The CEO of one of our largest clients took me aside for a conversation that not only changed my
life, but also my business focus. “Terri, I’m tired of spending all this money on training . . . only to have people leave and take your great training elsewhere. We need to change what we’re doing,” he confessed. His comments ignited a revolutionary moment for me. I realized he was right — dead right. No amount of training would ever change an employee who did not believe in the concept of service and serving others. That insight fueled my resolve to change our business approach from merely training people to selecting and retaining the right people to then train and develop.
I’ve come to realize that this emphasis is what makes the critical difference, so let me repeat myself. Rather than merely training people, what is more important is to select and retain the right people up-front. This new understanding is what has inspired our research into the beliefs, values and behaviors of frontline, management and executive employees.
Over the past 10 years, we have surveyed, interviewed, assessed, analyzed or studied more than 44
organizations encompassing more than 6,500 employees at various levels. We have learned that behaviors and beliefs are cross-cultural. In other words, people are people – each with their own biases and prejudices. All have communication issues and work/life balance issues. Yet, all want to improve — to grow and do a good job. This research, combined with my work with service companies worldwide, provided the inspiration and content for my book – “I Quit, But Forgot to Tell You”.
My blogs will focus on all the aspects of selecting, retaining, developing people who LOVE what they do and where they do it…all the keys for an engaged workforce.