Filed under: Training | Tags: "customer service training", "human resources consulting", Communication, employees, Human Resources, Training
Training Costs: From Pricey to Priceless!
January 25, 2011
by Leslie Thomas Gordon
Conference registration fees can be very expensive. Traveling out of town is costly, and customer service can suffer from several people being out of the office at the same time. What is a small office to do?
At Landrum, knowledge is valued by our senior leaders. Development of staff is one of our corporate goals and lifetime learning is part of our culture. Almost one-third of our staff is certified and must obtain continuing education credits to keep licenses or certifications current, and training dollars must be spent there first.
But what about the rest of our motivated staff who want to learn new skills to improve their performance? To get the most out of every dollar spent on training it’s helpful to capitalize on in-house knowledge, which can have a two-fold benefit; employees have exposure to a wide variety of learning opportunities, and staff members have the opportunity to develop their presentation skills in a safe environment.
You may be thinking that sounds great, but how exactly do I do that? When someone at Landrum travels outside of the office to attend training, they are responsible for sharing what they learn with co-workers who could benefit from the same information. Depending on the course attended, there are several ways that this can be accomplished:
1. Give a three-minute summary of the training at an employee or department meeting. If there is interest, an informal brown bag lunch can be arranged so co-workers can learn more. If the information is of a technical nature, a regular training session might be scheduled.
2. Write up a one-page summary for Department Heads to share at their individual department meetings.
3. Post a one-page summary on the staff bulletin board.
4. Pick up extra handouts to share (if available).
5. Obtain an electronic version of the presentation to post on the company network for co-workers to access.
These ideas work and can be adopted by any size organization. However, holding attendees accountable to effectively share conference information with the rest of the organization is how you get your money’s worth. Here are a few suggestions:
1. When approval to attend the conference is given, go ahead and schedule the meeting when the employee will be presenting the learned information to other staff members.
2. Have a standard policy that states one cannot attend training unless knowledge sharing of previously attended training has occurred within a certain period of time. If that employee does not have time to share their knowledge, take outside training off of their agenda for a period of time and give someone else the opportunity.
3. Include knowledge sharing in the performance review process of employees who participate in outside training.
4. Include attendance at in-house presentations in the performance review process.
5. Conduct a brief survey that helps determine effectiveness of the presentation. This has several benefits:
• Did co-workers find value in the knowledge gained?
• Can this information improve job effectiveness or efficiency?
• How might the presenter improve their presentation?
• Should this subject be considered for future in-house training?
If more than one person from the organization attends the same conference, prior workshop coordination can prevent duplicity and can ensure coverage of the most important sessions.
Many conferences offer free or reduced registrations for presenters. If your staff has the knowledge and the talent, encourage them to volunteer to facilitate a workshop or give a presentation. Allow them to practice and fine-tune their presentation in-house.
Allow your workforce to explore all aspects of your industry by exposing them to a wide variety of learning opportunities. If the subject has limited applicability but a lot of interest, offer it as a brown bag lunch that employees can attend on their own time. If the subject matter is related to the individual employee’s job duties, allow attendance on company time. You just may ignite a passion for a new career path – and that is priceless!
Knowledge is power. Share the knowledge!
Leslie Thomas Gordon serves as the Quality Assurance and Compliance Manager at Landrum Companies where keeping track of our clients in thirty-two states has evolved into an art-form. She was editor-in-chief of the application that resulted in Landrum’s Governor’s Sterling Award in April 2007, and has served on the Florida Sterling Council’s Board of Examiners since 2006.
Before shifting to the quality and compliance arena, Leslie served as Landrum’s Director of Finance and Accounting for 11 years. Prior to that, her work experience included 10 years in public accounting and private industry. Leslie graduated Summa Cum Laude from Virginia’s Old Dominion University with a B.S. in Accounting and has been a Florida licensed Certified Public Accountant since 1982. LGordon@LandrumHR.com
Filed under: Mayberry | Tags: "human resources consulting", employees, Human Resources, Mayberry
January 24, 2011
Howdy! Thank you to all of the loyal followers of our blog and Holly’s Mayberry Monday blog posts! We hope you have enjoyed the stories and teachings as much as we have enjoyed sharing them with you. In fact, before we kick off a new year of “learned lessons” from the daily lives of Sheriff Andy Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife, we would like to “re-run” some of our favorite Mayberry Monday posts. We would love to know your favorite Mayberry story. Do you have a favorite episode of The Andy Griffith Show? Share your favorites as we share a few of ours over the next few weeks.
Mayberry Monday – “Opie the Birdman”
By Holly McLeod, PHR
One of my all-time favorite episodes of The Andy Griffith Show (TAGS) is “Opie the Birdman.” In this episode, young Opie is playing outside with his new slingshot. Andy, his “Paw” (aka Dad, for those of you who didn’t grow up in the South), had warned him to be careful. Opie was playing in his imaginary world of Good Guy vs. Bad Guy, when he pulled the sling and sent a shot catapulting into a nearby tree. He then stared in horror as a bird fell dead in front of him.
Opie’s first instinct was to run and hide, but it didn’t take Andy long to realize what had happened. In trying to teach Opie a valuable lesson, Andy opened Opie’s bedroom window so that Opie could hear the baby birds chirping for their mother, who would never return. Opie not only learned the lesson Andy was trying to teach, but he took it upon himself to personally care for the baby birds.
He gave them a safe place to live, and much to Aunt Bea’s chagrin fed them “nice, juicy worms” that he dug out of the back yard. Opie took wonderful care of these birds, until one day he noticed they were flapping their wings and trying to get out of the cage. Andy, in his wise and diplomatic way, helped Opie realize it was time to set the birds free.
Opie had nurtured these birds when they were unable to care for themselves. Now that they were older and more mature, Opie had to make the difficult decision to do what every mother bird faces – to push the birds out of the safety and security of what they knew, and to face the new, exciting, and sometimes scary world of the unknown.
The life cycle of an employee is not as clear-cut as it was for Opie’s birds, but employers do get the opportunity to nourish an employee’s growth and maturity. You won’t see an employee literally flapping its wings to get out of the cage; however, if you look closely and pay attention you might just see the signs of someone in need of new challenges and opportunities, or who is becoming discontent in his/her job:
- Decreased productivity
- Decreased enthusiasm
- Uncharacteristic attendance or punctuality issues
- Showing frustration over work
- Uncharacteristic irritability
- Showing decreased enjoyment in work
- Request for additional responsibilities
- Request for transfer to another position (even if it’s a lateral move)
These behaviors are symptoms of discontent, and could be warning signs for more serious issues like burnout or depression. By paying closer attention, you can avoid losing great employees by intervening early and finding ways to keep your employees engaged and passionate about their work.
Consider developing career paths within your organization if you haven’t already done so. Knowing there are future opportunities for growth and development will go a long way in maintaining a content workforce. Look for the flapping birds in your organization, and act quickly to keep them engaged in their work and in your company. Be aware when someone matures to the point of needing new challenges. But also be aware when someone is on the verge of burnout and needing some fast relief!
Opie learned the valuable lesson that you shouldn’t keep something caged that is destined to fly. Like Opie, you may find yourself needing to help your employees out of the cage. That’s what mother birds do for their young, and what good employers do for their employees.
The ending scene of “Opie the Birdman” demonstrates why this is the right thing to do. After Opie released the birds and each of them had flown out of the cage, Opie looked sadly at the cage and told Andy it sure looked empty. “Yes it does,” Andy replied, “but don’t the trees sound nice and full.” Imagine how nice and full your organization will be if everyone is happily flying, doing the work they are destined to do.
I hope you plan to meet me in Mayberry again next Monday. Stay tuned…
Holly McLeod is a Human Resources Manager for Landrum Professional Employer Services and Landrum Consulting. She is a certified professional in human resources (PHR) and has more than 15 years of human resources consulting in the corporate world, healthcare and manufacturing environments
Filed under: Consulting | Tags: "human resources consulting", Grant, Working a Better Way
Congratulations to the Winners of Landrum’s 2011 Working A Better Way Grants
Landrum Consulting Services, a division of Landrum Human Resource Companies, announced the winners of the Inaugural 2011 Working a Better Way grants.
The following three grants were awarded:
Horizon’s of Okaloosa County – Strategic Planning. Landrum will help Horizon’s of Okaloosa County outline a Strategic Plan to help them establish and achieve their desired goals and vision. Landrum will help them identify and focus on their goals; establish measurable outcomes for those goals, and establish an accountability system.
Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County – Leadership Training. This Landrum certification series is designed to enhance leadership skills for all levels of experience including those new to the supervisor role, experienced supervisors/managers who have not had formal training in management education, and seasoned managers who want to further develop their leadership skills. The certification program requires participation in (6) core courses: Boot Camp for Supervisors; Hiring 101; Dealing with Difficult Employees; Sexual Harassment; Developing and Sustaining a Customer Service Culture; and Supervisor Safety Skills
Pensacola Museum of Art - Landrum HR On-call. Landrum On-Call is human resources management consultation and assistance at your fingertips. Landrum will provide 40 hours of Human Resources support by assigning a certified Human Resources Manager to assist the Pensacola Museum of Art with employment related issues.
“Our Working a Better Way grant program is a unique way for us to give back to our community”, commented Ted Kirchharr, Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer. “Community Service is one of Landrum’s Foundations and the grant program allows us to reach out to more people and organizations in our community.”
Featured left to right: H. Britt Landrum, Jr., President, Landrum Human Resource Companies, Inc.; Dr. Julia J. McNabb, Executive Director, Horizons of Okaloosa County; Vicki Pugh, Professional Development Coordinator, Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County; Ted A. Kirchharr, Vice-President & Chief Operating Officer, Landrum Consulting; Julie Young, Associate Director of Development, Pensacola Museum of Art
Landrum plans to continue to offer services through the Working a Better Way grants on an annual basis. To read more about Landrum’s grant program visit http://www.landrumconsulting.com/grant/.
Landrum Consulting can create a customized Human Resources program to fit your company’s needs. By providing you with all the benefits of “in-house” expertise, Landrum Consulting will manage your human resources so you can build your company by focusing on managing your business. Landrum Human Resource Companies, Inc. is the parent company of Landrum Consulting, Landrum Professional and Landrum Staffing Services.
Filed under: Human Resources | Tags: "employee focus group", "human resources consulting", employees, Personal Development, Professional Development
January 18, 2011
Opportunities for professional & Personal Development
S.T.E.P. It Up
by: Ted A. Kirchharr and Melanie Rhodes
Here at Landrum Companies every S.T.E.P. counts. S.T.E.P. is our internal Staff Training and Education Process. The purpose of S.T.E.P. is to develop a training program that ensures every employee has an opportunity to maximize his or her potential.
We developed this program some years ago in response to issues raised in our annual employee satisfaction survey. If you are not currently surveying your employees, you should. We discussed the role of employee focus groups last week in our blog.
Our employees told us they wanted more opportunities for both professional and personal development.
The original program had five components:
• business-related
• computer skill development
• job skill development
• personal development
• customer service
An employee led committee developed these five tracks then sought class topics from employees and their managers. We were able to identify speakers internally as well as from our business partners and the community. Many of these speakers were delighted to teach these classes for free, others received a modest honorarium.
The classes were offered multiple times so employees could attend without disrupting the workday. We have covered subjects from Excel Charting to Workers’ Comp 101 to Travel Tips (including how to pack). We are continually seeking new topics and speakers to respond to the needs of our employees. We strongly encourage you not to overlook personal development topics as you build your program. It strengthens the ties among your employees when they are learning together how to deal with sensitive issues like aging parents or internet security for their children.
Ready to S.T.E.P. it up at your business? Start by identifying your employee needs and interests. Next, find the strengths that individual employees have that could be taught to the group. Determine what focus areas of training will fit with your company’s needs and values. Develop a way for employees to track their training progress so it can be monitored throughout the year. Finally, and maybe the most important, get employee feedback on the effectiveness of the training and ideas for future training needs.
Book Club
Professional development doesn’t have to be expensive. An effective program for us has been our voluntary Book Club, which is open to all employees interested in reading a book together and meeting over lunch to discuss. Our books have included such titles as Good to Great, by Jim Collins; and self improvement books like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey; and Gary Chapman’s, The Five Love Languages.
We meet on our lunch break every other Tuesday. Someone from the group volunteers to outline the readings and another person volunteers to organize lunch. participants either bring their own lunch or choose to purchase lunch delivered by one of the local restaurants.
The outline is a 2-3 page summary of the assigned reading for that week, and is the basis for our discussions. The outline is helpful in case you didn’t have time to finish the reading (typically 50 to 75 pages). The discussions can be quite lively and provide another vehicle for employees to learn from each other. We also learn about each other as well. We have a saying, “What is said in Book Club stays in Book Club.”
As you can see professional development doesn’t have to be expensive. With a little effort you can provide opportunities for staff development while at the same time provide them with opportunities to get to know each other in new and meaningful ways.
Ted A. Kirchharr, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Landrum Professional Employer Services and Landrum Consulting Services.
Ted is responsible for Landrum’s strategic planning, benefits administration, risk management, human resources and marketing.
He has helped hundreds of organizations pursue strategic planning, institute quality control management, hone organizational development, instill leadership training and improve employee retention. He is Past-President of the Florida Sterling Council and has a Master’s in Administration from Central Michigan University.
Melanie Rhodes, Financial Analysis and Reporting Manager, Landrum Human Resource Companies, Inc. Melanie develops, interprets, and analyzes reports from accounting and financial systems. She also develops systems and reports to enhances managements decision-making capacity including long-range planning and budgeting. Melanie was instrumental in the development of Landrum’s Staff Training and Education Process.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: "employee focus group", "human resources consulting", Communication, employees, focus group, Human Resources
January 11, 2011
Focus Groups – Understanding Employee Needs or Concerns
by Ted A. Kirchharr
A highly effective tool in understanding the needs and concerns of your employees is the use of employee focus groups. When facilitated properly, focus groups will give you significant insights into what your employees are thinking. We’ll review a few of the essential elements.
As Stephen Covey would say, “Begin with the end in mind.” What is it you hope to achieve with your focus group? For example, are you responding to issues that your employee survey revealed or are you trying to uncover other issues that you may suspect may be a concern?
Once you know the purpose of your focus group it is important that the facilitator (or moderator) of your focus group is skilled in promoting good group discussion. A trained facilitator will know how to encourage everyone to participate, and can draw out the shy personalities or quieten the loud voices. Many organizations employ outside facilitators to encourage open and honest discussion on the part of employees. If you choose not to employ an outside facilitator, you should strive to find a facilitator that will be trusted by the whole group.
Next, it is important to select your focus group participants. Typically a dozen or so individuals should attend focus group meetings and these groups should reflect the job duties and departments within the organization. It is important to note that supervisors should not participate in a focus group with direct reports.
There are a number of ways to spur discussion during the meeting. A method we regularly use involves taking the participants on a virtual tour of the organization. This method generally produces a number of issues from throughout the organization. A typical session will generate between 75 and 150 issues. We’ve seen the count go over 200!
Now that you have the issues, what do you do? We have found it helpful to have the participants rate the issues. With this bit of data we are able to focus (pun intended) our efforts on the issues that are most important to our employees.
Our next step is to share the results of the focus groups with our employees. While on occasion this might be painful for some in management, we want to make sure our employees know we heard them, and more importantly, that we intend to take action on their concerns.
Finally, we typically form cross-functional teams to develop recommendations to address the issues. You probably cannot or, in some cases, should not take action on an issue; however, you should communicate to the employees why you can’t (or won’t) take action on an important issue they raised.
Employees are your most valuable asset. Listening to them and taking their concerns seriously will pay big dividends for your employees and for your organization.
Ted A. Kirchharr, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Landrum Professional Employer Services and Landrum Consulting Services.
Ted is responsible for Landrum’s strategic planning, benefits administration, risk management, human resources and marketing.
He has helped hundreds of organizations pursue strategic planning, institute quality control management, hone organizational development, instill leadership training and improve employee retention. He is Past-President of the Florida Sterling Council and has a Master’s in Administration from Central Michigan University.
Filed under: Consulting, Human Resources, Training | Tags: "human resources consulting", Employee Development, Training
January 4, 2011
Cross Training: A Win–Win–Win Situation
by Melissa K. Miller, PHR
Investing in employee development through cross training is a wise choice. When training budgets are tight, finding creative ways to engage employees in learning opportunities can be challenging. There is a strong business case for cross training employees. Not only does cross training enrich employees, it can also increase organizational capacity. Capacity, that is, to provide essential services to clients in the absence of key personnel.
Done right, managing capacity can be as much about employee development as it is about business continuity. Landrum has developed a comprehensive Capacity Management System (CMS) that meets both objectives (and then some). The CMS provides a uniform format for managers to document all functions within their department and keep adequate numbers of staff members trained to perform each function.
Staff members are engaged in the process from the very beginning. Employees collaborate to compile a comprehensive list of duties for their department. On an individual basis each employee then rates their proficiency at each task. This information is the basis of a conversation between employees and their supervisor. Together a cross training plan is developed that will meet departmental needs and provide growth opportunities for the employee based on their goals. Employees who have mastered certain tasks assume leadership roles in training other employees.
Cross training is a win–win–win situation. Trained employees win because they feel valued, the trainers win because they have had an opportunity to share their expertise, and the organization wins because employee satisfaction has increased and continuity of service has been enhanced.
Melissa K. Miller, PHR
Filed under: Mayberry, Notes from Holly | Tags: Communication, employees, Human Resources, Mayberry
January 3, 2011
Mayberry Monday – “Citizen’s Arrest”
By Holly McLeod, PHR
Have you ever had your words mimicked back at you from your children or other not-so-well-meaning people in your life? I don’t usually like having it happen to me – especially from my children – but I must admit that it’s caused me to think a time or two about how I come across to others. Deputy Barney found out first hand what it’s like to have his words thrown back at him when he gave Gomer Pyle a ticket for making a u-turn.
Barney was feeling pretty good about himself that particular day. He and Sheriff Andy Taylor were going through some old paperwork, when Andy found the custody receipt for Barney’s first revolver that had been issued to him ten years ago. The two were reminiscing about the good times they’d had, and Andy told Barney that he’d been a fine deputy and a true public servant. Yes, Barney must have been feeling at least 5’8” tall when he walked out of the courthouse to take patrol.
Barney was sitting in the patrol car when he saw Gomer Pyle leave the post office and make a u-turn in front of him. Barney turned on his light and siren and pulled Gomer over before he had much of an opportunity to accelerate his truck. Barney told Gomer he had made an illegal u-turn, and Gomer couldn’t believe it when Barney started writing out a ticket. Gomer tried to appeal to Barney by saying they were pals, but Barney was not to be deterred. He gave the $5.00 ticket to Gomer, and Gomer then got angry.
“Try to look at it from my point,” Barney said. “You see, you broke the law… the law must be upheld. Now if I as just plain John Doe, an ordinary citizen, were to see you making a u-turn, I’d have to make a citizen’s arrest.” With that said, Barney got in his squad car and promptly made a u-turn on his way back to the courthouse. Barney hadn’t even had a chance to stop the car before Gomer was running across the street yelling “Citizen’s arrest! Citizen’s arrest!”
A crowd had gathered, and Andy came out to see what was going on. When he realized that Barney had just committed the same act that resulted in Gomer receiving a ticket, Andy instructed Barney to write himself out a ticket. Barney was incensed; however, he did what he was told and wrote himself the ticket – even if it was in a melodramatic manner.
When Andy and Barney got inside the courthouse, Andy offered to pay the $5.00 himself. Barney chose instead to serve the five-day sentence, and he promptly locked himself in one of the jail cells. Andy tried to get Barney to see reason, but when he realized it wasn’t going to happen he left the jail. When Andy returned that evening he thought that perhaps Barney might have changed his mind, but he was still being stubborn.
The next morning when Andy returned, Barney unlocked the cell only to smugly hand Andy his resignation letter. Andy replied in a way that was totally unexpected to Barney; “I accept it.” Andy then left the courthouse and Barney slowly walked back to the cell and closed the door.
Andy’s son Opie went to Wally’s Filling Station where Gomer worked in order to put air in his bike tires. He told Gomer that Barney had quit over the whole citizen’s arrest issue. Next, the phone rang in the courthouse and another prisoner (Otis Campbell, a “regular”) answered the phone. Otis heard the message from the caller and ran out yelling for Andy, saying there had been a hold-up at Wally’s Filling Station.
The squad car came with sirens blaring. Gomer came out of the shop and Andy started questioning him on what had happened in the hold-up. “Didn’t Barney come with you?” Gomer asked. Andy told him no, then proceeded with his questions. “Funny Barney didn’t come with you,” Gomer continued, “this was a job that called for teamwork.” Gomer then explained that he had faked the incident in order to get Barney and Andy together again.
As Gomer was explaining this, Barney came running up with gun in hand. Andy told Barney that Gomer had faked the whole thing. Barney asked Gomer, “Do you realize you committed a 785?” He then proceeded to write out multiple tickets for Gomer, covering the unlawful acts of a 785, a 215, and 923.
Barney handed the tickets to Gomer and got in the squad car, calling for Andy to come. After Andy got in the car Barney promptly made a u-turn as he was leaving. “Citizen’s arrest! Citizen’s arrest!” Gomer yelled after them. Barney just kept on going…
As we begin 2011, take some time to evaluate how you are perceived by your employees. Do you behave the way you expect your employees to behave? Do you exemplify the values you want to see in your staff? Or, do you do as my brother did when he taught me how to drive? I can still hear those immortal words now… “Do as I say, not as I do.”
It’s easy to think, “This is my company. I’ll do what I want to!” However, it might serve you well to be mindful of how your employees perceive you as a boss and employer. If they see you doing and acting like you expect them to, they will be much more inclined to respect your authority. If they see you modeling your company’s values, they will be much more inclined to do the same thing. And, you will be much less likely to hear someone yell “Citizen’s arrest! Citizen’s arrest!”
I hope the new year will be a good one for you, your company and your employees. To channel my inner-Gomer may I say, “Lots of luck to you and yours!” See you in Mayberry next week. Stay tuned…
