Challenge Blog

Well I go to a lot of networking events and I like to offer something a bit different when I’m telling people about the HR side of our business

So I’ve introduced people to my little green pal Marvin the Martian

Marvin is a model employee on his planet

He works a long week and never complains about needing rest breaks or wanting to exert his rights under the Working Time Directive.  He doesn’t take time off sick and never complains of back ache or stress!

He plans to works until he is 80 and has no thoughts that his employer needs to provide him with health care or a pension.

His wife wouldn’t dream of expecting maternity benefits and paternity leave is unheard of.

Marvin does everything that is asked of him, he would dream of behaving inappropriately at work and he never questions the bosses as he knows that disciplinary matters are dealt with quite simply…..by laser gun!

Sadly for businesses here on earth Marvin can’t survive outside of his own planet.  So if you need to employ staff they will have to be of the human variety with all the variations, complications, rights and issues that brings.

That’s why you need Challenge Manager to help you deal with all HUMAN resources matters - we’ll ensure you have the best people working for you and achieving the successes your business wants.

CHALLENGE MANAGER - PROVIDING GREAT HUMAN RESOURCES SUPPORT!

Tune in to hear more about Marvin’s successes in the New Year.

….Or what gets measured gets done

I’ve been working with a business who wanted to develop the skills of their managers.  I was pleased to agree a series of outcomes and plan training to help those be achieved.

As the first day unfolded it soon became clear that this training wasn’t what was needed at all (or at least not yet!).  Managers were telling me that they saw no need for the kind of skills we were working on.  The view seemed to be “we just need to get on with our jobs and so do our staff”.

Interesting…..

So what are their jobs?  They all have MANAGER if their job title.  Without exception they have all been  promoted from the staff teams they were in and it became clear that the reason they were promoted was where the difficulties began.  They were all ambitious and keen to get ahead in their careers which they see as being through promotion to manager.  They were also all fantastic top performing sales people who got great results when they were selling.

Guess what - now they are managers what they REALLY still want to do is SELL!

There is little recognition within the business for the skill of managing and certainly the biggest financial rewards are still given for highest sales.  Targets are about sales activities and results, meetings are about sales figures, the appraisal questions focus on sales performance….

What gets measured gets done

These managers keep on selling and view managing as an inconvenient side activity to be done as little as possible.

So where are they now?  Well we’ve begun a much more fundamental process of reviewing business processes, organisation structure, pay and rewards, career progression and company values. 

It is early days yet but I am delighted that the senior management team in this business are really willing to listen and take action.  They want their business to be the best in the market, the best in the region and the place that people want to come and work.  They are keen to get it right and come out of what has been a tough two years in their industry fighting fit,  focused and strong for the future.

They recognise that strong management is essential and they are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that.  I believe they will succeed and I’m really pleased I’ll be on the journey with them throughout 2010.

So could it get any better than the last time I posted?  Well the next networking event I went to was run by the North Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and I won the business card draw - bagging myself a weekend’s test drive in a brand shiny new BMW Z4 - now I’m not a car expert but it sure looks like fun to drive!

How is life going for you?  Are you making each day count?  I’m making it my mission to do so!

I am working with a group of team managers next week on Days 2 & 3 of a development programme aimed at improving how they manage themselves, the individuals that report to them and their teams. 

What a luxury and a privilege in the current economic climate for a company to still invest time and money in managers receiving this training.  These folks really recognise their value to the business that their employer is willing to invest in their development. 

What makes this even more fantastic is that the senior managers came along to the first day of the programme to work with their team managers on identifying their individual objectives for the programme, laying out the support they can expect to receive and committing to attend again at the end of the prgramme to hear the success stories.

I love working with this organisation and am really looking forward to Monday and Tuesday when I know that this group will be ready and raring to keep on learning. 

I’m off to gather my training materials to together…including the suncream as we’ll be working outside if we possiby can!

Wishing you all a fantastic week…whatever you are doing.