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Wednesday, June 20th, 2018

Can You Train People When You Don’t Have All the Answers?

collaboration, communication, decision making, development, employee engagement, engagement, needs assessment, skill development, training

Recently I worked with a client who had given a new role to a group of employees – a role they had to take on quickly, without a lot of preparation. The employees are a capable and willing group and did a great job meeting the immediate need. Once that need passed, the organization decided … Continue reading Can You Train People When You Don’t Have All the Answers?

Wednesday, May 16th, 2018

How to Build a Collaborative, Productive Meeting

collaboration, communication, engagement, productive meetings

Your schedule is probably teeming with meetings – on projects, with your team, for planning and so on. In some workplaces, the amount of time spent in meetings can be so excessive employees may feel like the only opportunity to “do work” is outside of the workplace. It doesn’t have to be that way. Meetings … Continue reading How to Build a Collaborative, Productive Meeting

Wednesday, April 18th, 2018

Employees and Change: Do It With Them – Not To Them!

accountability, change management, collaboration, engagement

The Buzz of Change Management I was involved in big change projects before change management became such a buzzword. While taking training from Prosci, whose popular change management approach was developed by engineers, based on research, I learned to define it this way: Change management is the application of a structured process and tools … Continue reading Employees and Change: Do It With Them – Not To Them!

Wednesday, March 21st, 2018

Diversity, Inclusion and Progress in the Workplace – What Does It Take?

collaboration, communication, engagement, learning

It’s fascinating what people say and do in reaction to initiatives to ensure a more inclusive workplace. Perhaps some of the naysayers who call these things “special treatment” believe that if we simply stop visibly mistreating marginalized groups, then we’ve made all the progress that’s necessary. Privilege Comes with Blinders I’ve been struck by the … Continue reading Diversity, Inclusion and Progress in the Workplace – What Does It Take?

Wednesday, February 21st, 2018

Are Arrogance and Service Mutually Exclusive?

communication, customer service, reputation

Did you know that instead of a call centre or customer service centre, lululemon has a “Guest Education Centre”? Honestly, that’s what they call it! Combined with the some of the comments from the company’s founder, it really leaves an impression of arrogance. It seems their customers don’t have service issues or needs – they … Continue reading Are Arrogance and Service Mutually Exclusive?

Wednesday, January 17th, 2018

One Word on Planning and Development

decision making, development

I was intrigued recently when I read about the concept of choosing only one word to embody your approach to the coming year. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve done a typical new year’s resolution, but planning for the year to come is something I do for my business and – to varying degrees … Continue reading One Word on Planning and Development

Monday, December 18th, 2017

Tis the Season for Appreciation!

acknowledgement, appreciation, communication, engagement, leadership

December is a great time of year to show the people in your life – including your work life – that you appreciate them. Research consistently shows that acknowledgement and appreciation are tied to both employee satisfaction and employee engagement. It also shows that employee satisfaction is closely tied to customer satisfaction. When you do … Continue reading Tis the Season for Appreciation!

Tuesday, November 21st, 2017

Why Millennials are Good for Business

communication, customer service, development, expectations, opportunities

Millennials – those born from the early 80s into the 90s – are often maligned for expecting too much. Of course, they’re no easier to paint with one brush than any other generation. But, if we’re going to generalize, let’s look at the upside. Their Numbers Are Growing According to a 2011 PwC study, millennials … Continue reading Why Millennials are Good for Business

Thursday, October 19th, 2017

Have You Tapped into the Voice of Employees Lately?

customer experience, development, reputation

Organizations are fond of saying “Our people are our most valuable resource.” But, do they make the most of that resource – in practice? Lots of them do not. The result: a Gallup study found that only 13% of employees worldwide are “engaged” at work – “committed and making positive contributions.” Employees can bring so much … Continue reading Have You Tapped into the Voice of Employees Lately?

Wednesday, September 20th, 2017

Who Cares about High-Performing Teams: The Round Up

employees and customer service, hiring, leadership, reputation, rewards and recognition, values and culture

Employers, team members and customers care! High-performing teams can look different from each of these perspectives, but there are two key similarities: They all benefit from the results. They all experience that “feel good” vibe! Here are some highlights from my three-part series: Create the Conditions for High-Performing Teams You can’t “make” high-performing teams, but … Continue reading Who Cares about High-Performing Teams: The Round Up

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