Show some self respect and respect for time!

I recently had a colleague tell me a tale that was so tall it had to be true, but worth recounting for what I believe to be the moral lesson and study in common sense (or the lack thereof).

Two business acquaintances of my friend were attending the same four-day conference as he. He was delighted to find that they were staying in the same hotel as he ran into them at reception where they were all checking in.

When he conveyed as such to his "friends", they advised him that they would look forward to some after conference socialising that night, but only that night as they plan to check out the next day and check-in to another hotel.

Quite puzzled, he asked them why they were taking such action and was advised that over the next four days they would be checking in and out of hotels all in the same chain to maintain their status as a "VIP" customer as part of the chain's loyalty program. These people earn annual incomes in at least six figures!

When relating the story to me my colleague asked the first of several obvious questions, "how little must these people value their time and effort?"

The question I have for you is how much do you value your time and your efforts?

Harry

The best people are already employed...

I have heard of some stupid, narrow-minded, sort-sighted inanities come out of purported management types in my time, but the article I have just read in The Huffington Post wins the prize.

Some employers advertising to fill vacancies are including criteria such as "Must be currently employed," "No unemployed candidates will be considered," or "must have been employed within the last 6 months."

How do the stupid stay concealed?

Have a read at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/08/employers-continue-to-dis_n_756136.html

Harry

The next generation?

It's been a while since I've posted to this blog, and I must apologise to my regular readers who have contacted me to see that everything is OK. It has been a very busy few months for me with my sessional lecturing and tutorials at QUT.

That's no real excuse of course - I preach and present on time management, so if I had wanted to I could have allocated the time to do so. I'll not leave it so long between postings again!

What I can report is that the next generation of employees, due to hit the labour market in the next 5-7 years will present even bigger challenges than the so-called Gen Y crop currently under the microscope. Bear in mind that the earliest Gen Yers are soon to hit 30!

I have had the privilege of presenting to and speaking with groups as young as 15 and 17 over the past few months as part of a special outreach program at the University to encourage high school students to study business and accounting and while they were bright, engaging and curious they will certainly need well positioned management to get the most out of them.

This crowd was a group of 350+ Year 10 students from various high schools - both state & private - that I recently presented to. Suffice it to say we had a great time and the feedback I received was that they enjoyed my presentation as much as I enjoyed giving it. They particularly liked the idea of being serious about what you do but not so serious about how you do it. Too many employers forget that given the amount of time spent at work, a pleasant & happy working environment will increase productivity and help with staff loyalty and retention.

If you think your currently employed Bright Young Things are easily bored, just wait!

It takes visionary people to nurture Bright Young Things!

I had the opportunity yesterday of speaking at a "Young Professionals & CEOs" breakfast, which is an annual event organised by IPAA Queensland - the Institute Of Public Administration Australia. A truly inspirational event which belies the common perception that people employed within the public sector lack vision and capabilities.

What makes this event so unique is that chief executives and senior managers are asked to attend and host a table of their best and brightest young professionals, giving those BYTs a singular opportunity to have one on one discussions with the most senior echelon in their field.

So popular was this event that it was sold out - twice! Given the level of interest when it was first sold out the organisers decided to upsize the venue. 49 tables with 400 people present were able to listen to a range of speakers on career development and being successful. What was interesting was that although none of the speakers had conferred prior to the event, a number of remarkably common threads were evident in the presentations.

I believe that many professional bodies, organisations and associations would benefit from running similar exercises and both IPAA, as the professional body for people in the public sector, and the participants who see the obvious value in such an event, should be congratulated for their visionary and innovative thinking.

The organisers tell me that next year they'll be shooting for more than 600! And I thought that 400 was a big breakfast...

Harry

You can't strip ALL the costs out, ALL the time...

I had occasion recently to hear another "call centre" horror story. A lady had to contact her cable company to advise that her device was malfunctioning. Now, this lady is in her 70s and is articulate and intelligent - unfortunately the person on the other end was neither. In fact, English was not their first language and their training was woefully inadequate

After following the "script" robot-like, wherein the customer was instructed to do a number of obviously useless activities, she was advised that a technician would be dispatched.

It may save time and money to have customer service knowledge concentrated in a call centre, but these savings (and customers) will be lost forever if the training is inadequate or the operators are inarticulate.

Customer service should be seen as an investment, not just as a cost centre! Yes, it is true that it should be as a cost, but it's the cost of doing business - and the best business is repeat business. Repeat business will only occur if a customer knows that every transaction with you will be pleasant and fulfil their needs.

Harry

The cause for optimism...

Last Friday I had the opportunity to present to 750+ accounting students from over 50 high schools throughout Queensland. These grade 12 students, on the cusp of adulthood, most of whom look like heading for university studies, were delightful to work with.

Their enthusiasm was infectious; their energy was palpable; their sense of humour and wit were often on display. They were curious and inventive. They showed a great amount of respect and common courtesy.

At the beginning of the presentation I invited them to turn their mobile phones to "silent" rather than to turn them off and encourage them to tweet a message including my ID (@harryz) if they had something to say or wish to provide feedback. I also gave him my e-mail address on the first slide.

A number of students took me up on my offer and provide me with the feedback I sought.

From the comments I received I have little doubt or concern about the future of our society passing into the hands of these Bright Young Things.

Harry