If I had a dollar for every business owner that told me about their people problems, I would be one very rich lady…
People problems, whether they be related to performance, efficiency, attitude, reliability, or any other number of issues – are very, very common. In fact, I’d almost go as far to say that many managers, bosses and owners see having issues with staff as the norm. It is part and parcel of being the boss, right?
No. It is your job as the boss to create a culture where your people feel valued, part of something and don’t dread coming to work on Monday morning.
I know. There is a lot of talk, advice and noise out there about culture. So much so that it can all get a bit overwhelming… But, business owners and leaders who establish a cohesive, strong, positive team culture, generally don’t have issues with staff performance, efficiency, attitude or reliability. This is something you plan for and monitor regularly, it can’t be set and forget.
Culture isn’t something that you create and your staff feel and experience.
Creating a positive culture starts with you. It requires you to flip your thinking and stop looking at ‘them’ as the problem and instead focus on what you could or should be doing to improve their experience. I was conducting some staff reviews for a client recently and they openly offered that they look forward to coming to work on a Monday, this told me a lot about the business and why the tenures of staff on average are 10 years which is high given employees are generally moving jobs after 3-5 years, some after 1 or 2.
You need to know if your people are happy in their work and why, or why not? You want to know what you can do to improve their experience and make their work more rewarding for them.
However, if you ask them yourself, they may not give you an honest answer. In my experience having someone independent come in and ask the questions, deep dive into the answers and then share the findings with you, leads to far better outcomes. This is a role our maestro’s perform regularly for our clients and enables them to identify the issues, get to the heart of them and resolve them.
You are just as responsible for employees’ success and effectiveness, as they are.
It is your role as the leader to set your people up for success. To ensure they have:
- The training and resources they need to be able perform the role.
- Systems and processes in place to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
- Support and guidance to help them in their role.
- A voice in the organisation.
The costs of unhappy staff and workforce churn are enormous.
There are the unseen costs that an unhappy employee creates through their impact on culture and often the productivity of other staff, that can be felt for months and even years to come. But there are also the tangible expenses and costs that kick in when the employee resigns and spends the next 4 weeks handing over their work. Their unproductive time and the unproductive time of the staff member left to take over their work and get up to speed with the files. The time you or other members of your team spend recruiting, hiring and training the new staff member… and the list goes on… All, very, very expensive – particularly for professional services businesses where time is the commodity being sold.
The success and effectiveness of your business requires you to genuinely care about your people, be compassionate, communicate honestly and openly and prioritise the wellbeing of your people.
If you don’t make a conscious commitment to improving your employee experience and creating a culture where your people feel valued and good about coming to work, chances are you will continue to have people problems (even as new people come and go).
Think you could use the help of a maestro? Contact us.