| | | |  | Greg Smith
Lead Navigator
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PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM THE CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP  It's been a beautiful fall in Georgia this year and I've been fortunate to have business across the state. A few weeks ago, I spoke at the Conyers/Rockdale Chamber of Commerce's Leadership program at Lake Oconee. Then, I kicked off another leadership program for a client at Chateau Elan. Coming up - I leave on Nov. 2 for Diriamba, Nicaragua! With 18 other men, we will build 12 houses in four days for people in need. We are excited and will be sure to post pictures on the Chart Your Course website when we return. While I am out of the office you can always contact Cathy at (770) 860-9464 or (800) 821-2487. Helping you Chart Your Course! 
Gregory P. Smith President and Lead Navigator 
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| Appreciate Your Employees the Wegmans Way
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| What is your business' most valuable resource? Its location? Its size? Its technology? Hardly. Despite the value of all of these factors, the resource with the most potential to elevate and drive your business is its people. Whether it's the people on your front line or your back end, employee satisfaction leads to customer satisfaction, which leads to a business' success. So how does a business create a pro-employee environment? At Wegmans' Food Markets, a $5.15 billion supermarket chain with 35,000 employees and 80 stores in the northeast United States, you state your commitment to your workers in your tag line. Simple and powerful, Wegmans' philosophy is "Employees first, Customers second." The philosophy has paid off as Wegmans has won hundreds of customer service, community and best place to work awards over the years. In fact, it's made Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list every year since it started in 1998. Wegmans' employee retention is also impressive at just 8 percent, half of the average for its industry. To attract and retain the best workers Wegmans relies on traditional methods - competitive pay, solid training and comprehensive benefits. But it goes further with values and best practices that make its stores a place employees love to work and customers love to shop. Here are some examples. Training. Wegmans invests the necessary time to properly train its workers. Full-time employees' training averages around 6 months, and part-time employees' more than a month. In fact, Jo Natale, Wegmans director of media relations, says the store spends $1.5 to 2 million on labor costs in the six months prior to opening a new store. She says the company wants to be sure all employees have adequate time to participate in its onboarding programs, as well as live training in the store. Communication: Communication is critical for building trust with your employees. Wegmans realizes this and aims to be transparent with its workers about its plans and strategies. "We don't ever want anything important happening that our employees don't hear first from us," said Natale. "We try to always give managers plenty of time to familiarize all staff with any changes so they aren't taken off guard." The strategy has been effective. In its best places to work poll, Fortune magazine asked employees, "Does management have a clear vision where it is going?" A whopping 96 percent of Wegmans employees answered yes. The dynamic builds trust with employees fulfilling their need for job security. To continue reading this article, and learn more ways Wegmans motivates its employees, visit our BLOG. For additional articles and resources click here! |
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Employee Selection and Development Assessments  Hiring and promoting the right people into the right jobs is the first step in accelerating organizational performance. Our talent management solutions and employee and management assessments allow you to hire, develop, promote and retain top performing people. We provide a portfolio of personality assessments, job matching, 360 leadership assessments, DISC training workshops and certification programs. More information |
| Industry Facts and Figures
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| Strong Customer Service Can Significantly Boost Sales According to a 2009 Gallup report, businesses whose employees and customers reported high satisfaction saw a 240 percent increase in net profits. Also, American Express' 2012 Global Customer Service Barometer said customers who felt they received considerate, informed and timely service would spend 13 percent more with that business. And if the customer used social media for reviews and recommendations, they would spend 21 percent more. |
| Upcoming Training Opportunities |
 DISC Certification Training Program (Live Webseminar) Individual personality styles have a direct impact on our interpersonal relationships at home and at the workplace. People differ from each other in fundamental ways including their values, behaviors, talents, temperaments, wants and beliefs. Our DISC training programs and assessments help you identify these variances, hire the right people, reduce conflict, improve communication and unleash team performance. Classes are conducted in four, 90-minute sessions. Upcoming class dates: November 13, 15, 19 2:30-4:00
December 3, 5, 10
3:00-4:30 ET Fourth session is a one-on-one session scheduled with each student
1-800-821-2487 or 770-860-9464 |
 Online Leadership Development Courses
Our leadership and management training courses will help you advance your career by learning the critical skills needed to become an excellent manager or supervisor - retaining your best people, motivating, delegating, resolving conflict, coaching, counseling and more.
We invite you to take a few minutes to experience our free demo today. |
 Fired Up! Leading Your Organization to Achieve Exceptional Results Fired Up! is a leadership book full of tips and strategies that show people how to manage, lead and motivate people at work. Learn to improve your leadership skills, deliver exceptional customer service, build effective teams, improve communication, hire the right people and retain them as long as possible, make more money and grow your business.
$19.95 E-Book |
 Service First Video Library The Service First Customer Service Video Library is a powerful video-based training system founded on group interaction and designed to train the entire workforce on the art of exceptional customer service. The Service First Video Library helps employees become the best they can be! Service First Video Library-12 DVD's and Free Bonuses $1695 FREE SHIPPING More information |
If you find our information interesting, please send it to your friends. The Navigator Newsletter is received by over 35,000 subscribers in 49 countries, in addition to other websites and magazines. Copyright 2012 by Chart Your Course International--reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: "Chart Your Course International, by Gregory P. Smith, Copyright 2012. Sign up and receive free articles, tips and newsletters at Chartcourse.com (770) 860-9464 (800) 821-2487 
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