The biggest factor in the success or failure or your business is your people.
As business owners, we often overlook people problems because we think we have no time, no energy, we are too busy, or we think that the person might quit.
Often times we feel that we don't want the stress of dealing with the situation because we don't like conflict, or don't want to make waves in the organization. We feel that there are lots of great traits that the person has and they will only come up with excuses for their behaviour.
But think about it - what is the cost of not dealing with the people problems that we have?
Chances are our people problems are costing us money, killing the morale of the other great people we have on the team and our customers are suffering as a result. Not dealing with people issues means that we are losing opportunities to create a more valuable company.
From a personal point of view, we know in our gut that we need to change something. Not dealing with this problem is causing us stress, affecting our health, affecting our relationships with that person and our other staff. We know we need to deal with it.
So what are the most common types of people problems that business owners face?
A salesperson who is not bringing in new business or servicing our customers. A staff member that is resisting change and bringing down others with a poor attitude. An employee who is making lots of errors and mistakes and who really is incompetent. That staff member who is looking out for themselves and not the team. Maybe it's the person who is taking small stuff or bigger stuff from us without asking or paying. Perhaps it's a once-key staff member who has slipped from great to kinda good. Maybe it's the drama king or queen you have in the organization. The list is really endless.
What is missing from the list?
Do you have any problems like this at your organization or business? Most business owners and managers would admit that they do. So what do we need to do about it?
Well you could do nothing, but what will happen? You know from past experience that problems don't usually solve themselves.
You need to deal with it.
The truth is that if you don't deal with it as the leader, you are the problem. But how should you deal with it?
Here are the steps you need to follow:
No. 1 - Schedule a time to meet with your problem person.
No. 2 - Start the meeting by telling the person that you want to have a honest conversation about what is happening in the workplace and how it's affecting the team. That you value the person but you want them to be happy in their job.
No. 3 - Give them the goods. Take the time to explain the situation as you see it. You are not trying to find anyone guilty. Talk about the ramifications of the problems and how they affect that person's career, the business and the customers. Discuss the issue and agree on specific actions to improve the situation.
No. 4 - Write down the steps that both of you are going to commit to that will move things forward.
No. 5 - Set a time for review of the situation.
Yes, dealing with people does take energy. But we both know that having a staff issue can drain us physically, emotionally and financially.
Taking the time and energy to work on solving our people issues in a compassionate and effective manner, will make our work environments less stressful for us, our employees, our customers and, as well, the person in question.
Dave Fuller, MBA, is the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy. Dave helps business owners earn more and worry less. Need help? Email [email protected].
