Publication 11, Issue 3

Use the 30-60-90 Plan

Let’s face it, finding the “right person” for a position is hard work!  Managers spend countless hours doing everything from fighting to get the funding to fill a vacant position to conducting interviews – all while doing their “real” job.  And when they make the offer and the candidate accepts, they can’t wait for that “right person” to start working!

Picture this – manager gets to work early on the day his/her new employee starts because the “right person” is starting that day, there is a ton of work that is backlogged and needs to get done, because it took the manager so long to find the “right person.”  Only for the manager to give him/her the keys to the office, maybe introduce him/her to a few “key” staff and then say “Have at it!”

Protect the asset you just searched for and spent the time orienting to the company culture, people and customers.  Try these ideas on your new employee’s first day:

A.  Engage new employees right away – it’s all about inclusion…introduce them to staff both inside and outside of the department – the folks they will be working with and for, so to speak.  Tell them about the types of projects or tasks they will be expected to work on right away.  Have them shadow a “live” meeting, and ask for their feedback and observations after the meeting is over – set the tone of your working relationship up front.

B.  Set the job expectations using the 30-60-90 Day Plan – this requires some thought and upfront work on the part of the manager.  But here’s the payoff, managers aren’t back out recruiting for this position in another 30 days!  Set up time with the new employee on the afternoon of his/her first day to review a cumulative list of tasks or duties that describes “what” they need to know after the first 30, 60 and 90 days and “how” he/she needs to accomplish/learn the tasks.  So after 90 days he/she has experienced just about everything they need to in order to become efficient, productive and happy.

C.  Check in frequently – don’t wait until the 80th day to see if the employee is meeting your expectations or doing a good job – it’s too late by then.  Managers should check in daily for the first two weeks and depending upon the progress – they should check in at least twice a week until it gets closer to the 90 day mark.  This gives the manager a chance to reinforce expectations, explain the work, reassign a task/project and get feedback from the new employee.  It also makes the employee feel/think that he/she can tap into the manager when he/she needs to.

It is a win-win strategy, the manager gets a chance to outline his/her vision and duties and the new employee knows exactly “what” has to be done and how to do it!

Publication 11, Issue 2

I’m sure many of us started in January with some good “work place” resolutions – be a better communicator, develop new management skills, stay connected with your staff – and not just once a year at performance review time, don’t have too many “To Do” lists, work on meaningful projects, take time to celebrate work accomplishments and maybe even have some fun at work!  Hoping by now we haven’t fallen back into our old traps!  It’s a shame, but it happens to all of us!!

It doesn’t matter if you haven’t totally “stuck” to your resolutions – each Playground Personality© picks themselves up and refocuses differently – so here goes!

For the Peacemakers – don’t beat yourselves up about not doing the things you set out to do in January.  Look at your list again, pick one or two things that still interests you, ask colleagues to get involved, brainstorm some ideas then get your staff involved. Knowing they can enlist the help and support of others will help Peacemakers keep true to themselves and their resolutions!

For the Organizers – take out the original “resolutions list,” which probably has too many things on it in the first place, and prioritize the top three activities, pick the first one and start working it!  Don’t put too many “to do’s” under the #1 Priority because you’ll frustrate yourself as well as your staff.  Have a meeting, tell the staff what you want to work on, get their buy-in and make assignments!

For the Revolutionaries – there’s a good chance that you made a New Year’s Resolutions List and can’t find it!  Lists and Revolutionaries don’t go hand-in-hand!  Spring into action – go with what you are feeling or thinking at the moment, order lunch, bring your staff together, make it fun!   Revolutionaries can let the staff do their “thing” and the staff knows to call in the Revolutionary manager at the time they either are stuck or ready for action!

For the Steamrollers – ideas come and go all the time, and you are okay with having lots of ideas floating and not too much closure – so you usually don’t have a need to have an official “Resolutions List” – and lists really don’t work for you either – it’s about the journey!  So once a week/month have a brainstorming session with your staff to keep the ideas flowing and make some assignments so they’ll actually get done!

Publication 11, Issue 1

Let’s start off the New Year on the right foot! Many organizations do their strategic planning every fall so they are ready for the New Year. The executive team goes off-site to plan and think through the activities the organization wants to accomplish the following year. They reflect on the successes from the previous year, the things they could do better, how the market has changed and the things that have to happen the following year. Then they put together a great presentation, present it to the Board, have good conversations and start working the details of the plan – sharing little with the entire organization. After a few months, when things aren’t moving in the right direction or as fast as they should be – the exec team wonders why. It’s simple, we forgot to engage the organization, communicate the plan and help people prioritize their work!

Share these four tips with executives to guide them through the communication process of implementing their Strategic Plan:

1. Think “communications” throughout your process – even before the Plan is finalized, take some time-outs along the way to figure out how to engage the support from the organization. Stop thinking about the “what’s” of the Plan and dive down into the “how’s.” Don’t get into the weeds, just try and work with one department to see if the Plan is on the right track.
2. Get the buy-in along the way – even though the Strategic Plan may not be completely finished, ask the staff for feedback. This will help executives gauge whether or not they’ll be able to communicate the Plan effectively and provide the opportunity to make some mid-course adjustments.
3. Deliver the Strategic Plan with strong conviction – make the communication event special. Don’t feel like you have to spend a lot of money, get executives involved in the communication strategy, show a unified front to the staff and explain how to weave the Plan into everything the organization does – customer service, performance management, day-to-day interactions with staff, etc.
4. Establish a post-communications mechanism – hearing something once usually doesn’t stick with folks. The message has to be played over and over again before it starts to become real. Until the Plan becomes a part of everyone’s work life, include an update on the Plan at department/staff meetings and encourage people to ask questions.

Good luck!

Publication 10, Issue 9

Publication 10, Issue 8

When is it not appropriate to send an email?

Dialing the phone is a lost art these days. I’m old enough to remember when calling someone was the only way to communicate, short of meeting someone in person or sending a memo or letter! I’m old enough to remember the piles of “While You Were Out” pink messages on my desk when I returned from a meeting, and I’d start to return calls in the order they came in! And if I was lucky enough to get the caller the first time, I had a productive conversation, spent a few minutes chatting and hung up! But times have changed. Now my phone hardly rings and my emails “ping” all day long! And, if I send an email and don’t get an immediate reply I think, my email system is down, the receiver forgot her phone that day – or worse yet – he died – because after all, if you send an email you should receive an immediate response, right? Wrong!

I’ll admit it is fast to open up an email, reply to all and hit the send button! I know email is an acceptable mode of communicating, but here are some examples when it is not appropriate to send an email:

• When the topic is “taboo” or potentially controversial and you know which ones they are – and you send them anyway.
• When you don’t want to deal with someone face-to-face, so you hide behind the screen.
• When you start the email off with an undertone of disagreement or discontent about something.
• And, of course, my all time favorite – when the message is confidential or is a human resources related issue.

How can you overcome the urge to send an email when a phone call may be best? Answer the question: Could this email cause a misunderstanding, hurt feelings or a barrage of unnecessary replies? And if the answers are “yes” – pick up the phone!

Publication 10,

I hope you had a restful, productive and wonderful summer and that the fall finds you ready to get back into the management saddle!

If you haven’t picked up your Oops! I’m The Manager! book in a while or ever, I’m here to remind you of the Playground Personalities© and how they can help you in your day-to-day communications with people at work as well as outside of work! Let’s take a moment to reflect on you as the manager, there will be plenty of time to apply the theory to others – but remember knowing yourself first is key!

What kind of kid were you on the playground?

• The Peacemaker kid who made sure everyone got a turn at bat;
• The Organizer kid who had everyone line up and count off by twos;
• The Revolutionary kid who changed the rules in the middle of the game; or,
• The Steamroller kid who wanted to play the game his or her own way!

Most of us are the same – just in adult bodies. We sit in big offices or around boardroom tables and are expected to communicate with others to get the job done. So why is this sometimes hard?  Because we sometimes forget that the words that motivate us, don’t necessarily motivate others. Remember, you have to communicate with people the way they liked to be communicated with, not the way you like to be communicated with.

So, once you know who you are, you have to figure out how to spot these Playground Personalities© in others. Here are some clues:

• Peacemakers appreciate communication and collaboration.
• Organizers are highly structured and decisive.
• Revolutionaries hate routines and schedules and prefer to adapt to the moment at hand.
• Steamrollers are smart, highly opinionated and can solve complex problems.

If you listen for word clues from your staff, kids or mate and try to figure out who’s who on your feet, you will save time, money and effort and actually be able to get your work done instead of unscrambling miscommunications all day!  So remember some key words and listen for them! Peacemakers may say, “I feel…,” Organizers say “I think…,” Revolutionaries say “I don’t like…” and Steamrollers say “I believe….”  Good luck!

Publication 10, Issue 6

Here are some ideas:

• Give a speech at a national or local conference.
• Participate in an industry council breakfast or lunch.
• Get involved in local efforts to link industry to education, such as giving a talk to high school seniors at a Career Day.
• Write a short article and submit it to a trade publication.
• Start that blog your communications professionals have been bugging you about.

Give yourself a little time to do the things that you want to do.  These will give you a chance to take some time for yourself and clear your head.  They will rejuvenate your thinking and reenergize you to be able to continue your hard work.

Enjoy the summer!

PS – check out my recent article for KNOW, The Magazine for Paralegals – www.thecorporatenanny.net under Nanny in the News!

Publication 10, Issue 5

Many of us are promoted because we are technically competent and we wanted to make more money!  I’ve seen my share of managers who were employees yesterday and found themselves promoted to manager today!  These managers were left behind, scratching their heads realizing there’s a world of difference between being a great employee and managing great employees.

Stumbling up into management is in vogue these days, especially with employers trying to do more with less.  Some of us figure it out on our own, and some need help.  I have created five basic common sense principles of management.  Things we know but seem to forget when we get promoted.  I refer to them as The Neglected Knowledge:  The Forgotten Five©.  Here goes:

The Forgotten One:  “Who’s Who?” – Know who you are and be self aware first, then apply to others.  So, what type of kid were you on the playground?  The type of kid who:

• made sure everyone got a turn at bat?  (The Peacemaker)
• had everyone line up and count off by twos?  (The Organizer)
• changed the rules in the middle of the game?  (The Revolutionary)
• wanted to play it your way?  (The Steamroller)

Now, figure out who’s on your team!

The Forgotten Two:  The Complexity of Respect – Respect starts with you, means different things to different people and goes hand-in-hand with communications!  Tread lightly!

The Forgotten Three:  Facing Facts – Not everyone collects facts the way you do.  Do you like to talk with people or keep lists?  Or do you prefer to investigate or solve a puzzle?

The Forgotten Four:  Finding Humor – Don’t be too serious!  Make no mistake, this doesn’t mean make fun of people, but find the humor in the situation and break the tensions!

The Forgotten Five:  Tact:  The Art of Making it Happen – At the end of the day, we get paid to “get things done.”  Make sure you get buy-in from your team along the way!

Publication 10, Issue 4

Use Social Networking to Recruit Top Talent

Social networking provides a fantastic complement to your traditional recruitment efforts, and allows candidates, from a range of industries and experience levels, to learn about your company’s work and mission in a lighter setting.  Regardless of the networks you choose, here are a few best practices for virtual recruiting in order to maximize the results of your efforts:

• Create a “knock-out” company profile that markets your mission, customers and products or services.  Be sure it is updated frequently, and is searchable.  It’s important to remember that updates to your profile do not have to be ‘press-worthy,’ but need to bring real value to followers.
• Build up your own following by exploring people and groups who are relevant to your field and/or the positions you are looking to fill. A great way is to join or participate in groups that reflect the skills one would need for your jobs.  Post or tweet comments to share relevant news or answer questions.  Your organization will be seen as an expert in your field and virtual colleagues will view you as a reliable resource.
• Combine traditional and non-traditional recruiting efforts for an interactive and comprehensive outreach strategy.  So if you are going to a job fair, tweet or post about it before you attend, tweet about the event while you are there and post comments on who you met.

Publication 10, Issue 3

“How am I doin?” Ed Koch, a former New York City Mayor never suffered from feedback deprivation.  Whether you liked him or not or agreed with his political style, one of his famous tactics was to get feedback from his constituents – all the time – not just around election time!  He never suffered from feedback deprivation!  Wonder why?  If he knew what was on the minds of New Yorkers he would be able to address the issues, make improvements and show results in one form or another.  Sound familiar?

Performance management is essential to a manager’s credibility.  If your employees are hardworking, productive and loyal you have an easier time writing and delivering (I hope) an evaluation.  However, if employees are having difficulty in performing their jobs effectively, managers tend to procrastinate writing the evaluation – which makes delivering it even more difficult.

So, what’s the balance?

#1 Devote feedback time to your entire staff – not just a few

Managers spend more time giving feedback to employees who are struggling or not performing and they seem to breeze through the evaluations for the high performers.  Unfortunately, we are doing an injustice to our high performers – they too deserve our time and attention when it comes to feedback.  The balance?  Take time with your entire staff to ensure that you talk about accomplishments as well as development opportunities – all of us can improve in some way or another.

#2 Check-in frequently – not just once a year

Most companies are on a yearly performance review cycle.  The balance?  By providing more frequent check-ins, i.e., monthly or quarterly, with your employees there are usually no surprises at the annual review time.  It isn’t magical!  You’ll be more prepared as a manager to formulate the final review document.  Remember, annual review dates arrive whether you are ready or not.

#3 Focus on employee behaviors – not just performance

Yes, they go hand-in-hand, most of the time.  But you could have a situation where the employee is positive, reliable and well-liked, but isn’t performing the duties of the job satisfactorily.  Provide honest, observable and timely examples of the employee’s work performance and behavior.  Don’t just say “Pat stinks as a supervisor” but describe what “stinks” looks like.  For example, is he/she brash, quick-tempered, rude or disrespectful?  The balance?  Be honest, but tactful and provide suggestions for improvement.