 ‘Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.’
The other day someone asked me where they could get help to implement ‘Investors in People’. I replied with a question of my own, ‘What are you trying to achieve?’ ‘A plaque on the wall? Ratification that your people practices meet their standard? Or a highly engaged, high performing team?’ Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big supporter of any organisation that’s focused on improving how people lead and develop their people, but the end in mind should always be the highly engaged team…and better results for the business. That’s what effective training and development will deliver for you - individual and team growth, which builds a high performing team, which delivers business growth. That’s the only way you can truly judge the effectiveness of your 3 essential People systems - hiring, training and performance management. Yes, there can be indirect measurements like fewer days off sick, a better atmosphere in the team, less time spent re-doing their work, but these aren’t ends in themselves. It’s all about the bottom line - that’s why you’re in business. [For those who struggle with that concept, remember that the more money you make, the more people you can employ and develop, the more people you can help - so it’s not all about your bank account!] And the good news is, it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg to train your people. Yes, some training will need to be done sheep dip /classroom style, to the whole team, maybe even outsourced, but the most effective training & development can be done by you - everyday - on the job. Here are my magnificent seven ways to develop your team: *Catch them doing something right and praise them publicly - development by positive reinforcement *See someone doing something wrong and show them how to do it to your standard, giving them the reasons why you want it done that way - teaching them how to get it right first time, next time *Share your vision and your story so far with new team members - so they buy-in to your goals *Involve team members in your planning process - they learn the ‘why’ as well as the ‘what’ improving ownership and commitment *Ask the team to agree, the most simple, logical and repeatable way of doing what you do, to serve the customer - teaching them the importance of consistency and customer service *Take team members out to meet Customers and suppliers - they learn how their work adds value and fits into the bigger picture *Ask your team members for their opinions on how you can improve your customer experience - shows them that you value their opinion Do one thing: Pick just one of the seven today (or the next day you’re with the team and try it out), maybe one you have never tried before, and watch for the improvement in the engagement of your team. For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk
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 When putting things right could be wrong!
Picture the scene… Your team have just produced a proposal for a client, who’s complained that there are four mistakes in it, including the mis-spelling of their business name. Oops! Not great for your reputation, or your relationship with them. So what do you do? Put it right of course, with huge apologies. But what then? Well naturally, you set about making sure it doesn’t happen again. You’ve read all about cause and effect, so you look for the cause, and determine that it’s human error - an employee with poor attention to detail. Your solution? Put in an extra layer of proof reading. Someone to do a final check to ensure accuracy. Yes it’s going to cost you, but it’s your reputation and repeat business at stake. Sounds good. But then, guess what? Mistakes keep happening. So what now? Another layer of checks? Because that worked so well for the original problem!
You couldn’t make it up. And I haven’t. This is based on a number of very real situations I’ve come across in successful small businesses over the last few years. It’s surprisingly common practice to rectify the under-par performance of a team member, by having someone else (maybe even you!) effectively do their job for them. What starts as a small problem just grows until you’ve got two, or sometimes three people doing one person’s job. That’s three times the expense - your original culprit is still under performing - your trusted people are getting hacked off - the team are fragmenting… your problem’s got bigger! So how to fix it? Tackle the root cause of the problem. Is it really an employee not having any attention to detail? What if it’s that you haven’t allowed enough time for the production of proposals, or that you haven’t giving the team any training to instil your high standards, or that your proposal template is to blame, or that your process for producing proposals is complicated and confusing? Find the root, and then tackle it. Prevent the problem happening in the first place. Prevention costs are said to be about 10% of failure costs (like re-work/losing customers ) and inspection costs (like the extra checks that were put in, in this example above). Prevention by instilling a ‘get it right first time’ culture in your business - by simplifying and perfecting your processes - by training your people to use them effectively, and to your standard. Prevention is the most cost-effective and long-term cure. It’s common sense - so make it common practice in your business. Do one thing: take a look at the number of checks in your business. How much time and money are you wasting? For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk  'When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.' - African Proverb
Are you a reflector? Are you that person who looks back over the day and week and reflects on how it’s gone? Great. That’s a really good thing: it’s how we constantly learn and improve. It gives us time to think about how effective our behaviour and decisions have been, how they’ve impacted on the business and the team. It can highlight what we’re proud of and what we could have done better. It’s great for increasing self-awareness and self-improvement. But:
If this sounds like you, you’re turning reflection into masochism. This behaviour is not only draining but it’s a total waste of time. Tips for positive reflection
Do one thing: spend 10 minutes at the end of every day reflecting on what went well, and finding something you’ve done that you’re proud of. PS Don’t forget, you can always join us for a McFreedom Secrets workshop, if you’d like to improve the way you run your business and cure some of those headaches. For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk  I love the Napoleonic era. I know it was brutal and bloodthirsty but it also threw up some great heroes, Wellington, Nelson and of course Richard Sharpe. (Yes, I know he’s fictional.)
I love the history, the famous and infamous battles and sieges; the horses, the uniforms...you get the picture! Anyway, the reason I mention Sharpe is that he had three simple rules for his men: 1. Fight well 2. Don’t get drunk without permission 3. Don’t steal, except from the enemy when starving. At the time the army had big thick volumes of rules and regulations full of what to do and what not to do, but Sharpe decided on three rules which were easy for his men to remember, and would get the best out of them. In the business world, there are a few great examples of companies who've looked to keep things simple for their people. Netflix for example have a simple rule, ‘Act in Netflix' best interests'. Simple, clear and constructive - saying to employees that they should use Netflix’ money with the same care as they would their own. While Virgin tell their managers 'People first, then Customer' - look after your people and they will look after your customers. I read an article once that said, ‘Rules allow systemisation without bureaucratisation. When organisations systemise, people know what the rules are for; when they bureaucratise, the rules seem to have no function’. In ‘my speak’, it's the difference between McDonald’s simple, logical and repeatable systems (i.e. it's just 'the way we do things round here') and the form-filling, tick-boxing paperwork for paperwork’s sake of the likes of ISO9001. So your rules, like your systems, should say to your team ‘this is how we do things here’ because our way: • is in the best interest of our Customers • helps our business grow • creates a team environment where people enjoy their work Keep it simple and make it easy for your people to get it right. Do one thing: review the rules in your business. Do they give your people the freedom to deliver? If you'd like to know more about introducing simple ways of working and building high-performing trustworthy teams please join us on July 14th for the next McFreedom Secrets Workshop. Click HERE to check out testimonials and sign up. For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk |
AuthorMarianne is the author of three books, and is currently working on her fourth, whilst regularly writing her blog, we hope you enjoy it :-) Archives
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