. This means that leaders are really stimulated to stay in their comfort zones.     A lot of organizations see innovation as a side activity to the main business. An activity, which has to be finished, quickly, so they can quickly return to the business as usual. They want innovation to ‘behave’ according to the rules of the existing business. This conformity will not create a fertile environment for change and innovation. It was Susan Jeffers who said, “if you do what you did you get what you got”. This applies to your business as well. So, if you want different results you need a different

CHANGE IS THE NEW NORMAL

A lot of organizations still think that change is an exception to the normal situation. They think that the goal is to return to the status quo as soon as possible.   In the IT industry I was used to having two major reorganizations/changes per year and some smaller ones during the year as well. However when I moved to the airline industry they were used to one major change every three or four years. This means that they see change as the exception, even as something that you should minimize. The people in those organizations are thus stimulated not to change and to maintain their current work practices. There was an employee who told me quite frankly that he did the same type of work for almost ten years, even though he had experienced minimal three major changes. He just changed the name of his department, but kept doing exactly the same work. And this is one of the reasons why only one in three change programs succeeds.   This situation occurs quite frequently: Change

BOTTOM UP CHANGE

All the news media are having a very busy time. The election for the next world leader, the credit crunch and   at a distance the climate crunch. There is so much happening and it is very unclear what the outcome will be.   This creates uncertainty with in companies, customers and the general public. Will I keep my job? What is happening to my savings? Will my bank survive?   For how long will this last? Is it wise to invest now? Banks, which exist today, might be gone tomorrow or be tuned into ownership by the government.   It is impossible for leaders to have all the answers. It is the collective genius of all the employees, which need to be mobilized. This situation has threats, but also provides a lot of opportunities. If you use all the ‘eyes and ears’ of your employees you will clearly find a stimulating direction.   It is even more powerful to create a new movement from the bottom up. The Designers Accord, as mentioned in the recent FC article, is an excellent ex