by Beth | May 4, 2016 | Employee Retention
I have written several blogs about Harley, the goldfish that my daughter saved from the wretched science experiment; recently, I have introduced Coby, our new beloved blue betta.
Last week, Coby was placed in a small cup while Randy cleaned out the fish bowl. Randy walked away, then went back into the kitchen to finish the job. Coby had leapt out of the cup and was flopping around on the counter and gasping! Randy sprang into action and saved the fish from certain death! WHEW!
When an employee resigns from your organization, there is always a certain level of panic. Even in a situation where the resignation is the best thing for the company, employers worry about the ramifications: Will others leave too? Is this indicative of a larger problem here? What will my clients think? How will I get this work done? Should I re-negotiate with this employee in order to retain them? The urge to spring into action and restore the employee to their position is often a first instinct of an employer, as it was when Randy found Coby on the counter.
Despite first instinct, the two situations couldn’t be more different. My advice for an employer in this predicament is this: Help that person leave well. Tell them that you truly appreciate the time that they gave to your organization, and ask what they need from you. Figure out a way to let that person make their exit on good terms so that everyone feels better. You are the boss. You set the tone.
Give your former employee the freedom to be successful and continue on their own path. You will feel better that you did.
by Beth | Oct 20, 2015 | Employee Hiring, Employee Retention, Leadership
Do you walk into your office and see Zombies disguised as employees? Those lifeless bodies that wander around thoughtlessly in packs? Have you ever thought about how they got that way?
New employees are so always excited to start their new job. I have heard many new hires talk about their first day on the job just like they talk about their first day of school… with excitement and a lot of awe. So how is it that years or even months into their employment with a company, they lose their passion for the job?
Because we suck the life out of them with too many constraints and not enough direction. We make it hard for them to do their jobs with petty rules. We don’t spend enough time training our new people, and we really don’t take the time to explain our expectations to them. All of the sudden, we have a lifeless body of the previously excited employee.
If you look around and see zombies on your staff, it is time to take stock in your interviewing process, your training program and your employee handbook. If you are dictating when someone can go to the bathroom, you are running a daycare, not a professional office. It is time for a re-do.
And if that doesn’t work, try chocolate.
by Beth | Jul 14, 2015 | Attitude, Employee Retention, Leadership
One dreary Monday morning, a friend of mine dragged himself into his weekly staff meeting. Sighing deeply, he prayed that his enormous coffee would somehow get him through the worst time of the week… the weekly staff meeting. BORING!!!
This week, however, his manager came in and dumped a huge bucket of Legos on the table. He grabbed the flat green stand, attached three Legos to it, and turned to the employee sitting to his right and said “Take 3 Legos, add it to mine, then pass it to the next person. Let’s see what we can create.” Then, the manager went on with the regular staff meeting. Same format, same information, but the atmosphere had dramatically changed. What the team created was an unnamable, indescribable Lego blob, and a whole lot of laughter on a dreary Monday morning. My friend bounced back to his desk with a spring in his step that had nothing to do with his huge cup of coffee.
What transpired after that was mind blowing. The team got closer, created more, cooperated more, and laughed at inside jokes around the Lego disasters that came out of those meetings. Then, it became the responsibility for other team members to bring an activity to the staff meeting. What really mattered was that manager got his team out of the rut they were in, and suddenly there was a huge shift in energy and innovation.
If you are the manager of a team and you dread your own meetings, then certainly your employees do as well. Take a moment to figure out how to get yourself out of the rut and then provide a cure for the interminable dreaded staff meeting. A little play time does wonders.
(Dedicated to Alex Deison, Logan Deison, Logan Gilbert, Alex Gilbert and Josh Gilbert: the men in my family who are true Lego connoisseurs.)
by Beth | Apr 3, 2014 | Employee Retention, Firing Employees, Hiring Managers, Leadership
Many people may not be aware that before I became an interviewing specialist, I owned and managed a restaurant in Boulder, Colorado. When I owned the restaurant, I hired a manager who committed several crimes right under my nose. I really had no idea how bad it was until my 2 best managers at the time came to me to turn in their notice together. They sat us down and told us horror stories about what it was like to work at my place of business and ultimately mine and my family’s second home. We fired the manager effectively immediately. After the fired manager was gone, the complaints really started pouring in… My employees suddenly felt they could freely speak about this former employee. We had lost really good staff and continued to have turn over as a result of this incident. If it were not for the courage of our two managers, who at the time were ready to quit, I still would not have known.
I had heard complaints before from other staff members, but I didn’t really take them seriously. Looking back on it, I should have. So, why didn’t I? Because the complaints seemed so minor. “He didn’t do his side work right.” “He didn’t wipe down the counters.” “He makes me do his work for him, even though he pays me for it.” I simply thought people were just blowing off steam.
After we fired him, I asked my staff: ‘Why didn’t you tell me that he was stealing money/inventory/food?” And the answer was always the same: “Beth, I tried to talk to you about this.”
The biggest complaints that I hear from my clients is that they wish their employees would be more forthcoming about problems in the business/department. But, the employees say, “If you don’t take my small problems seriously, how am I supposed to talk to you about the big stuff?” In other words, those early, seemingly minor, complaints are opportunities for employees to see how you handle the little stuff. They are trying to figure out if you will hear them with the big stuff. They will talk to you about the tip of the iceberg as a way to begin the conversation about the bottom of the iceberg.
Your job as the boss is to take complaints very seriously, even the smallest of them. Usually, if you have an employee who is willing to come talk to you, the problem is bigger than they indicate. Use this opportunity to really look at the work environment that you are providing and make sure it is operating the way that you intend. Don’t ignore it, or you will be “the last to know”.
by Beth | Feb 12, 2014 | Employee Hiring, Employee Retention, Selecting Good Candidates
Last Friday I came home to a fish in a plastic cup on my kitchen counter. My daughter named him Harley. She promptly went out and bought him a really nice bowl with beautiful blue rocks then filled the bowl with fresh water. I thought the fish was dead… really. He laid on the bottom for awhile and then he floated to the top. I tried to tell her that Harley was not going to make it – that he was dead in the water. She did not believe me and kept at it. She kept watching this half dead fish, trying to keep it living through pure will. We watched this fish for hours before he really began to swim around and attack the way-too-may- food pellets that we dropped in his new home. Two days later he is thriving – he looks like he is a brand new fish with a new lease on life.
A client called last week frustrated with his employee of almost 3 years… things were not getting done, balls were dropping and clients were not happy. I coached my client to sit down with his beloved employee and explain how he was feeling. Explain to your best employee ever that balls are getting dropped. Turns out, this really great employee needed fresh water and some attention. Remember, our employees are not us. They do not learn the job through osmosis; they learn it from their boss. And they continue to perform and perfect as a result of that leadership.
So, if you are feeling like your staff is half floating through their work, it is time for some attention. Show them that you are committed to their success by asking them how they are feeling about their work. Simply ask what you can do to help them enjoy their job better. And you know what? It is shocking to me how easy it is to keep your employees engaged and happy with a committed boss who cares enough to ask “Do you need some fresh water?”
And Harley? Well it turns out that he was the subject of a science experiment in my daughter’s science class. She “fish-napped” him because she said he looked dead. I said “Won’t your teacher be mad that you stole the fish from the experiment?”
“Mom,” she said with an eye roll. “The class is called ‘Life Science’, emphasis on LIFE!”
Well said, kiddo.
by Beth | Jan 6, 2014 | Employee Hiring, Employee Retention, Firing Employees, Interview Process, Selecting Good Candidates, Uncategorized
Last week, I met with a new client who suffers from what I call “the Hiring Hangover”. He had just fired a long time employee and had to hire someone else quickly. The whole experience left a really bad taste in his mouth and he was having a hard time getting over it. He kept trying to change his policies and procedures to make sure that he did not get into the same position with a new employee that he had experienced in the past. In other words, he wanted to punish the new employee for the sins of the old employee. While it is completely understandable, it will not work. When you hire a person while “hungover”, you will make a bad hiring decision. You have to feel good about bringing a new person onboard. You have to be excited.
So, how do you recover from a bad hire?
- You take a deep breath. Do not hire too quickly. If you need immediate help, hire a temp. Jumping in to a situation with a new hire when you are not ready sets you both up for failure.
- Create your ideal candidate list. Put your head in the clouds and dream BIG. And I mean really big, like roses and rainbows and unicorns. You cannot have what you want unless you know what it is and how to identify it. So until you are ready to write a list of what you want, then you are not ready for a new hire.
- Be patient. Do not start the interview process until you feel excited again.
Every manager has had a bad hire. It feels awful and firing someone should never feel good. So give yourself time to recover and breathe. Things will look better tomorrow. And your next amazing employee is right around the corner. I promise.
