Workers are often seen either talking on their cell phones, or texting –  with their heads down, fingers fiercely typing away while in a hypnotic state instead of working. If talking on the phone, they are more intent in discussing personal plans or complaining about their work schedules than being attentive to customers and customers’ needs. And, it is not just happening on the sales floor. Try cleaning a sink, or mopping a floor in a public restroom while talking on the cell phone or texting.

For those individuals that have an extra appendage on their hand or ear, and seem to be magnetically attracted to each other (man to phone, phone to man) much like an intense magnetic field, I call them, “Mobile Magnets” (MM).

More and more workers depend heavily on their mobile device as their only way of communication. When confronted with face-to-face communication, they seem to stumble all over themselves finding it difficult to carry on a conversation.

With many choices for the variety of services available, do not be so foolish as to think a customer will continue to do business with you because you are the only vendor/supplier of a particular item. And, do not think for a moment that you do not have competition.

Customers will be loyal to and do business with companies they feel have their best interests at heart, companies that care and are courteous. Customer service is based on emotions, the customers’ feelings and perceptions are their reality.

Reciprocity is a basis of trust and a basis for legitimate power. It is the action of others responding in kind based upon the principle way they are treated, hopefully responding to a positive action with another positive action.

As a customer, if you treat me right, assist me when I need help, and recognize my existence, I will gladly spend my money with you, returning many times. If you take me for granted and ignore me, I will go elsewhere. Either way, I will tell my friends about you.

Mystery Shop your company to witness what your customers are seeing and experiencing.

Something to think about before you hear, “Remember me? I was your customer”.

Same holds true as far as training is concerned. Training is so much better when there is more than one person actively involved in the process. Successful training, where learning transfer occurs, takes three “key” individuals being actively involved. The three are, the: 1) facilitator, 2) participant, and 3) manager. Each one clearly impacts the quality and effectiveness of learning.

A great facilitator, appropriate materials, the right delivery method, and an enthusiastic participant are essential. However, factors external to training are also very influential. Ensuring that employees actually use the learning being delivered must be the top priority during any training initiative. That’s where the manager comes in.

Managers have a tremendous influence on whether or not behavioral change occurs. Managers have the ability to prepare employees for learning prior to training and help coach employees after training. They have some ability to control the work environment allowing learners opportunities to apply and practice new learned skills. Managers can also praise and reinforce successes, as well as correct and coach mistakes. Without the manager being actively involved, engaging and encouraging employees, true learning may not occur.

Learning degrades over time if  individuals forget what they’ve learned, or are not able to apply their newly-acquired skills on the job. Once a skill is acquired and improved upon, habits are formed and behavior is changed. Learning that is not transferred on the job within six weeks is considered to be “scrap learning.”

So what exactly is “scrap learning?” Scrap learning is the learning that is delivered but not applied by the learner. After training, learners may fall into one of the following categories:

• They never really try to apply the training.
• They attempt to apply it, but do not witness any worthwhile results.
• They apply training and get some positive results.

Studies show that the biggest training failure occurs in the post-training phase. Since 70% to 80% of actual learning occurs on the job, it is imperative that the manager be involved.

Managers should be involved in the employee’s training at every step: before, during and after. Prior to attending training, managers should have a brief meeting with the employee, review the course objectives and align those to their specific job tasks and goals. During training, managers should set appropriate expectations of the employee and provide ample resources so the employee can attend all necessary classes.

After training, the manager should review the employee’s action plan(s). The manager must supervise, coach and provide meaningful feedback to the employee as they are applying the newly-learned skills to their job. The manager should also assign projects, tasks and responsibilities to the learner when/where they can hone their new skills.

Training is a tool that when applied, is a catalyst for maximizing human performance. The first step in measuring human performance improvement is to understand the impact the training initiative had on human performance.

So, scrap learning is when the facilitator has designed, facilitated (done their part), the learner attends and participates (done their part – in class), but the learner isn’t able to apply the learning on the job.

Most organizations overlook an important aspect of human performance improvement and development that often makes it many times more effective — manager engagement.

The mantra for training must be, “It Takes Three.”

Train, Coach, Coach, Coach!

If you are employed full time, typically, a work week is 40 hours – either 4 ten-hour days, or 5 eight-hour days, totaling around 260 work days a year.

However, most, if not all full-time workers get two weeks of vacation (after first year of employment), and at least seven (10, if federally employed) days off for holidays, and usually 10 days off for sickness/illnesses. The more tenure, the more days off that are awarded.

Let’s leave the sick days out of this equation and just use the 10 days of vacation and seven days for holidays to keep it simple. So, 260 work days, minus 10 days of paid vacation, minus seven days of paid holidays = 243 actual work days during one year. But, in those 243 days, the worker only works 8 hours during each day. The other 16 hours are divided between 8 hours (if lucky) for sleeping, 3 hours for eating, 1-2 hours for travelling to/from work, leaving 3 hours for other activities.

Deducting the 243 actual work days from 365 days in a year leaves 122 days off.

So, why does work/life balance, or time management continue to be an issue for some individuals?  Maybe it has something to do with priorities.

During work/life balance, and time management training classes, I conduct an exercise using a large, empty glass jar (introducing different items) that leads participants from an abstract idea to a “visual” image, engaging their senses.

The different items consist of: small rocks, pebbles, sand and water. During the exercise, I take the empty jar and fill it with the small rocks. Then, I ask the participants if the jar is full.  Usually, a unanimous vote is, “Yes,” the jar is full.

Next, I pour the pebbles into the jar. The pebbles fall into any open areas between the small rocks. Again I ask the participants if the jar is full. Some said, “Yes,” while others catching on to the implication said, “No, I don’t think so.”

I then lightly shake the jar and proceed to pour the sand into the jar. The sand falls into all the remaining opens spaces. Once again, I ask the participants if the jar is full. By this time all of them have caught on to the implication and state that, “Yes, this time it is definitely full.”

But, for one last time, I lightly shake the jar, then pour the water into the jar. You guessed it, the water penetrates every open area in the jar. The participants look on in amazement.

Then, I ask the participants the following questions:

• What would have happened if I poured the sand in first?
• What would have happened if I poured the pebbles in after the sand?
• What would have happened if I accepted the jar as being full after placing the small rocks in first?
• What would have happened if I completely reversed the order of item placement?

I conclude the exercise by conducting a class discussion asking the participants to think about what the different items (small rocks, pebbles, sand and water) may symbolize in their lives, stating that since the jar constricts/contains all of the items the jar symbolizes “time,” their time.

Focus on the right things at the right time.

A training objective is a statement of specific goals of a course or lesson, describing what an individual should know or be able to do following training instruction. The statement should specify the knowledge, skills or abilities the learner will be able to exhibit as a result of participating in the training.

Training objectives must be “S.M.A.R.T.”:

S – Specific

M – Measurable/Observable

A – Attainable/Achieveable

R – Relevant and results-oriented

T – Targeted to the learner and to the desired level of learning or behavior change

What are learning outcomes?

Learning outcomes are basically the results that happen because of the training (i.e. capable of performing new task, change in behavior, etc.). They are the change that takes place after the lesson is over and the individual is back on the job or in the real world trying to apply what they have learned.

ADDIE is the acronym used to describe the process steps of instructional design: Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate.

Why is ADDIE important?

Since instructional design’s main purpose is to determine the current state and needs of the learner, define the goal of instruction, and develop an action that assists with the change of performance, it is important to utilize ADDIE as the structural basis when creating training.

Analyze – Questions are asked and answers given to determine the objectives and scope of the training initiative. Current skills and needs of the learners must be researched to determine desired outcomes.

Design – Plans are made to determine the necessary course of action to achieve desired outcomes.

Develop – Information platforms are formed and course materials are created that support the transfer of learning.

Implement – The program is put into practice, usually by “piloting,” a trial training to test the proposed design to discover and solve problems before full implementation.

Evaluate – Assessments are made to determine effectiveness of the training initiative. Kirkpatrick’s Levels of Evaluation are the most often used training assessments to evaluate learning.

By using the five process steps of ADDIE, instructional designers can determine the most effective and efficient way to develop and communicate desired learner outcomes.

Do you want to solve a performance problem, or just turn information into a course? Death by PowerPoints anyone?

Organizational structure is more than just an, “Org Chart,” it helps determine and define the guidelines, parameters and business processes necessary for a group to accomplish a primary objective.

An organizational structure determines critical tasks necessary for operational effectiveness. Tasks are organized into sequences of activities, or processes that will accomplish a specific organizational goal (design a product or provide a service). It is the processes that make things happen.

The business process is very important. It is the place where inputs and outputs meet. A business process is the set of coordinated and collaborative activities designed to produce specific outputs for a particular customer or market. The activities define how work is done and provide instructions by which a department, staff member, or other resource performs their responsibility as efficiently as possible to deliver value to customers.

Organizational structure is critical for the company and its employees. It must be aligned with business strategies and communicated clearly to lead to long-term success of individual employees and the company as a whole.

Is your organizational structure and process clearly understood?

Customer service is in the eye of the beholder. The customer’s perception is their reality.

In the first seven seconds of contact, a person forms 11 impressions about you and your organization.

Those impressions include:

1. Cleanliness – The degree to which somebody keeps clean or a place is kept clean
2. Attractive – Pleasing in appearance or manner.
3. Credible – Inspiring trust and confidence.
4. Knowledgeable – Possessing or showing a great deal of awareness, or intelligence.
5. Responsive – Reacting quickly, strongly, or favorably to something, especially a
   suggestion or proposal.
6. Friendly – Somebody who thinks well of or is on good terms with somebody else.
7. Helpful – Providing or willing to provide assistance, information, or other aid.
8. Understanding – Being able to perceive and explain the meaning or the nature of
   somebody or something.
9. Courteous – Polite in a way that shows consideration of others or good manners.
10. Confident – Having the ability, judgment, and resources needed to succeed.
11. Professional – Conforming to the standards of skill, competence, or character
    normally expected of a properly qualified and experienced person in a work
    environment.

Customer relationships are at the “heart” of every business. When customers are satisfied they will return to do business with you and become loyal customers. When they are dissatisfied with service they don’t return – they’ll go to your competition, and tell their friends about the bad experience.

In order to survive in a competitive market, an organization must develop strong customer relationships.

Well, never has a saying been so true . . . from the way you dress, the way you treat customers/clients and fellow employees, your timeliness and follow through, the way you approach work, the way you look at the world around you, your attitude plays a key role in the way you conduct yourself every day.

Attitude is an aspect of our emotional nature which determines our actions, our behavior.

 
ATTITUDE

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, or a home. The remarkable think is we have a choice every day, regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past . . . we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you . . . we are in charge of our attitudes!” – Charles Swindoll

Having the right attitude is essential to personal success. It is the determining factor in how we conduct our lives. A “positive” attitude leads to happiness and success and can change your whole life.

Positive thinking . . . Optimism. . . Motivation . . . Being inspired . . . Self-esteem . . . Confidence

The dictionary definition of leadership is:

1. Ability to lead, guide, or influence people.
2. An act of instance of leading; guidance or direction.

Lead, guide, influence and direct.

Leadership competencies have remained the same throughout the years. Leadership is an essential skill to any organization’s success. There are many books, courses and workshops dedicated to the topic, yet it remains a challenge for many organizations to pin down.

Many times management meaning well, wishes for their executives to learn how to become leaders and rushes into action implementing the latest leadership fad only to find that their staff has failed to exercise the competencies trained in class. Competencies aren’t internalized in a day. There are no quick fixes, no silver bullets that will immediately make someone a leader.

Commercial products contain great ideas, but unless the individual takes responsibility for their own leadership development and is given the opportunity to change they will fail. Thus, falling victim to the Pogo Principle: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”  Skepticism sets in and the initiative falls into the category of, “just another program.” Since that one didn’t work another is tried. Consistency doesn’t exist. Behavior doesn’t change.

Leadership initiatives must be aligned with strategic goals. Organizations should provide opportunities for development by offering challenging assignments, timely assessments and realistic feedback on performance.

The organization’s approach to leadership development is a reflection of its culture. Individuals should be challenged, inspired, enabled and encouraged to develop leadership competencies. Existing leaders should model the way.

Is there consistency in your message?