Rely on your vision
If you don’t have a vision, you are going to have a hard time being successful.
“I think it helps make it clear what the goals of the company are to the employees, to the customers, to our competitors, to anybody that’s on our team,” Shanahan says. “I think that all of that is important.”
While you may have all sorts of ideas about what you think your company’s vision should be, you can’t be the only one creating that message.
“You have to have involvement from the employees so they feel like they’ve participated,” she says. “It’s really goal establishment. Vision is ‘Where do we see ourselves in the next three years?’ We’ve done that now twice with WRScompass, and I think it really comes from the organization.
“Then you establish strategic initiatives and then you work on getting those done as well as doing your regular job.”
Shanahan found it effective to put employees in workgroups to get input.
Three quarters of employees in the company were involved in a strategic plan outline and discussion group. Their time was used to focus on a specific task or item, but their feedback, suggestions and results made an impact on the WRScompass strategic plan.
“When using a lot of employees, it’s important to manage their time and be very directional — especially if you are taking them off other projects that bring in revenue and margin directly,” she says.
While putting employees in workgroups will foster a lot of feedback, you also have to do your part in creating an environment where employees will feel comfortable giving their two cents.
“It’s always a challenge because they are going to respect the CEO or the senior team, but you’ve got to be real,” she says.
“You’ve got to establish platforms of interchange. Whether it’s e-mail or you go to project visits and you go talk to them and sit down and have lunch. You can’t sit in your office. You have to be out and about.”
If you have employees in different locations, you should try to visit with them regularly. Shanahan tries to visit three to five project sites a month.
When out there, you have to talk to them about what matters to them, such as their families, what they do in their free time and why they matter to the company.
“You show up and go walk around with the engineer or the project manager or the superintendent or the supervisor and ride around in their truck with your work boots on,” she says. “You’re going to hear a lot. You’ve got to be out there with your employees where they work.”
That will come back around when you need input for processes like creating a vision, especially when you have to share bad news.
“You’ve got to be authentic,” she says. “A message is a message. It’s not like you’re spinning a press person to try to get them to write a better story. Your employees are your allies. They are the people that get it done. They don’t need to be spun.”
How to reach: WRScompass, (813) 684-4400 or www.wrscompass.com