Commit to Learning at the Company Level
By Jay Forte, Humanetrics
Published in The EDGE, Quarter 1 2007
Yesterday is done, gone; it’s over. Successful companies and people know that history is important for context and foundation but it is not always a successful approach to handle today’s business. When you went to bed last night, the world changed. Some of the changes directly affect you and your business, others do not…at least not yet. Successful companies move through each day with their eyes open to notice everything, learning as much as they can; they know that success in this highly competitive, high performing technological environment happens in thinking…in the mind.
Welcome to a new age…an age of learning. With the dramatic amount of information now available to everyone, our success is in our ability to stay continually informed. We now must commit to constant learning to stay competitive and connected to the things that drive our success. Tools are now available to everyone – tools that help every employee know more than ever before. And success only happens when all of us consistently use what we know to direct and drive performance.
Let me give you an example. Today, seventy-five per cent of all businesses in North America are now service related; much of manufacturing has moved off-shore. What does that mean to you? Our employees (what they know) are now our most important asset and the source of our competitive advantage. In a service (intellectual) economy, each employee impacts and controls our response to each customer. Every customer wants service in their exactly and only their way; we are in the age of “customer-ized” service. That means that customer A wants product shipped; customer B needs regularly information and suggestions how to use products and Customer C needs something entirely different. And each of the three wants it right every time. One size fits all service is not acceptable. The world changed…
So, our employees now need to first know what each customer requires, second get it right every time and third provide it in a dynamic way that gets the business remembered and works to create a loyal customer. And it is the employee who provides this – or doesn’t provide this. The choice to provide extraordinary customized service resides in the mind of each employee. Since service is an intellectual/passionate response, the employee now has total control over their effort and creative response. Employees control how hard they work and how much passion they provide. Nowadays, managers can’t mandate extraordinary performance…it has to come freely from each employee. Brawn is out, brain is in. Mandates are out, encouragement is in. The world changed…
We are indeed in the age of learning; of going through the days with our eyes open. We need our employees to pack their brains when they pack their lunches because each moment of each day requires a thinking response. Only by encouraging employees to learn, focus on excellence and feel part of a high performing culture will we be able to compete successfully, work to create loyal customers and grow a dynamic business.
So how does learning happen in the workplace? It is in regular on-the-job training, in cross-training of positions, in attending courses, participating in live web meetings, in reading industry journals, newspapers and searching the web. Learning happens when a company culture encourages it, provides resources and works to develop each employee to take advantage of their talents and to develop their skills. Learning happens when companies require their employees to constantly invent responses to service situations, problems and opportunities; when they insist that employees bring 3 new ideas to improve operations, compete more effectively or improve service to every meeting. Learning happens when companies ask their employees to reach out of their comfort zones to try new things. Learning happens when we share articles, quotes, work tips and suggestions with everyone. Learning happens when employees are asked to review books, courses and articles and report back to others on what it means, how it can be used and what the impact on the customer can be. Learning happens when everyone’s job includes an hour or two of studying a week. Learning happens when magazines and periodicals of other industries are made available to employees to review – to see how others deal with their worlds. Learning happens when guest speakers come to your business or attend outside meeting with speakers. Which do you do? How smart is your team?
An environment of continual learning is a new concept for many companies because it is not in line with the old “command and control” method of management previously used to drive a more manufacturing-based economy. And then the world changed and mandating performance is no longer successful. Encouraging all employees to be part of the process of running a business and responding to customers is now the way to drive performance. This requires a constant voluntary dialogue with every employee about virtually every aspect of business. Employees know; and when given the opportunity and requirement to think, they earn their role and their pay. So, if at first you don’t succeed, think, think again because performance is learning and thinking in action.
Humanetrics LLC. All rights reserved 2007.