Everybody’s Talking and Nobody’s Listening

Employees at Boeing have been on strike for more than a month

Employees at Boeing have been on strike for more than a month.  According to a recent article in USA Today, “Boeing says it has offered the richest contract in the industry….”  The leadership of Boeing’s International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers disagrees.  The real problem here isn’t with the terms of the contract; it’s that neither party is truly listening to the other.  At the same time, both parties are trying to impose terms on the other that benefit only themselves.  If both parties would simply commit to listening to the other, this strike could be resolved in very short order.  Don’t expect this to happen any time soon.  It’s too intelligent of an option. Ross / RossReck.com

Putting Employees First–The Killer Management Strategy

Why do Toyota, Southwest Airlines, Costco and Starbuck’s lead their respective industries in terms of profitability?  Answer:  They operate from a management philosophy that employees come first and customers come second.  As former Southwest CEO, Herb Kelleher put it, “Your employees come first.  If they’re treated right, they’ll treat your customers right and if your customers are treated right, they come back and that’s good for stockholders.”  But hold on, there’s more.  Research shows that companies who put their employees first also reap the following additional benefits:

Their employees:

• Work harder
• Perform a higher quality of work
• Are more loyal
• Take more initiative
• Are more accountable
• Are not afraid of change
• Work better with fellow employees

In addition, companies who put their employees first also experience far lower rates of turnover, absenteeism and employee theft.  As you can see there is no downside to putting employees first, only a very bright and profitable upside.  This has to make you wonder why more companies don’t operate this way.

Business Journalists Miss the Point

As I watch business television programs, read business periodicals and the business sections of national and local newspapers, the one glaring thing that jumps out at me is that almost all of the focus is on business performance numbers–sales, profit, market share, productivity, etc.  What’s missing is that very little attention is given to what causes or drives these performance numbers which is the level of effort of the front line employees who do the work.  It seems to me that the business community would be much better served if business journalists would devote more time and space on how to get front line employees excited about applying more of their discretionary effort toward their jobs.  This would enable businesses to post far better performance numbers.  A novel concept, don’t you think?  I think Sarah Palin and Barack Obama would both agree.  So would John McCain.

Hats Off to Starbucks for Finally Catching on to an Age Old Truth

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal pointed out that Starbucks is extending the hours its baristas work in order to foster more familiarity between its customers and employees.  According to Craig Russell, a Starbucks vice president, “The customer’s favorite experience is when the people behind the counter know them.”   Hello!  Didn’t the people running Starbucks ever watch Cheers?  Everyone wants to go to a place where the people working there know their name.  This marketing in its most basic form.  My 30 years of consulting experience has consistently shown that companies that invest in relationships between their employees and their customers almost always dominate their market and they never charge the lowest price.  So, hats off to Starbucks for finally catching on to an age old truth. – Ross / RossReck.com

Please fell free to post your comments.  If you don’t have a FREE WordPress account, click on “Get a free WordPress account” just below the login area after clicking below.

Motivating Employees During Uncertain Times

The Wall Street Journal recently contained an article titled: “Allaying Workers’ Fears During Uncertain Times.”   The gist of the article was that the best way to keep employees motivated during uncertain times is to remove the uncertainty by being honest with them.  According to the article, company leaders need to be visible and have “…frequent, objective and honest communication…” with employees.  While this advice may initially sound profound, this is also the way you keep employees motivated during the “good” times.  What this means is that if company leaders did their jobs effectively during the good times, then motivating their employees during times of uncertainty would be a non-issue.  – Ross / RossReck.com

Please fell free to post your comments.  If you don’t have a FREE WordPress account, click on “Get a free WordPress account” just below the login area after clicking below.