Employee Relations: June 2009 Archives

Here are a list of just a few of my favorite books when it comes to HR and Careers

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
The 4 Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris
A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
Creating Magic by Lee Cockerell

Each of these books provides solid frameworks for dealing with your staff while encouraging you to participate in activities to grow your skills in dealing with people in and out of the workplace.  Over the coming weeks, I will provide you with some of the learning from these books that have and continue to make me the person I am today.

Last fall I wrote to two school districts about teaching an adult education class called Introduction to Macs.  I call it my own "Tale of Two Cities".

When it comes to business, sometimes,  "shaving our head and starting over" means throwing out old practices completely and starting fresh with something knew.

I was asked last week what was the meanest thing I ever said to someone.

A few years ago, someone new I had met about 5 minutes earlier said "I'm not sure what I should do with my hair."  I told her "Maybe you should shave your head and start over."  My friends were aghast, but she actually said "Yeah, maybe that's not such a bad idea."

Whether it is restarting your website, changing your orientation program, or changing your hiring strategies, putting a fresh look on things may require getting rid of any type of material related to your old way of looking at things.  The same thing can be applied to redoing your resume or looking at ways to search for work in the first place.

Sometimes, we have our "head shaved" when somebody ends up deleting files, losing information, or because circumstances require a total shift from the old way of doing things.  This could present for you a unique opportunity to give a fresh outlook to your ways of operating.

Share with me stories of "Shaving your head and starting over" at robert@galaconcierge.com

Q:  My staff is lethargic after about 5 hours of selling during an 8 hour shift.  What can we do to improve productivity and improve their morale?

I spoke to my class today about my recent experience at a restaurant where I was served by a well-trained, confident, and competent bartender assisting probably 30 guests with a smile and with great follow-through.  Meanwhile, at the same time, there were probably 4 or 5 waitstaff belly-aching in the corner of the bar within my earshot about "not getting enough 4-tops, this server getting better tables, and how much they can't stand the host".

Unfortunately, this is something I see way too often in the food industry.  People piss and moan in the public areas and think no one is listening. 

Here are some suggestions for policies to put into place on the floor of your food establishment.

1.  No discussion of work policies and procedures on the sales floor
2.  Document, discipline, dismiss policies for prevention of this activity occurring again
3.  Continual training to show people the downfalls of this type of dialogue.

Tell me your stories of witnessing poor dialogue in food establishments by emailing me at
robert@galaconcierge.com

A well-run organization will have people of all ages working with one another sharing ideas and best practices.  Having a wealth of experiences along with new ideas and create opportunities for both new perspectives and new learning experiences for all.

The best organizations that I have seen aren't just giving lip-service to mentoring by having formal "buddy systems" in place.   Organizations that really get "the wealth of ages" instill in everyone the kind of pride in working with one another and developing informal relationships.

I'm proud to have had mentors and mentees at every organization I have been with, and I can honestly say the best ones were the ones that came about because it was just the right thing to do, and not because we were told to do so.