Make Every Employee Part of “The Why”
Unhappy/apathetic employees + pressure/micromanagement + turnover + throw money at the problem = a positive member experience
That's a lot of variables on one side of the equation. Sadly, on very limited occasion I have seen that equation work but it's extremey expensive. Instead of throwing money at the symptoms why not allocate resources to solving the core problem with training, employee engagement, mentoring, and involvement?
Let's hit on the last point, involvement, for minute. I had a conversation with a CEO late last year who asked me why his people seemed disconnected despite a high-level of communication on management’s part. I explained it's not just about sharing the why. Communication and transparency are great starts. They lay a strong foundation for a positive employee experience. The answer to this CEO’s issue, and the next step to building something special within the culture, is involvement.
Let me put it another way. You can grab a bunch of Legos, build something yourself, and explain all day why you made the structure you did. And people will probably understand but that won't mean they’ll care. However, if you throw a bunch of Legos on a table and say let's build something together, you're likely to get a lot more interest and build something much better than you had initially intended yourself.
The point is it's not just about informing people about the why. It's about making everyone a part of the why. Here are a few implementable tips to make everyone a part of the why and the story:
- Have them create the process – There is a lot pushed down upon employees. New regulations. New software. New programs. Is there a wonder why employees can get disillusioned by constantly being told what is going to happen to them whether they like it or not? So when the business needs a new sales process, onboarding process, loan process, etc., wouldn’t there be value in starting the creation of those processes with the people responsible for their implementation and execution? Of course there would. Yes, you may get some crazy ideas. But you will also get many valuable ones as they already know what works and what doesn’t in their jobs, whether they tell management about it or not. And, besides, you are still the leader. You can mold their ideas into what the business needs but there is instant buy-in by making the employees part of the process from step one.
- Have them lead the experience – If they were part of creating the process let the staff lead the process. That doesn’t mean allowing an individual to deviate from the system that the team created. It does mean allowing each individual to innovate. If the ubiquitous greeting of “How may I help you?” isn’t leading to business development discussions....-->
BY KENNETH C. BATOR, MBA
There is a lot of talk about how consumers aren't just looking for products and services these days. They're looking for and expecting an experience. I continually have a number of conversations about this during pre-team building sessions with my clients. The first thing I explain to CEOs is it's nearly impossible to consistently provide a positive member experience when the employee experience is poor.
For all of you “numbers people” out there, it's a fairly simple equation. C'mon, you know who you are. You’re the ones that immediately ask “What's the ROI?” when the VP of Marketing wants to begin a social media campaign or the VP of Human Resources wants to implement a new training program. The equation is simply Happy Employees = Happy Members...
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