Successful Nonmandatory Saturdays
Source: ConvergenceCoaching, LLC Inspired Ideas
The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from a blog entry by Tamera Loerzel.
Success in implementing nonmandatory Saturdays requires the consistent application of best practices to engage your people and have them win – and ultimately you and your firm win.
Consider following these employee engagement best practices and identify which to focus on first:
Communicate – a key change management strategy is to share with your team:
- What your commitment is
- What will be different because of this change
- What will remain the same
- What it will take to get there
Set and manage expectations – at least weekly! It is imperative when you are shifting from a culture that values face-time to a results-based culture that you identify and communicate the results that you expect and report the status weekly. Have a process for resetting expectations when conflicting priorities arise or circumstances occur that will not allow for the original commitment to be met.
Keep your commitments – employ a “do as I do” approach and ensure that all team members – especially your leadership team – are meeting commitments related to turnaround times, by-when dates, resetting expectations, firm processes, and client communications.
Acknowledge and reward results – take the time to celebrate successes, even small ones at the very beginning of any change that you're implementing. It could be as simple as acknowledging everyone for having their time in weekly or for keeping commitments in agreed upon timelines.
Collaborate – seek input from your team about how it is going from their perspective and what ideas they have to make improvements or address challenges that are sure to arise. Include team members in your client scheduling and be up front about those client engagements that may require Saturday time.
For the complete blog entry, read “Making Saturdays Optional: An Idea Revisited.”
From Convergence Coaching, LLC Inspired Ideas, February 22, 2012, http://blog.convergencecoaching.com.