Business and management consultants offer advice, perspective
Five prominent consultants participated in this survey for our special section on Management & Team Building: Sarah Read from The Communications Center, Eugene Gerke, David Waters and Joe Weston from Gerke & Associates, Bob Scribner from Executive Advantage, Pam Franta at Pamela Franta Consulting, Cathy Atkins from Awareness Management Systems and Elizabeth Holden at PrimePoint.
1. What are a few steps small businesses can take to create better work environments? Conversely, what are some mistakes that companies make that create poor work environments?
Read: In addition to financial compensation, employees look for recognition, involvement and opportunities to learn and build skills. In short, employees want to be recognized, accepted and valued for the individuals that they are. This is particularly true for the younger workers entering the workplace.
Small businesses can provide real opportunities for their employees to contribute new ideas and suggestions for change, celebrate successes as a group, actively mentor and provide other forms of training and share information in an honest and straightforward way. Small businesses can also provide some flexibility that allows employees to better meet family needs, volunteer for community service or participate in other activities that meet their interests and help build their skills.
Companies that hope their employees will simply figure the job out or rely on competition, commands (or even worse threats of termination) to motivate employees are not going to have very motivated employees and they are more likely to experience substantial turnover.
Gerke: A great work environment is one where people feel they are a part of what is going on and that they are contributing to moving the company ahead. The business owner should communicate his or her vision for the business and have the vision integrated into the employees’ everyday activities. Periodic employee performance reviews are also very important. But maybe even more important are periodic goal setting sessions with individual employees. The employee and manager should agree on goals to be accomplished over a set period of time. These goals should support the vision and direction of the company.
Scribner: Connecting with employees appears to be the most effective tool a small business can use to create a better business environment. Asking questions such as, “How might we improve our business?” or “What would help to make your job more interesting?” or “How could our work relationship be more effective?” or “Could our vision be more effective?” A previous Gallup poll indicates nearly half the workforce works at compliance level because of no connection. The most common mistake is they treat their employees like five year olds.
Franta: For any size business, the most important thing one can do to create better work environments is to have as a goal that people work together. Most businesses will tell you they expect this. However, what is often missing is the recognition and reward for those good relationships. A good work environment requires not only “lip service” for teamwork, but attention and rewards that acknowledge it. At work, you get what you reward.
The second most important thing is to address poor work relationships by having the difficult conversations needed to resolve conflict. Many managers choose to avoid conflict rather than dealing with it. Tolerating poor working relationships gives the message that they are OK. Small businesses are challenged by having many things to do and few people to do them. They can be plagued by the “tyranny of the immediate.” Managers need to focus not only on customer needs but also on internal relationships with and between employees. Poor work environments need to be dealt with sooner rather than later.
Atkins: Realize that change begins with you and accept responsibility for your own role in any negativity. Address problems expeditiously, as failure to do so sends the wrong message that you either don’t know about the problems or don’t care. Next, clearly define your desired company culture and what values to embrace. Be specific about what a positive work environment means and what attitudes, behaviors and techniques will get you there. Finally, people must know that this isn’t just another empty promise with no follow-through. Be consistent and help your people hold each other accountable.
Holden:
• Create a culture of inquiry within the business that provides meaning and purpose. Small businesses should seek out ways to involve employees in the decision-making processes of the business.
• Adhere to a code of ethics. As a best practice, many businesses now have a code of ethics that outlines the values of the business, performance expectations and acceptable behavior for creating a safe work environment.
• Utilize performance metrics that motivate people into action. Businesses that succeed analyze their business environment, benchmark themselves against competitors, demonstrate effective leadership, create individual and organizational performance goals at all levels of the organization and align personnel and budgets to performance metrics.
• Provide professional development and coaching opportunities. To perform at optimal levels, business leaders and employees should seek to develop and expand knowledge of their individual work and their industry. Organizations that excel invest in the knowledge development (also referred to as human capital) of the organization.
Small businesses make several mistakes in their attempts to improve their work environments. First, many small businesses do not ask their employees what is important to them, do not assess what is important to the customer, and do not consistently assess the performance of their organizations. Without this information, businesses cannot effectively design and implement policies and procedures that will motivate employees, improve customer satisfaction and increase performance. Without this data, businesses “borrow” initiatives like employee recognition and customer appreciation programs, which may or may not work for them, and may ultimately be perceived by the employee and customer as contrived.
2. There are horror stories out there about well-intentioned team-building exercises that end up causing more divisiveness in the workplace. In your experience, what works and what doesn’t work?
Read: Too much competition in team building exercises can contribute to divisiveness as can exercises that are too slanted to a particular group’s or individual’s view of “fun” yet are not viewed as “fun” for most of the participants. Also if there is conflict on a team, “team building” exercises that fail to honestly acknowledge and provide a basis for healing that conflict are more likely to breed resentment than to build trust. To be effective, team-building exercises should reflect some knowledge of the background and dynamics of the current team, provide individuals with choices of how to participate, and value each individual contribution.
Gerke: In the 1970s there was a lot of “sensitivity” training where business people were encouraged to be totally open with their emotions. We know of companies that really bought into sensitivity training, often with rather unpleasant results. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging your feelings and emotions, but a business team also needs discipline and respect. The best team building occurs when a group sets high expectations, overcomes unforeseen challenges and achieves desired results.
Scribner: It’s not necessarily the team building exercise that is at fault. Team building exercises were never meant to correct poor relationships that already exist in an organization. They ask people to make themselves vulnerable without taking into consideration the relationships of the participants is stormy at best. If the persons who are participating in such activities have healthy relationships then there may be some benefit from team-building exercises. If the relationships are healthy then they will only bring more harm.
Franta: Presupposing that any training exercise can undo serious conflict between employees is a mistake. Conflicts usually develop over time, and they require time to be resolved. Often managers don’t want to address conflicts, because they don’t know what to do and they are afraid of making it worse. Rather than open “Pandora’s box,” they pretend it isn’t there or engage a trainer to “clean it up.” Ironically, failing to acknowledge the conflict and address it directly reinforces its presence. Even more importantly, if employees perceive the manager is avoiding conflict that they think should be addressed, their perceptions of him as a leader suffer. Employees usually recognize the “elephant in the room” that no one will address, and they view team-building exercises as a waste of time. Honesty and dealing directly with the situation restores a sense of faith in leadership.
Atkins: Team-building works, but not in a vacuum. The fun exercises are simply a method of reaching a greater goal, not the goal in and of themselves. You can’t make people vulnerable in an environment where they fear it will be exploited. That wheel needs to be greased before you thrust people into an environment where they’re expected to interact in ways they’ve never done before. Communication and identification of the goals and objectives of the activity are important. And, as before, make sure there’s consistent follow-through back at the office.
Holden: Many times organizational leaders hire consultants to conduct team-building exercises as a way to address organizational conflict, poor morale and performance problems. Without conducting an organizational assessment and diagnosing the root of the problem, these kinds of exercises can be damaging to the organization. People in organizations experiencing a crisis sometimes get caught in defensive routines that can emerge during team-building exercises. These defensive routines can exhibit themselves as backbiting, cliques, gossiping, confrontation and withdrawal. In team-building exercises where problem-solving, cooperation, and trust is necessary for learning, organizations in crisis that are experiencing defensive routines can actually make matters worse by using this type of training as an answer to their problems. Combining appropriate and customized training with ongoing coaching that addresses the root of the problem in the organization seems to works best.
3. Just about every potential employee who walks into a job interview will tell you he or she gets along well with others, but what are good questions to ask job applicants to help determine whether they will indeed be team players?
Read: There are some general questions you can ask, although (as is explained further below), general questions are not enough. Some of the questions you can ask are
“Tell me about how you solve problems? How do you like to approach or organize your work? What are qualities you like to see in your co-workers or managers and why? Tell me about your approach to working with customers. How would you move a new idea from concept to implementation?”
As you think about the questions you will ask during the interview you should also think about what kind of team this potential employee is being asked to play on and what their position will be. For example, someone who is great with people and ideas might fit well on a creative team and poorly on an assembly line. A team with several excellent quarterbacks and no running backs is not going to play very well and this analogy is applicable to business as well – you need diverse people on a team. So you need to ask some questions that help you evaluate whether the potential employee is a good fit with the needs of the team and the position.
Listening carefully to the answers and evaluating whether the potential employee is also comfortable asking questions or picking up well on conversational cues is also part of determining whether an employee will get along with others.
Gerke: It is important for the interviewer to clearly state that working well with others is a requirement of the job. Ask the applicant to describe situations where he used his interpersonal skills to overcome problems or accomplish tasks. When he is done describing the situation, ask for additional details (don’t settle for generalities). These “situations” may have involved fellow employees, supervisors, customers, or suppliers. Take notice of any trends, such as difficulties with customers.
Scribner: The best interview questions ask the person what they have done regarding a particular behavior. Here might be a couple of suitable questions. Share with me a situation at work in which you struggled getting along with another employee. What kinds of things did you do to make things better? Or, it is almost impossible to get along with everyone in a work group. What kinds of people do you find the most difficult to get along with?
Franta: Good questions need to be open-ended here. They need to give the applicant the opportunity to paint a picture for the hiring manager of how well they solve their own problems and meet goals. Here are two examples:
a. Tell me about a time when you had a difficulty getting along with someone at work. Tell me how you handled that.
b. Discuss a time when you had to work with a peer whose priorities were different from yours. Your goals were not the same, yet meeting yours required the cooperation of this co-worker. How did you handle that? What would you do differently if a similar situation arose in the future?
Atkins: Proper screening and assessments done on candidates can also uncover relationship effectiveness and propensity to work with others. Additionally, questions may include:
– Describe projects you’ve worked on independently and projects you’ve worked on as part of a team. Which for you was most successful? Which was most comfortable for you? Which type do you prefer?
– If you had a day off, how would you spend your leisure time and whom, if anyone, would you spend it with?
– What accomplishments are you most proud of? Describe how you did it and with whom, if anyone?
– Describe a project or event where you didn’t get the desired result. What contributed or caused the failure. How did it happen? Who else was involved? What did you learn?
When interviewing a potential employee, closed-ended questions that can elicit a “yes” or “no” response should be avoided. Instead, opt for behavioral-based questions that require detailed responses and examples from the potential employee. Employers should consider questions that demonstrate team qualities they seek that align with their organizational purpose and values such as cooperation, timeliness, leadership, project management, etc. Below are some examples of interview questions that could be used to address whether an applicant will be a team player:
• Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.
• Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
• Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it.
• Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks.
• What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.
• Tell me about a time you were able to successfully deal with another person, even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).
• Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.
• Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively.
• Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.
• Tell me about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.
4. What are the top three to five management concerns that business operators have expressed this year? Are those concerns much different than they were in past years?
Read: One top concern is getting, developing and keeping talented people. Directly related to that is managing and motivating the younger generations of workers, and doing so while also supporting those already in the workplace. Another top concern is doing more with less. Directly related to this concern is that training costs are used to specifically enhance work related skills and promote ongoing learning and implementation. All of these concerns reflect changes in both our economy and our culture. The Communications Center Inc.’s dialogue-based programs are designed to address each of these concerns.
Gerke: Over the past few years we have consulted in multiple industries including retail, wholesale, energy, health care, academia, horticulture, pharmaceutical, software, publishing, financial services, and consumer products manufacturing. All forward thinking organizations are very concerned about:
• Finding the right business model for the future.
• Defining the best metrics to use to monitor progress and success.
• Having the right business systems in place.
• Identifying and retaining the best people to drive the future business model.
• Linking success metrics to employee performance incentives in order to achieve desired results.
Scribner: Here are my top five:
1. The economy
2. Lack of qualified applicants.
3. Average performance of employees.
4. Poor customer service.
5. Employee turnover.
The economy is a new issue that has many small business owners frightened. I try to tell them this is a good time to turn your business into a great business instead of being just good. The other four are common issues over the years.
Franta: As our economy becomes global, the pressure is on business to operate more leanly, with fewer employees. Keeping the best employees gives an employer a competitive edge. Taking advantage of new technology can also do that. These are some of the issues I have heard related to employer concerns over the past year. Some have been around before but the pressure appears to be more intense.
a. Getting people to work harder and smarter with fewer employees.
b. Managing the stress of changing more often and more quickly.
c. Coping with a smaller pool of skilled applicants for jobs.
d. Replacing retiring “baby boomers” with younger employees with different workplace expectations.
e. Changing technology while keeping business running smoothly.
Atkins: The top concerns senior management and owners bring to me first and foremost is that they’re not satisfied with the current level of revenue coming into their business. With this comes a genuine concern for the vision of their company. They fear that vision may not come to fruition without a lot of headaches. Commonly, I hear about complacency among veterans, a lot of industry expertise but not enough new business opportunities coming in, or concern that the staff that got them this far may not be the staff that can take the business to the next level. That ties directly into the next biggest concern that is brought to my attention, which is recruitment and retention of the right people.
Holden: Business operators have expressed concern over:
• The downturn in the economy and decrease in purchasing power that puts pressure on businesses to control overhead and operating expenses. Lack of revenue has forced some businesses to layoff employees, put off the development of new products and services and to consider mergers and closures. As a result of these pressures, many businesses are finding it difficult to be proactive and strategic in their endeavors to capture new markets and are finding it difficult to attract talented employees on limited salaries and benefits. Many businesses are also experiencing lower employee morale and productivity. For most businesses, these conditions seem to have worsened over the last couple of years.
• Health insurance costs that are rising at three times the cost of inflation. Small businesses, in particular, are struggling to offer health benefits to employees at a cost that they can afford. Current and potential employees have come to expect health benefits as a condition of employment and this affects small businesses’ ability to attract and retain talented staff. Many small businesses have opted for outsourcing these benefits in order to obtain volume discounts and savings.
• Information technology planning and implementation that improves the accuracy and speed of business and incorporates security and privacy mechanisms can be adapted to remain current and aligns IT to all business processes. Businesses have also expressed concern in attracting and retaining skilled IT professionals. Although businesses have been concerned with IT for many years, the rapid changes in information technology, the IT skills and expectations of younger generations and increasing demands from customers for accuracy, transparency and speed, make IT planning and implementation even more relevant in today’s business environment.