By Marcia Zidle on January 22, 2013
“I’m at my wits end with one of my people regarding fill out reports in a consistent way. I’ve tried to be understanding and nice but it’s not working. I fear that I may explode the next time it happens.” Not dealing directly with the performance problem is common response. Many managers struggle with their […]
By Marcia Zidle on December 4, 2012
We recently did a survey and were surprised that our employees had negative feelings about their work. They felt frustrated and unappreciated. What should we do? Congratulations first on taking the time to survey and listen to your employees; second on paying attention to the results, even if they were not what you expected. Without […]
By Marcia Zidle on July 24, 2012
Management is a team sport not a superstar sport. What happens over time is that some managers begin to believe it’s all about them. It’s not, it’s just the opposite.I t’s about the people they lead. Allan Ditchfield, former executive at AT&T, realized that you cannot lead without getting involved. “When leaders remain behind their […]
By Marcia Zidle on July 10, 2012
Recognition: For something so simple why is so hard to compliment people when they do something well or to encourage them as they work to improve their performance? I’ve have heard a variety of reasons, in my training and coaching, why some managers let encouragement and recognition drift. “I don’t need recognition. I am self-driven. My people […]
By Marcia Zidle on April 3, 2012
Research shows that most employees want feedback – they want to know how they’re doing – but many managers are doing a poor job of giving it to them. Why is that? Here are some reasons why managers avoid providing performance feedback: 1. Lack of know-how. Providing employees with honest and useful performance feedback is […]
By Marcia Zidle on March 27, 2012
The saying that “people do not leave their jobs, they leave their bosses” is overused, but true. In employee exit surveys, the most frequent employee complaint is about their former supervisor’s communications skills—too little, too much, too ineffective. Poor communication does account for a multitude of workplace woes — including interpersonal conflict, wasted money and […]
By Marcia Zidle on March 13, 2012
Are you aware of Tootsie Roll Pop Strategy of employee retention? Inside a tootsie roll pop is the chocolate core- that is, the wages and benefits. Yes, a competitive compensation package is important. But that gets people to show up for work but not necessarily to give their 100%. However, there is also the outer […]
By Marcia Zidle on March 6, 2012
How much of money do you spend on hiring the right people and then waste by pouring cold water on their enthusiasm on that very first day? Almost all companies do an orientation for new hires but few pay much attention to them. Often workers come to work excited about the prospects of a new […]
By Marcia Zidle on February 21, 2012
Our company is going through some hard times because of the economic uncertainty. We are tightening our belt and trying not to lay off our folks, but we may be forced to. How do we make the best of a bad time for our business? It is easier to be open with employees when the […]
By Marcia Zidle on February 14, 2012
“I find myself trying to avoid those annual appraisals with my people. Much as I try to keep the meeting focused, we always seem to get side tracked and involved in personal stuff.” – Health Care Manager During a recent training on performance reviews, I asked managers when they experienced problems. Many said it was […]