The blind economics of the four-day workweek, Creative marketing connects & I have a key executive that I think is ineffective, what do I do?
26 February 2023 Newsletter
“The only real test of intelligence is if you get what you want out of life.” Naval Ravikant
Hope you’re Thriving!
It’s been a productive week with a trip to Sydney, two online masterclasses, a training day and a handful of meetings.
On several occasions, I noticed that some companies are desperately trying to find staff, and recruiters are pumping up salaries because they have been given the mandate “just get someone!”.
In one case, a “B/C” player was offered 35% over the average for the industry. In other cases, people are being offered large sign-on bonuses.
What could you do?
Look at the top performers in your business and consider what retention strategies you can enact. Also, you can consider Leigh Branham’s book The 7 hidden reasons employees leave .You can also check out our podcast about that and how to use those principles to retain staff.
Onboarded Review
One of the two masterclasses I held this week was for The Growth Faculty, which you may have seen recently promoted in this newsletter.
It was great fun, and the facilitator Christine Kininmonth wrote a fantastic article about the presentation and the book Onboarded, which captured the key points really well.
You can read the short article below.
Read here: Why Onboarding is more than hiring “Good fits” and “Bad fits”
Creative Marketing That Connects With People
In my Onboarded book, I recount the story of Tim Clarkson from Chas Clarkson, who gives new hires a handful of blank Core Values cards on their first day as part of their SWAG. Staff are encouraged to hand-write thank you cards to co-workers when they are expressing gratitude or living the core values. Hand-written cards mean a lot more than an email or text. If you received a hand-written thank you card, you’d probably keep it as a memento. There’s just something about it today!
That’s why the creative marketing example below that I came across this week is so interesting and powerful.
I don’t know the cost of replacing windows in a house, but I’d imagine it to be in the thousands. Therefore targeted, local, effective marketing can produce tangible results.
If you received a flyer in the letterbox that had pictures of windows and described the Features, Advantages and Benefits of new windows, like many people, it would probably go straight to the bin. Maybe 1 in 100 or 1 in 1,000 would read it.
But, if you received the pink hand-written note below in the letter box, it could be 1 in 2 or 1 in 5 who read it. Sure, they’ve got the FAB, but it’s well into the landing page – which is on the QR code on the back.
The point?
People connect with people. The less human your interactions with customers or potential customers, the less they will trust you and the less likely they will buy from you.
Check out the flyer below:
Blind Economics Of The Four-Day Workweek
I’m a huge fan of looking after and growing your employees. I wrote about the Employee Promise in my book Made To Thrive, and my second book was about helping employees succeed.
But this week’s talk about the four-day workweek seems staggeringly blind to basic economics. The idea is that people will work four days a week for the same pay as they used to. The company will not hire more people, and the same amount of work will be produced.
Here’s an excerpt from the article I’ve linked below:
“In the U.K. study, which ran from June through November, most employees didn’t work more intensively, researchers say. Rather, they and their bosses sought to make work days more efficient with hacks such as cutting back on meetings and ensuring employees had more time to focus on completing tasks.”
So they won’t work more intensely, they will cut back on meetings and have more time to focus on completing tasks, which means they will work 20% less for the same pay.
Here’s another excerpt from the article:
“A survey conducted halfway through the trial found 46% of companies said their business productivity had remained about the same, while 34% reported a slight improvement and 15% a significant improvement.
Meanwhile, 39% of employees said they were less stressed than before the pilot program started; about half reported no change. Nearly half observed improvement in mental health, and 37% also noted an improvement in physical health.”
This means when they reduced the amount of time working by 20%:
- Only 5% said business productivity reduced
- 46% said business productivity remained the same
- 34% slight improvement
- 15% significant improvement
This may be the data they wanted from the study before they began, which is probably why it makes no sense at all.
It sounds like the type of “gift” you might want to give to your competitors.
Read here: After Testing Four-Day Week, Companies Say They Don’t Want to Stop
PayPal’s AI Chat On The Learning Curve
This week on The Growth Whisperers Podcast
I have a key executive that I think is ineffective, what do I do?
It can be quite common for leaders to be not satisfied with an executive or key employee.
However, it’s important not to allow that frustration to remain, but to understand why you are feeling this way. This means becoming clear on the gaps between your expectations, and actual performance, and then having a conversation with them so they are aware and have an opportunity to recalibrate and meet your expectations.
The failure of many leaders is experiencing this frustration, but keeping it a secret, which isn’t fair to either party.
If you’re feeling that an executive might not be performing, in this episode we talk about why you should act on it, and we provide several tools on how to understand, assess, and act on it.
Episode 150 – The Growth Whisperers
Listen to The Growth Whisperers
Or watch it on YouTube
New Growth Group Program 2023
The Growth Group Program is suitable for businesses with $1m to $10m in revenues.
The purpose is to help you grow yourself, your team, and your company. To drive your goals and impact your life. The program consists of CEO coaching as well as facilitated strategic planning workshops with your leadership team working through a customised, structured strategic planning program.
We have a unique opportunity for select businesses to join a new Growth Group program beginning in 2023.
Not sure if this may be suitable for you and your team? Watch the video below for more info. Then, head to our Growth Groups page or send us an email so we can determine if this group is the right fit for your team.
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Keep Thriving!
Brad Giles
