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Broken Promise Remedy
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In This Issue: This month's article is about a common complaint heard from disgruntled employees—broken promises. Welcome to the latest issue of The People Smart Toolbox-the online newsletter for business owners and professionals from People Smart Tools and Jim Rooney.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This Month's Hot Links A Quick and Easy Customer Service Training Tool Managers Best Practices Toolkit ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Broken Promise Remedy
He promised me a performance appraisal 8 months ago. This is the most common complaint I hear from disgruntled employees. Employees feel betrayed and adopt an attitude of doing less. The performance appraisal issue blocks their motivation to excel and contribute. Trust is broken and mediocrity sets in. Promises are received as truth and expected to be fulfilled. Keeping promises is the cornerstone for building a good relationship with an employee. The promise can be implied or actual. Implied promises are assumed because of observed actions and have roots in fairness. An example would be the requirements of one employee to get a bonus or promotion. Employees watch what happens with their peers and assume the same is true for them. As trust increases, so does personal production. As trust decreases, personal production decreases. Keeping promises keeps trust alive.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Do you know people in your organization that need a personal skills tune-up? What would your daily work culture be like if they changed their attitude towards themselves and others? The art of relating to people is not hard to learn. It will dramatically improve productivity, enjoyment of work and overall satisfaction. Relationship tension is the number one destroyer of creativity and robs workplace productivity. For a person to be effective on a team, he/she must feel appreciated by other team members, have a clear definition of what is expected of them, and receive feedback on how they are doing. The "How to Improve Your Personal Influence" Workshop, developed and taught by Jim Rooney, CPBA, grounds employees with proven methods for getting along and prospering with other people. Many people have never been taught the basics of effective communication. They have little influence with others and do not know why. Success at work can be directly proportional to the extent of one's personal development. CLICK HERE for more information on the workshop "How to Improve Your Personal Influence". Email or call Jim at 325-792-1148. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Managers have great intentions when they give oral or written promises such as a general time for a performance appraisal. If the promise is not recorded in a contact manager, written in a paper planner, or put on a calendar as an automatic reminder, it is out of mind and forgotten. Their intention to keep their word is noble but their actions are deplorable. The most important part of making a promise is to write it down. Very few do this simple task. I have noticed that my most successful business clients have the strong attitude to keep their promises to a fault. One CEO carries a small recording device in his pocket to record promises and inspirations. When he returns to his office, he puts his thoughts into his planning system. A successful city engineer calls her voice mail and leaves her thoughts about a problem or promises she makes to citizens. What is your system for capturing your promises and inspirations? Take immediate action to remedy a broken promise when it comes to your attention. Acknowledge the mistake from your heart. Insincerity will antagonize the drama and will not accomplish restoring trust. It is about making the wrong right and acknowledging the mistake sincerely. If the situation requires delegation, follow through until you know the employee is satisfied. Record your promise in your planning system. Create advocates by over compensating when a missed promise happens. Do more than is expected, a lot more. I know of a large natural products company who has recently broken an implied promise. Their actions have left their distribution channels with no product because of a manufacturing problem beyond their control. The company stepped up and created a system for compensating their workforce so they will not have their incomes challenged. This is very expensive for them to do. The result is going to be an empowered workforce that will be loyal to the limit and be a driving force to help the company hit its billion-dollar goal. I interviewed a Nordstrom's employee about his job and what he felt was the company's demerits and strengths. He had little to say about their demerits but was very profuse about his praise. In summary, he said "they treat my like a customer." In essence, they kept promises made to him and acknowledged his importance. That is how advocates come to your corner. "I simply do not have time to do all that warm fuzzy stuff", pleads very busy managers and supervisors. That might be a true statement. Belief and confession is reality to those that adopt that stance. Do all managers think this way? Find a manager that everyone admires and respects. Interview her/him regarding attitude towards making promises and managing employees. The answers provide uncanny insight. Be sure to send a handwritten thank you note acknowledging their time spent with you. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" was penned by King Solomon, purported to be the wisest man in the world by his contemporaries. A person with a troubled heart will not perform as well as a person with a happy heart. Give hope to employees by keeping actual and implied promises.All my best, Jim Rooney
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Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:
rj@peoplesmarttools.com
phone:
325.792.1148
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