Business In Washington - Business Operations Consulting

The importance of good first line management to an organization is frequently given short shrift, in my experience.  This is particularly true with small companies that may have limited training budgets.  This may not be the best place for penny pinching, however.  Consider the potential cost of ham-handed people management first.

That cost can be huge.  First of all, in our litigious society, it is important to avoid stepping into a very large legal pile out of carelessness.  We often tell the story (a true story, although we have changed the names to protect the innocent) of walking into a client’s main office for a meeting.  The receptionist, about 8 months pregnant, greeted us and said our client would be with us in a moment.

The client finally came out and we went into his office.  As we began our meeting, we asked about the receptionist.  Did our client have temporary help lined up to cover for her during her maternity leave?  Our client replied, “I’m going to fire that (expletive deleted) today.”  Taking care to close the client’s office door, we suggested, strongly, that our client discuss this with his attorney first.  The attorney, summoned immediately via telephone, said he would be happy to take the case - the receptionist’s.  It would be a slam dunk.

My point?  One potential cost of clumsy or uninformed management is the cost of a lawsuit. 

Sure, lawsuits are expensive, but I think the higher potential cost of poor first line management is employee turnover.  It’s not that easy to find and hire great talent.  So we urge our clients to consider how they manage them.  Make an investment of time and dollars - for books, training, or coaching - to improve your own management skills.  Promoting one of your employees into a supervisory or management slot?  Make sure to help him/her make that transition.  It’s not that easy to give up doing the work and start getting the work done through others.   

I was lucky to have the benefit of management training in a large corporation.  We called new manager school “charm school”.  Joking aside, it was great training.  It included direct input from our employees, too.  We worked individually with instructors to go over the results of those employee surveys.  In addition to the numeric ratings, we also had employee comments, retyped so we couldn’t identify the source.  These comments could be bruising, but ultimately helpful to our growth as people managers.  (In an attempt to protect myself, I talked to my employees beforehand, encouraging them to offer candid, but constructive comments.  They did.  Whew!)

Can’t afford fancy management school for your new supervisory staff?  There are other ways to help them grow in their new management positions.  If you are experienced, take some of your own time to work with them.  Meet with your supervisors regularly and discuss issues as a group.  This will help you establish consistent management process and style as you train.  Work with a skilled consultant who can help train your team. 

Scale your management development to your organization and budget, but don’t skip it!  Poor managers are expensive in more ways than one!

This is the time of year when we all try to take stock of where we are and plan for an even better year this year.  I think it’s also a great time to make sure your employees are primed and motivated to charge forward with you.  Are they?  Spend some time and effort on management and HR chores to ensure your team is chomping at the bit, too.

Many of us in small business are new to people management and not terribly comfortable with it.  Take heart.  Even if management doesn’t come easily or naturally to you, it is possible to learn.  The rewards are well worth it.  In any business, regardless of size, your greatest asset is not on your balance sheet.  It’s your people.  Imagine how much more you can accomplish this year with a skilled, dedicated, motivated team at your side.

The beginning of a new year is a good time to evaluate your employees and set new performance goals for the future.  People need to know how they have done in the past and what is expected of them in future.  They also need direction.  That direction should come from the top.  Communication is key.  Make sure your employees are aware of your vision for the business and how you plan to get there.  Let them know what their role in this success is and how important they are to the overall success of the company.

Start by sitting down with each employee and discussing his/her performance.  Let him/her know what was done well and where you expect improvement.  As a new manager myself, I found it very difficult to confront a poorly performing employee.  No one likes confrontation.  I got over the hump by realizing that I would do my employees a serious disservice if I didn’t let them know what they were doing wrong and give them a chance to fix it.  When doing an employee evaluation, I prepare in advance so I am clear in what I want to convey.  Then, I always start with the good news - what he/she has done well - before going into what I expect in terms of improvement.  When performance issues are more serious, I convey clear expectations with specific dates attached for improvement and reevaluation.  Be direct, honest, and very clear.  It is possible to do so without being mean or nasty.  Your employees will appreciate it. 

Employee performance planning, development and evaluation will work best if it is a regular activity.  Develop a schedule and system that works for you and make sure all employees are aware of it.  Use the system and communicate regularly with your employees.  The process will help make it easier for all concerned.

As the year progresses, take time to celebrate successes.  It will help keep your team on track and motivated.  Besides, everyone appreciates an atta-boy or atta-girl now and then.  Have some fun with it, if appropriate, with contests and awards.  Make sure your employees feel appreciated and that their efforts make a difference.  It will make a difference in your business.

In the old time western movies, Hollywood was pretty obvious in presenting good versus bad guys, heroes versus crooks.  Subtlety was never their strong suit.  The good guys almost always wore white hats, nice clean white hats to boot.  The bad guys wore black hats, usually dusty and sweat stained to go along with the dirty-looking stubble on their faces.

Nowadays, the job of figuring out who’s good and who’s not is a lot tougher.  And it remains very important, especially for the small business owner relying  on a small staff as well as critical outside resources.  I believe the ability to determine who is truly acting in your best interests can make or break a business.  Even if your business isn’t broken, it can be dealt a pretty heavy blow by an error in people judgement.

So how do you tell?  Here are a few thoughts.

What is their attitude?  This is something to watch over time.  Few people can fake it long term.  Is the person really helping you and your business, or mostly helping themselves?

Especially for an outside resource - CPA, attorney, consultant - are they telling you the truth or just what you want to hear?  If you step back and really think about it with an open mind, this may become more clear.  Notice how other members of your staff and outside advisory team react to the person.  Sometimes a brown noser is blatantly obvious to all but the principal.

For a consultant, is the person selling a product while charging for advice?  It’s fine to sell a product that will meet a client’s need, but it’s a conflict of interest to charge for your expert advice then collect a commission for the product you just recommended.

What do you do if you are impacted by a bad guy masquerading as a guy with a white hat?  Analyze the situation, determine where you went wrong in your choice, and learn from the experience.  And don’t make the mistake of painting all other people with the same broad brush.  We had the experience of talking to a potential client once who informed us, “I hired two consultants once and they both lied to me.  All consultants are liars.”  Needless to say, we didn’t get the client and he badly needed what we had to offer.  There are lots of excellent and ethical professionals out there.  Don’t cut yourself off from needed assistance.  Just do a better job of selecting it. 

I’ve been reading the Wall Street Journal again.  This time, the article that caught my eye was one by Elizabeth Holmes, “Career Mentors Today Seem Short on Advice But Give a Mean Tour.”  It presents a trend in corporate America for managers to delegate the mentorship of new employees to more experienced employees, rather than taking on that role themselves as was the norm in years past.  Judging by the examples used in the article, the approach isn’t working very well.

I’ve been a manager in a large corporation, so I understand the demands on a manager’s time and the need to delegate effectively.  Now, however, viewing this situation through the lens of a small business owner, I have to say that this article raises some real concerns.  In the current job market, there are many more jobs than qualified people, so once you have found and hired a good person, it seems cavalier and stupid to handle bringing them on board so poorly.  Take the time to handle this task yourself or make sure your mentors are trained and equipped to handle the job well.  In fact, if you have an employee bucking for a promotion to management, being a mentor might be a great proving ground.  Use it as a growth and training assignment and monitor the mentor’s progress.

How you introduce a new employee to your company, handle initial new employee orientation as well as ongoing training says a lot about you as a manager and about your company as a place to work.  Give the task the time and thought it deserves and a good new employee will become a great long term employee.  It takes so much effort, time and money to hire.  Don’t waste your investment after the hire with shoddy management.

How do you welcome a new employee into your company?