Experience and Training Teaches Managers to Make the Right Choices

It's Time to Pay Attention to Personnel

We should never lose sight of the fact that people make a company what it is today and what it will be tomorrow. Also, we should not forget our people in the development and organizational sense as well as the retention situation. Have we taken our people for granted? Like other industries, the employee in the Home Healthcare market does not always feel as passionate as the owner about the mission of the organization, and they may be confused about how they fit in to the organization’s changing future. Many employees are becoming discouraged when they hear or read about the industry’s problems.

In all types of industries, the training and development of the employee is usually ranked first or second by most surveys listing the Top Five Methods to increase employee retention. 73% of all companies provide Leadership Development Programs, with Team Building, and Empowerment Programs. However, in the Home Healthcare Industry, many of the key executives, managers, and supervisors in a Home Health Care company are licensed professionals with extensive clinical backgrounds, but they possess very little in the way of formal management training. Is it like this for your company?

Home Heathlcare example of business: Take orders for products. Process the order after it has met all the qualifications. Deliver product in a timely manner with minimal expense and upon receipt of acknowledgment of delivery, bill the appropriate payer and await the payment that normally takes approximately 85 days or more. Phew!

How many people in your company get involved in any of those above processes? Now is the time to develop both your people and organization simultaneously to improve productivity and profitability through training and education. Leadership starts at the top. The application of this type of training, both philosophical and practical, must be instilled in all managers and supervisors by the executive team. Many companies suffering from the normal industry problems can provide resolutions to such by looking at organizational and personnel development that can lead to enhanced performance with improved productivity. There is no better time than now for the small to medium sized business owner is to start acting like a real leader and develop your people to make your company stronger to handle this highly competitive environment.

Leadership Management Programs are available in presentation, seminar, or spaced- repetition formats. A spaced - repetition program is convenient for most management in the fact that the time required for presentation will allow the manager to miss the least amount of time from the office. It also will provide multi-sensory impact, compliment the classroom activities with audio reinforcement, and allow the participant to complete assignments at home or at work. More importantly, it has been demonstrated that participants completing such programs implement more course techniques into their daily work activities and change many of their current behavioral processes. Almost any program, product, or process can be customized to meet the needs of your company. Every member on your management team should participate in a Leadership Management Program custom designed to compliment your mission, vision, and values. Quality management starts at the top and the best way to demonstrate such is to “lead by example”.

For more information on our management training visit www.ILDV.org or call 609-390-2830.

Where is your Focus? People or Process

In a recent article in the December 22nd issue of Investor’s Business Daily, Kevin Harlin points out that Employment consulting firms say it is vital to track and nurture promising leadership candidates even though the economy is sluggish. Steve Krupp, partner and leader of the executive talent management practice at Delta Organization & Leadership, asserts that if a company fails to engage and communicate its top performers, they might be inclined to depart.

Rather than focusing on your processes, focus on your people. They are your biggest asset. Remember that turnover can cost you double of just one employee’s salary. A survey from Delta found that most U.S. companies fail to monitor their best performers, even fewer communicate with these employees, and few top executives support such initiatives.

PPG Industries, a global glass, paint, and chemical firm, has been tracking its best employees for about a decade. Roughly 30 percent of workers are regarded as top talent, and just 1 percent is deemed suitable for the CEO position. Identified employees get first priority for training, special projects, and responsibilities. Executives also meet with these employees from time to time at informal settings like breakfast or lunch. Global business software firm SAP provides potential leaders with six-month fellowships in another division, typically in a different location, to ensure that these employees have adequate insight into the company.
The above synopsis of the article that appeared in Investor’s Business Daily demonstrates the need to evaluate talent from the first day of hire in terms of recognizing potential and people development as the priority for any organization. I really question whether companies today are focused on their future leadership and understand the need to develop people’s potential.

Innovative Leadership offers an Assessment Process called the Achiever Series that can not only assist not only with people development but also compliment certain aspects of succession planning, downsizing or transformation.

We are a company that is focused on helping companies develop their potential of their people that will result in organizational effectiveness. Please call us at your convenience to discuss our Assessment Processes that can make the difference in the future of your company at 609.390.2830.

Ludgate Speaks on Roles and Responsibilities for EEO

Somers Point, NJ - January, 1 2009 - Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Compliance is a very important responsibility many companies do not take seriously enough. On January 21st, Rose Ludgate from Innovative Leadership will be speaking on the roles and responsibilities of management with EEO. The meeting will be held at Greate Bay Country Club beginning at 5:30pm hosted by SSHRMANJ. You can register at www.sshrmanj.org, prices vary for members and non-members.

You will learn the roles and responsibilities of managers with EEO Compliance. All managers must be familiar with the general requirements of Employment Laws in order to meet legal requirements and failure to do so can result in individual and company liability. Rose Ludgate is Innovative Leadership's Senior HR Consultant. She has 25 years of work experience in Human Resources including: Strategic Planning and Development, Employee Relations, Recruitment, Benefits, Administration and Training and Coaching. Rose holds Training Certifications and specializes in Affirmative Action, Equal Employment Opportunity, Diversity and Leadership Training. A graduate of Penn State University, she is a member of American Society of Training and Development and Society of Human Resources Management and The American Cancer Association.

Innovative Leadership is a performance improvement company that provides solutions for today's business challenges. They offer unique programs, products and processes that can be customized to fit the specific needs of your company. For more information, or if you would like Rose to speak at your next company engagement please call 609-309-2830 or visit www.ILDV.org

Why. . .Why. . .Why? The Need to Understand.

By Richard Hohmann

At the most basic level of alignment, companies must make sure that employees understand how the company makes money. Employees need to understand the basic financial facts about not only how the company makes money but how revenue drives profitability, and how cash flow can inhibit growth or how cost reduction can impact success.

Since mid-level managers are the ones left holding the bag in terms of communicating with the workforce and we better make sure that our managers have a high level of business acumen so that the employees can have confidence that the decision making process is based on something more than a gut feeling. Understanding the financial thread that ties everything together in the company better not only be understood but communicated to the employee. The engaged employee wants to know why. Why did we decide to do that, why did we layoff people in our most productive department, why aren’t we advertising in the Wall Street Journal? People want to understand and the best way to get them to understand is to talk the talk – business acumen.

Workers just might start to understand how difficult it is to be successful in reducing costs when healthcare costs have risen in double digits for the past five years, fuel costs have doubled, and fortunately have come back down to a reasonable rate. People need to understand that their performance in their role directly affects the success of the company.

Let’s start talking to and training our Middle Management and employees about Business Acumen, Decision Making, Problem Solving, and basic finances. Provide a real foundation for not only communication, but for action plans and for people development that leads to organizational effectiveness.

It is really getting rough out there and you need to keep your key employees informed. Your employees count on leadership to be the visionary and they want to know what you see as well as what they are reading in the newspaper or hearing on the TV. Now is the time to communicate that the strengths of your people make the difference in organizational effectiveness. We all need to improve our skill-sets and competencies when times get rough but we must understand why we need to do that.

Where have All the Leaders Gone?

One financial advisor stated that we are in the middle of a very dark tunnel. If that be the case, I guess I can say that I don’t see light in either direction. The economy has offered some hiccups but no demonstrable change and it does not appear to look like there will be any major change in the very near future. We are in a bail-out mind-set and it is kind of frustrating when most small or even mid-size companies have no real safety net to protect them from making bad decisions. The job market is much worse today than it was even two months ago. So where is the light going to come from?

Possibly the most frustrating thing for leaders and managers is that they have to personally manage the employees so that they stay engaged in their jobs and don’t get distracted by the lack of sunlight. I would go even further to state that much of the leadership prefers to stay in the dark and not come out into the light, if there is any, and address the issues straight forward with their employees.

A recent survey from the public relations firm of Webber Shandwick noted that 71% of workers felt leadership should be communicating more about the current economic conditions and 54% of the workers have not heard anything from their leadership on how these conditions might affect their company and positions. On top of that, it was interesting that almost 75% of the workers said they had heard their colleagues and co-workers talking about the subject, but not the leadership of the company.

Where have all the leaders gone? Maybe they don’t realize that it is a tunnel and mistook the current environment for a cave. I really believe that leadership today is scarce and middle management is being forced again demonstrate that they are the glue holding the worker to the strategy of the company. Engagement is more than having fun in your job. It is an understanding that your contribution is significant in regard to the overall effectiveness of the organization. This engagement process must incorporate the alignment of individual goals with those of the company, demonstrate why performance management can make a difference, and the really great companies focus on their strengths to get them through the rough times and they do this by planning.

Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action

Do you know what EEO and AA laws really are and how much they can both affect your company? Equal Employment discrimination charges and alleged wrong doing is a reality. Our workshop, on November 13th will teach you have to run a compliant EEO and AA company. Hiring, Promoting, and even project delegation can be a potential litigation. Attend this workshop and stop guessing if you're compliant with these laws, know it.

As mentioned in prior posts, we have a new Senior HR Consultant, Rose Ludgate. In this 1/2 day workshop she will be teaching you how to attract, develop, and retain people with a mix of talents, experiences, and perspectives.

11/13/08 8:30am-12pm
Location: Marmora, NJ
Registration Fee: $79, includes EEO and AA samples to take to your company.
This 1/2 day workshop is for the business owner, manager, or anyone in a leadership position. Attract, Develop, and Retain people with a mix of talents, experiences, and perspectives.

You will also learn and understand the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. More Info

Register Now