Hot Buttons

1. Hot Buttons

2. “Hot Buttons” and “Cold Buttons”? Cause disinterest Cold Buttons Build negative concern Create interest Might hack them off Build positive enthusiasm Hot Buttons Build support

3. Each person’s buttons are different Based on someone’s: • Personal/professional experience • Communication style • Interests • Personal strengths and weaknesses • Values

4. Some gross generalisations . . . • Miss “give it to me in numbers” • Mr. “I’m going to take this company into the 20th century!” • Mrs. “we’ve always been successful the way we are” • Mr. “the people won’t do it” • Miss “the customer is king” • Mr. “what’ll that do to my cost-per-unit?”

5. Types we know and love . . . Miss “give it to me in numbers” • Finance oriented • Technology-aware • Risk averse • Mrs. “we’ve always been successful the way we are” • Focused on budget, not business • Depends on hierarchy/old girl network • Long-timer, manager • Detail-oriented • Secretive, information hoarder • Risk averse • Mr. “I’m going to take this company into the 20th century!” • Reads trendy management literature • Focused on distant future • Evangelical • Good communicator • Business-focused • Deep down despairs of making real change

6. Types we know and love . . . (cont) • Miss “the customer is king” • Often new customer service role • whole business aware • focus on quality • people/process-award • contain, not eliminate, risk • Mr. “the people won’t do it” • traditional head-of-personnel type • likes consultants with specific expertise and tasks, not business partners • worried about unions • bried it before • doesn’t trustemployees • reactive • not very creative • Mr. “what’ll that do to my cost-per-unit?” • operational role • hates HR • relies on culture • led by finance

7. General hot buttons for each type . . . • Shareholder value • Return on investment • Utilisation rate • Turnover • Overhead • Compliance • Planning Traditional management Numbers Visionary “People won’t” Customer king Operations • Best in class • Business focused • Competitive positioning • Innovative practices • Management practices • Communication channels • Roles and responsibilities • Decision authorities • Human resource development • Human resource management • Policies and standards • Personnel records • Point of customer interaction • Value-added service • Benchmarking service • Customer surveys • Productivity • Less cost • Not HR • Acceptable risk • Cross-functional activity • Accountability

8. Hot buttons specific to a restructuring solution… Hot buttons specific to s restructuring solution. . . Traditional management Numbers Visionary “People won’t” Customer king Operations • Number of layers • Headcount • Audit trail • Reward structure implications • Redundancy • Cost • Flexibility for the future • “Doing” words like implementation timeline, pilot testing, coaching through change, modelling behaviours, etc. • Management structure • Management skills • More opportunities for networking • Customer facing roles • Redundancies • Unions • Grading mechanisms • Skills transfer • Expanding HR into the business • Working toward a vision • (delve for existing frustrations in implementing change and answer them) • Flexible • Less bureaucracy • Fully productive workforce • Solution may involve: • Delayering • Business-focused team structure • Empowerment • Multi-skilling • New reward structures

9. Hot buttons specific to a IT IMPLMENTATION solution . . . Hot buttons specific to an IT Implementation solution… Traditional management Operations Numbers Visionary Customer king “People won’t” • Developing management indicators • Headcount reductions from automation • Automatic measuring • Automated audit • Effective reporting • Projected cost data available • IT as a lever for cultural change • IT as an enabling tool • IT as a tangible step on the road to change--it’s different to the status quo • Reliability of the IT solution • Solution as proven concept--site visit • Involvement of business people in defining requirements • use industry examples • On-line training • Technology trainers required • Systems leverage tasks from the employees • User involvement in design (good for union relations) • Training and on-line, task related support • customer information database, warehouses • Reporting • Tracking service performance statistics • Process metrics • Cost data to support management • Volumes data to • support planning • Implementation/pilot testing • Training/testing databases separate • from live databases • Solution may involve: • Automated manuals • On-line performance support • Technology training • User involvement/buy-in

10. Hot buttons specific to a re-engineering solution… Traditional management Numbers Visionary “People won’t” Customer king Operations • Eliminate duplicated effort • Easier to audit new processes • Easier to plan due to better information • Streamlined processes and better information enable performance management • Enrichment/job design • Designing new roles - opportunity to define required skills and capabilities • Note: This solution will be inherently unpalatable to the traditional manager, as it intends to break down departments and traditional power bases • Use industry examples • Focus on future role of management • Talk about involvement of leaders in the exercise, • New pay structures, e.g. performance-related pay • Competencies management--defining them, assessing them, developing them, tracking them) • (both of the above require greater HR support of the business, extend the HR role) • Customer-facing roles created in the new processes • Behavioural and task training for the new processes and roles • Maximise current initiatives • Metrics • Wastage • Management information • Eliminate duplicated effort • Critical path focus • Solution may involve: • New roles and responsibilities • New reward structure • Training in tasks and measures

11. Hot buttons specific to a culturechange solution… Traditional management Numbers Visionary “People won’t” Customer king Operations • Make people more cost conscious • Make people more regulatory-award • Make people create business cases for proposals • Non-monetary motivators • Use words to describe desired culture like “information sharers, whole-business thinkers, accountable, motivated, supportive of others” • Talk about how to change culture--role modelling, leadership, • communication, new language, defining and rewarding desired behaviours, involvement, education, propaganda campaigns, burning platforms, pilot testing to demonstrate new • values, change agents • Compete externally, support internally • Accountability • Better communications • Employees responsible for their development/careers--ownership • Self-motivating people • Build a “can-do” attitude • Use industry examples • Same as traditional management • NOTE: culture change will usually be perceived as impossible by this person • Build “customer is king” culture • As this person will know what type of culture they want, focus on the “how”--see “visionary” point number 2 • Talk about motivation--making lots of more overt milestones for performance gains • “Healthy competition” culture--trying to outdo latest achievement • Performance-focused culture