Hey SkedX'ers!
Just wanted to share with you all this great infographic on employee engagement before you all head home!!
Above image taken from: http://visually.visually.netdna-cdn.com/TheImportanceofEmployeeEngagement_4f4fe9f030e38_w587.jpg
Till' The Next Post,
Aman
continue →Good Morning SkedX'ers!
I know the topic of organizational culture is a frequent one here on the SkedCast but today I wanted to share with you all the "3 C's of Culture." The job of leaders currently in the workplace is to develop culture and design the most effective ways to get the most out of your employees. This is exemplified through the never ending success theories, business models, loyalty programs, and more. We reach out to third parties to help us develop culture and help us design ways to maximize efficiency, yet we still lack a solid understanding of what culture is and how we harness it.
Culture is essentially the way we act in the workplace, it is the way we think we should behave, and it is the things we think we should and shouldn't say. Culture is the guide to the company when the leader is not present. So if we can define culture that simply, then how come we are unable to develop successful culture and use it to enhance the operations of our business? Well it is true that culture is far more complex than that, so that is why I'm sharing with you all what are known as the 3Cs of culture.
The 3Cs of Culture:
1. Clarity: The first step to a successful culture is having a clear idea of how you want to operate your business and what your ethos will be. A good example of this is Zappos and their 10 point list of "Zappos Family Values." Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh recognized that treating his employees like humans rather than commodities could give his service a competitive advantage and then modelled his business around that idea.
2. Communication: Companies with great culture frequently and clearly communicate their mission, vision, and core values. Now I know most of you are saying "I do that to!" But do you communicate those values when employees are likely to be the most receptive to them? Most companies tend to rely on a company manual or power point presentation to communicate their values. Successful companies on the other hand made it a focus that new hires understood company values as early on as the recruiting process. An example of a company that clearly communicated its values was Jet Blue and its founder David Neeleman. Neeleman made headlines by flying with crew members once a month. Just like the rest of the crew he would don an apron, pace the aisles, and serve coffee while introducing himself. This gesture communicated to employees that not only is the company flat but that they're a vital part of the success to Jet Blue; it made them feel on par with the founder. This act also made customers feel better about flying Jet Blue and that the company truly cared for them.
3. Consistency: The key to companies who had strong organizational culture is that they ensured there were no broken links between their desired culture and the behaviour of the company. The most important part to developing any organizations culture is that is must be practiced at all levels and that it can't be something that is just on paper. The best culture is one that is practiced and preached every single day throughout every single process of the business. An example of a company that consistently practices what they believe is Oschner Health Systems. To better improve relations between patients and care takers CEO Mitch Wasden desiged the "5-to-10 Rule.” The rule states that employees visually acknowledge patients within 10 feet of them with a smile or wave for example, and within 5 feet the rule states an employee must verbally acknowledge that person. What this did was it made the workplace have a more human feel and it made people stop and recognize those around them.
By considering the 3Cs above, your business can be well on its way to developing a rich organizational culture that enhances operations. Although it is important to remember that organizational culture isn’t some mythical concept that if implemented you will find success. It is rather something that needs to be developed and more importantly it is something that needs to be lived by.
Above post contains excerpts from: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/05/culture_takes_over_when_the_ce.html
Till The Next Post,
Aman
continue →Good Morning SkedX'ers!
I hope you all had a fun and relaxing weekend, and are energized to take on the week!
Today I wanted to share with you all some common mistakes workplace leaders tend to make. If we start at the top, it is important that the leader is someone who demonstrates and exemplifies what your business wants to achieve.
So here are 5 common mistakes that leaders make!
1. Short-Term Success: Many leaders tend to focus on short-term success so they can call themselves successful. The problem with this is that when things are rushed and not planned out then the rest of the business suffers as well. Some managers thrive by walking on coals while trying to make decisions but most do not. So what can be done to combat this is to have a calendar of planned events that are ranked on urgency. That way when you need to prioritize activities in crisis mode you can logically decide which is the most important by referring to your calendar.
2. Lack of Communication: One big mistake many leaders make is that they do not communicate enough with their employees. Part of the problem is that many of these leaders feel they do communicate and that it's their employees who do not get the message. We must then consider if it's the sender of the message, the way it's being sent or if it's the recipient of the message. In this case, it is the sender and the way it is being sent. Although you may disagree, your staff need to be told things more than once and in modern day there are many ways to do that so embrace it. More than likely your employees are using mobile devices to communicate so consider using it to communicate information to them about the business. Other options include social intranets, social media, audio, videos, and more.
3. Not Enough Feedback: Another common mistake many leaders make is that they do not address behaviour patterns that concern them for fear of conflict. As a result, this behaviour then turns into a tolerated norm of the workplace. To avoid this it is important to address the behaviour (positive or negative) immediately after it is noticed. In order to be successful, you have to clearly communicate what you observed, how it effected the business, and how they can correct (or how they should keep up) that behaviour.
4. Unclear goals: Without having clear objectives, then your road to success will forever be ridden with fog. The best way to set effective goals is by involving employees in the goal setting process and setting realistic goals that can be achieved. It is important after to consistently remind employees how close they are to achieving them. With clear goals and greater transparency you can see your employee’s performance improve.
5. Failing to Motivate: Motivation isn't something that you can just put forth on your employees, it has to be developed. If you’re developing and trying to motivate without the consideration of what motivates each individual then your employees will forever be disengaged. The key to successful motivation is giving your employee greater freedom and flexibility, tools to develop their skills and behaviour, and ultimately a purpose (recognition.)
By considering the mistakes above and the tips provided, try seeing how your employees react to your new leadership traits. More than likely they will respond positively and you business will be on the right path to success.
Above post contains excerpts from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/morning-manager/five-major-mistakes-leaders-make/article2430178/
Above image taken from: http://timpeters.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/BadLeader.jpg
Till' The Next Post,
Aman
continue →Good Afternoon SkedX'ers!
Today I wanted to share with you all a bit of information regarding bringing your own devices (BYOD) to the workplace. Many organizations are aware that there employees bring their own technological devices and use them for business purposes, but now the challenge is finding out how many are actually using it and what benefits it has. As the mainstay technological device shifts from laptops to pocket sized devices, more and more of your employees are performing business tasks on their personal devices.
Recently a Cisco survey of IT managers had shown that 48 percent of those who had responded claimed they would never authorize BYOD policies, yet 58 percent believed there employees were using there own devices anyways. Approximately 1200 Americans reported they use their own devices for work from an interactive poll headed by ESET, as well as another survey reporting that 87 percent of global executives complete work related tasks from devices they brought in.
Many employers are fearful of BYOD because they don't have complete control over the hardware and software being used, but also the work being done itself. Also many believe that BYOD is just something Generation Y ushered in and it's something only they can do. Regardless of age, the above is false and BYOD really gained in popularity due to the accessibility factor.
“The number one benefit of BYOD isn’t retention, but changing the way people do their work, and enabling your employees to work anywhere,” says Benoit Bertrand, Avanade Canada’s chief technology officer.
It's also interesting to note that 71 percent of Canadian executives who responded to the survey ranked there employees ability to complete work remotely as the top benefit, with 49 percent believing that BYOD made employees more open to working after-hours.
Companies that are ahead of competitors realize that BYOD has far greater possibilities than just mobile browsing. With BYOD policies, companies can then start to develop in house programs and applications that allow for easier information sharing, social services, engagement services, CRM services, and more!
From the Ciso IT survey, it was a general consensus among executives that tablet/mobile based applications can benefit there business, although just over half believe they need to have some sort of restrictions for company applications. With consumer devices on the rise in the workplace it is your best bet to rather embrace it and discover how it can benefit your business, rather than deterring employees from using their personal devices for work. Close to two-thirds of Canadian executives believe that making BYOD work is a “top priority" says Avande. The same report also showed that 84 percent of executives surveyed found it a “relatively simple matter” to develop BYOD policies.
So it's safe to say that more and more personal devices will be used to complete work related tasks. Yet employer's shouldn't be scared of this and that is has the potential to enhance your employees productivity.
To learn about how we here at SkedX can help you utilize employees bringing their own devices, please click here.
Above post contains excerpts from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/digital/web-strategy/younger-arent-only-ones-bringing-own-devices-to-work/article2425063/
Till' The Next Post,
Aman
continue →Good Morning SkedX'ers!
Today I have a feature post for you all on how to develop a successful organizational culture. Organizational culture is an important part of any company’s success and can give a company the competitive advantage they need to move forward. Organizational culture is defined as the collective behaviour of people that work for an organization. This is formed from the organizations vision, practices, norms, symbols, beliefs and habits. What this really means is that organizational culture is essentially a representation of what your company believes in and how it wishes to operate. Organizational culture varies company to company and ultimately is what makes working for your company unique beyond the products/services you sell. An example of this would be how Google has yoga and pilates for its employees, or how Facebook allows new hires to play with live code that can possibly crash the site. Organizational culture even extends to the type of lunch you serve employees (that is if you provide employees with lunch.)
Organizational culture is an important part to enhancing your company’s success because an organizational culture that is strong has many benefits for the business. By developing a strong organizational culture your company can see many benefits including increased revenue, talent retention, engagement, morale and more.
By having a strong organizational culture, two things happen:
1. Your employees are engaged and passionate about the company they work for
2. Your employees become ambitious, focused, and feel like they are achieving something greater
The two points above are critical in the development of your organizational culture because when your employees are passionate about the work they do they will express this in and outside of the workplace. Also when a company puts its employees first it demonstrates you value them greatly and in turn they feel the need to develop and improve their skills further. Overall a strong organizational culture can help you see improved sales, customer service, morale, retention, and generally makes your company more appealing to potential hires and consumers.
Take Google for example, in the video below we are given a look inside to what it’s like working for Google. Google employees are given great amounts of responsibility and autonomy early on which makes new hires feel like they are truly a part of the team and are making a difference.
Many companies attempt to develop a strong organizational culture yet do not follow through with it and end up with money wasted and disengaged employees. To avoid that happening it is vital that organizational culture is practiced at all levels of the company and is not just something the top level passed on to the bottom. The best organizational culture usually involves the top-level working and communicating with the bottom level directly. Not only does this enhance workplace relationships but it takes away some of the fear and pressure the bottom level feels from the top. Also it takes out the long form communication of going from the top level to the bottom (if you want to know something from the bottom, go directly to the bottom and not through multiple managers.)
Transparency is also another key part of a strong organizational culture. Employees don’t want to feel as if there is information being hidden from them and they also don’t want to feel isolated from the rest of the company. Companies with great organizational culture share information across all levels and encourage departments to communicate and participate with each other. An easy way of increasing transparency is by having companywide events. Why not hold a hockey tournament where the teams are made up of employees across all departments. Not only does it encourage communication among employees who regularly wouldn’t work together, but it also creates a bit of friendly competition and alleviates some of the stress employees feel.
One more aspect of a strong organizational culture is one that helps employees develop their skills and attitudes further. Great organizations know that hiring top talent from the get go isn’t the way to success, but rather finding those employees who can be moulded into top talent through your organizational culture. Great organizations provide employees with tools, events, and resources that enhance and develop their skills. An employee who recognizes that they can improve themselves further with your organization is one that will not only want to work for you but is one that will also speak highly of you.
Even the physical work environment is a part of organizational culture. By simply letting more natural light in, allowing employees to play music, having fewer barriers and more open space enhances how employees feel while at work. By having fewer walls and barriers in the workplace you are encouraging communication and transparency among employees even further.
Now that we have a strong understanding of organizational culture and the power it has, it is important to consider the power of using modern technologies to enhance organizational culture. With the introduction of a social intranet, your organization’s culture can be practiced and enhanced online. A social intranet is simply an internal website where all employees can create, view, and share content on top of connecting with one another. This ranges from blogs, videos, audio, images, and more. A social intranet is a great way to encourage employees to discuss work and non-work related subjects to enhance relationships as well. Many employees are often unsure if they feel heard within the organization by not only higher level employees but also by their peers so a social intranet attempts to reduce that. The idea of using a social intranet for organizational culture is that you want your online community to be representative of your offline community. With a social intranet, there are similar benefits to a strong organizational culture but enhanced.
Here’s a quick video that outlines social intranets
By using a social intranet employees are able to communicate across all levels from anywhere in the world, have access to work related resources and documents, and by being able to create and edit their own profiles it gives them a freedom that is usually thought to be revoked in the workplace. A social intranet is also a great way to recognize employees. With a social intranet your recognition is public providing the employee with a greater feeling of being successful but also motivates other employees to receive the same type of public praise. Also an advantage of recognition through a social intranet is that it’s not just limited to employer to employee, but peers can also recognize and congratulate peers for a job well done.
Another advantage of implementing a social intranet is that employee engagement can see improvements by making information more accessible and by allowing employees to create/edit content of their own to be shared with peers. By being able to create something unique that can be shared with peers it allows for an employee to demonstrate skills and knowledge they normally may have not had the opportunity to. With a successful social intranet, your business and social functions combine to create a business that speaks with its employees beyond traditional communication methods. As a result, information moves laterally instead of vertically and each employee feels like a valued part of something larger.
So now some of you may be asking yourselves why you would need a social intranet if you already have a strong offline organizational culture. Well the reason being is that the workplace has changed and so have the type of employees in it. Currently Generation Y is entering and taking over the workplace while Baby Boomers are either retiring or are on their last few years of working.
Why this is important to organizational culture and social intranets is because Generation Y are younger, do more, and grew up with modern technologies. Generation Y are constantly browsing the web and have a dependency to stay connected to the online world. This is because Generation Y grew up with modern technologies, so in turn they are more accustomed to newer technologies. As a result, Generation Y seeks more than just a paycheque from their employer. They want to love where they work and want the world to know it. They want to believe that the work they do is an essential part to reaching organizational goals and they also want to be recognized for it.
So why is this important and why should you care about generation y? Well Generation Y responds well to things that focus on community and sharing. They have grown up in an online world where the majority of what they do is talk and share with the community they built (their social network.) So if an employer can provide the same community aspect that is also beneficial to both employee and employer than you will surely find yourself successful.
http://www.paywithatweet.com/pay/?id=71d9bfdd76d15d7dc906ce2c60d3a9ba
continue →Today, I want to talk talk to you about the nuts and bolts of SkedX, and how it helps us to become the best HR software solution that we are today.
Two years ago, Mike and I (the founders of SkedX) made a difficult decision to start from scratch. Up until that point, we had build and sold SkedX to many companies, but the way things were initially built really constrained our ability to deliver awesome software and service. We were unable to react quickly to customer concerns, and worse, each change required much more engineering than we had resources at the time. So Mike and I decided to teardown and rebuild.
Many experts would tell you rebuilding from scratch is a horrible idea, and I would agree most of the time. However, for us, it has been the best decision we’ve made.
Why was it the best decision? Let me talk about three main things that we did differently, and why they have helped us to be awesome today.
Ruby-on-Rails
When we were starting down our path of the rebuild, we were not just looking to optimize the software itself, but optimize everything. One of the places we looked into changing, was the software language we used. Without getting technical, switching to Ruby-on-Rails makes our customers really happy! why? because we can act super quickly to customer requests. If there is a bug, we can fix it on the spot without affecting other users on the system. If there is a feature request, we can build them much quicker than any of the other HR software companies.
Hosting
One of the perks of changing over to Ruby-on-Rails, is that we can start having SkedX hosted on a product called Heroku. Heroku, which is owned by Salesforce.com (one of the biggest tech companies in the world), uses the servers owned by Amazon.com (the online retailer). This crazy mash-up of the web juggernauts gives SkedX users world class security and scalability. This mash-up is so secure in fact, that it is authorized to run US government software.
HTML5
HTML5 is essentially the software code for all the things you actually see when you are on our site or software. You may have heard a lot of talk about HTML5 in the last year or so, especially with mobile devices becoming such a vital part of our online life. What is awesome about HTML5, is that it makes things look great on most browsers and on most devices. That means, you can use SkedX, wherever, and whenever, and you will get the same great experience.
These are just a few of the many things we have been doing to make the SkedX experience amazing for our users. We are always trying to make things better and push our users experience to the next level. If you are interested in learning more, feel free to give me a shout at Anthony@SkedX.com, and I’d be more than happy to chat.
‘Till next time, keep it simple!
continue →Good Morning SkedX'ers!
Today I wanted to share with you all some tips on developing your brand and why it is important to have a brand with personality. Day by day consumers are increasing the amount of information they intake and as a result it has become increasingly difficult to win them over and make the sale. Knowing this, it is important for companies who want to stay successful to develop a brand that's beyond a name and image. Times have changed and it is not enough to just have a recognizable image and colour scheme to represent your brand. In current day consumers want to support companies that do more (being environmentally friendly, ensuring safe work practices, making charitable donations, and etc.)
Your brand is a lifestyle and a way for your consumers to express themselves and now they have more ways of doing that than ever. So a company that wants to stay current and successful with their brand will need to develop a community of loyal consumers. Consumers want to connect with a brand and build a relationship so your company needs to consider what the brand means and what it is trying to accomplish before the above can be achieved.
With that said, here are 7 questions you can ask to help develop your brand!
1. Who am I?
2. What kind of results do I want to see?
3. Is my brand one that everyone is trying to connect with? or am I trying to target one specific market?
4. Does my personality fit my brand identity? Is it strong enough to make a lasting impression?
5. How do I want to be perceived by my customers and audience?
6. Does my personality define me?
7. If my brand were human what would be my characteristics?
Once you are able to answer the above questions you can then say your brand has a personality and is unique. What can be done with your newly redefined brand is that you can develop an integrated marketing campaign that revolves around your brand's personality. It is important to target those who would want to connect and build a relationship with your brand, and it is just as important to give consumers a reason to stay connected with you.
If your brand is one that focuses heavily on being environmentally friendly then target those who wish to be environmentally friendly and give them an incentive to represent your brand. For example, have consumers post photos of their favourite natural habitats to your social network to be shared and viewed by other loyal consumers who share the same view for the environment. Your social network then becomes a place where consumers who are environmentally friendly can communicate and connect with each other and as a result your brand gains credibility, loyal consumers, and of course revenue.
To learn more about building loyal communities, be sure to check out our article on customer communities and our SkedX Conversations With The Experts: It's All About Your Brand video.
The above post contains excerpts from: http://www.business2community.com/branding/brand-personality-7-questions-to-help-you-develop-your-brand-0175015
The above image taken from: http://themiddleshelf.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/brand_of_frankenstein.png
Till The Next Post,
Aman
continue →Now, I don’t know about you, but I have some challenges in the focus department. My problem is not so much that I am too lazy to see things through, but rather, over anxious to get things moving to the next level. Left to my own devices, I probably would be like a runner on a treadmill, getting nowhere fast. Fortunately for me, I have some really great mentors and advisors who have given me some great tools to keep focused, and also, give me the occasional ass kicking when I need it.
Why am I telling you this? Well it’s simple. My goal is to help everyone succeed. I want to lay the cards out, and share my short falls, to help you all grow. I know that it would be impossible to believe that I am the only entrepreneur with focus issues. The problem with entrepreneurs like myself who are ambitious yet lack the focus on execution is that unless they acknowledge the problem, they will ultimately fail.
One of the biggest ways to help you focus and keep on track is developing a plan. Without a plan, focus is next to impossible. Really, at that point, what would you focus on?
Once you have your plan, it is really important that you create milestones in your plan. The smaller and more achievable the milestones are, the better it is.
Why must the milestones be small and achievable? Because it is easy to lose focus quickly when you start missing milestones. If you make your milestones bite-sized, you will rack up small victories that will ultimately lead to your success.
Creating milestones can be very simple. Start with the end goal, and work backward. Building milestones in this way does two things; first, gives you the targets you need to meet in order to meet your goals, and secondly, gives you an idea if your ultimate goal is realistic. If your end goal requires you to hit unrealistic milestones, than you know that something is wrong, and you need to go back to the drawing board.
Once you hit your milestones, it is important to do two things. The first thing you must do is evaluate your path to your milestone. Ask yourself the questions: did I get here quick enough? could I have done something different to improve my success? was the milestone too challenging to achieve? do I need to make any changes in my plan?
Asking yourself these questions, will help you to continue succeeding. If your milestone was too hard (or too easy) to hit, maybe your milestones need to be changed. Also, think about how you can improve to achieve hitting milestones more quickly. Every professional athlete does a post-game analysis, you should do the same.
The second thing you must do is celebrate. When you hit a milestone, however small it is, celebrate. Nothing keeps you focused like the feeling of winning.
To sum up, the way I remember to keep focus is using the acronym PMAC (Plan, Milestones, Analyze, Celebrate). Keep focused on executing, and you will see the success follow!
‘Till next time, keep it simple!
Anthony
continue →If you recall, a couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about Knowledge Based Business Communities and all the different aspects they involve (if you don’t remember, here is the link). One of the core aspects of the Knowledge Based Business Community (KBBC) is that a group of like-minded individuals need to meet, in person, and talk about the things that will either help themselves or the group grow to the next level.
Last night, I met for the first time with a brand new group called Toronto Entrepreneurs of Passion and Purpose (TEPP). Aside from meeting some great individuals and learning from others, I was introduced to something I’ve never heard of before, the open space un-conference.
As you already know, conferences can be very structured, boring and uninteresting. Usually when you find yourself at a conference, the topics are of the organizers choosing, and if you find yourself in a particular session you thought you would like, but is instead boring, you feel bad leaving.
The open space un-conference starts off with a blank slate. The only things that are structured are the times of sessions and the different rooms the sessions will be held in. It is up to the group to come up with the topics. The way this was done at the TEPP meeting, was the organizer place up on the wall, the list of rooms in columns on along the top, and the session times in rows along the side.
Papers and markers were placed in the middle of the room, and anyone was allowed to write down any topic of their choosing, and post it up on the un-conference’s wall. Quickly, the sessions filled up with topics as diverse as, How to sell B2B effectively, to How would you change the world, all the way to the topic of Bob Marley.
In the world of un-conferences, there are really only two main rules: one is to stick to the time limits, and the other is the two feet rule.
The two feet rule is simple. If you end up not liking a session, are not learning anything, or cannot add value, use your two feel and leave the session and join another. If no other session is of interest to you, then you must go to the main room and meet with others not in sessions as well. It is very possible that in the meeting room, you will end up having your own very profound conversations with the others.
At the end of the sessions, it is then important to get everyone back into the same room, and have people share things they learned. You will be surprised how much learning happens when people actually are interested in the topics being spoken about.
I hope you like this concept of un-conferences as much as I do. Break the status quo, and greatness will follow!
‘Till next time, keep it simple!
continue →Have you ever lost a great employee? Why did that employee leave? Was it because of you? Chances are it probably was.
Now before you go and start sending me nasty emails, I don’t necessarily mean you specifically, but your company or something your company has done. When you look at the top reasons why people leave a company, It is not totally impossible to believe that you may have fallen victim to one.
For todays post, we’re not going to focus on all the possible ways to keep your top employees happy, but rather, concentrate on the one way that will almost guarantee that you get all your employees upset, and that is implementing big software!
Big software, especially big scheduling software, has big promises. I will not disagree that you can see results. Many of the big scheduling software companies use algorithms to calculate what the ‘optimal‘ schedule is for each location, then spits out a schedule based on a couple of inputs. No human interaction necessary. All of this to hopefully get an extra 1% in sales. This sounds great, but the problem is, at what cost?
Well, aside from the couple hundred thousand to a couple million dollars to get started, you ONLY have to start thinking of your employees as robots. If that is something you’re cool with, then I have some news for you, a company that actually cares about their employees and thinks of them as humans, will soon take your market share and soon after that, your business.
I recently heard from a front-line employee of a large retail company that is in the process of implementing a new big scheduling system. This employee told me how the moral of all the employees has seen a sharp decline since the implementation. In fact, many employees are quitting specifically because of this change.
Now I understand, that anytime there is a change in a system or a process, employees get angry. However, this widespread anger is not due to a simple change, but speaks to the complete disregard of the employees themselves.
One story that was told to me, was that of a hard-working middle-aged man with young children. The algorithm of the software only gave full-time employees the ability for full 8-hour shifts. Part-timers are only given multiple 3-hour shifts during the week. Since this man was a part-time employee, his shifts which were reduced and scattered throughout the week, making it challenging for him to make arrangements for his kids. When this man confronted his manager, he was told to either learn to like the shifts, or find employment elsewhere as there are many people who would gladly take is job.
I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want my employees who deal directly with my customers to feel completely valueless.
Employees who feel valueless or become disengaged don’t just effect your businesses in a lets-sit-around-in a-circle-and-sing-kumbaya kinda way. They cost your business money. ALOT of money!
Lets run the numbers for a second here. If Mr. Big Scheduling Software says that through their software, you can see a 1% increase in sales, and you are a retailer with 5000 employees and $100 Million in sales, you could see an impressive $1million dollar bump in sales. Great job!
However, if that comes at a cost of employee engagement and moral, the numbers now don’t look as good. For one, seeing an increase of 5% turnover is incredibly possible, meaning that 250 employees will most likely leave you because of the change. At a minimum of $4,000 to turnover each one, you just wasted that million right there. But, we’re not finished. Everyone who is still working for you. They are angry, unhappy and left feeling valueless. Based on a study by Watson Wyatt, engaged employees produce a minimum of 1.9% more revenue. So an engaged employee who is now disengaged, should produce 1.9% less, meaning $1.9 Million less in your pocket.
Now let me ask you, does spending millions to buy and install a new big scheduling software that will ultimately lose you money and market share in the long run make sense? Well, to me it doesn’t, but apparently it does to many retailers who pay for these services.
Make a change and put an end to looking at your employees as robots. Care for them, and they will care for you with money and marketshare!
If you're interested to learn how we at SkedX have made the scheduling awesome, digital, cheap and flexible, then sign-up for our Scheduling Webinar on May 8th @5pm est. It will be the best 20min you have ever spent!
Algrin Technologies Inc.
1 Yonge Street
Suite 915,
Toronto
Ontario,
M5E 1E5
1.888.My.SkedX
