In my younger days, I worked as an accountant for a shoe company in Akron, Ohio. The office building had a warehouse attached, and we shipped shoes to our 360 stores across the upper mid-west. It was a nice enough office. The accounting department where I worked was downstairs, so we didn’t have any outside views, but it was well lit and open. Cubes were not really the rage back then, so our accounting clerks sat in rows of desks in an open area. There was no real privacy, and only the managers had telephones.
It was nothing special, but it was ok. I had a picture of my wife and children on my desk. That was as personal as it got in those days.
We were owned by another shoe company in Endicott, New York. Three or four times a year we would get visitors from the home office and they would spend a couple of days working with us.
I always found it odd during their visits. Although nothing was said directly to us, I was always under the impression that they were sincerely thrilled to be visiting us. It was not a joke. They LOVED coming to visit and looked forward to it. And, for the likes of me, I couldn’t figure out why. After all, Akron, Ohio is not exactly a vacation Mecca.
We had a lot of young women working there as accounting clerks and I wondered if maybe they didn’t have a crush on one or two of them. But as I watched, I didn’t notice any real flirting in either direction.
It baffled me.
Then one day I was asked to visit them in Endicott. This was a very big deal for me being called to the home office and all. I was just 23 years old and considered this to be a big feather in my cap. I looked forward to this trip for weeks.
I flew to New York and spent the night before at the Holiday Inn, anxiously waiting to see what the “corporate office” would be like. The next morning I took a cab to the office and walked up the steps to the large facility with excitement building inside of me. I opened the door, walked in, and had the life sucked right out of my body.
While I always thought that there was nothing special about our offices in Akron, there was definitely something special about the “corporate office.”
I felt like I had walked right into the middle of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield.
I had walked into a converted factory; although not much conversion had actually taken place. Instead, I heard my shoes echo against the high ceilings as I walked across the dilapidated wooden floors. The lights, what there were of them, hung some 20 feet above me flickering, but not putting out much actual light. I moved from purchasing, through advertising, store design, and finally into accounting without ever passing through a door, or walking around a wall. It was all just open, dark, and cavernous; and as depressing as a graveyard on Halloween.
Soon I was face to face with my counterparts. But these weren’t the happy, upbeat guys who seemed to enjoy their quarterly visits to Akron, Ohio. Instead these were near zombies who spoke in hushed tones, moved slowly, and never smiled. They also didn’t seem to do very much work....
We’ll discuss this topic in more depth in part 2 of this blog, to be published next week.
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
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com/
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Measuring the Team - Part 2
As we discussed in our last posting, managing through metrics is a fairly common technique in the business world. “What gets measured gets managed” is the old adage, and while true to an extent, this can be misleading. Because if you are measuring the wrong things, you are essentially managing the wrong things as well.
Now, I didn’t really make a true breakthrough in leading until I came to another conclusion about the fallacy of measurements. It seems my boss had lied to me when he said, “Everything that is important can be measured.” While that sounded good, the most important things in my organization were not able to be measured at all. Things like creativity, passion, loyalty, intelligence, perseverance and, most importantly, employee engagement were not things that I could chart on the wall and measure progress. This really jumped out at me when I was asked to measure employee engagement by tracking and reporting on employee turnover. The message I received was quite clear.
Turnover costs money.
Turnover is bad.
Don’t turnover your employees.
At the end of the year I sat down with my boss to review the measurements on employee turnover. It seemed that my numbers were considerably higher than she wanted. One by one we walked through the reasons for my turnover. Some turnover was due to non-performance by the employee. One or two people left the company. But the vast majority of my turnover was the result of my employees getting promoted to new positions in other departments inside of the company. Promotions that I had supported them on, groomed them for, and actively helped them achieve.
It didn’t matter. The bottom line was that my turnover was too high and I had to “get it under control.” Sitting down and reviewing in my mind the reasons for my high turnover, I slowly came to the realization that the most important aspects of human management could not be measured. I could not measure the loyalty that came when employees willingly worked nights and weekends to complete assignments. Nor could I measure how they counseled each other when problems arose. Nor how the team was managing itself and integrating new team members into the expectations of high standards without a word from me. I couldn’t measure what happened one Saturday when an employee was trying to solve a problem and called 3 of his teammates for support. The 3 teammates gave up their Saturday to devise a very creative solution for a thorny problem. I only knew that they had helped when one of my peers mentioned that she had seen all 4 of my employees working on this problem on a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon and chided me for “being a slave driver.”
It seems that the very best things about a team are difficult, if not impossible, to measure. And while we can measure productivity increases of engaged people and teams, we can’t truly measure what is in the heart of our people. While measuring and using metrics in our business is a critical aspect of our overall success, we need to be careful in thinking that metrics ARE our business. Our long term success is tied to our ability to get the most from our people, and the reality is that our people are our business.
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
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com/
Now, I didn’t really make a true breakthrough in leading until I came to another conclusion about the fallacy of measurements. It seems my boss had lied to me when he said, “Everything that is important can be measured.” While that sounded good, the most important things in my organization were not able to be measured at all. Things like creativity, passion, loyalty, intelligence, perseverance and, most importantly, employee engagement were not things that I could chart on the wall and measure progress. This really jumped out at me when I was asked to measure employee engagement by tracking and reporting on employee turnover. The message I received was quite clear.
Turnover costs money.
Turnover is bad.
Don’t turnover your employees.
At the end of the year I sat down with my boss to review the measurements on employee turnover. It seemed that my numbers were considerably higher than she wanted. One by one we walked through the reasons for my turnover. Some turnover was due to non-performance by the employee. One or two people left the company. But the vast majority of my turnover was the result of my employees getting promoted to new positions in other departments inside of the company. Promotions that I had supported them on, groomed them for, and actively helped them achieve.
It didn’t matter. The bottom line was that my turnover was too high and I had to “get it under control.” Sitting down and reviewing in my mind the reasons for my high turnover, I slowly came to the realization that the most important aspects of human management could not be measured. I could not measure the loyalty that came when employees willingly worked nights and weekends to complete assignments. Nor could I measure how they counseled each other when problems arose. Nor how the team was managing itself and integrating new team members into the expectations of high standards without a word from me. I couldn’t measure what happened one Saturday when an employee was trying to solve a problem and called 3 of his teammates for support. The 3 teammates gave up their Saturday to devise a very creative solution for a thorny problem. I only knew that they had helped when one of my peers mentioned that she had seen all 4 of my employees working on this problem on a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon and chided me for “being a slave driver.”
It seems that the very best things about a team are difficult, if not impossible, to measure. And while we can measure productivity increases of engaged people and teams, we can’t truly measure what is in the heart of our people. While measuring and using metrics in our business is a critical aspect of our overall success, we need to be careful in thinking that metrics ARE our business. Our long term success is tied to our ability to get the most from our people, and the reality is that our people are our business.
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
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com/
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Measuring the Team - Part 1
“What gets measured gets managed,” my boss told me as he leaned back in his chair, imparting the wisdom of the ages on me. “That’s all you need to know to be successful in this area. If you don’t measure it, it won’t get managed. And I’ll tell you something else. Everything that is important can be measured.”
This was music to my ears. I had already built a reputation for getting results. (See A Little History and Background). With my background in accounting and finance, measuring things was pretty easy for me. I was far better than most at creating measurements of our success because numbers had a way of just speaking to me. Over the years, I created metrics in a variety of areas to measure our progress and success. In a number of ways the metrics were instrumental in helping us uncover bottlenecks, identify challenges, and improve our performance. It’s safe to say that my utilization and understanding of metrics furthered my ability to get more results than my peers and distance myself from them in terms of our managerial abilities.
Over time my ability to manage the business led me to get promoted into areas where I was not a technical expert. For some people, that can create a huge problem as they can be very insecure about an area where they lack detailed knowledge. In my case I was fortunate to have a boss who taught me how to ask questions, how to do detailed analysis of processes, and the advantages of not being a technical expert. Using these skills, I continued to get results in areas that were far removed from my accounting and finance background. I often found myself being put in charge of areas that were performing badly, where the metrics were far below the company’s expectations. I became a kind of “turnaround specialist” inside my own company. I moved from department to department reversing the numbers and improving productivity. In doing so, I learned the first fallacy of managing through metrics.
While it's true that what gets measured gets managed, not everything that can be measured matters. In case after case I found that organizations were measuring the wrong things. They measured what was easy to measure instead of what they should be measuring. So, while what they measured was getting managed, the things that they should have been measuring were left languishing because they couldn’t figure out how to measure them. Much of my success was the direct result of my ability to ascertain what SHOULD be measured and managed.
We’ll discuss this in more depth in our next posting.
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
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com/
This was music to my ears. I had already built a reputation for getting results. (See A Little History and Background). With my background in accounting and finance, measuring things was pretty easy for me. I was far better than most at creating measurements of our success because numbers had a way of just speaking to me. Over the years, I created metrics in a variety of areas to measure our progress and success. In a number of ways the metrics were instrumental in helping us uncover bottlenecks, identify challenges, and improve our performance. It’s safe to say that my utilization and understanding of metrics furthered my ability to get more results than my peers and distance myself from them in terms of our managerial abilities.
Over time my ability to manage the business led me to get promoted into areas where I was not a technical expert. For some people, that can create a huge problem as they can be very insecure about an area where they lack detailed knowledge. In my case I was fortunate to have a boss who taught me how to ask questions, how to do detailed analysis of processes, and the advantages of not being a technical expert. Using these skills, I continued to get results in areas that were far removed from my accounting and finance background. I often found myself being put in charge of areas that were performing badly, where the metrics were far below the company’s expectations. I became a kind of “turnaround specialist” inside my own company. I moved from department to department reversing the numbers and improving productivity. In doing so, I learned the first fallacy of managing through metrics.
While it's true that what gets measured gets managed, not everything that can be measured matters. In case after case I found that organizations were measuring the wrong things. They measured what was easy to measure instead of what they should be measuring. So, while what they measured was getting managed, the things that they should have been measuring were left languishing because they couldn’t figure out how to measure them. Much of my success was the direct result of my ability to ascertain what SHOULD be measured and managed.
We’ll discuss this in more depth in our next posting.
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
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com/
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Motivation Through Balance - Part II
In last week’s blog, we discussed the fact that more and more employees are citing Work/Life balance as a key factor in their professional and personal satisfaction and that Work/Life balance can mean various things to the different generations and to specific individuals.
As I mentioned last week, I believe it is important for companies to pay close attention to these differences and to how employees are spending their time away from the office.
While employees cite the need for time away from work as valuable and important, you can actually strengthen the bonds between your employees and your company by understanding how your employees spend their time and encouraging that behavior and removing roadblocks from their achieving the balance they want and need.
For example, let’s say that a survey of your employees indicates a strong social consciousness and a desire to give back to the community. Knowing that, you could contact local volunteer organizations to find projects that would interest your team and encourage your employees to participate. This has the dual benefits of helping the community while building teamwork among your employees. In addition, by showing that you are socially conscious yourself, your team members will begin to build more trust in you.
Or, let’s say you discover that your team members have a strong desire to hike on weekends. You could organize and coordinate hikes for your team and their family members. These hikes would not be “company sponsored,” but they would be made available to interested employees. This is not unlike the old concept of the “Company Softball Team.” By encouraging the activities that your employees want to do outside of the office, you are allowing them to recharge their own batteries and building team spirit at the same time.
Clearly this can be a win-win.
I should note here that it is important to get a strong grip on what your employees want to do, and not just guess at the activities or follow the lead of one or two outspoken employees. Encouraging activities that appear to be arbitrary or contrived could leave your team feeling manipulated or lead them to believe that you are out of touch with what they desire in their lives.
Creating balance for your team members is good for them, and it is good for your business. It leaves the employees refreshed and ready for new challenges and can create new levels of teamwork that would not otherwise be possible.
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
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com/
As I mentioned last week, I believe it is important for companies to pay close attention to these differences and to how employees are spending their time away from the office.
While employees cite the need for time away from work as valuable and important, you can actually strengthen the bonds between your employees and your company by understanding how your employees spend their time and encouraging that behavior and removing roadblocks from their achieving the balance they want and need.
For example, let’s say that a survey of your employees indicates a strong social consciousness and a desire to give back to the community. Knowing that, you could contact local volunteer organizations to find projects that would interest your team and encourage your employees to participate. This has the dual benefits of helping the community while building teamwork among your employees. In addition, by showing that you are socially conscious yourself, your team members will begin to build more trust in you.
Or, let’s say you discover that your team members have a strong desire to hike on weekends. You could organize and coordinate hikes for your team and their family members. These hikes would not be “company sponsored,” but they would be made available to interested employees. This is not unlike the old concept of the “Company Softball Team.” By encouraging the activities that your employees want to do outside of the office, you are allowing them to recharge their own batteries and building team spirit at the same time.
Clearly this can be a win-win.
I should note here that it is important to get a strong grip on what your employees want to do, and not just guess at the activities or follow the lead of one or two outspoken employees. Encouraging activities that appear to be arbitrary or contrived could leave your team feeling manipulated or lead them to believe that you are out of touch with what they desire in their lives.
Creating balance for your team members is good for them, and it is good for your business. It leaves the employees refreshed and ready for new challenges and can create new levels of teamwork that would not otherwise be possible.
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
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com/
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