Published
Articles
Originally
Published in The Business Journal of CNY.
Starting
Over
As an expansion
of one of my "21 tried, true, and tested common sense ideas
for guaranteed small business success" (available from my web
site or by contacting me) #2 is a topic I find causes a great deal
of problems.
Treat your entire
employee base as if you were starting a new business today. Would
you rehire all of them for the restart? Would they all be better
than what the outside job market would and could provide? If not,
why are they still there? Be honest! This is your future, your company's,
and your family's. You have an obligation to all of them, and to
all retained employees to make the company as strong as possible.
Have they all
got positive, can-do mentalities? Do they quietly look for solutions,
not excuses or reasons why things can't be done? There is always
room for conservative thinking, but never room for consistently
negative attitudes. I bet you have a few who bring these negative
influences to the company. Or conversely, do not bring the necessary
positive skills to the company.
Every 6 months
(without fail) you need to go on a private mental retreat and evaluate
this issue very closely. What could be more important than the very
best mix of employees, the heart of any company. Chemistry between
and among all employees and customers, vendors, and the rest of
the outside world, is essential to the success of any company. Especially
a small business, where there is no place to hide, and no room for
mediocrity.
There are always
people who were there at the beginning and really did help you (did
they really?), who have been loyal by working many hours (but what
did they accomplish?), who are nice yes people and always agree
(because they don't want to challenge you or anyone), who work for
low wages and never complain (because they are comfortable), and
are still around for a million other different reasons.
But, if you
go back to the first question; would you hire them again for a restart
of a company if you had no obligations or commitments? Be realistic!
If you are honest with yourself, and looking at it from a pure business
point of view, I am willing to bet over 1/3 would not be rehired,
another 1/3 would be marginal calls, and the last 1/3 would be keepers
for sure.
I have to go
through this exercise at times when it is a question of survival
for the company. There are no choices and no time to be methodical.
Cuts are absolute for survival. The company waited too long. You
do not want to wait for that. No room for Mr. Nice Guy. Much easier
to go through it methodically and periodically, and not wait for
a crisis to make the right decision. Everything can be done on an
orderly basis.
This goes back
to my main issue with many owners; their inability to make the tough
decisions, and on a timely basis.
You need to
be constantly tweaking your team to stay in tune with current business
trends, remain competitive, and continually move forward. You need
to accept the fact that people who were appropriate at one time,
may not fit the current needs. You may be able to re-deploy some
people; you may be able to get some of them back on track, you may
be able to train them to be a good fit, but, you can not afford
to sit back and do nothing.
Often, other
employees wonder why you are keeping some employees, become disenchanted,
and begin to question your motivation and abilities to move forward.
I hear this a lot after finally parting company with someone, others
(and often the employee themselves) question why we didn't do it
sooner. Everyone knew it was not the right fit. Often the employee
is actually relieved, because they did not have the courage to get
out of their comfort zone, and do what was best for their career!
Now you have helped them move on to something they can do well,
and really enjoy.
I can never
figure out why people stay at a company where they constantly complain,
drag others down with them, are the root source of sometimes unfounded
negative thinking, and have a hard time getting out of bed in the
morning to come to work. How stupid to accept that. I love getting
up every morning, and you should too. Every new day is an exciting
new opportunity to do something great.
Worse yet, good
people will quietly leave due to lack of action in these areas,
because they want to move forward, and don't see your company moving
forward. Go back and think about some employees who have left in
the recent past, and think if any might possibly fit this criteria.
Let your team
move your company forward. You are responsible for making it a good
team. Configure it with the right people and empower them right,
and give them the resources they need to help you help them. There
is a lot to be said for the old adage "One bad apple can spoil
the whole barrel". Don't let that happen to you.
Do the right
thing now, and go on that little retreat, invest in your (and many
others) future, and build your company to what it can and should
be. You will be doing the right thing for a lot of people. More
than you can imagine! Good luck.
Dennis Hoppe is President of Change Management Implementation, Inc. in Brockport, NY. He has been a small business advisor to owners of hundreds of companies since 1989. Visit his web sites at www.dhoppe.com and www.hmcexecutivecoaching.com, or call him at 800-724-3525.
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