The fourth C in the twelve part series on success is Career Paths.
Career Path is a hot topic, yet for some of the wrong reasons these days – the recession and the loss of so many jobs. Yet, read on since if you are in this group – career path becomes more important than before. Career Paths truly have an impact upon both you – the individual – and organizational success. It is important to understand this importance.
Whether you call it an “on Boarding system,” an orientation program or a Fast Start system, it may mean the difference in having a high performer or not. It is one of the key systems for creating a high performance culture.
So what is this on boarding system all about?
In simple terms it is a process that gets a new employee in a job started with clear focus on the outcomes of the job. It helps to get someone new in a position to get started quickly and get productive as soon as possible.
There are several key items for an on boarding system to work.
Key Accountabilities for the Job include the key outcomes that are expected from this job function. This is not to be confused with a Job Description. Most, not all, Job Descriptions are nothing more than an activity list for a job with no mention of actual outcomes and results expected.
A Prioritized Listing of Key Traits identified for the Job to be successful show the person just what is needed to be a success. These traits should be closely matched to the new hire (if you want to top grade your company and staff) with few exceptions. The closer the true match, the higher the level of natural performance from the individual in the position or job. It is a true win-win for both the company and the employee. Also, any mismatches between the job traits and the individual’s traits reflects a clear path for an individualized personal development process.
A Manager that understands the need for a fast start when a potential high performer is on board. The major mistake by most managers in this situation is to be unprepared for the start up or to take a lazy attitude about ramping up the responsibilities of the new hire. I have seen terrible situations regarding new hires whereby the manager had no place assigned for a new employee. Placed the person in the company lunchroom and forgot about him! Two weeks later the manager was amazed when informed that the new potential superstar had quit. – You can’t make this stuff up! It’s true. New hires, especially potential high performers need to launch quickly and take on critical projects as soon as possible. Remember, high performers are looking for new challenges rather than hiding from them.
Finally, a mentor or coach should be assigned to the new hire to assist them with the inner workings of the organization, who the real players are, what politics are in play, and what are the procedures that need or should be followed to get things done quickly and effectively. An organized mentor process will increase the effectiveness of a new hire by a factor of five, due to less trial and error and more focus on getting results.
If you don’t have an effective “on-boarding” system, contact us immediate to discuss how to get one for your team or organization. They are proven to get the results you require and create a high performance culture. It’s simple to install and works in every area of the organization. Call us at 901-757-4434 and let’s discuss your situation.
Sometimes I have to apologize for my daily insight as it should be a no-brainer. Yet, it seems every week there is a call or an executive that wants some type of training for their company or group that can not answer this question.
How can you determine the return on investment for any training if there is no thought regarding the objectives or outcomes from the engagement?
This has been (and seems to continue to be) an issue in the corporate environment. There are direct and indirect expenses involved with training as well as time lost from a daily job environment. If there is no objectives – ones that can be measured – how can anyone determine if the training is paying back? Continue reading ‘Does Your Training Have an Objective?’ »
Okay, it’s time for me to rant about things that I don’t understand. During the past two weeks I have had to deal with “stupid” customer service issues from several different organizations. It amazes me that people are not allowed to think about what they are doing or just refuse to think while using “rules” as their excuse – eh – reason.
While I know I’m not perfect, I will attempt to think about the issues before I act on things. However, when confronted with rules – people can not think or even use common sense.
In one case, after I raised the issue about a “rule” that appeared to only be a revenue generator for the company I learned that a manager actually asked about the rule. The manager learned that it was one of those “rules” that was unwritten, unknown as to when and why it was implemented, and no one could explain the reasoning for the rule. This is a clear example of no one taking the responsibility to question a rule that only aggravated their clients.
There have been several other examples of “stupid” rules that I have had to deal with over the past two weeks. My question is why do people (who are educated) not thinking and taking action? It appears there are four reasons: Continue reading ‘It’s Time to Think for a Change!’ »
This is the fifth step of a Leadership Development Process. The tracking of a leader’s progress using a performance management system provides control and a universal check system. The data and insight provided by a tracking system allows the monitoring of results on a consistent basis.
Without a tracking system, the development process becomes a hit or miss system. There is no checking mechanism to ensure the process is working and the individuals are executing their plans. The performance management system is the glue for the process.
Performance Management systems come in all sizes, shapes and forms. The automated versions are the most valuable when used properly. The pen and paper versions are still in use with some companies – mainly because of a lack of investment in people development. When leadership is not committed to the development your people for higher performance process – then systems and processes as well as commitment is limited.
The best companies understand that it’s the people that make a difference in the business. It’s the people that make the decisions, manage the personnel and the processes, and interact with the customers – every day. So a purposeful developmental process and an automated performance management system are essential to the overall growth and health of an organization.
Performance management systems track the goals, meetings, action plans and decisions made by the individuals in the company. It tracks the overall performance of leaders and their teams. It provides information over a specific period of time – yearly, quarterly, monthly and weekly – all documented for analysis and evaluation. The progress made by participants in the leadership development processes or programs is an important element. It is the progress that accumulates over time and leads to consistent high performance.
Remember the old saying: What gets Measured, Gets Done.
This classic statement is still accurate today. If you want things to get done, they must be measured and discussed. Discussions about performance standards enable individuals to understand what is needed to be successful and respected as a performer. High performance is not an accident. It happens due to a conscious effort to measure and track results.
If you lack an automated Performance Management System, contact us at 901.757.4434 during business hours of 9 to 5 Central time USA to discuss possible solutions. We can assist you with a complete package or simply Managing Performance Priorities on a weekly basis.
There are eight questions that you -as a salesperson- should know the answers about your customer. An added benefit is to learn the answers regarding your own company. Then and only then, will you be in a position of strength. Where does this strength come from – understanding the financial health of your customer.
Let’s exam the eight questions that hold the answer to your customer’s financial health. The eight are as follows:
Today, I’m looking at value adding opportunities for the Declining phases of a company life cycle. This could also be applied to a company’s product or service life cycle. This information is provided to assist sales people deal with their customer’s situations and internal managers looking for ways to improve the performance of their company.
The Declining Phrase of product life cycles is one of the most difficult phrases for companies and the individuals within these companies to handle. Usually there are emotional links to these products and decisions are influenced by this emotional attachment. Emotional issues need to be overcome and some business logic applied to the solutions needed. Yet, companies that have only declining products are usually in survival mode and their choices are limited at best. The best companies have launched new products during the growth and maturity phrases and have new products becoming maturity products at this time.
So what can you do if the company or products for your company or the customer’s company to add significant value during this declining phrase? Here are five things we have found to provide the value added opportunities:
Continue reading ‘Five Value-Adding Opportunities during the Declining Phrase’ »
Today, I’m looking at value adding opportunities for the Maturity Phases of a company life cycle. This could also be applied to a company’s product or service life cycle. This information is provided to assist sales people deal with their customer’s situations and internal managers looking for ways to improve the performance of their company.
The Maturity Phrase is an interesting period and seems to have a large number of companies in this category. However, most of these companies are in commodity industries and are working hard to stay out of the declining phrase – which I will discuss on Thursday.
There are six opportunities for you to consider when you have identified a company or product in the maturity phrase. The six that we have assisted our clients with include:
Continue reading ‘Six Value-Adding Opportunities in the Maturity Phrase of Lifecycles’ »
This week I’m looking at value adding opportunities for the growth phase of a company life cycle. This could also be applied to a company’s product or service life cycle. This information is provided to assist sales people deal with their customer’s situations and internal managers looking for ways to improve the performance of their company.
So today, we are looking at the Growth Phrase for a company or product. This is exciting times for any company to experience. Things are moving fast, sales are increasing, accounts receivables are growing and cash is once again in short supply. So here are four specific value adding opportunities for sales people and managers to use during the growth phrase.
Continue reading ‘Four Value-Adding Opportunities for the Growth Phrase’ »
This week I’m looking at value adding opportunities for all phases of a company life cycle. This could also be applied to a company’s product or service life cycle. This information is provided to assist sales people deal with their customer’s situations and internal managers looking for ways to improve the performance of their company.
So the first cycle is the start-up or entry phrase. The company is starting from nothing and has a boat load of high priority areas that must be dealt with everyday. Usually there are changing priorities and crisis management rules the day. Even with the daily changes – there are four areas that I believe you can focus upon to increase the performance and opportunities. Here are the four opportunities:
Continue reading ‘4 Value Adding Opportunities for the start-up phase’ »
