Question: “When I”™m gone, people lose enthusiasm. I can encourage people by being around and getting them to think: all for one and one for all. I can get that across when I”™m at work, but as soon as I leave momentum slows down. How do I make sure enthusiasm and effort stay high when I, as owner, am not present?”
Thoughts of the Day: Help employees internalize what the company is trying to achieve. Build a realistically positive, forward-looking culture through meetings, goal-setting and recognition. Learn how to find the balance between “good enough” and “always striving to do more.”
Invest in your people just as much as you expect them to invest in you and your company. Build a shared attitude of “the company cares for its employees and the employees care for the company” by asking:
Ӣ Do the company and its employees have a future?
Ӣ Are employees offered meaningful work?
Ӣ Are employeesӪ opinions heard and contributions recognized?
Ӣ Is there opportunity for growth?
Ӣ Can company benefits protect employees from lifeӪs misfortunes?
Ӣ Can employees afford to live in and contribute to their communities, given the wages they earn and the hours they work?
Ӣ Is the company one that is worth working for, in terms of values, ethics and market reputation?
Assess your company”™s ability to meet its side of the sharing equation.
Develop an attitude of personal responsibility and enthusiasm among the workforce. Take a look at how meetings are conducted, how goals are developed and how information on individual and company performance is shared.
Ӣ Is everyone in the company invited to participate in department and companywide meetings?
Ӣ Are goals realistic, consistent, built from the bottom up as well as the top down?
Ӣ Can employees track results and see if changes are having an effect?
Ӣ Are employees asked to sign on when goals are developed?
Ӣ Is productive debate encouraged when issues surface?
Ӣ Does everyone in the company understand the need for the company to operate profitably and support its ability to do so?
Ӣ Is every employee clear as to what they are working to accomplish?
Make sure that employees understand their financial well-being is tied to the company”™s health and well-being. Show employees that it matters to each of them personally whether resources are wasted or used carefully to further the mission of the company.
Build a management team capable of engaging employees. Ensure that above and beyond effort and responsibility are shared, not left in the hands of a select few. Be on the alert for burnout, as dissatisfaction may cost you your best and most important employees. Honestly address shortfalls with individuals and departments, teaching them to build action plans to cure outstanding issues.
Show employees how rewards from successfully implementing plans can accrue for them as well as for the company. Consider long-term engagement tools such as 401k and profit-sharing plans. Plan to enhance benefits based on improved company profitability.
Address problems as they come up. Don”™t let them fester for weeks, months or years. Ask the people responsible to get involved. And if they don”™t, stay on it until things get resolved. Don”™t be afraid to make changes, but do so deliberately.
While you want to be on top of issues as they come up, never make a decision in a moment of frustration or anger. Learn to make notes and ponder the situation anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. Have an action checklist that helps you stay on point with the decisions, actions and changes you need to make.
Bind individuals to the company by building a model for success to which everyone can attach themselves. Recognize success, and know when “good enough” is exactly that. Use your time at the company to listen, assess, guide, inform and encourage people, without disrupting them.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION:
“Employee Engagement for Everyone: 4 Keys to Happiness and Fulfillment at Work” by Kevin Kruse.
Andi Gray is president of Strategy Leaders Inc., strategyleaders.com, a business-consulting firm that specializes in helping small to midsize, privately held businesses achieve doubled revenues and tripled profits in repetitive growth cycles. Interested in learning how Strategy Leaders can help your business? Call now for a free consultation and diagnostic process: 877-238-3535. Do you have a question for Andi? Email her at AskAndi@StrategyLeaders.com or visit AskAndi.com for an entire library of her articles.
