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Good morning. My three boy's ages six, six, and four, all got lacrosse sticks for Christmas this year.  They were immediately disappointed when they realized that catching and throwing were much more complicated than they thought it would be.  I challenged them to each catch ten passes per day, per hand, for 30 days in a row so they could see how consistent practice would lead to progress.

On the first day, they were excited by the challenge.

By day three, I had to bug them to practice.

On day 12, our house had the flu, and they were bugging me to practice with them.

Yesterday, day 24, was the first day they each caught ten passes in a row with their dominant hands without dropping the ball.

It's been an excellent reminder for me of the impact that a consistent five minutes per day can have over time.

Elevate your operation

The Communication Roadmap to better engagement

As leaders, our most significant opportunity for success comes from cultivating trust within our teams. 

Trust comes from consistent and authentic communication channels that produce consistent follow-up.

If you're hearing this feedback or having these challenges, your communication roadmap is broken or non-existent.

"We can't keep positions filled fast enough to keep up with turnover."

"Leadership knows the issues, but no one is addressing them."

"____ doesn't care," or "____ doesn't listen."

"I don't trust my manager."

"We never have enough staff here."

"I see them every day; we don't need to have a scheduled 1:1."

The communication roadmap is often left up to the leader's preference instead of crafted to an organization's expectation.  An inconsistent approach leads to unpredictable results. 

A culture-enhancing Communication Roadmap includes a daily, weekly, and monthly approach to employee communication.  Here is an example of a roadmap you can adopt and make your own.

Daily Shift Huddles are held with managers and their direct reports to discuss daily priorities and community updates. Most importantly, they ask and document the feedback to the question, "What do you need to do your job better?"  The huddle should be held consistently on each shift and follow the same cadence daily.  Feedback on team needs, whether accommodated or not, should be recorded.  Huddles with night shift teams should be held at least monthly.

Weekly 1:1's are held with all direct reports.  Leaders with multiple (8+) direct reports may be better suited for bi-weekly 1:1's.  Leaders with 12+ direct reports can have reoccurring open office times where team members can sign up for a 1:1 on their shift.

On a weekly basis, the shift huddle is expanded to include the feedback from the team and our follow-up to the question, "What do you need to do your job better?"  Anything that cannot be resolved within a week is updated weekly until complete.

I.e.

Need: Our lift is broken.  Response: The repair company will be here Friday to replace the motor.  Thank you for bringing it to our attention.

Need: We need more people.  Response:  We have a robust plan to increase our pipeline to get our vacancy rate down to 7% within the next 30 days.  We will provide you with weekly updates until we get to 7%.  Here is how you can help us in achieving that goal...

Consistent communication and follow-up is the greatest thing you can do to build trust and confidence.

Monthly Town Halls with leadership and all departments to discuss organizational priorities and progress toward goals.  Town halls are an excellent opportunity to communicate high-level occupancy, financial, and regulatory results with all levels of the organization.

The most important part of a communication roadmap is that you have one.  Only then can you learn from it and improve it over time.

"Often bumpy roads lead to beautiful places."

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