Month: April 2010

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Does Your Organization Need a Director of Development??

a-NPO-interviewing-a-potential-DOD-for-the-organization

I initially wrote this piece with the idea in mind that many NPOs don’t need DODs, but my wife read it and said I was totally wrong. So, the following is sort of a collaboration … actually, I won’t publish anything she doesn’t approve !!

Ideally, from day one, an organization should have someone who knows/understands the NPO, its mission, its leadership and its hopes and aspirations. This person should have the experience and skills to help the NPO plan for next week and next year.

This person should have input at all levels, should be able to guide/train the board members and the CEO, and should be able to bring to staff an awareness and understanding of how they affect the development process.

A large organization, with a large development staff, must have someone to coordinate the various programs and be sure that they support, not conflict with or duplicate each other. Sadly, the vast majority of new/nascent NPOs don’t have the money to hire a person with the requisite experience and capabilities.

Smaller organizations that live on grants, need a grants officer. If much of a NPO’s income is from events, then an event coordinator is needed. If one person can do both, all the better.

To hire a staff person to focus on one or two activities, and give that person the title of Director of Development, is to lie to that person, to that person’s next employer and to the board and staff of the NPO doing the hiring.

Hiring a person and giving them the title doesn’t mean that you’re actually getting all the experience/expertise that comes with a real director of development.

A DOD is a critical hire for an organization. The right person can greatly help ensure an organization’s future….

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Have a question about starting or expanding your fundraising? Email me at AskDCA@Major-Capital-Giving.com. With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, we’ll work to answer your question.

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Separating Social from Business Costs

A pushcart and a white paperbag

The best information on this topic comes from a recent discussion at the npEnterprise Forum, the 7000-subscriber official listserv partner of the Social Enterprise Alliance.

From Esther Kim:

“Our basic rule of thumb is that:
* it’s a social cost if it’s incurred to accomplish a social mission;
* it’s a business cost if it’s incurred by a similar for-profit business in the same industry;
* if all social costs are taken out, the remaining cost structure should be comparable to a for-profit business in the same industry.

“Many social enterprises approach this differently, making benchmarking difficult. The third point above is especially helpful in this case – because if you’ve allocated your social costs correctly, you actually DO have a place to benchmark: that is, a comparable for-profit business. Many for-profit businesses publish benchmarks of costs and cost drivers across specific industries/functions (worker efficiency, $/sq ft, etc). Even if they aren’t published per se, consulting an industry expert is a great way to get ballpark estimates.”

And then a response from Don Palmer:

“Very logical, however, it is not always so black and white. Example: We operate a catering social enterprise with a work force composed of disabled workers. Training costs and food wastage is higher than for the majority of the industry (we have a yet not been able to identify the industry standard for either), however we know our costs are higher than our competitors, therefore in our view the difference between our cost and the industry standard would also have to considered a social cost.”

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“Marketing” CASE STUDY – Social Media Rebranding

Rebrand written boldly on a wall

How one smart business doubled sales through a comprehensive rebranding effort using social media consulting

In this economy, business managers are finding that what worked before no longer works. Declining sales are often the first harsh blow that draws attention to a serious underlying a problem – one that they may not have even known existed. It can be quite painful, affecting employees and their jobs, even threatening the entire business.

When the old tried and true methods (“I’m sending more circulars, making more telemarketing calls, beefing up my newsletter”, etc) just aren’t solving the problem, it’s time to try new “Marketing” tactics. Social media consulting is proving to offer real solutions that attract key target customers and turn that traffic into real revenue!

Take the case of Lakota Trailers, a manufacturer of aluminum horse trailers.

The Problems:

Research from social media consulting revealed Lakota’s Problems:

• They lacked a long-term strategy

• They didn’t have a coherent brand position

• They hadn’t targeted a customer segment

The Solutions:

The insights gained from the research enabled Lakota to roll out its solutions, which included:

• A hybrid business development strategy

• A robust redesigned website

• A dynamite Google adword campaign

The Results:

• The site experienced a ten-fold increase in visits

• Lakota DOUBLED SALES in an industry that is trending downward in a poor economy!!

The entire story is quite inspiring. For more detailed information, see the full Brand Identity Marketing article.

For more social media “Marketing” tips and tactics, search these phrases:

• Rebranding a company

• Branding case studies

Happy “Marketing” hunting!

What case studies have you found that trumpet the success of social media branding campaigns?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

. . ________ . .With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman assists clients in establishing and enhancing their online brand, attracting their target market, engaging in meaningful social media conversations, and converting online traffic into revenues. Email Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

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The employee view of the paper trail

Employees-with-their-group-leader-discussing-in-a-board-room

In a previous post, I mentioned the concept of the “paper trail” in organizations. Regardless of your position in your organization, the likelihood that you understood this term is high. The cited conversation in that blog post between the manager and HR professional is also very familiar to both managers and HR professionals. At some point in their career, most supervisors and HR pros have probability participated in a similar dialogue and it most likely ended in a feeling of frustration for both parties.

What about Bob?

In the fictitious dialogue in my previous post, Bob is the employee. According to Bob’s manger, he is not performing to expectations. However, despite the fact that he feels like he has had multiple conversations with him, Bob most likely feels like is his doing a good job. His feeling is probably not the result of an oversized ego; but rather, it comes from a lack of consistent honest performance feedback.

So what happens when Bob’s supervising manager finally decides to give him a corrective action document? Bob sees it as the beginning of the “paper trail.” The “paper trail” is something that Bob has heard about. For him, it’s the beginning of the end. It is what mangers give employees when they are trying to get rid of them. Bob’s emotions at this point could vary depending on multiple factors, but most likely include one or all of the following: frustration, anger, defensiveness, or sadness. Ultimately, most of the parties involved want the same result. The supervising manager wants Bob to do a good job. The HR manager wants Bob to do a good job. Bob wants to do a good job. Further, the company wants Bob to do a good job. The solution is finding a way to help everyone get what they want.
I will discuss this further in my next post. What ideas do you have to accomplish this? What has worked in your organization? Does your organization have a performance culture or does it resemble the
fictitious scenario discussed here?

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is currently employed as the Human Resource Manager at EmployeeScreenIQ, a global leader in pre-employment background screening.

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Articulate The Value Your Business Will Deliver

Computer screen displaying a motivational quote

For this blog, I’m simply going to quote from an excellent comment recently posted to my social enterprise blog Risky Business by Jeffrey Wallk:

“Clear articulation of value. This is not the value proposition (here’s what we do / offer). This explains in very simple terms exactly how your product / service will help someone get a job done. Services are just harder to sell than a product because they are intangible therefore you need to go the extra step in getting your customer to understand how the service will solve one or more problems they are facing. You have to create an instant “visual” in their mind.”

“Example: Suppose you are providing crisis management services for local communities. Your value prop would be “we offer crisis management services”. But, your clear articulation of value is “We address the processes and reduce the costs (time, money, & effort) for crisis management so community leaders can address the needs of their community.”

Thanks, Jeffrey!

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For more resources, see our Library topic Business Planning.

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Who Deserves Your Acknowledgement?

An acknowledgement medal on a black background

Acknowledgement is a coaching skill used to give recognition to the client. It points out the inner traits or characteristics that the client demonstrated in order to accomplish an action. Acknowledgement is important because it can articulate attributes of the client that they may not be aware of. When you acknowledge you empower the client.

Here are some tips to make your acknowledgment powerful:

1. Take your opinion out: Don’t endorse – keep the focus on the client, not on you: Example – “You took big risk.” versus “I support that you took a big risk.”

2. Be specific: Example – “You were determined and persevered in meeting the deadline.” versus “Good job meeting the deadline.”

3. Be judicious: Acknowledgement is special – too much and it loses its powerful impact

4. Look for attributes where the client shines in the situation and point them out, such as:

  • Determination
  • Perseverance
  • Courage
  • Focus
  • Creative
  • Positive
  • Organized
  • Confident
  • Flexible
  • Gracious
  • Vibrant
  • Motivating
  • Insightful
  • Bold
  • Resolve
  • Responsible

5. Be genuine: Clients will know when the acknowledgement is honest and truthful.

Who deserves your acknowledgement today?

For more resources, see the Library topic Personal and Professional Coaching.

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Evaluation in the Classroom

When evaluation occurs during training a few have the right idea but evaluation is such a critical area, we have to be sure what we are training is sinking in.

When starting a training program make sure that there are plenty of pop quizzes to accompany the training program. These can be brief quizzes relevant to the training sections being taught. I would try and give the quiz collect them and then a break (10 minutes), during this time scan the answers and then if something is glaringly off address this at the top of the ending of the break. Also try and do a nice question to the students every now and then. Leave plenty of time at the end of each session for a discussion period and a more in depth question and answer period.

Generally putting people to work also helps retention rates of training, get students involved give a few case studies and have them try and figure the problem and the solution, then have a leader give their groups synopsis. Make sure that anything you are giving is as always relevant to the organization and relevant to adult learners. At the end of the training program give a comprehensive type of “Smile” sheet, it should be able to cover each section in the program as well as how the instruction was and make sure there is a suggestion section at the end of each smile sheet.

I am sure there are a ton more evaluation tools out there and I would love your suggestions. I will make sure they are taken into consideration.

Remember keep training fun relevant and running like a smoothly oiled machine and a business! Happy Training!

Leigh

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

– Looking for an expert in training and development or human performance technology?
– Contact me: Leigh Dudley – Linkedin – 248-349-2881
– Read my blog: Training and Development

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My Top 5 Customer Service Metrics

Smiling customer service working

Let’s be clear: if you’re not measuring any part of your service delivery, you are missing a huge opportunity to improve, grow or even save your business during these scrutinizing, tight economic times.

The challenge with specifying key indicators is that not all businesses will use the top customer service metrics. For example, a retail or fulfillment organization will have decidedly different key performance indicators than a software-as-a-service company.

For the purposes of this discussion, I have highlighted relatively general and important customer service metrics and incorporated a few varying perspectives for different use cases.

Service Level

For call centers, support, and service desks, the first call resolution is the Holy Grail. For a shipping operation, product delivery, and project implementation, on-time performance is the measuring stick. In a high-transaction business, the first interaction with a customer experience will be a key determinant of whether customer satisfaction will return with the first contact resolution rate of the customer support team. Don’t underestimate the importance of timeliness and thoroughness.

Customer Retention

For SaaS businesses, Utilization is the best indicator of a customer’s dedication to your service. Use this metric to understand who is at risk at contract renewal time. Monitoring Repeat Business is going to help non-SaaS businesses understand how sticky their product or service is for their customer effort score base. You should know which customers are using or buying different parts of your business to see the net promoter score. These customers who buy throughout your offerings are perhaps your most important to track customer satisfaction to focus on for your retention strategies with the exceptional customer service you provide.

Response time

You’d be surprised how many customer satisfaction surveys come back with comments such as “your service is great, you got back to me right away….” “I was surprised with how quickly you responded to my inquiry and it made all the difference even if I didn’t get the answer I was hoping for…” In today’s world of electronic relationship management, response time to the customer service team is one of the only ways we can communicate our sense of urgency and concern for our customers with our product or service. What is your Response goal – within X hours? Set one and achieve it. You should know what your competition is doing and beat their goal.

Want to really blow away a customer and cement your relationship? Pick up the phone and give them a personal call.

Time with the Customer

Are your customer-facing employees incentivized to keep calls short or to move too quickly from customer to customer? If so, you are sending the wrong message and subsequently affecting the quality of the customer interaction. There is a definite happy medium between the overly chatty service provider and the thorough and efficient provider like the customer service representative or customer service teams. Set your benchmarks for call duration and general time with the customer in relation to the ultimate goal of first call resolution, NOT the other way around.

In other words, a completely satisfied customer with great customer service agents not requiring a follow-up call or visit is much preferred over a quick, unresolved interaction.

Churn 

Cancellations and returns are the equivalents of customer churn. If you don’t know how much business you are losing, you won’t be able to understand how much new business you will require to stay out of the red. As important as knowing how much, is understanding WHY you are losing customers. Take it to the next level and use follow-up surveys, phone calls, and personalized ‘how can we get you back’ emails. This survey information is real business insight for understanding your lost business.

By all means, this is not a comprehensive list of key performance indicators. To expand further we would need to focus on a particular business model to provide a more granular perspective. Start measuring and start making changes. Continue to evolve your key customer support metrics as your business evolves. Keep this process circular for continuous improvement.

Post these key performance indicators in your facility or on your intranet and regularly communicate them to your employee base to give everyone in your Company sensitivity to how you are performing for your most important asset: your Customers.

As always your comments are encouraged and appreciated. What are your key metrics?

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Banana Logic

Logic concept illustration

Do companies care about the intent of one’s actions, or just the results? While we think that our intentions should matter, if an unethical action takes place, do we really care why?

Let me know what you would do in the following dilemma:

Alternative #1 –

You are taking care of a chatty 3-year old. While strolling past a market your companion sees her favorite food, a banana, in the window of the market. Your friend needs to have a banana…NOW. Unfortunately you have no cash on you, having left your wallet in the car 6 blocks back. The child is now making quite a scene. Would you go into the store and take a banana without paying for it? If so, how would you justify it?

Alternative #2 –

Your are shopping with your 3-year old companion inside the market. She is in the shopping cart. As you pass through the fruits and vegetable section you put a bunch of bananas in the cart. She of course wants one now. You give her a banana to eat while you shop, fully intending to tell the cashier at check-out that your child ate a banana. However, you are understandably distracted during the check-out process and only after getting the groceries in the car and “Precious” into her car seat do you realize that you didn’t mention, or pay for the banana. Do you go back into the store and pay for the now eaten banana? If not, how do you justify it?

The intent of the actions in the two alternatives seem quite different. One seems like shop lifting and the other seems like just another day of parenting. Yet the results are the same: the store is left with one unaccounted for banana.

An ethics issue? In the next post we’ll look at the ramifications inside a company for similar decisions.

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Top 5 Tips for Project Management in 2010

From Guest Writer, Simon Buehring of PRINCE2

Already 2010 is upon us, and project managers are facing the challenges of the new year. Obama, super-project-manager of the United States, has announced a new programme to overhaul airport security. The UK government has published controversial plans for a project to cut the budget deficit.

And meanwhile, project managers everywhere – public and private sector, big businesses, small organisations, arts, IT and finance – are struggling to achieve ever greater project goals on ever diminishing budgets. There has never been a more pressing need for excellent project management skills.

1. Define your needs

Too many projects fail because the project manager does not know what need the project must fulfill. Ensuring that you can describe in a single sentence or paragraph exactly why your project is necessary is crucial to project management success.

2. Be honest with your schedule

A certain amount of optimism is crucial for project management success. However, one of the most common causes of project failure is unrealistic estimation of how much time each project commitment needs. If the project runs over schedule, it should be because of unforeseen circumstances, not because the project manager has underestimated the amount of time that the project requires. Setting realistic goals is the key to avoiding unnecessary schedule complications and to ensuring project success.

3. Clearly identify who performs which role(s)

Many organisations will be running tighter ships in 2010. With fewer workers on the project team, it is doubly important to make sure that every project role has been assigned, and that everybody is clear about what responsibilities they have for the project.

4. Brainstorm groups of people to involve in risk identification. Considering formal risk management training

Risk identification and risk management are vital to the success of projects and the survival of organisations, particularly in a high-stakes, less-than-stable business world. Investment in careful risk identification – even simply to the extent of arranging risk workshops that involve representatives from every section of the project team – can pay dividends later on, and will often make the difference between project failure and project success.

5. Invest in training

Professional project management certification is not only an essential feature on any project manager’s CV; it also develops important project management skills and provides a common framework for understanding how a project works. This latter element is particularly pronounced in project management methodologies, such as PRINCE2. A shared pool of concepts and terminology can make the difference between a group of people coerced into a project, and truly coherent project management team.

(Knowledge Train offers PRINCE2 training every week from its training venue in central London.)

What do you think?

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For more resources, see the Library topic Project Management.

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