We have all been placed on “teams.”  Maybe it was a project team or a focus group team or even your new service team. Most of us can think of teams that completely fell apart or didn’t work well. Let me guess what happened:

• One or more members of your team didn’t “pull their weight?”
• One person tended to dominate
• Not everyone felt included
• A couple of people did the majority of the work

I was having a conversation with a CEO whom I respect a great deal and I told him that I was going to write a book titled, “Teamwork is Overrated.” He said it caught his attention. I explained that we place people on teams for EVERYTHING but often fail to help them succeed. A lot of times people don’t feel good about the team experience. Sometimes the whole purpose for developing the team is defeated because we failed the members who are actually on the team.

What can we do to ensure success? When creating teams, here are a few questions to consider:

1. Why are we forming a team? What is our purpose?
2. Do we have different perspectives in the group?
3. Do we have competing priorities?
4. Is the goal of the team well defined and tied to organizational strategy?
5. Who is leading the team?
6. How are individuals held accountable for the success of the project/goal?

Give your teams a chance. It is hard enough to go through the forming, storming, norming, and performing aspects of team development without the confusion of why they are actually there and what role they are expected to play. A truly aligned team is stronger than any individual. There is a “we” in awesome!

See a related blog post from my coworker, Jennifer Rufatto: Team Building in 15 Minutes or Less.

Jeremy King is the Business Development Manager at FlashPoint.

Image: jscreationzs/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This post currently has no responses.

One of my favorite commercials is from Monster.com where a child states, “I wanna claw my way up to middle management.” I remember the first time I became an assistant manager. I was so excited to send my new business cards to my whole family (even though they live in Colorado and couldn’t do business with me) and I readily gave one to anyone who would take one. We all love the American success story about the person who started in the mail room and worked his way up to CEO—what a great story. Everyone should strive to accomplish that, right?

What happened to simply being “the best” at what we do? Why if we are considered “the best,” do we have to get promoted to feel valued? By that rationale, Peyton Manning should be the coach and not the quarterback. Imagine what would happen to the Indianapolis Colts if Curtis Painter took over and Manning was simply his coach? Do you remember when Magic Johnson tried to coach? He failed miserably, yet no one would argue that he is one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. The role of being a coach is different from being a player. Just like the role of being a manager is different from being a contributor. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of contributors who have what it takes to be a manager and I firmly believe that leadership can be taught; but, it is not for everyone and that should be ok.

So, what do you do? You can’t stop promoting from within your organization because you do not want employees to feel stagnate.

Here are some considerations:

1. How does a promotion impact your customers?
2. Think about how you show that you value your employees. Does everyone know how they contribute to the success of your business?  What is their impact on your business?
3. Do a job analysis and consider job enrichment and/or enlargement versus simply promoting people into management. Few people want to do the exact same job each day, but it doesn’t mean the only way to change that is through promotion.
4. Develop a management and leadership development system that may include training, coaching, or mentoring for high potential employees.
5. Consider a pay-for-performance compensation plan as many people want and take a management position simply because it pays more.
6. Ask employees how they feel about their contributions and their role within your organization.

There was a time in my career when I would have ranked advancement as the most important part of my job. As I have matured in my career, I value the impact I can have on an organization. It didn’t come naturally and it took a lot of work. I now chuckle a bit when I hear titles dropped in conversations. My current title will not raise the eyebrows that my CEO title once did, but I can tell you confidently that I would have a much larger impact on your organization today than I would have six years ago.

Jeremy King, SPHR is the Business Development Manager at FlashPoint.

Image: Matt Banks / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This post currently has no responses.

A couple weeks ago my wife and I purchased a new car as we needed something a little more “kid friendly.” If you haven’t purchased a car lately, you’re missing the exciting conclusion of every sale—the sales person explaining the survey that you will receive and that if they score less than perfect it is considered a “failure.” Well, my salesperson will likely receive a failure score. Failure not because she approached us as we were still exiting our car or used old school negotiation tactics or because she was working three deals at once (no signs of a weak economy at this dealership)—failure because of a missed opportunity the next day.

Here is the story. Our finance company was closed on Saturday so we didn’t know our exact payoff amount on the old car. I estimated it and told them I could make up the difference. The next day, I received a call from my salesperson who informed me that I was a whopping $66 under the actual payoff and could she come by—today—to pick up a check. I shared with her that I rarely write checks and asked if I could give her cash or my debit card number. She eagerly agreed and, after getting the number, hustled off the phone.

After I hung up I started thinking. The dealership didn’t give me even close to what I wanted for my car, it had leverage on the price of the new car because it’s a hybrid, and gas is $14 per gallon (not really but you get my point)—they can’t just pick up the $66 tab? Really?

When I facilitate customer service training, I always say, “The customer isn’t always right, but they are always the customer.”  I have our salesperson’s business card but will I recommend her to any of my friends or colleagues? Probably not. Will I blast her company all over social media sites? No. Do I feel good about my experience overall. Not really. Do we love our new car? Absolutely.

Nordstrom has a loyal following (including me), largely because they give employees the ability to provide excellent customer service.  They realize that customers will come back and they will tell their friends.

I won’t buy another car from that dealership or that salesperson. I might be tough but I work hard to provide the best customer service that I can and I want others to do the same for me.

What do you think? Am I being too harsh?

Image: graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Jeremy King, SPHR is the Business Development Manager at FlashPoint.

This post currently has 1 response.

Recently, I signed up to participate in a three-and-half-hour workshop. The workshop flyer described interaction and conversation facilitated by the author of a book I recently read; I was excited to share the many questions that had come to me as I worked through the book and discuss thoughts and ideas with other participants.

As I entered the room where the workshop was to take place, I appreciated the seating arrangement—a large circle of 25 chairs—as it was perfect for group dialogue.

Right on time, the author began with a story that quickly drew in the audience. He was still talking one hour and 15 minutes later when someone interrupted him and asked if we could take a quick break. After the break, we returned to the circle and he continued to talk for the remainder of the “workshop.” At the conclusion of his talk, he hurriedly took a couple of questions as participants were preparing to leave. I scrambled to review the questions I had brought with me, and yet, they no longer felt appropriate.

I found value in the content of the author’s message but it was not at all what I had expected. Had I planned to attend a lecture, my preparation would have been very different.

Andrea Moore facilitating a workshop

This experience was a great reminder to me of the importance of appropriately describing and marketing your event, whether it be a training session, workshop, presentation, or lecture. In our work at FlashPoint, we try to be descriptive of what we are doing. Here are two examples from the events page on our website:

Workshop:

FlashPoint is facilitating The Leadership Challenge® Workshop.

Presentation:

Jeremy King will present “Dealing with Difficult People”…

Tell participants in advance what they can expect. They are much better prepared and engaged when they know what it is they are attending.

Andrea Moore is a Senior Consulting Manager at FlashPoint; Andrea focuses on leadership development, training and performance improvement solutions, and one-on-one coaching.

This post currently has no responses.

A recent blog post associated with Indianapolis Business Journal caught my attention and inspired me to comment. The author poses some thought-provoking questions about women entrepreneurs. FlashPoint has at least two of them so I shared my thoughts on the blog and want to share here with you too.

Here is a link to the post on Small Biz Matters hosted by Focus Editor Norm Heikens:

http://www.ibj.com/small-biz-matters/2011/04/06/where-are-the-wildly-successful-women-entrepreneurs/PARAMS/post/26380

Here is my response:

FlashPoint Principals Krista Skidmore and Andrea Cranfill at GROWCO 2011, Inc.'s "Grow Your Company" Conference

While I don’t have a ready answer to some of the questions posed, I do have an answer for this question: “Where are the wildly successful women entrepreneurs?” I know two of them. Krista Skidmore and Andrea Cranfill are cofounders and principals of FlashPoint, one of Indiana’s largest human resource consulting firms. (Disclosure: I am the marketing manager for the business and I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t enter this conversation!) Where are they? They’re out growing our business.

Jennifer Holme’s point [Jennifer authored a comment on the post too] about women not promoting themselves or actively seeking recognition might be somewhat true for FlashPoint. Beyond project deliverables, we spend a lot of time creating extra value for our clients. Client relations have always been our top priority. For us, it’s less about differentiating ourselves from male entrepreneurs or focusing on the fact that our business was started by women. It’s more about being relevant to our clients and helping them achieve their business goals. Through that process, we’re achieving ours.

In the last four months, FlashPoint has added three full-time consultants to handle our growing workload and a business development associate to further grow our client base, bringing our staff total to 16. We are soft launching a new suite of services called Clearly HR. These are streamlined services with a lower, fixed cost for small businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities. Clearly HR complements our fully customized work and was developed to fill a need that we continuously found unmet in the market.

Not only are Skidmore and Cranfill business leaders but they are community leaders serving on boards such as the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Arts Council of Indianapolis, Humane Society of Indianapolis, and Indiana Humanities.

Their talent is well-rounded, deep-seeded, and fully accessible. So, here’s FlashPoint! We’re crushing our sales goals, exceeding our client expectations, and having fun all the while. Now don’t get me wrong, we like awards and attention, and we’re working to earn some of that too.

Joellyn Detjen is marketing manager at FlashPoint and helps tell the company’s story.

This post currently has no responses.

I recently read an article in a mainstream magazine that took me on quite an emotional adventure. The piece offered tips to job seekers from a human resource professional’s perspective. I laughed (mostly at the Dilbert cartoons), I agreed, but mostly I got mad. The last thing we need in the HR profession, which is already sometimes misunderstood, is a popular publication creating content that reinforces negative HR stereotypes and, in some cases, gives wrong information. Here’s a synopsis of my journey through the article.

I laughed. . . .

A cartoon depicts a horn-haired boss asking his secretary to interview a job candidate. The secretary asks the candidate why he left his last job. After replying that he left because he punched his boss, the secretary promptly recommends the candidate for the job.

I agreed. . . .

The article provides good pointers for job seekers. For example, it advises them to research the organization before they go to interview. It’s frustrating when candidates ask me to tell them about our business. I’ve been tempted to give them 10 minutes alone with our website and then resume the interview. I also agree with the author that having your mother call to renegotiate your job offer is a bad idea.

I got mad. . . .

There is so much wrong with this quote from the article that I don’t know where to begin: “If you’re put on a performance improvement plan, you’re cooked. I might look you in the eye and say we’re going to do everything possible to make this work, but that’s just total BS.” As an organizational development (OD) consultant, this counters what I witness from HR professionals every day. Another quote nearly broke my OD heart: “All those boring training things? We think they’re boring too.” Really? Perhaps there’s something lacking with the trainer or the training content.

Information such as this is unhelpful and perpetuates negative images of the “HR person upstairs.” It reminds me that we have a long way to go as HR professionals in establishing our role as valued members of the leadership team. We know that we can provide great value to employees and can impact our company’s bottom line. We need to get that message across. I can’t wait to see an article published in a mainstream magazine that portrays us as progressive thought leaders. It’s time to get some good PR for HR!

I’m eager to hear what you think. Do you agree with my frustration and/or do you have ideas for changing the negative perception of HR professionals?

Jennifer Rufatto is a consultant at FlashPoint. She focuses her consulting in the areas of workplace learning, leadership development, and strategic planning.

Image: Derek Kimball

This post currently has no responses.

This is post number two in the series, For Success, Focus on the Fundamentals. Over the coming months, we will discuss ten fundamental principles for business success (see February 14^, 2011 post to review the ten principles). If we put these principles into practice in a consistent, disciplined manner, we will realize steady and significant progress toward our business goals. Principle number one understand our business. Today we will focus specifically on understanding the environment in which our business operates.

Before we dive into understanding our business environment, we need to cover a very important concept that will guide our exploration of all ten principles- “questions are the answer”. In every post, I will provide you with a list of questions to help you deepen your knowledge in the area we are discussing. It will be your job to find the answers. Finding the answers will take time, effort, and will-power. But remember, business leaders who search out the answers will generally be very successful. Those who do not will be marginally successful or fail.

Silber and Kearny write in their book, Organizational Intelligence (2010, p.44), “History is full of organizations that failed to understand their operating environment or simply failed to adapt to change in their environment. On the other hand, there have been many spectacular successes where organizations have spotted trends in their operating environment and capitalized on these.”

In today’s business world, the operating environment is global! Consider how to answer the questions below for each of the geographic regions your organization operates within. For example, question 1a asks how the threat of military invasion may impact your business operation. Certainly this is not a problem for your Chicago office; it is a very real consideration if you also have an office in Libya.  Question 3h asks about the core values of the predominant culture of a country. This question also applies to different regions within the United States. For instance, how employees are recruited, trained, and motivated may be different in India versus the United Kingdom, or in Manhattan, New York versus Port Saint Joe, Florida.

Remember- you must answer the questions in terms of how they impact your business!! This is not a current events quiz. While it is good to have a general knowledge of business and world affairs, you only get a bang for the buck when you apply your knowledge to helping your organization thrive within the environment(s) it operates within.

After you read through the questions below, use a 5 point scale to rate your understanding of your business environment (1 signifies no knowledge, 5 signifies very knowledgeable). Then, start working on finding the answers you need! Next time we will discuss how to gain a strong understanding of our organization’s management practices.

Bill Mugavin is a consultant at FlashPoint. Bill focuses his consulting in the areas of strategic planning, organizational development, and leadership and management development.  

Flashpoint is committed to helping building strong organizations and helping client’s connect their business strategies to their people strategies. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Bill (317 735—3875) or Jeremy King (317-221-2617). We would love to learn more about you and your business.

Questions to help you understand the environment in which our business operates

1      What political conditions are affecting your organization?

• Risk of military invasion
• Government policies in the home country
• Intergovernmental relations and alliances
• Intra-country relations among different ethnic and religious and tribal groups
• Stability of governments and geographic regions
• Legislation that governs business and trade (GATT, WTO, Big 8 Summit, NAFTA, etc.)
• How the government enforces existing laws
• What nongovernmental groups lobby for laws that impact business
• The attitude of the government toward consumer lawsuits

 2.    What economic conditions are affecting your organization?

• Global and national economic conditions (inflation, recession)
• Type of economic system in the countries of operation
• Government intervention in the free market
• Comparative advantages of the host country
• Exchange rates, interest rates, inflation rates and the stability of the host country currency
• Efficiency of the financial markets
• Infrastructure quality
• Skill level of workforce, Labor costs, Unemployment rates,  Labor-management relations, Job market trends and Turnover trends, Recruitment trends and techniques
• Business cycle stage (prosperity, recession, recovery)
• Economic growth rate
• Capital availability
• Levels and distribution of wealth globally and nationally
• Rates of savings and debt among consumers
• Consumer spending patterns and discretionary income (individual, corporate, national, and global)

 3.     What social conditions are affecting your organization?

• Projected growth, now and projected, worldwide
• Age distribution (bookers, gen-x, gen-y, etc)
• Family structure (single parents, married, extended, grandparents living in house)
• Gender distribution
• Geographic distribution
• Education levels
• Ethnic and racial make-up
• Core values of the predominant culture of a country
• Core values of the subcultures in a country. How do they clash, and where is there common ground?

4.    What technology conditions are affecting your organization?

• The value of science in the culture
• Fields of science in which “hot breakthroughs” are being made
• The percentage of government and private money available for research and development
• Changes in products and services that incorporate technology
• The lifespan of any technology
• The regulation of technology
• The protection of technological innovation
• Technologies impact on product offering
• Impact on cost structure
• Impact on value chain structure
• Rate of technological diffusion

 5.    What environmental conditions are affecting your organization?

• Greenhouse gas emissions
• Solid waste produced
• Liquid waste discharged
• Energy consumption
• Recyclability
• Clean water consumption
• Overall environmental footprint

 6.    What legal conditions are affecting your organization??

• Antitrust laws
• Pricing regulations
• Taxation- tax rates and incentives
• Wage legislation- minimum wage and overtime
• Workweek
• Mandatory benefits
• Industrial safety regulations
• Product labeling requirements

 7.    What industry conditions are affecting your organization?

• Competition
• Supplier bargaining power
• Buyer bargaining power
• Threats of new competition
• Threat of substitutes

This post currently has no responses.

I’m not sure if it’s human nature or something about our culture, but as we approach the end of one year and start thinking about the next, most of us tend to look ahead and form plans. It’s almost expected of us—we’re supposed to make new year’s resolutions, figure out how we’re going to do things differently, or come up with ways we’re going to make our lives better in the next twelve months.

I’m itching to write that this is all trite and overblown, but I’m going to stick with the storyline and insist that yes, this is indeed a good time to evaluate where you’ve been and develop a plan for moving forward in the months ahead. Specifically, if you’re in charge of human resources at your company, it’s a great opportunity to conduct an HR assessment and set priorities for how you’re going to develop your programs in the year ahead.

Why do I say this? I do so because for many of us the past couple of years have been challenging. Our HR programs have been under stress. We’ve had to do more with less, so we need to figure out the state of our HR affairs. As we’ve asked our employees to take on more duties, are their job descriptions accurate or do we need to update them? Are our compensation programs still competitive? Are we giving employees the training they need to do their jobs?

An HR assessment can help you answer these questions and others, and it can help you figure out which areas need the most attention. If you’re interested in learning more about what an HR assessment covers and why it’s important, you can check out this article on FlashPoint’s website.

So this year maybe you’ll resist the urge to set personal resolutions that you know you’re going to break by, oh, say . . . January 2. I support that. But if you’re an HR professional, I do encourage you to consider the HR assessment and the benefits that it can bring to you and your organization. Good luck and happy new year!

George Hanlin is a consultant at FlashPoint.

Image: Salvatore Vuono

This post currently has no responses.

In describing what FlashPoint does, one of my colleagues recently said that she believes we put the “human” back in Human Resources.  I have thought a lot about that statement. It’s possible that I’m more reflective due to the holidays, but I find myself amazed at the wisdom of what she said.

What would it look like in your organization if leaders took time to know their employees as people—to know their challenges, triumphs, personal successes, or professional stresses. I myself make the argument that it wouldn’t be possible because it would be unproductive and an irresponsible use of time. But the nagging holiday spirit stops me in my tracks and asks me to think “what if.”

• Maybe employees would invest their hearts and minds into their work because leaders took the time to learn and care about them as people.

• Maybe we would have less employee relations issues if people believed that leadership cared about them.

• Maybe we would have higher productivity because employees wanted to be at work and give their best.

• Maybe employees would be cared for in a way that inspired them to forward that outstanding care and compassion to the customers.

How do you put the “human” into your daily interactions? Do you find yourself, like me, running so fast that you miss opportunities to make a real difference to someone? If so, join me in slowing down during the holidays to look for those opportunities. Maybe nothing different will happen. Or maybe . . .

Jennifer Rufatto is a consultant at FlashPoint. She focuses her consulting in the areas of workplace learning, leadership development, and strategic planning.

Image: Graur Codrin via freedigitalphotos.net

This post currently has no responses.

Here it is again—that wonderful time of the year! No, I’m not talking about the holidays (though they are indeed pretty terrific), but instead the time when many of us conduct annual performance reviews for our employees and provide merit increases for the next year.

If you’re a manager and are budgeting for merit increases, FlashPoint has helpful data for you. Julie Bingham, our senior consultant, regularly keeps up-to-date with the latest compensation-related research and trends. Julie’s a member of WorldatWork, the national compensation and benefits professional association, and she recently received results from WorldatWork’s 2010-11 salary budget survey:

• The national average merit increase in 2010 was 2.5 percent, and the national average projected 2011 increase is 2.9 percent.
• For the central U.S., the average increase in 2010 was 2.5 percent, and the projected 2011 increase is 3.0 percent.
• For Indiana, the average increase in 2010 was 2.5 percent and the projected 2011 increase is 2.9 percent.

According to Julie, this data includes those organizations that offered or plan to offer no increase (that is, it includes zeros), and if you exclude the zeros, the data comes in slightly higher.

Julie also notes that other sources, including the 2010-2011 Mercer U.S. Compensation Planning Report, indicate similar trends.

Earlier this year, Julie wrote an article on regaining control of your compensation programs, with six steps you can take to assess and adjust them. As you consider your merit increases and other compensation-related issues in the new year, it’s a great resource. You can find it here.

Meanwhile, best wishes as you wrap up your year-end HR projects (including those performance reviews—mine is December 15) and as you prepare for 2011. And amid all the hoopla, don’t forget to take time to enjoy the other activities the season has to offer! Happy holidays!

George Hanlin is a consultant at FlashPoint.

Image: nuttakit

This post currently has no responses.