Most managers consider payroll to be cost. Why do we view the money we spend on payroll differently than capital investments, or any investment for that matter.
Most of the leaders I know would tell you that the largest single expenditure in their business is compensation. What is your annual payroll? Imaging having that money in cash. Would you put it in a CD (passively manage) or would you develop an investment strategy to both protect the principle and maximize the ROI (actively manage).
So, what is your strategy for managing your investment in payroll? Clearly the potential of human capital is basically limitless. Just look at how our world has changed over the last 10 years. Give human beings an opportunity and the right environment and they will produce stunning results.
So I ask again, how much of that investment in payroll are you leveraging? Research tells us that if you are the average employer it is about 30%. A lot of money is being left on the table. If you could double the return on that investment to 60% what impact would it have on business productivity, growth, customer service, innovation, profits?
At this point if you are thinking that this isn’t attainable because people don’t want to do any more than they have to… you can stop reading now… we are not on the same page.
My experience as a leader and now as a coach is that people are willing to do more than is expected if the environment enables them to do so.
As leaders it is our job to become aware of strategies and approaches that effectively leverage the investment in payroll. Free to contact me alan@coach2engage.com or visit my website http://www.coach2engage.com. Don’t leave money on the table. al
Alan Adyniec Employee engagement, Leadership effectiveness achieving results, business success, Effective leadership, employee enagagement
What the heck do these sound bites mean?
In general I think it is safe to say that the pace of work has increased dramatically. It is as though the answer to everything is speed. Wyatt Earp is credited with saying something like “Fast is fine… but accuracy is everything”. Do you ever get the feeling like we are moving faster in the wrong direction?
Sometimes we seem to think that doing more of the things that aren’t working will somehow help. Now more than ever seems to be the time to step back and take a look at where we are, where we want to go and what things will actually take us there.
The primary problem here is stepping back. Who has time, we are all too busy climbing a ladder leaning against the wrong wall.
If we are going to work smarter not harder it seems like we should stop to decide which approaches actually are smarter. If we are going to do more with less shouldn’t we focus on the few things that would produce better results.
In my opinion, some leaders simply fail to let go of the past. There is a fear of not doing what we have always done while we continue to add more that we need to do. After awhile it is all just “noise”. If everything is important then nothing is important. Stop! al
Alan Adyniec Leadership effectiveness alignment, business success, Effective leadership, employee enagagement
Okay so based on the last post we want to create an environment where people not only can perform at their best but want to. Here are some basic ingredients:
- Align around essentials - Everyone in the organization must be totally clear on why we are in business; what value do we generate beyond a profit. This leads to who your customers are, and why they would want to do business with your organization.
- Build trust - Trust has become the buzz word of this new century. Books are written about its importance, research bears out its impact on achieving results; it is fundamental to success.
- Engage staff in creating and achieving goals - Once everyone is aligned and it feels safe to really apply themselves, you would be surprised at what they are willing to commit to accomplishing.
- Stay out of the way - This is one of the most difficult steps for managers. Many can get this far and then they try to manage or handle what happens from here on out. It is like spending lots of time with family choosing a car and then saying only I can drive. BIG mistake.
- Coach staff to success - Coaches don’t score points, players do. Coaches are on the sidelines supporting players with conditioning, strategy and feedback.
This is a lot of “what to do” but “how” do you do these things. First, understand this is a process that takes a few months to generate results and possibly years to truly create a performance oriented environment.
Keith Ayers, president of the Integro Leadership Institute has developed some great material to guide this transition. To check out Integro click here or visit my site at www.Coach2Engage.com. Al
Alan Adyniec Employee engagement, Leadership effectiveness alignment, business success, Effective leadership, employee enagagement, Trust
The leadership approach that got us here won’t take us there”. Expectations within the workplace are changing rapidly. Some of our most effective leaders have set aside the notion of “managing” people and instead focus on creating an environment in which people can perform at their best.
Why? Simple, because it works better. Everyone appreciates having a clear direction however do you like to be managed. I believe the root of “manage” comes from the Latin word manu or hand. So I guess to be managed is to be “handled”. Not very enticing is it.
However this handling or control over people was and continues to be the modus operandi of most organizations. That is changing. Hierarchical approaches in the current rapidly changing and sometimes chaotic business environment make it difficult to be agile, adaptable and innovative.
If you get this… congrats! Now what do you do about it. It is easy to say we want to create an environment where staff are motivated, self-directed, passionate and focused on results. It is much more challenging to construct such a workplace. The primary barrier is the inertia of the past. It is difficult to break old habits. Even as we begin to develop new habits if a little stress is introduced we tend to go back to what is more comfortable for us even if it is not more effective.
See my next post on what to do about this conundrum. Al
Alan Adyniec Employee engagement, Leadership effectiveness achieving results, business success, Effective leadership, Management
There are several factors that influence the business decisions we make
- Cultural norms - Everyone else is doing it this way
- Tradition - We have always done it this way (policy)
- Reason - It is logical to do it this way
- Emotion - It feels like we should do it this way (right thing to do)
So what, how does this help with effective decision making?
These factors can be used as decision making criteria to ensure that current decision are linked to the purpose and values of the organization.
Try this ….Form each of the above into a question to help guide effective decisions
- Will what others are doing helping us meet our purpose within our values set (are we staying on track and true to our principles)?
- Will what we have done in the past continue to help us achieve our purpose going forward (are the strategies still effective)?
- Is it logical that what we hope to accomplish (goals) will move us closer to achieving our purpose (are our goals still appropriate)?
- Do we feel like this is the right thing to do (does it align with our values set)?
This simple process can help maintain focus and alignment in the midst of change. al
Alan Adyniec Leadership effectiveness achieving results, business success, Effective leadership, making business decsions
Who is usually responsible for
· Successes – ????? The executive team, planning dept., middle mgmt., frontline staff, everyone????
· Failures - ???? usually nobody.
o Frequently a rigorous round of the “blame game” breaks out. Management points the finger at staff for poor execution. Staff point back by questioning the competency of management. Or…
o In some misguided efforts to develop more “positive work environments” successes are shared by everyone but failures simply get brushed aside as outside of anyone’s control. (“It is a difficult market, consumers are fickle, we just can’t catch a break, every one is taking a hit right now” etc.)
A better approach… Learning!
- Successes –The leadership involves staff in identifying the behaviors that led to the success so that the success can be repeated and the behaviors adopted by others.
- Failures – First, refrain from “shame and blame” it is utterly unproductive. Instead involve staff in a non threatening discussion focused on
- What was expected to happen (goal)
- What actually happened
- What should have been done differently
- Gaining agreement (commitment) to getting better results next time.
I think you will find a positive and more performance oriented work environment.
I know this seems incredibly simplistic but try to think of a time in the last year that your organization actually handled a success or failure in this manner. al
Alan Adyniec Employee engagement, Leadership effectiveness achieving results, business learning, business success, Effective leadership, employee enagagement