ARE YOUR EMPLOYEES "ENGAGED"? (Download our free white paper)

FROM : The Post.IE - The Sunday Business Post Online

Praise Goes A Long Way At Work
15 June 2008
By Martha Kearns

It might sound like common sense, but it’s amazing how many bosses ignore the fact that, if their employees feel appreciated, recognised and part of the company, they are less likely to leave.
David Fagiano, chief operating officer of global training company Dale Carnegie & Associates, was in Ireland last week to discuss employee ‘engagement’ with business leaders.

The company was founded by Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Fagiano argues that this feeling of being engaged in the company is more crucial than pay increases in retaining staff.

A survey by recruitment consultant, Robert Walters showed that the main reason people in Ireland consider a new job opportunity is because of a lack of recognition from their employer (50 per cent) and to continue up the career ladder (24 per cent). Just 14 per cent said they would leave because of their pay.

‘‘That would be a fairly typical statistic in mature economies. In economies with hyper-growth, such as China, where people are being offered jobs with more money every couple of weeks, it is a different story,’’ Fagiano toldThe Sunday Business Post.

He said there were three types of workers - engaged, disengaged and actively disengaged. The disengaged work the required hours, do the work and go home, but have no connection to the workplace. The actively disengaged are more dangerous and feed negativity, undermine the work of others and express mistrust and animosity.

‘‘When you have both of those types of workers in your organisation, it can do a lot of damage,’’ said Fagiano. He said that $350 billion was lost in the US every year due to lack of engagement. On the other hand, people who are engaged believe they make an impact, would recommend it as a good place to work and get more than just wages from working there.

‘‘Irish companies could save hundreds of thousands, even millions, of euro through introducing engagement to retain staff and maximise their output. Without close attachments to the workplace, people feel alienated and will usually seek greener pastures elsewhere.

‘‘The statistics are absolutely amazing. For example, engaged employees are 87 per cent less likely to leave, and sales people who are engaged make 28 per cent more revenue than those who are not. Company leaders have to realise that employees want more than pay increases and they need to get the picture if they want to retain the top talent."

He said employee attitude was dramatically influenced by what their boss does or says. If managers praise workers and take steps to reward their achievements, workers feel their efforts matter.

‘‘But if managers are distant, seldom straying from their offices or from meetings, and provide feedback only when it is negative, then the manager’s behaviour is creating a toxic workplace, rather than an engaged workplace."

How to improve employee engagement
* Create a corporate culture that encourages engagement
* Measure employee engagement periodically
* Develop action plans by organisation, department and individual to address the root causes of problems that lead to employee disengagement
* Hold people accountable for demonstrating progress in building engagement
* Reward those who demonstrate progress in building engagement

Leaders who build the right climate will ...
* Focus on identifying individual strengths
* Recognise achievement, rather than envying it or trying to steal the credit for it
* Develop people for engagement, as well as for knowledge and skills
* Provide encouragement when people seem to be unhappy or disappointed
* Seek employee ideas about the company
* Involve all employees in setting goals and objectives

Do not assume that ...
*This is an issue that can be handed to the HR department without significant line management involvement
* Higher salaries alone will increase engagement
* Employee work ethic, or lack of it, is the root cause of problems with engagement. That amounts to blaming the worker, rather than having management accept accountability to do something to improve engagement

How to Make Cold Calling Opportunities out of Voice Mails

Here is some great informatin for Sales Representatives that I found!

How to Make Cold Calling Opportunities out of Voice Mails
From Ari Galper, for About.com

Turn voice mails into a cold calling journey of discovery!

Most people who still use the traditional cold calling mindset look at voicemail as a dead end. They say to themselves, "Oh well, I may as well leave a message and hope he calls me back."
This almost never happens, and we know it. But we’re often so relieved not to have to talk with someone, that we leave a message anyway. We avoid dealing with another person’s potential negative response to us and we avoid being challenged by the receptionist as well.

By the time the day is over, we might feel good because we’ve played the "numbers game" and made a lot of calls. But our productivity has been minimal. And over time that can make us feel frustrated by our experiences in cold calling.

With the new approach to cold calling, voicemail is an opportunity for discovery. It leads us beyond voicemail. Voice mail becomes a starting point for you to begin the process of locating the person you’re trying to contact.

Our objective is not to pursue people to make a sale in this new way of cold calling. It is to uncover the truth of their situation and to be okay with the outcome, whether it’s a "yes" or a "no." So we can begin to feel more comfortable hitting "0" when we get someone’s voicemail. Because we then have an opportunity to go back to the receptionist and begin a dialogue based on asking for help.

Here’s how the dialogue might go:
"Hi, maybe you can help me out for a second? I’m trying to get hold of Mike and I got his voicemail. Would you happen to know if he’s at lunch, or on vacation, or in a meeting by any chance?"
Here, you aren’t just asking to find Mike. And you’re also providing possible solutions to finding Mike. This helps the receptionist feel as if he or she is part of the problem-solving process.
The receptionist is likely to offer one of two responses. The first is, "Yes, he’s in a meeting (or at lunch or on vacation) and I’m not sure when he’ll be back at his desk."

This answer has just given you a lot more information than you would have if you had just left a voicemail. Now you know your contact’s whereabouts in real time and you can call back at a more appropriate time.

The second response is, "No, I don’t know where he is." In this case, you would reply, "That’s not a problem…" This low-key statement diffuses any possible pressure that the receptionist might be feeling about not being able to answer your question.
You can then continue with, "Would you happen to know anyone whose desk or office is near him or who works in his area who might know where he is?" Again, you’re offering another option for solving the problem. In many cases, the receptionist will then transfer you to a colleague of your contact who can help you determine his or her whereabouts.
The receptionist may also reply, "No, I don’t know anyone in his area." You then say, "That’s not a problem…" and offer, "Would you happen to have a paging system or his cell phone number by any chance?"
If the receptionist replies, "Sorry, we don’t have those," then at that point you can say, "Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help. And then hang up, and call back another time.

Does the idea of paging potential clients or calling them on their cell phone make your stomach clench up? Are you thinking that you can’t cold call people that way because they might reject you?
That fear is only to be expected if your agenda is to sell something to the person. In other words, if you’re still using the traditional sales mindset. But once you master the new cold calling perspective, you’ll feel comfortable calling anyone, any time, using any mode.

As long as you’re 100 percent focused on your potential client’s world, you’ll find that people will be receptive to you. You can easily navigate throughout an organization with the type of dialogue described above, because you’re asking for help in a relaxed manner and you never put anyone on the spot.

Suppose that your efforts to locate your contact in this way fail. At that point you can leave a voicemail, but it should always be your very last option. Here’s an example of an appropriate cold calling voicemail:
"Hi John, maybe you can help me out for a second? I’m not sure if you’re the right person or not, but I’m trying to reach the person responsible for reporting problems about unpaid invoices. My name is John Edwards, my number is…"
Try this way of approaching the situation of voice mails, and you’ll be surprised and pleased at how often it becomes a highway instead of a dead end.

There is a new book out there making the news, "Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office." This book goes into how we can be assertive and make choices without guilt. How to speak up and address issues directly and without fear is discussed in the book.
I could not help reading all the references to the book and the comments on how it is a breath of fresh air for today’s business environment. What shocked me is that the comments seem to think this is a new idea. Dale Carnegie wrote his book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" in 1936. His book has 30 principles for dealing with people as people while building relationships, gaining cooperation and being a positive, assertive leader.
As the business world welcomes the newest generation, the millennials, we need to be able to adjust to the changing world. We need to be able to handle a work force demanding to work with someone they like and with whom they can get along. Thus the idea of being nice is coming into vogue. Within the Dale Carnegie organization, we have been helping people get along with others for almost 100 years.
We recommend that we all remember it is true: nice guys can get the corner office. We also recommend that you get that advise and training from an organization that has almost 100 years of this knowledge, not just a couple of years. by: Daveed Snoll, VP Training