“Managing is like holding a dove in your hand. Squeeze too hard and you kill it, not hard enough and it flies away.”-Tommy Lasorda
What do employees really want? As the leader and Strategic Business Owner, it’s imperative that you know the answer to this question.
Employees:
- Want to know where the company is headed and why
- Want to know their roles, responsibilities and what is expected of them
- Want to know how they will be evaluated and rewarded
- Want to utilize their talents in the best way possible
- Want to feel appreciated and valued – that their work and ideas matter
- Want to be coached – challenged, motivated and held accountable
- Want to have the right tools, training and authority to do their jobs
- Want to contribute in a meaningful way to the company and its mission
- Want to grow and develop – to reach their potential
- Want to have an emotionally connected, competent manager/leader of character support their success
True leaders care about their people, their on-the-job education and their development. Make sure you have a fair, annual performance review process in place. Employees crave feedback on how they are performing. When it comes to your employees, view yourself as an educator and developer of people. Make sure they know your system as well as your expectations for their roles and responsibilities within it. Continually share your vision with them. Clarity of purpose is critical to employees. Give them a defined structure, order, sense of purpose and meaning. In short, take care of the team; the team will take care of your customers and business.
Remember, money is usually not the major reason or motivation for employees staying with the company. Also, don’t ever forget that employees are people first!
Our leadership and other strengths are not worth much if you are not able to achieve leverage and results through other people. We need to keep reminding ourselves and our management team that the greatest assets of our business are our people!
Thanks for the post, Gary. All really great points. As the former owner of a home health agency with 50+ employees, I know that the success of a business is closely tied to the effectiveness of your leadership. Employers often overlook the importance of knowing what matters to their employees and making sure that they get it. Non-monetary compensation, in the form of information, recognition, appreciation and flexible scheduling, go a long way in creating a happy and dedicated team and a successful business.