Category: strategy

9 Tips for Compelling Competition Entries in Sustainability

~ jo-anngarbutt ~ Leave a comment

Entering the project you are most proud of into an excellence competition is an exciting opportunity to showcase your hard work and achievements. But let’s face it, the competition can be stiff—especially when sustainability is a key judging criterion. Don’t worry, though; this post will guide you through how to focus on the right elements and tell a compelling story that highlights your project’s success without making things up. The secret? It’s all about having the right data, understanding what it means, and explaining why it matters.

Here are nine ways to make your project stand out and be memorable and remarkable:

1. Start With the Basics: Read the Rules

Before drafting your entry, carefully review the competition guidelines, especially sections on sustainability or innovation. These often hint at what judges value most—energy efficiency, water conservation, carbon reduction, waste avoidance, community impact, or even all of these. Align your entry with these priorities. And don’t stress over word limits—stay within 10% of the specified count, as they’re there to keep entries focused, not to demand a full thesis.

2. Tell a Story, Not Just the Facts

Before you start writing your entry, read the competition guidelines carefully. Pay special attention to any sections about sustainability or innovation. Competitions often provide clues about what the judges are looking for—energy efficiency, water conservation, carbon reduction, waste avoidance, community impact, or maybe all of the above. Tailor your entry to match these expectations.

3 Focus on Measurable Outcomes

Judges love numbers, so don’t shy away from sharing your data. If your project saved energy, reduced emissions, or cut costs, include the specifics. Here are some examples:

  • Energy Efficiency: “We installed energy-efficient lighting and reduced electricity usage by 30%, saving EUR 10,000 annually.”
  • Waste Reduction: “By reusing materials on-site, we diverted 95% of construction waste from landfills.”
  • Sustainability Impact: “The project’s solar panels now produce 20,000 kWh annually, enough to power 10 homes.”

Don’t have all the data? That’s okay—start with what you do have. Just be sure to explain how you measured these outcomes and why they’re meaningful.

4. Highlight What Makes Your Project Unique

Competitions are about standing out. Did you try something new that hadn’t been done before? Did you find a way to make the project faster, cheaper, or more sustainable? Maybe you combined existing methods or approaches in creative ways. For example:

  • “We used prefabricated components to speed up construction, reducing on-site waste and emissions.”
  • “Our landscaping included native plants, which cut water usage by 40% and boosted local biodiversity.”

Be clear about how your approach sets your project apart.

5. Talk About What You Learned

No project is perfect, and judges appreciate honesty. Talk about what went well but also acknowledge what didn’t. Maybe a new method didn’t work as planned, or you realized late in the process that a different approach would have been better. What’s important is that you show you learned from the experience.

For example:
“We underestimated the time required to train staff on the new energy management system, which delayed implementation. In the future, we would schedule training earlier to avoid this issue.”

6. Sustainability: More Than Just Energy

When we think of sustainability, energy efficiency often comes to mind first. But there’s more to it. Judges might also look for:

  • Circular Economy: Did you reuse, upcycle or recycle materials?
  • Water Conservation: Did your project reduce water usage?
  • Community Impact: Did the project benefit local communities or create jobs?
  • Biodiversity: Did your landscaping include native plants to support local ecosystems, or did you create green spaces that attract pollinators like bees and butterflies?
  • Positive Local Community Impact: Did you partner with local schools for educational programs or support community groups through funding or volunteer initiatives during the project?

By broadening your perspective, you can show how your project goes beyond energy savings to create lasting, meaningful impacts. Be sure to cover these aspects if they apply to your project.

7. Be Honest—Don’t Fake It

It’s tempting to stretch the truth to make your project look better but resist the urge. Judges have likely seen it all, and they’ll spot exaggerations a mile away. Instead, focus on presenting your project’s real achievements as clearly and confidently as possible.

8. Make It Easy to Follow 

A clear, well-organized entry can make all the difference. Judges don’t have time to untangle cluttered submissions, so present your work in a way that flows logically and is easy to digest. Use clear headings, concise bullet points, and short paragraphs to guide the reader. 

Think about your structure: 

  • Timeline Approach: Are you walking judges through processes, events, or project phases step by step? 
    • Top-Down Method: Are you starting with a big-picture overview and then zooming in on specific achievements or highlights? 
    • Comparative Lens: Are you showcasing measurable improvements by comparing past performance to present outcomes and projecting future benefits? 

If you’re including technical data, don’t let it overwhelm the narrative. Break it down into simple, relatable terms that anyone—even those without technical expertise—can understand. For example, instead of saying “airtightness of 0.6 ACH at 50 pascals,” explain how that translates into better energy savings or indoor comfort. 

A polished, intuitive format not only keeps the competition judges engaged but also ensures they don’t miss the full scope of your project’s excellence.

9. Think About the Future

Judges often like to see how your project has inspired or informed future efforts. Did it set a standard for your company or industry? Has it led to new ideas or processes? For example:

  • “The success of this project has prompted us to roll out similar solar energy systems at three other sites.”
  • “We are now working to integrate lessons learned into our next project to achieve even greater sustainability.”

Conclusion: Show the Big Picture

Entering a competition isn’t just about winning—it’s about showcasing what makes your work exceptional. By focusing on measurable outcomes, sustainability, and what you’ve learned, you can create a compelling entry that stands out.

Remember: the judges aren’t looking for perfection—they’re looking for impact, innovation, and integrity. Follow this approach, and you’ll not only improve your chances of winning but also demonstrate why your project truly matters.

Now go tell your story—sustainably, of course!

Streamline Your Workflow: Start, Stop, Change Strategy

~ jo-anngarbutt ~ Leave a comment

Feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list? It’s time for a fresh approach. Whether you’re figuring out what new tasks to start, which processes to stop, or where to make improvements—including sustainability initiatives—this simple method will help you cut waste and boost efficiency. Think of it as a game-changer for your workflow, empowering your team to work smarter, not harder, while making real progress. Change doesn’t have to be overwhelming; it’s about making strategic, impactful adjustments that lead to better results, smoother workflows, and more sustainable outcomes.

A Fresh Approach to Tackling Chaos

Ever feel like your to-do list is out of control? This simple method helps bring clarity, meaning, and direction to your tasks. Whether you’re deciding what new actions to take, which processes need tweaking, or which habits to drop, this approach will streamline your workflow, boost productivity, and make your routine more manageable.

Even the best processes lose their effectiveness over time or fail to take advantage of the improved availability of better tools and templates, signaling the need to reassess. While big changes can be costly, small adjustments often get things back on track. The method I’ll share is perfect for team brainstorming, making it easier to identify areas for improvement together.

Think of it like tidying up a familiar room. Some things need to go, while others just need a small fix. This tool helps you do the same with your work, identifying what needs to change, what new actions to start, and what habits to stop.

Importantly, it’s also about working smarter with sustainability in mind. Rethinking processes to reduce waste, conserve resources, and adopt eco-friendly practices not only improves efficiency but also builds a more sustainable work environment for the future.

What to Start

Think of yourself as a gardener, planning to refresh and revive your garden. To improve a process or outcome at work or in a volunteer setting, you need to plant new “seeds”—ideas and actions that hold the potential to bring positive change. These are the things you want to start doing to make a meaningful impact.

Ask yourself: What new tools, strategies, or approaches could help streamline work, solve problems, or improve how people experience your organization or team? It might be a fresh approach to a recurring issue or an idea that could make things more efficient. Like planting new flowers in a garden, these initiatives will need your time and attention to grow and flourish.

By starting these key actions, you create opportunities for improvement and success and build an environment that thrives on new ideas and growth.

What to stop

When we talk about what needs to stop in the workplace, we’re focusing on behaviors and habits that hold everyone back. Think of gossip—it’s like a poison that erodes trust and divides teams. Then there’s micromanagement, which stifles creativity and leaves people feeling frustrated and demotivated. And multitasking? While it might seem productive, it often leads to mistakes and burnout. By eliminating these negative behaviors, we can create a more positive, collaborative, and efficient work environment.

Stopping isn’t just about behaviors, though; it’s also about simplifying how we work. This means cutting out unnecessary steps, avoiding redundant processes, and leveraging technology to make tasks easier and faster. It’s about working smarter, not harder.

The key to success is getting everyone involved. When the team collaborates and shares insights, it becomes easier to identify which tasks or processes don’t add value—and figure out the best ways to eliminate them. This not only streamlines workflow but also helps the entire team feel more aligned, motivated, and connected.

What to change

When identifying what needs to be changed, it’s about finding those processes or tasks that work to some extent but aren’t quite hitting the mark. These are not things you want to stop completely, but they could benefit from refinement or improvement. The goal is to enhance their efficiency or effectiveness rather than overhaul them entirely.

This step is about finding out with your team where bottlenecks occur, where confusion arises, or where inefficiencies creep in. Perhaps you uncover small tweaks that make a big difference. For example, a task might be taking longer than necessary because of an outdated step, or perhaps communication between teams could be improved to streamline a handoff.

Other possible candidates for change may lie in opportunities to improve: Are there tasks that could be automated? Is there a process that could be shortened or simplified without sacrificing quality? Sometimes it’s as simple as adjusting timelines or reallocating resources to better fit the demands of a project.

The key is not to throw out processes that have potential but to fine-tune them. By making small, thoughtful adjustments, you can improve the overall flow and outcomes. Involving the entire team in identifying these areas for change ensures that the solutions are practical, realistic, and beneficial for everyone.

Setting up time with the team

To kick off improvements, start by gathering input from everyone involved in the workflow. Set up a dedicated meeting where each person can share their unique insights. By involving the whole team, you’ll gain a diverse range of perspectives, helping you identify opportunities for improvement far more effectively than if you were working alone.

To make the session productive, team up with coworkers and dedicate about an hour to look for ways to enhance how you work, the environment you work in, or how your organization delivers value—whether it’s to customers, clients, or those benefiting from your volunteer efforts.

Here’s how to structure your session for success:

  1. Define the Focus: Clearly outline what the session is about. Are you looking to improve a specific process, boost safety, streamline workflows, or enhance customer/recipient satisfaction? Make sure everyone understands the goal before diving into discussions.
  2. Encourage Open Dialogue: Create a safe space for everyone to share their ideas, frustrations, and suggestions. Emphasize that all feedback is valuable and will contribute to positive change.
  3. Brainstorm Together: Work as a group to explore ways to make things better, smarter, and safer. This could involve improving the way tasks are done, optimizing the workspace, or enhancing the delivery of value to customers or the community.
  4. Capture Ideas: Use Stop, Start, and Change flipchart pages to organize ideas. After brainstorming, categorize the suggestions:
  • Stop: What isn’t working and needs to stop?
    • Start: What new actions, processes, or tools should be introduced?
      • Change: What existing processes could be improved with a few adjustments?

5. Assign Actions: Once ideas are gathered, assign ownership for each action. Ensure there’s follow-up so the insights gained from the session translate into real improvements. Also, set up a follow-up recurring meeting to review how things are going to discuss if you need to change or improve how you are implementing actions to be more successful and avoid obstacles to success.

By following this structure, you’ll ensure that your team collaborates effectively and walks away with actionable steps to make meaningful changes.

Keep Stakeholders in the Loop

After the meeting, it’s important to keep key stakeholders, such as your supervisor or others involved in the implementation, informed about the progress. Provide them with an update on the discussions, including the proposal for items to start, stop, or change. This transparency ensures they are aware of the team’s efforts and can offer support as needed. Additionally, ask for their feedback and suggestions. This will help ensure that no key opportunities for improvement are missed and that the plan is as comprehensive as possible. Engaging others in this way enhances collaboration and strengthens the overall success of the initiative.

Now It’s Your Turn to Change the Game

Taking a structured approach to what you start, stop, and change can really improve how your team works and help you reach your sustainability goals. I encourage you to take a fresh look at your team, your environment, and how you get things done. Find ways to not only make customers happier and save money, but also to reduce waste, save resources, and lessen your impact on the planet. Involving your team in this process will help everyone work smarter and feel more motivated as they see their ideas making a difference. Whether you’re working or volunteering, these changes can lead to a more rewarding and sustainable experience. Now is the time to act—start looking for where you can make a real difference for your team and the environment.

Timing is Everything: Save with Smarter Energy Use

~ jo-anngarbutt ~ Leave a comment

Looking to lower your electricity bill? It starts with understanding when and how you use electricity. By reviewing your energy usage, you can spot the times when you use the most power and which appliances consume the most. This information is key to cutting costs.

Below is an example that shows how much electricity a household uses each hour. The taller the bar, the more energy is used during that hour. You can see a spike around 8 AM, likely because people are getting ready for work or school. In contrast, early morning hours, when the household is asleep, show much lower energy use. This example might also reflect a home using efficient heating during winter, resulting in lower usage overnight.

Cut Costs with Time-of-Use Rates

Think of the electricity grid like a busy road. During rush hour, traffic slows down because everyone is on the road at the same time. The same thing happens with electricity—during peak hours (like afternoons and early evenings), lots of people are using power, which puts stress on the grid.

In the chart below, you’ll see the household’s energy use in two colors: green and orange. Green represents times when electricity is cheaper, while orange shows when it’s more expensive. As you can see, most of the electricity is being used during the orange (expensive) hours. If the household shifted some tasks, like running the washing machine, dryer, or dishwasher, to the green (cheaper) times, they could save money. Even small changes like this can make a big difference on their electricity bill.

Understanding Time-of-Use Tariffs for Electricity

Some utility companies offer plans that charge you based on when you use electricity. The rates vary depending on the time of day—electricity is cheaper during certain hours and more expensive during others. By understanding how these time-of-use tariffs work, you can adjust your habits and save money on your electric bill.

Why Do Power Companies Offer Variable Electricity Rates?

Variable electricity rates work like offering different prices to drive on the roads at different times of day. When more people use the roads at quieter times, traffic flows smoothly. Similarly, when more people use electricity during off-peak hours (when the grid is less busy), it helps utility companies avoid overloads and keep the system running smoothly.

By charging higher rates during peak hours, utility companies encourage people to shift their energy use to less busy times. This reduces strain on the grid and helps prevent blackouts or other issues during periods of high demand—like when everyone is cooking dinner or watching TV. During off-peak times, such as late at night when most people are asleep, electricity is cheaper because demand is lower.

This pricing system, known as Time-of-Use (TOU) tariffs, means that electricity costs vary throughout the day, giving you the opportunity to save money by using energy during cheaper, off-peak hours.

Example: How Variable Rates Can Save You Money

Let’s look at an example to show how time-of-use tariffs can impact your electricity bill. We’ll compare two scenarios: one where a household uses a variable rate plan, and another where they don’t. In both cases, the household uses 150 kWh of electricity in a month, so the only difference is the plan they’re on. This will help illustrate how using the same amount of energy can cost less when you take advantage of variable rates.

A Time-of-Use Electricity Tariff

For this example, let’s assume that electricity costs €0.18 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) during the day, from 8 AM to midnight. At night, from midnight to 8 AM, the cost drops to €0.10 per kWh.

Now, if your total electricity usage for the month is 150 kWh, and you use 100 kWh during the day and 50 kWh at night, your electricity bill would be calculated like this:

  • Daytime usage: 100 kWh x €0.18/kWh = €18
  • Nighttime usage: 50 kWh x €0.10/kWh = €5
  • Total bill: €18 + €5 = €23

Without a Variable Rate for Electricity

If there’s only one flat rate for electricity throughout the day, the cost is often higher. Let’s say the rate is €0.21 per kWh. In this case, the family’s monthly bill would be:

  • Total bill: 150 kWh x €0.21 = €31.50

As you can see, the household with a time-of-use plan pays less (€23) compared to the flat-rate plan (€31.50). This shows that variable rates can save you money, even though the peak-time rates are sometimes higher than a flat rate.

What can you do?

If your utility provider offers time-of-use or variable tariffs, where you pay less during certain times of the day, here are some steps you can take to maximize your savings:

  1. Install a Smart Meter: A smart meter tracks your electricity use hour by hour, so you can see exactly when and how much energy you’re using. Many utility companies offer free installations, giving you better control over your energy habits.
  2. Adjust Your Daily Habits: Shifting energy-heavy tasks like laundry or dishwashing to off-peak hours can significantly reduce your bill. Even small changes can add up over time.
  3. Monitor Your Usage: If your utility offers an app or online portal, check your electricity usage regularly. Look for patterns and try to match high energy use with specific activities (e.g., running the washing machine). This helps you identify when to shift energy use to cheaper times.
  4. Upgrade to Energy-Efficient Appliances: When it’s time to replace appliances, choose energy-efficient models. These not only use less electricity but can save even more if run during off-peak hours.
  5. Use Smart Appliances: Some appliances can be programmed to run during off-peak times automatically. Set them to start when rates are lower, and enjoy the savings without having to think about it.
  6. Install a Programmable Thermostat: Adjust your thermostat to lower the temperature during peak hours to reduce heating and cooling costs.
  7. Invest in Energy Monitoring Devices: These devices show real-time energy usage, helping you identify which appliances are using the most electricity. With this information, you can turn off unnecessary devices or shift their use to cheaper times.

Taking these simple steps can help you cut costs and make the most of your time-of-use tariff plan.

In conclusion, saving on your electricity bill is easier than you might think. By simply shifting your energy use to off-peak hours and being mindful of when and how much electricity you use, you can make a big difference in your monthly costs. Small adjustments, like running appliances at cheaper times or using energy-efficient devices, can lead to significant savings over time. With just a little effort and smarter energy habits, you’ll not only reduce your bill but also take control of your household’s energy use.

Data Privacy Essentials: Your Compliance Starter Kit

~ jo-anngarbutt ~ Leave a comment

Navigating the complex world of data protection can be overwhelming, especially for small organizations like charities and businesses.

The Perils of Data Breaches

When personal data falls into the wrong hands, the consequences can be devastating. Individuals may become victims of identity theft, financial loss, or emotional distress. Trust, once broken, is difficult to rebuild. Organizations face reputational damage, monetary penalties, and legal repercussions. Moreover, a data breach can erode public confidence in digital services, hindering innovation and economic growth. Safeguarding personal information is not just a legal obligation but a moral imperative.

Compliance

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has set a new global standard for data privacy in Europe. At this time there are several countries worldwide with similar compliance requirements – from Australia’s Privacy Act to California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), organizations across the globe are grappling with the complexities of safeguarding personal information.

Free draft forms and guidelines

Data protection can be a real headache, especially for small businesses and charities. That’s why this toolkit of draft forms and policies is here to help you get started with practical templates to help you stay compliant without the hassle.

These templates are a great starting point but remember, data protection compliance is more than just paperwork. You’ll need to tailor these documents to fit your unique business and consult with legal experts when required.

Think of these draft documents as your trusty sidekick, providing a solid foundation for your data protection journey.

The toolkit has the following elements:

Data Protection draft Policy Template: Establish clear guidelines for handling personal data.

blog GDPR Policy DRAFTDownload

Data Breach draft Incident Report: Outline steps to take in case of a data breach.

blog GDPR Data Breach Incident Report FormDownload
blog GDPR Questions for Reporting a Data BreachDownload

Auditing and Monitoring draft Procedure: Maintain data protection compliance through regular checks.

Blog GDPR auditing and monitoring procedureDownload

Drat Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) Form: Efficiently handle requests for personal data.

blog GDPR DSAR FormDownload

Draft Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) Form: Assess the potential risks of data processing activities.

Blog GDPR Data Protection Impact AssessmentDownload

While these may be a handy starting point, remember, that data protection is about more than just paperwork. To really protect your donors’, your employees’, your vendors’, and customers’ info, you’ll need to build a solid system that covers everything from training your staff to dealing with data breaches to having a process to report incidents, investigate and draw up an incident report and understanding the data you have and know if you have any risks if that data leaks out somehow.

  • Data protection impact assessments: You need to start out by identifying and managing high-risk data processing activities and making sure you address any high risks you identified in the process. Conduct regular assessments (maybe once a year) to identify potential vulnerabilities and implement appropriate data protection safeguards. [There is a draft form for that in the templates.]
  • Employee Training: Regular training to ensure staff understands their data protection responsibilities and can identify and prevent potential risks.
  • Data Minimization: Collect and retain only the necessary personal data and give them examples to help them understand what personal data is.
  • Rights of those whose data you have: Implement procedures to handle data access requests – they generally have the right to erasure or update of data you store, and other rights include the right to ask to see the personal data you keep on them. [There is a draft form that people can use to request access to the personal data you have]
  • Supplier Management: Ensure data processors comply with data protection requirements through contracts and oversight.
  • Incident Response: Develop a clear plan for responding to data breaches, including notification procedures. And make sure everyone knows which number to call or which email to use to report a suspected data breach. [there is draft information in the templates for how to report an incident and also questions to ask when talking to someone reporting a potential data breach.]
  • Continuous Monitoring and Review: Regularly assess data protection practices to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.

By combining the templates with these additional measures, you can help your organization build a strong foundation for data protection compliance and protect the privacy of your data subjects.

Manage Risks of Early Promotion

~ jo-anngarbutt ~ Leave a comment

Staged Promotions – Accelerate role-readiness using focused development with check-ins

Leaders are not always ready the moment you need them to step into a new role. An inexperienced leader can increase risks in continued customer satisfaction, operational / execution risks, and employee satisfaction and retention. Using a a staged promotion could be a way to mitigate risks, while ensuring that leadership development is accelerated and monitored with defined targets on knowledge gained and skills and competencies gained during each period within a specified timeline.

Process and Timeline

The graphic below outlines the process and shows an example of running the process over a 9-month period. The duration of such a process can vary but watch out for making the period too long – longer than 12 months. It can lead to process fatigue and demotivation of the leader. It is important that the process starts with an orientation to ensure the leader understands how the process will work and what is on the other side of the development period. The leader should be clear on what he/she is signing up for.

Defined learning path

During the development period, there needs to be a few concrete check-in points whereby the leader is demonstrating knowledge, skills and insights gathered and learned over the period. Instead of making the check-in points being general discussions, it is useful to select a few key focus areas for a presentation to be delivered at the end of each of the development periods.

Each check-in event needs to result in specific feedback being captured and shared with the developing leader. The feedback helps him/her to further focus and improve on their learning approach for the remaining learning periods.

The final check-in is usually the final decision-point where the executives present are willing to confirm the promotion of the leader – ending the interim nature of the assignment.

The example below shows how a project or facility leader can be assigned specific areas to learn about over the 9-month period. Each of the areas are important for the normal day-to-day activities of the developing leader and the focus simply means nothing is missed in helping the leader perform well in the role in future. It helps to include the strategic and the “why” part of a role since a new role is often mostly or mainly about the “what” to get done.

Notes

  • The orientation step which helps the leader understand the design of the development path, the role he or she has and also how to ensure his/her own success making use of available internal and external development resources. Before the orientation session, a leader has typically already understood from his/her manager that they are offered the development opportunity on an interim basis and the leader has agreed to proceed. The leader also needs to know what happens if he/she does not succeed at the end? Will they get a different assignment and what might that be?
  • Preparing the executives before the check-in events (when check-in events are set up to be a presentation followed by questions and answers). Executives need to understand the design of the development path, the purpose of the focus areas, the development needs of the leader and how they are to capture their feedback to be presented back to the leader after the event.
  • Feedback to the leader should be specific and be a balance of activities that are good to maintain, which ones to develop further and which ones to start or stop going forward. Specific examples of desirable behaviors or results should be highlighted. A discussion on risk identification and management may also be useful to help the developing leader understand how to adjust own focus to best mitigate and manage risks associated with own development as a leader as well as risks associated with the role..
  • This process is very useful to help a leader understand what the new role would include when they are meeting all expectations of stakeholders. A leader who feels uncomfortable meeting all those expectations will typically ask to be taken off the development path before the end having realize it is not for him or her. And this allows for re-assignment and solving the leadership vacancy in a different way.

Listening to a presentation by the leader on the assigned topics goes a long way towards providing executives with a sense of comfort (or alarm!) in terms of what can be expected from this leader in this role going forward. While these check-in points should not be the only determinant of how the leader is performing in the new role or estimating future behavior, it is a great way to understand the reasoning a leader applies in making business determinations and decisions and how the leader approach problem-solving when faced with adverse situations.

How to get your next job through your network!

~ jo-anngarbutt ~ Leave a comment

Knowing what kind of opportunity you would like to pursue next, you can wait for the perfect role to show up online or… you could actively work through your network to get further!

Think about this:

  • The high level of competition for the role if you apply for a role online! Your experience and education and the design of your CV/Resume would have to be better than all other applicants to get through to the end of the recruitment process!
  • They estimate that 70% of roles are not advertised, but instead are sourced through networks! This means you could be invited for a discussion or interview just based on the fact that someone recommended you or introduced you to a decision-maker!
  • Every person you know from past roles, from school or college days, people you met and talked to at conferences, family, friends – could possibly know someone who is connected to a role that would be great for you!

Getting more contacts and making a positive impression on those you meet is important. It is not about pretending or lying, it is more about showing respect and genuine interest in those you meet. When people like the encounters they have with you, they want good things to happen for you and they might be keen to ask people they know to meet you or have a discussion with you. And this is all you need in many cases to get to the next step – a consulting project or a new job!

What does your network look like?

If you take a blank sheet of paper and you try to draw out this graphic below, perhaps you will be able to jot down people’s names for each of the circles and be able to create your starter list. This means the list of people whom you will start with – making contact with them.

The groups of people you know the best are most likely:

Friends, Family members, Classmates (now or from years before), ex-colleagues or trusted current colleagues, neighbors (now or from an earlier address where you lived at one point).

The next level of people you may want to contact include:

People you have met or interacted with on a sports team, or a social organization you joined, or a hobby class you took at some point, people you met and spoke to at a conference.

Priorities:

Looking through the names of people you listed in the worksheet (download available below), who might know people at the companies you are hoping to work for? Who knows about the kind of work you are good at and want to do? Who has the knowledge or experience to help you in your search? Who am I most comfortable talking to? (start there!)

How can your network help you?

What do you tell them ?

  1. When you talk to someone who already knows you, you do not need to introduce yourself. When talking to a contact of someone you know, introduce yourself.
  2. Make sure your message is complete: why are you talking to him/her? What exactly do you hope to get out of the conversation?
  3. Be specific about what you are looking for – i.e. role in sales, working on electric installation projects, etc.
  4. What are your training, certifications, experience, and skills to explain how you plan to successfully deliver in the role mentioned above? (the short version – only mention the most important ones!)
  5. Have your questions ready and be ready to rephrase any questions that are not easily understood by the person you are talking to.
  6. Give the other person time to think about their answers by being quiet after you asked.
  7. Show genuine interest in their advice or suggestions.

Questions to ask

The questions below can be used as a guide as you create your own list of questions to ask your contacts. Do consider how strong your history and relationship is with each person you talk to before you ask any of the questions. Rephrase any questions to allow for cultural differences and preferences and also to match the formality required for your conversation.

Depending on the role of the person or his or her expertise/experience, you may choose different questions for each conversation. Note the specific questions you want to ask each person before you contact him/her. Limit yourself to a reasonable number of questions – something you can fit into a 30-minute call would be best when you talk to someone whom you have not met yet and who is giving you some of his/her precious time for this conversation.

  • Are you aware of any job vacancies which would fit my skills/experience?
  • Would you help me by looking out for opportunities you might become aware of and which might be useful to me?
  • Do you know anyone who might be planning to change jobs where I might be a possible role replacement candidate?
  • Do you know any companies where my skills and experience may be sought-after?
  • Are you aware of any new companies moving into the area and/or whom I might be able to contact about a role there?
  • Would you be willing to help me get an appointment for a discussion with a recruiter at your company?
  • May I ask for your help in preparing for an interview (given your contacts/knowledge etc)?
  • Would you be able to help me with more information about a company I would like to target for an unsolicited application?
  • How would you advise me to proceed with my interest in THIS role or getting a role at Company X?
  • Would you be willing to be a reference for me?
  • Would you be willing to review my resume/CV and give me any tips or improvement suggestions?

How do you plan your approach?

Using the attached workbook below, start filling in the names on a sheet

Note contact details you might have or if you are connected with any of them through social media

Start with the people you know the best and explain what kind of opportunity you are looking for and listen to their advice or ideas of who they might know and would connect you with.

After the discussion, capture their suggestions in the worksheet in the “Advice/Next step?” column.

Follow-up on these, contact the person they suggested or introduced you to and ask for a meeting to discuss your interest in the company, work they do, etc.

DOWNLOAD file for this exercise:

networkconnectionsrev1Download

Each of the tabs in this worksheet (see file above) contains a table for you to capture the names of people you thought of while looking at the groups of people you are connected to. Complete the table for each of the groups you have considered as far as you can. (see example below for someone who identified 3 friends, but has not yet contacted them).

Follow-up

To keep your momentum, monitor your follow-up actions which could range from contacting a suggested person or calling someone another time as agreed during the previous conversation you had with him or her. Set targets for yourself per day and per week to avoid procrastination or letting a contact “go cold”. This could happen if you call too long after the initial call and the person you are contacting may have forgotten that your mutual contact had introduced you to each other.!

Tips:

Networks of contacts and human connections can be a fragile environment and it is important that though your need for them to act on your behalf is high, you need to also maintain a good relationship throughout and continue to be someone whom they would like to help. Very few people HAVE to help you, they will because they want to. Your attitude and way of talking to them will determine how much they will be willing to help you.

  • Be firm and confident, but not pushy. Sometimes there is a very thin line between those two. And the difference is often the strength of the history of your relationship with that person. If you know him or her for a long time and you have spent a lot of time together, you may be able to be a little pushier to get him or her to introduce you to someone else. When you have had only one or two conversations with someone at a conference, you would not likely have a strong enough relationship to be overly familiar or strong in your approach.
  • Always be thankful. Even if you have known someone for a long time, if they introduce you to someone or give you a handy tip that leads to a conversation, do let them know how thankful you are for their help.. Also thank people for taking the time to talk to you regardless of the outcome.
  • Only contact people from a conference or a class you took in the past if you actually spoke to them. It would be quite unusual to simply use a conference or class attendance list and email or contact each person on it regardless of whether you actually spoke to them at the time. Most people might disregard requests for calls or discussions in such cases.
  • Do not expect your contacts to call you back when they have more information for you. Ask if it would be alright for you to call back within a week or two.
  • When you had a great conversation with someone, why not add him or her to your list of future contacts? You never know when you may be able to introduce them to a new client or opportunity that fits into their business model!

Smarter after Covid

~ jo-anngarbutt ~ Leave a comment

Finding better ways forward

Before Covid most companies with international interests had several people flying and traveling to other offices and locations to attend meetings, lead initiatives, or train others. While most of us have pretty much remained “grounded” in our countries without the option to travel, company activities continued (as far as it was possible). Something seems more obvious now than perhaps in 2019: We are getting pretty good at training, meeting and mentoring remotely using technology and internet connections. Yet, when we can, will we continue previous practices of sending our leaders and experts to remote locations on a regular basis like we did before? It is said that Ireland lowered carbon emissions by at least 6% during 2020 and some companies have seen business travel costs more than halved over 2020!

Some challenges that companies try to address by flying in leaders and experts from HQ:

  • We do not have people in all locations with the right experience and skills and HQ experts are needed to support local teams on a regular basis.
  • We are not exactly sure what the true status of projects are and we would feel more comfortable having one of our trusted staff regularly visit remote locations.
  • We are not sure that local people understand our strategies and truly commit to realizing performance targets, which means someone needs to visit with them on a regular basis to ensure they do understand our strategies and then review with them how their efforts support these.
  • We are finding it tough to source local people with the right skills and experiences and those we can find are too expensive in terms of compensation expectations.
  • The local people speak a different language and their English language skills are not great, which makes it hard to know for sure what they are trying to convey during our calls. We need to see the project/work to understand more clearly what is really happening there.
  • The local people may not be forthcoming with bad news relating to projects in remote locations and they may possibly favor being cordial over risking our dismay.

The list is not exhaustive, but it does highlight some of the opportunities to find better ways going forward to avoid going back to the level of business travel we previously considered normal.

The term Glocal means to Think Global and Act Local and it is said that Akio Morita of Sony Corporation was the first person to use the term which became popular in the business world in the 1990s. How to think about the big picture and over-arching strategies goals and still be sensitive to local conditions and needs when you implement those big picture ideas? A balance would have to be created and it would be an ever-adjusting type of balance which is not fixed in place. To incorporate (for example) shifts in local legislation or new diversification strategies from HQ. Finding a way to keep this balance in place may lower the need to return to pre-covid business travel levels.

There are at least three ways to address this:
  1. Focus leadership development in a few key areas,
  2. Better teams – adjusting selection and development of staff, and
  3. Better use of technology – making more use of technologies to facilitate remote collaboration.

Better leadership

Having the judgment, problem-solving and decision-making skills to navigate in the space where one has to constantly balance global strategies and goals with local situations and conditions means leaders have to be comfortable with ambiguity, be constantly on the look-out and actively engaged in learning new skills and understanding how others have succeeded or failed in addressing what lies before the leader. Learning how to proactively include all team members including those who are “different” and to do this successfully leaders at HQ and remote locations need to understand their own biases and stereotyping. This will ensure that the skills of the entire team is leveraged in achieving performance goals. Lastly, leaders also need to have the ability to easily shift their perspective from global thinking to local acting and back in order to maintain the balance needed for the decision they need to make at that moment.

Better teams

Working on a diverse team with some team members in remote locations is something we have learned to do successfully over the last year. And this new skill has brought opportunities to get better results through teamwork without having to be present in an office or with the entire team. Will we ask – does this person have to be in the office every day of the week? Or will we consider hiring talent where we find it without feeling he or she needs to be relocated to HQ in order to be an effective member of our team?

To help existing teams be more inclusive and effective some specific or additional training may be needed around diversity. This training can include developing an improved understanding of cultural differences and perspective differences (for example among provinces or states in a country). It often comes down to increasing awareness of own biases and stereotypes that may have settled in our perspectives about groups of people who are very different from our own backgrounds.

Recruiters and hiring managers also have to start including additional skills in requisitions to fill vacancies. Skills like additional language skills – not only English – experience such as having lived and/or worked in a country other than their home countries.

When creating teams to work on performance improvement projects (action teams) – why not include people from different functions, locations and cultures on the team? It is a great way to increase your internal network of employees collaborating and communicating across locations.

All of these aspects can help a team become more global-minded and inclusive while making smarter choices working on local projects which impact broader strategies or targets in the company.

Use technology

In addition to tools for video-conferencing, there are tools which can help monitor progress or quality without having to travel to a location.

1. Hololens2: click this link to see short video of what it can do across various industries – there are ways for clients and HQ personnel to connect with someone using this technology at a remote location.

2. Realwear: click this link to see a short video of how it can be used to get input and advice from a person located remotely.

3. Some locations use drones to get an understanding of general progress on large construction projects and provide overall updates to managers at HQ. Drones can also be used to inspect hard-to-reach places safely.

4. Use a centralized electronic storage solution for files meaning all local files can easily be viewed from remote locations without needing to travel to a site.

While working smarter in these ways is also a way to lower pre-covid GHG and carbon emissions, many employees appreciate the flexibility of remote working options and combined with lower business travel needs it adds to having a better work-life balance. The amount of quality time spent with families and friends has also increased for most. All of which adds greatly to employee well-being. Looking for ways to leverage what we have learned by having to work remotely during 2020 can benefit companies and employees in greater ways than we may be able to realize now.

From Strategy to Performance Goals

~ jo-anngarbutt ~ Leave a comment

Employees and Company Boards want the same thing – they want clarity around what you expect from employees, want feedback on how it is going from an outcomes perspective and want to know the steps you will take to fix it, in case outcomes are less than expected.

Most companies use a Balanced Scorecard approach whereby specific performance metrics in key performance or result areas from company strategies are used to set and monitor performance expectations into the company from the most senior roles to the most junior roles.

The benefits of this approach are numerous… for one you can get a good understanding of how well things are going with implementing your strategies in the company, you can make sure that all the initiatives being worked on relate to the strategy, identify organizational units or individual where things are going well or not so well – which mean you can provide support in the form of training for example. A balanced scorecard also helps to ensure you have organizational alignment where it is clear to every employee how he/she impacts the overall results of the company. And when an employee sees his or her own goals, it is easy for him/her to understand what exactly the company strategy and desired outcomes are about in a practical way.

Strategic Performance Areas

Having a cheat-sheet to get started may be useful…Performance Indicators can be set in many different areas. This list shows a few examples which may be handy as you read your own strategy and select the top performance areas that need to be impacted in your upcoming performance period.

In most cases 5 key performance areas would be chosen to balance current operations, growth goals, keeping current stakeholders satisfied and continuing to improve and innovate. e.g: 1) Financial outcome(s), 2) Quality outcome(s), 3) Customer satisfaction outcome(s), 4) Improving upon performance and efficiencies of previous years, and 5) Employee (leaders/specialists?) development and or retention outcomes.

Example

Let’s look at some specific KPIs and how they may translate into performance expectations into the organization. From high organizational levels deeper into the organization the goals become more specific to an individuals’ tasks and activities. In contrast, the goals of managers are typically focused on their ability to influence and lead the outcomes of teams or groups reporting into him or her. Managers ensure that things happen while in most cases the deeper you go into the organization, the more you see performance goals are based on the individual’s efforts to achieve an outcome.

Performance goals typically come in various types of outcomes based on how your KPI would require the right response to meet the company strategy.

Setting Expectations

.

Cascading goals

Starting with the company’s strategy (at the highest level) the CEO or executive team can easily identify the top 4 to 7 Performance Areas where focus is needed to drive outcomes needed in the coming year. From there the heads of functions or organizational units can identify what that means for each of their organizations. Then performance goals for each organizational unit manager can be determined . And the same process cascades down until performance goals have been set for everyone at the company. All of the goals finally relate to a big-picture framework of KPIs at the top level of the organization.

Most performance expectations are set as SMART goals and each employee would typically end up with between 3 and 7 (max) performance goals for the year.

The graphic below shows how at individual level the goal may be a specific part of the overall KPI but when it is all “rolled-up” organizationally the full organizational KPI can be achieved in full by all employees contributing to the desired outcome. Not every organization group or unit might support every high-level KPI. Think for example of an organizational unit responsible for the upkeep of facilities, there may not be direct goals that relate to revenue growth for that group.

Note Goal E: It does not relegate to a KPI at the broader organizational level. This happens often – for example that a functional organization has a specific focus which may not directly relate to the KPIs that were set on a company-wide basis. That could be something like finalize implementation of a digital tool which enables better efficiency the following year. If there are no high-level KPIs related to improving on existing performance/efficiency, Goal E would not have a direct link to the overall high-level KPIs set. For this reason, it is important to set the high-level KPIs in a broad and balanced way to ensure that most goals that would be important at a level deeper into the organization to maintain or improve a specific level of efficiency or service delivery can be matched with the high-level need for renewal or continuous improvement. Some companies do not think broader than revenue or growth goals.

Interim feedback

It is important for managers to monitor outcomes along the way – do not wait until the end of the year to discover that outcomes were not trending in the right direction. Spotting issues or delays early means you can rectify or influence rectification of the situation. Give employees feedback throughout the year – make them aware of outcomes that deviate from desired outcomes, train and coach them to improve outcomes that they are responsible for and give them on-the-job coaching and support when they are inexperienced in specific areas. Every outcome matters and contributes to the overall outcome.

Learning

Evaluating outcomes and discussing those with employees is the next step. This step also includes looking at relative performance outcomes among various organizational units and overall outcomes. This can lead to an improved understanding of where further improvements may be needed. Improvements can range from awareness training, making more information available, helping to upskill or cross-skill employees in various areas. It may also lead to understand misalignment with what suppliers can or are delivering or misalignment between customer expectations and what operations is able to deliver right now.

Use what you learn from discussing performance outcomes to influence future performance outcomes and support that might be needed for the next year.

In the final outcome of the performance period you will have individual scores that relate to individual performance. When you look one level higher you see the contributions of various employees in the same organizational unit and how each of them did on their own performance goals. If the goals were created to be an exact match – between goals set for the manager and those set for those reporting to the manager – the aggregate outcome of the team would determine the manager’s score.

Looking at the organization, it is easy to pinpoint where contributions by individuals, teams, managers may not have reached expected results in the outcomes.
Understanding why this occurred would help learning from the past and improving going forward. Answering questions like:
  • Knowing what we know now, were these realistic expectations or do we need to first solve some key issues before we can make more progress in this area?
  • Do people need more training to make sure they are able to perform in new areas or with new outcomes (such as new markets or types of customers)?
  • Is this area so specialized that we need to hire some people with the specialized knowledge or experience that this team needs?

Most companies are on a learning path when it comes to their own performance management process and approach. If you are just starting, do expect it to be a journey and make sure you allow space for reviewing, reflecting and learning as you go. It may lead you to make adjustments to your strategy or the way the organization is structured, to name but a few ways that on-going organizational learning can benefit the greater organization.

Ultimately the goal of your performance management approach is to measure how much the efforts of those in the organization are helping you achieve your goals as a company, where are hidden barriers to succeeding with your organizational strategies and where are opportunities to accelerate results if you leverage great ideas and tools developed in any part of the organization. This makes your company sustainable into the future. Viable today and into the future by continuously evolving, learning and innovating without losing focus of the basic outcomes needed to drive profitability on an on-going basis.

Researching New Office Locations – checklist

~ jo-anngarbutt ~ Leave a comment

What if a valued customer wants you to do a project or support them from a new location where you do not currently have an office? Yes, research will be needed! But there are so many things that may be important, where would you start? This resource I am sharing is a handy starter-list for the research that HR is often expected to do.

The topics covered in the attached checklist include the following areas:

And in each case, the checklist contains the aspect to the left and leaves you some space to jot down notes pertaining to your company and your plans. (See example below) That way you can quickly create your next-step plans following your research.

Some points to ponder:

  • Trying to answer the question about how much to pay employees you plan to relocate to the new office – calculate their entire package before you start. Add in all benefits they are getting which may not be cash in their hands i.e. health insurance, pension contributions by the company etc. Considering the full package is the starting point, not the annual salary only.
  • Look for local tax breaks that may be available to those you plan to relocate. In some countries they may be able to pay lower personal taxes.
  • If the local language is neither English nor the language spoken at the office your planned expats work now – how can you help them learn the new language? Even if all business is conducted in one language, the planned expats would need to set up their lives locally including trips to the supermarket, making local friends, and finding local information online. Being able to understand some basic words or say some basic phrases in the local language could be very valuable as they get settled there.
  • How can you minimize the carbon footprint of that new location? Limiting flights in and out of that new office and only placing expats there when the work cannot be done remotely or using modern tools and platforms to accomplish business objectives and outcomes.
local-hr-knowledge-for-sitesDownload

The shared resource above is a starter-list and may not include all the aspects you need to look at before mobilizing. It is a great tool for doing a high-level review of a location under consideration for a new office or site.

While you can find a lot of the information you need online, I strongly recommend engaging with recognized experts in establishing operations abroad. Laws change, new trends emerge which have not yet made it into laws and websites are not always updated in a timeous fashion. So do your own research (using the checklist above) to understand the “lay of the land”. If you want to go further, engage with experts who may be able to advise on additional aspects and possible solutions which you may have missed in your own first-pass research efforts.

Spotting Employee Flight Risks: A Retention Checklist

~ jo-anngarbutt ~ Leave a comment

20200524 risk ass

It has been said that your most valuable asset walks out of the doors every single day and you can but hope they come back the next day – your employees!

Keeping employees from leaving a company could be as simple as engaging with them, including them, helping them develop new skills and listening to their ideas. While that sounds deceptively simple, not every leader finds it easy to act when they hear that advice.

employee-retention-risk-analysis-print-versionDownload

Get the facts

Understanding Your Team’s Pulse

Before diving into solutions, it’s essential to pinpoint the problem areas. Are employees considering leaving? If so, who’s most likely to exit and why? By asking the right questions and gathering data, you can identify potential risks and take proactive steps to boost employee retention.

The self-audit list below may be a good place to start assessing how much anyone on your team may be tempted to leave your team or the company.

Self Audit template

Completing the checklist requires you to answer yes or no to a series of statements as they would apply to each employee on your team. Once you have completed the assessment, add up the number of “no” answers you have for each employee and use the Score guide at the top of the page to determine whether each employee would be in the low, medium, or high risk from an employee retention perspective.

The next risk to assess is the impact it would have on your project or team if that particular employee decided to leave. Look at each employee (each column) and consider the unique skills and talents that he or she brings to the project and rate the impact that his/her (unplanned) voluntary departure could have – low, medium, or high.

Map it

Where to start? Map the answers from the self-audit sheet onto the graphic below. The risk that each employee could decide to leave on the horizontal access and the impact on the project, in case that employee did leave, on the vertical axis.

Then write down the names of employees that would be in the “green zone” vs the “yellow zone” vs the “orange zone”.

The orange area requires immediate and high focus, and the yellow zone does require focus, but less so. The green zone requires maintenance. Do not assume that because a retention risk is low today it would stay that way for years. Many talented employees get calls and offers from other companies and recruiters all the time! This means you should never stop reminding them why you are happy that they are on your team! And don’t only tell them, show them! Celebrate milestones and successes, recognize them in meaningful ways, and show them how working with your team or company is the right long-term strategy for them. Make sure you offer them advantages towards their overall life goals, their career goals, their work-life balance goals, etc.

Take action

Once you know where to focus, use the last worksheet as a checklist for areas where you can lower the risk that someone may consider leaving the team.

Use one checklist per employee and make sure that you have conversations with each employee about the areas where you either did not know the answers (looking at the self-audit worksheet) or you have not said anything to an employee about a particular area.

When it doesn’t work

Unexpected departures can disrupt teams and projects. That’s why it’s crucial to have a strong bench of talent ready to step up. By investing in employee development and creating clear career paths, you can mitigate the impact of turnover and ensure business continuity.

Taking proactive steps to assess employee retention risk is essential for organizational success. While it doesn’t guarantee zero turnover, it empowers you to identify potential departures early and take steps to improve employee satisfaction and engagement. By investing in your team’s growth and well-being, you’ll create a more stable and productive work environment.