4Cs Blog: Happy Employees = Happy Customers

Why Coaching is Important

It may be one of the least practiced skills in the workplace due to increasing job demands and fast-paced corporate environments; however, one of the most important responsibilities of today’s managers is coaching for success. No other time investment delivers the productivity savings for the manager who wishes to create a cohesive team optimized and motivated to achieve accelerated results. To put it simply, if you are not coaching, you are not managing.

The Eight Habits of Effective Employees

 A survey of CEOs, business owners, HR directors and frontline managers identified the following eight characteristics as those looked for most often when determining both which employees are worth hiring and those who deserve additional career advancement. These employees tend to:

1. Understand and demonstrate the value they bring to the organization,
2. Have a positive impact on the company, its customers and their colleagues,
3. Embrace and initiate positive change,
4. Communicate openly and directly,
5. Commit to lifelong learning,
6. Deliberately look for opportunities to build their leadership skills,
7. Learn to ask for help when they need it and work with their company on how to solve problems, and
8. Not only work harder but also smarter, faster and better.

Managers As Change Agents

Managing Change Successfully

Many managers who have not been trained to be effective change agents often see introducing changes into the workplace as a “tell and sell” exercise, usually done by calling a team meeting or sending a group email, all the while assuming that the essence of the problem and the need for change to occur is evident and obvious to everyone. Some managers assume that a problem is solved when employees verbally agree to a change. Others assume that a problem is solved when employees do not voice any questions, discussion or objections to a change. It may become evident only later that the employees neither accepted nor adopted the changes that were implemented due to denial, confusion or resistance. How can you, as a manger, become an effective change agent?

The First ‘C’ in Employee Engagement

Employee engagement matters

Engaged employees believe they can make a difference in the organizations they work for and there is proof that organizations that do a better job of engaging their employees also outperform their competitors.

In our most recent white paper we discussed the 10 C’s of employee engagement and we felt it was important to look closely at each one and break it down into understandable and actionable ways to actively engage employees.

Connect: To connect is to join or be involved with another person. Employees know if their organizations and managers mean it when they say 'our employees are our greatest asset', so it is vitally important that connections occur and have meaning.

Will Your Employees Trust You During Tough Times?

The importance of trust

In recent months, trust has surfaced as a key determining factor in employee engagement. For the people who work for you, it's your trust that matters most to them. You're the one having everyday impact on their work life and the trusting relationship you build is not only a requirement for employee engagement, it has to be nurtured constantly and maintained by many small actions over time. Trust is also built by telling the truth even when it is difficult to do.

But how can people trust you when you have to deliver bad news, or worse, fire someone? Our research shows that no more than six-in-ten employees feel their senior managers are telling them the truth and providing them with information that is clear and complete. Depending on how you communicate bad news, however, you could turn this into an opportunity to build trust instead of risking or eroding it.

10 Ways to Reduce Stress at Work

You need to learn to relax.

Whatever you are working on is not as important as you think. Our research shows 7 out of 10 Americans describe their work as stressful. Although some stress can be positive, this may be an indication that many of us are not faring well at work. Stress costs companies money, but even more importantly, stress over time can do physical and mental damage to your body. The truth is, as technology advances, and job security becomes more fragile, managing stress is getting harder and harder.

One of the biggest obstacles to achieving work-life balance is the internet and our mobile devices because they can keep us attached to our work 24/7. Yet it is vitally important to our physical and mental health that we disconnect, and come back the next day feeling refreshed.

Do You 'Get' the Importance of Employee Training?

Satisfaction with Training and Development

Using our own normative data, Insightlink has found that only four-in-ten employees are extremely or very satisfied with the amount of ongoing training and development they receive. Organizations that ‘get’ the importance of training and education stand the greatest chance of building engagement and developing a culture where employees are motivated to succeed, excel and achieve their career goals. Yet this statistic suggests that the majority of organizations aren’t ‘getting’ it and are ignoring this valuable opportunity.

Beware The Turnover Spike

There is never a dull moment in the employment cycle. A current example shows that in the U.S., unemployment rates are declining while turnover rates are escalating. Some researchers are actually predicting turnover rates are going to ‘spike’ in the U.S. this year, as more people are back to work and feeling more confident about their futures and job prospects. Consulting firm Accelir surveyed human resource professionals and corporate leaders in the summer of 2013 and published a paper titled “Rewards and Recognition: 2014 Trends Report”. 

The report cites government statistics showing that job tenure in the United States is less than five years. Other research has shown that most Millennial workers expect to stay at a job no more than three years. Turnover is expensive and while sometimes it cannot be avoided, you should be doing the right things for your employees to minimize its impact.

Do Americans Work Too Hard?

If you are like most Americans, you work too hard. Most of us think working crazy hours is what it takes to prove we are passionate, productive team players. Some of us are so driven we choose overtime over vacation to prove how dedicated we really are. We mistakenly believe if we work harder and longer we will be more productive and more successful despite the evidence that the secret to being an effective worker is not working too hard.

Time away from work is a key ingredient to work life balance. Vacations have been proven over and over again to give us a better life perspective. Taking a break renews our spirit, rests our souls and refuels us so that when we return to work we are more energized and motivated to work hard. Our research at Insightlink shows that, while we may be cognizant of these facts, we largely ignore them as less than 7 in 10 of us think we are able to find a good balance between our free time and our career obligations.

Do You Hate Work?

 A recent Sunday New York Times featured an article titled ‘Why You Hate Work’. You might have been offended by this assumption because the article claimed that you aren’t excited about your job, don’t like what you do, don’t feel appreciated and find it hard to complete important tasks. Maybe this doesn’t describe you exactly but there are sufficient statistics that prove people who love their jobs may be in the minority. According to a recent Insightlink normative study, just over half of employees across America are actively engaged at work. Many employees say they have no sense of community, no sense of positive overall energy and no idea how to be successful at work.

The skeptics amongst us must wonder if this is really true and if there really are that many unhappy people going to work every day.

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