Celebrate success: measure, plan, recognize good work šŸ¾ Ā (6/6)

Don’t forget this step, in any part of your business.  A powerful way to ensure more good work is to recognize what’s working, celebrate good results, and give the team the spotlight. Make sure everyone in the business knows when good work is happening.  Measure customer satisfaction First and foremost. It is up to your…

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Hire the right customer experience team šŸ„‡ Ā (5/6)

Every area of your business needs the right people in the right seats. And the right people for your customer experience team can make or break the business. When clients work with happy employees and when they feel taken care of, they will be happy to do, and continue doing, business with you.  So far…

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Operational efficiency: an essential to grow your business

Business growth is what we’re talking about, but to achieve growth, you must scale your business.  Growing your business means adding parts. More clients, more employees, more desks, more anything. Scaling your business means that your revenue increases, but your resources stay about the same.  For more on that see my post Why scaling is…

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Your org chart shouldn’t look like an octopus

ā€œMake an organizational chart?ā€ He asked me. ā€œBut that’s so 20th century, do businesses still do that?ā€ Only the good ones.  The problem was never organizational charts: the problem was always bad organizational charts. And in small businesses, org charts are even harder, because so many people fill multiple roles. Pretty soon they look like…

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Does everybody know your mission statement?

If I ask ten of your employees what your mission statement is, how many different answers will I receive? And how different will they be from your answer? Use your mission statement Your mission statement is a tool. Use it.  I am aware that many people see it as a form of PR, a ā€œnice…

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Are you living by your guiding principles?

Leading by example is one of the main points of leadership.  You may have noticed: it’s in the word.  To get the behavior you want from your employees is to be the person you want them to be.  They can see you We don’t live in an episode of Big Brother, but we are being…

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Why you should stop having performance reviews

The annual performance review.  Every employee’s favorite moment of their favorite day. They prepare for it, they celebrate it, they wait all year or all quarter for this fun, exciting, stimulating moment— Clearly: I am joking.  Nobody likes performance reviews, neither employees nor employers.  So let’s stop doing them.  Let’s have Stay Interviews instead.  What…

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The most important line in your job descriptions

There’s one sentence in your job description that matters the most.  If you were only allowed to share one line from your job description, this would be the line to share.  It’s the line that tells people what to do. And it goes like this: ā€œThe purpose of this role isā€¦ā€ A job adds value…

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The 4 stages of a new hire (but only use 3)

Congratulations: you hired someone new!  And of course, they are the right person. Probably. Almost definitely. But, still, we need to have a conversation.Ā  New hire journey First of all: of course you do. It will take everyone time to learn the job, the business, the culture, and even what to do when the coffee…

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How to give the people what they want: hr edition

ā€œOrganizations… are nothing more than the collective goodwill and aspirations of the people involvedā€. – Sergio Marchionne As a business owner, you are responsible for the collective goodwill, you are the vehicle for people to achieve those aspirations. You are, in short, responsible for a positive working environment.  The workforce solutions company ManpowerGroup did the…

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