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management

Silent Endorsement

by Jen Kuhn on May 3, 2012

What we ignore, we endorse.

Think about how many times you’ve seen behaviors that you find distressing (at home, at work or in public).  The child getting slapped by the angry parent, the bullying employee/supervisor that others fear, or the elderly person who needs help while everyone just looks in the other direction.

Yes. We all have these experiences. Our choice is simple.  Do I take a stand or do I endorse the behavior/situation by ignoring it?

In the workplace, if you are a supervisor you do not have a choice.  You’ve been paid and trusted not to endorse behaviors that are counter-productive to your culture, your norms, your expectations.

The problem is that we are used to looking the other way. It’s a quick fix easy solution that allows us to maintain our comfort. Yet for a company to do well (by it’s employees, consumers and the public), supervisors must never look away.  A leader must keep all behaviors in the spotlight, for it is in the spotlight that we shine. When it comes to negative behaviors, once the spotlight is removed, some people mistake that for endorsement.

3 things a leader can do to ensure they are not endorsing behaviors that are counter-productive to the culture:

  1. Positive reinforcement: recognize behaviors that your employee demonstrates that you do want to consistently see and experience.
  2. Discover their value: recognize the value each employee brings to your team. Then see #1. Lather, rinse, repeat.
  3. Address behaviors that do not meet expectations. It’s not about you. It’s not about your comfort. It’s about your obligation to your employees, your company and your consumers.

As a leader, what are some of the most difficult behaviors for you to address within your organization?  We promise, we won’t ignore you!

 

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Snowflakes and Employees

by Kelly Ketelboeter on December 17, 2010

As I watched the snow falling yesterday I couldn’t help but notice the beauty of each individual snowflake. So intricate.  So delicate.  So inspiring. And each flake so different. As my mind wandered to leadership I discovered a connection to employees. Each employee possesses their own beauty. Their own intricacies. They are delicate in their own right. Working to inspire and make a difference for the people around them. And how each employee is in fact so different.

Often times leaders try a blanket, one size fits all approach when working with employees. Failing to see how different each employee is. Failing to recognize that each employee is motivated in different ways. Failing to understand how to communicate with each employee. Failing to recognizing the beauty of their diversity.

Employees need to be led, coached and approached differently. As leaders we need to meet them where they are at, not where we are at. We need to provide information, feedback and motivation to meet the individual needs of each employee. Employees bring unique experiences and perspectives to the work place. They bring different levels of knowledge. They learn differently, they listen differently and they care about different things. As a leader it is our job to discover what each individual employee needs to be successful. We must then use that information as we help lead them to success for and within themselves.

There are however, a few things that must be consistent across the board no matter what employee you are working with. Effective leaders consistently coach, train, recognize, reward and hold everyone accountable to the standards, goals and expectations for performance and within the organization. How you provide this information and the opportunities to do so will be different. Employees must first understand the standards, goals and expectations. It is then up to us as a leader to teach them, provide feedback, celebrate the success and ultimately hold them accountable. This is how you create an equitable work environment. Treating everyone with the same one size fits all approach doesn’t create equity, encourage engagement or recognize the individuals that make up our team.

Just as each falling snowflake is unique, I encourage you to remember the uniqueness that each employee brings to your organization. To achieve high levels of success we must capitalize on that uniqueness by treating each employee as an individual.

We would love to hear your thoughts. Should leaders treat all employees the same? How do you create equity in your organization or on your team?

Until then enjoy the snowflakes or the sunshine depending on where you are!

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Stop TOUCHING Me!

by Jen Kuhn on November 15, 2010

NOTE from The Experience Factor: If video continues to be blocked by The Tribune: video can be seen on YouTube by searching “TSA Molests 3 year old”.  We are making no accusations; that is simply how to find the video.

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Children bring to the world a sense of hope, innocence, wonder and often times common sense that is unparalleled by their adult counterparts.  The decline of any society begins with the intentional loss of protection of children and the elderly.  As I watched this video I was mortified.

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What is going on in our society that would allow such a travesty to occur?  This is not just the act of one incredibly insensitive, ignorant and reprehensible TSA employee.  What about the other participants.  Yes, others.  How many people were standing there while this took place and did nothing?  They are participants.  I’m a frequent air traveler.  I can say with confidence that I would have intervened.  I can also jump to the conclusion that I would have been detained.  Doing nothing is doing something.  I imagine most on-lookers were shocked.  But the experience lasted long enough for intervention of some sort.

Are we more concerned as a country with “security” than common sense?  Does this require sensitivity training, as TSA official James Marchand (TSA Regional Security Director) points out?  I scream a resounding, “NO!”  If you think the answer is to train an employee to stop touching a child that is screaming, “Stop touching me!”, then you need a solid reality check. The TSA website states: “Your safety is our priority.”  I ask, “At whose expense?”

This is an open invitation to all TSA officials: our company will educate your employees for FREE in regard to common sense behaviors and creating a safe experience for consumers. In exchange, we would ask for a public service announcement that this TSA employees’ behavior was an abuse of power.

Please, stand up, speak up, shout out your thoughts!  Do you believe TSA has gone too far?  Remember, there were many other TSA agents standing by, allowing this to happen.  Let your voice be heard.  Silence is a statement.

“It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.” ~Albert Camus

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8 Steps to Take Before You “Whack” That Employee

by Kelly Ketelboeter on June 29, 2010

It's not that easy!

The time has come.  There’s no more denying it.  You have put up with it for way too long.  It’s finally starting to hurt your team, your results and your customers.  You have finally come to the conclusion that holding out hope is a fruitless process.  It’s time to…GULP… fire that under-performing employee and get rid of your problems once and for all!

Before you can “whack” Suzy Q you head to HR, as every good manager does.   And the conversation probably goes a little something like this…

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HR has thrown a flag on your play to have Suzy Q removed.  You realize you have to go back and put up with her for at least another 30 days.  A lot of managers have found themselves in this same predicament at one time or another.  You want Suzy Q off your team.  You have put up with her for long enough.  And while that may be true, you need to show that you have given Suzy Q every opportunity to turn her performance and behavior around.   After all, its only fair to give Suzy Q that chance.

Many managers have a tendency to ignore poor performance.  Sometimes they do it because of excellent performance in another other area.  Sometimes they do it because they don’t want to confront the employee.  Sometimes they do it because the don’t know what to do or how to do it.  And sometimes they do it because dealing with a poor performer is better than dealing with no one at all.

When we ignore poor performance we are actually endorsing that performance. We are telling that employee and others on our team that level of performance is acceptable.  The minute you see performance starting to slip you owe it to your employee, yourself and your team to take the necessary steps to turn it around.  So what do you do?  Well the following coaching behaviors are a good place to start.  You can use any of these skills or a combination of these skills.  When it comes to coaching a one size fits all approach won’t work.  The key is to start somewhere.

1. Reiterate the expectation.

Before you can address a performance problem you must make sure the employee actually knows the expectation.  When discussing the expectation with the employee, talk about the behaviors that are necessary to meet or exceed the expectation.  HR wants to know that this step has been accomplished before the “whacking” can begin.

2. Focus on behavior.

Now that you have reiterated the expectation and discussed appropriate behaviors, you want to look for the absence or presence of those behaviors.  The key here is to focus on what you see the employee doing or not doing in regards to the expectations, not the person.

3. Point out the positive.

When you see or hear the employee meeting or exceeding the expectation, let them know.  People learn what to do and what a good job looks like when they receive positive reinforcement.  When pointing out the positive be sure to be specific, focus on the behaviors and then discuss the impact of those behaviors.

4. Set goals.

Goal setting is a powerful way to include the employee in the process of fixing the problem.  After all you aren’t the one with the problem, the employee is.  And you can’t fix it, the employee has to.  Follow the SMART goal setting process for the expectations or goals that the employee is not meeting.  Make sure the employee develops a specific action plan and discuss what you will do to support them.

5. Celebrate progress.

Even if the employee hasn’t achieved the goals or met the expectation yet, don’t wait to give them feedback.  Celebrate the progress, they are making towards the goals and exceeding the expectations.  This will add fuel to their fire.  Don’t wait for perfection.

6. Coach them on the fly.

Some of us are guilty of having a meeting, setting goals with an employee and then putting it to the side for the 30 or 60 day waiting period.  Well, out of sight, out of mind.  You have got to follow-up with that employee.  You can coach them on the fly in 2 – 5 minutes.  Focus your coaching questions around their goals.  Discuss what’s working for them, what challenges they are faced with and what they will do to address those challenges.  Help the employee discover what they need to do for themselves.

7. Have a coaching intervention.

A coaching intervention is something you want to do before the verbal and written warnings.  Not only do you want to give the employee a chance to change their behavior, you also want to show HR you have taken the necessary steps to address the performance.  A coaching intervention is a formal meeting to reiterate the expectations, focus on the behavior, outline the consequences and develop an action plan.  That way when you get to the verbal warning it won’t be a surprise to the employee.  It also makes that process so much easier because you have already done most of the work.  Often times I have found that I didn’t even need to escalate things to a verbal warning.  Some people just need to know the consequences of their behavior and that they will in fact be held accountable.

8. Hold them accountable.

I love that old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink the water.”  Or something like that.  As a coach, there is only so much you can do to help your employees performance.  Ultimately you must hold them accountable for that performance and their choices.  This means pointing out the positive if they are making progress towards or have achieved their goals and setting new goals.  It also means taking the next step in your progressive disciplinary process if the behavior has not changed.

Don’t wait for that last straw that breaks the camels back.  Coach your employees every day.  Have honest conversations about their performance.  Help them see and achieve their potential.  Most of all, be prepared the next time you go to HR and show them that you have done everything you can to help Suzy Q.  And go to sleep at night knowing that ultimately, it’s up to Suzy Q if she wants the job or not.

What other advice would you give a manager before they can “whack” that employee?  We would love to hear from you!

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Six Things Your Employees Want

by Kelly Ketelboeter on April 29, 2010

The importance of our employees sometimes gets lost in the shuffle between focusing on the bottom line, meetings,  focusing on your customers, meetings, focusing on your brand and yes more meetings!  Employees directly impact your organizations bottom line.  They are the ones that bring your brand to life.  They are the ones that take care of your customers.  They are the ones that often get missed.

If your employees could write you a “Dear Santa” letter, I bet the following would be on it.

Your employees WANT:

1. To know what you expect

You may be thinking they know what’s expected, it’s on the job description.  All it really takes is common sense.  Let me ask you, when was the last time you reviewed your job description?  Does it really tell you what is expected?  Or does it tell you about the job duties?  And common sense, well let’s just say it’s not all that common any more.  What you consider common sense is not what someone else may consider common sense.  Clearly state your expectations and do it often.  Effective leaders coach to the expectations.

2. Training

Employees need to be given the tools necessary to be successful.  Make sure they get all the training they need to meet and exceed your expectations.  Teach them what success looks like.  Even top performers benefit from training.  If an employee is exceeding your expectations that’s fantastic!  Don’t just pile on more work or forget about them.  Help to develop other skills outside of their job duties.  Training helps to develop knowledge and skill sets.  What are you doing to help develop your employees?

3. Feedback

Feedback can be both positive and developmental.  Either way, be sure you give it to your employees and frequently.  Employees want to know every single day where they stand in terms of their performance.  Don’t wait for your annual performance review or even your quarterly review to provide feedback.  Let each person on your team know what they are doing well and where they need to improve.  Believe it or not employees want feedback and want it frequently.  Make providing feedback to your employees a priority!

4. Recognition and rewards

Most employees aren’t motivated long-term by money. A personalized, hand written note goes a lot farther than that 5 cent an hour increase in pay.  Recognizing employees both in public and private goes a long way in teaching them the right things to do.  And guess what, they keep doing those things!  When you recognize or reward an employee make sure you focus on specific behaviors and the impact of those behaviors on the expectations.  This way you will come across as sincere and the feedback is personalized.  Let your employees know you care and care enough to recognize and reward their efforts.

5. A coach and mentor

Employees want to be challenged.  A great way to do this is to coach and mentor them.  As we are challenged we need on-going support and guidance.  Ask your employees what their goals are.  Find out what will help them.  Ask for their input and feedback.  Show your employees the potential they have yet to realize.  We all have potential sometimes all it takes is someone to help us unlock it.  Set goals, review goals, celebrate successes, engage your employees by talking to them.  Provide the guidance they are craving, even if the craving hasn’t hit them yet.

6. A fun work environment

Fun at work?! Yes, fun at work.  We spend a lot of time at work.  A sure fire way to engage your employees is to make work fun so that the work is fun.  My good friend Tim Porthouse recently wrote a great article on creating fun at work.  It’s not about having games or contests or team building days.  It’s about connecting with team members and customers.  It’s about igniting a passion. It’s about creating an environment where people want to come to work, especially on a Monday!

What else do you think employees want?  How are you giving your employees what they want?  We would love to hear from you, I am sure we have only scratched the surface!

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I Don’t Have Time to Coach!

by Kelly Ketelboeter on April 26, 2010

If I had a nickle for every time I heard a leader say, “I don’t have time to coach my employees”, I would be a rich woman.  Well I don’t and I’m not!

I hear this common, let’s call it what it is, excuse from leaders every day.  Some might say to these leaders, “we make time for the things that are truly important” or “you can’t afford not to make time.”  While I agree with these folks and have probably said it myself more times than I would like to admit, I think we need to address the underlying issues.

I believe there are three key causes that prompt the excuse, “I don’t have time to coach my employees.”

1. It’s not a priority.

On our list of things to do, we tend to avoid or push to tomorrow things that are not important to us.  Let’s take exercise as an example.  I am not a fan of exercise at all.  I know the benefits, I know how to do it and I want to do it.  I am your classic example of working out hard for one day and then hanging it up for a month before dusting off my gym shoes and trying it again.  For a long time exercise was not a priority for me.  I always found something else to focus my effort and energy on instead of lacing up my shoes and getting busy.  It was easy to avoid exercise and I often told myself, “I don’t have time.”  It wasn’t until I sat down, set goals, selected a set time to work out and committed to doing it that I made exercise a priority.  I shared my goals with others and they helped hold me accountable.  I got up every day, laced up my shoes and worked towards my goal.  All of sudden guess what, I had time to exercise.  I just had to make it my priority.

As a leader you have to ask yourself what’s my priority?  Where do I spend my time?  How do I spend my time?  How does that help my team?  How does it help my employees?  What small change can I make today to make coaching employees a priority?  Once you choose to make something a priority your behaviors will follow.

2. The leader is uncomfortable.

When I started my daily exercise regime it was uncomfortable.  I was uncoordinated as I did my step aerobics, I had no idea if I had the right form for my lunges or squats, I felt like a fish out of water.  I had to push through my discomfort every day.  And guess what, I started to get it and what was once uncomfortable is now comfortable.

Human nature is to be as comfortable as possible.  Sure we like to challenge ourselves but when it becomes uncomfortable we often retreat to what we know.  The truth of the matter is that discomfort is a function of growth.  If you are comfortable, you are not growing.  As a leader, you have to admit to yourself and be okay with the fact that you are a work in progress.  You don’t have to be perfect at everything just because you’re the boss.  In fact, the more your employees can see that you are challenging your own comfort zone and that you aren’t perfect, they will begin to do the same.

The key here is to get moving.  The only way to combat discomfort is to face it head on.  What will you do today to challenge your comfort zone?  Once you challenge yourself and act on that challenge ask yourself, what worked for me?  Also ask, what didn’t work for me?  And finally ask, what will I do next time?  Yes, there is a next time.  Leadership is not an event it’s a journey.

3. The leader doesn’t know what to do or how to coach employees.

The fact of the matter is a lot of leaders do know what to do and do know how to do it, it just isn’t a priority.  If that’s the case no amount of training or mentoring is going to help.  Begin by making coaching and the development of others a priority.

Some leaders though have been promoted through the ranks and all of sudden they are in charge.  Yet they have had very little training and/or mentoring on how to coach and lead employees.  That’s okay.  Realize you aren’t always going to know everything or know how to do everything.  Your job is not to be perfect, it’s to make progress in your development and help others make progress everyday towards the organizations goals.  If it’s knowledge you need, then go get it.  Don’t wait for someone else to provide it.  Take charge of your career!

Realize that coaching doesn’t have to be a long drawn out process.  One where you sit down with the employee behind closed doors and coach.  While sometimes coaching is a sit down meeting, that’s not the only form of effective coaching.  In fact, on-the-fly coaching is often more effective and can be done more frequently.  And get this, it doesn’t take much time once it’s a priority and you challenge your comfort zone.

If you don’t know what to do, start by focusing on positive reinforcement.  Get out of your office and observe your employees.  As you are observing pay attention for the things that are on-target in their performance.  Then tell them about it.  Be sure to focus on the behaviors you observed and the impact of those behaviors.  Employees learn from the things they do well and when you take the time to point out the positive they will repeat these behaviors.

Another on-the-fly coaching technique is to ask your employees questions.  Find out what their greatest challenge is.  Ask what excites them.  Ask them what their goals are for today.  Ask questions related to your mission, vision and core values.  Ask questions and then listen.  By asking questions, you are engaging in a conversation about performance in a non-threatening manner.

These are just few ideas to help combat the excuse of, “I don’t have time to coach my employee’s.”  Excuses don’t change results.  If you want to enhance the performance of your team and employees realize it starts with you.  Make it a priority.  Challenge your comfort zone.  Recognize that often times you do know what to do and how to do it and if you don’t, take a class, read a leadership book, find a mentor.  It’s up to you.

What advice would you a give a leader who says, “I don’t have time to coach.”?

What other factors do you think contribute to this all too common excuse?

What on-the-fly coaching techniques do you use to coach your employees?

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Perfection or Progress?

by Kelly Ketelboeter on April 8, 2010

There are perfect games in baseball.  Just check out Chicago White Sox player Mark Buehrle.  There are perfect 10s in diving.  Greg Louganis comes to mind. There are perfect routines in gymnastics. Remember Mary Lou Retton?  Or Nadia Comaneci?

How many of us grew up hearing the old saying, “Practice makes perfect?”

All too often managers are looking for the perfect performance from their employees.  There are few perfect 10s if any, in the business world.  There is no such thing as a perfect game, dive or routine in the corporate world.  And I disagree that practice makes perfect.  In fact, I believe that practice makes progress.  Progress towards the goals.

Progress is what managers today need to focus on, not perfection.

Think about where your employees are at today and where they could be tomorrow.  Work with them to develop a plan that will get them there.  Engage your employees in a conversation and focus on behaviors that will lead to success.  As an employee begins to take steps towards their potential, celebrate their progress.  Don’t wait for the employee to arrive at the set destination.  Help them see how small efforts every day will get them closer to their goals.  As you celebrate their progress also find out how and what the employee is doing that is allowing them to make that progress.  This will continue their momentum and keep them focused.

In my experience, if you wait for perfection, you will be waiting a long time.  Without celebrating the small wins, employees tend to give up and shift their focus.  Changing or enhancing behavior is uncomfortable, kind of like exercising.  Don’t wait to celebrate the win of going from working out for 10 minutes to 20 minutes to an hour.  You can’t get to an hour without first making it to 20 minutes.

Realize that perfection in the workplace is a moving target.  Making it that much more critical to build on small successes and focus on progress!

How will you focus on the progress your employees are making today?

Do you agree, disagree or just don’t give a rip?  We would love to hear from you!

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Take the Bite out of New Hire Remorse

by Jen Kuhn on March 10, 2010

“I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” ~Stephen Wright

Almost every person in a leadership capacity that I’ve had the honor to work with has, at one time, hired or inherited a new employee. At first there is usually a honeymoon phase.  You’re excited to have an energetic new player on your team; the employee is constantly smiling because they are trying to make a great impression and demonstrate their eagerness.  Yet after a few weeks, you may start to have some questions.  The questions may sound something like this:

  • Did I make the correct hiring decision
  • Is this really the type of employee I want on my team
  • How can I coach this employee so they reach their potential
  • Why can’t this employee be more like the one I had before
  • When will they “get it”
  • They whine so much…what’s wrong with them
  • Didn’t I already tell them how to do this
  • Why do they keep saying, “Well, at my last job, we did it this way….”
  • Why do they require my constant attention
  • Did they hit their 90-days yet

These are just the tip of the iceberg.  Positions of leadership are challenging.  When leaders do not take the time to coach, they turn into strong managers but weak coaches.  They are able to get many tasks done, but lack the substance and confidence to help develop their employees.  They have to micro-manage. They also may get frustrated with newer employees which can lead to misunderstandings and under-performance. This leads to employees who are uncertain of their value, and may become disengaged or difficult to manage later in their employment.

I am a new puppy owner.  Look at all those questions above and you get a clear picture of my life today.  I haven’t had a puppy in 12 years!  Last night I took the leap and became the owner of Bella…aka The Spawn of Satan.  Bella is a Newfoundland puppy.  I’ve never owned a Newfoundland puppy.  I’m sure Bella is like every other puppy in the world…but I forgot about what puppies are really like once you get past their cuteness. Say it with me…”High Maintenance”.

So far…all of the above questions have applied to my decision to get this puppy.  And since the Newfoundland breed is a “working breed”, that’s almost a literal statement!  I’ve had Bella in my possession fewer than 24 hours.  I’m already looking at the “return policy”…and then she does something cute.

Having a new employee is similar to having a puppy.  But at least your employees can locate the appropriate restroom on their own.  I’m questioning every brain cell that went into the idea that this puppy was the right one for me.  Once you make the decision to hire an employee, they deserve and require all of your leadership skills in order to reach their highest potential.  Challenging?  YES.  Aggravating?  YES.  Time consuming?  YES.  Worth the effort?  YES! (if they’re potty trained).

Coaching your new employee will reap rewards, but not necessarily right away.  They will have their moments of brilliance; yet ultimately will need your guidance and attention to develop to their fullest potential.

Some quick tips on adapting to, and coaching a new employee:

1. Praise, praise and more praise: Recognize their efforts and don’t hold out for perfection before letting them hear a good word from you.  The first time they take initiative, even if it doesn’t quite work out, praise what they did well and coach them towards improvement.  This may sound like:

YOU: “Sally, I’m impressed that you took the initiative to help that customer.”

SALLY: “But I felt really nervous and wasn’t sure I fully answered their questions.”

YOU: “My expectation right now is that you find opportunities to learn.  You just demonstrated that you can easily build rapport with customers. Very impressive. What questions did they ask that you thought were challenging?”

2. Pay attention and be patient: What are they doing well?  Where do they need support?  What will you do to provide them with the support they need? Have patience with mistakes made early in their tenure. Focus on the positive and redirect the negative. If you expect mistakes, you won’t be shocked when they make one. How you respond to their mistake will determine whether or not they learn from it.

3. Provide tools for success: My new motto: you can never have enough chew toys.  People have different learning styles. The primary three learning styles are: visual, auditory and kinesthetic (“hands on”).  Make sure to incorporate all styles into your coaching approach.  For example: show them how it’s done (visual); tell them how it’s done (auditory); allow them time to practice/demonstrate their understanding of how it’s done (kinesthetic).  Lather, rinse and repeat steps 1 and 2.

4. Be consistent: They are in a brand new environment.  The more consistent you are with the expectations, the easier it will be for them to adapt and grow.  You must be consistent with them if you expect them to perform consistently well.  Don’t expect more from them than you do of yourself.

5. Find their value: If you constantly compare them to other employees, it will be difficult to discover the unique value they bring to your team.  Once you discover and acknowledge their value, you will probably stop second guessing your decision to hire them in the first place.

Once you incorporate these 5 behaviors, things will start to fall into place.  There will be set-backs (like the one I cleaned up on my kitchen floor) and rewards (the sleeping puppy at my feet).  New employees want to be successful.  As a leader you have the opportunity to guide them toward success.  Before you know it, both you and the employee will become comfortable with each other and work more effectively together.  Enjoy the opportunity to coach your new employee.  Ultimately, how well they perform in the future is a reflection of the time you spent guiding them when they were a puppy…I mean, new employee.

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Training + Coaching = Results

by Kelly Ketelboeter on March 9, 2010

Recently, I was asked the question, we have trained our employees and we aren’t seeing the results we want, what should we do?  The simple answer to this question is coach your employees.  Without coaching, training isn’t going to get us the results we want.  Let’s explore this a little bit more.

In most cases less than 20% of the skills learned and knowledge gained in training programs are actually transferred back to the work place and are still in use one year later. Research shows that when the new skills are not used within 30 days, 90% of the knowledge will be lost. All of that time and money that was spent on training will be wasted if the employees fail to apply the training immediately.

We have to realize that it takes a lot of effort for employees to use the new skills they learned in training.  This is because often times it is something new and they have to change the way they do things.  That change is uncomfortable. If the employee doesn’t practice and receive continual feedback from their coach we won’t get the results we are looking for. Without the support of the coach, the employee is likely to become frustrated and stop trying to apply the new skills.

Coaches can make a tremendous difference in the success that employees will have in transferring recently learned information back to their job. To increase the likelihood that the employees will use the skills we need to involve the coaches and have an understanding of their impact to the success of their employees.  Here is what coaches can do before, during and after the training to support the process.

What the coach can do BEFORE training. First of all, and most importantly clearly communicate the specific need for the training to the employees. Make sure they understand exactly why they are going to the training program and specify the particular skills that you want them to focus on.

In addition, tell the employee why the training is important to their job and to the team and how it will contribute to the achievement of their goals. In other words, let the employee know the relevance of the training and how it will relate to their current job. This prepares the employee to get the most out of the actual training session.

What the coach can do DURING training. Provide an atmosphere that allows the employees to fully concentrate on the learning process. Don’t schedule meetings during the training or interrupt them with messages.

Reassign the training participant’s workload. This way the employee will not be faced with an avalanche of work on their desk when they arrive back at work. Instead, they will be able to devote their attention to new and more productive ways of doing their job based on the information they learned in the training session.

What the coach can do AFTER training. Absolutely conduct a post-training debriefing. Allow the employee the opportunity to tell you and other co-workers what they learned and how they intend to apply it to the job. Through the debriefing the coach will learn what they should be coaching them on and where they need to focus their efforts in catching the employee doing “it” right.

Provide a lot of encouragement to the employees to try the new skills and give them every possible opportunity to practice the new skills. The learning is reinforced through practice and application, not by thinking about it.

If you are looking for results from employees we have to combine training and coaching.  Training by itself will not get you the results you are looking for.  Think about ways to incorporate these items in the development of a training program and how you can support the coaches and you will begin to see results.

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