K-State Research and Extension

Justin Waggoner, Ph.D., Beef Systems Specialist

“Continuing Education”

As a manager or small business owner, “What’s your policy on continuing education for your employees…Do you have one?” If an employee comes to you and asks for time away from the operation or business to attend a three‐hour seminar on a topic that is directly relevant to what he or she does, would you support it? Would you pay for the seminar? Would you compensate the employee for the time away from the job? If you do not have an existing policy on continuing education, it may be something to consider. Now that millennials make up the workforce, the data clearly indicates that it is going to take more than just a steady paycheck or salary to keep them engaged. Allowing employees to attend seminars and expand their knowledge often benefits the organization. Individuals who have the opportunity for professional development reportedly experience greater job satisfaction, and are more engaged and committed to the business than those who do not. Additionally, allowing your people to pursue continuing education opportunities demonstrates that the business is willing to invest in its people. If you don’t have a policy in place, give it some thought.

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.

Justin Waggoner, Ph.D., Beef Systems Specialist

“What’s the Culture of Your Organization? Is it Always Safety First?”

The data tells us that agriculture is a high‐risk industry, where “near misses,” accidents, and even fatalities unfortunately occur. What is the culture of your organization or business? Is employee safety at the forefront? I certainly hope so. However, if it is not, how do we change that and create a culture of safety? Some say that the safety culture within an organization starts with the organization’s leaders and trickles down. Other sources indicate that training has to be a continual and ongoing process to create an organizational culture of safety. These are both correct.

However, with safety, it is very easy to find examples of “here is how we do it when the boss isn’t looking” and examples of great people who had the proper training and still made a bad decision. In both of these situations, the formal leaders of the organization were engaged in the process and the employees had the proper training. So how can we make progress? Leadership is an essential component of creating a safety culture, but the formal leaders within the organization are not the leaders who are likely the greatest influencers. Safety is an everyday, in‐the‐minute issue on most operations. Thus, the informal leaders within the organization or business are those who can have the greatest impact in creating a culture of safety. Leading by example, in those “in the heat of the moment” situations is critical. Who are the informal leaders in your organization? Do they exemplify the core values of your safety culture? Identifying and engaging informal leaders is an essential and powerful component of initiating any change within an organization.

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.

By: Justin Waggoner, Ph.D., Beef Systems Specialist

“What’s Your Talent Management Strategy?”

Good help is truly hard to find and sometimes the best employee or leader is the one you already have. This is essentially the concept of “Talent Management” which is the strategy which an organization or business uses to hire, manage, retain, and develop employees for leadership roles. Many businesses lose exceptionally talented employees because their strengths and talents were not recognized. Additionally, an effective talent management strategy is a mechanism to groom and develop future leaders and managers. Managers play a key role in an organization’s talent management strategy, as they must identify talented, exceptional employees. Managers also serve as mentors, providing coaching and feedback to develop employees. Research conducted by the American Society for Training and Development documented that those organizations with the most successful talent management systems also asked managers to discuss the talents and skills of their most talented employees with other managers and leaders. Discussing the organizations most talented employees creates an internal talent pool that various departments can draw from to fill current positions. Do you have exceptional employees in your organization? What is your talent management strategy? Are you at risk of losing your best employees?

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.

“How to Be a Better Coach in the Workplace”

Being a manager and managing people aren’t easy, especially when an employee or group of employees’ performance needs improvement. The goal of coaching is to improve the quality of the work of the employee or group and is not necessarily part of a disciplinary action (although it is often associated with it). Coaching in the workplace can be an effective way to address issues that limit performance. Below are a few tips from www.thebalancecareers.com on coaching in the workplace.

• State the issue or the problem directly. Keep the focus on the issue or problem and not the person.
• Involve the employee in the process. Asking the employee or group for help in creating a solution is a great way to show you have confidence in them.
• Identify what issues or roadblocks exist that limit the employee or group’s performance. The most common issues are time, additional training, or resources.
• Come up with a plan that identifies specific actions that need to be done to address the issue by everyone involved (including the manager).
• Schedule time for a follow‐up conversation. Feedback is essential but should be positive.

  For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.

By Justin Waggoner, Ph.D., Beef Systems Specialist

“Customer Service…More Important than Ever”

Good customer service is essential to any business or organization. It does not matter if it is a restaurant or a tow truck service, having staff members that leave customers or anyone that encounters your business with that “wow that was great” feeling directly influences the bottom line. Customer service has become more important than ever as more consumers are purchasing goods and services without ever crossing the threshold of a traditional storefront. So how do we generate those feelings with someone on the phone or in a chat box. Let us start with the basics. What is customer service? Customer service is simply defined as the assistance provided by a company to those that purchase the goods or services it provides. Now on to the tough part, how do we as a business or an organization provide that assistance?

Susan Ward (www.thebalancesmb.com) offers a few simple things that business can do to improve its customer service experiences. First, answer the phone. Potential customers want to talk to a person and don’t want to leave a message. Second, don’t make promises you can’t keep. As the old saying goes “say what you are going to do and do what you said you were going to”. Third, listen. Simply listening to what a potential customer needs is important, there is nothing worse than listening to a sales pitch for something you don’t want. Fourth, be helpful even if you don’t make the sale, today. The service provided today has the potential to turn into something much larger in the future. Fifth, train your staff to go the extra mile by providing additional information about the product or other items commonly purchased with said goods. Lastly, empower your staff to offer something extra without asking permission, especially in those circumstances where the “customer is always right.”

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.