Iâve a very simple view of why companies exist, and itâs not premised on delivering shareholder value or making pots of money for the owners.
In a nutshell, companies exist to serve their employees. (Of course, anyone with experience of owning or running a company will question who Iâm referring to when I say, in the abstract, âcompaniesâ? I mean the owners, manager and directors; or anyone who looks after people â typically first-line managers; or, better still, everyone in the business.)
Madness I hear you cry.
Thatâs fine, but without a change from the industrial-mindset model, we will continue to fight the perennial issues that have plagued business for as long as I can recall; namely:
a)Â Â Â Employee disengagement;
b)Â Â Â Staff turnover;
c)Â Â Â Poor customer service;
d)Â Â Â Poor or stagnant profits;
e)Â Â Â Poor internal and external communication; and
f)Â Â Â Â Business failure.
When I refer to the âindustrial-mindset model’ what Iâm referring to is the legacy of the Victorian era where vast numbers of people exchanged their time (in some cases their life) and labour for the certainty of a wage. Although, in the West, we have lost a great deal of our manufacturing capability, we havenât lost touch with the model as it applies to the vision for the way employeesâ lives should be shaped inside the business.
Again, you might take issue with my generalist view and insist that we live in more enlightened times. But do we?
How open is your business?
How much do you trust the owners, managers or directors?
How much do you know about whatâs really going on?
Do you trust yourself to show up to work each day and give 100% of the real you to the business, or do you hold something (a lot) back?
Oh dear, the plight of the employee!
To put your staff first seems right on so many levels, not least the fact that the potential of your business doesnât lie in product or service differentiation. It manifests by dint of your staff falling in love with what they do, coming to work with a smile and seeing every problem as an opportunity to deliver.
I know Iâve no right to insist on anything, and I donât expect one lowly blog post to make a scintilla of difference to the way you run your business, but if you honestly believe that your people are your greatest asset, then itâs about time you turned that talk into action.
Hereâs a few pointers:
- Start practicing M.B.W.A. (Managing by Wandering About – see In Search of Excellence by Messrs Peters and Waterman); the more time you sit at your desk the less time youâre devoting to finding out whatâs really going on.
- Keep in mind one very simple question as you walk the floor: âWhat do you think of the way the company is run?â Of course, to begin with, particularly in an open environment, donât expect to hear much, but you may just get one brave soul to speak up. It wonât only be the content thatâs revealing but the connection you make in time will open a new chapter of trust and transparency.
- Ask your stakeholders what they think of the company and its culture. Better still speak to a few of the partners/wives/husbands of your staff. Itâs unlikely youâll get the same glib response as you get from your so-called managers.
- Do you trust yourself to make the difficult changes to go from a client or customer-centric organisation to one where youâre employee-centric? If not, then stop at this point, go back to where you started and consider if you want next year to look like this year because thatâs what will happen.
- Donât make loud noises about what you intend to do. Start small and build day by day. Encouragement, appreciation (⊠you know all that thank you stuff you keep ignoring) and trust count for far more than grand visions, strap lines and faux marketing.
- Keep asking yourself how well you know your people. Yes, you might have a human resources department that has everything taped down, but ask yourself do you know about your employeesâ dreams and aspirations outside of work? If not, then that might be an important part of the employee-centric mix, particularly if you find a way of helping them realise at least some of what they desire.
- Finally, ensure that every staff member, at whatever level, has a development plan that counts for more than the piece of paper itâs written on. As part of the exercise to bring about cultural change, one of the key drivers is to deliver home on the message that everyone in the business will be encouraged and supported to reach their full potential. If that means you have to help them leave to find a better role because your business doesnât have the available opportunities then so be it! The thing is even those staff members who you think have gone to sleep have only done so because youâve allowed it to happen. Ask the right questions, and youâll soon discover that they do have aspirations beyond their current, stagnant role.
Of course, this list is just thatâŠa list.
If you want to make a difference or get others to do so, then action, consistent, supportive action, is whatâs required every single day.
But beyond all the hyperbole, ask yourself how different the workplace might be if you had people who genuinely loved what they did and werenât just in it for the money.
You never know, it might change your life too.