1. June 2009 by Dan Trudell.

President Obama has promised his union supporters that he will attempt to push some form of EFCA (Employee Free Choice Act) through Congress this year. As membership in unions has declined dramatically over the last 20 years, union bosses are desperate to make it easier to recruit and organize smaller and smaller companies and/or work units within larger companies.

According to author Larry W. Bridgesmith, “Unaddressed employee grievances are the most frequent cause of union organization…Union prevention is simply good management in action.” Often, senior leadership is unaware of poor management practices at the frontline level for many reasons. Businesses have remote locations that are infrequently visited, leaders have “more important issues” to deal with and often, because there is no “noise” being heard, an assumption is made that everything is good!

Several questions need to be considered to determine if your company is potentially “ripe” for a union organizing effort:

·         Does your organization regularly survey employees and probe around the relationship with their direct manager? And do you do anything with the feedback?

·         Is there a path for grievances to be registered above the person’s direct manager if there is no adequate response from the immediate manager

·         Are employees oriented to the value of direct communication with management and how important it is for employees, customers and the company for that relationship to continue?

If you are not examining the management practices of your existing frontline leaders and developing positive practices in that population, you will almost certainly attract attention of organizers if and when some version of this bill becomes law.  (Google EFCA or Employers Free Choice Act to learn details of that proposed bill.)

Peak Performance Associates, Inc. is experienced in helping clients gather employee data, aggregate the data to determine if there are problem managers, and recommend and/or deliver effective development actions to rapidly improve leadership skills. We can also help companies incorporate assessment tools into the selection process for managers to identify skill “gaps” before promotion to a leadership position.  And, assist in incorporating proper communication tools into the orientation process to lay a firm foundation of communication and the importance to the ongoing success of the business.

Don’t wait and hope that nothing will happen. The cards have been dealt; experts say that it is not “if” this act will be considered but when and because President Obama “owes” the unions and has a majority in both houses, something will be passed.

Labor law prevents a company from undertaking a process like this once any organizing activity begins. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Take positive proactive action now to reduce the likelihood of your most valuable assets radically altering the conduct and competitiveness of your company.

Dan Trudell is President of Peak Performance Associates, Inc.  Since 1990, Peak Performance Associates has aligned people strategy with the business strategy of client companies.  For more information on employee surveys, leadership development and selection/orientation processes, contact Dan Trudell at  dant@peakperform.net or call 608-835-9288.

Posted in Selection, Employee Onboarding, EFCA, Employee Surveys, Development, Leadership, Business Growh | No Comments »

4. May 2009 by Monica Le Grand Trudell & Dan Trudell.

As we write this article, it is baseball season. Imagine, if you will, a team of excellent, talented players; athletic and skilled at their respective positions. One might predict much success based upon that scenario. But further imagine that while they are skilled in the basics, hitting, running, etc., they don’t have a solid understanding of the rules of the game! Would that change your outlook for how successful this team will be in season play? 

We find the same scenario occurring in business after business today; highly skilled and talented “players” in each area, but without the critical understanding of the fundamental rules of business. Those fundamentals include a basic knowledge of the “cash to cash” cycle, the basics of operational decisions on the financial success of the business and how important it is to understand how each functional area or department “fits” together for organizational growth. 

And in today’s difficult economy, it becomes more important than ever that each and every person in your company understands exactly how your business makes money, how what they do on a daily basis, contributes to the bottom line and how the decisions they make impacts the profitability of the company, keeping the company strong enough to weather difficult times.   

Here are several questions to ask yourself to determine if developing the business acumen of your employees would be beneficial to your business: 

1-      Are you asking your people to do more with less?

2-      Is competition getting tougher?

3-      Are key decisions being made at lower levels in the company?

If so, do the frontline folks in each department or functional area that you depend upon to make the best decisions for both the company and the customer have a solid understanding of the foundational business basics to make optimal choices? Do they have strong Business and Financial acumen? 

Many of our clients have concluded that they have been putting those critical frontline folks at a disadvantage. They realize they have neglected to provide them with the knowledge to make good business decisions. Manufacturing Reality^TM: Ca$h Flow^TM addresses that missing component. By working in teams, running their simulated manufacturing business for 3 years, they make decisions and very quickly experience the impact of those decisions both operationally and financially. They must manage their cash, make tough choices about how to invest their limited resources and quickly learn that “there is only so much money”!  Through discussion and debrief, they are able to make the connections to how the decisions they make on a daily basis impacts the financial success of your company.  

Often, we are asked how a company can justify the investment in this type of learning exercise. I ask in response “What is the cost of sub standard or downright wrong decisions on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis?” What would it mean to a company if your frontline workforce had a better understanding of how your company’s operations and their decisions improved the cash to cash cycle, why it is important to control overtime, how much waste impacts bottom line performance, etc. The answer to those questions in dollar terms usually far outweighs the investment in your people. The simulation experience will drive behavior change and enhance the quality of the hundreds of decisions that are made every day. Ultimately, the cumulative effect of all those decisions drives improved financial performance. 

And isn’t that the goal? 

Dan Trudell and Monica Le Grand Trudell are partners in Peak Performance Associates, Inc.  Since 1990, Peak Performance Associates has aligned the people strategy with the business strategy of client companies.  For more information on Manufacturing Reality^TM:  Ca$h Flow^TM or how we can assist you with aligning your people strategy with your company strategy, please contact Dan Trudell at 608-835-9288 or dant@peakperform.net.

Posted in Talent Management, Development, Financal Acumen, Business Growh, Business Acumen | No Comments »