Today I was reading a blog post by Seth Godin . He was talking about business lessons he learned on a bike. Specifically, that his big wins came during the uphill parts. He said, “The best time to engage with an employee is when everything falls apart, not when you’re hitting every milestone.”
And that really got me thinking.
If everything is working, people are feeling secure in their jobs, and there are no waves being made, where’s the incentive for your employee to listen to you or give constructive feedback? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
But, if you are having the good fortune to be seeing a lot of broken things in your business these days, now is exactly the right time to gather your team, figure out what’s not working, and fix it!
So, what might now be working in your business right now? Well, if you’re working 14 hour days and your assistant isn’t asking how she can help more, something’s broken. If you walk by your team’s area and see Facebook or Twitter open on two of four computers, something’s broken. If you give your assistant a new project, and he or she walks away without asking a single question, something’s broken. If customer complaints are on the rise, something’s broken. And if your assistant appears to be working, but no actual work that impacts the company’s bottom line is being generated, something’s definitely broken.
I know, I know. Most everyone is scared to spend money, to invest in themselves, their people, or the business right now. But I have to say, if business is slow, you have the the perfect opportunity to test your systems, create new processes, clear out the old office clutter, and most importantly, to invest in your people.
Why? Because as soon as the economic ball gets rolling again (and it appears to be starting a slow uphill crawl), your people will be perfectly aligned with the company’s mission, totally focused on the company’s goals, AND ready, willing, able to help your customers as they come rolling in the door.
Even if you’ve downsided your team and are asking them to do more with less, you can find creative ways to strengthen their initiative, accountability, and ownership in their roles and responsibilities within the company.
So, are you ready to invest in your people – and not just your sales folks, but your administrative staff, too?
Mattson Business Services, Inc. can show you how to get a better ROI on your administrative functions.
Working with your administrative team, we’ll:
1. establish more effective and efficient processes and communications systems,
2. streamline the delegation process, and
3. strengthen your teams’ initiative, accountability, and ownership of their position
Call us today at (704) 553-8082 and let’s talk about what MBS, Inc. can do for you. As thanks, we’ll send you our eBook, “10 Things Every Business Owner Wants in their Administrative Team, but Don’t Even Know to Ask About.”