Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone

A colleague pass along a wonderful article (Talent Management) that shares five useful lessons from the World's Most Admired Companies.   These are companies such as Google, Apple, Procter & Gamble, and Southwest Airlines.  

Fortune Magazine and the Hay Group partnered to put together the list, and they also tried to see what allowed these companies to succeed.

They came up with five lessons - five things that these companies seemed to do more than others.  

I'll share two of their thoughts, and I encourage you to read the article to gain the other three lessons. Here are the first two...

1. Involving employees at all levels in promoting efficiency and innovation. While 76 percent of peer firms regularly reach out to employees for ideas on how to increase efficiency, this is standard practice for 91 percent of the WMAC. These companies are also much more likely to encourage managers and employees to take reasonable risks to increase organizational effectiveness.

Managers should realize that those closest to the action are most aware of and best suited to recognize what could be working more effectively. Management by “walking around” is more critical than ever.

2. Recognizing that work/life balance is about more than employee comfort. The WMAC recognize that taking work/life balance seriously is essential to avoid burning out and losing key people. Half of these companies view this issue as a top priority over the next two years, as compared to only 30 percent of peers.

Managers should recognize that people’s lives are more holistic – being respectful of this and accommodating it is a winning strategy.

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I can't argue with those two!  The more I learn about my role at NAFCU, the more I know this fact: I'm most effective when I view my role as helping the other folks around here do their job better.  Not by telling them how to do it better.  Great ideas are all over the place here, and at your credit union.  The more folks you involve, the better.

And as for work life balance, it is something we're going to have to figure out as organizations.  People love their work, but they'll have families, pets, hobbies, spouses (you know what I meant), grandparents, concert tickets, class reunions, and more.  We can't create effective organizations designed to serve people, unless we allow our very own colleagues a fighting chance to build a balanced life for themselves. 

Have a great weekend, guys.  

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PS: Speaking of balance, here's a shot from last weekend's visit to Shenandoah National Park. Find your own slice of Heaven this weekend.

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