The Greening of America

It continues to surprise me how far the green movement has come in even just the past three years. At the same time I'm surprised at how little traction has been gained on the everyday side of green. When you look in any popular magazine or newspaper there is always some new story of a company going "carbon neutral" or completing a high profile LEED project.

Where are the stories about warehouses doing mass transitions away from metal halide lighting? Where are the stories of waterless urinal/low-flush toilets flying off the shelves? Where are the stories highlighting the benefits of simple LED light bulbs for exterior use? Why is there no attention on the small stuff?

Doing the right thing isn't always sexy or easy. I get that but in this case it should be. At the very least companies should feel ashamed to be using energy inefficient bulbs. Why hasn't GE or Sylvania brought out the campaign for energy efficient lighting? Where are the press releases highlighting the cost of not switching?

I follow the environmental industries not closely but regularly. It seems that recently all the focus has been on the macro-industries: energy, fuel, cars. What I want to see are the studies highlighting the little things. I guarantee a national campaign to change light bulbs will do more in the next 2 years than any amount of fuel efficiency will do over the next 5.

Modular Wall Systems

One of the biggest questions on the minds of facility managers across the country is how to incorporate green products while saving money. The largest on-going cost in most facilities is churn caused by growth/contraction/relocations. Construction costs are regularly planned into the budget to make sure everything is in place for optimum performance. To that end I'd like to talk about movable wall furniture systems.

Almost all of the major workstation manufacturers have begun development on modular office systems. It's a natural progression to extend panels to the ceiling and provide attractive options outside of workstations and cubicles. The tough sell is that currently the cost is higher in most markets than traditional drywall construction - often high enough to put it outside the budget of your average company. Another difficulty is that since it is classified as furniture it is often excluded from a landlord TI allowance. However there is a growing trend in the real estate market for landlords to pay for these style walls within the TI assuming that they stay with the building at lease end.

With that being said, there are significant advantages to looking in the direction of a furniture system instead of traditional construction. The most important to a facility manager is cost. Wall systems are made to last up to 15 years. A typical payback period for a system of this type should be measured in terms of number of moves instead of years. Walls that are built to move are a cost avoidance over traditional construction. The electrical and data systems within them are built to be plug and play which makes things twice as easy. It is not uncommon for these walls to pay for themselves after even 1 reconfiguration. In more expensive construction markets they may even be the same price as traditional office construction.

The second reason is they are built to be environmentally friendly. If you are looking to have a LEED or environmentally certified space then these walls are the only way to go. Their use eliminates construction waste, they are often made from recycled materials and they can be reused many times. For a modest to good payback you are able to do your part for the environment.

If you are looking to undergo a workplace design change talk to your furniture vendor about this option. You may find that it fits well into your already existing plans. Or you can always contact us for help. We're always willing to talk construction methods.

Changing Tides and Gen Y

Do a search through any online news aggregator and you will find hundreds of stories related to how Generation Y is changing the rules of the workplace. Stories about how they don't stay with the same company for long periods, how they don't want to come in at the entry level but start with responsibility, and how they question everything. I've grown up as part of this new generation. I went to school with other people of this generation and I'm finally in my third year of real work. I'd say that I may have some insights into why things are the way they are.

First, every 15 years or so when a new generation comes along there are huge obstacles that must be overcome. The difference this time around is the swiftness of the change. Gen X was just fine sitting back and waiting for their turn because they had better things to do. Gen Y wants to change the world from day 1. There is a reason that Google has no problem hiring as many smart young people as they want, they give them opportunity to change things and make a difference.

Your typical company has a structure with positions filled by people with experience and certain skills. Those people got there by one of two ways: 1) worked their way up by proving themselves internally or 2) were hired from the outside because of previous experience. Generation Y is looking to change all of that and are surprised to meet resistance. The funny thing about it is that they don't mind the resistance since they simply find another way around. We are the most entrepreneurial generation ever. If you don't want to hire us for the job we'll simply go out and do it ourselves.

There are very few ties that keep us in one place or in one job. The internet allows us the ability to be instant experts on any given topic - learn about a topic one day, spend the next researching it, teach it the third. With the right resources and determination it is a very easy process. Sure, we won't be experienced experts but we'll know what the tools are, what the problems look like and some general idea of how to mix the two. Creativity will fill in the gaps.

Top that off with the fact that Gen Y are a generation of networkers. How hard is it to transform an active group of 100 friends and acquaintances into a business network. The connections that we make in our network are easy to retrace and remember. Conversations are stored on computers or phones in multiple locations. Pictures are abundant thanks to digital cameras and free online storage. If we need an expert in obscure applications of the third law of thermodynamics they aren't that difficult to find with a quick search or two.

The problem for the generations ahead of us is that we move very quickly. Before you know there is a major issue the person involved has blown past it and either moved on or resolved it. Flexibility is the goal of the day. Let us do what we know we can do. Sure, we will stumble and sometimes fall as things get rough but we will also perform great works before we are 25. We will change the world by 30. Make no mistake, we have lofty goals and strong beliefs that we can and will achieve them. Right or wrong, the only path we know is to chase down those dreams until we succeed.

Benchmarking

The year has only just begun but there is already a new hot topic that is flying around among our clients and it will probably be one of our focuses for the year: benchmarking. Interest in this topic is being driven by clients trying to get a handle on what they are doing right, what they are doing wrong and what is the magnitude of those things.

Reports are flying around newspapers and business circles of the economy turning down. This situation leads to companies looking toward ways to improve what they are doing today in order to weather the storm they see coming. Cutting costs is always an initiative on the table but it becomes more important as short-term growth projections are cut. Costs exist across the board but largely fall into a few large buckets: overhead, distribution, manufacturing, and real estate.

Benchmarking comes into play because it allows you to look at people in similar positions as you and helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses. Costs are then cut by focusing on strengths and improving weaknesses. By driving more of your focus into your strongest areas you focus on hitting your higher margin zones that carry less risk. Improving weaknesses shores up the resources to focus on the better areas.

So why is benchmarking the way to go? Let's look at Southwest Airlines and how they benchmark airplane turnover - the time it takes to clean and refresh between flights. When they benchmarked themselves against their competition they couldn't find anyone who was doing it better than them. Instead of turning their focus onto other areas they decided to take the benchmarking to another level and focus on other groups that performed similar operations. Now they benchmark their airplane turnover against the likes of NASCAR pit crews.

The operations being compared are the same processes on different scales and in different environments. But when you are already best in your industry it makes sense to innovate and compete with groups outside of your specialty. If it seems like you've reached the top you probably haven't looked around to see the other mountains around you that go higher yet. There are always ways to improve, some just have yet to be put in place in your industry.

This leaves us with improving the weaknesses. Most companies are lagging behind in some core area. Either their percentage of overhead is too high or their inventory turns are too low or their transportation rates leave something to be desired. It's hard to have an expert around to diagnose every problem. Sometimes it's important to step back and see what you're missing and why it's happening.

If you operate a call center that uses 250 square feet per person then you are using more real estate for that function than most of your competitors. The lease cost associated with that extra space is a cost that you have to pay every month. It may be possible to consolidate another group in with that call center and get rid of real estate that you don't really need.

Benchmarking gives you the final advantage of knowing what to look at long term and the ability to track progress. Improvement is a long-term activity that should be constantly moved towards. If it's not part of your corporate culture it probably should be.

Automation vs. Manual

There are a lot of conveyor salesman that like to hoover around warehouses. They love to tout the productivity improvements that can be gained by installing their products. Throw in a nice little shoe sorter and you'll be able to take 4 people out of your shipping process! Add in a Pick-to-Light forward pick zone and you'll save 6 people on your picking! Wow! Why WOULDN'T I install this wonderful stuff?

There's a balance between operating manually and operating with automation and it is a fine line between justification for automation and throwing your money to the wind. It is all dependent on your operational needs for flexibility, knowledge of long term growth and cube throughput. Conveyor salesman will point to the Wal-Marts, Best Buys, Cingulars and other big companies as examples of businesses that use automation to lower their costs, increase their throughput capacity and enable cutting edge technologies. What they don't tell you is that those companies have an economy of scale in their DCs that enable them to know with a fairly high degree of accuracy what they'll need going through their facility in 3, 5 and 10 years. They add new DCs as opposed to growing existing ones.

So why wouldn't you want conveyor even if it cost justifies based on labor savings over a two year window? Answering "Yes" to any of the following questions may mean that automation is not right for you:

1. Are you going to outgrow it in 3 to 5 years and need to replace the whole thing?
2. Would you need to procure the technology systems to support the automation?
3. Is operational flexibility important in the processes that would be automated?
4. Is your business extremely seasonal?
5. Are your products or outbound boxes inconsistently sized?

There is a similar group of questions to ask yourself about whether conveyor is right for you, but this topic is about whether manual processes will work.

Manual processes have gotten a bad rap over the past few years from the six sigma, lean and just-in-time crowds. Automation has somehow become synonymous with efficiency. There is more to efficiency than meets the eye though. The text book definition of efficiency is the ratio of effective or useful output to the total input in any system. Or put into warehousing terms: the best combination of space, capital expenses and labor for the throughput required in the process.

One way to think about the problem is by changing the terms of the problem. Let's look at pallet storage systems. You can store pallets in any number of ways: floor stack, pallets rack with 12' aisles, double deep pallet rack, very narrow aisle pallet rack, AS/RS storage/retrieval systems, etc. There is a large set of alternatives. When you look at what you have and try to decide which to go with most people just end up going with what they know, traditional pallet rack with a forklift to pick from it with. Nice, simple and effective. But was it the best alternative for everything in your warehouse?

When you explain to people the conditions that effect how you should store pallets they are usually pretty good at understanding. They deal with pallets and storage all day long anyway so they understand the dynamics of it. Give them conveyor and all the sudden it seems like Greek. It's the same justification process, it's all about understanding the numbers.

For the average operation, manual processes are exactly what is needed. Your average human is quite capable of efficiently moving a box from one side of the warehouse to the other. A conveyor doesn't move that single box any more efficiently and the conveyor isn't going to do the processing at the other end either....that's a separate piece of automation. The trick is that conveyor can process regular, consistent volume more efficiently. If you need to move 400 cases in an hour then conveyor may be what you need. If you need to move 1000 cases....it may be even easier now to justify that automation. Ask yourself the questions above though, first.

Your conveyor system has to be designed for you busiest hour on your busiest day during the life of what it is expected to handle, which could be 5 to 10 years. If you have a peaking factor of 3 and are expecting 10% growth over the next 5 years- I'd really put some thought into whether conveyor is right for you yet.

RF Strategies

The most popular post on this blog is Warehouse RF Network. If you do a Google search for Warehouse RF it is the number 2 result. How we got to that spot I'm not sure, but there we are. A lot of the organic traffic that we get comes in through that post. Looking at the search terms that drive people there it seems that RF networks in warehouses are one of the biggest questions that people have when they go about setting up a new facility.

RF is one of the fundamental blocks of an efficient warehouse. It is the driver of so many "Best-in-Class" style processes that it is simply foolish to not implement it. The cost has come down over the many years since it was introduced that it should be part of any operation. However as is the case with most technology, a lot of operators are confused by it and what needs to happen to implement it.

When it comes down to it, an RF Warehouse system is not all that different from your at home wireless network. Most of the general equipment is the same in concept, simply bulked up to industrial grade. The real difficulty to RF is getting the right software and processes around it. Picking a WMS is the hardest part really. There are now so many options for Warehouse Management Systems that going through them to find the best for your situation can be a truly daunting task.

The trick to RF is making sure that the planning around it is complete. Follow these steps and you’ll be well on your way to putting in a very strong solution:

1. Implement a reliable WMS system
2. Setup a warehouse map and picking rules
3. Develop new putaway and picking processes to leverage the RF and WMS systems
4. Train all warehouse employees in detail on how to use the system
5. Perform a complete inventory count
6. Activate the system

The difference between RF and a paper system is, at the simplest level, the interface. Everyone you would employ in your warehouse is familiar with paper and how to work with it. There is a mindset about RF that it is more complicated because it involves a lot of technology. The truth is that the technology is now developed to the point where it is highly user friendly.

Lately when the topic of RF comes up, the natural follow-up becomes “What about RFID?” RFID is the next generation of Radio Frequency. There has been a lot of investment by organizations trying to push RFID as an efficiency driver. A lot of people know by now that Wal-Mart dictates their suppliers use it and the US Military has adopted it for inventory control as well.

What you probably haven’t heard is that even Wal-Mart is having a hard time driving their suppliers to RFID. They just recently began imposing a $2 per pallet fine for every pallet that comes in without RFID tags. The implication of course is that there are quite a few pallets coming in without it. Why aren’t companies moving towards it? Why is it always on the horizon as the next big thing without actually hitting? The simple answer is that the cost to implement continues to refuse to drop. Technologies usually drop in price as they become more widely used, RFID isn’t.

If you have any questions about these systems feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We are here to help you understand how to make these systems work for you and your company.

Six Sigma and the Workplace

I am an active participant on LinkedIn and particularly LinkedIn Answers. One of the most frustrating topics I see come up again and again are various company managers asking if Six Sigma is right for their particular issue. Almost as soon as the question is posed there will be five or six responses from either Six Sigma Black Belts or
others who work in a Six Sigma environment that say of course it will work for you and by the way...would you like any help implementing it? Usually I am the only person who steps in to ask what the reasons behind looking at Six Sigma are and that there are other options beyond Six Sigma (and its many, many offshoots).

Six Sigma is a set of practices that is used to eliminate defects within a process. It was originally intended to improve manufacturing processes but has since been adapted to improve any system or set of processes. The latest trend is using Six Sigma as a way of improving office functions or specifically the operations within a given department. To implement Six Sigma you first have to define the process that is going to be improved and then measure the on-going metrics. Herein lies the biggest problem with Six Sigma.

There is an inherent assumption made within a Six Sigma process that the baseline process is an effective starting point to improve against. Many times it is the existence of bad process and procedures that drives a business to implement Six Sigma in the first place. Companies with the worst base processes are the ones looking at improvement strategies and often find Six Sigma. These companies will see almost no significant help.

Most companies somehow make it along without the help of Six Sigma. For some reason they don't need a bunch of Black Belts evaluating their processes to recommend changes and fixes to stay successful. If you are looking into a process improvement methodology, first look internally to see if it is simply bad processes that are driving the issues. If you feel the issues go beyond what you are capable of diagnosing and repairing on your own then bring in an outside consultant to help. Their job is to identify problems and help you fix them.

I'd love to give more information on this and probably will at some point, but I want to really emphasize that most issues are internal and not something that can be fixed through a Six Sigma program.


Technorati Tags: six sigma, consulting, business processes

Youth and Progress

This is a topic near and dear to me because it is something that I have to deal with on a regular basis. I'm young (only 24) and I've been out of school for two years next month. My youth is often seen as a detriment to many people when I first deal with them on a new project. The same is true for when I walk into a store to buy furniture, jewelry or any other expensive item. People see the youth and think that this kid can't possible help them improve themselves.

At the age of 24 I have more experience than many engineers 5 years older than me. I've been personally responsible for construction on a ground-up 822,000 SF distribution center. There were two project managers assigned to the project and I was in the second chair. I was responsible for budget, contractor selection, architectural design, installation inspection, final punch and most of the holes that go in between. Why was I put in that position a year after school? Because I had a manager that was willing to put me in a position to add to the project team. I was able to quickly prove that I belonged.

Am I saying that all 24 year olds should be running major projects on their own? Of course not. But at the same time, some people with 24 years of experience shouldn't be running major projects. My argument is that each and every person in an organization has a value to add that is not currently being utilized. Young people in an organization have the most value to add. It's the fear of allowing them to screw up the well oiled machine that often keeps that value from getting tapped.

Most people are surprised by the fact that your average Gen Y'er will only stay with a company a year or two before moving on to the next. Why is this a surprise? We have been brought up to know our worth and been given some of the most powerful tools available to help us perform. Why stick with a company that is holding us back simply because we're young? That doesn't make good business sense. If you are part of a business relationship where you are recommending clients to another business but they never return the favor are you going to keep recommending? Odds are you are going to start talking to their competitors about a better deal for your business. It's simple good business practice.

How will you know that the person you just hired has any worth or not if you don't let them sink or swim at some point? Sure, people need to start at the bottom to some extent. Everyone needs to know the basics behind the job. I had to learn to stamp and fill out invoices before I was allowed to control a budget. I had to develop warehouse designs in collaboration with other managers before I was allowed to do it on my own. It's a matter of timing that changes the game. Why should an intelligent member of Generation Y sit stamping invoices for a year while people that they may be better than get the actual projects? Would any team in the NBA have left Michael Jordan or Lebron James on the bench for a year simply because he was a rookie? No, it wouldn't have helped the team.

When working out an employment strategy think about this. Over-training someone simply because they are young will never help your business. Teach them what they need in a reasonable amount of time and then see if they are worth what you pay them to do. Entry level jobs shouldn't exist just to put the rookie into. In the end, you will develop better, more loyal employees by adding responsibility regularly to any Generation Y'er. In a couple of years your company will thank you.


Technorati Tags: gen y, progress, hiring

Finding the Right Talent

I've written before on setting up your org chart to enable your business to succeed. There is another aspect to that though that is sometimes overlooked- the right people need to fill the positions that you created. Forbes.com has written a great article called "The War for Talent." Beyond the issue that the war isn't really new and has been going on for as long as there have been big businesses, this is critical to long-term business success.

When you look at where you business will be five years from now, besides yourself, who do you see in top management positions? Can you picture anyone who is currently on your staff making the important strategic decisions and doing it right? When you hire it is important not just to hire for the position you have open today, but to look to fill the position you will need tomorrow. Even in large companies this principle should apply. If you are the manager of a group shouldn't you be operating that group as if it is a small business?

Most groups have a unique business plan that ties into the plan of the company as a whole. On the day-to-day level you still have internal and external customers you must satisfy, business demands you must meet and a budget you must work against. The dynamic that makes larger companies different is that internal customer component. You can't turn them away or refuse them service, that would be acting against the good of the overall company. However, you can treat them as an external customer and make sure that the time and resources that you used to assist them with are accounted for accordingly. If there is a way to charge them back for your work it would probably make them realize exactly what all those "little tasks" they keep asking you to do are worth.

United Parcel Service (UPS to most of the world) has a start at the bottom and work your way up promotion strategy. Upper management started out in warehouses and driving trucks before they got to where they are. Most technology companies have a hire the best available candidate approach to filling their positions. For the most part these are the two most common hiring practices in the marketplace. Knowing which one is best for your business is the first step to understanding what talent you need to be fostering.

Promoting from within has the advantage of keeping the company culture intact with a resulting lack of short-term change. The business will evolve with the times, but often slower than everyone else around them. It offers great stability but no real creative punch. "Groupthink" will often set in and allow even the most uninterested outside observer the ability to predict the decisions and actions of your company. Internal promotions rarely result in management failures as the hires have already learned what's expected and will maintain the status quo.

Hiring the top gun on the market offers a different set of advantages and disadvantages. The most obvious issue is company culture. If your new hire decides to completely go against the grain you could be facing a rebellion and drop in productivity. Failures become a business risk. If your new guy isn't working out, waiting for the problem to solve itself may not be an option. You may be forced to pull the trigger quickly and find someone else. However, when you do get it right, the new ideas that someone from the outside can bring, mixed with the successful tricks you've already developed over the years can offer some truly exciting results.

Every company is different but for most companies a policy of only promoting from within is probably not an option just due to size. Recruiting and hiring management talent is a must. Therefore evaluating that talent effectively and accurately is a must.

There are all kinds of books in the stores on how to hire the right people. How to pick the right person for your company. Finding the qualities of successful leaders. Don't buy into the fads. In the end there are three qualities that distinguish good hires. Mike Myatt over at n2growth says it well as does Jack Yoest at Small Business Trends and so does BusinessPundit. Hiring for character, integrity, and honesty will always serve you well. It is these three qualities that breed loyalty to you and your company if you treat them right. It is these qualities that will make a person do everything they can to help your business succeed. These are the qualities you should want and hire for in every staffing decision you make.

It's often hard to know how a decision is going to turn out in the long run. Do what you can to give yourself the best chane at success.


Technorati Tags: hiring, talent, integrity, staffing

Entrepreneurial America

Small business is the backbone of America. Economic growth depends on new businesses and small businesses. Sometimes it can be scary to hear the success rate statistics or about the flash in the pan businesses. A lot of people that would like to break away from the corporate world decide not to because they hear that only 20% of businesses survive past 4 years.

Fear not though. According to many recent studies most small businesses actually make it past the four year mark. 50% according to some studies. If ever there was a time to break out on your own and ride that idea that has been sitting in the back of your head it is now. Most people have that one idea that they think could be their key to independence and financial security. Deciding to actually break out and execute it is the hardest part. Leaving a secure job and pay check is a scary thing to do.

Fortunately, it has never been easier to find assistance in starting up your business. Venture capital companies seem to be everywhere giving out money to all kinds of new businesses. Small business loans are fairly easy to get for the common entrepreneur. Consulting companies are around to help you plan out every aspect of your business you don't have the know how to set up perfectly yourself. Consulting companies specializing in every aspect of business exist: Real estate, management, recruiting, logistics, inventory, workplace, business strategy, strategic assessments, site selection, etc. The list is as long as your imagination.

Unfortunately it is nearly impossible to find a consulting company that specializes in everything you are looking for. Who wants to bring in five different companies to help them. Life would just become more complicated than if you tried to figure everything out yourself. Those people that pull the trigger and start their business go out and get their financial backing, find a real estate broker and start getting everything lined up. All the ducks seem to be in a row, but are you sure you aren't missing anything?

Integrated Strategies works with real estate brokers. Our job is to help those brokers' clients be in the best position to succeed long-term. Our goal is to create partnerships with businesses so that we can help each other over the long-term. We see our role as that of client advocate, setting up everything necessary. We can set you up with procurement strategies with the vendors you will need on an everyday basis. We have the capabilities to manage your facilities or assist with your asset tracking. We have the tools to implement, design, or manage any physical work you need completed. And we aren't outsourcing any of that work, it's all done in house so you can meet, know and have that single point of accountability for the entire aspect of your business that you need help with.

America has become a small business, service economy. Specialization is the key to success anymore. Specialize what you do well at and we'll help you with the rest.


Technorati Tags: consulting, entrepreneur, small business

Employee Driven Change

Where does your company stand in the business pecking order? Businesses know their competition within their industry inside and out. They know who they compete with for customers and who they are consistently bidding with or against. An overlooked aspect of business is who the labor competition is or brand competition. Small businesses aren't just competing against their competitors for employees, but against related industries, large multi-focused companies and the potential of starting up a new business.

One of the ways that our company guards against these is by providing a way for new employees to maintain their own entrepreneurial interests and activities within the context of our business. I've mentioned our innovation process before and it is really the driving philosophy behind our success. We bring in the services of small businesses that we work with a lot to improve the capabilities of both parties. Our most successful employees are the ones that treat the business as if it is their own and tailor our offerings the way that works the best for them.

I work a lot with about four or five different sales people and not one of them uses my services the same way. Each one of them has their own version of our main presentations with their own flavors introduced. Each one has their own way of making sales presentations and their own version of proposals that are all written within the context of the overall business goals. This constantly drives each person to pull the best from each of their coworkers and create new service lines.

How does your business deal with alliances, partnerships and competition? Are your employees motivated to evolve their methods to improve the way your business is run?
Change always comes from within. It will happen naturally if the proper motivations and people are in place. Competition is the driver that shows you what you need to be doing, the direction you need to go. Do you embrace it and adapt or fight and try to do things the way that you have always done them? The answer to that question is the difference between a growing business and a dying one. Look at the RIAA and MPAA with their current business strategy. They are doing everything possible to protect the way they have done things.

Don't be like them. Embrace your competition, even the competitors that bring an entirely new model to the table that is seemingly makes yours out dated. Keep pushing forward and you will continue to succeed.


Technorati Tags: innovation, consulting, entrepreneur, riaa, consulting

HR Departments and Business Growth

Having a structure relevant to your company's culture is an important requirement to running a healthy business. Putting the correct people and departments in charge of appropriate tasks is a critical decision. Unfortunately, many HR departments have become the owners of job descriptions, workplace setup, technology rules, job interviews, on and on. Departments need to have the ability to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities without artificial constraints placed on them by a group that does not understand how they do business.

I was at a job fair last week recruiting for Supply Chain and Logistics job candidates. We had a nice simple table without the flashy give aways or expensive signs unlike the company across from us that had their own table covering, large sign, and about six different types of give aways. Students would walk up to their table, hand over their resume, and promptly be directed to a hiring website. No information about what they would be doing, what kind of jobs were available or how they would be helped to grow. The people manning that table turned out to be from HR. Contrast that with our table where we had a ten or more minute conversation with every student who walked up. We were evaluating each one not on their resume but on their personality, intelligence, and potential to fit into our company. Who do you think will be finding the best new employees? Which company do you think those students want to work for more?

When a group ends up controlling the tasks of another department, it is not always because they took over. Most likely it is because the department ran out of time to do it themselves. Recruiting students was considered a lower priority than the work currently on their desks. Decisions like this cost money in the long term, especially if you are a small business. Having the right people on staff increases productivity, decreases stress and decreases turnover (both voluntary and involuntary). Remember that an organizational structure isn't just the departments and people, it is also the roles and responsibilities for each of those departments and people.

HR departments play a critical role for businesses, there is no way to deny that. Their role in your business should be constantly evaluated to make sure they are promoting innovation and business growth and not hampering it.


Technorati Tags: org chart, hr, consulting, workplace

Environmental Marketing Gone Crazy

This is a follow up to our LEED posting with an article from Environmental Leader. Apparently Sun Microsystems is of the opinion that "Double Carbon Neutral" companies are on the horizon. Companies so "dedicated" to helping the environment that not only do they completely offset their footprint, but they offset it a second time as well are not adding real value along the way. This just goes to show that many environmental programs are no longer about the environment, they are simply marketing strategies.

I'm a fan of helping the environment. I believe that every company should be working to reduce their carbon footprint and impact on the environment within the framework of their business. Sun is doing it precisely the way I believe is most appropriate: looking at their areas where they are most deficient, putting together a business case and budget for improvement and then putting the improvement into place. Humans will never be carbon neutral creatures, especially with the way technology operates today.

Being carbon neutral is a noble goal if approached for the appropriate reasons. Marketing can be a good reason for it, but we have to be careful that a distinction is made between companies in it for the marketing and companies in it for the environment. Any company that wants to could scrounge up funds to purchase enough carbon offsets to make them carbon neutral as many times over as they care to. Is that company really any better than a Sun Mircosystems that isn't carbon neutral but is working towards it organically?


Technorati Tags: LEED, environment, sun, carbon neutral

Strategic Facilities and Operations Assessment

Aging infrastructure and stale business practices can weigh down a company's operating flexibility. More than just a tactile look at what is going on, a company needs to look at the way they are doing business and validate that the core assumptions they are operating under still apply. A building built in 1920 could be fine for some companies but completely inappropriate for another, even a competitor. It comes down to the principles that are grounding your business.

Any assessment should start in the boardroom with the executives. Brush off the mission statement and business plan and see if they are still applicable to the way things are truly running in the day to day operations. Compare it to the competitors and see if it could relate to any of the competitors business plans. If there is any misalignment, sit down and figure out why things are no longer the same. Rewrite the business plan and mission statement if necessary. Make sure that these get distributed through the layers of your company; your people need to know how things should be done and that their executives are staying ahead of the curve.

Next, evaluate the organizational structure to make sure that is supports the business. Often times groups will spring up out of momentary business requirements and never disappear when those requirements change or go away. A good organizational structure will have a clear role for every group. It will also be apparent how the groups will interact and support each other. Organizational structures and the related Org Charts should not be considered fixed entities. As business changes and evolves these need to change and evolve with it. The organization as a whole is simply the chosen method for executing all requirements for performing business functions.

With the business plan and org chart in place, take a look at the facilities and infrastructure. The environment where work is performed is as important as the actual plans. If you have created places where no one wants to work or your employees can't be productive evaluate ways to resolve the situation.

We were working with a client on assessing their facilities two months ago and they were trying to figure out why their work force was older than their competitors and why they couldn't retain young employees. Their problem was entirely related to their space. They had 1970s style workspaces and cubicles, their buildings were former military grade construction (almost no light or design elements), and their technology was completely out of date. Some employees were still using 15 year old beige analog telephones! Older employees didn't mind the setup because it was the environment they had come up in, but young employees essentially refused to work there. Fortunately their lease was nearly up and moving to a new space with new furniture was an option.

The last step of the assessment, after all the changes have been made and communicated, is to put in procedures to create continual improvement. This is not related to six sigma, this is reevaluation. Over the course of a year after all these changes have been made, you will probably notice reduced operating costs through reduced turnover, higher margins and increased productivity. Without continual improvement these costs will begin to increase again until it is necessary to perform a full assessment again. The cost of making all the changes necessary for realignment is not insignificant but they typically pay for themselves in a relatively short time frame.


Technorati Tags: facilities, assessment, org chart, consulting, operations

Green Design and LEED

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) seems to be the coming trend for quite a few businesses. Some companies seem to just be jumping on the bandwagon so they don't get left behind, some are using it as a marketing play and then some see it as their part toward being environmentally friendly. The LEED Certification process is a valuable tool to gaining recognition of your achievement. Fundamentally it is a marketing tool though. Why worry about meeting a LEED standard if the marketing bonus has no value to your business. The important question you must ask yourself as a company is why you are looking for a LEED build-out.

It is easy to find reports and research saying that the cost of building LEED is no more expensive than traditional construction. This is true for ground up buildings. For Interior fit-outs or renovations (the vast majority of projects) this is far from the truth. Due to the overall scale and budget of these projects it is near impossible for the added certification and validation costs to blend into the budget background or be factored out by other design changes. Putting the extra cost down as a marketing expense is the easiest way to justify a LEED project. Almost all other methods lead to the extra expense being non-justified.

The popular environmental news magazines and stories have companies believing that cannot be green without being LEED. This is the farthest thing from the truth. Utility companies and large manufacturers are the clearest example of this. These companies are constantly striving to do their part for the environment through small and big initiatives. Whether it is capturing vent stack CO2 for oil recovery or offering green electricity generation or discounts for cutting your power consumption they are making an impact without the LEED program.

If you decide like most companies to not go LEED, now you must ask yourself: what can I do to help the environment while helping my business? The answers to that question are much easier than most people think. Some solutions are as simple as changing out all the light fixtures in your building to be more energy efficient (the payback is quicker than you would think at 1 1/2 to 4 years). Some solutions are more complicated involving grey water capture for irrigation systems and low flush toilets. It all depends on the payback period that your company requires for investments of this type and taking the time to look at all the costs.

One of the easiest ways to evaluate green systems for your building is to work with a consulting company. Our company is currently applying green systems to every project that we're involved in including environmentally friendly carpet, low VOC paints, energy efficient lighting, and wall systems instead of drywall. Every project and geographic area will have different variations on what is allowed by code, but there is a lot of room to be environmentally sensitive without blowing the budget and actually securing on going cost savings.

Being environmentally aware as a business is a critical challenge for every company large and small. Over both short and long term it can have significant impact on your business. Companies that are not environmentally friendly are going to have a hard time growing in many markets and will be spending more on their infrastructure and operating costs than competitors. LEED is a good way to go about achieving the green goal, but it is definitely not the only way and usually not the best way.


Technorati Tags: green, LEED, design

Generation Y is Putting Its Foot Down

Every other week there seems to be a new story about how Generation Y is disrupting the way that business has been done over the past few generations. They won't work 60 hours, they don't want to be stuck in a cubicle with their head down, they enjoy shiny new gadgets, and they have no loyalty to their new company. Somehow most of the articles that come out make this seem like a bad thing. They make it seem like Gen Y needs to make themselves fit into the square hole that is corporate culture.

Nevermind that Google and others like them having taken the Gen Y philosophy and turned it into a successful, profitable business model. Please ignore the fact that the companies making the most headlines have no loyalty to their employees. Definitely don't notice that the top companies in the world deploy the latest technology to their advantage. These Gen Y'ers need to get with the program and do things the way we've always done them!

Lets step back for a second and reevaluate the situation. Shouldn't companies be taking advantage of the capabilities of these new employees? Just because a job description says one thing, why isn't there flexibility to change it if an applicant has the ability to exceed the words on the paper? One of the biggest problems that keeps Generation Y from forcing evolution in the workplace is the HR department and its role in corporate procedures and policies. Another is the lack of communication that occurs in the workplace between the various generations. Currently there are three generations predominately in the workforce including the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y.

Generation X had a profound influence on the workplace when they arrived. Suddenly offices were forced to loosen up the ties and refocus. There was not a drastic change in when or where work was done, but in how it was done. Now Generation Y is hitting the workforce with their desires for flexible hours, telecommuting, and thirst for technology. Not only that, but Generation Y believes they should advance right to the top of the companies? That's a debate for another day, but there is validity behind the rest of their changes. As if that wasn't enough, Gen Y is pushing for businesses to take notice of non-traditional issues such as the environment and social consciousness.

Each and every business in the world is going to have to stand up and take notice of this new workplace revolution. The question is whether they use it to their advantage or fight against it.


Technorati Tags: Gen Y, Workplace, Millenials

The Power of Technology

Technology can provide a powerful way to differentiate your company. Whether it is your ability to use technology to lower your costs, improve your service or increase your visibility, technology should be on your radar. The cost of implementing different forms of technology has decreased in terms of cost and ease of execution. A few years ago it took an expert to start up a blog. Now all it takes is a few seconds and the ability to type. With free blogging services the cost is nothing either. The same is true of user forums and wikis (such as wikipedia).

Every company is different in how they would be able to use technology, but there is no one who can't benefit from some use it. The benefits are there for anyone to see: improved communication, quicker customer feedback, active community involvement in design, etc. Technology is not a cure all for every company though. Some business cultures just cannot support it because employees are scared of it or customers don't need it or their IT rules are too strict to allow it. It is these companies that need to look at alternative deployment methods.

For companies that have scared employees, start a grassroots movement until it gains traction. Start a program to roll it out to interested employees and develop a history of use. Prove its benefits and eventually everyone will buy in. This applies particularly to the newspaper industry. For decades they have had a very successful and profitable business model. Over the past five to ten years that model has begun to fail with panic spreading across the industry and many insiders becoming technology-phobic. However it is the companies that have strong technology models that are having the most success.

For companies with customers that aren't technology savvy, begin training them in the ways it can be used to their advantage. Also, branch out and begin drawing in new customers using technology. The wine industry had been very anti-technology until just very recently. Australian wine companies discovered that technology could be used to produce inexpensive, superior tasting wines. Others in the industry now have to try and catch up.

For companies that have strict IT policies preventing new technologies, it may be time to reevaluate why those policies are in place. Often those policies came about through fear of the unknown or were reactions to stories in newspapers and magazines. Different companies require different security policies and often require multiple policies depending on the group or customer involved. Just because one group or customer needs the highest level of security and policies does not mean it should apply across the board.

Technology should be part of your core business model. Even though it is changing at a seemingly daily rate you should be willing to embrace it and put it to work for you. Be wary that it does not leave you behind in the changes though. It is not a one time investment and then forget about it. It is a long-term investment of time and energy, but it will pay off in the end.


Technorati Tags: it, technology, consulting