Here are two organizational development tools that can improve performance:

Job Analysis--Job analysis identifies what work must be performed as well how it is to be performed and who will perform it. Job analysis is a process involving the collection of information pivotal to ensuring that the job is designed to support effective recruitment, selection, performance management, career planning and development as well as the job evaluation and classification.

Business Process Evaluation-Organizations are a collection of processes that are natural business activities performed to produce value, serve customers and generate income. Managing these processes is the key to success in any organization. Unfortunately, most organizations are not set up to manage processes, they manage tasks. Process mapping is a simple yet powerful method of looking beyond functional activities and rediscovering a company's core process. Understanding process can help an organization function more efficiently, reduce wasted steps, improve quality and add value for their customers.

Hiring mistakes, poor job performance, and inefficiencies due to outdated processes or lack of job analysis may mean you could be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of time.

LLH Enterprises is a certified distributor of web-based assessments that can improve job analysis and design. In addition, our process mapping has allowed many businesses to reinvent themselves by peeling away the complexity of their organization's structure (and internal politics) to focus on the processes that are truly the heart of their business.

Communication a Hot Issue

Soft skills like communication are the art of interacting effectively with one another on issues that help people to work better. Research continues to suggest that communication is a management problem (see Performance Notes) causing missed deadlines, duplicated efforts and errors that can erode company profits. An area of communication that receives little attention is the skill of listening. Whether face to face, over the telephone or in groups managers' attention usually wane because they are multitasking-listening while doing work. Here are some tips to help you become a better listener:

1. Prepare
Gather your thoughts and review any pertinent materials you may have before your discussion. Think about the results you want from the discussion.
Prior preparation improves your ability to evaluate and learn from the speaker's comments.

2. Relax
Try to establish a relaxed atmosphere for both you and the speaker. Stop other things and focus on your conversation. Look the speaker in the eye and pay close attention to what is being said. Show that you are listening and that you respect the speaker.

3. Gather main points
Mentally keep track of the main points of your discussion. Ask for clarification if you are unclear about the speaker's point, but avoid interrupting until the speaker completes his/her comment. Your request for clarification may help the other person better organize his/her thoughts.

4. Listen carefully when you disagree
We tend to ignore or distort speaker's points on which we disagree. Make a special effort to remember debatable points and be sure you clearly understand the speaker's views before stating your position.

5. Try to ignore the speaker's manner
The speaker's manner or tone may indicate emotional turmoil that, in turn, makes it hard for the speaker to deliver the real message. A relaxed, non-threatening atmosphere helps, but you still may have to set aside the speaker's manner to understand his/her point.

6. Consider the circumstances
Perhaps the speaker feels pressured or fearful. The conversation may be plagued by unavoidable interruptions. Try to allow for any extenuating circumstances affecting the speaker and judge the speaker's views in the context of his/her perceived situation.

7. Avoid prejudging
It is easy to decide in advance that because of the speaker's position, manner, or appearance that nothing valuable will be heard. Often, the person with dirt under his fingernails or ink smudges on her blouse has very valuable information to communicate to an astute listener.

8. Listen for the ideas
It is more useful to listen for the speaker's ideas than to focus on "facts or figures." If you gain a clear understanding of the ideas, specific facts can be gathered and verified during follow-ups.

9. Listen without interruption
Try to avoid letting outside noises or activities rob your attention. Most conversations take place amid other activities. It is all too easy to let your mind wander when strange sounds intrude, or the discussion seems to you to be tiresome.

10. Restate
As the conversation comes to a close, take the time to restate the points made and your understanding of the speaker's views and your own positions. Cover the most important issues carefully. If you or the speaker have misunderstood the other, this is the best time to gain clarity and, perhaps, greater agreement. You still may not agree on some issues, but you should try to gain agreement on what has been said and on where each party stands.

Soft skills like communication can go a long way toward demonstrating your sincerity to your employees or managers. Good communication is also a way to build relationships, obtain knowledge, become aware of potential problems and be a good leader.

Cross Border News

Britain's Unemployed Get Skills Training
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, plans new measures to spur more jobless people to resume working even though the nation's unemployment rate dropped to its lowest in 29 years. Mr. Brown will force people collecting jobless benefits to attend mandatory classes on basic workplace skills and attend job counseling if they have been out of work for more than six months.

Travel Trivia
We don't often think about the fact that overseas business travel is on the rise everywhere in our global economy and that it is an indicator of potential new markets for our business. For example, according to a 2002 Canadian Tourism Commission Travel Survey Canada has a lot of foreign travel that helps boost our economy. Take a look at these statistics for Canada:

• The top destinations in Canada made by overseas business travelers were: Toronto 39%, Montreal 15% and Vancouver, 15%.
  
• The number of trips to Canada made by overseas business travelers: 650,000.
  
• Number of U.S. overnight business trips to Canada: 1.96 million.
  
• Average spending per U.S. overnight business travel trip: $807
  
• Top five states of origin of U.S. business travelers to Canada: Washington, California, New York, Michigan and Illinois.

Take a look at travel statistics in your area to determine if there are opportunities to expand the reach of your business to overseas companies.

Dollar Daze
With the 2.6 percent rise in the value of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. currency, Canada's industrial prices fell for the second consecutive month, according to Statistics Canada. On the other side of the border the U.S. dollar is still giving up its previous gains and coupled with multiple hurricanes and a pending U.S. election is causing hesitant consumer spending.

Performance Notes 

Stereotypes Impact Business
Research amongst senior managers found that 80 per cent talked about a male first when asked to describe a successful manager. In addition, occupational psychologist Binna Kandola found that senior managers tend to show the pervasiveness and power of stereotypes by the descriptions of male and female performance. How does stereotyping impact your company?

Skill Shortage
A recent survey from the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association noted that the three biggest skill shortages their members see in staff are problem-solving, communication and teamwork.

Internet Sales Jump
Retail sales via the internet will jump by one-third this year to about 5 per cent of retailers' overall sales, according to The Kiplinger Letter. Continued internet sales increases may signal an opportunity for your business to sell goods and services on the internet as well as through conventional methods.

Another Manic Monday?
Monday is the best day to assure the permission-based e-mails you send get delivered, according to a new study by Return Path, based on its findings of more than 16,000 e-mail campaigns sent between January and April 2004. The results detail the delivery rates by times of day and days of the week, as well as the time/day parts that are best and worst for permission-based e-mailing.

Monday is the best day to send a permission-based marketing e-mail, with a delivery rate 1% above a company's average delivery rate, and one that's twice as good as rates for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The delivery rate on Friday is slightly below average, while Saturday and Sunday see rates significantly below average; Saturday is the worst day to send an e-mail in terms of delivery rate.

Return Path attributes the weakness of the weekend days and the 10 am to 2 pm time period to the effects of spam. About 20% of permission-based e-mail does not get to inboxes because it gets mistaken for spam, and most spam is reported between 9 and 3 pm according to SpamCop. As noted above, 10 am to 2 pm is the worst time period for e-mail delivery rates. Additionally, many spam filters screen tougher during these hours and during the weekend to account for greater levels and percentages of spam. As a result, more legitimate marketing e-mails get caught in filters at these times.

E-mail marketers who are looking to maximize the delivery rates of their campaigns would be wise to pay attention to when they send their messages. Clearly the early bird - in this case, early meaning both early in the morning and early in the week - gets the customer.

Linda in Print
 

Please give us feedback on this issue of The Superior Performance Report (click here) and let us hear your insights and what you would like to hear about next time.

Copyright 2003 by LLH Enterprises-reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Superior Performance Report," by Linda Hanson, CMC, www.llhenterprises.com.

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