Where Are You Going?

Strategies for Organization Success.

It’s no secret that there are many factors directly linked to the performance of your organization. Possibly the most important of these factors, and most devastating when things go wrong, is your organization’s culture. At Alber Enterprise Center, we recognize culture as the collection of behaviors, beliefs, values, interactions, and attitudes that impact how things get done in your organization. These are reflected in your organizational processes, systems, communications, products/services, and most importantly your public image.

So what happens when your organizational culture doesn’t align with your organizational goals?

Well…you’ll find yourself fighting an uphill battle if you ever desire or NEED to create change to stay competitive. A culture that is aligned with strategic goals drives better performance, greater financial returns, clearer vision, and employees who are more motived, happy, and engaged.

Doesn’t that sound great? You’re probably wondering…how do we know if our culture is aligned with our goals? Or, if you have the inclination to believe that your culture is not aligned, you may be wondering…where do we begin to gain alignment?

You may have heard the saying “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Well, that can indeed be the case when your strategy doesn’t take into account your culture’s influence. What about positioning your culture to enable strategy? What about taking a positive perspective and focusing on your strengths to better enable your strategy? Research supports that leaders who invest the same energy in their cultures as they do other key performance measures experience greater organizational success.

Noted authors on organizational change and culture, such as Kotter and Cameron & Quinn, claim that today’s organizations must be able to successfully undergo change if they are to succeed in an increasingly complex and constantly shifting society. Change is imperative, yet organizations rarely meet their intended objectives. Leaders may set out to change the “shiny object” such as technical alterations in processes to try to improve performance; however, in reality it is typically a culture change that is needed for their organization to meet their objectives.

Can you imagine a culture that utilizes what your organization is doing well to help you do even better? Taking a strengths approach will allow you to create positive momentum and experience positive returns sooner than later. Here are four steps we at Alber believe are the ways to getting a strengths-based culture.

  • Gather information through structured assessments to fully understand your current situation
  • Assess the gaps between where the data reveals you are vs. your ideal situation for optimal performance and success in your organization
  • Determine how to move from where you are to where you want to be
  • Implement an intentional plan that engages your new strengths-based culture and mindset.

These strategies will move the needle to greater organizational success.

Building Customer Loyalty: 3 Ways to Move From Good to Excellent Customer Service

Have you ever thought about the difference between good customer service and excellent customer service?  Most of us would agree that there is a difference, but does it really matter? According to a recent survey cited on customerthink.com, 86% of buyers said they will pay more for a better customer service experience. And 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated.

Providing good service will allow an organization to survive. But a commitment to excellent customer service goes beyond surviving – to building customer loyalty to create a healthy, thriving future.

True excellence is marked by an excellent customer experience (CX). The focus on providing excellent customer service encapsulates a simple, three-prong model.

Be Prepared. Being ready to serve the customer is the very foundation for excellence. If buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated, then it behooves organizations to spend some time getting to know their customers…what they value and what influences them, and ultimately, being proactive in anticipating their needs and problems.

In his book, Five Most Important Questions, Peter Drucker reminds us that our customers are never static. They are constantly changing, as well as their needs, wants, and expectations. Do the research and use customer analytics that make sense, not just satisfaction scores which only show customer satisfaction from the past.

Be Passionate. Being passionate encompasses taking the expertise (knowledge, skills, and abilities) of individuals in the organization and using it to create a shared-learning organization.  It is an organization in which customer service representatives (CSR’s) become experts, knowing their products and services, and how to do the ordinary, extraordinarily well.

In one study focusing on customer service loyalty, Harvard Business Review (HBR) found that 24% of repeat customer complaints stemmed from an emotional disconnect between the customer and the CSR. Specifically, this means the customer did not trust the answer given to them and/or they thought that the CSR was hiding something.

In order to meet customers’ constantly changing expectations and to provide an excellent CX, our representatives must be armed with interpersonal skills, training and a comprehensive knowledge which will allow them to respond more accurately and articulately, and to quickly find better solutions. Competence increases the customer’s confidence in the CSR and in the organization.

Be the Hero. Being the hero stems from the philosophy that every customer desires and deserves to be treated with respect and care.  Unfortunately, many organization miss the mark with this one! As representatives of an organization, we have the opportunity to make life better, easier, more convenient, and/or to create value in our customers’ lives through the products, services, and exchanges we offer.

According to the HBR article, the number one most important factor in customer loyalty is reducing customer effort. Long wait times, cumbersome paperwork, having to make repeated calls to solve a problem, or having to use multiple channels to get information are all frustrating to a customer. Organizations need to remove obstacles and get rid of things that make it hard for customers.

Being the hero not only involves removing obstacles but also taking every opportunity to add good stuff to the CX. Customers want quick, convenient transactions and products that are true to what is claimed. They want trustworthy representatives who can engage competently and respectfully whenever needed. The success of the CX is tied to the emotions of the experience. Help customers to feel important and valued, and let them know you care and appreciate their business. In doing so, they will walk away wanting to come back for more.

References

Dixon, Matthew, Karen Freeman, and Nicolas Toman.  Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers, Harvard Business Review

Drucker, Peter. Five Most Important Questions: Enduring Wisdom for Today’s Leaders, Wiley.

Jaiswal, Vivek. 8 Customer Experience Myths Busted, customerthink.com.

 

 

15 minutes could save your … strategic plan

W.I.G.We’ve all experienced it, or heard about it.  A team spends weeks or months developing a strategic plan, and nothing happens with it after the glossy document gets printed.  Why does this great new plan just sit on the shelf gathering dust?  Business scholars over the past two decades have been researching why plans fail to be implemented  1. The overarching theme of their conclusions: people resist change.  How do we address this challenge? Through a structured plan for execution.  Your team needs to commit to the plan, yet they are busy with their daily duties (the “whirlwind”) and they don’t take time to focus on the strategic plan.  An effective execution plan starts with committing to a series of 15-minute segments on planning and implementing the strategic plan.

Franklin Covey’s 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX)2 is one formula to follow. The four disciplines are:

Program Manager of The Ohio State University's Alber Enterprise Center

Program Director of The Ohio State University’s Alber Enterprise Center

1.   Select one or two “wildly important goals” (WIG) that drive your strategic plan and can be measured and tracked.
2.  Identify the activities that lead to achieving the WIG(s), ones that your team can influence.
3.  Create a compelling scoreboard: simple, visible to the team, shows the lead and lag measures, and tells immediately if you are winning.
4.  Establish a weekly cadence of accountability in which each team member commits to working on one or two of the lead activities as well as reports on the efforts toward the WIG.

This 4DX plan is easy to implement by committing to 15-minute segments for each discipline:

  1. 15 minutes to identify and establish your WIG from your strategic plan. If you need two WIGs, spend another 15 minutes on the second one.
  2. 15 minutes per WIG to list all of the leading activities required to meet your WIG.
  3. 15 minutes to determine how you will show (scoreboard) the team’s progress toward leading activities and WIG and where it will be displayed.
  4. 15 minutes per week – the same day/time each week – for the accountability meeting.

We facilitated a strategic plan for one of our clients a year ago. After following up with them to see their progress, they reported that the leadership team implemented a few goals but felt they needed our help to really drive the plan throughout their organization with all employees. They embraced 4DX and are starting to see results.

This works! Try it, and let me know how it works for you.

If you need help in setting up your 4DX plan, the Alber Enterprise Center can show you how. Call 740-725-6325.

Citations:

1:  Govindarajan, V., & Trimble, C. (2010). The other side of innovation: solving the execution challenge. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.
Gudmundsson, H., Ericsson, E., Tight, M., Lawler, M., Envall, P., Figueroa, M., et al. (2012). The role of decision support in the implementation of “sustainable transport” plans. European Planning Studies, 20(2), 171-191.
Hahn, W., & Powers, T. (2010). Strategic plan quality, implementation capability, and firm performance. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 9(1), 63-81.
Kotter, J. (1996). Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Larian, L., Day, M., Backhurst, M., Berke, P., Ericksen, N., Crawford, J., et al. (2004). What drives plan implementation? Plans, planning agencies and developers. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 47(4), 555-577.
2:  McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2012). The 4 disciplines of execution: achieving your wildly important goals. New York: Free Press.

Coaching made me a better boss

consulting-board roomWhen I was hired as program director for Alber Enterprise Center in December 2011, I thought I knew how to be a manager and leader.  After all, for two decades I studied the best authors – Drucker, Collins, Covey, Buckingham, Friedman, and dozens more.  I witnessed a myriad of management styles in private business and public education, and listened to their employees’ reactions, praise and complaints, then eventually began teaching leadership development courses.  I knew the importance of listening, giving feedback, team building, problem solving, performance management, and conflict resolution skills; especially their role in engaging employees and moving the organization forward.  Yes, I felt confident in my abilities to lead my own team.

Myra Wilson, MS, SPHR, Program Director, Alber Enterprise Center

Well, I learned there is a difference between knowing and doing!  My personal style of working entails rolling up my sleeves and digging in, taking full ownership of all the details while visioning the future.  My new team was great, helping me understand our center’s history with clients and excited about the opportunities to develop updated programs.  After three years, we were holding our own but I knew we had so much more potential to make an impact.  Sensing we had stalled, I found myself wondering about my abilities as a leader.  Then a phone call from a certified coach transformed our team into a high speed powerhouse that doubled the number of delivered programs in six short months.

He called me in hopes of becoming one of our center’s educational partners; a partner in delivery of leadership training and coaching.  I decided that the best way to assess his qualifications was to try him out on our team.  He facilitated our strategic plan and provided follow-up coaching to help us implement our goals.

What did the coach do for each of us? 

  • Confidentially identified behaviors each team member wished to strengthen
  • Assessed our current level of skill in each of those behavioral areas
  • Assembled a plan of action for improvement
  • Monitored our progress through feedback and other objective means

I learned two key lessons during my coaching sessions that have helped take our center to a new level of performance:

  • Let go of the details and delegate them to others – stay focused on the big picture instead of getting “tangled in the weeds”
  • Empower others to take ownership of their jobs by using the coaching techniques I learned – listening more and speaking less, asking questions rather than directing, rewarding positive behavior, and sharing successes as a team

This external (and objective) assessment not only made me a better leader and manager but has also elevated the performance of our organization and its members in the process.

To fulfill your coaching needs, contact us for more information.

Alber Enterprise Center recognizes outstanding businesses

from far left: Rev. Kenneth Daniel (United Church Homes), from center: Scot McLemore (Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc.), Dave Rasor (Triumph Thermal Systems, Inc.), Mike Patrick (National Lime & Stone Company), in the back (left): Mike Giangiordano (Triumph Thermal Systems) and (right) Dan Sensel (Triumph Thermal Systems)

Ohio businesses who were recognized for outstanding achievement and excellence are (front row from left): Rev. Kenneth Daniel (President & CEO, United Church Homes), Scot McLemore (Technical Development Manager, Honda of America Manufacturing), Dave Rasor (Operations and Lean Champion, Triumph Thermal Systems), Mike Patrick (Manager of Maintenance, National Lime & Stone Company), Mike Giangiordano (President, Triumph Thermal Systems) and Dan Sensel (Director of Engineering, Triumph Thermal Systems)

Six Ohio organizations were recently recognized for outstanding milestones in business by The Ohio State University’s Alber Enterprise Center.

Those receiving awards included: Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services, United Church Homes, GrafTech International, LTD, Triumph Thermal Systems, Inc., National Lime & Stone Company, and Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc.

“We are honored to recognize the outstanding achievements each of these organizations has made in visioning the future of their particular industries,” explains Myra Wilson, Program Director, Alber Enterprise Center. “They are on the leading edge of leadership development, continuous improvement and innovative culture — three initiatives that form the focus of our mission.”

Each organization has collaborated with the Alber Enterprise Center to address organizational challenges and/or receive executive training tailored to their company needs.

Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services, Columbus, received the Outstanding Achievement and Excellence Award for Collaboration in Framing the Future of Long-Term Care Services. Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services and their various staff members have actively attended meetings and their vast amount of expertise have molded and encouraged the work of the Long Term Support Services & Health Care Consortium (LTSS & HCC). Their input is advantageous in aiding the group to shape the vision and future of long-term care services.

President and CEO for United Church Homes, Marion, Rev. Kenneth Daniel accepted the Outstanding Achievement and Excellence Award for Collaboration in Framing the Future of Long-Term Care Services. Rev. Daniel’s guidance and direction led the Center to embark on the beginning stages of the long term support services path. His insights and industry knowledge was instrumental in developing a survey and gathering information that helped shape and guide the work of the Long Term Support Services & Health Care Consortium (LTSS & HCC). These continued efforts are helping AEC and the consortium take an in depth look at healthcare issues and develop solutions that will be impactful for years to come.

GrafTech International, LTD, Lakewood, received the Outstanding Achievement and Excellence Award for Continual Commitment to Human Capital Investment. Over a 3-year period, GrafTech have trained personnel through Structured On-the-Job Training (SOJT) and developed employee portfolios that capture work experience, education, certifications and training. As of June 30, 2014, AEC has issued 223 certificates to GrafTech employees for either Task and or Job Mastery. They also are projecting 120 more Job/Task Mastery certificates that will be issued by June 30, 2015.

from left: Frank Gibson, Myra Wilson, Mike Giangiordano, from right: Dave Rasor, Dan Sensel, and John Hohn (Hardin County Chamber Business Alliance)

(from left) Frank Gibson, Program Manager, and Myra Wilson, Program Director of Alber Enterprise Center presented one of the outstanding client awards to Hardin County’s Triumph Thermal Systems.  Accepting the certificate were Mike Giangiordano, President; Dave Rasor, Operations and Lean Champion; and Dan Sensel, Director of Engineering.  John Hohn, Director of Economic Development for Hardin County Chamber Business Alliance, congratulated the Triumph team.

President of Triumph Thermal Systems, Inc., Forest, Mike Giangiordano accepted the Outstanding Achievement and Excellence Award for Investment in Lean Six Sigma with Positive Impact on Business. Triumph Thermal Systems took an innovative approach to improving quality, efficiency and effectiveness by implementing Lean Six Sigma (LLS) follow up training to continue the initial training previously provided to their yellow belts, green belts and black belts. This past year they invested in training twelve employees in various levels of Lean Six Sigma process improvement. This training continued to enable teams to identify and implement the process, especially to increase higher product quality in two key production areas.

Manager of Maintenance for National Lime & Stone Company, Findlay, Mike Patrick accepted Outstanding Achievement and Excellence Award for Investment in Learning Resulting in Positive Impact on Business. For over ten years, National trained personnel through classroom, hands-on or eLearning. They covered a plethora of topics including customer service, hydraulics, welding, Microsoft office software, issue analysis, customer service and electrical safety. With approximately 40 locations throughout Ohio, National has experienced significant business growth over the years.

Technical Development Manager for Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc. Marysville, Scot McLemore accepted the Outstanding Achievement and Excellence Award for Positive Impact on Business from The BRIDGE: Issue Management Process. Honda’s successful utilization of AEC’s The BRIDGE: Issue Management Process laid the foundation in crafting a plan for feeding qualified workers into the employment pipeline for HAM (Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc.) and HNA (Honda North America) and helped stimulate positive change for maintainable economic growth.

Client Advisory CouncilThe concluding event for AEC’s Client Advisory Council half-day meeting was the Awards Luncheon. The meeting objective for clients was to provide feedback on AEC’s past services, input on how the Center can support the business priorities of other companies, offer suggestions about new services AEC could provide and ideas for strategic direction.

 The Alber Enterprise Center applies the resources of The Ohio State University, OSU Extension, along with a team of organization development consultants to enable Ohio businesses to positively impact economic growth.   For more information, call 740-725-6325 or visit alber.osu.edu.

Three techniques in boosting your organization’s capacity

Continuous Process Improvement Graphic

Environmental and Quality Management Systems Consulting-Continuous Improvement Process (ISO-14001-2004 EMS & ISO 9001-2008 QMS)

When starting a continuous improvement (CI) project, the simplest and the most important thing to do is to communicate to your organization and clients that you want to continually improve the services provided.  State this intention through strategy reviews and team briefings.  This is the most effective way to get the CI culture moving.

Environmental & Quality Management Systems Consultant for Certified Environmental, Inc and JAS & Associates of Ohio, LLC

Larry W. Sheppard, Environmental & Quality Management Systems Consultant for The Ohio State University’s Alber Enterprise Center, Certified Environmental, Inc. and JAS & Associates of Ohio, LLC

To help us improve faster than the competition we should aim to empower the team to make improvement directly.  This has the advantage of boosting your improvement capacity; it also allows for far more hidden improvement opportunities to be realized.  Some organizations may tend to channel improvement activity through dedicated improvement teams or individuals.  This approach can be limited due to the lack of improvement capacity.  All team members can be encouraged to engage in improvement activity, maximizing the volume of change and improvement that can be achieved.  To achieve total team empowerment, a robust but simple change process should be introduced that allows all team members to make changes.

The focus should be on allowing all team members to make controlled changes by following a well-designed change process.  Improvement culture can be measured by the number of improvements identified and actioned by the organization.  It’s good practice to routinely report on CI progress back to the team and clients; this can underpin the organization’s commitment to continual improvement activity.

There are obvious commercial advantages that can be gained from a healthy and robust CI culture. However, it should also be pointed out that an empowered team will tend to be more productive due to the direct input from the owners into the business’s success.  Team moral can be greatly improved by encouraging their involvement.  Managed correctly, this team member responsibility can further improve an organization’s responsiveness and change of pace.  CI organizations are nice places to be, where team members are more likely to use their full potential.

There are many tools and techniques that can be used to help boost your team’s improvement capacity. Usually these require some training to be effective.  But it should be pointed out that specialized tools are not necessarily required to enable a successful CI culture.

3 Steps in Revamping Your Business Culture:

  • Kaizen:  Kaizen, or Continuous Improvement Teams can be encouraged to evolve to tackle specific improvement opportunities.  Groups can be trained to be more effective, but teams can also evolve organically without specific training.
  • Lean:  This training will help your team to become faster and reduce costs.  Lean training allows staff to identify and reduce wasted effort.  Usually deployed within an organization or group, this is the perfect training to support an established CI culture.
  • Six Sigma:  Six Sigma is best used to improve the standard of products and services by reducing output variation.  Six Sigma should only be used following good Lean and 5S development.

CI can be developed into any organization relatively easily and with little cost.  

Good management and leadership is the key to success.  By following the three simple steps above an improvement culture can flourish in your business.

Most CI projects require little or no cost.  An accumulation of several small improvements are sometime better than one large improvement.

Larry W. Sheppard is an Environmental & Quality Management Systems Consultant for The Ohio State University’s Alber Enterprise Center, JAS & Associates of Ohio, LLC, and Certified Environmental, Inc. His expertise is in implementing Environmental and Quality Management Systems for companies, preparing companies for their ISO Standards third party certification, providing Internal Auditor training and much more.

Visit our Contact Us Page or call 740-725-6325 to find out how our team can assist you or your organization in reaching your optimal success.

Climbing the Success Ladder with You and Your Organization

Success LadderThere comes a time in life where taking the stairs is the only option to reach your destined path.  The quickest way or “elevator” in this case is inoperable.  If you were asked:  Do you want success? Instantly, your reply will be…I want success!  However, how willing are you to climb up the success ladder without assistance?  Success may be unattainable without enlisting the help of a team, planning, executing goals, and developing resources to obtain it.

HERE’S WHERE WE CAN HELP.

Unlike some consultants who may not necessarily take the time to customize a thorough plan for you or your organization, we take your hand as you climb your success ladder.

At Alber Enterprise Center, we assess your organization’s strengths and shortcomings then work with you to customize just the right solution to fit your business and budget.  We cater to all organizations and industries (i.e. for profit, non-profit, education, government, health, manufacturing, workforce development, and much more).

Examples of our consulting services:

  • Organization development
  • Strategic Planning
  • Performance improvement
  • Process improvement
  • Quality management
  • Environmental compliance
  • Industrial safety and hygiene

We alleviate individual and organizational barriers that are keeping you from obtaining your return on investment and climbing your success ladder.  Founded in 1996, our Center is located on the beautiful campus of The Ohio State University at Marion.  Our savvy consultants are dedicated in working with you to create customized plans for you and assist you every step of the way.

Now, then, YOU WANT SUCCESS….WE HAVE SOLUTIONS!

For more information about our consulting services, visit alber.osu.edu.