The Underdog Workplace Edge

work smart and love people

The Underdog Workplace – Recent Episodes

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Episode 007 – We have to go get them

007 – With so many people who don’t see work to be a good thing, it’s up to you and me to help them change their minds. 

Many people in our society today don’t want to work or they avoid work.

Some younger people think they don’t have what it takes to do hard work.

Whether people are avoiding work or afraid of it, we can change their perception.

Work isn’t just about one person getting paid… it’s about our need for a workforce, personal gratification in serving others, and doing what we are made as individuals to do.

The edge for smaller businesses is to look for potential and attitude and be willing to invest in them.

If you’re willing to invest in people to come and work in your business, they’ll stay and tell others.

  • How many of your employees are bringing their friends and family to come work at your workplace?
  • How do you train someone to be a great employee (beyond the normal training needs)?
  • In the first few days of every employee’s career in your company, how well do you connect with them? How well do you connect them with others? How well do you connect them with your company?
  • In the first week of every employee’s career, how well do you clarify their role and what it means to work in your business or at your workplace?
  • Are you telling them or are you listening to them?
  • Once they are learning how to do their job, how do you build their confidence?

Do you have a system for doing these things? 

If not, take my course where I’ll come alongside you in live online sessions. We’ll do it in 21 days. Register at https://worksmartlovepeople.com/21days

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Episode 006 – Knowledge isn’t liquid and brains aren’t vessels

006 – When it comes to training, less talking is better for the goal of the training. After all, what’s the goal of training? That an employee can DO something at the end of it. Is your training focused on just that goal of what the employee needs?

  • Who’s doing all of the talking in the training in your workplace?
  • How do you transfer knowledge from process experts to new employees?
  • What is the result of your training? Is it great, good, or not getting the results you want?
  • What is training? It’s not information sharing – it’s about the planned utilization of information.
  • What’s the purpose of training? To allow people to choose to believe, understand, and DO things. 
  • If you want help with your training, I’ve got a program I’m working to release. Go to worksmartlovepeople.com/podcast to receive updates… AND to receive a remarkably simple guide to start new employees strong in their first week with your company – every time.
  • Is your training good? Is it mapped out to focus on the 3-5 things that a person in a role needs? Is it relentlessly simple? Is it question-driven and does it allow the employee to choose to learn?

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Episode 005 – Leveraging Gallup’s controversial survey question

005 – Employees don’t know all of the reasons that leave an employer.  After all, people have needs that they don’t realize and articulate  – they just go where they’re met. So, what is a need that employees have today and how is that being met in your workplace?

  • Gallup has developed a 12 question employee survey that indicates how engaged employees are. (If they’re not engaged, they’re likely to leave the company.)
  • One question on the survey is controversial and a lot of people make fun of it, but it’s remarkably important to the employee’s longevity with a company.
  • When 6 in 10 employees answer “yes” to this question, your company can expect increases of 7% in customer engagement and 12% profit.
  • Employees need this whether they realize it or not.
  • Work to support new employees in this need on their first day. 
  • Make  a little time and space for existing employees for this to foster their fulfillment in this area, too.

Do you need to know how to get employees started on Day 1 in a way that increases their odds of staying? Check out worksmartlovepeople.com/podcast for a ready-to-use Day 1 onboarding plan that will give you the best edge in getting and keeping great employees.

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Episode 004 – Stop Sending Mixed Messages

We talk to a lot of people day in and day out… and we fall into ruts and routines of conversations without realizing it.  What messages are you sending and are they the things that you are truly most concerned about in your workplace? Let’s think through this today to see if we can clear up mixed messages.

  1. What are your employees hearing from you on a regular basis?
  2. Are your main talking points supporting your top priorities?
  3. What information are your employees encountering on a regular basis?
  4. Is the repeat information employees see what they need in order to progress into greater performance? If not, what do they need?
  5. If you’re stuck talking about things that merely maintain the business, how can you reorganize conversations so you talk about improving the business?
  6. Subscribe where most podcasts are found to join the Underdog tribe.
  7. As always, thank you for your time and interest! – Chief Underdog
  8. Who drives the drumbeat of communication in your company? How is that your advantage over large companies?
  9. How will your employees benefit if you clear up your mixed messages?
  10. How can you remember what you want your drumbeat of communication to be?

Subscribe where most podcasts are found to join the Underdog tribe.

As always, thank you for your time and interest! – Chief Underdog

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Episode 003 – Finding the quick wins in your business

You know all about everything that’s happening in your business. And, you KNOW there’s a lot of opportunity to work better, faster, cheaper… but where can you start? The lowest hanging fruit is somewhere you might not think to look.

  1. What’s the best starting point to find your greatest opportunities for better results fast?
  2. What’s the harm in just talking to a few employees for their ideas?
  3. How do you need to handle employees’ ideas and why?
  4. Why is your approach to employees important?
  5. What are 3 positive ways to ask new and existing employees for improvement ideas in a non-threatening way?
  6. What’s the benefit for you in asking employees for areas where business processes can be improved?
  7. What is your edge in being a small workplace as you look for areas of improvement?

Subscribe where most podcasts are found to join the Underdog tribe.
As always, thank you for your time and interest! – Chief Underdog

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Episode 002 – Build Your Team AND Your Profits

Episode 2

Are you overwhelmed by all of the priorities at work? In this episode, we are categorizing them to make sure we’re hitting on the ones that have the most potential to grow your profits and your business.

  1. How do you determine if a work week is successful?  
  2. What’s your edge in a smaller workplace when it comes to priorities?
  3. What types of priorities are competing for your time?
  4. Where do you need to develop and delegate to “mini-me”s?
  5. What’s are the costs of a broken process?
  6. Which two types of priorities can grow your business and profits?

Subscribe where most podcasts are found to join the Underdog tribe.
As always, thank you for your time and interest! – Chief Underdog