Fire the boss!

According to a Gallup survey around 24% of employees in the United States would fire their boss if they could.

If you’re an employee, you may already be smirking at the thought of firing the head honcho! If you are the boss, what percentage of your employees do you think would give you the flick if they could?

5 things a boss can do to stop being “virtually” fired

1. Quickly write down the top 5 words you would most like your employees to use when describing their boss to a friend or family member. Then write down the 5 words you’re afraid they may actually be using!

2. Have your employees anonymously rate you every time you rate them (ie: performance review time). It’s scary as heck, but a great way to get essential feedback on the areas you need to improve.

3. Give great exit interviews. Do everything to find out the real reasons why your staff leave.

4. Encourage feedback and act on it. Become known as the boss who can not only take it when someone provides constructive criticism (in a respectful way) but the boss who will actually amend policy and behaviour when required.

5. Listen. When you know that your staff are whining – that’s a sign to listen. When you know that your staff are actively looking for other jobs – that’s a sign to listen. When your staff up and leave and you have no idea they’re looking for other employment – that’s a sign to listen.

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

What am I most proud of…

I’m often asked what I’m most proud of from my career in real estate. Well we won lots of lovely awards, sold tonnes of houses, had lots of clients… but the thing I always think to when I’m asked what I’m most proud of is what the people who were part of our team have gone on to do since that time. Many are still with the company, some have gone on to new adventures and some have ventured out on their own entrepreneurial paths.

So I thought in this post I might just make mention of a few of them who have gone on to starting up their own businesses and give them a little plug at the same time.

The youngest 21 year old real estate business owner – Emma Matheson – who proudly told me when she took my title of youngest real estate business owner in the State! You go Ems!

http://www.sthelens.harcourts.com.au/

Sharyn Crack, Maureen Lacey and Andrew Michieletto have all gone on to co-own two real estate agencies each – sensational stuff.

http://www.tamar.harcourts.com.au/
http://www.northeast.harcourts.com.au/
http://www.northernmidlands.harcourts.com.au/

And there’s even been excitement elsewhere in the business world with the always inspirational Bella Fountain opening up her own online bridal boutique http://catchthebouquet.com.au/. They’ll custom make the most stunning wedding dresses for you and the prices are so affordable.

And that’s my answer to what I’m most proud of. I’m proud to have worked with an exceptional team and to have watched them grow and fulfil their own potential in whatever way has worked best for them.

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Take It And Leave It

My favourite read of the day comes from Bob Nelson’s newsletter www.nelson-motivation.com where he shares that: Zappo’s, the up-and-coming women’s shoe online retailer that offers free shipping for both orders and returns, offers all employees $1500 to quit their job after they have finished the company’s initial 2-4 week training orientation. It’s the final test of if they have hired the right employees…

Talk about money where your mouth is! I love Zappo’s dedication to getting it right.

What else is Zappo’s doing right?

Communication: http://twitter.zappos.com/employee_tweets shows you Zappo’s staff and even their CEO http://twitter.com/zappos are using Twitter to communicate with and engage their customers.
Contagious Culture: Each year Zappos 31 year old CEO asks each employee to write a description of the culture of the organization. Something’s working with employees writing statements like: “Everyone at Zappos is so warm and inviting, like a nice bowl of oatmeal.”
Fan-makers: Their customer service creates fans. From the standard:
“customers can order shoes as late as 11 p.m. and still get next-day delivery” to the extraordinary as shown in this online testimonial:

“My wife had ordered a pair of sandals from Zappos. When they arrived, she found that they didn't fit. She tried to order the right size, but Zappos was sold out of her size. So here's what the company offered: she could return the sandals (for free), Zappos would refund the purchase price and they'd send her a $25 coupon toward her next purchase.

But wait — there's more! Zappos also offered to try to locate a pair of the sandals in her size from another vendor. (Hah! Sure, they will!) Fifteen minutes later, the company called my wife and told her they'd found her sandals, in her size, at another online merchant — "and," the Zappos clerk told her, "they're even cheaper at this other site!"

So.. in short, their staff love them, the public love them and their customers love them and wait… they sell SHOES! Seem’s like a great start to me!

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments