Better Business One-Liners

We are all guilty of over-thinking solutions. Sometimes the solution to the big problem is just doing the tried and true.

• Treat employees like people ... guess what, they are (oh, and believe it or not, this is also true of callers)
• People want and need coaching: Yep, we want to look up to our boss. And, we want our boss to correct us... kindly
• Win their hearts: Remember, big changes are hard and take time to adjust, but people will rally and support something they believe in
• Before making a decision, think about how it will affect others and weigh that against how important it is to put the decision into action. Oh, and by the way... by "others" I mean the people that will have to carry out whatever the decision is (front-line employees)
• Give second chances: Look, we all make mistakes and everyone deserves to be forgiven
• That "golden rule" applies in business too: Oh, I sort of talked about this in the bullet above, but look... too many decisions are made in business without thinking of others. So, in business decisions, coaching sessions, or just the way we look at and greet others, use the golden rule
• That "do the right thing" rule applies in business too. This one is easy. When faced with a difficult decision, do the right thing. We're all blessed with a conscience and doing the right thing is always "the right thing"
• KISS (I won't soften it, but your HR staff might): Keep It Simple Stupid. Yeah! Really, it doesn't need to be complicated to be good. And if it isn't complicate, it is usually better

This week's blog is really sort of a random collection of simple things to do to make life and business better. Do you have a snippet to share? Please leave a comment with your better business one-liners.

You Get What You Pay For

Early on in my career in off-shoring a training manager said, "if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys." Compensation is tricky: Base pay, bonuses, signing bonuses, pay-for-performance, incentives, and it goes on and on. What should be considered for compensation? How is performance related to pay?

Look at the market. OK, that's too simple. But it is true. The problem with many cut-throat vendors is trying to one up the others with a few more pesos, rupees, dollars, etc. In the end, the industry suffers because we all end up pricing ourselves out of the market. Take a look at the current market and be relatively competitive. That's really it. If you pay above the market rate, you better demand higher skills and expect slow hiring. If you're below the market rate, expect to invest more in training and you better have a spectacular coaching culture if you want to survive.

How is performance related to pay? Beyond the skills mentioned above, compensation can be one of the tools used to reward behavior. This external stimulus for behavior should always be accompanied with pomp and circumstance however. What am I talking about?

Well, we all have two type of motivation, internal (intrinsic) and external (extrinsic). The extrinsic rewards get you so far (further with some). And internal motivation is that burning desire within to do a great job -- and with any fire, we can add fuel. Making a big deal out of performance-based rewards is critical to driving this much stronger motivation.

Before Outsourcing: Define Company Culture

Why is it important? Having a clearly defined and communicated company culture is essential for loyalty, vision, and driving results. When outsourcing your customer service, it is critical to be able to communicate expectations and have a theme of culture and values to tie those expectations to. Defining your company's culture in a strong and sustainable way will make the outsourcing experience consistent for your customers.

How? Most individuals within a company have some idea of what their company's culture is. You might be surprised though if you were to ask others to interpret the culture of the company. At the core, a company's culture is a set of shared values and practices. We've already established this is critical to the success of outsourcing, but where do you start?

There has already been work done for you in most cases. First, take a look at:

• Mission / Vision Statements
• Company Values
• Existing communication processes
• Logos and other related collateral
• Strong representatives of company culture

Here are some example characteristics of company cultures that others have used successfully:

• Mission clarity
• Employee commitment
• Fully empowered employees
• High integrity workplace
• Strong trust relationships
• Highly effective leadership
• Effective systems and processes
• Performance-based compensation and reward programs
• Customer-focused
• Effective 360-degree communications
• Commitment to learning and skill development
• Emphasis on recruiting and retaining outstanding employees
• High degree of adaptability
• High accountability standards
• Demonstrated support for innovation

Also consider these factors and their importance:

• Industry recognition (e.g., customer service awards)
• Communication style (dignified professional communication vs. relaxed friendly communication)
• Management engagement with employees
• Executive engagement with employees

Going Overboard: In the end, you are outsourcing because you trust the experts who will handle your business. Yes it is critical to establish your company's culture and gain commitment from your vendor to ingrain, promote, and foster the same culture, but there are limits. The vendor's culture will likely have points complimentary to your organization's culture. Use these complimentary points to your advantage. Also, realize the vendor will have processes in place that will enhance the experience of your customers. Allow within your culture, the opportunity to experiment and innovate and also accept variance from vendor to vendor when it comes to processes. However, demand the same results regardless of the vendor.

Make it stick. Defining and communicating your company's culture once will never be enough. Set up a clear and recurring method of communicating the culture of your organization. Utilize those who exemplify the company's culture and those who help to define and shape the culture to communicate this message. Test, that's right TEST, your vendors on the culture through audits, questionnaires, and discussions to ensure your customer service partners understand the culture inside and out.

What if? What if we've already outsourced, and our culture hasn't taken with the vendor? Use the above tips to define and communicate your company's culture. Do it now, do it again in a month, three months, and continually going forward. If you're behind with this, you're going to need to hit it big and keep plugging away to get it into the fabric of your vendor's business.