foster collaboration & engagement for innovation & success

Contacts Count © 2009

How The Unconnected Employee Hurts Your Business

© Contacts Count, 2009


In This Executive Summary…

• Unconnected employees: who are they?

• 9 ways they hurt your business

• How to create, cultivate, and capitalize on internal and external connections benefits your organization

• 10 things you can do NOW to build networking competence in your workforce

• What’s next?


9 Ways Unconnected EmployeesHurt Your Business


1. No Big Picture

Unconnected employeesdon’t understand thestrategic direction of the organization.

In high-growth organizations, 84% of employees know where the organization is headed; in low-growth organizations only 52% do.

In Momentum

“Strategic networking to help uncover and capitalize on new opportunities for the company puts the tools of networking in the service of business goals.”

Harvard Business Review


2. No Bottom-Line Focus

Unconnected employees

• Don’t see themselves as part of a business development team

• Don’t look for opportunities for the organization

• Don’t know how to listen and ask questions that will extend business or elicit referrals.

30% of the consulting engineers’ bonuses depended on uncovering new business at client sites where they worked every day. Only 3 of the 35 engineers earned their full bonus. An Ohio High-tech Firm

“Companies with highly engaged employees demonstrate significantly stronger bottom-line results.”

ISR (International Survey Research)


3. Miss Out on New Information

Unconnected employees spend your money going toconferences and meetings but

• Fail to bring back business intelligence about best practices and business trends that would help the organization, and

• Fail to build relationships that make a difference .

“Determining the benefit and ROI to the conference provider is easy, and it isn’t new. What is missing, however, is the ROI for those who make the conference successful, particularly the participants and the organizations that fund their trip.”

Dr. Patti Phillips, CEO of the ROI Institute, co-author of Show Me The Money


4. Below Par

Unconnected employees’performance and productivity suffer.

High-commitment organizations out-perform low-commitment organizations by 47%.

Watson Wyatt

“Engaged employees are 43% more productive.”The Hay Group


5. Out of the Loop

Unconnected employees don’t know whom to go toor where to find resourcesto get the job done.

Employees who lack access to information also lack access to resources.

Academy of Management Journal

“Leaders who are skilled networkers have access to people, information, and resources to help solve problems and create opportunities.”

Center for Creative Leadership


6. Don’t Help Hire

Unconnected employees don’t make it their business to recruit.

Employee recruitment may easily cost 30% of the new hire’s salary (AMA), but people hired through employee referrals cost, on average, only $900.

Referral Networks Study, SHRM

“HR professionals have long tried to generate good candidate leads by tapping their own employees as referral sources. But the programs typically wane due to lack of employee participation, no matter how much bonus money is offered.”

HR Magazine


7. Constrained by CultureUnconnected employees maybe internationals who find the American style of relationshipbuilding uncomfortable and who don’t easily connect withteammates and customers.

40% of Ph.D. workers in computer, mathematical, architectural, engineering, and science occupations were born outside the U.S.

The Economic Report of the President 2007

“They arrive with needed technical skills, but not the social competencies needed at work.”

Roger Waldinger et al, Lewis Center, UCLA


8. Invisible


don’t know how to make

their expertise known so it can be used.

Managers who make themselves visible get higher raises and more promotions.

Behavioral Sciences Research Press, Inc.

“Many of today’s typical coaching candidates lack organizational savvy. They are underestimated and pigeonholed.”

Drs. Marty Seldman and Rick Brandon


9. Turn Off Co-workers


make unsuccessful managers.

Successful managers spend 70% more time networking than their less successful counterparts.

Academy of Management Journal

“One of the 4 key essential leadership roles is relationship/network builder.”

Developing Business Leaders for 2010The Conference Board


Training Employees To Network

Benefits Your Organization


6 Benefits of External Networking

• Richer vendor and customer relationships

• Highly vetted referrals for job openings

• Cross-pollination with former employees

• Shared responsibility for business development

• An enhanced image in the marketplace

• Access to best practices and new ideas


6 Benefits of Internal Networking

• Fewer bureaucratic bottlenecks• Visible and valued expertise and talent• Increased information flow• Access to diverse skill sets of others• A learning community• Horizontal integration, silo smashing


The Story So Far…

• The unconnected employee hurts the organization in critical ways that impact the bottom line.

• Concrete benefits come from teaching employees to network externally and

internally.


10 ThingsYou Can Do NOW

To Build Networking Competencyin Your Workforce


1. Bring People Together

Encourage collaboration among all stakeholderswhose outcomes would benefit from improvedemployee networking skills:

• HR & Talent Management• Learning & Development• Business Development• Sales & Marketing• Career Management• Corporate Communications• Diversity Initiatives• Affinity Groups • Mentoring & Leadership Development


2. Make Networking a Corporate Competency

Teach your employees state-of-the-art networking skills and tools in all your training programs and encourage the growth of social acumen and capital.

“What really distinguishes high performers from the rest of the pack is their ability to maintain and leverage personal networks. The most effective create and tap large, diversified networks that are rich in experience and span all organizational boundaries.”

“The Social Side of Performance”MIT/Sloan Management Review


3. Sync the Systems

Eliminate dis-incentives to networking in your organizational culture:

• Silo-building, which inhibits interaction

• Unrealistic workloads that diminish building social bonds

• Emphasis on billable hours at the expense of relationship building

• Unclear ground rules about hierarchical interactions

• Interdepartmental rivalries and turf wars


4. Cut Ramp-Up Time

Re-focus orientation to helpnew hires build relationshipswith subordinates, peers, andothers throughout the organization.

“A comprehensive on-boarding process that identifies cultural values and introduces key internal stakeholders . . . will significantly decrease ramp-up time and can turn potential hiring mistakes into key contributors to the leadership team.”

Salveson Stetson Group


5. Get Managers Up to Speed

Teach managers how to build relationships with their supervisees and with peers in other parts of the organization.

“Top trend: Networking. Work will be increasingly relationship-based and therefore managing the weaving of relationships even more essential to outcomes.”

Association of Career Management Professionals International


6. Highlight Role Models

Shine the spotlight on your networking stars.

Encourage them to tell their stories of collaborations forged, resources found, customers gained, and new hires recruited in

• Internal company publications• All-hands meetings• Learning and development events• Retreats and conferences

“Knowing who the go-to people are in your organization is a key imperative for leaders.”

Ralph Shrader, CEO, Booz Allen Hamilton


7. Spark Meaningful Conversation

Encourage richer conversations and trusting relationships that help get the job done by providing structured, leader-led networking activities at

• Conferences• Retreats• Affinity Group meetings• Communities of Practice• Learning and Development events

“70% of what people know about their jobs they learn through everyday interactions with colleagues.”

Center for Workforce Development


8. Do More Than Join

Support employees to join their professional associationsand teach them what to do and say to bring back solidbusiness intelligence.

“Our leaders believe active membership in an association is so important that we’ve made it a requirement for employees.”

A Northern Virginia High-Tech Company


9. Include Gen Ys

Help Millenniums buildthe connections they crave

• In a friendly working atmosphere• To the organization's mission and values • To the bottom line

“Dependence on remote forms of communication has left many younger workers bereft of interpersonal skills.”

Fast Company


10. Recognize The Social Side

Sponsor social events where employees canget to know one another.

Getting together outside of work can benefit on-the-job performance say 63% of those surveyed.

Accountemps. In SmartBusiness, “Friends at Work,” Duffy,

August 2007.

“Camaraderie between co-workers fuels much more than new business leads – relationship are also key drivers for recruiting, engagement, and retention.” Talent Management Magazine


The Story So Far …

• Un-connected employees hurt your business in bottom-line ways.

• You can create a connected and engaged workforce by focusing attention on internal and external relationship-building skills.


So what’s the next step?

Tap into the expertise you needwith Contacts Count,

the nationwide consulting and training firm specializing in networking

as a professional competency.


Jim WyldeBelinda WillisLinda SteeleIda ShesselVern Schellenger

Sue Schnorr

Marsha Marinich

Chris JohnsonLinda Hardenstein

Marcia HallBonnie CoffeyJulie Bauke

Todd Waymon

Partner

Anne Baber

Partner

Lynne Waymon

Partner

We’re

Ready

To Work

With

You!

Contacts Count


“Throw out your old definition of networking!

Contacts Count has created a strategic,

comprehensive, foolproof methodology for

connecting with other people.”

Chief Learning Officer

Contacts Count will help youestablish networking competencythroughout your organization...


…through your programs such as:

• Orientation

• Leadership and High-Potential

• Business Development

• Management Development

• Diversity

• Career Development

• Mentorship


Our Licensure Program buildsin-house capability and includes:

• Use of all Contacts Count training materials and self-assessments

• Train-the-Trainer workshops

• Consultations with your leaders and managers

• Kick-off keynotes and workshops

• Webinars, podcasts, and telephone conferences


Next step?

Set up a consultation with us. We’d like to learn more about your needs and plans.

Call Sue Schnorr585-442-3443

[email protected]


Additional Informationabout the

Expertise and Track RecordContacts Count Brings to You


Contacts Count’sExpertise

• The premier consulting and training firm forbusiness and professional networking since 1990

• A nationwide cadre of Certified Presenters who are experts in the Contacts Count System

• CD: Networking Know-How: The Contacts Count System for Savvy Professionals and Smart Companies

• 5 books on business networking authored by founders Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon. Make Your Contacts Count: Networking Know-How for Business and Career Success (AMACOM, 2007, 2nd edition)

• Featured magazine articles by Baber and Waymon in the ASTD’s T & D (June 2007), the ASAE’s Associations Now (July 2007), and North Carolina SHRM’s NCHR Review (Fall/Winter 2007)


Contacts Count’s Track Record

• CorporationsCorning, DuPont, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Microsoft, First Horizon Bank, Bank of America, HSBC Bank, Kraft,U.S. Cellular, Decorating Den, Sir Speedy

• Professional ServicesDeloitte Financial Advisory Services; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Ernst & Young; Booz-Allen Hamilton; ExecuNet; Lee Hecht Harrison; Right Management Associates; Hazel Thomas; Grant Thornton; Bates White; Polsinelli, Shalton, Flanigan, Suelthaus;Snyder, Cohn, Collyer, and Hamilton

• Non-ProfitsSmithsonian, National Geographic Society, United Way, Brookings Institution


• AssociationsNational Business Incubation Association, Consumer Electronics Association, Women in Technology, American Institute of Architects, National Association of Home Builders, American Council of Engineering Companies, Employee Relocation Association, Edison Electric Institute, Property Management Association, Pan Asian Women’s Association, Society of Black Professionals, National Fisheries Institute, American Society of Association Executives, Public Relations Society of American, Medical Librarians Association, Outdoor Writers Association, National Association of Colleges and Employers, American Societyof Plastic Surgeons, California Society of CPAs

• Government AgenciesTreasury Executive Institute; U.S. Departments of State, Agriculture, Commerce, & Defense; National Institutes of Health; PresidentialManagement Fellows Program; National Technology Transfer Center; Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Canadian Embassy

• UniversitiesGeorgetown, Marquette, Arizona State, George Mason, Catholic, Friends, Carnegie-Mellon, George Washington, Missouri, Nebraska


Contacts Count’s Customization

• “You tailored your train-the-trainer course for us more than any other vendor we’ve ever worked with.” Major Defense Contractor

• “99% of the 200 participants recommend for future engagements.”Leading Professional Services Firm

• Tailored training for their annual “University” and were invited back 4 years in a row. Large Engineering and Project Management Firm

• Customized presentations for relationship managers who work withprivate banking customers. Large National Bank

• Designed training to help employees network internally to get the job done. Respected Non-profit Scientific & Educational Institution

• Designed networking skills training for MBA students that prepared them to attend career fairs, meet with potential employers, and cultivate their networks throughout their careers. State & PrivateUniversities

• Wrote a 64-page booklet outlining 10 structured networking activities to involve alumni. Alumni & Advancement Office


Contact Information

Sue Schnorr

[email protected] Linden Oaks, 3rd floorRochester, NY 14625585-442-3443

www.contactscount.com/sueschnorr.html

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