This is what your staff want from you

We always talk about what we want from our staff but let’s for a moment flip that on its head and ask ourselves what our staff want from us, remembering that happy staff are productive staff. We cannot expect our staff to make our customers happy if they aren’t happy in their jobs. So here is what they want:

We like to use the D-A-R-T acronym, explained as follows:

D – Direction
A – Appreciation
R – Respect
T – Tools

Let’s unpack what each of these means:

Direction

It is critical that we give our staff direction, yet so many businesses don’t do enough of this. People love it when what’s expected of them is made crystal clear – no more guesswork or assumptions! Direction can take many forms but here are some useful suggestions:

• KPIs – Key Performance indicators. The difference between a job description and KPIs is that a job description lists everything you need to do, whereas your KPIs are what you need to do to keep your job. These are the most important things the employee needs to achieve. They must be measurable and clear.
• Team meetings – discussing expectations and giving direction in your team meetings are a must. These meetings should take place regularly.
• Performance Appraisals which we prefer to call career discussions. The perfect platform to give team members direction and areas of focus.
• Company Vision Statement – A Compelling Vision Statement serves to be the guiding light in any business and it’s up to the business leaders to ensure it doesn’t just become wallpaper but that they breathe life into it. Every single employee must know how they can contribute to the Vision of the company as this gives them a sense of purpose and belonging.

Appreciation

The number 1 reason people leave a job is a lack of appreciation yet it is the easiest thing to do and costs, not a cent. A simple thank you or well done to an employee goes a long way when coming from their superior. We work with a lot of business owners and must admit this is something they often neglect. A personal email, or even a post note on somebody’s desk with a thank you will make your team members feel valued and appreciated.

Respect

Employees (like every other human being on the planet) want to be respected. The definition of respect is “having regard for somebody’s feelings”. Respect in the workplace means not screaming or shouting at employees (especially in front of their colleagues) and not making them feel less than. By all means, hold your employees accountable but do so in a respectful, dignified way.

Tools

Do your employees have all the necessary tools to do their jobs? By tools, we mean physical things like a desk, comfortable chair, decent computer etc as well as the necessary training. Smaller businesses often recruit in crisis mode and new employees are expected to hit the ground running, often without the necessary training. You need to invest time into training your staff to buy back your time in the future as they can then do the job with relative ease.

Our Offer to You

At ActionCOACH Ignite, we help businesses make more money, improve the performance of the team and assist you to implement processes and procedures.

Should you be interested in hearing more about how we can help you, then take us up on our offer of an obligation-free complimentary consultation where we will explore how you could take your business to the next level. (Available to business owners only).

Please click here to request your session.

Remember – Thinking Big is still just Thinking.

For more info on ActionCOACH Ignite, visit us at www.actioncoachignite.co.za

Kind Regards
The ActionCOACH Ignite Team

Kloof, Durban