the-stw-group

Thriving Companies Protect Their Hiring Investments

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 11:02:10 GMT

Thriving Companies Protect Their Hiring Investments

Oct 25, 2021 | Uncategorized

Employees leaving their jobs post pandemic is on the rise and for several reasons – burnout, loss of flexibility, lack of connectedness, and those that paused jumping-ship due to job insecurity during the pandemic.

Protecting your hiring investment is a critical differentiator of a growing and thriving organization. One way to protect that investment is to avoid losing good employees to unwanted attrition.

The question is, “what can you do to minimize that risk?” First, it’s important to pay attention to potential signs a valued team member may be at risk of leaving. Signs can include:

Disengagement
Less Communication
Limited Contributions
Decreased Productivity
Reduced Quality Levels
Burnout

We believe one of the keys to retaining your talent is to ensure management is engaging with their teams routinely. This is not an arbitrary “check-the-box” activity; rather, thoughtful, timely engagement that showcases empathy to understand how each member is feeling. This can help you identify those that may be looking to leave.

Other mitigation suggestions include:

Be intentional about making connections and building relationships, particularly with remote workers that are more isolated
Find out what your people need to feel connected
Pay extra attention to your most valued performers
Recognize the individual contributions of each team member
For those that remain virtual, ensure there is good and regular communication to those on the “outside” about what is happening within the organization

We believe companies that spend the time protecting their people investment are able to reduce unnecessary attrition of good employees – ultimately adding to their bottom line. If you would like to learn more give us a call or visit our website.

Successful Organizations Aim for a Culture of Quality Over Quality Events

Mon, 13 May 2019 10:59:35 GMT

Successful Organizations Aim for a Culture of Quality Over Quality Events

May 13, 2019 | Uncategorized

A key differentiator of thriving organizations is their focus on a quality culture. A quality culture is much more than a buzzword or a sign on the wall. It’s not a singular event. Rather, it’s a mindset, a “way of life” that is lived out by everyone in the organization, daily.

Times are changing. There is less margin for error today and less forgiveness. With increased regulatory scrutiny and the likelihood a customer will take to social media to share a grievance, we believe the risk to an organization’s reputation is far too great not to build a strong, sustainable culture of quality.

So, what does a quality culture look like? A few important characteristics include ownership at all levels, empowering your workforce to make a difference, and creating a culture that encourages your workforce to speak up when they see something that is not right. It’s an ALL IN approach. Something employees should hear every day and see modeled at all levels.

One important aspect of this is understanding that an organization focused on quality is not one without mistakes or failures. These are inherent to being human. What’s important is how they are viewed – as a disciplinary response or a learning opportunity. Business cultures that don’t view these as a learning opportunity risk creating an environment where mistakes are ignored or swept under the rug… and where fear of failure limits innovation.

We believe organizations that create an environment of speaking up and that value learning from mistakes are able to create a more comprehensive and sustainable approach to building a lasting culture of quality. If you would like to learn more give us a call or visit our site.

What role does accountability play in thwarting your business results?

Fri, 22 Feb 2019 10:21:10 GMT

What role does accountability play in thwarting your business results?

Feb 22, 2019 | Uncategorized

The STW Group has been hired for a wide variety of projects across multiple industries, and we’ve found that organizations often believe they’ve sufficiently framed the problem or opportunity they’re aiming to solve. It’s very common to misidentify a symptom as the problem. This can lead to the wrong solution as symptoms often mask the real issue. Part of our role is to ask challenging questions to help organizations uncover the root cause(s) driving their problem. One of the most common culprits behind this discrepancy – perceived problem vs. actual problem – is accountability.

Case in point – A company expressed problems with high turnover, poor quality, and an increase in regulatory violations. Their request was for training. Proper training can provide the knowledge needed to ensure things are done the “right way”. Makes sense, right?

After a deeper dive into the organization, what lacked the most was accountability. There had been numerous attempts at training in the past. The root problem wasn’t a lack of knowledge. The bottom line – leadership wasn’t holding themselves accountable, nor were they holding their teams accountable.

Absolutely, the right training and thoughtful follow up can have a profound impact. After all, we’re a learning organization that emphasizes continuous learning, but we know that throwing out a solution (e.g. training) doesn’t mean it’s the right solution or that it’s solving the root problem. In this, and many examples, where accountability is uncovered to be a root problem, it’s prudent to start with well-defined roles and expectations and how those expectations are communicated. Assuming the expectations are clear and communicated, the next question is – are you inspecting what is expected?

Companies need to understand the importance of accountability and how they manage it to ensure other efforts aren’t thwarted. If you suspect this is an issue in your organization, or if you need an expert’s insights to accurately frame your problem/opportunity, give us a call or visit our site.

Fusing People, Process, and Technology for Optimal Results

Fri, 14 Dec 2018 10:18:55 GMT

Fusing People, Process, and Technology for Optimal Results

Dec 14, 2018 | Uncategorized

With the explosion of new technologies and software capabilities, organizations have the opportunity to automate and maximize resources, and ultimately improve overall performance in ways previously not possible. There is no question technology is changing the nature of how work is done; however, launching new technology isn’t going to show results without effectively unifying people and process with that technology.

Too often organizations take a one-dimensional approach to integrating technology and often fail because of it. The common belief is that introducing new technology into an organization is going to solve all the problems. The reality is that organizations often lose sight of the fact that people are still the primary users of technology, including providers of inputs and customers of outputs. And where there are people, there are always processes. It is important to adjust for the impact that technological change has on people and process, to avoid unintended results that may impact the organization’s strategic plan and investment.

The best software, best people, or best workflow, alone, do little to help optimize results. Successful organizations are ones that understand the need for a multi-dimensional approach and how new technology must be linked with continuous learning and good workflow design in order to see the desired change in organizational performance.

If your organization is currently implementing or considering implementing new technology, call The STW Group to hear how we can help.

Knowledge Has a Direct Impact on Continuity

Tue, 11 Sep 2018 10:17:08 GMT

Knowledge Has a Direct Impact on Continuity

Sep 11, 2018 | Uncategorized

According to Pew Research and the Social Security Administration, 10K baby boomers reach the age of 65 every day in the US. This shift in labor force from one generation to the next gives rise to the risk of losing a significant amount of institutional knowledge.

Thriving organizations understand that institutional knowledge is an asset that must be both nurtured and cultivated as a loss can have grave impacts on an organization’s success – unclear vision, repeated mistakes, and loss of the “secret sauce” and subsequent market share. It’s not to say that organizations shouldn’t change or evolve – they MUST – but institutional knowledge should only be discarded when you intend it to be.

Regardless of the reason, organizations must develop strategies to ensure knowledge continuity. This includes capturing information, leveraging technology to house, manage, and share it, and creating mentor, coaching, and shadowing programs to effectively transfer it. All are critical steps to ensuring a smooth transition from one group to the next. And oh by the way, once knowledge becomes public, teams can collaborate to improve it and ensure it aligns with current strategies.

We believe organizations that understand and preserve institutional knowledge are able to maintain a strong vision across generations and through turnover – increasing their ability to thrive. If you have an organization with high turnover or a high percentage of workforce retiring in the next 5 to 10 years, now is the time to plan for this. Call us to see how we can help.

Change Management’s Impact on Results

Sat, 28 Jul 2018 10:14:11 GMT

Change Management’s Impact on Results

Jul 28, 2018 | Uncategorized

Managing change is an essential element of thriving organizations. This is because thriving organizations understand the impact change has on its people, how work gets done, and its technology. While all too often overlooked and under estimated, managing change well can have a significant impact on results.

Initiatives with well designed and well timed change management strategies are six times more likely to meet objectives than those without, as noted in a Prosci article. Think about it, how many times – as a leader – have you had a great idea that, during execution, fell apart? Ever wonder why? New technologies, efficient processes, cohesive company cultures, better methodologies – all good ideas. Why might an organization not see results with these types of improvements? Adoption plays a significant role.

Change is not a bolt-on effort; nor is it an after thought or something that should be taken lightly. It’s an essential element of any people-impacting initiative that must be woven into the execution strategy from the very start – in fact before the start – to ensure effective adoption. Prosci states that 80 to 100% of a project’s anticipated benefits are dependent on the organization’s talent changing the way they do their work.

We believe organizations that understand and embrace change as an active component of any initiative are able to increase the likelihood of adoption and success and increase their ability to thrive. Are you seeing evidence of initiatives kicking off or in progress that don’t have an effective change strategy? Call us to see how we can help.

Prosci Article – Why Change Management?

Onboarding’s Role in New Hire Retention

Tue, 15 May 2018 10:02:31 GMT

Onboarding’s Role in New Hire Retention

May 15, 2018 | Uncategorized

Retaining great talent should be important to you if you desire a thriving and growing organization.

Meaningful and well-designed onboarding is critical to engaging and retaining great talent. For the last several years data sources such as Aberdeen Group have suggested employers that offer an effective onboarding program are more likely to increase both new hire engagement and retention. This means more value and a healthier bottom line.

The days of onboarding paperwork and lectured company histories are outdated. It’s no longer a check-the-box activity. Today, onboarding serves a much greater purpose. It’s one of your first touches with a new hire. Onboarding is an opportunity to have an impact, to enable new hires to develop a network and build relationships, and to help them understand the value they will deliver.

Case in point – a recent tech client struggled with high employee turnover during their first 24 months. Finding great technologists in specialized fields was difficult. The time and cost to replace them created a heavy burden. After a deeper analysis, we found that while some onboarding did exist, new hires felt thrown into their roles with little context of how they would impact the organization’s mission as well as no post-onboarding support.

Organizations need to embrace a well-designed onboarding program; one that values celebration over administration, new hire experience over paperwork, and contribution over history. It’s the start of an ongoing relationship you spent tens of thousands of dollars hiring for that will span the life of a new hire’s tenure in your organization. Isn’t that worthy of a great first impression?

If your organization is not offering onboarding, or if you believe your current onboarding may not deliver the impact you desire, call The STW Group today to see how we can help – 804.592.5812.

For further reading click here for a related article by Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Thriving Organizations Embrace Learning

Thu, 01 Mar 2018 09:55:37 GMT

Thriving Organizations Embrace Learning

Mar 1, 2018 | Uncategorized

Learning is an essential component of individual and organizational growth. While it often gets packaged as “events” or thought of in terms of yearly budget dollars, the reality is learning happens all the time. The more opportunities that exists to encourage learning, the more opportunity for growth.

Learning cultures are cultures that embrace the concept of perpetual learning to drive strategy and innovation in order to gain a competitive advantage. These cultures are rooted in learning continuously, sharing knowledge, and evaluating successes and failures. Each success and failure leads to further learning and an opportunity to hone knowledge, insights, and direction.

One approach that continues to gain a lot of attention today and that supports a culture of learning is Design Thinking. Design Thinking helps foster a learning culture through its anthropological view of understanding one’s customer, its use of diversified teams and thought, and quick prototyping to name a few. The linked podcast does a good job of highlighting the connection between a design-driven culture and a learning culture.

Learning is an essential component of a thriving organization. We believe, organizations that embrace perpetual learning are able to increase employee engagement, strengthen staff assets, drive innovation, and gain that elusive competitive advantage.

McKinsey Podcast – The Power of Design Thinking