Well Connected Employee Networking package

The Well-Connected Employee: Networking Competencies That Foster Engagement, Collaboration, & Business Results February 7, 2018

Overview: In a survey of 2000 employees from many different organizations, only 20% said, “Yes, I have the network I need to get the job done.” Unconnected employees hurt your business when they fail to see the big picture, don’t’ know how to uncork bureaucratic bottlenecks, and don’t contribute to enterprise-wide results.

In this webinar, you’ll explore The 8 Networking Competencies that are needed by almost everyone, in almost every job type, at almost every level and are survival skills for The Network-Oriented Workplace (The NOW). These skills are learned over time, not overnight. And we’ll look at how to design an enterprise-wide strategy that supports the growth of employee social acumen to build the organization’s social capital and fuel future growth.

Participants Will Learn      

Who are the Unconnected?

4 ways the Unconnected hurt your business Why create an enterprise-wide strategy for boosting social acumen?

3 reasons organizations have been slow to harness the power of social capital What are The 8 Networking Competencies?

3 Case Studies: Getting the job done, collaborating cross-functionally, and attracting new clients 1

Presenter

Lynne Waymon Lynne Waymon is an internationally recognized expert on networking and business development and the co-author of Strategic Connections: The New Face of Networking in a Collaborative World (AMACOM, NY, 2015) and Make Your Contacts Count (NY, 2nd Edition, American Management Association). In keynotes and training programs she gives professionals in corporate, association, university, and government audiences, as well as people in professional services firms, practical strategies for getting things done through networking, collaboration, and alliance building. Her strategies, in print and in person, are recognized as state-of-the-art.

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02/01/2018

The Well-Connected Employee: Networking Competencies that Foster Engagement, Social Acumen, and Business Results

Lynne Waymon CEO, Contacts Count LLC Newtown, PA

Today’s Agenda • Who are the Unconnected?

• 4 ways the Unconnected hurt your business • Why create an enterprise-wide strategy for boosting social acumen?

• 3 reasons organizations have been slow to harness the power of social capital • What are The 8 Networking Competencies?

• 3 Case Studies: Getting the job done, collaborating cross-functionally, and attracting new clients

Polling Question What’s your organization’s attitude toward networking? (Please choose one.)

1. Unaware – It’s not recognized as a professional competency.

2. Discouraging – It’s viewed as self-serving and with some suspicion; a time-waster.

3. Encouraging – It’s openly supported.

4. Mandatory – We have systems in place to require it, teach it, and track the results.

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Who Are The Unconnected?

People who say, “I feel shy & uncomfortable in business & social settings.”

Who Are The Unconnected?

People who gravitate toward the “quiet” careers.

Who Are The Unconnected?

People who are technologically savvy

but less comfortable with face-to-face.

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02/01/2018

Who Are The Unconnected?

People who need much more robust, diverse networks to lead and manage, or contribute to business development.

Who Are The Unconnected?

People who haven’t realized that strategic networking is a “must-have” tool that boosts organizational outcomes.

4 Ways Unconnected Employees Hurt Your Business

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They Don’t Gather & Share Info

They Don’t Tune Into The Big Picture

They Don’t Work Across Boundaries

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They Turn People Off Unconnected employees make unsuccessful managers & team mates.

Why create a strategy for developing social capital?

Successful managers network 70% more than their less successful counterparts.

(Academy of Management Journal)

Why create a strategy for developing social capital?

Employees with vast digital networks are 7% more productive;

BUT employees with rich personal networks are 30% more productive (Alex Pentland, HBR)

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Why create a strategy?

People with a friend at work are 7 times more likely to stay.

(Gallup Poll)

Why create a strategy?

The formal structures of organizations . . . don’t explain how most of their real day-to-day work gets done

(The McKinsey Quarterly)

Why create a strategy?

In a survey of 2,000 employees from many different organizations, only 20% said, “Yes, I have the network I need to get the job done.”

(Contacts LLC)

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3 Misconceptions 1. “Networking is a skill that can’t be taught.”

Another misconception 2.) “People are already well-connected - - look at all the technology they have!”

Another misconception 3.) “We’ve already told them loud and clear to network.”

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Q&A

In Summary “Executives who rank in the top 20% of their companies have  diverse but select networks,  made up of high-quality relationships,  with people who come from several different spheres  from up and down the corporate hierarchy.”

(Harvard Business Review, Cross and Thomas, July 2011)

Mapping The Territory

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8 Competencies for the Network-Oriented Workplace

TM

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Commit to a Networker Identity Appreciate how personality & mindset affect ability to build relationships.

Be able to • Adopt leading-edge beliefs about the critical role of networking in the marketplace • Identify personal style • Clarify attitudes toward networking • Use 3 principles as a guide: reframe networking, risk reaching out, & reinforce the collaborative culture • Capitalize on the strengths of introverts and extroverts • Make the connection between mindset & body language

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Take a Strategic Approach Align networking activities with organizational initiatives. Use networks to accomplish specific goals. Choose optimum venues.

Envision the Ideal Network Identify WorkNet, OrgNet, ProNet, & LifeNet contacts.

Capitalize on opportunities & build network capacity.

Be able to

Develop Trusting Relationships View relationship development in 6 stages & manage the trustbuilding process by teaching Character & Competence.

Be able to

Be able to

• Know what you need now from contacts: Plan Agendas

•

Correctly locate any contact in the appropriate Net

•

Use criteria to determine the stage of any relationship

• Tie networking to strategic objectives (job-specific & enterprise-wide)

•

Map WorkNet & OrgNet contacts Use criteria to evaluate relationships and sort them into Start, Rev Up, & Enrich categories

•

Survey & evaluate options to demonstrate Character & Competence

•

Decide what to teach & learn when more of a relationship would serve goals

Plan next-step conversations. Leverage opportunities from one Net to another.

•

Think through risk & value of any next step

•

Know how trust is broken and how to re-establish it

•

• Initiate, recognize, & maximize ChoicePoints • Manage participation in internal and external networks

•

• Identify & mobilize contacts into KeyNets for specific purposes • Use a 7-step process for asking for referrals

•

Activate KeyNets

•

Proactively reach out to build network capacity.

8 Competencies for the Network-Oriented Workplace

TM

5 Increase Social Acumen Be more confident, & professional by mastering relationship rituals and understanding the elements of likeability.

Be able to • Make your name memorable & learn names using specific techniques.

• Deal with forgotten names.

• Easily join groups of people who are already talking.

• Use specific methods to end conversations with the future in mind.

• Apply tools & behaviors that increase the likelihood of likeability • Handle awkward moments

6 Deepen Interactions Spark rich conversation to build & sustain relationships.

Be able to • Listen generously with a bias toward action.

• Show an active interest in the needs and perspectives of others • Ask questions designed to learn about others • Use questions to uncover needs & commonalities • Explore “iceberg” statements • Look for “The Give” • Re-connect, follow through, and stay in touch

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Communicate Expertise

Create New Value

Use examples & stories to teach contacts about organizational, team or individual expertise, talents, experience, & interests.

Employ networking tools & strategies to contribute to organizational success.

Be able to

Be able to

• Answer, “What do you do?” in a way that makes expertise visible & memorable.

• Commit to collaborative problemsolving

• Call to mind, identify, & tell about events & successes that teach organizational, team, or individual capabilities • Use guidelines to construct & edit stories that highlight what you want to teach • Recognize storytelling opportunities • Deliver stories in a way that increases personal & organizational visibility.

• Connect people & give access to resources, talent, & expertise • Be known for the BringBack you gather & distribute to colleagues • Use face-to-face networking skills with social media • Build a diverse network (gender, age, race, rank, function, geography, & culture) • Mentor others & model what you want to encourage

3 Case Studies

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A High-Tech Company

A Government Agency

A Healthcare Firm’s Client Development Team

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Which stakeholders will YOU collaborate with?

People who manage training programs for • • • • • • • •

Orientation Leadership development Employee and career development Employee communications Diversity/ERG initiatives Mentoring IT/ Social networking software Internal retreats, special conferences, sales meetings, & webinars

Polling Question: Who Would Benefit The Most?

Which populations in your organization could impact the top line the most if they improved their networking skills? (Choose up to two) • Leaders and Managers?

• New Hires?

• Sales/business development professionals?

• Diversity Group Members?

• People working remotely • People or in “behind the scenes” or “quiet” jobs (finance, IT, engineering, research, etc.)?

Improved Networking Competency Means Employees Gain access to private information found nowhere else

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Networking Means Employees

Tap into the diverse skill-sets they need to get the job done

Networking Means Employees

Have the power and influence of a “go-to� person

The NOW is here Create a Network-Oriented WorkplaceTM that impacts the bottom line.

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Resources for you See our website for: • The Networking Competency Assessment which measures skill in The 8 Competencies.

• Train-the-Trainer Programs • Keynotes, Workshops, and Webinars • Sign up for the CC Newsletter (10 times per year) • Our article on How the Unconnected Employee Hurts Your Business (from ATD’s T & D Magazine)

Thanks for coming!

Lynne Waymon, CEO Contacts Count LLC 301-589-8633 in the Philadelphia, PA area and Certified Trainers all over the US & in Australia

LWaymon@ContactsCount.com www.ContactsCount.com (C) Lynne Waymon, Newtown, PA

Q&A

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02/01/2018

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Youngest Workers Need This Posted by HRDQ-UCorporate Training Materials, HR TrainingNo Comments written by Lynne Waymon

A sense of community at work. Yet, according to researcher Sara Konrath, they haven’t yet developed the skills that will help them build lasting relationships. She reports “. . . a 40% drop in empathy among college students in the past 20 years, as measured by standard psychological tests.”

What’s the evidence?

Konrath is with the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. She collated data on this from 72 studies. She attributes the decline in empathy to young people being so digitallyoriented that they haven’t developed experience in building face-to-face relationships.

“Taking on another person’s thoughts and identifying with their emotions are two habits at the core of empathy. Empathy is a delicate cocktail, blending assorted elements of inborn aptitude, social conditioning, personal history, and practice and motivation. The ability to empathize is like a muscle – it’s capable of growth.”

What does that mean for people in Training & Development?

That “soft skills,” often relegated to last place in the training calendar (and budget!) must come front and center. It means that teaching practical relationship building skills can have a positive effect on your employee engagement scores and productivity.

Can people really be taught to empathize, engage, connect?

Yes. We’ve seen it happen with our clients, whose employees are in many different functional roles. Relationships don’t just happen. The ability to trust, engage in give and take, appreciate each other, celebrate and commiserate together, ask good questions, listen, collaborate, and express liking and be likable . . . are all LEARNED skills.

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What’s the next step?

Review your programs in Orientation, Mentoring, Diversity, Leadership, Business Development, and Professional Development. Do they include the practical, how-to’s for connecting, conversing, and collaborating? If so, congratulations! If not, how can you include them?

Lynne Waymon is a co-founder and principal at Contacts Count LLC, the international training firm that specializes in teaching business and professional networking skills. The firm’s clients during the last 25 years range from CPA firms to banks, from engineers to HR professionals, and from attorneys to Fortune 100 companies.

Contacts Count’s training programs, keynotes, webinars, and train-the-trainer events help people put the tools of networking to work in the service of business goals. Their Networking Competency Assessment measures skill in 8 competency areas. Their newest book, Strategic Connections: The New Face of Networking in a Collaborative World is available in bulk from the publisher and by single copy at Amazon.com.

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