Small Business Will Regain Consumers' Trust

FRESNO, Calif -- FRESNO, Calif. - Ponzi schemes, bank and auto-industry bailouts and exorbitant Wall Street salaries have diminished the public's trust in corporate America to new lows - but examples of integrity can be found among local businesses.

That was the message the president of the Council of Better Business Bureaus brought to Visalia, Calif., on Wednesday. "You don't have to look very far to recognize we are in a trust deficit," said Steve Cox, president of the organization that represents the nation's better business bureaus. "It is lower now than it was at the time of the Enron scandal and dot-com crash."

In an interview before his speech at the annual Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics in Visalia, Cox said the distrust is reflected in a boost in calls for service at 110 better business bureaus in the United States and 14 in Canada.

Cox said the number of people who file complaints against a business, access reliability reports online or make other calls for service climbed from 100 million nationwide in 2006 to about 130 million in 2009. "You can spend five minutes watching 'Headline News' and scan headlines and see any number of issues that cause you to be cynical to business," Cox said.

As evidence, he cites the 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer, which has been ranking public trust globally for a decade. Only 38 percent of 25- to 64-year-olds surveyed in 20 nations trust corporations to do the right thing. In 2008, it was 58 percent. Corporations must put customer focus and trust at the forefront of their efforts, Cox said.

"Trust is manifested day-by-day by the front-line employees," he said. "Businesses have to deliver on their promises and do what they say they are going to do. Act quickly, be transparent and be fair in resolving the issue."

The Torch Awards are presented annually by the Central Valley chapter of the BBB to businesses with strong ethical policies. Willey Tile of Fresno and the temporary-employment agency Spherion were honored.

In Visalia, Cox honored two businesses that officials with the Better Business Bureau Serving Central California selected as worthy. Willey Tile was selected because it has a 30-year history of strong customer service, said Vickie Sanders, assistant director of business services at the bureau. "If you don't stand behind your work, you won't have customers," Sanders said.

The local franchise of Spherion was selected in part because of its dispute-resolution policy. The business will mediate any problems that arise between businesses and temporary employees.

"It all goes back to their standards for their management practices," Sanders said.

Innovation Training & Coaching - Overlooked?

by Robert F. Brands of Brands & Company...

Smart companies often pride themselves on training programs that introduce or enhance employees' knowledge of corporate business practices. They promote mentoring initiatives that pair seasoned execs with rising talent. They create booklets or PDFs on corporate policy - and implore staff to read them.But introduce a business innovation initiative, and those involved are expected to just know how things are done.

They're supposed to possess some innate awareness of the concepts, the best practices, the goals, milestones and targeted end-game.It doesn't work that way.Innovation is a learned concept. Training and coaching is the forgotten imperative in the process of innovation. For best practices in the pursuit of innovation have to be shared to be learned - and mastered.

From the Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) to the innovation team to rank-and-file employees who will implement, follow through or carry forth on the fruits of innovation, people don't just know. They're taught.Organizations whose teams are not trained and coached in its unique approach to the imperatives of innovation are destined to amass a litany of failed projects.

For example, a major multinational launched a new Innovation initiative with the hopes of turn-around renewed profitability and growth. After much initial excitement and visibility, expected results did not materialize - and in the turn-around world, false starts are more costly for an organization than starts or restarts.What happened?

The team involved basic project management training. After a course of such training and coaching, associates had gained a common language and understanding. Progress was realized, and the company today remains on a growth path.Training and coaching is vital to transmitting the organization's unique approach to innovation - and ensuring people adhere to its practices. Proper hiring, training and coaching is the way to create, reinforce and enhance company culture and mindset.

At its root, training and coaching introduces people to the organization's vision, mission, strategy and objectives, and points everyone's compass toward True North.Training and coaching should cover the lot - from the unique way ideation is treated, to the unique way ideas are cataloged and approached; teams are inspired, formed and managed; risk is assessed; new product development is explored; ownership is encouraged; value is created; accountability is attached; metrics are observed and measured; net results are rewarded; and yes, how teams are trained and coached.

Training and coaching is developed and delivered on a continuum. No sooner are existing policies and best practices discussed, then new procedures are introduced to further the organization's pursuit of innovation.Continuity is the key. Training helps your team constantly improve its skill set, through new techniques in ideation, process experience and intra-organizational communication of best practices.

Ongoing reinforcement helps employees understand their place and aspire to greatness on the New Product Development team (whether that "product" is a product, a service or an internal practice). This goes beyond the team. Trainers and coaches need continuous training and coaching, as well. Even the CIO at times requires training and coaching on evolving corporate innovation practices.

Alas, training and coaching often is lost or last as companies often believe they have little time and money to fund these efforts. Best of breed companies have earmarked a dedicated budget to training and coaching.Why? Because they realize the downside of not training - and retraining - their people in the process of innovation is to be mired in mediocrity.