unconnected employee hurts your business-contactscount.com

“Connect, Converse, & Collaborate in The NOW”© 2013 www.ContactsCount.com

© Contacts Count LLC, 2013

How The Unconnected Employee Hurts Your Business


In This Executive Summary…

● The Unconnected: who are they?

● 8 ways they hurt your business

● How training in connecting, conversing, & collaborating has enterprise-wide benefits

● What is The Network-Oriented WorkforceTM ?

● 5 things you can do to increase connection, conversation, and collaboration

● What’s next?


Who Are The Unconnected?

People who ● Say, “I feel shy & uncomfortable in business & social

settings.” (About 60% in the US) ● Gravitate toward the “quiet” careers● Have more technological than interpersonal skills● Must to take a larger role in business development &

client acquisition● Need – as leaders & managers - much more robust &

diverse networks ● Haven’t realized that strategic networking is a “must-

have” tool that boosts organizational outcomes


Who Are We Talking About?

20% are “Naturals” – network-building comes easily

71% are “Neutrals” – willing to adopt a networking identity & learn the skills, if given the chance

9% are “Naysayers” – “Sorry, it’s not my thing”


8 Ways The UnconnectedEmployee Hurts Your Business


1. No Big Picture

Unconnected employeesdon’t develop & use theirconnections to support and speed the execution of strategy.

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

In Momentum, Inc.

“Strategic networking to help uncover & capitalize on new opportunities for the company puts the tools of networking in the service of business goals.” “How Leaders Create & Use Networks”

Ibarra and Hunter, Harvard Business Review


2. No Top-Line Focus

Unconnected employees don’t see themselves as part of a business development teamor use their networks to attractclients.

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

After attending a networking event with her 3 sales people and watching them talk with each other, check their phones, and graze at the buffet, the manager withdrew the team’s $50,000 budget, until she was assured that they had learned how to connect and converse for business. - A Washington DC services company.


3. Don’t Gather & Share Business Intelligence

Unconnected employees spend your money going to conferences & meetings, but fail to gather & bring back best practices & business trends to help the organization.

“Even the most technology-savvy leaders rely on their own personal networks to find the best resource quickly. The human networks are what count.”

RosaBeth Moss Kantor, Harvard Business Review

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

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


4. Produce Less

Unconnected employees’ performance & productivity suffer.

An MIT study found that employees with the most extensive personal digital networks were 7% more productive than their colleagues. However, employees with the most cohesive face-to-face networks were 30% more productive. “How Social Networks Network Best”

Alex Pentland, MIT, Harvard Business Review

“Executives who consistently rank in the top 20% of their companies in both performance & well-being have diverse but select networks.” “Managing Yourself”

Rob Cross, Harvard Business Review


5. Are Out of the Loop

Unconnected employees don’t know who to go toor where to find resourcesto get the job done. “Being intentional about developing relationship excellence that comes from connection is the key to unlocking corporate potential.” The Connection Culture by Michael Lee Stallard

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


6. Don’t Work Across Boundaries

Unconnected employees don’t diversify their networks with regard to geography, age, gender, & function.

“86% of senior leaders say that working across boundaries inside & outside their companies is extremely important. Just 7%, however, believe they are very effective at it.”

“Working Beyond Borders,” IBM Report

“Bigger is not better. The magic lies in the new ideas and perspectives that can come from connections into different networks.”

“The Most Valuable People In our Network” Rob Cross, Harvard Business Review


7. Are Invisible

Unconnected employees don’t know how to make their expertise known so it can be used.

“Employees have 3 choices: Intentional Disconnection, Intentional Connection, or Unintentional Disconnection. People often choose the latter, mostly because they don’t have the skill & they don’t have a connection culture.”

The Connection Culture by Michael Lee Stallard.

“The significant difference between high quality & poor quality decisions is how the decision-makers engage stakeholders.”

Harvard Business Review


8. Turn Off Co-workers

Unconnected employees make unsuccessful managers & team mates.

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

“A Social Capital Theory of Career Success” Seibert, Kraimer, & Linden, Academy of Management Journal

“In giver cultures, employees help others, share knowledge, offer mentoring, & make connections without expecting anything in return.”

Give & Take by Adam Grant


HOW SUPPORTING THE NETWORK-ORIENTED WORKFORCETM BENEFITS YOUR ORGANIZATION


5 Benefits of Internal Networking

① Fewer bureaucratic bottlenecks & silos

② Increased innovation via collaboration

③ Maximum use of resources & expertise

④ Freer information flow

⑤ Stronger manager-employee relationships


5 Benefits of External Networking

❶ Access to best practices & new ideas

❷ Richer relationships with vendors & customers

❸ Highly vetted referrals

❹ Cross-pollination with diverse contacts

❺ Shared responsibility for business development


The Story So Far…

● The unconnected employee hurts the organization in critical ways that impact enterprise success.

● Concrete benefits come from teaching employees the skills they need to claim their networking identities in the Network-Oriented WorkforceTM.


What Is The Network-Oriented WorkforceTM?

The NOW is made up of people who, at their own discretion, exchange information, resources, support, and access. They intentionally create new value with others inside and outside the organization by skillfully creating purposeful connections, meaningful conversations, and effective collaboration.


How What We Do LinksTo The Big Picture

Strategy Execution

Innovation EngagementCompetitivene

ss

Collaboration Connection Conversation

Key Business

Issues

Key People Enablers

Commit to a Networking Identity

Increase Social Acumen

Engage People

Communicate Expertise

Take a Strategic Approach

Leverage Four Networks

Develop Trusting

Relationships

Create Organisational Value8 NOW

Competencies

From Disconnecte

d to Connected Employees


Five Things You Can Do NOW To Build Networking Competency in Your Workforce


1. Bring People Together

Encourage these stakeholders to collaborateto power up The NOWTM:

o HR & Talent Managemento Learning & Developmento Business Developmento Sales & Marketingo Career Management o Diversity Initiatives & Affinity Groups o Mentoring & Leadership Development

In a study of CEOs (1700+ CEOs across 64 countries in 18 industries) IBM found that to draw out the best in their workforces, CEOs choose cultivating a “collaborative environment” as one of the 3 most important attributes to focus on. “Leading Through Connections” 2012 Global CEO Study by IBM


2. Make Networking a Professional Competency

Teach your employees state-of-the-art networking skills & tools.

“Conversation is what keeps the engine of value creation firing on all cylinders.”

Talk, Inc.: How Trusted Leaders Use Conversation to Power Their Organizations by Groysberg and Slind

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

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


3. Cut Ramp-Up Time

Help new hires build relationshipswith subordinates, peers, &others throughout the organization.

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


4. Give Leaders & Managers Tools

Teach them to model, coach, & mentor relationship building as the way to create & reinforce the NOWTM

culture. When given the choice, people choose to work with people who are likeable and competent. If they can’t have both, they choose likeability over competence.

“Competent Jerks, Lovable Fools, & the Formation of Social Networks,” by

Casciaro & Lobo, Harvard Business Review

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

Association of Career Management Professionals International


5. Spark Meaningful Conversation

Encourage richer conversations & trusting relationships that help get the job done by encouraging “serendipitous,” informal meetings of people who might not normally meet.

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

“Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings.”

Google’s explanation for the design of their new campus which maximizes “casual collisions.”


So what’s the next step?

Tap into the expertise you needwith Contacts Count,

the international consulting & training firm specializing in developing & supporting

The Network-Oriented WorkforceTM

.


We Collaborate With Clients

Let us help you enrich your programs foroOrientation of New Hires oLeaders & High-PotentialsoBusiness Development & SalesoManagers & SupervisorsoDiversity & Mentorship o Individual ContributorsoProfessional Development


Our Licensure Program

Builds your in-house capability with ● Licensure of Contacts Count training materials &

reinforcement tools● Train-the-Trainer workshops● Consultations with your leaders & managers● Kick-off keynotes & workshops● Executive Coaching● Webinars & podcasts


Contacts Count’s Expertise

● The premier consulting & training firm forbusiness & professional networking since 1990

● An international team of Certified Presenters who are experts in the Contacts Count approach to building enterprise-wide success

● The best “how-to” guide on business networking authored by founders & thought leaders Anne Baber & Lynne Waymon. Make Your Contacts Count: Networking Know-How for Business & Career Success (AMACOM, 2nd edition)

● Featured magazine articles by Baber & Waymon in the ASTD’s T & D Magazine, the ASAE’s Associations Now, & North Carolina SHRM’s NCHR Review


Contacts Count’s Track Record

● CorporationsKPMG, eBay, Corning, DuPont, Lockheed

Martin, Raytheon, Microsoft, Sapient, Bank of America, HSBC Bank, Kraft,U.S. Cellular, Decorating Den, Sir Speedy

● Professional ServicesDeloitte Financial Advisory Services; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Ernst & Young; Keiter CPA, Booz-Allen Hamilton; Lee Hecht Harrison; Right Management Associates; Hazel Thomas; Grant Thornton; Bates White; Polsinelli, Shalton, Flanigan, Suelthaus; Snyder, Cohn, Collyer, & 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, Edison Electric Institute, Property Management Association, Pan Asian Women’s Association, Society of Black Professionals, American Society of Association Executives, Public Relations Society of American, Medical Librarians Association, National Association of Colleges & Employers, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, California Society of CPAs

● Government AgenciesTreasury Executive Institute; the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, U.S. Departments of State, Agriculture, Commerce, & Defense; National Institutes of Health; Presidential Management 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 Track Record


Contacts Count LLC

AustraliaIndiaAsia

USEurope

Portugal Brazil

Angola

Other Global

Regions

AndréAlphonso

WillKitchen

Valter A Barreira

LynneWaymon

ToddWaymon

AnneBaber


Talk to us…

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

Contact:● US and Europe:

Will Kitchen, [email protected] ● Australia, India, Asia:

André Alphonso, [email protected]● Portugal, Brazil, Angola:

Valter Barreira, [email protected] ● Other Locations:

Lynne Waymon, [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


