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David
Lee
Consultant
Speaker
Author |
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For
More Information:
David Lee, Principal
HumanNature@Work
P.O. Box 430
Bar Mills, Maine 04004
Tel: 207-929-3344
E-mail: info@HumanNatureAtWork.com |
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AR
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If
You Want a More Successful Employee Referral
Program…
Think “Experience” |
| By
David Lee |
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| Published
in ERExchange.com · February 10th, 2005 |
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Imagine the following scenario:
you go to an all-inclusive resort where you’re
treated to mediocre service, meals, and accommodations.
When you check out, the desk clerks pushes
a package across the counter in your direction.
On the way to the airport, you open it to
find two items and a note from the property
manager
saying:
“
Thank you for staying at our wonderful resort.
To show you – our valued customer – how
much we appreciate your patronage, we would
like you to have these gifts.” In the
package, you find a T-Shirt with the resort’s
logo and a certificate for $100 off your
next visit, redeemable when you get a friend
to
stay at the resort.
Clearly, the nice note and gifts make you
feel valued – far overshadowing the treatment
and accommodations you received. Now you’re
going to tell your friends they should visit
the resort, so you can get redeem your $100
coupon. Right?
Our hypothetical scenario is not all that
different from how many companies execute
their Employee
Referral Programs. They encourage employees
to recruit friends and colleagues, to invite
them to share in a work experience that is
less-than-stellar. They ask them to spend
their social and networking capital recommending
something that doesn’t deliver.
They then reward this endeavor with a meager
referral bonus, offering a fraction of what
they would pay a staffing agency or recruiter.
Although some people are mercenary enough
to recruit others to work for an employer
they
themselves aren’t pleased with, is
this the talent pool you want to dip your
bucket
into?
It's All About the Experience
If you want a more successful Employee Referral Program, you first need to make
sure you are giving your employees something to brag about. As in our hypothetical
resort scenario, job one is to upgrade the experience. Give your customers – in
this case, your employees – an experience that would make anyone want to
tell others about what a great place this is. |
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| To turn
your workforce into a band of headhunters,
you need to analyze the work experience
you deliver. You need to do this with
the unrelenting honesty and discernment
that companies known for industry dominating
service apply to the customer experience
they deliver. They scrutinize each interaction
the customer has with their company step
by step. Each step, called a Moment of
Truth because they know that at each
step, the customer can earn or destroy
customer loyalty. As they examine each
step of the customer interaction, they
ask questions such as: |
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“What do our customers
want from this interaction?” |
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“The way we handle this step… what
emotions and perceptions does it leave
with our customers?” |
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“If we do it this new way, what
emotions and perceptions would that leave
with our customers?” |
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“What emotions and perceptions
do we want this moment of truth to create… and
what do we need to do to create them?” |
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If You Create the Right Experience, They Will Talk
Asking similar questions about the work experience you deliver to your
employees will help you design the kind of experience that employees would
want to tell others about. They want to tell their friends and colleagues
because they feel so lucky, and they know how unusual their employer is.
They WANT to give the people they care about and respect an opportunity
to be as lucky as they.
Not only does creating such a satisfying, motivating, inspiring work experience
turn your workforce into a band of headhunters, it also improves morale,
productivity, engagement, and customer service quality. Thus, doing this
isn’t a “nice to do if we had the time” project. Doing
this well has far reaching implications for the very sources of your financial
viability. |
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Ten Moments of Truth You Must Get Right
So, how do you create this kind of experience?
First, to make it more manageable, break
down the “Employee Experience” into
sub-experiences. Think about what Moments
of Truth comprise the total employee experience.
Think about the interactions employees
have with their boss and with their employer
that most powerfully affect morale, engagement,
and productivity. Some of the most important – and
often botched -- Moments of Truth that
shape the overall employee experience are: |
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1. |
The “Interviewing
and Hiring Experience” |
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Does your process leave
applicants feeling respected?
Does your process lead people to view your company as a well run outfit?
Does your process lead people to view your company as an employer who cares about
and respects its employees? |
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| 2. |
The “Preparing
An Employee For his New Job Experience” |
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Is your orientation program inspiring or
does it leave new employees with “buyer’s
remorse”?
Does your orientation program leave new
hires with the impression that you’re
a well run, professional outfit that does
things right, or a fly by the seat of your
pants, clumsily run organization?”
The process you have (or don’t have?)
for integrating new hires into the workforce
in the first 90 days… would it lead
to new hires feeling they are valued, that
their employer cares about their well-being
and success… or is more of a “sink
or swim” experience? |
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| 3. |
The “Giving
Directions And Delegating Experience" |
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Do supervisors and managers clearly communicate
expectations, the “how to” when
appropriate, and other factors related
to employees understanding what is expected
of them… or do employees often feel
like they’re “flying blind”?
Do supervisors and managers make it clear
how they prioritize the various tasks and
give reasonable workloads and time frames? |
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| 4. |
The “Giving
Corrective Feedback Experience” |
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Do managers make this a regular part of
their conversations with employees, or
wait to surprise them in the annual Performance
Review?
Do managers know how to give feedback in
clear, concrete terms or only in vague
terms that leave employees feeling frustrated
and without direction (e.g. “You
need to be more of a team player, OK? OK.”)
Do managers know how to give corrective
feedback respectfully or only in a scolding
way?
Do managers know how to invite employees
to share their point of view, so they feel
understood or do they just “talk
at” and “preach to” employees?
Do managers integrate these conversations
into a productive professional development
plan? |
| 5. |
The “Performance
Review Experience” |
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Are performance reviews seen as a necessary
evil by all involved, or as a useful performance
enhancement and professional development
tool?
Is the information contained in the Performance
Review truly a review of previous conversations
or is it late-breaking news?
Are employees active participants in the
review process, assessing their own performance,
or is it primarily something that the manager “does
to” the employee.
Is it safe for employees to disagree and
not be perceived as disagreeable? |
| 6. |
The “Employee
Has a Concern Experience” |
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Do manager listen to what employees have
to say, or do they dismiss, talk at, or
lecture to their employees?
Do employee concerns get addressed, including
employees being apprised of the status
and outcome of the issues they raised?
If the concern doesn’t result in
change, are the reasons why explained?
Do employees have to badger their boss
to get them to act on a concern, or do
managers respond with the same interest
and alacrity they would if their boss asked
them?
Do employees feel heard? |
| 7. |
The “Employee
Has an Idea Experience” |
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What message do employees get about their
ideas and input: highly valued or don’t
bother?
If an employee comes up with an unworkable
idea, how does the manager handle it… in
a way that leaves the employee feeling
respected and appreciated or feeling stupid,
irrelevant, and/or patronized?
Do employees receive the information and
the Big Picture context that makes useful
ideas possible?
Are employees apprised of the status of
their ideas, and if the idea isn’t
used, why? |
| 8. |
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The “We’re Going Through
a Big Change” Experience
Are employees kept in the loop -- or kept
in the dark -- during change processes?
Do employees get the truth or do they get
spin?
Are employees asked for input and/or feedback
about possible changes?
Does management make the “rules of
the game” clear when asking for input
or feedback -- i.e. how feedback will be
used, whether it will influence the outcome
or is more about finding ways to help employees
deal with an outcome that is out of their
control?
Are employees allowed to dissent without
being seen as “not a team player”? |
| 9. |
The “Conflict
With Your Boss” Experience |
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Is it safe for employees to voice their
disagreements with their boss or is it
considered a CDM – Career Damaging
Move?
Is it safe for employees to be honest with
their boss if they feel their boss’s
managerial behavior is counterproductive?
Is honesty and openness valued, supported,
and encouraged?
Are managers coached about how to make
it safe for employees to be open with them?
Are manager held accountable for their
behavior toward employees or is one of
the perks of power the freedom to mistreat
one’s staff? |
| 10. |
The “Employee
Goes the Extra Mile or Does Something Great
Experience” |
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Do employees feel taken for granted or
do they feel appreciated?
Do employees feel that going the extra
mile is recognized and appreciated?
Do employees feel that hard work and high
performance is recognized by their boss
and by the company? |
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Now What?
This list will get you started on analyzing
the work experience you deliver. Here’s
how to use it for maximum benefit: |
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1. |
Use the
experiences I’ve listed as a
starting point for you, your management
team, and Employee Advisory Council
[1] to generate a more complete list
of
experiences that comprise the total
employee experience. |
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| 2. |
Use the questions under
each experience to analyze how you
can improve the way you deliver that
experience. As always, involve both
your management team and your Employee
Advisory Council in this process. |
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| 3. |
For each Moment of Truth,
ask: |
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“ What would employees want
from this interaction?”
“ What do our employees say they want from this interaction?”
“ The way we handle this step… what emotions and perceptions does
it leave with our employees?”
“If we do it this new way, what emotions and perceptions would that leave
with our employees?”
“What emotions and perceptions do we want this moment of truth to create… and
what do we need to do to create them?” |
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| 4. |
You can get the ball
rolling by asking your employees “Do
you have the kind of work experience
at our company that makes you want
to tell others that we’re a great
place to work? Does it make you want
to recommend us to your friends and
colleagues?” |
| 5. |
Make
sure you involve employees not only
in data gathering, but in implementing
changes. As in any change or Organizational
Development initiative, the more you
involve your employees in the process,
the more invested they’ll be,
the better your data, and the better
the results. |
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[1] An Employee Advisory Council is a group of employees representing different divisions, departments, and/or disciplines that act as an informal partner to management. Your Employee Advisory Council helps management stay "Wired Into The Voice of the Customer" to borrow from Richard Whitely of the Forum Corporation. In this case "customer" means "internal customer" i.e. your employees. |
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About the Author: David Lee is an internationally recognized authority on organizational and managerial practices that optimize employee performance. He is the author of Managing Employee Stress and Safety, as well as dozens of articles on employee and organizational performance that have been published in trade journals and books in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. For information on his programs and service, click here.
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