![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2021\/02\/ronnie_altit_insentra.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n\nThe analogy that we run through the business is that Insentra is like a steam train. A steam train with rocket propulsion units on the back. So, it\u2019s flying along the tracks and I\u2019m the guy who\u2019s at the front of the train. I\u2019m the guy who drives the train. As the guy who drives the train, what I do is decide which way the train\u2019s going to go \u2013 which track we go down, how fast we go, do I put the train on a hill i.e. do we get busy or do I pace the train and allow it to coast for a little while. Sometimes it\u2019s like you know what, let\u2019s take our foot off the accelerator for a bit and slow it down and just enjoy the ride down the hill. You know, they\u2019re the sorts of decisions I make as the guy who\u2019s leading the train in terms of where we are going.<\/p>\n
Of course, I don\u2019t make all these decisions myself \u2013 I rely on the train\u2019s workers to provide input and direction but ultimately, someone needs to make a decision. The thing about it though is that you don\u2019t want to get on a train if you don\u2019t know what the destination is right? Nobody wants to work on a train that\u2019s not a great, fun place to work as well.<\/p>\n
We have passengers that get on the train and they\u2019re our clients and we have workers on the train \u2013 all of us here at Insentra. When we get the clients on the train we want to create a certain experience. To be effective, we need to make sure everyone working on the train has the right experience. If the workers on the train are doing what they love in the company of people who love what they do, they will exude this to our passengers.<\/p>\n
Remember I said it is a steam train? To makes a steam train run you need to shovel coal into the engines and in our train, we\u2019ve got multiple carriages each with their own engines. Our carriages are Data Protection, Data Security, Data Migration, Cloud and Collaboration, Application Delivery and Mobility, Digital Transformation and Managed Services\u2013 a different carriage for each of our different practices with Managed Services having a presence in almost every carriage.<\/p>\n
Even though we have different carriages there is one thing that is very important. Have you ever been to the UK and ride on one of the tubes, where you can stand on one end of the train and see all the way to the other end? You can watch it snake because all the doors are open. That\u2019s the kind of train we operate \u2013 a train where all the doors are open. i.e. there\u2019s nothing to stop anybody from walking between the different carriages and from seeing what happens in the different carriages.<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s nothing to stop people coming up to the front of the train and saying hi to me as the driver because you get bored and lonely when you\u2019re the driver. You\u2019re there on your own. You\u2019re trying to work everything out so it\u2019s nice when people come and say hi. It\u2019s nice when people come and talk to you about stuff that\u2019s happening on the train because when you\u2019re sitting in front, you\u2019re not always certain of what\u2019s going on in the train.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s my job to know what\u2019s happening the train and to keep my finger on the pulse of what\u2019s happening because if the workers can\u2019t shovel coal appropriately and don\u2019t feel they\u2019re enjoying the coal that they\u2019re shoveling, the train won\u2019t run at peak performance. The analogy is such that if they enjoy what they\u2019re doing, how they\u2019re doing it and loving who they work with, each one of those carriages is going to perform efficiently. And I see it as the responsibility myself and of the executive and leadership teams to ensure the team is happy and able to perform at their peak.<\/p>\n
We know that what happens in business is that not every part is going to be on fire at the same time. Not every coal furnace is going to be burning as hot as the next one but that\u2019s the beauty if being on a train because it\u2019s all connected. So, if ones not firing properly, it\u2019ll get pulled or if it\u2019s at the front it will get pushed. So\u2026. the whole train works together as one and it goes in the same direction. It\u2019s always on the same path. There\u2019s no carriage that\u2019s off somewhere else because if it is, it\u2019s been derailed. It has to work together.<\/p>\n
Now, if I\u2019ve got to get up from the front of the train and come back and shovel coal, I\u2019ll come back and shovel coal. For example, somebody sent me a SOW to review. Can I do it? Sure! Now, some people might sit there and say hang on he\u2019s the train driver, he doesn\u2019t need to look at that sort of stuff why is he looking at that? I look at that because that\u2019s what the train needs and we all do what needs to be done to make the train amazing.<\/p>\n
So\u2026 if I can get out of the front of the train and shovel coal with other people so too can everybody on the train help everybody else. That\u2019s one of our core values. One Team, One Dream. If everybody is working together as a team, someone might need to go and help shovel coal in another carriage to give that carriage a hand. Together we are many.<\/p>\n
There are three words that don\u2019t get uttered on our train \u2013 \u201cnot my job\u201d. If somebody utters those three words \u2018not my job\u2019. If somebody utters, the words \u2018not my job\u2019 they will be the truest and last three words they speak on our train. Ok? \u2018Not my job\u2019 intimates we\u2019re not on the same train. I\u2019m in my carriage, I\u2019m doing my thing, you can all get knotted and I\u2019m gonna keep doing my thing. Well that refutes One Team One Dream and that refutes the train all working together as one.<\/p>\n
Here is another really interesting thing about the way the train works. There\u2019s myself and the other conductors on the train \u2013 the executive and leadership teams \u2013 and we\u2019re not about beating the crap out of people. We\u2019re about seeking to understand before we make ourselves understood.<\/p>\n
So, if someone is saying or doing something that we don\u2019t like, let\u2019s understand why they\u2019re saying it. Where does it come from? Can we help them through that? Can we make their journey easier? The key is that on the train you should have no fear of raising issues. No fear that by raising something you will have someone else having the shit kicked out of them \u2013 that would be defeatist. We don\u2019t operate that way. We seek to assist people in becoming the best versions of themselves.<\/p>\n
On our train we aim to \u201ccatch someone doing something right\u201d. Now we know that not everybody is going to do everything right all the time and we make mistakes and we know people are potentially going to forget some of the ways in which the train operates. At that point it\u2019s a little bit about attitude readjustment or reminding them of what needs to happen.<\/p>\n
When we catch someone doing something right we shout it out \u2013 another one of our core values \u2013 celebrate. Celebrate success and celebrate the wins. Call people out when they do good things. All too often in organisations people are looking for others to do something wrong so they can leverage the error to make themselves look better as a result. Either that or they play games to get ahead.<\/p>\n
In our organisation, when people do something right absolutely shout it out and endorse it. When they don\u2019t do things the right way, then it\u2019s about understanding why didn\u2019t they do it, helping them to understand what is the right way to do it. Ultimately we like to make sure that everybody working becomes a better version of themselves and we understand that people are not perfect.<\/p>\n
The reality is nobody likes working with somebody who creates themselves into a special space because \u2018I\u2019m different, I\u2019m different from the rest of you\u2019. You know what? We are all different. As individuals, we\u2019re different. All those individuals together and all those personality types create an amazing culture of different people, with different skills and different ideas that make the train better. Yet issues between people will happen.\u00a0 It\u2019s normal.<\/p>\n
At no point should you feel you are doing wrong by escalating and raising an issue or raising a concern or saying \u2018Hey! I\u2019ve seen this I think you maybe want to have a chat\u2019. The manager is NOT going to go to the person and say \u2018hey, I heard you did this and ah da dada da da\u2019 and beat the shit out of them. What they are going to do is go and seek to understand. Where did this come from, what made you say that, why aren\u2019t you comfortable doing that, etc. so that we can help them get better. Make sense? We want to make people better.<\/p>\n
If that person becomes belligerent about the issue, if that person says I don\u2019t give a shit blah blah then guess what? I\u2019m opening the carriage door and I\u2019m chucking them out of the train. I\u2019m not even stopping at a platform. There are no two ways. We are all about becoming better versions of ourselves on this train.\u00a0 Continual improvement.<\/p>\n
People get the opportunity to explain themselves and if they don\u2019t want to modify the behaviours to make the train work well, they\u2019re not welcome here. This happened recently. There was an individual in our team that came and was absolutely not the right cultural fit for the train, who absolutely had the attitude of not my job, who absolutely had the attitude of fuck you to the world. None of this was picked up in the interview process. Regardless, very promptly they were thrown off the train. It only takes one rotten egg to evacuate a carriage of its workers and passengers and we can\u2019t afford for that outcome.<\/p>\n
Our intention is to have people work on the train who fit. Have people work on the train who are passionate who are committed, who are dedicated, who knows where the train is going and buy into where the train is going and enjoy what they do. Ultimately, if you have belief in what\u2019s happening in an organisation, if you think \u2018wow this organisation is going places, it\u2019s changing the world, it\u2019s making a difference\u2019, it\u2019s exciting to be a part of that. There are however some individuals who don\u2019t fit and that\u2019s why I tell this story because you know there\u2019s times when I tell people this story and say now it\u2019s up to you.<\/p>\n
If you want to join our business and join our train, these are the rules of the way the train operates and if you don\u2019t want to be a part of that, then hey I\u2019m ok with that. I\u2019m totally OK but let me know now so we can then not waste each other\u2019s time. Right? So ideally what we try and do (and generally we\u2019ve been pretty good at it) is picking the right people to come in and fill the different seats; to take on the different roles of how to shovel coal etc. in our train.<\/p>\n
So, the thing about shovelling coal is it\u2019s a hot dirty job. Right? We\u2019re in IT and what we do can be very difficult. Particularly in our train. Our train has multiple stakeholders so sometimes we have different types of passengers on our train and they are often related to each other \u2013 we\u2019ve got a channel partner and we\u2019ve got their client on our train at the same time and they\u2019re related to each other. We all know what it\u2019s like with families. We know families get protective so we\u2019ve got to work out how to do we keep both of those passengers on our train happy? How do we keep them excited? How do we amaze them? How do we make them come onto the train and go WOW what an amazing train?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a very important message \u2013 how do we ensure that everybody who joins our train as passengers or workers love their journeys? How do we have them saying \u2018wow what an amazing ride! What an amazing experience. The people who work on that train are incredible. They\u2019re so united, they\u2019re so on the same page and they did everything they could to make us happy. Yeah, you know what we hit a couple of bumps on the line but we told them the bump and they came and fixed the issue promptly. Not only that, they did everything they could to make up for the bump. So, we\u2019re consistently trying to amaze, consistently trying to give them the best experience when they join our train.<\/p>\n
We are all responsible to ensure the train runs on time for our passengers who expect to come on and travel to a destination at a certain point in time. Our role is to help the train get to those passengers where they need to go at the right time because nobody likes a late train \u2013 everybody has trouble with a late train. But you know what? It can be OK for the train to be late occasionally.<\/p>\n
If you were notified two days ago that the train you\u2019re planning to take in two days\u2019 time is likely to be running late then you\u2019re more likely to be ok with that because your expectations are managed. So, I expect the people who work on the train to manage the expectations of our passengers and to manage the expectations of the other people working on the train. Reality is the train won\u2019t always run on time however, when it doesn\u2019t, it\u2019s how we deal with that that matters.<\/p>\n
What happens when we get to the point of having one furnace and a bunch of people shoveling coal at the same time? Without a doubt, someone\u2019s going to hit someone with a shovel or someone\u2019s going to drop a hot ember on somebody else\u2019s toes. Shit\u2019s gonna happen. The question becomes \u2018how do we deal with that shit when it happens? How do we acknowledge and say \u2018you know whats it\u2019s ok that we had a bit of a tiff, it\u2019s ok that I had a problem with a guy that I was working with, etc\u2019? The key again is how we deal with it! Don\u2019t go and bitch or complain to someone else about the issue. Deal with it head on. Have the uncomfortable conversation and do it in a responsible adult manner. This speaks to another policy on the train \u2013 no politics on this train! There is no tolerance. Politicking is not accepted.<\/p>\n
If I hear about politics, then I\u2019ll tell you exactly how we deal with it. Let\u2019s say you have an issue with someone or something someone has done. It\u2019s up to you at that point to raise the issue directly with the person. If you can\u2019t resolve it with them then bring in a conductor, a manager. If it cannot be resolved with their assistance, bring in a director. If a director can\u2019t resolve it with you and that person, bring in me. Now\u2026 here\u2019s what you can expect. I am going to try to help resolve the concern as best as I can. If we cannot come to a resolution where everyone is OK then at that point I\u2019m simply going to say \u2018hey if you can\u2019t resolve your differences, tell me which one of your or both of you are about to leave the train\u2019. Because, if you can\u2019t work with someone else on the train, it stands to reason you\u2019re going to meet a client one day you can\u2019t work with and if you can\u2019t work out how to work with these people that\u2019s going to be a real problem for our train.<\/p>\n
If you throw somebody under the wheels of the train, throw them onto the tracks to try and crucify them \u2013 that doesn\u2019t work here on our train. You\u2019ll be the one who will be gone. And part of that is to do with is what we were talking about earlier \u2013 catching people doing something right, celebrating those wins etc. and helping people become better versions of themselves and not tolerating politicking.<\/p>\n
We also don\u2019t tolerate the idea of making someone look bad to make you look good. That\u2019s tall poppy syndrome. You know what? If you see someone better than you, strive to be that good. Be great on our train. Be as good as you can be and know that everybody around you wants you to be as good as you can be and wants themselves to be as good as they can be and, if everybody \u2018s helping everybody is helping everybody else to become the best versions of themselves, our entire train is working to the same outcome.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re all trying to be better. Don\u2019t sit back and watch \u2013 help the train and all of its workers be better. Get in the front seat and say things like\u2026 \u2018Hey you know I think there\u2019s a better way to shovel coal. I think we can be more efficient if we do XYZ\u2019. That\u2019s all about our Efficiency value. How do we make the train as efficient as possible? There\u2019s only so many coal shovelers you can put around one fire. Sometimes we\u2019ve got to make a bigger fire so there\u2019s more room for people yet sometimes we can do things more efficiently and guess what? You are the one who will see those things. You can make a difference. You can change the world on our train. You are empowered and expected to make us all better. If everyone is helping everyone be better you can see the outcome.\u00a0 We WILL be better and we can ALWAYS improve.<\/p>\n
Alright. So we are working through the values on the train. You have heard now about One Team, One Dream, you\u2019ve heard about Celebration and you\u2019ve heard about Efficiency. There\u2019s another big value on the train \u2013 Accountability \u2013 this is where you own your own actions.<\/p>\n
The train is full of adults. The train is not an adult day care centre. We do not treat people who work on it like children, we treat them like adults. So, what that means is that we expect them to behave like adults and to behave like an adult means we expect them to take responsibility, it means to take ownership, it means to get things done and ensure they get an outcome.<\/p>\n
For example, you as an adult have your own apartment and when you get off the train at night and you go to your apartment you make sure you\u2019ve got food there and if you\u2019ve got a family and you make sure there\u2019s enough food for your children and you make sure everything\u2019s done and you make sure your house is clean etc. etc. You do that because your accountable for that, you\u2019re responsible for that \u2013 therefore why shouldn\u2019t that behaviour appear on the train. This is your little part of the world, this the piece you\u2019re responsible for, know what you\u2019re accountable for and deliver.<\/p>\n
Treating people like adults also means we don\u2019t mind where you work. If that means working at home sometimes, then we\u2019re ok with that. We measure output, not input. That said, don\u2019t take the piss. You\u2019re an adult. So, you have accountability and responsibility. Yes, you will be joining a train with a flexible working environment where you are measured on output and not input. However, that doesn\u2019t mean you can leave and go home when you want or assume you can just decide one morning you\u2019re going to work at home and not tell anyone about it or that you can work from home all the time. Because you know what? Those behaviours are non-team behaviours and refute our One Team, One Dream value.<\/p>\n
So, communicate to work with your manager, have the discussion saying that hey I\u2019d like to work from home tomorrow. We do know that sometimes shit happens and you wake up with a sick child or whatever and you have to work from home. Of course, that is no issue \u2013 just make sure you indeed are working at home.<\/p>\n
We also know you have personal things that need to get done \u2013 grocery shopping, doctor appointments etc. If you\u2019re taking that time out then we expect you to ensure your passengers don\u2019t miss you while you are gone and, critically, that you get done what you need to get done. i.e. you know what work you need to do and when it needs to be done by. It is up to you to manage your time to get that done and up to you to come and raise our hand if you don\u2019t think you can do it. But remember, don\u2019t take the piss.<\/p>\n
To that end, you own your own career on the train. This is not train that\u2019s going to sit there and say oh you know what Mary? In two years\u2019 time, I think you should be doing this and on that basis, we\u2019re going to put you through these training courses. Our train does not work that way. Our train basically says, \u2018Mary there so many carriages here, there are so many places you can go on this train \u2013 you tell me where you want to go, you tell me which carriage you want to work in and by the way if there\u2019s not a carriage that suits you, then tell me that too\u2019 (that\u2019s ok and we\u2019ll talk about that in a minute).<\/p>\n
The idea of \u2018you own your own career\u2019 means you work with your manager, you drive the outcome you want. Don\u2019t expect that the business is going to give it to you on a silver platter. We\u2019re not the company to do formal performance development plans and all that shit because usually what happens is they end up getting burnt in the furnace anyway because nobody ever looks at them again once they\u2019re written. Plans get written and then people sit there and go \u2018oh it didn\u2019t happen, it didn\u2019t happen\u2019. Well\u2026 why not? What did you do to make it happen?<\/p>\n
There is always a path. Again, all the train doors are open all the way up to the front of the train where I am sitting so if you\u2019re not getting what you want then I want to know about it. As the driver, I don\u2019t want you sitting there saying oh but the driver has so much to do or I can\u2019t interrupt the driver or why would I bother him with this small issue? Because you know what? If it\u2019s a small issue for you, it is still an issue. If you can\u2019t get it resolved, then you\u2019re not going to be happy on the train. If you\u2019re not happy on the train, then what are we going to do. Worse still, how can we do anything if we don\u2019t know what you are unhappy about? So how can you tell us?<\/p>\n
When we\u2019re shoveling coal on the train and you\u2019ve had the hot ember dropped on your foot, eventually part of that ember is going to break off and get into your shoe. That\u2019s what we call the pebble in the shoe. Now you have a choice. You\u2019ve got a pebble and you say \u2018oh, it\u2019s a bit uncomfortable\u2019. You might sit there and say \u2018oh I\u2019ll take my boot off and I\u2019ll shake it out\u2019, put your boot back on and keep going. Or you may go \u2018ah, this pebble I can\u2019t seem to shake it out\u2019. If that\u2019s the case, what you end up doing is walking up and down the train with your pebble. You\u2019re ok for a little while walking up and down with your pebble but over time that pebble will turn into a blister. Worse still, after more time it will get infected and then it will be even harder for us to heal on the train. We don\u2019t have a hospital carriage.<\/p>\n
If, however, you raise your concern with your manager, allow them to help you shake out the pebble or perhaps give you a cushioning pad to make it better so the issue does not turn into a blister and we all move on. What happens if you don\u2019t do that and indeed you do get a blister? Well, we have a way to help on that side too!<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re walking around with a blister, people are going to see you limping and normally what happens when people see you limping they say \u2018ooh he\u2019s limping, I\u2019m just going to step away from that and give that person a wide berth\u2019 but at the same time they\u2019re often also thinking \u2018oh that person is limping. What\u2019s going on in their heads\u2019? Not on our train.<\/p>\n
So, what we do on the train is we have a very simple approach of asking two questions \u2013 and we don\u2019t wait until people have pebbles. We ask them at every meeting when there are more than three people. In fact, we encourage the questions are asked as often as possible.<\/p>\n
Simple questions\u2026How are you 1-10 personally? How are you 1-10 at work? Why do we do that? We don\u2019t do that because we want to pry into personal lives. We don\u2019t expect you to say \u2018I\u2019m a three out of ten personally\u2019 and then have to share why you are a three. You don\u2019t have to share why however at least people working around you know you are a three out of ten personally and dealing with some things outside of the train. They can give you moral support and be a more understanding of the mood you may be in.<\/p>\n
Because you know what? Shit happens in our personal lives all the time \u2013 we get bad news, we get ill, we \u2018ve got family that\u2019s ill, we woke up on the wrong side of the bed, we tripped over on the way to work. Whatever the case may be that\u2019s just making someone have a shit day. As much as we say don\u2019t bring your shit day into the train, the reality is people do. You can\u2019t always leave it behind. So, if you just know that somebody\u2019s a 2\/10 when it comes to their own personal side of things then you know to give them support, you know they\u2019re not going to be on their game that day. You know they\u2019re may be a little bit short tempered.\u00a0 They shouldn\u2019t be like that at work but sometimes again, shit happens.<\/p>\n
You know the situation where sometimes you think \u2018jeez that person is normally nice but he\u2019s a shit today, he\u2019s a bit prickly today\u2019 and you just don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on. You start to wonder \u2018Is it me, is it him\u2019? All wasted thoughts in your head that could be surpassed if you just knew that the person was a 2\/10 personally. You can then ask how you can help. Is there any support you can provide? Is there any way I you can help? One day it will be you and you may like people wanting to help.\u00a0 We are a family after all and that is what we do.<\/p>\n
When it comes to the business question or scenario, if anyone is a 7 or less, it\u2019s a red flag. We want people to be 8\u2019s, 9\u2019s, 10\u2019s yet we understand that\u2019s not always feasible all the time. So, as soon as there\u2019s a 7\/10 for work, there will be an immediate escalation to make sure their 7 is being worked on to work out we can get you to an 8, 9 or 10. Very often the 7 is situational and specific to a recent phone call or being very busy. The concern is when the 7 or less is consistent \u2013 we all know sometimes we have bad days. Sometimes our days aren\u2019t great though what it does by asking that question is it actually makes people talk to each other to say \u2018hey, how come you\u2019re a 7? Is there anything we can do to help? Have you spoken to your manager? Have you spoken to this person\u2019? You may choose. If you think there is a real issue, you should encourage them to escalate to management, to get rid of that pebble. These two simple questions create a collegiate atmosphere on our train. They get everybody concerned about everybody else.<\/p>\n
By the way, hugs are free on the Insentra train. Everybody likes hugs although we do acknowledge some people don\u2019t like their personal space invaded and may feel uncomfortable. If that is you then let us know. The idea is to make people feel loved and supported.<\/p>\n
So, we spoke briefly about the experience of the passengers of the train which speaks to the value of our Service Excellence. For passengers to have the best experience on the train, the workers must be having the best experience first. Internal service excellence. Making the train run smoothly. Making sure we\u2019ve always got enough coal. Making sure we\u2019ve got the right people who can shovel the coal. Making sure that when we get something wrong, we know how we can do it better, learn how to do it better and then DO it better.<\/p>\n
Making us internally excellent first is the only way we can deliver service excellence externally. That\u2019s why we have a Service Excellence Manager to take us on that journey. To look at what we\u2019re doing and see how we can do it better internally to deliver that outstanding customer experience.<\/p>\n
OK \u2026 so there\u2019s more\u2026 We have three fundamental principles right the way through the train. Three common values: Honesty, Integrity, and Trust. We deal in a multi-tier client scenario. We MUST operate with the utmost standards. Any failure could mean the end of our train. If people are dishonest on our train they\u2019re not going to last. If people are a lie, try to take the piss or behave dishonestly in any way, they will be thrown off the train.<\/p>\n
Integrity is at the heart of our business model.\u00a0 If that means we lose a half a million-dollar deal because taking that deal will breach our integrity then we will lose that half a million-dollar deal. Our integrity is worth way more than half a million bucks. From a trust perspective, we place trust into all the people we hire onto this train. As I said before, we treat you like adults. It means we\u2019re trusting you and measuring you on output not input.<\/p>\n
We recognise that the people who come and work on our train won\u2019t immediately trust the leaders of this train. We understand that you may be \u2018oohhhh I don\u2019t know about this train\u2026 it\u2019s a bit too good to be true. Let me just watch for a while and see if everything they say is true\u2019. We recognise this and we\u2019re happy for that journey to happen.<\/p>\n
The reason you won\u2019t immediately trust is because this train is different. Everything about this train is different. This train truly cares about the people who work on the train. This train truly wants people to be better. Me as the driver of the train \u2013 my number one priority are the people who work on the train. They are way more important to me than the passengers who join our train. Because if the people who work on our train aren\u2019t happy, the passengers won\u2019t come back and it\u2019s that simple.<\/p>\n
This train is a services train \u2013 consulting, professional and managed services. The one dirty word on our services train is utilisation. A dirty, dirty, dirty word. A word that I do not want to hear on this train. Why? Because what happens is a manager will tell a consultant they are, say, 60% utilised which only makes the consultant question what they can do about the shortfall which is usually very little. So, what do they do? They go to seek.com.au thinking they better get a plan B in case the company terminates them. What a waste of emotion that is. If someone is 60% utilised, it doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not profitable.<\/p>\n
Assume we won a 5 day piece of work and were paid $10, 000 however the consultant delivered the work in 3 days. The consultant is 60% utilised however they just brought in one week of revenue in three days. The real question is how do we get them to bill the other 2 days and get even more out of that. But if they\u2019re 60% utilised do I care? No. Because they\u2019re actually profitable. So, if the business unit is profitable, utilisation is less relevant. The only reason we care about utilisation at a management level is are our people working too hard. Not are they working hard enough.<\/p>\n
What happens if you want off the train? The train doors are not locked. We stop at platforms and we let some passengers on and we let some passengers off. We let some more people on to come and work on the train and sometimes we need to let some of those people off. Fortunately, we haven\u2019t needed to let many people off. We\u2019ve certainly thrown a few off \u2013 probably about half a dozen people. Why? Because they\u2019ve come on and not lived our values, not behaving like adults, they weren\u2019t accountable or weren\u2019t a cultural fit. They were not right for the train.<\/p>\n
Sometimes when you\u2019re working on the train you might think it\u2019s time for a new challenge. You might get a phone call or get headhunted and we love when our people get headhunted. We love it. Because it proves to our people that they\u2019ve got value and are in demand. They have skills in demand somewhere else. And you know what? They are targeted because people are looking at our business and recognise that our train is outstanding and we groom amazing individuals who are some of the best at what they do. They want those people working on their train. When you are seeking a new challenge or when you are headhunted *which you will be* then here\u2019s what we ask from you.<\/p>\n
What we want you to come and tell us. Tell us you\u2019ve been headhunted. Tell us there might be a role you\u2019re interested in going to fulfill. Tell us you\u2019re reaching that part of the journey where you might want to get off the train. Do you know what we\u2019re going to do? We\u2019re going to ask you two simple questions. Are you done with your role or done with Insentra?<\/p>\n
Which one is it. If the answer is that you are done with the role and want to explore a new option for which you have been headhunted, then we\u2019ll look up and down the train and see if we can get you into a similar role or create a transition plan to get you into that role. If we don\u2019t have that role available then we\u2019ll tell you that too. We\u2019re not going to paint a bullshit picture. If we cannot find something for you in that role then we will stop the train, help you exit the train and get onto the new train. We will do all we can to make sure you have a good experience in leaving and thank you graciously for what you have done while on our train. i.e. If we can\u2019t provide them the opportunity you want, why would we try to keep you? Firstly, it is not fair to you and secondly it is not fair to the others on the train because to try to keep you under false pretences will have you not performing at your peak and the train always needs to be striving at its peak. If you are done, then you are done.<\/p>\n
Now if you come back and say I\u2019m done with Insentra. I\u2019m done with the company. I just don\u2019t want to work for this company anymore. Straight away I\u2019m wanting to help you with where you want to go and to explore how I can help you get there. If you\u2019re done, you\u2019re done. So, we will help you find your next role. We will help you leave the train.<\/p>\n
We did that with somebody a while ago, came in said he wanted to be a solution architect. I said you know what? I\u2019m not sure you\u2019re ready to be a solution architect yet. Having said that I don\u2019t have a solution architect role at the moment anyway so here\u2019s the option. We can either go down a 12-18-month journey and I will invest in you and I will train you to be a solution architect and help you elevate to that level and then if we have the role you can take it but if we don\u2019t you\u2019ll have had that experience and training you can take somewhere else or alternatively you can say Ronnie, you know what? I don\u2019t believe in what you\u2019re saying, I believe in myself, I want to be a solution architect and I\u2019m going to go. That\u2019s your decision but you go and have a think about that and let me know which way you want to go.<\/p>\n
A couple of days later the guy comes back and says you know what I\u2019ve decided that I want to back myself and I want to go and be a solution architect. I looked him in the eye and I said can I make a phone call for you? And he said sure and I said I want to help you get a job. I picked up the phone and I said are you still looking for a solution architect? They said yep. I said I\u2019ve got a guy who is looking to step up. So off he went and interviewed with them and he still works there today. Right? Two months later we win an award- a Symantec award and he comes in with a box of chocolates and a bottle of champagne I think it was and he says I want to celebrate with you guys because you guys have done so well and such a great job. Thanks so much for what you did for me and yadda yadda yadda. That\u2019s the experience we want for people on the train.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what we want to do for people who work hard for us on the train the people who have had a great experience who show dedication etc. They put their trust in us, they put their faith in us. We want to ensure that we become a part of their journey. Our train for them could only take them to this point. There\u2019s the next train to help them go to the next point. Let\u2019s help them to do that. What a wonderful outcome for them. That\u2019s what we\u2019re all about.<\/p>\n
So, when you\u2019re on the train we expect you to be fully on the train. When you\u2019re off the train you\u2019re off the train. Don\u2019t try to be the person who\u2019s one foot on the train and one foot on the platform because the train will depart and you will be impaled. There is no middle ground. You\u2019re either on the train or off the train or get out of the trains way because the train is going through very fast. But once you\u2019re on that train, that\u2019s just part of your journey. If when you\u2019re on that train you don\u2019t operate with honesty, integrity, trust then at that stage there will be no helping you on your next journey. It will be, see you later, who knows where you\u2019ve ended up. Right so now we\u2019re very, very clear about what\u2019s good on the train, what works on the train, what\u2019s not acceptable on the train and that\u2019s how we operate.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d love to hear your feedback on our train story and how your organisation does it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n\n