Making employees more productive!

Business Doctor Simon Hodgson offers his advice on training new employees

In a recent article, the results on employee job satisfaction survey were released. According to the story, the level of satisfaction has reached an all time low, with the number one reason being that employees felt their job was boring. In another report released on January 5, 2010 by The Conference Board, which was based on a survey of 5000 households, only 45 per cent of those surveyed said they are satisfied with their jobs — 55 per cent are not satisfied with their jobs. With the economy the way it has been, you would think most people would be happy just to have a job.

With that being true, people still want to be engaged and enjoy what they do. Employee satisfaction is not only a need, but a necessity and finding the time and the patience to develop people is part of the challenge.

Let’s discuss the “employment cycle”. An employment cycle is the whirlwind people go through from the moment they are hired. The cycle looks like this: A new employee is hired and the focus becomes quite clear: to train him/her with the very best materials and to understand what the job requirements and everything in between are. Once we have hired and trained an employee, we start the process of leading with clear expectations and clear directions. With great training and leadership the individual becomes part of the team and a productive member. Sometimes this happens quickly and sometimes it happens slowly. Usually, at this point, employees become the fabric of our daily lives and become lost in the support piece. With support, we continue to lead the team members but also support their goals and aspirations. This could be cross-training them into a new role or handing more responsibility to them. With support, it becomes a matter of time and patience. Sound familiar?

Today, time has become a precious commodity. When we go to the grocery store, there are express lines to get us through quickly. There is the quick lube to change your oil when you don’t have time to go to your usual mechanic. You can even get a movie downloaded in the blink of an eye to your television and how neat is that? The same traits have followed into our work lives. We are under pressure to do more and to maximise every second of every day. When there is no time, our patience to make it through the next meeting with employees is sometimes lost in the hustle and bustle. The comedian Steven Wright put it best when he said, "I took a course in speed waiting. Now I can wait an hour in only 10 minutes." Although humorous, it is very true in our lives.

When I look back at managing a kitchen retail outlet, developing people took time and patience. I remember at first becoming frustrated with an individual who was not getting it as quickly as I’d have liked. Patience was a key to his growth and potential. I expected this individual to master items quickly. Yes, I always wanted him to stretch and grow, but it always came down to time and patience. Instead of letting him struggle and learn, I would jump in to fix the problem, thus never giving him a chance to fail. By letting people fail, they grow.

This does not mean let the business perish with their decisions or lack of skills, but to let people struggle with projects and not give them the answers all the time. Again it’s about time and patience. As you develop someone, the chances are you might have already made the same mistake and you do not want them to fail. By allowing people to struggle you are helping them to transform. By expecting people to master something quickly we could miss some key opportunities for growth and potential.

There are many items you need to master to be successful at the job. Instead of slowly teaching and developing the person, I would now prefer to spend two weeks force-feeding everything that had put me in the role that I had. It was not deliberate or systematic, but time-sensitive. Teaching an individual how to master the industry that we live in cannot be done in 20 minutes. By not having the patience and not being slow and deliberate, well, I will allow you to guess to what level of success this person initially had.

Here are a few thoughts to help with their success.
• Allow people to fail. It is difficult to see someone struggle but they will learn a lot with the bumps along the way.
• Take a slow and deliberate approach. By being deliberate and patient, you will see the growth of the individual and not have false expectations of where they should be.

As I look back to helping individuals develop, the five words that I favour most are "take risks with your employees". Not only will they grow from the experiences, but they will see you as a partner. It often takes baby steps, time and patience to develop someone, even if you feel it is a small change. Stay positive with the fast-moving world. It is important for people to see we believe in them and feel they can succeed, even with the occasional setback. People are the key to success and it’s a lot simpler if you have patience.

If there’s a subject that you would like an opinion on, or just some general advice, email me at s.hodgson@kbdi.org.au

Bibliography: www.prioritylearning.com

Simon Hodgson is a Director of the Kitchen and Bathroom Designers Institute and runs Direct Representation, a consultancy business to the kitchen and bathroom industry.
 

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