Your Employees Are Your Most Important Asset

Numbers, metrics, sales, service, results, outcomes, profit, loss, success or failure is all due to something that employees create, and affect – “affect” being the operative word here.  An organization’s brand is built, or broken by the people who represent the organization.

I have been reading a lot about employee engagement lately, and I’m glad to see that people are talking about it, especially during these challenging times.  The articles that I have been reading basically all agree that billions of dollars are lost each year due to employees who are disengaged with their work, and their organization.

Some articles blame a lack of leadership (I would agree), and some blame a lack of direction (I would also agree).  There are those who have come up with a “metric” driven solution (there’s probably something of use there), and others point to a lack of communication within organizations that create an environment of “I don’t know what’s going on so I don’t care” employee (yep, I see that as a major issue as well).

Common sense would tell us that if employees are not engaged, bad things are going to happen.  Critical resources (time and creativity) will be wasted if you have employees who just go through the motions each day while at work, creating the impression of “work.”  Anyone can come into an office (for the most part) and make it look like they are working, but it takes a person who has that fire and drive in their gut to make a real difference in an organization.

Disengaged employees drive mediocrity.  Just getting by each day and staying under the radar is a conscious, and unconscious goal of these types of employees.  A culture of mediocrity is a natural outcome due to this type of behavior, and it spreads like a disease across an organization.

Employee engagement does not have to be complicated, or take up a lot of expensive resources.  Basically, educating employees about, and getting them involved with the business is a good start.   Check out my website (www.archofchange.com) for some great ideas about how to build a more engaged workforce.

Amid all the Vietnam  comparisons to the wars we seem to be fighting, there are people suffering.  The soldiers risking their lives, and the caregivers who bear their burdens.  (Who else is out there who is being ignored?)  How can we be getting into the minds of our identified “enemies” if we cannot figure out ourselves?

Customers, users, employees and participants are all effected by the experience offered by an organization.  Are rules in place, are they being administered effectively?  Where are the pain points that exist within the organization?  How are they documented?

Of all the recently laid off employees, and those who are unemployed, how can the most depressed be identified and what simple intervention can help?  More networking events?  More smiles, friends, mentors?

The tragedy at Ft.Hood seems to have had red flags prior.  A religious screed at Grand Rounds, a “lazy” performance record.  ”How can we allow the name Walter Reed to be associated with this individual?” , “How can we fire one of the only Muslim doctors?” Why can’t a psychiatrist get proper help?  Who cares for the caregivers?

During some previous recession, Michael Douglas played 2 different characters.  ”Greed is good” and a fired postal worker, who got mad and got a gun.  In Boston, a patient stabbed his psychiatrist.  Even if we put metal detectors at every door, we would not be able to stop every incident.  The question is, why doesn’t it happen more often?

Businesses work hard to avoid lawsuits.  As if that is the worst case scenario for everything.  Why can’t compassion be built into systems, with cross checks, to ensure that the organization is working well.  Instead of becoming litigious, or refusing to help out customers or employees, why can’t the mission be called up?  Instead of carefully tracing out your “scope” , why not look at the larger problem?

Upturn a Downturn!

Challenging economic times require challenging the status quo.  Even when times are tough there are many low-cost opportunities to build, and nurture positive customer relationships that can help an organization accelerate through, and uphold the brand’s reputation.

Don’t Panic

When faced with an economic downturn many organizations resort to panic and reactive strategies.  Taking a reactive approach can cause a management team to frame action through a negative lens, and place focus on what’s wrong, instead of what’s right.

The goal becomes survival at any cost — as long as it doesn’t cost any money. Many organizations stray from logic by reducing headcount, cutting back on services, and eliminating customer perks. In an attempt to drive costs down, they drive customers to the competition.

These types of actions exacerbate the issue, and create a vicious circle of compounding problems.  Service quality drops, and customer satisfaction takes a dive.  As customer complaints increase, the cost and resources to handle the complaints increase as well.  Negative word-of-mouth advertising impacts sales, and that leads to additional costs in marketing, and customer retention.

Don’t Forget About The Employee Experience

Challenging times impact the employee experience as well.  Organizational changes affect employee morale, productivity, and confidence in the organization that in turn affects the customers’ experience.  Frustration can lead to employee attrition that drive up costs associated with hiring and training replacements.

In the preface of his book The Loyalty Effect author Frederick F. Reichheld states, “the fact across a wide range of industries is that a 5 percent improvement in customer retention rates will yield a 25 to 100 percent increase in profits.”  The key word being retention!  It costs less to retain customers and employees than to replace them.

Simplicity is Key

In challenging times, think simple, but simple with an impact.  You don’t have to drive up costs to WOW a customer; in fact, it’s just the opposite. Most customers understand the challenges that organizations face, but they still want value for their money, and to feel appreciated.

The goal is to let customers know that you appreciate and value their business.  A sincere “thank you” from a customer service representative, or an employee that goes that “extra mile” to provide outstanding service will not only pleasantly surprise a customer, but will start a chain of word-of-mouth advertising.  Even a small token of appreciation in the form of a note, an email, phone call, or text message can do wonders do build a brand on a budget.  Most of the time it’s the smallest gestures that make the greatest impact, and help to enhance customer loyalty.

Imagine receiving a note, email, or text message from your mortgage, credit card, or telecommunications provider  saying something like:  “We want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support,” or “We know that these are challenging times, and we want to thank you for paying your bill on time.”  For a minimal investment you would get a maximum return on customer perception, and good will.  That’s advertising you can’t buy!

This Too Shall Pass

The good news is better days are ahead, so go ahead and challenge the status quo! Take a challenge as an opportunity to differentiate yourself by surprising your customers, and building your brand.   Not only will it help you get through the leaner times, it will help you build a brighter future.

In this customer experience video tips episode Sonia Graham discusses how follow up is not enough for a great customer experience – to truly deliver a complete experience, you must also follow through.

Technology can and should be a great asset to any business. It should improve efficiencies, help your business run more smoothly and hopefully eliminate errors. Technology done poorly however, can hinder the customer experience and often cause more problems than it solves. We are not against technology – we embrace it in fact. However, we are against sloppy technology that disempowers your People and turns away your customers. Watch this short video tip on technology and decided for yourself: Friend or Foe?

Do you know what factors influence your customers emotions about and perceptions of your company? The first step in managing your factors of influence is to understand what they are – take a look at your organization from your customers’ perspective. Understand what your customer experiences as they work with your organization and make sure those experiences are outstanding each and every time.

Our Program:

Enhancing the Employee Experience with a Web 2.0 User Interface (UI) and Social Networking

Your employees and managers are currently using sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google & Wikipedia while they interact and learn on the Internet.  Meanwhile your current HR self-service systems are light years away from that kind of functionality, and are seen as archaic and confusing by the people using them. 

In this presentation, you will learn:

• How to enhance the UI of your portal to make it the equal of the top Internet sites by the use of dynamic and interactive portlets.
• How social networking in the workplace can help your employees get their jobs done more effectively.
• How controls can be put in place so that HR can easily manage what can be collaborated on and by who
• See how this can be wrapped up in an all-encompassing employee experience that is rich in content while also being easy to use.
• The reasons why trust in HR’s metrics has eroded
• A five step process for developing metrics
• Tips for becoming a valued data source for business leaders.

Watch as KeyBank denonstrates their enhanced HR portal for applicants, managers and employees. 

Our Speakers:

Paul Isherwood

Paul Isherwood has been a leading innovator and implementation expert in the software industry for the past twenty years. His background involves leading a software company in England, building Portal, Security, and Integration practices within PeopleSoft Consulting, and co-founding IntraSee. Paul’s passion for software, and his ability to apply this passion to innovative yet practical solutions, has led to him being a much sought after speaker at industry conferences. Paul recently co-presented with Oracle at the 2008 Oracle Open World conference & Alliance 2009 on implementing Web 2.0 solutions in the PeopleSoft Portal.

KeyBank Self Service Demonstration Team

Katy Murphy has been with KeyBank for 5 years, starting out as an intern while attending Ohio University. Upon graduation, Katy joined the bank full time and has held numerous recruiting positions, mainly focusing on Community Bank and Administrative Services. Most recently, Katy joined the Executive Recruiting team, focusing on the recruitment of leadership positions enterprise wide. Katy has partnered with various teams across the organization on recruitment strategies and the implementation of the upgraded HR Online system.

James M. Zema serves as a portal and security administrator for the “HR Online” PeopleSoft application, primary administrator of the company’s HR knowledgebase “PolicyPlus”, and the Access Control Specialist for all HR applications at Key. During the past year and a half, he participated in the implementation of the 9.0 PeopleSoft application as the security team owner. In this position, he guided the design and development of the role based security architecture and worked closely with Intrasee and the technology teams during the development, testing, and implementation of the system to ensure security was accounted for in every phase of the project. In addition to those responsibilities, James acted as a lead on the portal team which included design and development of the portal, modifications and maintenance of Intrasee deliverables after completion, and application development and branding.

Jennifer DiSanto is a senior business analyst on the Human Resources Information Management team at KeyBank. She is responsible for Self-Service Delivery Channel management with primary focus on KeyBank’s HR self-service internet application. She has served in both technical and functional roles during multiple HRMS technology upgrades, concentrating on the portal front-end technology. Jennifer has been with KeyBank 14 years. She joined Key directly after graduating college.

Time and Location:

Please Register:

Please register by Monday, September 21, 2009 to MaryAnn Sciarappa at msciarappa@gmail.com.

Fees are payable at the door or mail payment to:

IHRIM,

651 Orchardview Rd.,

Seven Hills, OH 44131

Please make checks payable to IHRIM.

Program Fees:

Everyone – $40

This and all sessions proudly sponsored by:

Welcome to the first of our weekly Customer Experience Business tips. Each week we will produce a video that is less than 5 minutes in length with tips that you can implement in your company to ensure you are delivering an excellent customer experience.

If you have a tip you would like to present – let us know – we would be happy to give you credit!

Can we now make common sense less uncommon?

Again, the Wall Street Journal’s ‘Page one, Bottom’ story provides insight into how we can all run our business with better efficiency and profitability. This time, the article tangentially touches on common sense as a (partial) solution to a big problem. The last time I commented on the story in this location, the story dealt with the trivial and meaningless savings of $102M by Cabinet agencies in the Obama administration.

This time, the article strikes gold with an explicit nod to the quickest, cheapest, and most effective way to allow common sense into your business operations. This article, entitled “Airlines’ Expert on Missing Bags Fights Lost Cause” relates the story of Andrew Price, head of the International Air Transport Association’s Baggage Improvement Program. The full story is online at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125002419177123735.html

The story states:

To get a handle on luggage woes, Mr. Price’s team last fall conducted weeklong audits of nine major airports, including Dubai, Lisbon and Dallas-Fort Worth. The result is a “baggage tool-kit” for airlines and airports, mixing tips from front-line staff with geeky analysis of industry benchmarks such as bags lost per thousand passengers. (emphasis mine)

It continues:

Skycaps in the U.S. who scribble their initials with black markers on check-in labels so travelers know whom to tip, inadvertently block the bar codes. Mr. Price’s team picked up a simple solution from staff at American Airlines: Give them red pens.

I’d like to know the back story. How did the individual discover or innovate this ‘red pen’ solution? For whatever reason, I know that red ink does not copy well, so it stands to reason that red pen might not interfere with the scanners that read the baggage routing bar codes. Did a thoughtful American Airlines employee make that same inference?

Or, perhaps a skycap brought a red marker one day, to make his or her initials stand out from the others. And the baggage was handled accurately by the automatic machinery that gets its input from the bar code scanner. And an American Airlines employee recognized the difference, and made the logical connection.

Whatever the ‘path to innovation,’ the innovation, or perhaps just this small bit of common sense, was captured, socialized, communicated, and permanently captured industry-wide. Because someone – either Mr. Price or an American Airlines manager – listened to the front line employees at American.

Imagine that. The front line knows how to solve a small part of a big industry problem. If you put together a lot of simple, small solutions, the next thing you know, the whole system will run a lot more efficiently. The front line staff can feel empowered and engaged in the success of their role and their organization, as well as the success of their industry, if they are allowed into the problem solving efforts. Customers will be happier. (But not a lot happier – accurate luggage handling and forwarding a basic air passenger expectation.)

You can do the same thing in your business. Ask your front line employees for insight, input, and innovation. They know. They deal with your operations all day, every day. And while they are focused on performing the tasks that make up your business and its operations, they might be thinking about how it could be better – better for them, and better for your customers. If you just ask, they will tell you. And that is better for you, and better for your customers.  This is why, at Maximum Business Advantage we work directly with employees – we know they know but are often not asked for their opinion. If you want to capitalize on your employees’ knowledge but you are not sure how to do that – give us a call. We would be happy to help, for far less expense than you think.

- Jim Graham Jim@MBAAZ.com

Are you losing too many customers or sales opportunities?    Are you experiencing too much negative word of mouth?    Are customers’ expectations changing faster than your company’s ability to stay ahead of the competition?    Do you have trouble aligning the efforts of intermediaries in order to deliver for the customer?    Are customers behaving in a way that constrains or undermines your efficiency and profitability?    Are all your efforts just leading to “better sameness”?

Over the past couple of years, I’ve covered an extensive array of topics focused on how companies can address these issues.  In this post, I’d like to take the liberty of  describing the type of work we do and the unique tools we use in the process.

My colleagues and I at Customer Innovations have a 25 year track record helping leading organizations create experiences that improve the acquisition, retention, and profitability of customers.  In the course of our work, we’ve demonstrated bottom line results of 10-25% in the form of increased retention, incremental sales, reduced acquisition costs, positive word of mouth, higher price realization, and improved productivity of customer-facing operations.   Most of our work has been with organizations that create experiences across complex networks of “customers” including consumers, agents, brokers, retailers, and other influencers.

Our work generally takes the form of these types of efforts:

• Rapid Revenue Retention. We quickly identify specific elements of the current experience that are leading to attrition, lost sales, negative word of mouth, and unproductive customer behavior.   Intensive 10-12 week efforts often lead to $10 – $100 million in benefits.
• Accelerating Sales From the “Outside In”. Rather than starting with the internal structure, processes, tools, and training, we start with a deep understanding of how and why your customers buy and then focus improvements on shifting buying behavior.
• Creative Customer Insight. Without breakthrough customer insight, design efforts can only produce “better sameness.”  We have a unique approach to surfacing customers’ latent motives, beliefs, needs, and priorities in a way that informs the creation of highly evocative and profitable products, services, and experiences.
• Signature Experience Design. We design, deliver, and engage customers in experiences that capture their attention and influence the actions they take.  These evocative experiences are structured to tell a meaningful and influence customer behavior using a set of differentiated “signature experience” elements.
• Aligning Effective Employee and Intermediary Experiences. We help create the specific employee and intermediary experiences required to ensure that those who work directly or indirectly with your customers reinforce the intended evocative experience.

We Have a Unique Technology for Creating Experiences that Influence Customer Behavior

Traditional touch-point oriented approaches rarely deliver more than “better sameness” because they focus on how the organization delivers an experience rather than on deeply understanding how people actually have experiences and how those experiences influence behavior.   Customer Innovations has a unique approach and toolset for designing evocative experiences that positively and profitably influence behavior. 

• Experience Miner^TM – Traditional “voice of the customer” approaches are insufficient for understanding the largely subconscious processes that influence customers’ desires, preferences, emotional states, choices, and behavior. Based on 25 years of cognitive and behavioral research, the Experience Miner^TM toolset helps surface, analyze, and measure the ways customers think about, feel about, and act on their experiences.
• Experience Designer^TM – The output from Experience Miner^TM feeds our structured Experience Designer^TM toolset that guides every step of the experience ideation, concept development, specification, and blueprinting processes.  Experience Designer^TM also incorporates an integrated experience-chain framework that helps specify and design the specific employee and intermediary experience interventions required to generate the intended customer experience.
• Experience Economics^TM – It’s exceptionally easy to deliver an uneconomic experience.  Most organizations simultaneously over-invest in elements of the experience that don’t matter to customers and under-invest in elements that have significant influence on customer behavior.  The Experience Economics^TM toolset helps companies find the optimal investment point based on the influence that individual and collective experience design elements and service levels have on the financial performance of the business.

I’ll continue to expand on these tools in upcoming posts.   In the meantime, you might want to check out the following links:

• Rapid Revenue Retention: A “Swarming” Approach to Keeping Customers During Recessionary Conditions
• When the Going Gets Tough… The Tough Get Closer to Their Customers
• Choice Architecture: Designing Experiences that Influence Customer Behavior
• Designing Experiences that Fit the Customers’ Mental Model
• Integrating Customer and Employee Experiences
• A Break in the Service Profit Chain: Why Increases in Employee Engagement Don’t Improve the Customer Experience

If you’d like any more information, just post a reply or send me a note at fcapek (at) customerinnovations (dot) com.   Cheers, Frank

I can recall the moment that I knew the hospitality industry was for me.

Like many hospitality professionals, I never set out to be in the hotel business. The business found me. A friend of mine was short handed one evening and needed a bartender for an event.  I had never been a bartender but I had been a customer (too often in my youth) and the perspective from the bar stool was the only one I knew.  At the time I didn’t know anything about mixing drinks but I did know what people needed from the bartender who was serving a patron. So with that limited knowledge, I agreed to help my friend, and the rest is history. It wasn’t long until I started working at the front desk.  What an awesome job.  I had so much fun at work it didn’t seem like “work”.  The business fascinated me and I took every opportunity I could find to learn more. It has been an awesome journey.

Today, I have the privilege of being a mentor to two very talented and wonderful young ladies.  One is my summer intern who is getting her master’s degree in hospitality management from the University of South Carolina.  The other is a young sales manager at one of our properties. They are rising hospitality stars, and I know they will add incredible value to both me and the customers they serve.  Both young ladies are eager and enthusiastic and ready to conquer the hotel industry.  And that is what makes my opportunity to mentor and develop them so special.  It is so much fun to share not only some of what i have learned over time, but also my passion for the industry. It seems like I barely walk in the door before it is time to leave again.

Accepting the responsibility of being a mentor is big commitment that offers a bigger reward.  Mentoring is the ultimate way to give back to your industry and your community.  Making an investment in your successors takes much time and effort but the return on the investment is significant.  The greatest reward is is not what you give them, it is what they give you in return.  A big thank you to each of these wonderful young ladies for their trust in my abilities and their commitment to the industry.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose your self in the service of others” – Mahatma Ghandi

In today’s Times of India edition (June 10, 2009), Amitabh Kant, the architect of two of India’s well known tourism campaigns (Kerala’s ‘God’s Own Country’ and Incredible India) shared his thinking on branding in an interview. His articulation of branding and travel experience made me draw a parallel with how internal communicators can benefit by closing the gap between ‘expectation’ vs ‘experience’. The two campaigns got the southern state of Kerala and India a lot of attention.

Joy Ride

What he points out was that while the country had resources and a wide spectrum of options, finally what mattered was the ‘on the ground experience’ of travelers. Poor infrastructure, lack of basic facilities and guides clearly indicated a gap between what the communication showcased and what people experienced.

He talked of going back to the basics – the ‘clean bed sheets and bathrooms’ approach, which is usually expected by anyone who travels. According to him, abroad the ‘idiot proof’ signboards and approachable guides made a difference in getting a great picture of the country and locale. Keeping this thought, internal communication is only as good as the experience stakeholders get.

Even the best resources – be it technology, assets and channels are worthless unless the overall experience is perceived to be outstanding. Most employees take it for granted that they will be treated fairly, allowed freedom to work creatively, provided promised benefits and have dignity of labor.

While organizations believe that employees will receive the best experience (some call it employee value proposition, total experience or life cycle), the gap exists when there is lack of transparency, indirect messages and ineffective direction from leadership.

My take is that internal communicators must first stick to the basics – to provide direct, regular, consistent and measurable communication, enable managers to become better at what they communicate and build sustainable connection and engagement. The frills of glossy newsletters, super fast portals and slick content can only make an impact if the basics are in place.

Does everything happen for a reason?

While I have been known to respond “everything for a reason” on many occasions, I am not certain that EVERYTHING happens that way.  However, I am certain that if you look hard enough you can always find the sunshine.  To quote Henri Matisse “there are always flowers for those who want to see them”.

There is much debate about fate and destiny.  At times, I believe that things are the way they are meant to be.  But most of the time I know that the outcome is determined by my response and course of action.  I choose to look for the flowers and to find the sunshine, even on the dreariest of days.  And what a difference it makes, not only to me, but to those around me.

The hospitality industry is full of happy, helpful people who are committed to making others see sunshine.  There are many good lessons to be learned from the day to day interactions in a hotel. In the weeks and months ahead I will share stories about opening a new hotel.   In honor of Conrad Hilton each of us on the opening Hilton Garden Inn Greenville Team will take on the “responsibility of spreading the warmth and light of hospitality”  perhaps not around the world, but certainly in Greenville, SC.

“Be still, sad heart, and cease repining:  Behind the clouds the sun is shining:  Thy fate is the common fate of all,  Into each life some rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Client Etiquette.
Just got a thank you card from a client for a job well done. What a nice turnabout! I usually send the thank you card.

Things have changed and they’re not going back to the way they were. In a fast-paced, information-intense 30-minute presentation, Mike Wittenstein will share some new ways for Meeting Planners to look for new kinds of business. It will never be ‘business as usual again’ and Mike has some powerfully simple ideas that will help you work smarter and more effectively. In a conversation with Chairwoman-Elect of Meeting Professionals International and President of Benchmarc360, Inc., Ann Godi,  Mike learned that meeting professionals are not always recognized for the strategic role they play in helping their organizations deliver on objectives and producing results.  Mike believes that the higher-order values a meeting professional brings are about improving communication, facilitating relationships and having a direct role in developing strategy in addition to execution. He’ll explain what this might look like touching on use of social media, thought leadership, new services, and customer experience. Don’t miss this compelling presentation. 

MW Free Webinar. 2/18 3:15pm EST
Finding new ways for meeting planners to find new business. http://ping.fm/xY9kH

A new year. And it probably couldn’t have come any sooner! Many people look back at 2008 as an awful year. I look back and think it is probably one of the worst I have ever experienced. In order to benefit from such an awful year we must be able to learn from what has occurred.

So, what has 2008 taught us?

1. Companies are only concerned about employees, if it can help them make more money!
2. Companies are only concerned about customers, if it can help them make money!
3. Companies are only concerned about making money!
   
4. There are evil people in the world.
5. There are good people in the world.
   
6. As much as you would like to help, some people are helpless.
   
7. Looking out for yourself, and those you care most about, must be priority number 1.
   

Hard lessons learned through life experience! As much as I would like to help you avoid the situations that led me to these conclusions, I realize that you may need to experience them for yourself. Over the next few days/weeks I will go into more detail regarding each of these items. Perhaps it will help someone. If not, it will at least keep me from getting bored!

]]> http://mwspeaks.wordpress.com/2008/12/09/29/ Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:26:43 +0000 mwspeaks http://mwspeaks.wordpress.com/2008/12/09/29/

Adopting Innovation.
Cold War Story relevant today at: http://ping.fm/Kvhxx

Now that the turkey and pies are gone, I guess it’s time to jump back into the blog.  Recapping from my last post:

• Companies who differentiate on customer experience are more likely to succeed in the face of shrinking margins and discretionary spending.
• A highly engaged customer-facing workforce will deliver a consistently better experience.
• An “Open Organizational Culture” is necessary to drive employee engagement.

So what exactly is an Open Organizational Culture?  Fundamentally, it’s one that fosters transparency and accountability to its employees, customers and the public.  This is in contrast to traditional organizations that operate in a hierarchical model with an authoritarian culture that seems to foster privacy or secrecy.

An Open Organizational Culture has several unique characteristics:

Transparency and Open Communications

Leaders of high performance organizations nurture a culture that allows for people to question openly and have honest dialogue. They create a climate of candor throughout the organization.  They remove the organizational barriers — and the fear — that cause people to keep bad news from the boss. They understand that those closest to customers usually have the solutions but can do little unless the organization encourages open discussions about problems.  When people can raise objections when when necessary (and without reprisal), it paves the way to higher engagement.

Values

In an Open Organization, the leader’s beliefs and values create the direction and the boundaries that people need to perform well.  The values are clearly defined & communicated, and reviewed periodically for relevance.  More importantly, the organizations practices, systems & processes are clearly aligned with the values and management ensures that employees’ day to day experiences are consistent with the values.  You can quickly identify an organization that does not adhere to its stated values by gauging the level of cynicism amongst the staff.  Open Organizations really walk the talk and it is reflected in their employees’ attitudes.

Empowerment in Organizational Culture

In “Good to Great” (2001) Jim Collins asserts, “good-to-great companies built a consistent system with clear constraints , but they also gave people freedom and responsibility within the framework of that system.”  Open Organizations not only actively engage members of the workforce, they rely upon their contributions to on-going improvement.  Driving Empowerment and responsibility down to the lowest appropriate levels within the organization, especially to the customer-facing members, has many benefits:

• It provides employees the opportunities and incentives to shape the company experience.  Encouraging involvement in this way fosters a feeling of ownership on the part of employees.
• It promotes organizational creativity which leads to innovation.  As I stated above, customer facing associates are typically the ones with the best insights regarding the customer.
• It allows decisions to be made without unnecessary or authoritarian approval process which can lead to a more responsive organization.
• Encourage continuous learning which in turn improves decision making.

So in summary, an organization’s culture is shaped by and reflects the values, beliefs, and norms held by its founders, leaders, and organizational members. In Open Organizations, values are aligned and honored, transparency and open communication are the norm and decision-making is informed by a process of continual learning. Cultures that embody these characteristics demonstrate them in the organization’s structures, standards, policies, and systems. They shape the work environment, staffing practices, and organizational performance, all of which influence the employee experience and by extension, the customers they serve.

If this sounds like your organization, great.  I’d love to hear about it.  If not, I’m curious about that things  you see are barriers to getting to an Open Organization.

[image: Open 24 Hours on Houston Street]

Seminar Service
Easy. www.brighttalk.com/channels/538/view
Look for “How to turn your meeting into an experience clients will remember!”

We at LaMarsh have been thinking a lot lately about our clients who are serious about managing change….so serious that they are recognizing this as a critical competency for their organization.The number of clients who have reached this conclusion and are working on institutionalizing change management is growing. For many years we were called into companies when a major change was launched to embed effective change management into the project plan and increase the probability that that specific change would be successful. As we modeled effective change management on that project and taught the change agents and sponsors how to apply it for that specific change, people began to recognize how valuable our Managed Change™ model and its application was. They realized that an individual change project may be a one-off, but that the number of changes was growing dramatically and that number would only increase.

Bringing effective change management into the organization, expecting it to be applied in all changes, large and small, and developing the competency of their own people became the goal of many. LaMarsh & Associates takes a great deal of pride and satisfaction in this trend. Our foundational principle has always been that change management gives a company a competitive edge. Our clients’ competitors frequently are making the same changes, hiring the same consulting firms for advice, buying the same software, and trying to meet the same customer requirements. What makes a company stand out from its competitors often is not the change it makes but how it makes it.

Jeanenne LaMarsh, CEO of LaMarsh Associates, Inc.