Are you just training them OR are you developing a culture?

There is an enormous difference between training the people in your organization and actually developing a culture within your organization!

Training simply formulates the process from A to Z. But if ALL employees don’t understand the entire picture, you are doomed for failure!

While building a culture…..well…that takes a lot of time and effort from ALL of the people within your company! From the President on down, EVERYONE must be included in this journey!

Instead of just training your people on the processes, you have to begin formulating the culture in which your company will live and breathe!

Here are some thought starters on where to begin;

Does your company have a crystal clear vision on where it is going? AND….do ALL of the employees thoroughly understand it?

Do the leaders within the Company work in harmony toward that vision?

Is there open and honest communication between EVERYONE as to successes and failures?

Do ALL employees thoroughly understand their role and what is required of them in the Company?

Does your Company have an “attitude of gratitude” toward your customers?

Does you Company have an “attitude of gratitude” toward your employees?

Do ALL employees understand how other departments actually work and what the other departments “roles” are?

Do you provide constant feedback and metrics on how well your company is performing?

Are you providing positive motivation and inspiration every single minute of the day?

Are you developing your employees to see that they must take an active part in developing themselves?

Are your leaders actually on the front lines setting the pace or are they emanating orders from the “ivory tower”??

Are your employees publicly praised for their successes and privately counseled on their failures?

You can simply teach anyone a process.

You can train them all you want.

You can train them every day.

BUT…until you develop a “true culture” within your organization, you will fall directly on your face.

The old saying goes…..”Either you are part of the problem or part of the solution”….

By building a solid culture within your organization, you are destined for great things!!!

More customers will want to do business with you and you will have a steady stream of great people wanting to come to work in your environment!

About the Author: With 30 years in the retail Automotive Industry, from a Salesperson to a Dealer, I have a vast amount of experience in all areas of the automotive environment.

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Comment by Tony Provost on September 7, 2011 at 11:41am: Jim- This is a true testament to your experience! You show all the qualities to land a HUGE job, on the retail side of this business. Keep it up!!

Comment by Pete Grimm on September 7, 2011 at 10:31am: You continue to come up with great posts, Jim. Instilling culture, guiding principles, a mission, attitudes, philosophy, that's the leader's job. We can prepare for the majority of interaction with customers with procedural training, but the true measure of an organization is how everyone reacts the 10% of the time interactions don't travel down anticipated paths. At those times, the organizations culture and guiding principles come to the fore. The dealer doesn't want all those interactions kicked upstairs. The more they can be handled immediately and confidently because of a solid business culture, the better.

Cheers,

Pete

Comment by Jim Kristoff on September 7, 2011 at 10:02am: Thanks Richard!

A great leader can build this culture through trust and communication.

Comment by Jim Kristoff on September 7, 2011 at 10:00am: Thanks Stephanie!

It takes time to build this kind of environment....it won't happen overnight!!

Comment by Jim Kristoff on September 7, 2011 at 9:59am: Thank you Bobby!

It is true that you can feel what culture is going on in a store when you walk in!!

Sometimes there is so much tension you can cut it with a knife!!

Comment by Richard Jungkuntz on September 7, 2011 at 9:58am: Changing culture is really tough! After reading this i realized i answered NO to a few of the questions..Great Post!

Comment by Stephanie Young on September 7, 2011 at 9:57am: I like the questions to check in on whether you are hitting the mark or not. Great check up!!! Creating a culture in which training is just another part of the infrastructure does take effort and time to build, but the long term results go beyond just providing knowledge. If your culture is to develop people instead of hand them reading materials or videos to watch, you start to foster an environment in which everyone has a stake in the game and starts to inspire each other. Great post, Jim!!!!