In today’s competitive business landscape, organisations are constantly seeking ways to give their sales teams an edge. One powerful tool that has emerged in recent years is personality profiling. By investing in personality profiles for your team members, you can equip them with the insights they need to better understand their customers, suppliers, and colleagues, ultimately leading to improved communication, stronger relationships, and increased sales.

At Robin Lines Associates, we’ve seen firsthand the transformative impact that personality profiles can have on sales performance. Our tailored profiles provide salespeople with a deep understanding of their own personality traits and how they interact with others. This self-awareness is crucial for adapting their approach to different personality types, allowing them to build genuine connections and establish trust more effectively.

Effective Communication and Personalisation

One of the key benefits of personality profiles is that they enable salespeople to communicate in a way that resonates with each individual. By recognising the unique preferences and communication styles of their prospects and clients, salespeople can tailor their language, tone, and even their body language to create a more engaging and persuasive dialogue. This level of personalisation not only demonstrates empathy and understanding but also helps to break down barriers and foster a sense of rapport.

Aligning with Customer Needs and Motivations

Moreover, personality profiles can provide valuable insights into what motivates and influences different personality types. Armed with this knowledge, salespeople can adapt their sales pitches and value propositions to align with the specific needs, goals, and aspirations of each customer. By speaking directly to what matters most to them, salespeople can create a more compelling case for their products or services, increasing the likelihood of a successful sale.

Enhancing Team Dynamics and Performance

Beyond individual sales interactions, personality profiles can also contribute to the overall cohesion and effectiveness of your sales team. By understanding the diverse personality types within the team, managers can optimise team dynamics, assign roles and responsibilities that play to each person’s strengths, and facilitate more productive collaboration. This not only enhances team performance but also creates a more positive and supportive work environment where every team member feels valued and empowered to succeed.

A Long-Term Strategy for Success

Investing in personality profiles for your sales team is not just a short-term tactic; it’s a long-term strategy for sustainable growth and success. By equipping your people with the tools and insights they need to build stronger relationships, communicate more effectively, and close more deals, you’re not only boosting your bottom line but also creating a culture of continuous learning and development.

Transform Your Sales Performance with RLA

At RLA, we’ve developed a proven personality profiling system that has helped countless organisations transform their sales performance. Our expert consultants work closely with your team to deliver personalised profiles, along with targeted training and support to ensure that your people can translate these insights into tangible results.

Don’t let your sales team struggle with one-size-fits-all approaches. Empower them with the power of personality profiles and watch as they unlock their full potential. Contact us today to learn more about how our personality profiling services can help your organisation achieve its sales goals and drive lasting success.

The post Unlock Sales Success with Personality Profiles: Empowering Your Team to Connect, Communicate, and Close appeared first on Robin Lines Associates.

In the dynamic landscape of today’s professional world, the journey from employee to manager can be swift and exhilarating. However, it often comes with a critical caveat – many individuals find themselves in management positions without the essential training in people skills, motivation, and leadership that is vital for success. This phenomenon has far-reaching consequences, including high turnover rates, plummeting morale, and a general sense of upheaval within a company. So, how can we safeguard against this perilous pitfall? The answer lies in investing in an Emerging Leaders Training Programme.

Equipping Your Leaders of Tomorrow

An Emerging Leaders Training Programme is a strategic initiative aimed at coaching individuals with high potential for leadership roles. It serves as a launchpad for those who are poised to take the reins, offering them a curated curriculum that encompasses a wide spectrum of skills and knowledge crucial for effective leadership.

The Recipe for Success: Skill Sets in Focus

1. People Skills:

One of the foundational pillars of successful leadership is the ability to understand, communicate, and empathize with team members. An Emerging Leaders Programme hones these ‘people skills’, fostering an environment of trust, respect, and collaboration.

2. Motivation and Engagement:

Keeping a team motivated and engaged is no small feat. Emerging leaders need to grasp the nuances of what drives individual team members, and how to create a cohesive, high-performing unit. This training programme provides the tools and techniques needed to keep morale high.

3. Conflict Resolution:

In any workplace, conflicts are inevitable. Effective leaders don’t avoid them, but rather, tackle them head-on. The programme equips emerging leaders with conflict resolution strategies, ensuring that disputes are addressed constructively, leading to stronger, more cohesive teams.

4. Strategic Thinking:

Leadership isn’t just about managing day-to-day operations; it’s about charting a course for the future. Emerging leaders learn to think strategically, making decisions that align with the company’s long-term vision and goals.

Fostering Employee Retention and Morale

The repercussions of untrained leaders are often felt in the form of high turnover rates. When employees feel disconnected, unsupported, or undervalued, they’re more likely to seek opportunities elsewhere. An Emerging Leaders Programme helps stem this tide by creating leaders who are not only skilled in their roles but are also adept at providing the support and mentorship that team members crave.

A Culture of Stability and Growth

A company’s success is deeply intertwined with the stability and growth of its workforce. A well-structured Emerging Leaders Programme signals to employees that their development and well-being are valued. This, in turn, fosters a culture of loyalty and commitment, resulting in a stronger, more resilient organisation.

The Ripple Effect: Impact on the Bottom Line

Investing in an Emerging Leaders Training Programme may initially seem like a cost, but in reality, it’s a strategic investment that pays dividends. Reduced turnover, increased employee satisfaction, and a more streamlined, efficient workflow all contribute to a healthier bottom line.

Conclusion: A Future-Focused Approach

In a rapidly evolving professional landscape, the importance of nurturing capable leaders cannot be overstated. An Emerging Leaders Training Programme is not just an investment in individuals; it’s an investment in the future of your company. By providing your emerging leaders with the tools, skills, and knowledge they need, you’re setting the stage for a prosperous and harmonious workplace. So, let’s embark on this journey together, and build a future where leaders are not just managers, but visionaries.

At Robin Lines Associates, we’ve worked with organisations such as Service Now, Vistry Homes, Endress + Hauser, CPL Aromas, Yamaha, and Quest Software to deliver tailored Emerging Leaders Programmes and Academy solutions, ensuring the long-term security of their management teams. If you want to hear what we can do for you, don’t hesitate to Contact Us.

The post Nurturing Tomorrow’s Leaders: The Power of an Emerging Leaders Training Programme appeared first on Robin Lines Associates.

Notably, England’s win marked the second consecutive glory for head coach, Sarina Wiegman, having previously lifted the trophy with her native Netherlands team in 2017. Since gaining her FIFA Pro Coaching Licence in 2016, Weigman has proven herself to be an incredibly effective manager. A win percentage of 72.2% with the Netherlands over 72 games is a record that puts her on a par with successful managers in the men’s game such as Pep Guardiola. Wiegman has yet to taste defeat with England, winning 18 of her 20 matches as manager with only five goals conceded.

Along with her two European Championships, she also guided the Netherlands to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final where her team was defeated by the number one ranked team in the world, the United States.

What makes Sarina Wiegman such an effective coach? How was she able to turn around a poorly performing Netherlands team with low morale that had regularly struggled to qualify for major tournaments and often went home early when they did? What is it about her methods that took an England team always falling short of success over the line?

Values

Wiegman’s coaches her sides with a set of firm team-focused values. She expects her players not to focus on their individual goals, but the team’s goals, because success for the team leads to success for the individual.

When you listen to her player’s talk in interviews, note how they rarely talk about themselves. They talk about their teammates; they offer credit and praise for the contribution of others. Wiegman’s philosophy is centred around the death of personal ego, and instead focuses on a sense of shared goals and community building within her teams where everyone plays a role, and everyone needs to pull their weight.

Decisive

Wiegman doesn’t shy away from the tough decisions. Long-time captain Steph Houghton was dropped before the tournament. Such a decision was controversial, and undoubtedly increased the pressure and scrutiny on Wiegman herself ahead of the tournament. Nonetheless, Wiegman was resolute in her decision because she understands that teamwork isn’t about one person, and the role of the leader is to make the tough calls and have the confidence to stick with them.

In both the Dutch and English media, Wiegman has been described as ‘ruthless’ but it’d be more appropriate to describe her as confident and efficient.

Insulates Her Teams from Scrutiny

Wiegman also understands the importance of acting as a protective barrier for her team. She puts herself front-and-centre for scrutiny and critique, giving her players the vital breathing space to focus.

Wiegman understood that a European Championship tournament in front of a home crowd carried extra expectations and pressure, the type of pressure that would only increase with each step forward in the tournament. This understanding built on empathy allowed her to take the steps to distance her players from the media, maintain an atmosphere of calm in the locker room, and ensure her players could still have fun on the training pitch.

Respecting History

With the Netherlands, Wiegman brought in players from the original 1971 Netherlands women’s team – the trailblazers for women’s football in the country. She sought to remind her players of those who laid the foundations for them to play in front of an audience of millions in the 21^st Century.

If every match is a battle, Wiegman’s philosophy is that the players should be reminded of what they’re fighting for. Women’s football has long been treated as a joke and spoken of in derisory terms, but those original players, and the ones that followed them, are part of a legacy of standing up to all opposition and seeking to triumph despite the odds. To Wiegman, the players of 2017 owed a debt to those who came before to take the chance and do something with it.

Wiegman would remind the Lionesses of a similar debt, to those who had so often been on the periphery of greatness in the sport to finish what they started.

Respecting the Strengths of Others

In 2012, Sarina Wiegman’s ADO Den Haag team won a league and cup double. The following season, Arjan Veurink would win the Dutch title with FC Twente. Twente met Den Haag in the final of the Dutch cup, with Wiegman’s side coming out on top.

It sounded like it could be the start of a classic rivalry. We all remember Wenger vs Ferguson, or Guardiola vs Mourinho, but this wasn’t the start of a fierce, bitter rivalry. While the two managers competed for glory on opposing sides, Wiegman wasn’t interested in swapping jibes in the media. She was evaluating what Veurink brought to his teams.

When Wiegman took charge of the Netherlands, she offered Veurink the job as assistant coach. In 2021, Veurink followed Wiegman to England. The success of the two coaches working together speaks for itself. Both understand that the strengths of two is considerably better than the strength of one, and by working together they can, and have, accomplish great things.

The post Sarina Wiegman: The Qualities of Successful Coaching appeared first on Robin Lines Associates.

People work hardest when they’re working towards something meaningful. When people start to question the point of a new project, the latest meeting, or any particular task they’ve been assigned, it can result in a considerable drop in morale and productivity.

As a leader, getting buy-in is crucial, not just from your customers or backers but from the people you’re tasking to get the work done. Ensure they’re on board, ensure they know the strategy, and be ready to answer any questions they may have about the direction.

Feeling Undervalued

Almost all of us have encountered a manager who believes that there is no need to commend people on a job well done. If you want your people to go above and beyond to excel at any given task, then you should be forthcoming with praise when they do. Little kills the dynamism of an office environment more than people who feel that their accomplishments will not be recognised no matter what effort they make.

Conflict and Office Politics

Office politics is often a touchy subject, but as a leader, it’s vital you maintain awareness of any cliques, power plays, or bullying occurring in the workplace. People don’t like to feel like outsiders, and when they do, morale will plummet. Worst of all, think of the message it sends to new hires when the same group of people seem to be getting preferential treatment because they know how to play the game.

We can’t expect everybody to get on all of the time. Still, the ones who think intimidation and playground tactics are the way to the top are not only going to bring productivity down, they’re going to earn your business a reputation as the wrong place to work.

Unfair or Unrealistic Workloads

Stress is a serious problem, and leaders should be aware of the effect it might be having on people who feel overburdened. As a leadership coach, I have encountered a significant problem across many organisations: the overreliance on a handful of “top stars” who have a reputation for getting things done. Unfortunately, this often signifies that you’ve got people more willing to put in unpaid overtime or take work home with them because they don’t want to disappoint the leaders.

Ensure that you’re giving your people some breathing space, and if you do find yourself assigning tasks to the same people, start asking questions about why others are not sharing the load?

Unapproachable Leaders

Have you ever worked in an organisation where getting five minutes of face-to-face time with the boss seemingly required months of planning? When people want to share concerns, new ideas, or discuss something important, a leader who is forever on the phone, in meetings, out of the office, or otherwise unavailable is a significant problem for motivation.

While leaders do get busy, it’s essential to be proactive in setting aside some time to talk to your people each day. We call it “Leadership by Wandering About” – taking some time each day to speak with your people, find out what their needs and wants are, and make sure that nobody is sitting on something vital.

Micromanagement

On the flip side, leaders who are far too “hands-on” in their approach can become burdensome to their people. Nobody likes feeling like they can’t even write up a report in Word without their helicopter manager hovering around to check every sentence. Micromanagers generally have good intentions, but the message they end up sending is “I don’t trust you” at best or “I think you’re incompetent” at worst.

People enjoy a bit of autonomy in how they do their jobs, and they are much more inclined to feel energised and motivated if they’ve got the support of a leader who is telling them, “I know you’ve got this.”

No Clear Path to Progression

One of the biggest demotivators in any organisation is when individuals feel they can never advance from their current position. People with the potential to climb Everest are not going to be satisfied climbing Ingleborough over and over again. It is in our nature to want to move forward. Humans seek new challenges, and facing a new challenge can be refreshing and exciting.

Even if there are no current positions available for advancement, leaders can still invest in their people with training programmes to equip them with new skills. If you make people feel that you’re thinking about their future just as much as they are, then they’ll push harder to achieve for you, rather than peruse the job ads so they can achieve for somebody else.

The post 7 Reasons Your People Are Demotivated appeared first on Robin Lines Associates.

Last year, we were contacted by Ultrapolymers, a long-term client of ours, to design and deliver an entirely remote programme of training materials to equip their people with the skills to ensure their business could handle the new challenges.

The Brief

As an international group, Ultrapolymers had people in offices across Europe. Our training would have to take on-board the particular needs of their people from both the UK and offices on the European mainland. We’d need to design materials that would translate well to people for whom English is not a first language. Further to this, Ultrapolymers asked that we focused on remote teambuilding within these separate offices to better prepare their people to engage in cross-border business and communications.

Given their business’s international scope, we also had to consider the multinational markets and cultures to deliver a truly universal programme.

During the programme, we would be delivering training to people from Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Czech Republic, Serbia, Bosnia, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Key Focuses

In addition to teambuilding, Ultrapolymers sought training on prospecting and developing new business in the uncertain times we all faced. They wanted to ensure that their people could still talk to clients with confidence that Ultrapolymers was a valuable strategic partner who could add value, solve problems, and deliver no matter the additional priorities.

When it came to Key Accounts, Ultrapolymers needed to help their people engage with their clients, understand their changing circumstances, and position themselves as the right partner to renew those mutually beneficial partnerships which had been a core asset to the Ultrapolymers portfolio. We wanted to make sure that UP could continue to develop their existing relationships while cross-selling and up-selling the most relevant and useful products/services in their offering to their most valuable clients.

We also understood that with changing priorities, budget freezes, and similar obstacles, Ultrapolymers needed their people to become confident negotiators who could build value in UP products and services, differentiate themselves effectively from the competition and convey the exceptional levels of service, technical expertise and support on which Ultrapolymers has built its reputation. We endeavoured to ensure that UP could sell its value and defend its margins.

The Programme

Beginning in May 2020, RLA delivered a series of bite-sized half-day modules using the Zoom platform, focusing on making the programme as interactive and engaging as possible. By limiting the number of delegates to ten per session, we felt better able to provide a strong training programme for the group and address individual needs and concerns despite the restraints of remote-based coaching.

Using a combination of group work in breakout rooms, polls/quizzes, and the more traditional slideshow presentation, we felt we could replicate the classroom experience, and in some cases, even exceed it.

Over a period of three months, we delivered sessions on Business Development and Prospecting, The Psychology of Sales, Objection Handling and Pre-Handling, and Customer Segmentation to over 150 delegates. Realising that technical difficulties, family life, and other unavoidable factors may disrupt the learning process, we also delivered several ‘mop-up’ sessions later in the year so that no individual need be left behind through missing a session.

Additionally, we provided support materials to the delegates, offered pre-work for the delegates to complete before each session, and came up with a post-training enforcement programme to ensure that the training stuck.

Results

We were delighted to hear back from Ultrapolymers at the beginning of 2021 that UP has secured 151 new accounts despite the difficulties of business in the new normal, with profits in excess of €350,000 in the months since the programme’s completion. Additionally, Ultrapolymers predicts this figure will continue to rise through repeat sales up to €600,000 in the next quarter.

We look forward to continuing our strong working relationship with Ultrapolymers in the future and are honoured and privileged to have played a part in their continued success.

Testimonial

“When Covid hit we quickly moved, like most people, to a Teams call every morning trying to motivate our salesforce to still make virtual face-to-face visits with our clients. However, like most organisations, this quickly turned into ‘death by Teams meetings’. That’s when we turned to Robin. Robin was able to guide us in splitting our 100+ Europe-wide team-members into smaller manageable chunks as well as splitting the programme into 4 two-hour modules. We have found that not only has the programme increased the proactivity across Europe, it has also allowed the teams to work better in collaboration. Sharing successful projects and best practice around the whole team.”

Stuart McCaig, European Sales Ambassdor for Ultrapolymers

The post Ultrapolymers: A Case Study appeared first on Robin Lines Associates.

In the short-term, businesses have needed to fight to adapt. For those that could not transition to working from home, and for whom the government did not regard as essential, even with the various aid packages made available, the future is unsure. Businesses that were able to transition to remote work have faced their own sets of challenges. We’ve been at the mercy of technology, of knowledge gaps and of caution from our clients and suppliers.

In the long-term, we should look at what these past few months can teach us about the future of work. For a long time, conventional wisdom in boardrooms and among upper management is that even when people could work from home, they should not. Why? Because there is a tendency to distrust our people.

Popular culture paints the image of a home worker being some sort of slacker, waking up at midday, doing their work in their dressing gown, idling the hours away on YouTube or Spotify before finally settling down to get their work done.

The adherence to such stereotypes may have played a significant role in the damaging effects COVID-19 has had on many businesses. For a long time now, the means to work from home has been there, but business had become glued to a notion of how things should be done. We have become so used to the idea of working hours, office culture, formal dress, etc. that organisations that change is viewed as almost radical.

According to the International Workplace Group, 82% of employees in the US agree that working remotely would make them feel more trusted at work. As leaders, should we not be demonstrating such trust in our people? We hired them. We believed that they could do the job. Why then are we so reluctant to believe they could do so at home?

When assessing somebody’s performance while working from home, I’ve often said that it’s not when they do the work that’s important – it’s the quality of the work. If someone gets up a bit later because they’re working from home, but still produces high quality work while sipping mochas, wearing jogging pants and an old t-shirt and listening to Megadeth, does it really matter?

In the same study, 65% of workers believed that a work environment tailored to the work function of the staff could lead to greater productivity. What better way to tailor the work environment than by giving the people more overall say? Greater autonomy over workspace will, in the majority of cases, lead to happier, more relaxed and more motivated people. Those people will enjoy working because they have greater control over their environment.

Of course, there are various factors to consider. If your business is heavily regulated, then you need to ensure that processes are in place to comply with all current regulations. Almost every business needs to ensure that they are compliant with ICO and the GDPR, so it is imperative that working from home doesn’t disrupt data protection practices.

Overall, however, as disastrous, complicated, and difficult as the past few months’ have been, they could help shape all of our thinking heading forward. IWG’s study pointed to a majority of businesses acknowledging that flexible working leads to reduced capital and operational expenditures, better risk management and consolidation of their portfolios.

The future is uncertain. We all hope that the second wave of COVID-19 doesn’t hit. We look to the scientists and virologists working around the clock to find a vaccine, and we hope that there are no mutations leading to something even more devastating. Much of what may come is out of our hands, but what we do have control over is moving forward.

By embracing the “new normal” of flexible working, we can help our businesses be better insulated from unforeseen complications, while better catering to our people on a more individual level. For all the damage COVID-19 has caused, it may also be the catalyst needed to create better working practices and environments, more compassionate leaders, and a more productive future.

The post Why Leaders Should Consider Embracing Homeworking Permanently appeared first on Robin Lines Associates.

With that in mind, we wanted to offer a few pieces of advice for anybody currently lacking confidence in their work.

Be Patient With Yourself

If you’re used to working in an office environment and now find yourself at home, it is perfectly natural to feel somewhat out of sorts. Remote working can be a lonely experience if you’re used to a busy office. Transitions can take time to get used to, and even after a couple of months’, you may feel like you’re not at your best. Try not to worry about pushing yourself; just focus on what you can do.

You’re Not Slacking Off if You Take Some Time for Yourself

One of the primary concerns managers tend to have about people working remotely is that they might be slacking off. With the copious temptations of the modern home, it’s easy to imagine somebody bingeing Better Call Saul on Netflix or a dozen funny cat videos on YouTube. While that may be a legitimate concern for some managers, you shouldn’t feel bad if you take a bit of time each day to unwind. If you’re already anxious, stressed or lonely, a chapter of a novel or a quick comedy clip on YouTube might be what you need to re-centre yourself.

Protect Your Work Time

While you should definitely factor in some ‘me’ time, you also need to be protective of the time you have. There is a tendency for others to see someone working from home as not really working. Your family and friends may think you have time for a chat, or household chores, or an online video game; particularly if you are taking five minutes to sip a cappuccino while watching cat videos.

What you need to do is assess what must be done each day, sort tasks in order of priority, and work through them in order of priority. When you are working, you need to minimise distractions. This might mean putting your phone on silent, closing your email client or simply shutting the door to your workspace. Let your family and friends know when you’re going to be busy and unavailable.

Get Comfortable

Not many of us have invested in the expensive chairs you often find in modern offices. We don’t tend to have water coolers, air conditioners or lots of plants. The reason why office managers invest in these things is that comfort improves productivity. If you’re uncomfortable, then those niggling frustrations of sore backs, boredom or heat/cold tend to fester and impact how productive you are.

While it’s unfeasible to spend a small fortune on acquiring all sorts of new equipment for a short-term situation, you can still take steps to make your work environment more comfortable. Try using cushions on otherwise uncomfortable chairs, use slideshow functions to change your desktop wallpaper, listen to music that stimulates your mind and try to think how you can personalise your workspace to make it a pleasure to be at.

Keep in Touch With Colleagues

Make sure your colleagues know how they can reach you, and ensure you know how to reach them. In remote work situations, it often pays to be more forthcoming with communication that you might typically be. Ask yourself what your colleagues and managers might need to know, and make sure that they do. By being proactive about keeping everyone in the loop, you will likely find that others adopt similar policies. Consequently, the remote workspace not only feels less lonely but also more productive.

Make an Effort in the Morning

When you don’t have to try hard, it’s easy to sit at your computer in a dressing gown with personal grooming put off until later. However, if you make a similar effort in the morning to what you would do on a typical work-day, you may find that you put yourself in a more productive frame of mind. You needn’t go so far as to put on a suit, but try not to start the day off too casually. Think about what you want to do today, how you would generally start the day, and dress and groom accordingly. What we do in the morning has a significant impact on our mindset for the whole day, so start the day as you mean to continue.

Ask for Feedback from Leadership

It’s a lot easier to feel comfortable with what we’re doing when we know whether we’re doing it right. Leaders may assume everything is fine if they don’t hear from us, but we may take their silence as a sign, something is wrong. Instead of wondering, or panicking, reach out to your leader and ask. You’ll either receive some good advice on how to improve your performance, or you’ll gain the confidence to know that you’re doing well. Either is a good thing.

The post Improving Productivity and Morale while Working Remotely appeared first on Robin Lines Associates.

With more businesses opting to furlough some of their people, there is a risk that companies will be stuck in catch-up mode for months to come. Therefore, leaders must recognise that although their people might not be able to work right now, they must still be challenged and engaged to ensure that when they resume work, the business does not fall behind.

Keep in Touch

Understandably, many people feel isolated right now. Leaders should take the time to enquire how their furloughed people are doing. By reaching out, you can get a sense of how your people are coping and whether they might need any further help to get back into the swing of things. Leaders should expect that some people may be feeling depressed, stressed or anxious at this time, and people having difficulties must be allowed to speak up, so that appropriate resources are made available to them.

Furthermore, simply letting your people know that you’re thinking of them demonstrates the type of compassion and empathy that engenders trust and encourages people to motivate themselves to remain at their best.

Open Up Social Opportunities for Furloughed People

Making use of technology, leaders can create social areas online for their people to remain in touch. While furloughed staff are not permitted to engage in work, that doesn’t mean that we cannot make use of online groups or meeting places to allow the group to support and engage each other. By giving your people online meeting places, you might find that the support of the group keeps people positive, motivated, and ready to get back to work.

Invest in Training

Furloughed people can still partake in training, and if the budget permits it, now is an excellent time to consider whether there are any skills or company needs that could be addressed. By giving people the chance to enhance their skillsets, or learn new ones, you also give people a way to feel like they’re doing something positive – and sometimes, just feeling like you’re productive is a massive step towards being productive.

At Robin Lines Associates, we’ve run several different online programmes over the past couple of months and favour a short-session, highly interactive approach that gets people thinking and participating as well as learning.

Find the Internal Motivators

You know your people, and you know that within your workforce, some have an uncanny knack of keeping people’s spirits up. Some of these may already be on your leadership teams, but others could be those who bring something unique to the day-to-day. Perhaps they add a sense of levity when things are going rough, or maybe they just have those special qualities that engender respect from others.

Whatever their skills and whoever they are, consider asking them to take a role in motivating and supporting those who need it most. Having people ‘on the ground’ who can keep people in a positive mindset can often be more effective than leaving it to those in upper-management.

Structure Your Communications

Where your business has only furloughed some people, you must structure your communications to take this into account. People on furlough may be disheartened or demotivated if receiving emails about ongoing projects they cannot be involved in. Those working on those projects with the added stress of possibly having to do the jobs of several people may be understandably annoyed if receiving communications intended for furloughed people.

Try not to segregate, and ensure that everybody is kept in the loop regarding any and all developments. Instead, tailor your messaging to take into account the feelings of the furloughed and non-furloughed people.

Give Your People a Vision

Additionally, make sure that people know in advance what your plans are. Give your people a vision for what you’re going to achieve when the lockdown ends and people return to work. One of the simplest ways to encourage people to work on staying motivated is by ensuring they have a destination when they return.

If you want to hit the ground running when you come back, make sure that your people are at the starting blocks from the outset. Any vision you communicate must be realistic. Don’t burden people with the added concerns of fanciful ambitions; instead, think of how you can excite and spark their creativity with your proposals. Make them want to come back to work as soon as possible to be a part of your future success.

Our People Engagement Bitesize Session

The post The Importance of Keeping Furloughed People Engaged appeared first on Robin Lines Associates.

In our previous article, we looked over the basics of video conferencing, but how do you make your meeting a success? Today we’re going to be looking at methods to keep people engaged, particularly in team meetings.

Maintaining Order and Encouraging Contributions

It’s important to keep people engaged. The best way to do this is to ensure that everybody can contribute. That can be difficult when it’s hard to know when to speak. For those trying to listen, there is nothing more frustrating than several people talking over each other. Fortunately, many video conferencing platforms have anticipated this problem and provide different ways to allow people to contribute while simultaneously keeping things ordered.

For example, in Zoom, there is both a text chat feature and raise-hand function. This means that people can type out their thoughts, comments and questions on the fly, or raise their hand if they want to say something in voice chat.

You should make an effort to understand the functionality of your video conferencing system and create a set of simple guidelines to let people know the process for contributing to the meeting. Distribute these guidelines a few days before the meeting to give people the chance to learn and understand them.

Encourage People to Mute their Mics When They’re Not Speaking

Some video conferencing platforms allow the room leader to mute the non-active speaker. If that functionality is unavailable, it’s best to encourage people to use ‘push-to-talk’. Alternatively, they could use any available software mute or the physical mute button for their microphone. This helps not only to keep the chat free of coughs or other interruptions but typical background noises such as music, outdoor sounds or pets.

Encourage Contribution

To prevent people’s minds from drifting, it is good practice for the facilitator to regularly canvas opinions from the group. You can encourage them to type an answer into chat, or go through them one-by-one to allow them to speak. However, you do it, taking the time to enable people to speak up not only aids overall meeting engagement, but it can also help overcome the nerves of some who are perhaps more self-conscious about video conferencing than others.

Read the Room

It’s good practice to ask that everyone has a webcam available for a video conference. Some people might have good reasons for not having one, such as working on desktop computers which are not always sold with cameras included. If possible, however, it’s best to try and encourage these people to get a camera or even send them one if practical.

The reason you want everyone on camera is two-fold. First, it helps mitigate some of the isolation your people may be experiencing working from home. They can see some friendly faces and have more honest and open interactions with each other.

Secondly, it helps you to read the room – to identify who might be distracted, upset, confused, etc. You can keep an eye on people’s facial expressions and body language to assess where people are. If you get the sense that somebody is feeling left out of the conversation, you might want to try and be more proactive in including them. Should someone not be paying attention, you may want to ask if they can stick around for a private one-to-one to get a sense of whether they need additional support.

Try to Keep it Short

Particularly when dealing with larger groups, you want to try and prevent people from taking up large chunks of time speaking. We know that some people are naturally more verbose than others, so people must try and get to the point quickly.

You also want to keep the meetings as short as is reasonable. It’s uncomfortable to stare at screens for too long without a break. If you simply must have a longer session, factor in natural breaks every half-hour or so to allow people to stretch their legs, grab a coffee, nip to the toilet or attend to their families. You will find meetings are far more productive when you can keep people relaxed.

Seek Feedback

When the meeting is concluded, ask everybody who attended to send some feedback about the meeting. Make sure they include any difficulties they may have had, such as problems hearing certain people, keeping up with the different opinions being expressed, or anything else that may have dampened their experience.

You will also want to confirm that they understand any measures agreed upon in the meeting, or any assignments handed out.

Use the feedback to work to tailor people’s experiences for the next meeting, and you’ll soon be able to engage in remote sessions with more confidence.

The post Video Conferencing Tips for a Successful Meeting Part 2 appeared first on Robin Lines Associates.

As with an in-person meeting, the first thing you need to decide upon is what you wish to achieve from the meeting. Are you delivering a product demonstration and pitch? Perhaps you’re negotiating an already existing offer? You could be meeting a new client or contact within an organisation for the first time. You may also be conducting a meeting with your team members.

With the meeting’s purpose firmly in mind, you should begin preparing for the call. Ensure that any documents, information, PowerPoint slides and similar items are ready and rehearse the content of any pitch or speech you need to give.

If it’s a team meeting, make sure that you circulate an agenda, preferably a couple of days before the meeting to allow your people to comment or contribute to it.

Be Punctual

When running a remote meeting, you must be punctual. Try and ensure that you are in position at least fifteen minutes before it begins. This gives people confidence that everything is working at your end, doesn’t leave other early-birds sitting around staring at loading screens, and importantly, it allows you to thank everybody for attending as they filter into the room.

Small Talk

Try and set everyone at ease with a little bit of small talk. Have an icebreaker ready. Understand that this is the perfect time to start trying to engage people in the meeting by asking questions. If it’s a team meeting, give people a chance to let you know how they’re coping, particularly during the current health crisis.

Presentation Skills

We all know that when you’re working from home, it’s easy to let things slide a bit. Perhaps rather than wearing your typical work suit, you’ve adopted the heavy metal t-shirt and jogging bottoms approach? That’s not a problem when you’re flying solo, but a meeting is a team affair. If you’ve decided to start growing out your beard or haven’t been able to visit the hairdressers for a while, at least make yourself presentable.

If you’re meeting somebody for the first time, perhaps a new client or contact, then it is even more critical that you make a great first impression so go the extra mile to make sure your appearance is up to scratch.

You should also ensure that your room is well lit, with no distracting elements in view of the camera. A few typical items like a coffee mug or picture frame are acceptable, but if you’ve got a Pulp Fiction poster on your wall or a pet tarantula behind you, then you might want to consider moving things around a bit.

Body Language and Speech

55% of all communication is non-verbal. Think about what you’re like when you’re on the phone. You might be fidgety, you might pull faces, or you might slouch or otherwise appear to lack confidence. During video conferences, it’s often easy to forget that other people can see us. You should treat the meeting as though it was an in-person meeting, and adopt the same body language that you usually would. Avoid appearing too casual, and be mindful of what you are communicating to the other participants.

When it comes to speaking, you should have a good quality microphone that you can get. While many laptops come with built-in microphones, you often find that these are of poor quality. Similarly, cheap and cheerful headset-mics are usually cheap for a reason. It is worth investing in good quality equipment. While it is not currently feasible to test devices in-store before you buy, make sure that you check out reviews of different products.

Equipment

You also need to consider that many of your attendees may not have good quality headsets and microphones. They may also have network problems that cause stuttering or lag. Consequently, you need to speak clearly and concisely, and possibly slower than you might typically speak. Don’t sound condescending if speaking slower than usual; try and maintain a positive pitch and tone, and after key points, ask everyone whether they understand.

Finally, remain upbeat and try to remember to smile and give a warm vibe through your facial expressions. You want people to be and stay engaged throughout, and that won’t happen if you look like you don’t want to be there.

The post Video Conferencing Tips for a Successful Meeting Part 1 appeared first on Robin Lines Associates.