by Beth | Sep 7, 2022 | Company Culture, Employee Retention
Last week in my Vistage meeting, one of my colleagues brought up that she is hearing about lots of employees who feel unappreciated, and she asked our group what we thought was going on.
Back when we had paper checks that we handed out to employees every Friday or every other Friday, the boss would go around the office and hand each employee their check. The boss would look the employee in the eye, shake their hand and say “thank you, employee for all the work you did this week! I so appreciate you!” or something along those lines. Right then, the employee mentally connected the paycheck that they received to their performance that pay period.
Now we have direct deposit.
The employee receives their pay in their account, which is convenient, but it eliminates that crucial appreciation conversation that they had with their manager. There is a big disconnect from their money to their performance.
One way to change this situation is to bring back the Friday thank you’s. Every time your employees get paid, make it a habit to go to their desk and say “today is payday, and I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you working for me. I couldn’t do it without you.”
Simple gratitude for them as employees should be associated with their paycheck. It isn’t hard, and it matters to your people.
POWER THOUGHT: Use payday as an opportunity to connect with your people and express your gratitude.
by Beth | Aug 24, 2022 | Company Culture, Firing Employees
This past week, I followed up with the client who fired the cultural terrorist, and I asked him how things were going.
He sighed. Then he said, “We have lots of issues. For example, now we have to complete all the projects that she sold. We are interacting with her clients and having to explain it without explaining it. Then we still have some of her supporters on staff, and the gossip is rampant. The clean-up work is so much. It is like a festering fart. The smell just lingers.”
He is so right. If you have ever experienced firing a really bad employee, you know exactly how he feels. I suggested to him to get his team together, and talk to them. Remember that after a situation like this, employees are asking themselves two questions:
1) What took you so long? Employees generally identify a cultural terrorist LONG before management does, because the terrorist will kiss up to leadership while crapping on those below and beside them.
2) Is my job at risk too? After someone is fired, it rattles every employee to the core, whether that person deserved to be fired or not.
Address these two questions like this: “It was time for us to part ways, and no one else is at risk of losing their job. I also need you all to help me get back on track for our year-end goals.” Put a stop to the gossip and re-focus your team to the objectives. Then, do something fun as a group during work hours for team building. And, if the terrorist’s supporters can’t get onboard, they may have to go also.
Finally, hang tight, and have faith. The smell will dissipate eventually.
POWER THOUGHT: Your office will smell after firing a cultural terrorist, but that festering fart will dissipate over time.
by Beth | Aug 10, 2022 | Company Culture
“I hired a Cultural Terrorist,” my client announced to me last week.
“A cultural terrorist?” I repeated.
“Yes,” my client lamented. “She was our top salesperson by a lot of money, but we simply couldn’t keep her anymore. She made everyone’s life here miserable, including mine. I lost a few key performers over her. So finally, I fired her. “
“What happened next?” I asked, wide-eyed.
“You wouldn’t believe it! First of all, just the energy around here is lighter. People laugh more. There is more talking in the bullpen. But also, the second layer of salespeople have totally stepped up and in the 6 weeks since I fired her, the next four salespeople have almost made up the difference,” she said. “It’s as if everyone knew what a trainwreck she was, and the awful stories that I am hearing about her… well, it was the right thing to do, and I should have done it months ago.”
Like my client, when you hire an employee like this, it has a few effects. They only care about themselves. They use up resources. They are nasty to other employees. This is called a cultural terrorist. That ONE employee can ruin your business, your reputation with your clients, and your ability to keep your people working for you. They aren’t worth the money that they make for you, and it is time to let them go.
POWER THOUGHT: Don’t sacrifice the whole staff for ONE cultural terrorist. Cut bait and move on.
by Beth | Jul 27, 2022 | Employee Hiring, Employee Retention, Interview Techniques, Recruiting
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by Beth | Jul 13, 2022 | Lifestyle
My daughter Katy has 3 high school friends that I take on vacation every year. I absolutely love going on vacation with them, and this year, we went to Key West Florida to dig through the sand for seashells.
Also every year, I worry about leaving on vacation. I worry that my clients will be mad that I am gone. I worry that something big is gong to happen while I am not there. I worry that putting off the recruiting process will drag out longer than I want it to… worry, worry and more worry.
Here is the truth: none of those worries ever come to fruition. As a matter of fact, the opposite is usually true. My clients are able to get more work done, because I am not there. They are relieved that they get to take a break, and typically, the hiring process goes faster upon my return.
In addition, I am happier and more relaxed, and I have time to think about the hiring process from the 30,000 foot view, not just from the ground level.
Vacations have always been important: whether you go somewhere exotic or have a “stay-cation” and spend the week at the pool working on your tan lines. But especially this year, vacation is more important than EVER.
Not only are people burnt out, a huge amount of people are leaving their jobs. If you want to keep your best employees, my advice is always to let them go on vacation. And when they are gone, make sure that you are covering their work so that they can completely unplug.
We know that innovation comes from experiences outside the office. So, if you are worried that no work will get done, some of the BEST work happens when you and your team unplug.
When we return, we all have killer tans, and you get solutions to big problems.
Win/win.
