Six Critical Tools You Will Need To Improve Employee Retention

Six Critical Tools You Will Need To Improve Employee Retention
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1.        Work that motivates, challenges and is meaningful:  Why should an employee come to work here?  Are you an employer of choice or convenience?  Is your company the ONE that most locals WANT to become an employee?  Read More….

2.       Leaders that believe in growing their people.  All Micro-Managers must check their guns at the door!  “…Good companies fix bad managers and bad companies condone bad managers.”  Read More….

3.       Retain Your Employees Before You Hire Them:  I’ll bet most of you are thinking to yourselves, “…What did he just say? “It is important to recognize that the most critical step in retaining employees comes before the hire itself!  Read More….

4.       Measure The Return On Investment Of Keeping Top Performers:  Most companies today recognize the value of attracting and retaining a strong, competent workforce. But most also don’t fully appreciate how they can improve retention rates.  Read More….

5.       Talent Asset vs. Tenure Asset;   “….The only thing worse than an employee who quits is an employee who quits and stays!” Talent and Tenure are not necessarily two assets that go hand in glove.  Read More….

6.       Realizing That Employees Have A Life Outside Of The Office; Does your company confuse allegiance or loyalty with hours at the office?  If so there may be a rutted rocky road ahead for your organizations future.  Read More….

 

If you would like a copy of all Six Critical Tools You Will Need To Improve Employee Retention, just click the title. 

Regards,

George F. Mancuso, CPC, CEO

Client Growth Consultants, Inc.

Achieving Sales Goals

“My sales people set goals, but don’t seem to achieve their goals on a consistent basis.  How can I turn this around and help them and us achieve “our” goals?”

There isn’t a week that goes by that one of clients doesn’t ask me some variation of that question, so here are a few suggestions.

SUGGESTION ONE:  Each month or quarter have your sales personnel tell you what they will “BUY FOR THEMSELVES” when they reach their goal and the three things they are willing to do to ensure they do achieve their plan. They also must come up with a consequence, if they don't hit their goal.

Print up a picture of the GOAL...the three commitments and the consequence for each individual and hang it up by their desks. The consequences make it fun... and can be something as simple as giving up coffee, or eating fast food etc. for the following month. Sales men/women will do things for THEIR REASONS - NOT YOURS.  They have to see the WIIFM in order to motivate them to achieve higher levels of production.

SUGGESTION TWO: I don't believe you “make” someone a Top Producer. I believe you HIRE THEM - people with a history of high achievement. Sometimes we hire DUCKS and expect them to be EAGLES!
They can be a great DUCK, but will never reach “Top Producer” status. Hire people with a track record of over-achievement and sales experience.   The alternative is to hire a GREAT DUCK and train, lead, guide, motivate, train and train and stay totally involved in their climb to success.  But if they don’t have the drive to achieve high levels, it may be an exercise in futility.

SUGGESTION THREE: Each quarter sit down as a group and have a "QUARTERLY GROUP PERFORMANCE REVIEW" Each employee should make a list of the following before the group meeting:

1. What they did that WORKED this past quarter (made money and gave them results!)  If you demonstrate to them and their peers what is working, they will probably continue to do these functions.  Peer pressure within a sales environment is huge.

2. What they are doing that is NOT WORKING or is a big fat waste of their time.  They need to stop doing those things NOW!  Get a commitment and a plan to stop bad habits and change.

3. New techniques they will implement to meet goals this next quarter. THREE techniques - one each month, so they have 21 days to form the new habit!)

 SUGGESTION FOUR:  At the last month of each quarter; .....I suggest you ask them to write down a list of the clients they will do business with in the next quarter. Top ten KEY ACCOUNTS - Twenty back up Clients Additional Targets!   Make the lists public to the rest of the team.  This will help each other keep them on track.

 SUGGESTION FIVE: In December, have each sales person writes down their W-2 for the coming year; Show them the DAILY RESULTS they need to achieve based on their INDIVIDUAL STATS AND RATIOS! Count the working days in each month so they know exactly what the RESULTS are needed to achieve goals on a daily basis. It's not the number of calls that is important; it's the daily commitment to hit certain daily RESULTS.

 SUGGESTION SIX: Mandate planners daily. If they are not an experienced Planner, have each of them start by writing down the top six Priorities (closest to the money) they need to accomplish the following day. This should be done every day prior to Leaving the office.
These are only suggestions and you are welcome to modify any of these to make them work for your company/process.  Have a great week!

Regards,

George F. Mancuso, CPC, CEO
Client Growth Consultants, Inc.

Do You Have What It Takes To Manage Your Employees?

Do You Have What It Takes to Manage Your Toughest, and Often Best, Employees?

If you think leading employees in your small business is hard, try being responsible for opera divas, television news reporters, egocentric physicians, mercurial musicians or high-strung brides. You know the types whose pictures could appear next to "high-maintenance" in the dictionary.

     It takes special skills to get such folks to perform at their best. After all, the most accomplished and talented people don’t think they need guidance.  A lot of them, one way or another, always had been able to get what they want, as they have never tasted failure.

     The challenge in leading such personalities—if your small business is lucky, you’ve got them—is that they are often extremely sensitive. Use the wrong approach and they may work against you.
     As it turns out, most of them have a lot in common, and those shared characteristics seem to be the very ones that explain their effectiveness as leaders.  For starters, all are willing and able to demonstrate genuine respect for their employees and clients—no matter the industry or area of interest.
     All are refreshingly unassuming about their abilities and effusive about the skills of the people they work with and for. If anything goes wrong, the true professional blames himself and not the team.  All of them also are able to establish credibility with those they lead. They do it by demonstrating excellence in their field, and by being transparent about their goals. The "what you see is what you get" approach engenders trust. And it takes many forms.
    These leadership skills are, no doubt, difficult to acquire. But they are crucial to running a business and retaining staff.  Talented people aren’t as motivated by money as they are by the opportunity to improve themselves and their work. They are always asking themselves, "Am I getting what I need?"
     If the answer is no, they won’t hesitate to leave, which could leave your small business in big trouble.  It takes special skills to get such folks to perform at their best. After all, the most accomplished and talented people don’t think they need guidance.  Handling them is a skill that is inherited or needs to be learned.
     So there they are—leaders to learn from. Let the class begin or in the alternative, contact me George Mancuso and I promise I can help.

Regards,

George F. Mancuso, CPC, CEO
Client Growth Consultants, Inc.

Is Your Business Climate Keeping Up With Change?

Several of my clients have started asking about how I can help them address climate change in their business or about their changing supplier or government policies on climate change. Is this likely to be a long term issue that I need to know about?

 If your clients are asking about it then, by definition, it should be of concern to you. Climate change issues are so pervasive that every business professional should be knowledgeable about the issue and its impact on business. Regardless of what discipline or industry you work in, climate change is already affecting how your clients run their businesses and plan for its future.

If you are in human resources, higher fuel prices and congestion are leading to a growing demand for tele-working, which will require operational policies and procedures, new management skills, and new collaboration technology. If you are in transportation, weather will affect operations. If you are in banking or risk management, increasing storm intensity and frequency will alter your exposure and possible liabilities. If you are in facilities management, consider how your clients will need to alter heating and cooling across their facilities. If you are in hospitality, food prices affected by rising temperatures will affect your overall cost structure.

If you specialize in corporate governance, a range of new state, federal and international regulations are coming, knowledge about which you need to be ahead of your clients. As a business professional, your failure to advise company management and clients of potential criminal liabilities they face relative to environmental regulatory compliance will not go over very well. Finally, employees want to work for, and other companies in the supply chain want to work with, green companies.

Climate change is a complex issue but don't get caught up in the political debate and forget that the impacts on business have been significant and increasing for more than a decade. Learn about the interrelated impacts on food supplies, water resources, energy costs, risk management, required retraining and corporate strategy and governance.

This issue pervades everything a company does and you need to be regularly reading up on its impact on business. For a good fast primer on the issues your clients face from climate change, see a recent Pew Trusts report.

Regards,

George F. Mancuso, CPC, CEO
Client Growth Consultants, Inc.

What Does It Mean To Be A Manager?

What Does It Mean To Be A Manager?

NOTE:  For sake of this discussion, “manager” is defined as any person who manages other people whether it be a team, a department, a division or a whole company.

What does it really mean to be a manager?

Power?  Authority?  Goal Setter?  Trend Setter?  Leader?  Boss or person in charge?  Desire to be King or Queen of the hill?

What personal self serving benefit do you receive as a manager?

When you think of YOUR manager, what benefit do you think he/she gets?  Why do you think your manager is a manager?

What is the absolute downside of being a manager?.

As a manager, would you like to make your life smoother and more cohesive?  If so, read about Management Acclimatization™.  

Regards,
George F. Mancuso, CPC, CEO
Client Growth Consultants, Inc.