A Few More Ways To Communicate With Your Employees

Last week we discussed a short, weekly meeting with your co-workers.  Today we will expand on this idea--  how else do we communicate with the people we work with?  A sticky note stuck to their computer screen? Sharing gossip at the cutting table?  Purposely telling the office loudmouth, knowing your comment will be spreading like wildfire?  Worse yet, maybe you don't communicate and just expect your crews to learn what's new by reading your mind?

Some people are not just good communicators, or good listeners.  As a leader, though, communications are an important skill.  If you are uncomfortable with a group setting, this is a skill you can learn by practicing what you want to say to your family at home.  Write out your thoughts, making sure you do say what is important.  Say your thoughts into a tape recorder and play it back.  You will hear the areas you need to work on.

So, you have held your Monday morning, ten-minute meeting, now what.  On Thursday, send a brief email to each person on your team with any updated thoughts.  For your team members without email, just print out the note and give it to them with their paycheck!  This should be short, maybe a hundred words, just enough to tell them something that will help their job.  Maybe, just a funny story to place a smile on their faces.

Once a month, you should send out a company-wide report.  Again, short and succinct, sharing sales targets and results.  Many companies don't share actual dollar numbers, but you can discuss the number of installations without a complaint or the number of new customers.  Make this metric something that everyone on your team has a hand in achieving. 

Next on the communication checklist is a quarterly gabfest.  About a half-hour, where you discuss numbers and results.  It is not always rosy news either.  You can discuss problems in your company, or the industry in general.  Schedule about twenty minutes of company news and leave ten minutes for questions.  This should be the whole shift or the company, based on size.  Cross-pollination of ideas can only help you!

Next item, a semi-annual company event.  Maybe a summer picnic and then a winter holiday party.  A hay ride in the fall, or anything that fits your locale.  This is more fun than business.  Encourage people to let their hair down and just enjoy being with their coworkers.

The last planning events for communication are the employee's annual review for the quality of their work and to plan for the future.  This should be done on the anniversary of their employment.  This is the most important hour you will spend with each person you supervise.  I'll discuss this more in a couple of weeks.

Lastly, the review for the employee's financial changes.  This should occur about ninety days after your fiscal year ends and you have a realistic understanding of your success and how much you can afford to give in raises, if any.

Don't put off or skip any of these.  You will be better off as a manager and your employees and the company will benefit.

You Should Over Communicate With Your Employees

"You have two ears and one mouth, so you should listen twice as much as you talk." An old and still very true saying. But communicating is different than talking. In your role as a business manager or leader, communicating with people you work with is essential.

Sure, you see them every day, handing out work assignments and doing paperwork. You even ask how their kid's Little League games are going. But this isn't communicating about the business and their role in its success. Each Monday morning you should have a ten minute meeting with the people you are responsible for. Not formal, not a classroom type presentation; schedule around the coffee pot or out at the cutting table. Start out with three minutes having one person talk about something they did well; a project that came in time and on budget; an installation that went well, or a manufacturing goal that was exceeded. Then take a minute to translate that into how this success can be achieved in another department or by another person.

The next three minutes become a quick description of a new item the company is handling, a product update, a technical point or any company news that your staff should know.  It may even be that Molly had her baby and everyone is healthy.

Close up with a couple of minutes of questions from your team.  If the questions require a long answer, write the answers out and distribute them at the end of the day.  Some questions can't be answered, and it is OK to say that, or that you will answer that question privately.

A ten-minuter like this, weekly, will keep people informed and motivated.  They won't feel like they are left out, which causes poor performance in any company.

The group should be no more than eight people.  If you supervise more, split into two groups, do one in the morning, and one in the afternoon, before the end of the day.  You will find employees look forward to this and after a couple of weeks will come prepared with their success stories and their questions!  When this happens, they will feel a greater sense of being on the company team.

Next week we will discuss other communications tools for employees and managers.

And This Was Supposed To Be My Final Blog

My plan was to say good-bye to the glass industry with this blog.  You see, I knew I had a lock on a new job which would have taken all my time.  The Boston Red Sox were hiring a new General Manager, and I was just the absolutely most perfect candidate they could have had.

I coached little league for 12 years, so I know how to deal with children who play baseball.  Right now that is what the Red Sox team is made of.  While my main team is the New York Mets, my American League team is the Red Sox.  After all, I live in New Hampshire, the heart of Red Sox Nation.  I even have a Red Sox hat.  I have been to a dozen games at Fenway in the last couple of years, so I know my way around the stadium.  This proves I am a loyal fan. 

It would have been tough leaving my beloved glass industry.  It has been very, very good to me over the years.  I thought, maybe, I could continue with the blog, but I realized my blogging time would now go to Sports Illustrated rather than USGlass.  I had even called some of my consulting clients and told them that I would probably be leaving.  They all understood and wished me well.

My resume went to John Henry, the Principal owner of the Red Sox.  His secretary called me to set up an appointment, and she whispered that I was the first call she made.

We had lunch yesterday, it seemed to go well.  The only sticking point was the salary.  I basically agreed to pay Mr. Henry whatever he asked.  The job-of-a-lifetime shouldn't be missed because of a few dollars. 

Then it happened.  The news this morning was that Mr. Henry hired a gentleman from in-house.  He had many years experience...blah...blah...blah.  I was crushed.

So, this won't be my final blog.  The glass industry is stuck with me.  The moral of the story is that you always need a back-up plan, no matter how sure you are of the future.

'See you' next week.

Solyndra Wasn't The Greatest Investment...Does That Mean We Stop Investing?

Sure, we got beat up pretty good on this one.  All of us.  $500 Million is more than most of us make in a month, unless we had a really good month.   Is this something to joke about?  No.  But we can't cry about it either.  Mistakes were made, but we have to go forward with investing in the future of America, our people, and yes, our glass industry.

The politicians are going to drag this one through the mud.  Blame him.  Blame her.  Blame the whole east coast.  Blame the New York Mets.  Yes, we should learn something from this--how to better screen investments and how to create more effecient controls.  But we shouldn't give up investing.

You are in the glass business, and most of us feel that we can't grow until the economy picks up.  After all, what's the use of a new truck if there is no place to send it doing work?  Right.  So the answer is to find new places to do work!

The numbers tell us the construction industry is down anywhere from 10% to 30%.  That is scary.  But that means there is 70% to 90% still out there.  Go chase it and you will need that new truck.  This is not just taking business away from your competitor down the street.  It is opening new markets for your glass shop.

Do you do board up?  Do you sell to the local school district?  Convince a large contractor to stop doing their own glazing and sub it to you.  You would even hire their glazier!  Are you calling on every interior designer?  Are you calling on aquarium shops pitching that you can build custom aquariums?  (It is just 1/2 glass and silicone!)  Do you have any boat yards in your area?  This is the time that they get dry docked and repaired.   Do you call on sign companies?  They don't use a lot of glass, but I bet you'll take a small order and be happy.

Enough...I have a proven list of 88 types of companies that use glass.  If you want a copy, drop me an email at paulbaseball@msn.com and I will send it to you. 

There is still a lot of business out there, and many reasons to invest.  Go get it.

Have You Hugged A Window Washer Today?

My Brother-In-Law, Les, owns a window washing company in Vermont.  He works hard, leaving his house around 5:30 most mornings getting to restaurants and retail stores before their customers start milling around.  During the summer it's OK, but in the winter, he mixes anti-freeze in the water on his truck and works in below zero weather.

So, why is this important to someone in the glass business?

Because Les knows when a window is fogged and he knows when a store front leaks air or water.  Les talks with his customers every day, and they talk about their windows and entrances.  And when people finally ask him about upgrading their store front, he knows who to recommend.  Does he recommend you?

Translate this to the thousands of commercial window washers with at least a couple in the trading area of every one reading this, and you have a convergence of businesses that can help each other.  Window washers see your customers more often than you!  They can be your best friend in getting leads!  Add to this the residential windows that are cleaned, and you have a great source of leads. 

On the other hand, you should recommend a good window washer after you do an install. You just put in a new storefront.  If the customer doesn't keep it clean, they will blame you in year when the glass is stained.  Give the name of a reliable window washer in your area and you will have less call back problems!

It is a perfectly equal relationship.  You will help each other on just about every job that either one of you works on.  A good window washer won't use razor blades on coated glass.  They know how to deal with our products.

So, if you run into Les, give him a hug.  You'll recognize him, he has a squeegee stuck in his belt.