Posts

Lead your way to the Great Retention!

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

With the Great Re(fill in your term!) going on what options are you using to fill your open positions? Have you looked internally? Do you know who has the required skills and is ready to make the move?  Odds are you don’t as I discovered on a project to create a common competency skills framework so workers could move seamlessly between different peers and competitors in this vertical. This innovative idea would certainly save time and money, why train someone on upselling techniques if they have already demonstrated this ability in a prior work experience?

Three common themes kept popping up no matter the organizations size. First, the career path was understood but most HR teams had not identified, or recorded, the technical or behavioral skills people use and need to be capable of demonstrating. Second, there wasn’t a clear way to acquire these skills in a meaningful manner that could be blended into the daily workflow. For a small business there’s a need to make this blend into a learn-as-you-work framework, but the model is still focused on just-in-time. Finally, the infrastructure to track people’s skill acquisition and identify internal candidates ready to move forward wasn’t in place.

This isn’t a technology issue as much as an opportunity for leaders to lead more and have deep impact. In this short video I highlight that culture, communications, and connections could be the start of your Great Retention as you develop and lead your people to new opportunities.  It’s about the high touch that you, as leader, bring to the team and to the organization. It works best when everyone clearly understands what’s needed to develop professionally using a learning ladder aligned to a career path model so let’s talk more about how you can use these processes as your strategic business and retention tool. We can Zoom or even use the phone to talk because together, we are stronger, and we don’t need being remote or at a distance to keep us from connecting and engaging – let’s learn and work together!  I’ll bring some coffee…. Use the contact button above or visit our web site!

It’s career more than content

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Learning, and developing people to perform better, is a strategic business tool. Yet it’s not about the learning that people care about. If you ask someone why they’re taking a training class, pursuing a micro credential, or taking courses that lead to a more traditional certificate or degree the response you’ll receive will center on their next job, a possible promotion, or a new professional path. In this short video I highlight that learning is the tool that’s a part of the advancement process, but the focus isn’t about the content, it’s about their career.

Then what’s the outcome that provides success for both employer and employee?  Implementing a career path that clearly outlines the growth opportunities available and identifies the technical skills along with the business behaviors the person will need to be successful in the new role. Then, align these criteria to a learning ladder that shows people how, and where, they can acquire and develop these capabilities.

Developing a robust internal talent pipeline is the real strategic business tool, learning is a key component to achieve this growth. It works best when everyone clearly understands what’s needed to grow using a learning ladder aligned to a career path model. Let’s talk more about how you can use these processes as your strategic business and retention tool. We can Zoom or even use the phone to talk because together, we are stronger, and we don’t need being remote or at a distance to keep us from connecting and engaging – let’s learn and work together!  I’ll bring some coffee…. Use the contact button above or visit our web site!

Space can be more than a place

/0 Comments/in /by

When you hear the word “office” what pops in your mind? Big building filled with floors of cubicles? Is this the place where you store stuff, a place to put your jacket? Someplace that takes a while to get to.  What if we took this opportunity to redefine what the “office” could be rather than allow it to be what is has been, let’s create the workspace for tomorrow’s workplace.

Tsedal Neeley (@tsedal) offered the idea that the new purpose of the office is “as a tool rather than a destination.” In this video I share ways to reimagine how space can be seen and used to support a hybrid flexible workplace. We can create new ways to utilize the physical space as flexible meeting and collaboration areas that support remote tools so when projects need conversations with team members the work could be supported in a hybrid flexible manner rather than trying to reserve a cramped conference room. Space could be configured in ways to promote people safely coming together while allowing physical distancing and providing improved air flow and filtration to meet health protocols.

Space is a new frontier (apologies to Star Trek) we can begin to use differently than we have before providing greater flexibility, is multi-functional, and supports a wide range of technology to blur the lines between in-person and remote conversations and supports active collaboration. If you would like to talk more about using learning, and the space it needs, as a strategic business tool to impact your team let’s Zoom or even use the phone to talk because together, we are stronger and we don’t need being remote or at a distance to keep us from connecting and engaging – let’s learn and work together!  I’ll bring some coffee….  Use the contact button above or visit our web site!

There’s a hard cost to soft skills – Show your ROL (Return on Learning)!

/0 Comments/in , /by

More than the traditional ROI that focuses on hard, often technical, training a Return on Learning measures the broader cost of the problem.  This cost may be people-based and identifying its fiscal impact on the organization against the cost of creating and delivering the learning solution is a valuable way to demonstrate the impact learning has on the bottom line. From attrition to leadership communication, you can measure learning solutions that affect performance, and they have a measurable monetary impact.  There are hard dollars in measuring “soft” skills!

The first step to using learning strategically is to apply the same frame of reference your operational and leadership teams are using and apply them to the solution being implemented, the metrics that matter are the ones used by the client group so use their data points to measure the impact learning has especially around the behavioral skills we use in life to be successful.  In this video I share an example and a calculator you can use to show the value of different operational metrics that demonstrate the impact learning and performance solutions bring to the organization and the bottom line.

Key business functions such as first call resolution, retention, leadership style, net promoter scores, upselling numbers – how are you helping the person be able to perform better using the behavioral lifeskills that impact the organization?  To truly measure the ROI start by focusing on the ROL. Use my favorite 4 letter word to start with – PLAN: Prior (to) Learning, Assess Now.  Take ownership of the learning solution you are developing by first (prior to learning) gathering the current operational metrics (assess now) that you will be measuring against, so you can identify clearly to yourself and your client that the solution you put in place made a difference at the business level. Impacting performance on all levels creates value to the person and the process they are in leading to success for everyone.

If you would like to talk more about ways to demonstrate the impact your team has on the organization let’s Zoom and keep the conversation going!  I’d enjoy talking with you about how we can partner to strategically develop your team. Use the contact button above or visit our web site!

The Stay Interview

/0 Comments/in , /by

Do you know what drives a person to remain in their work role? What motivates them to look for another job?  Hiring new people is expensive so before they start looking take the time to see what would be interesting enough for them to stay instead. It may be simple or complex and the first step is to create the space for a discussion with the goal of them staying, growing, and helping the organization be prepared for the future.

Stay interviews are 1:1 meeting’s that happen a couple of times a year where you seek a deeper understanding of what keeps that person coming to work every day, what about their role they like and the parts of the job that’s frustrating (and may be something you can fix!).  In this video I explore what you can do to retain your talented people and develop a versatile internal talent pipeline.

Using stay interviews can help you proactively engage your employees and keep them. From upskilling to finding new ways to utilize your talented people stay interview can keep your internal talent pipeline filled and more importantly, it will create opportunities for you to develop deeper connections with your employees. If you would like to talk more about how this model can be used in your organization let’s Zoom or send me an email and keep the conversation going!  I’d enjoy talking with you about how we can partner to strategically develop your team. Use the contact button above or visit our web site!

https://youtu.be/mTHdwMAcZU4