The Frank Boys

ONE great tip to improve your business quickly!

thefrankboys — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:48:58 +0000

I learnt some valuable lessons some years back. As a hard working consultant who was at the time part of a large improvement programme for an FTSE100 company, I worked on many work streams aimed at reducing costs across the many geographical sites.

The aim was simple, improve the productivity of the permanent staff members and reduce the dependency (and costs) of the overtime and temporary staff. There were many streams in this programme such as a management training and development initiative, lean process improvement, some pretty sophisticated workflow modelling which sought to identify constraints and spikes and so on.

All these initiatives were useful in their own way, but the SINGLE most effective thing that was done in this initiative was to publish simple productivity metrics on large, highly visible, and easy to read dashboards at every site.

Suddenly, management and front line staff alike were very tuned into their performance in a very real way and performance started to change almost overnight. I would like to share with you some of the special characteristics of this dashboard so that you can get benefit in your business:

FOCUS ON THE FRONT LINE – if you really want to improve performance fast one of the best ways to do it is to give your front line staff access to the information. Use the existing technologies imaginatively so that the information is just ‘present’ and your front line does not have to ‘seek’ the information. One great example is a client who published simple dashboards on plasma screens around the business.

START SMALL – managers (particularly middle and senior), analysts and finance specialists can deal with large datasets. However, you should pick only one or two metrics that are important for your front line. Give your staff one or two high priority measures and give them the lists of data that can help improve performance. E.g. If ‘No. of late Orders’ is important, make sure you give your staff the list of late orders IDs so that they can reduce them!

FOSTER COMPETITION – most organisations get nervous about publishing individuals’ performance data (though you should strive for this if you can!) but most don’t object to you publishing TEAM performance data. As soon as Team A sees Team B is doing better they’ll start to ask why and you’ll start to see problem solving, sharing of best practice AND IMPROVEMENT.

MAKE YOUR DATA EASY TO UNDERSTAND – If people don’t understand it they won’t improve it. Never underestimate how scared many people are of data. Try and reduce the complexity of your high priority issues.

MAKE THE DATA RIGHT – People often fall into two categories: those who believe everything they see in the reports and those who will never believe what they see in the reports. Both categories are dangerous. Make sure that you INVOLVE your staff in the criteria for each of your metrics and reports. WARNING: if you go too far your metrics can become monstrously complicated, as staff look to protect self-interest. Guide them towards simplicity.

AIM TOWARDS REAL TIME INFORMATION – daily will do otherwise. Make sure it is frequent.

Of course on top of all of this you MUST tie the metrics into your management processes, bonuses, performance reviews, review meetings and the such like. But one thing is clear… measure and they will improve!

Good luck! I love this stuff, so if you have a problem you’d like to share (anonymity guaranteed) with me then I’d LOVE to hear. Just drop me a line on tim.gray@thefrankboys.com.

Company turnaround in tough times, questions and answers around why leadership has to change

thefrankboys — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:07:20 +0000

“if you fail are you going to try again”? Nick Vujicic an inspiration to all leaders

As I began to write my blog this morning I thought about three questions

How can I help people to understand that in order to turn organisations around the leadership has to be strong and situational?
Who can I make reference to in order to help me inspire people and provide them with the courage to carry on in these tough times?
How can I help organisations see that they cannot continue to operate as they always have, if they do they will get what they have always got?

As I thought a little more TWOthings came to mind

My first day this week on a new assignment. I kicked off a new assignment on Monday within an organisation to help them deliver a project that is expected to improve bottom line profit by a staggering £27 Million pounds. Within that business the CEO is leading the business with such rigor and strength, the impact is infectious. Everyone is talking about the turnaround programme, everyone is engaged, and most importantly everyone wants to make the improvements happen!!! It clearly demonstrates the impact the CEO or business leader has on any turnaround programme
As I searched through my business books, and thought about whom I have written about in the past. I looked for someone different to write about and I came across Nick Vujicic! Not a high profile business man BUT someone I think every leader across the world should take inspiration from.

Ok so what is situational leadership and what does strong leadership mean? Situational leadership is all about adapting your management style to effectively handle the situation. It’s about saying things to yourself like. Before, I haven’t known enough of the detail but now I need to or indeed the reverse. It’s all about protecting your core business, taking a good look at the workplace, marketplace and the way you execute and deliver your services or products. Strong leaders adopt this approach regularly; they make it personal and thrive in the face of adversity

When thinking about this week’s inspirational leader I came across Nick Vujicic, this is a man who was born without any limbs who teaches people how to get up! I have included an extract from one of his talks in this blog. If this doesn’t move you then I don’t know what will. Equally if it doesn’t cause you to question your level of determination and inspire you to carry on in the face of adversity then I don’t know what will. One of the great quotes from his material is “if you fail are you going to try again”? If your business is under stress, click on his picture enclosed in this post and watch his “YouTube” it really will inspire you to carry on

Lastly, my advice is don’t continue to operate as you always have, if you do you will get what you have always got. The leadership styles within business need to change and the managers within your organisation need to be supported through the change process. Sustainable behavioural change is extremely difficult to achieve. Helping the managers and leaders within your business to understand the commercial implications of their behaviours and actions is extremely powerful, especially when turning a company around. I list below some bullet points to help you and your management teams become better leaders

“Be Frank” be open and honest with your teams and clearly communicate the objectives and progress of the turnaround initiative
Evolve your thinking in line with situational management and the needs of your business
Get “in the moment” help your managers and teams to see the impact of their actions and thrive on successful outcomes and wins
Focus on quality and value and identify activities, products and delivery methods that negatively impact them
Work smartly and encourage all around you to do the same
Be sensitive when making tough decisions, but push on and make them in the confidence that ultimately they are what’s right for your business
Celebrate successes in abundance and be sure to reward personal contributions

Finally, leadership is an art, develop amazing people that thrive in the face of adversity and you will turn your company into an extraordinary one, now that’s what I call a Turnaround Programme. Good Luck!

Good luck with your turnaround programme. If I can help, call me or write to me at mike.bresnihan@thefrankboys.com

Above and Beyond Performance Management, It isn’t as simple as One, Two, and Three. Powerful Management Behaviours are the KEY!!

thefrankboys — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 07:37:44 +0000

“Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don’t think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking about the other! Bill Gates

And there you have it straight from the chairman of Microsoft, one of the world’s wealthiest people. You cannot separate technology and business just like you cannot separate performance management and people. So why is it, that so many organisations’ performance management processes are so ineffective? Let’s start by defining performance management

Performance management (PM) includes the activities that ensure that goals and targets within a business are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of an organization, a department, employee, or even the processes to build a product or service. When most organisations refer to performance management they are generally trying to do the following three things

1. Impact their financial performance

Grow sales and top line
Reduce the operating costs of your business
Reduce back logs and hit deadlines
Improve the time it takes to achieve strategic and operational change

2. Positively motivate the workforce

Maximize plans for specific goals for over achievement
Improve communication
Achieve clarity in terms of the achievement of goals and targets
Increase confidence associated with package and remuneration rewards
Manage the organisation and promote team and staff development

3. Improve management control

Increase flexibility and responsiveness to the organisation’s needs
Assist in quality control and legislative requirements
Support the communication of strategic goals, targets and processes
Provide well documented policies and processes

Given the challenges that exist within business most CEO’s, Directors and Leaders are very focused on items one and three. Organisations don’t survive without a strong financial performance, we are all cutting costs and trying to maximise profitability where ever we can. Leaders love to be in control, data and technologies are great ways to demonstrate we are in control and have all of the right systems and tools to run our business. But when you think about it, and look at performance management the way Gates looks at technology. You cannot execute performance management effectively within your organisation without positively motivating your workforce and motivating your workforce is not as easy as it sounds. Dictating, managing by fear and “sweating the assets” are long gone approaches. Approaches I am sure many of us have all been victims of

When I refer to Powerful Management Behaviours, I mean exactly that!!! The influence and the power management teams have within a business today is unbelievable. This only comes though when the organisation STOPS thinking about how they can drive the employees to deliver what they need them to, in isolation!!!! WHAT?? I hear you say. Yes this is when the leaders within business actively demonstrate to the employees that they are interested in them, shifting the focus from being completely about the orgnaisational need to the needs of the employee and the organisation. Putting the employee first, seeing it from the other person’s viewpoint!

This shift has a remarkable impact on the way your managers and employees behave within your business and in turn has an incredible impact on it’s financial and overall performance. Ok so this doesn’t mean you have now become a complete push over and your staff can go and come as they please and we all live happily ever after. It means that you ensure that your management teams have similar values and beliefs, and that they align with the goals and targets of the business. Surround yourself with capable people who have integrity and get to know and understand them. Continue to remain focused on points one and three but enhance and evolve the way you deal with point two, your people. This is when performance management is delivered in earnest, this is when performance management becomes effective, this is how you go above and beyond, and this is how you unlock the key to your success and develop a business like Bill Gates. Maximise the potential of your organisation’s most expensive but important asset today. Implement Powerful Management Behaviours!

Performance Management through Powerful Management Behaviours is incredibly powerful and can fundamentally change your organisation for the better. If I can help, call me or write to me at mike.bresnihan@thefrankboys.com

Will the Sun on Sunday survive? Seven Steps to ensure your staff don’t ruin your business

thefrankboys — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 08:53:43 +0000

Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. Dwight D. Eisenhower

The demise of the News of the World and the launch of the Sun on Sunday reaffirmed to me the importance of the employee within an organisation. Rupert Murdoch needs to ensure that the teams and people within his organisation act with integrity and professionalism at all times. We should all learn a valuable lesson from the chain of events that led to the demise of the News of the World and ensure that we support and manage our people to protect and grow our businesses

Teams and people within an organisation are a significant factor in determining its success or failure; it is of great importance that they are effectively managed. If the teams within the News of the World had been effectively managed it would still be in circulation today. We have all seen how ineffective management can lead to failure, financial disaster and business ruination. It is fool hardy to leave it up to your people and then blame them after the event. Below are the seven steps of effective staff management to help Rupert Murdoch and indeed all business owners secure the future of their business.

Step One: Communicate – Clear, effective, open and honest communication is key in order to ensure teams are on board and are kept fully informed. Engaging with staff ensures that they feel part of the team. It helps to demonstrate the importance of their contribution – this should never be underestimated!! If a role exists within your business that isn’t important then the role and cost shouldn’t be there. In your personal life you would never pay for something you don’t need, so it shouldn’t happen at work.

Step Two: Set SMART Targets. Most people go to work to do a good job. The work needs to be clearly defined, but of equal importance, the tasks and activities required of the teams and people need to be achievable. Use the SMART model to ensure this is the case. Set, Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Bound targets for your teams to work to. The key here is realistic, putting teams and people under too much pressure to deliver results leads to negative unprofessional behaviour like phone tapping!

Step Three: Mindset, Values and Beliefs the mindset, values and beliefs of your people need to be aligned to the organisational values and beliefs. Understanding the values and beliefs of the people that work for/ with us is extremely important. Helping individuals to meet their individual values and beliefs is extremely positive. Gaining personal fulfilment at work is a very powerful way of developing individuals within your business. Encourage them to act with honesty and integrity and ensure these values are reinforced though your communication and target setting. The Sun on Sunday will flourish and grow to an unthinkable size if the readers/ customers truly believe this is the way it operates

Step Four: Support and Empower teams need to feel supported and empowered. Don’t control and dictate, encourage, measure and manage. Allow your people to think and contribute, share their experiences and encourage them to be engaged. Sharing best practice and implementing solutions that are driven by key members of your team is highly motivational and encouraging for everyone. Provoke healthy competition and reward suggestions accordingly. Promote integrity and professionalism and encourage the people within your business to talk about how they achieve it

Step Five: 1-1s, Team Briefs and Meetings – sounds very straight forward doesn’t it? However, you wouldn’t believe how many organisations I have worked in that don’t apply these simple performance management techniques. High quality, regular monthly or bi monthly 1-1s are critical to monitoring and managing the performance of your team members. Ensuring that the teams are fully briefed on company performance and activities is critical, along with holding regular team performance and quality focussed meetings. Be sure to encourage the sharing of best practice in these sessions and be receptive to new ideas and innovative ways of working.Step Six: Work Quality Management / Governance – This step is all too often over looked in business. Had the quality of the work been managed when the News of the World was alive it would still be in circulation today. Mr Murdoch I strongly recommend you implement rigorous work quality monitoring processes and some governance around the gathering and publishing of your material. There is not an organisation in the world that doesn’t need work quality management. Work quality management ensures your customers get what they are paying for at the highest quality standard possible. What business shouldn’t be striving to deliver this in any climate but especially today’s

Step Seven: Celebrate and Reward Success – Finally, through the six steps above you will begin to see operational and profitable improvements, Guaranteed! Celebrate and reward these, use the lessons learned through the above steps to improve performance further. Share and communicate the high quality standards delivered by individuals, allow them to have an overall impact on the way your organisation works. Develop and grow the individuals within the business to help them exceed in their roles and encourage them to get to the highest level within your business. When they reach this point encourage them to leave and go to a competitor!! Replace them with fresh, new innovative idea makers / thinkers. Don’t allow your organisation to get blocked or stuck. Steer and grow it to achieve unimaginable results and celebrate and reward all who help you get there.

Of course there is a great deal more to the seven steps above and to achieve this effective management approach within your organisation is not as easy as it sounds. However the results and benefits from implementing steps like this within your business are significant and can be a massive amount of fun and enjoyment. Imagine the impact this effective management style has on organisations; if you can’t perhaps you should think about the impact not having it had on the News of the World. I hope Rupert Murdoch is reading!!

Have fun leading and managing your people and reaping the rewards. If I can help write to me at mike.bresnihan@thefrankboys.com

3 steps to being the best company in your market

thefrankboys — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:10:25 +0000

A quote we believe applies to most management consultants!

“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.”

Albert Einstein

Businesses pay extortionate amounts of money to companies who call themselves ‘management consultants’ to improve performance. And it’s no wonder that this profession has such a bad reputation. I believe there are three key reasons for this

Consultants really do tell organisations what they already know
Any initiative that is led by a consultancy will most likely fail in the long run
They are so expensive.

But to label management consultants as a worthless profession would be doing you an injustice. And if you want to be the best company in the market then I believe we can all learn from these observations. Read on dear reader:

Consultants really do tell organisations what they already know…. Because your organisation will have many switched on intelligent, dedicated people. The reality is that you/ your company can’t identify them and/ or isn’t listening to them. Well guess what step 1 to becoming the best should be?

Any initiative led by a consultancy will almost always fail in the long run to generate benefit… because your organisation probably doesn’t really want to change anyway. As soon as the pressure from one of these projects subsides, organisations take a deep breath and (secretly) resolve never to do it again! Additionally although many people use the term ‘sustainable change’ it is seldom a reality! Internal staff MUST be developed to lead post transformation. The effort required to do this cannot be underestimated! Step 2 to becoming the best is to always focus on sustainable change and to ensure that you truly get buy-in and engagement from your staff.

Consultants are expensive… because they are often engaged without any focus on benefit. Also consultants are often engaged on paper exercises (which in themselves deliver little benefit). I believe this is because organisations lose confidence in themselves – they begin to believe that they do not have the talent of the expertise. They most often have all the talent they need. This talent is most often just lost/ undeveloped. Step 3 to becoming the best is to always, firmly, insist every improvement initiative has a targeted benefit.

As transformation specialists we believe that the secret weapon within your organisation is your management community. They are the only ones who can identify and foster talent. They are the only ones who can drive sustainable improvement. They are the only ones who can drive real benefits. The challenge to you is to inspire and development your management community… now!

Good luck! I love this stuff, so if you have a problem you’d like to share (anonymity guaranteed) with me then I’d LOVE to hear. Just drop me a line on tim.gray@thefrankboys.com.

How to measure the impact of your business improvement initiatives? The four critical business indicators

thefrankboys — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:56:28 +0000

	“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” John F. Kennedy
There is lots of synergy between this quote from JFK and this week’s topic. It is pointless investing massive amounts of time and money in business improvement initiatives without there being a true purpose to their existence. Having no clear direction from the top will mean the initiative will be seen as a distraction, unimportant and will lead to failure or it having limited value.
Business improvement initiatives should always align to the overall strategy and objectives of the organisation. These strategies and objectives should ultimately guide you to monitoring and measuring the following four indicators when running your improvement initiatives
Indicator One: Revenue: Without income you do not have a business, if your improvement initiatives do not impact the, maximising, stabilising or generation of revenue, then I would question whether they are worthwhile. Of course every initiative may not lead to a direct increase in revenue, but there should be a link in some way. E.g. an increase in your *profit* may enable you to become more competitive, happier more engaged *people* may enable you to sell more or to offer fantastic customer service. Offering your *customers* what they want, at a price they can afford will undoubtedly increase your top line. These things are all interrelated, please read on
Indicator Two: Profit The profitability of your business is the indicator that is going to provide you with a long term sustainable organisation. Profit is what will keep your organisation alive. Strengthening the profit of your business should always be in the forefront of your mind. Once the revenue comes in, it needs to be handled carefully and protected. Protecting and growing your profit through business improvement initiatives will safeguard its future. I would recommend that you quantify the impact your initiative will have on profitability at the outset, and then track and report progress. Don’t be afraid to adjust your initiative if profitability is not being positively impacted. Remember profit is the life blood of your business
Indicator Three: People The people within your business are fundamental to its success. Creating a great place to work for your people and providing your teams with the right tools, support and training to deliver their work, is paramount. Hopefully you will have read my articles on staff motivation and engagement. When delivering business improvement initiatives don’t forget your people whatever kind of initiative it is. Where possible track and measure the impact your initiative has through productivity, effectiveness, or staff engagement / satisfaction results
Indicator Four: Customers Finally your customers; closely linked with the people indicator. Internal and external customers exist across your business. Customers inevitably supply your revenue; any improvement initiative you engage in should positively impact your customer experience. Business improvement initiatives should help you to stay ahead of your competition and exceeding your customers’ expectations. Measure this through *revenue, profitability* and *customers* satisfaction surveys

It’s really important when embarking on business improvement initiatives that you measure the impact they have on your organisation. Initiatives are hard work and costly, try to ensure you get the maximum benefit from your efforts by monitoring the four interrelated critical indicators today. Good Luck!!

To learn more about the effective measurement of your business improvement initiatives and the four critical indicators, give me a call or write to me at mike.bresnihan@thefrankboys.com

Do you have a Cold War in your business?

thefrankboys — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:07:53 +0000

The Cold War was a strange thing. Both sides, Russia and (predominantly) America, were equally convinced of each other’s desire to wipe each other out. Both sides spend billions on the nuclear arms race (and the space race), on secret service activities and on developing their military capabilities. The ‘fighting style’ was very clandestine (directly, neither party killed even a single person) with each party effectively finding proxy wars to fight (such as Vietnam) and driving secret campaigns (such as funding democratic/ communist political parties) in faraway countries that few of us would hear about in day-to-day conversation; The enemy was never clearly visible but always feared.

What a waste of time and effort! The point of this post is to highlight the good possibility that your business has a cold war. I’ll use a practical example.

Directors in this large £150m+ organisation were all responsible for procuring the goods and services required to run their service. All Directors had a bad view of Procurement (“I don’t know what they do all day”, “I can never get hold of them”, “they give me different advice every time I call them”, “they take too long to get an answer”). The Procurement team resided somewhere off site, somewhere remote, and in the eyes of the directors was just a group of unprofessional people at the end of a phone number they’d really rather not use.

And guess what? They didn’t. Directors basically got used to ad-libbing. Procurement policy was never followed (no one knew what it was) and the organisation entered into contracts with suppliers that basically abused their position… lots of money was wasted.

So what of the ‘evil’ procurement team? They also had a rather poor view of their ‘customers’. The directors were “unruly”, “unable to follow process”, “wasted [organisational] money” and “never followed policy” which meant that the organisation was always compromised.

Whilst both sides had a dim view of each other, over a period of a time the views of each ‘side’ had turned quite bitter. Things even got personal. On one day there was a loud argument in the open plan office, which got personal, which was followed by HR procedures and disciplinaries, meetings, reviews and much more (with no satisfactory conclusion).

This organisational Cold War ultimately cost the organisation millions as a result of poor procurement decisions and suppliers not being governed correctly. Both sides had ultimately demonised each other to such an extent that they were uncooperative. Both sides lost out by investing time, effort and money in tensions that served no real purpose.

So let me cut to the chase. Cold Wars like this are very common to organisations. They also have many common causes, which when worked through, can turn your Cold War into a Warm Friendship. Top causes of a Cold Wars:

Absent/ ineffective management. Managers have a clear responsibility to identify problems, highlight problems to their seniors and to find and implement solutions. Actually with good Performance Management processes in place supported with positive leadership behaviours, issues can be nipped in the bud before becoming the start of a Cold War.
Ineffective Processes/ Poor Process Compliance. Processes exist for a reason. When the right process is followed, everyone wins. If a process is not being followed then either revisit the process quickly and evolve it, or train, educate and mentor staff to follow the process. A simple example is the “data quality” process. Sounds boring, and to many agents on the front line recording the latest Patient/ Customer data is tedious. But without data you can’t do business!!
Leadership Styles/ Organisational Culture. Never, ever, underestimate the impact you have as a senior manager. People will do what you do, say what you say. If you extoll positive virtues then your teams, in time, will do the same. If you are tempted to have a little ‘gossip’ about other departments/ teams then you will inadvertently foster an unconstructive culture. Deal with problems head on, be objective, keep the big picture in mind, collaborate and support.
Insecurity within the workforce. Never underestimate the impact that job insecurity has on your workforce. Insecurity fosters negative attitudes and beliefs. In today’s climate this is easier said than done, but you must, must provide security where you can, support your staff, and seek to make them HAPPY!
Ineffective Communication. Make sure both ‘sides’ understand their purpose, role and processes. Promote collaboration. Promote cohesion. Ensure that you have effective and open communication channels in place, such as meetings, articles, emails, newsletters, briefs etc. The less ‘alien’ each party is to each other the less likely you will have a Cold War.

Good luck! I love this stuff, so if you have a problem you’d like to share (anonymity guaranteed) with me then I’d LOVE to hear. Just drop me a line on tim.gray@thefrankboys.com.

The Four Factors that influence successful business improvement

thefrankboys — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:21:55 +0000

In today’s climate many organisations are embarking on business improvement initiatives in order to protect or grow their businesses. You may have already embarked on your improvement journey to try to cut costs or maintain or gain your competitive edge. Often when setting up these initiatives businesses become completely focussed on a single element of the improvement. They don’t consider the four fundamental factors that influence successful business improvement. Let’s look at the four business improvement factors and see how they interrelate.

Factor One – Systems;

Many Businesses Think, that the development and implementation of a new computerised system is the answer to all operational and reporting problems. Or believe because they already have an operating system in place that they have been using for some time, that that will always be fit for purpose.
The Reality Is, that the development and implementation of your system is only the beginning of your improvement journey. A system is not a substitute for management action. If the system is not updated and used properly by the people within your business. It may as well not be there! Equally if your existing system is not reviewed and its performance objectively evaluated, overtime it will become detrimental to your business. Organisations operate at such a pace that things change and if the systems don’t change with them, then they become ineffective and damaging. When did you last evaluate the systems that are used within your business?

Factor Two – Processes;

Many Businesses Think, that the operational processes that have always worked, will continue to be effective and deliver profit. To change a process will cost time and money and that their teams are still following the processes that were implemented and documented years ago.
The Reality Is, that operational processes become out of date. Steps are introduced without careful consideration of the wider impacts, and slowly materials and time are introduced to make life “easier”, or to meet “customer” demand. This can cause your once efficient process to become inefficient. It will cost you more if you don’t change your inefficient processes. Teams are not always compliant and become complacent, if the process is not easily executed and intuitive. Often teams find short cuts, even if those short cuts cost you money. When did you last critique your operational processes?

Factor Three – Policies;

Many Businesses Think, that policies are put in place to satisfy a regulatory body or meet the needs of an accrediting body, that will award some sort of recognised badge, ITIL, ISO, H&S, IIP , the list is endless. Businesses believe that this will enable the organisation to gain status and recognition within their field. Some policies are enforced and are a legal requirement.
The Reality Is, policies should be put in place to improve the business and not negatively impact profitability. When a policy is implemented or enforced it is critical that the impact it will have on the profitability of the business is considered. The systems and processes required to adopt the policy successfully need to be in place, and most importantly your people need to be fully trained in its execution. It is critical not to implement a policy because a competitor has, or because you think it might be a good idea. When did you last review the policies that exist within your business and ensure that they are fit for purpose?

Factor Four – People;

Many Businesses Think, the people within the business should be committed and loyal because they are being paid. They also believe that if they give their people a new system to use, or train them in a new process that they will use it and follow it without question. Some managers think that if a new policy is introduced it will be adhered to and supported from the outset.
The Reality Is, the people within your business are the fourth and most influencing factor in determining whether your improvement initiative succeeds or fails. If the teams within your business do not use the system, follow the process or comply with the policy, your initiative will fail. The people within your business hold the key to its success; they can help you unlock its real potential. In order for your teams to do this you must ensure the following. Your team’s values and beliefs align to the goals and objectives of the business. The attitudes and behaviours of the people within your business are engaged and positive, and the communication within your business is concise, open and honest. Explain the need for the improvement and outline the benefits of the new system, policy or process. With your teams on board at the outset your initiative cannot fail. How engaged are the people within your business?

To ensure the full potential of any business improvement initiative is achieved, be sure to consider the four factors of influence. SYSTEMS, PROCESS, POLICIES and most importantly PEOPLE, Good Luck!

To learn more about the factors that influence business improvement or how to get started then why not call me or email me mike.bresnihan@thefrankboys.com

Shiny, Happy, People – The value of Powerful Management Behaviours

thefrankboys — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:15:01 +0000

Question One: Are your people firing on all cylinders? Question Two: Are they engaged?

A recent survey by Gallup revealed that 61% of employees were not engaged and 20% of employees were actively disengaged. A staggering 81% of workforces operating in some kind of negative way, thus having a detrimental impact on the business they work in!!!

I have carried out hundreds of pieces of analysis, management studies and management questionnaires when visiting organisations, ALWAYS arriving at the same conclusion. The staff, teams, and even departments aren’t fully engaged in what is happening and therefore the organisation is only achieving a fraction of the potential that exists

I have managed lots of improvement projects, transformational initiatives, and customer experience projects, time and time again the underlying component that drove the success was not the methodology applied, not the classroom training, not even the frustrated CEO launching the initiative, saying “this has to work” It was the engagement and attitudes of the people!

In the early days I used my instinctive approach, I worked with the people using the management skills and tools I had learnt, and applied them in a way that enabled the people I was working with to be receptive. That’s not imposing, forcing or telling it’s COACHING, SUPPORTING, and EMPOWERING. I fast learnt that this was all well and good but you can’t go around saying I operate instinctively with people and support them and then we deliver results. I knew I had to develop something that CEO’s, Directors, people could relate to. Something that held the answers to the two questions above, something to get teams firing on all cylinders and engaged in the work they deliver.

I delivered training workshops, development sessions, and improvement workshops and always smiled as the delegates walked into the room, there was always one who you knew would be trouble, I could see it in their face. He / She would be my challenge for the session. These were performance focussed sessions and didn’t really focus on the individual needs, just the needs of the business. I also knew that once the session was over, much of what I had spouted on about would be left in the training room or on the note pad and never used in practice. I knew something had to be done differently

Then I got some exposure to NLP training, this was slightly different and focussed on the mind set and individual, quite refreshing, but it seemed to leave the tools and RESULTS elements out. Why is it that in so many cases you either get the business training side or the business mentoring side but you rarely get a combination of the two and how powerful would it be if you could have that combination?

It was at this point I decided to create Powerful Management Behaviours. If you really want to engage your people follow the three steps below and transform the people and profitability of your organisation

Mind Set – Ensure your people are in the right mind set to deliver what is being asked of them. Support them to deal with everything that could be impacting their ability to perform for you. Confidence, Relationships, Debt, Sexuality, Alcohol, Drugs. The list goes on; in today’s society the list is endless. This doesn’t mean you can often fix their problems for them but supporting them in identifying any issues can help your people to take responsibility and steps to fix them. If the mind-set is in shape, the individual will be in shape and in a position to help you get your business in shape
Tools– There are hundreds of organisations that just don’t ensure their people have the necessary tools available to support them in doing their job. Tools may exist but are they fit for purpose, have you ever asked your people?? Ensure your people have elements of the following tools at their fingertips to help them carryout their role
- Resource Planning and Workload Management
- Time Management
- Action / task lists
- 1-1s
- Training plans / skills logs
- Performance reports and management information
- Best practice logs and lessons learnt report
Coach – Coach and support your people to apply a positive mind set using practical tools when they carry out their job. Making the effort to spend time with your people and investing that time, demonstrates you are interested in them. The net result is that they invest time in you and your business.

It’s all very well knowing your staff aren’t engaged, it’s getting that engagement that is the challenge. Applying Powerful Management behaviours in your business delivers outstanding results and can save your company millions – Shiny, Happy, People!!!

We have helped hundreds of organisations engage their employees and create shiny, happy, people, call me or write to me at mike.bresnihan@thefrankboys.com to learn more about powerful management behaviours

The real key to success as a Manager – Latest Top Tips

thefrankboys — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:39:21 +0000

Every organisation “puts the customer first”. Every organisation “invests in their people”. It makes you sick to hear this right? We’ve all heard it a thousand times. We also know that despite this being a mantra to many, it’s rarely practiced. Yet, it is true. Nurture your customers and staff and you can’t fail.

In reality managers in most organisations that we meet want to serve customers and staff as well as possible, but the day to day challenges of working life often distract and dilute the value that they add. Intriguingly, this is often a symptom of absent management on a wide scale (and as such a wide scale lack of focus on customer and staff may exist – which is perilous in times like these).

Let’s keep it simple. Follow our simple tips to stay ahead of the game:

How much of your week do you spend thinking of ways to do things better? How much time in your week do you spend on 1-1s, 360s, PDPs, objective setting? How much time do you spend reviewing performance and looking for root cause problems? I can virtually promise you one thing: It’s not enough. You should aim to spend (realistically) 75% of your time on performance management activities. Put staff performance first. This will lead to motivated and focused teams.
If the above is a hard question to answer. Ask yourself this: How much time do you waste? Think about the bigger picture. Think about sickness, meetings, duplicate activities, system problems etc. All this work only serves to distract you from your core purpose as a manager. Reduce it and spend more time on your staff. You should aim (realistically) to spend under 10% of your time on these activities.
How much time to you spend thinking about the customer? However much it is, again, I can promise you, it’s not enough. Even if you are in a back office/ corporate function. Serving those around you will most likely help them to support the customer.
Who are your worst performers? Ask yourself what are the top root cause problems in your business? A manager/ organisation is only as good as the quality of the staff. Manage poor performance. Share best practice. Reward and recognise those who do well. Be prepared to have clear conversations with those who can’t make the mark. For each person holding back the team there are people who will do the job ten times better.
How involved are you in the recruitment process? (even if you’re the C.E.O). Get more involved. C.Vs tell only so much and interviews are notoriously fallible. Interviewers cannot help be swayed by a good speaker/ someone who ‘looks right’. Check references. I mean really check. The references are often seen as the ‘bit at the end’. Actually the references can tell you a 100 times more than the interview.
Give your team meaning. Does your team make shoes or do they make works of art that make people very happy? Even back office teams help customers/ patients/ service users. Make sure your team REALLY appreciate this. Take them out of the office for the day to meet the customers. Give your team real purpose and you make sure the customer is in the mind of your team(s) (AND it helps your team be motivated).
Engage and collaborate with your staff and customers. Survey, question, invite, test, listen. Stand up and be counted. Find out what really counts and what doesn’t. Adjust your strategies accordingly.

There are of course many more things you can do to really get back on track. The key is to really empower your managers to manage, which is much easier said than done. We’re professionals at just this, so if you would like to speak to someone in confidence, drop us a line!