How to Hire Friends or Family Members

Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose – author of TimePeace: Making peace with time – and I am a business and efficiency coach that specializes in time management, project management and work-life balance strategies.  I recently received the questions “What is your #1 tip on hiring friends or family members?”

Small business owners may look to family and friends for staffing assistance.  Even if you are not a business owner, you may feel obligated to recommend a friend or family member.   Though you may know and trust these people more than a stranger, there are several things to consider up-front.

There’s always a high risk of losing the friendship or creating bad feelings with the family member or friend. It’s just a risky business proposition. If you are still going to do it, here are 5 tips to implement to make is a smoother experience.

1)     Have the right reason for hiring your family or friend.

Example of the wrong reason:  Simply to help them get on their feet and you feel obligated because they are ‘family’.  This isn’t the best reason to invite a friend or family member into your business.  If you want to help them out, help them with their resume, forward job leads their way, pay for their skills training or certification course, coach them in other attributes that you feel is keeping them from success, etc.   There are many other ways to help them get on their feet, other than having them affect your business and your quality of life.

Example of the right reason They have the right skills, personality, work ethics, business reputation, professionalism, exceptional work experience in relevant industry, you have successfully worked with them in the past, and you would love to work with them in the future.  They are also mature and feel that your relationship will not be affected if the business relationship does not last.

2)     Documented detail expectations and work contracts.

In the interview and hiring phases, get everything in writing.  It’s especially critical to have formal contracts when working with friends and family.  This assures everyone is on the same page and that you have a ‘meeting of the minds’ before you start. Have the contracts and documented approved and signed by all the appropriate stakeholders.  Any modification of these agreements must also be documented, approved and signed.

These documented expectation and work contracts should be instituted for all employees; but critical for family and friends that you hire.  Follow-through on any consequences or rewards documented in those signed contracts.

3)     Avoid being their direct report on the job.

To eliminate daily conflicts, it might be good to assign your family or friend to an experiences and high-performing manager or mentor.  Share the particulars with your manager to assure him/her that your family member should not be treated any differently than any other employee.  Share the PBC and IDP documents with the manager (Sign up for the Professional Development Toolkit to learn more about PDB and IDP documents).  Also, tell your family or friend that they need to go through the manager or mentor – and not directly to you regarding work issues.

4)     Proactively eliminate venting to other family members.

Because this is your friend or family member, you will have mutual family and friends in common.  And they might have a particularly hard day and vent to mutual friends and family members.  Realize that it is very possible that you might hear “through the grapevine” some grievances and complaints; and friend in common might feel obligated to take a side in the conflict. This will not only cause strain on your relationship with your employee but with the family and friends you have in common.

Before you hire your friend or family member, outline your grievance policy and procedures.  Make it very clear that you expect him/her to take any grievances directly to his/her manager.  If the issue is associated with the manager, they should follow-up with their 2nd line manager.  Make I clear that you will not tolerate any side-routes through family members.  There will be consequences to not following this grievance policy that could include probation or lose of position.

This grievance policy should be abide by all employees – but especially critical for employees that share family and friends.

5)     Be over-diligent in equal treatment to all employees.

If you feel you need to institute a new policy, procedure change, rewards, bonus, advance pay or improvement plan, you need to institute, document and announce the change for the entire company.  You need to avoid the perception that your family member is receiving special treatment (either positive or negative treatment).  You can do this by being over-diligent in your documented company policies.  You also need to document all your employee interactions regarding performance reviews, rewards, performance improvement needs, reasons for pay increases or decreases, etc.  Error on the side of too-much proof regarding all employee interactions and performance issues.

Bottom line:  I am not recommending anything that should not already be done for regular employment and company policies.  The key is not to deviate these procedures based upon a personal relationship with the potential employee.  If you friend and family member feels uncomfortable with the level of professionalism of your business, then your company is simply not a good match for them.  It’s best to find out at the interview stage.

 

In my IT Professional Development Toolkit, I go into the: who, what, where, when and how to accomplish all of the above. I also have a transferrable skill worksheet.  For more information about the toolkit, please contact

 

vConferenceOnline.com/Bits on the Wire, Inc.
6420 E. Broadway, Suite A300
Tucson, AZ 85710
520-760-2400 or (877) 853-9158
info@vconferenceonline.com

 

 

Or sign up for my weekly Time and Career Management Newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/cZ9_-/

Guiding employees on when to use the phone

Guiding employees on when to use the phone

This is Laura Lee Rose, a business and efficiency coach that specializes in professional development, time management, project management and work-life balance strategies.  In my Professional Development Toolkit package , I go into professional development and real-world IT topics in detail. If you are interested in more training in these areas, get signed up
Many workers prefer to communicate by email, IM or text over using the phone, because it’s more efficient. But there are times when it is better to pick up the phone, because it is a sensitive situation. What are the professional situations when it imperative to talk by phone or in person, rather than by email? And how can managers and company owners train teams that are often more comfortable with digital conversations to judge when they need to talk–so they can get better results for the business? Does it ever make sense to have a formal or informal policy guiding employees on this?

Come up with a “proper communication escalation chart” for your department similar to the below
Convey a proper communication escalation chart: (make your own specific to your technology)
1) Post card or snail mail
2) newsletter or bulk email
3) terse, brief text, chat or instance message
4) personal or individual email
5) phone call
6) in-person visit or face-to-face meeting (can be video meeting as well)
Outline the goal of the communiqué
For instance. The goal isn’t to send them a message and cross it off your list. The goal is to make sure they understand the information or message. It’s not sufficient to send something. You also need to validate that they received it, read it, and understood it. If your message had action items, you also need to verify that they have accepted the assignment. Telling someone they need to do something is only a small percentage of the challenge. You also need to make sure they received the message, understood it, and accepts the responsibility. Communication isn’t just a two-way street. It’s a high-traffic two-way street.
Guide them to use your communication scale appropriately. Some examples:
1) Match or escalate the communication style of your client.
For instance, if your client calls you – you call them back (do not respond with a communication style of a lesser urgency). That is disrespectful.
2) Limit text and instance messages for confirmation of meetings or facts. Do not use terse, brief communication for general information, directives or conversation.
3) If you don’t understand their text or email, escalate — call them or visit them for an interactive conversation. Anything below the phone-call communication style is not an effective communication style for clarifying details. It needs to be quick and interactive. The longer you delay in getting the proper understanding, the more risk that the other person is moving forward on mis-information.
4) Apologize in person-to-person communication style (anything higher than a phone call); then follow-up with either a letter, gift or email. But the apology needs to be in person and sincere. It illustrates the proper urgency and respect you feel in correcting the problem.
5) When there is a miscommunication – escalate the communication style. If your text was mis-interpreted, send an individual email. If your email was unclear, pick up the phone. If your phone message was unclear – visit in person.
6) If you didn’t get all the information that you needed or are not getting a response – escalate the communication style. If their email didn’t give you all the details that you needed to complete the job for them – pick up the phone. If a phone call didn’t capture everything – schedule a face-to-face meeting to bang-out the details and get consensus before starting the job. Have the client sign-off on the specifications as well.
If they are not responding to your email, don’t keep sending them email. Go up the escalation scale. Their email may not be working. Same with phone messages, etc. Remember, the goal isn’t to send them the message. Your goal is to validate that they received and accepted the information.
7) Document everything and give your client a copy or link to the minutes, agreements, specifications, etc. Follow-up with a phone call or message, that you sent them an important email with the details. Ask them to contact you back if they did not get it OR if they have any questions. Do everything that you can think of to validate they received your message, understand it, and agree with the actions prescribed.
8) Include deadlines for a response in your correspondences and communiqués. When leaving a message, include all the mandatory information to get to the next step. For instance, if you are on a deadline and need a certain piece of information from this person – avoid leaving vague and ambiguous messages like: “Call me”. This type of vague message might get you a return call on the weekend.
Instead, leave more detail message like: “Joe, this is Jane. I’m working on the X project and I need the input/output parameters regarding your featureY to complete the proposal. I need this information by Wednesday morning. I will be at the office number (xxx-xxxx) until 5:00pm and at home (xxx-xxxx) after 7:00pm. You call me as late as you want. “
You can also text him that he has an urgent voice message; “Joe -please listen to the voice mail that I left as soon as reasonably possible”.
If you are in the same location — just visit his office, leave a message with his assistant, etc. Illustrate and match the appropriate urgency through the method of contact your choose.
9) Get into the habit of using your Vacation or Office-Hours auto-responders and notifications.
Publicize when you are available and when you are not available in advance. Explain, in advance, why you are not answering the phone or responding to email during specific blocks of time. Make use of auto-responders to publicize when you will be able to answer their questions. In your auto-responders, announce your preferred method of communication (by phone, by text, by email, etc).
10) Recommend employees create a communication plan for each of their clients.
Everyone will have a different and preferred way to communication. The better you understand the best way to reach your clients and co-workers, the more successful you will be. Encourage your employees to create a simple communication plans for all their clients and significant co-workers, executives and managers. Include their numbers, emails, and preferred communication method. Include different categories such as:
a) how would they like general information (i.e. status reports in newsletters, on website, some lower communication method)
b) how would they like to be notified of action items (i.e. personal email with deadline in subject line)
c) how would they like to find out about problems or stop-production issues (i.e. by phone call with your solutions)

 

I talk more about this in my Professional Development Toolkit at https://www.lauraleerose.com/it-professional-development-toolkit/

 

In my Professional Toolkit, I provide worksheet, templates and guidance on how to accomplish these things.    In my Book of Answers: Companion piece to the Professional Toolkit, I have 100 work-life scenarios like the above.  The scenarios show how to accomplish your goals in similar situation.
For more information on how to get this toolkit or the “Book of Answers”, please contact:

vConferenceOnline.com/Bits on the Wire, Inc.
6420 E. Broadway, Suite A300
Tucson, AZ 85710
520-760-2400 or (877) 853-9158
info@vconferenceonline.com

Try it and let me know what you think.

Just released: A NEW professional resource from Laura Lee Rose!

 

 

Just released: A NEW professional resource from Laura Lee Rose!  SSWUG_LOGO-NEW190-blacktag
 LRose-ToolkitDVD_banner600

All the Tools You Need to Get Ahead

Keeping a fast-paced, professional career can be challenging. Wouldn’t it be nice to have access to a secret vault of resources that help you save time and plan smart, plus give you actionable steps to kick-start your advancement and demystify what it takes to be successful? The good news is, it’s not a secret!

Blue-StartHere

 

 listen
 read
 watch
 discuss
Learning your way. Our IT Professional Development Toolkit combines four learning medias into one powerful set of strategy, insight, and actionable ideas so you can get momentum in career today. We have a knack for taking big ideas and converting them into smart, sound, and actionable ideas. We have practice scenarios in real-world, real-life working environments to inspire the required change in you and those surrounding you.

Blue-StartHere


Copyright © Bits on the Wire, Inc., All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
6420 E Broadway Blvd Ste A300
Tucson AZ 85710

 

How to quantify your performance on intangible roles and duties.

This is Laura Lee Rose, a business and efficiency coach that specializes in professional development, time management, project management and work-life balance strategies.  In my Professional Development Toolkit package , I go into professional development and real-world IT topics in detail. If you are interested in more training in these areas, get signed up
In past articles, I mentioned the importance of quantifying your performance to the company’s bottom line.  This prompted the following question from a reader:

What about employees in positions with less tangible monetary outcomes — what should they be communicating? For instance, someone who performs general office duties or works to build the company’s brand awareness.

Everything can be measured.  All you need to do is design and keep the right metrics.  Create a customer (the people that you service) survey at the start of your performance cycle.  Then keep the proper metrics to illustrate your performance or improvement against those criteria.  For instance, if you perform general office duties – you can note how many daily calls come in, how many dropped calls, how many Questions you answer and screen, how many calls your fielded on your own without troubling others, how many times your work have been returned to you with mistakes, how much time your new Q&A document saved the company, how taking the initiative and placing your Q&A document on your company website increased customer satisfaction and reduced first line help and support calls, how your new automated filing process saved the team time, etc.  Time can always be converted to money saved or spent.  People get paid a salary per hour – with those equations; you can easily calculate the money you saved the company.

For company branding awareness, incorporate customer and branding surveys at the start of your performance year.  You can then create performance metrics based on those success criteria.  Every quarter, you can conduct comparable surveys to illustrate your affect on the branding campaign.  You can also keep track of your website page hits, time between client exposure (client hits) and client purchase, and your lead to sales conversion rate.   The faster the client finds your product, learns about it and purchases – the better for the company.  These are the meaningful metrics to collect and make your performance tangible and measurable.

The key is to find the right metric to track to make your performance measurements.  If you cannot figure these metrics out, then meet with your mentor or business coach for ideas.

In my Professional Toolkit, I provide worksheet, templates and guidance on how to accomplish these things.    In my Book of Answers: Companion piece to the Professional Toolkit, I have 100 work-life scenarios like the above.  The scenarios show how to accomplish your goals in similar situation.
For more information on how to get this toolkit or the “Book of Answers”, please contact:

vConferenceOnline.com/Bits on the Wire, Inc.
6420 E. Broadway, Suite A300
Tucson, AZ 85710
520-760-2400 or (877) 853-9158
info@vconferenceonline.com

Radio interview with Kevin Price and the Price of Business

In a recent Price of Business radio show interview (http://youtu.be/xmeP6m0dfnY) Kevin Price asked me a few questions regarding “What’s going on with communication?” This is a quick follow-up to that segment.  We didn’t really get into how change our behavior when met with difficult clients that fail to return calls or essentially “drop out of sight”.
If the seller is getting frustrated on how people are just leaving them hanging — it’s easier to change your (the seller in this example) MO than the buyer’s MO.
Some quick things the seller can do:
1) Write up a binder (a promise to sign a contract) before the buyer stops communicating.
Having the buyers signature and contact information on something – often pressures them to call you back to tell you that you are no longer interested.
2) Set timelines and deadlines on when the this particular deal will expire. Request a small deposit to hold this particular deal for a certain length of time. After that time, the price would go to the regular rate. This adds a level of urgency in the buyer’s mind.
3) Give them a free 14-day trial – using their credit card or payment information. If they like the product or service, the credit card gets charged after 14 days. But the buyer needs to contact them in some way to discontinue the service.
4) Follow-up and call them back after a few days of “no communication”. The seller takes on the responsibility for the follow-up. It takes two to “stop communicating”. But this means that the seller needs to consistently collect contact information during their initial conversation. If the seller allows the buyer to walk off without giving them any contact information – the seller didn’t do their job properly. Consistently gathering contact information allows the seller to not only follow-up with the buyer, but present them with other offers, newsletters, coupons, and other announcements.
5) Before you leave your client, realize that they will probably be shopping around for a better deal. That’s the arena that we are now living in – with the overabundance of internet and e-commerce sales. Buyers have the global market at their finger tips. So, simply state: “Hey, buddy. I realize that you will probably be shopping around for other deals. If you find a better offer, please give me the opportunity to match or better it. Please call me back and allow me to try to match or better it.
In general – if you are frustrated with someone else’s behavior, there are often things you can change in your behavior to offset their behavior.

Video of the previous interview:

How do Companies prevent remote workers from feeling “left out”?

  • Have that one project that you have been stalled on?
  • Need  objective eyes on your problem?
  • Need just a different way to look at the solutions?

I have helped people on a per project basis.  For example: mapping out the pros and cons of two job offers; revamping their resume to attract more corporate interest; managing their boss; and narrowing the direction of their next steps.  I have reasonable rates for per project consulting.  No long contracts and discounts for continued enrollment.

If you haven’t taken advantage of your introductory career and time management coaching session, please contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info   You’ll be surprised how one conversation can change your life.


How do Companies prevent remote workers from feeling “left out”?

I recently received the following question:

How do companies prevent remote workers from feeling “left out”?
Incentives, such as bringing in lunch to headquarters staff and allowing casual attire in the office after employees meet certain goals, do nothing for those who work from home. What techniques improve or solve this issue?

I’m not a fan of handing off the responsibility of our own career and growth to someone else.

  • It is not the companies’ responsibility to make their telecommuters to ‘feel included’.
  • It is not the companies’ responsibility to make sure their employees network and build the proper working relationships with the right co-workers, sibling departments, other managers and executives.
  • It is not the companies’ responsibility to make sure their employees keep their jobs.
Career management and business networking is each individual professional’s responsibility. By placing the ownership of making the employee “feel included’ into someone else’s hands is a loosing proposition, because everyone is different. What works for one telecommuter will fail on the other. And then the company will resent the employee for not fully appreciating the efforts that the company made in the wrong direction. It is best if each individual takes full responsibility for their own career.
The very best way to “feel involved” is to simply to “get involved”. Some things that the telecommuter can do to “feel more included”:

1) Conduct and facilitate Brown Bag Lunch professional development series on new technology or operational procedures. Teleconference technology like Skype allows remote employees to both attend and present. Take the initiate to present on high-profile, company driven topics. Arrange for guest speakers that are expert in these areas. Request that the company cater in lunch for these special training and educational events.

2) Go into the office for face-to-face business networking. Even though you have the benefit of telecommuting, this does not relinquish your responsibility in your own business networking goals. Schedule monthly or bi-monthly visits into the office. Line up the important meetings with co-workers, managers, executives and mentors that are beneficial to your career growth and professional advancement. Your career is your responsibility – and the adage “out of sight, out of mind” is very relevant to telecommuters.

3) Schedule weekly or bi-monthly one-on-one meetings with your managers and mentors. Stay on your manager’s and mentors radar by scheduling frequent and regular one-on-one meetings. Have agendas and meeting goals/purpose identified in advance, so that you are not wasting these important people’s times. YOU facilitate and conduct these meetings to show your intentions and initiative. Ask about your performance and share the type of projects that you would like to be assigned to. Review the gaps in your skill set that you need to accomplish to gain those desired positions. YOU suggest/ask for things that you would like as rewards for meeting certain goals.
These are only three things the employee can do to take charge and ownership of their own professional advancement and career management.

Bottom line: If you leave it up to the manager to guess about your own desires, they will guess wrong. You will be unhappy and they will resent you for not being appreciative for their attempts to make you happy. Take ownership of your own happiness.
In my Professional Toolkit, I provide worksheet, templates and guidance on how to accomplish these things.    In my Book of Answers: Companion piece to the Professional Toolkit, I have 100 work-life scenarios like the above.  The scenarios show how to accomplish your goals in similar situation.
For more information on how to get this toolkit or the “Book of Answers”, please contact:

vConferenceOnline.com/Bits on the Wire, Inc.
6420 E. Broadway, Suite A300
Tucson, AZ 85710
520-760-2400 or (877) 853-9158
info@vconferenceonline.com

Try it and let me know what you think.


To experience the entire SSWUG TV career management series, <<click here>>



If you liked this tips, more can be found at www.lauraleerose.com/blog or GET SIGNED UP to my weekly professional tips newsletter.
The weekly newsletter contains tips on:
1)      Time management
2)      Career maintenance
3)      Business networking
4)      Work life balance strategies

If you haven’t taken advantage of your introductory time management coaching session, please contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info


Try this and tell me what you discover…..


About Laura Rose    Trainings    eCourses    Contact Us

Should I Give Discounts?

 

Should I Give Discounts?

IT Professional Development Series

By Laura Lee Rose

 

Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose – author of TimePeace: Making peace with time – and I am a business and efficiency coach that specializes in time management, project management and work-life balance strategies.  Steve Wynkoop and I talk a lot about designing and managing our professional careers on a weekly interview on SSWUG TV. One recent question popped up last week, regarding providing discounts for start-up companies and nonprofits.

 

A student asked:

I have been approached by non-profits as well as other small start-up companies to give them a discount on my products and services. Should I give them a discount?

I am not a big fan of devaluing your worth. Your time and effort is very valuable. And a non-profit or small business is not that different from any other business. They are still in the business to generate money. Non-profits may not focus on making a profit but they still have to budget for working expenses, they still pay their employees, still generate income (through sponsors and donations). Your service becomes a necessary expense for their company.

Having said that — I do see value in trade or bartering. For instance, you can give a discount in trade for advertisement in their newsletters, websites, and programs. If they provide a service that you can take advantage of – you can discount in trade for XX hours of their service.  If their client base matches your target market, you may have other opportunities for additional promotional opportunities.  For instance, you can arrange to become their sole vendor to their clients in your chosen product or service.

Example: Restaurant may want you to create a website for them. They are just starting out and are asking for a discount on your webdesign service. You have your own bills to pay and you want to attract clients that really value your time and expertise. You want to attract clients that are willing to pay you what you are really worth. On the other hand, you would like to see these people succeed. You can offer them a discount in exchange for:

1) A mention in their menu

2) A mention on their website (Website designed by: signature)

3) XX number of complimentary meals

If they want you on a retainer to maintain their website – you can include XX number of comp meals a month in addition to your discount price.

 

One warning: Do not accept barter for something that is not of value to you.  That’s comparable to giving your services away for free.  Make sure you continue to feel that your worth is being appreciated, by investigating alternative solutions that better meet your goals and success.

 

For example:  A business and success coach asks you to redesign and develop her new website at a discounted rate.  You don’t really need her coaching services and don’t see a fit at first.   But instead of dismissing it right away or giving the discount for free – you investigate a little more.  Asking the important who, what, where, when and how – about her business; you discover that her client base is other entrepreneurs in various fields.  Her primary focus is providing training to other start-ups and new business owners.  With this information, you design a barter, vendor and affiliation program with the following goals:

1)     Be the exclusive web-design vendor for her training classes, training DVDs, and promotions trade shows.

2)     Be prominently displayed and recommended on her website

3)     Be recommended to her clients as their website designer as they get started on their new business

4)     Be one of her speakers at her various trade shows, seminars and retreats

5)     Become an integral part of her support team and staff when guiding her clients through the deployment of their brand and websites.

If the above was not the case, it is recommended that you direct the life coach to someone else that could make use of her services.  This way, you will get the advantage of providing referrals and assistance to others (which puts you in good standing with both businesses).

 

In my IT Professional Development Toolkit, I go into the: who, what, where, when and how to accomplish all of the above. I also have a transferrable skill worksheet.  For more information about the toolkit, please contact

 

vConferenceOnline.com/Bits on the Wire, Inc.
6420 E. Broadway, Suite A300
Tucson, AZ 85710
520-760-2400 or (877) 853-9158
info@vconferenceonline.com

 

 

Or sign up for my weekly Time and Career Management Newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/cZ9_-/

Using hosting etiquette to close the deal

 

Using hosting etiquette to close the deal

 

Hello, this is Laura Lee Rose – author of TimePeace: Making peace with time – and I am a business and efficiency coach that specializes in time management, project management and work-life balance strategies.  Steve Wynkoop and I talk a lot about designing and managing our professional careers on a weekly interview on SSWUG TV. Recently I was approached by reporting wanting to know the following:

 

You’re hosting your boss or a client at a business lunch – what can you does to really make a good impression and seal the deal?

Hosting Etiquette is same in most cases. Beyond the regular things you might do, review the following and see what you think:

  1. Find out their favorite foods and make reservations to a restaurant that provides high-quality cuisine of that type. – Vegan, probably a steak place isn’t the best choice.
  2. If it’s a group environment, make sure the restaurant have enough options to satisfy a diverse group of dietary and religious needs.
  3. Arrive early – to be at the restaurant before the first guest.
  4. When you first arrive, tell maitre d’ that you are to receive the check at the end of the meal. Do this before you are seated.
  5. Make it clear to your guests that they can order pre-dinner drinks, even if you are not ordering a drink for yourself.
  6. If a guest(s) is more than 10 minutes late, seat the rest of the group and ask the maitre d’ to seat the late-comers when they arrive.
  7. When meals arrive at different times, suggest that those that have received their food to start eating. Lead by example and follow your instructions to make them feel more comfortable in doing it.
  8. If an error is made by the staff or kitchen, tell the guest that you will handle it (so that the guest doesn’t have to have that difficult conversation and illustrate that you are a problem solver). Then speak to the server politely and explain the situation without blame.
  9. Don’t discuss the price of the meal when paying. Don’t make a big deal about paying the bill.
  10. Allow the guest to lead the conversation and topics. Don’t interrupt their story to tell your tales. Don’t use the conversation to show off. Use the conversation to understand their perspective and understand how they can best benefit from your association with them.
  11. When commenting on their opinions, say “Yes – and I have also noticed ….” to introduce an opposing viewpoint without introducing conflicts and contradictions.
  12. Even when you invite guests to order whatever they want, some guests will hesitate to order. Most guests try to order something priced in the same range as the other guests. And if you make them go first, they don’t have a range to use. Make some recommendations to put them at ease with the pricing.
  13. Don’t openly complain about the service, restaurant, location, etc. They will wonder that if you don’t like this place, why you are bringing them there. Avoid negatives in speech and actions.
  14. Don’t point out problems, create solutions at all times.
  15. Mirror body language and speech patterns to convey that you are synchronized. Paraphrase what they are saying to make sure you understand what they are trying to convey, before you respond. Seek to understand first, then to be understood (from Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People).

 

In my IT Professional Development Toolkit, I go into the: who, what, where, when and how to accomplish all of the above. I also have a transferable skill worksheet.  For more information about the toolkit, please contact

 

vConferenceOnline.com/Bits on the Wire, Inc.
6420 E. Broadway, Suite A300
Tucson, AZ 85710
520-760-2400 or (877) 853-9158
info@vconferenceonline.com

 

 

Or sign up for my weekly Time and Career Management Newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/cZ9_-/

3 Sure-fire Ways to Screw Up a Project

This is Laura Lee Rose, a business and efficiency coach that specializes in professional development, time management, project management and work-life balance strategies.  In my Professional Development Toolkit package , I go into professional development and real-world IT topics in detail. If you are interested in more training in these areas, get signed up

There are several ways to fall behind in a project.  Most times we can rebound from them  But these three mistakes are very hard to recover from.  Please keep an eye out for them:

1) Not verifying that everyone understands the success criteria.
For example: Make sure everyone has the same definition of DONE and the quality criteria. A developer may feel that “done” means that he has completed his section of code. But the project definition of ‘done’ means design spec written, reviewed, approved; code developed, reviewed, tested, unit tests done and automated, all Severity 1 defects fixed and retested on that section of code.
Make sure the entire team (business analyst, developer, tester, technical writer, technical support, managers etc )  is using the same definitions.
2) Not sharing the reason behind the quality metrics.
For example: The quality metric goal is to fix, retest and clear all high-level, Severity 1 defects by 6 weeks before code-freeze. In other words, the team’s goal is to have the count of  0 (none) High-level, Severity 1 defects at the 6 week milestone before code-freeze. This is because with every code change, there is a 10% chance of introducing new defects or uncovering hidden defects. In this example: Retesting 100 fixed defects has the possibility of finding another 10 new defects. By finding these new defects 6 weeks before the code-freeze allows you to fix and retest those 10 fixed defects before code freeze. If people do not understand the purpose of retesting the logged fixes that many weeks before code-freeze – they may decide to just close the fixed defects (to meet the 0 Severity 1 defect goal) without retesting them. This meets the 0 Severity 1 Defect metric criteria – but bypasses the intent or reason for the quality metric. If you just close the fixed defects without retesting – you have released with an additional (potential) 11 defects that would have been found/fixed if you had retested prior to the 6-week milestone.
Make sure everyone fully understands the reason behind the procedures and not just number goals.
3) Not selecting and reporting meaningful metrics.
Every project’s quality, forecasting, and progress metrics should be re-evaluated for each project. While past project report templates may be relevant – it should not be assumed that they are relevant. You still need to re-evaluate for each new project. Every project should have a mission and goal. Every metric that you report needs to support the mission and project goal. If you can not align the project mission and the metrics you are reporting, you are not emphasizing the meaningful targets.
In my Professional Toolkit, I provide worksheet, templates and guidance on how to accomplish these things.    In my Book of Answers: Companion piece to the Professional Toolkit, I have 100 work-life scenarios like the above.  The scenarios show how to accomplish your goals in similar situation.
For more information on how to get this toolkit or the “Book of Answers”, please contact:

vConferenceOnline.com/Bits on the Wire, Inc.
6420 E. Broadway, Suite A300
Tucson, AZ 85710
520-760-2400 or (877) 853-9158
info@vconferenceonline.com

Try it and let me know what you think.

Avoid the ‘Let’s do lunch’ dance

This is Laura Lee Rose, a business and efficiency coach that specializes in professional development, time management, project management and work-life balance strategies.  In my Professional Development Toolkit package , I go into professional development and real-world IT topics in detail. If you are interested in more training in these areas, get signed up

Take this scenario:

  • Co-worker emails you: “Can we meet at the end of this week on this topic?”
  •         But in the email, the person does not suggest any date or time for this important meeting.  It’s just a quick one-liner with the above message.
  • You quickly email back:  “Of course”
  • You and your co-workers emails only took 10 seconds to initiate and respond, but nothing was really accomplished.  And no one took the responsibility for actually setting up the meeting.  Nothing really got accomplished here.  You are very busy and you feel that if he was the one requesting the meeting, he should be the one championing it.  He feels he is very busy and if it was important to you, you would push it.  Weeks go by without any progress and you both loose out.

2nd scenario:

  •  You get into the following email on Monday:
  • Co-worker: “Can we meet at the end of this week on this topic?”
  •         But in the email, the person does not suggest any date or time for this important meeting.  It’s just a quick one-liner with the above message.
  • You email back:  “Of course.  I am available this week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 9:00am and 11:30am.  Please pick a 30 minute slot that fits your schedule.  If none of those time slots are convenient, please send me 3 alternative dates and times – so that we can get this on our calendars.”
  •          Even though he is asking for the meeting, you are taking responsibility (able to respond to complete the task of setting up the meeting) for getting this in the calendar.  He had the opportunity to provide a handful of dates/times for the meeting that was convenient for him – but he didn’t do it.   Therefore, you provide various time blocks (that is convenient to you) to give your co-worker an opportunity to pick a time that fits in his schedule.  While you are waiting for his response, you feel somewhat restricted or in a holding pattern because you have essentially promised all those time slots for now.  But it also gives you some freedom  to schedule things around those time slots.
  • You get no response for two days.  Since you are very busy, you feel that you are in a holding pattern on this (because you could really use some of those time slots that you temporarily promised your co-worker).  You don’t want to resent your co-workers for not responding to you and you want to feel free to do what you want to do with your own time.  Therefore, you resend your previous response and also call him.   By calling him, you are escalating the request.  Because they are not at their desk, you leave a voice mail requesting them to respond to the email meeting request.
  • An hour later, you get an email from him stating: “I apologize I am so far behind this week. Can we perhaps shoot for next week? “
  •            The email still has no specific date or time for the meeting. There is still no closure to this. He did not match the urgency level of the communication.  This means, if someone calls you because you have not responded to them — you should match their urgency by calling them back.  Emailing back may be quicker for you – but it does very little to build that working relationship in a positive direction.  Emailing may be easier for you to send an excuse for not responding – but it does very little to build that working relationship in a positive direction.   Even though his email took him 10 seconds to write, it will doesn’t accomplish the goal of setting up a meeting and hurt his business reputation.
  • You respond: “Certainly.  Let’s meet on Monday, June 10 at 11:00am for 30 minutes.  The agenda will include: ……”
  •             At this point, you have given him ample opportunity to select a specific date/time of his convenience – and he continues to elect to leave it up to you.  You have given him ample opportunity to pick up the phone to rectify his delay in setting the meeting.  After all, he was the one that requested the meeting; he was the one that asked for it to be conducted ‘later this week’; he was the one that failed to respond with an explicit date/time and he was the one that postponed it to the following week.  Regardless of his professionalism, you need to keep a professional demeanor.  You are still working toward building a positive working relationship.  So, you take the responsibility (able to respond and complete the task) to set the meeting date,  the pace and agenda of the meeting.
  • Even though you did all you could do to help move this forward, it took 3 days of back-and-forth emails to accomplish this.

3rd scenario:

  • You need to setup a meeting with a co-worker
  • You email:  “I am excited about this upcoming project and really want to hear your thoughts on this topic.  Can we meet at the end of this week on this topic?  I am interested in discussing the following XYZ to accomplish <goal A> .  I know we both are very busy and expect this talk to take only 20-30 minutes.  I am available this week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 9:00am and 11:30am.  Please pick a 30 minute slot that fits your schedule.  If none of those time slots are convenient, please send me 3 alternative dates and times – so that we can get this on our calendars.”
  •         You also call and leave a voice message that summarizes what you sent in an email.  In the voice message, you include the reason for the call, call back information, and your availability.  In the phone message, you show your personality and enthusiasm for this topic.  You emphasize that you are really looking forward to working with him on this.  You are friendly and enthusiastic.
  •         The email and the phone call took you about 5 minutes to do.
  • Your co-worker calls back relatively quickly: “Hey.  Thanks for your voice and email.  I was thinking the exact same thing. Great minds think alike. My boss it out of town this week, so I am pretty swamped.  But this is very important and I don’t want it to sit too long.  Are you available on Monday, June 10 at 11:00?
  •            You say, “Yes.  That’s a great time.  Do you think we can cover those topics in 30 minutes?”
  •             Your co-worker:  “Absolutely.  I’ve looked over the agenda and it looks like you have covered all the important highlights.  If we can’t fit them in, we can schedule another meeting before we exit that meeting.”
  •             You: “Sounds like a plan.  Talk to you Monday at 11:00am.  And thanks for taking your time on this.  I really appreciate it. “
  •             Your co-worker:  “Heck, no.  I appreciate you including me in this project.  It’s really the direction that I want to go.”
  •             This telephone conversation takes less than 5 minutes and builds rapport and a collaborative atmosphere. Within 30 minutes you and your co-worker have the meeting, the pace, the agenda all ironed out (versus the 3 days just doing it by email) and so much more.

This email dance happens quite often between busy people.  Even though email seems a quick way to communicate – it’s often not the most efficient way of communicating and completing tasks.  Email often takes people days to accomplish the same thing that a phone call could accomplish it in 5 minutes.   Just because email seems convenient, it’s not always a productive way of communication.  Before you send an email, consider the following:

1) Have you included everything that the receiver  (not you, but the audience of your email) needs to accomplish your request.
Sending a quick one-liner:  “We should meet something this week”  is not providing all the necessary information for your audience to accomplish your request.

Leaving a voice mail: “Call me” is not providing all the necessary information for your audience to accomplish your request.
2) Have you emphasized the proper importance by your method of communication.
If someone is calling you because you failed to respond to their email – you need to match their level of urgency.  Do not disrespect them by quickly emailing a one-line excuse like “I am very busy.  Can we do this next week.”  Take the hit in person.  Call or even drop by their office (if you are located in the same place), to apologize for the mix-up.  People don’t normally loose their reputation on a mistake.  They loose their reputation on how they react or respond to their mistakes.  If you go out of  your way to take responsibility for your actions and go beyond expectations on making amends – you actually will improve your professional reputation.

3) Combining communication methods is often the most efficient way to accomplish a task between team members.
Combining email and phone calls is a good combination to accomplish tasks.
Combining phone calls (with an email summary of what occurred on the phone) and face-to-face meetings (with email summary of the meeting minutes) is a good combination when possible.
Combining email, phone calls, face-to-face meetings is a great combination when possible.

Bottom line: Combining communication methods and providing enough information in your communication saves time.

In my Professional Toolkit, I provide worksheet, templates and guidance on how to accomplish these things.    In my Book of Answers: Companion piece to the Professional Toolkit, I have 100 work-life scenarios like the above.  The scenarios show how to accomplish your goals in similar situation.
For more information on how to get this toolkit or the “Book of Answers”, please contact:

vConferenceOnline.com/Bits on the Wire, Inc.
6420 E. Broadway, Suite A300
Tucson, AZ 85710
520-760-2400 or (877) 853-9158
info@vconferenceonline.com

Try it and let me know what you think.