Surviving the early days in your business can open significant opportunities for growth if you manage to establish a viable profit model and get some quality hands on deck to help out. From this business growth comes scaling, where processes and procedures need to be bedded down to create the cookie-cutter systems required to multiply your business and create exponential growth. In these times, it’s common for business owners and staff members alike to develop feelings of isolation and disconnect. When the focus of the work is on standardising and duplicating operations, it is important to ensure your staff know just how important they are to you, and the fulfilment of the company mission.
The number one reason employees choose to leave their employer for good is because they don’t feel acknowledged for their contributions. Studies show a whopping 79% of people who quit leave for this reason. Here are five things you and your managers can look out for to keep your finger on the pulse of how your team feel about their work:
“Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.” Simon Sinek, Start with Why
HOW THEY SHOW UP
First of all, take a look at how your people show up each day. An actively engaged team will have low rates of absenteeism because they enjoy coming to work. They will start work on time and should be encouraged to finish work on time to prevent burnout. You will notice that they arrive ready to go, fresh, motivated, and prepared with the equipment they need. Pride in their work will be reflected in how they dress, and how they manage their workspace.
LANGUAGE THEY USE
The way people speak at work also reveals their attitudes and motivations. People invested in your business growth will use encouraging, uplifting and productive language. They will focus on solving problems to achieve outcomes, and their conversations will foster a culture of collaboration, encouragement and support at work. Discussions marked by resentment, complaining, objections and gossip reflect you have people who may not be there for long.
ATTITUDE TO CHANGE
The response your employees have to change is a very clear indicator of their engagement in your company’s mission. When people are invested in making a significant impact through your business they will appreciate the need for change, and they will embrace those seasons of change when they come. Whether the change is as simple as a new administrative routine, or a more comprehensive restructuring, their response will tell you a lot about where they’re really at.
GENERATING IMPROVEMENT
If your team is genuinely invested in change, your company will be able to move with the times in responsive, proactive agility. Staff who embrace change will look for ways to expand into new areas of opportunity with a creative, innovative outlook. They will be free to generate and implement ideas for improvement at work because they will pride themselves on being action-focused problem solvers. Engagement like this will take you all to the top of your field together.
ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS
The achievement levels of your staff over time indicate very clearly just how positive your company culture is. Setting up routines to monitor performance is the only way you and your leadership team will be able to ensure your staff achieve what is required to scale the business. Engaged staff meet and even exceed their KPIs, and set their own goals for advancement. Positive attitudes result in positive actions you can acknowledge and reward.
Business building can be so demanding it puts your team spirit at risk. When you are focussed on increasing revenue, lowering your expenses, rolling out new products and launching new advertising campaigns it can be hard to find time to attend to the needs of your people. These five tips will help you focus quickly on how things are going as you scale your business.
