HOW CAN SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS MAINTAIN A STRONG WORKFORCE DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION, A LOOMING RECESSION, AND A MYRIAD OF OTHER CHALLENGES? By focusing on quick wins that are in their immediate control. Here are two quick win strategies.

QUICK WIN 1

Attract better candidates by talking to them, not at them.

Indeed, LinkedIn, and other recruiting ads often contain boring lists of job duties and generic company descriptions. To attract top talent, focus your ad on why your company’s culture creates an environment for:

  • Employees to feel like they are doing something important and meaningful.

  • Managers to help employees learn and develop new skills.

  • Owners to know what’s really going on at the company.

  • All employees to highly recommend working at your company.

QUICK WIN 2

Hold problem employees accountable. Now.

Especially at small businesses, not dealing with problem employees frequently leads to more troubles, like burning out other employees who need to pick up the slack.

Company leaders often delay confronting problem employees because they fear being unfair or damaging the company’s culture. For a quick win, leaders need to focus their attention on the connection between the employee’s problematic behavior and negative company outcomes. Here are two examples:

Managers who rarely set team goals or communicate team priorities typically connect to these negative results:

  • Poor time management and lost productivity.

  • Unforced mistakes and extra time to correct them.

  • Missed customer deadlines and complaints.

Employees who fail to meet deadlines often connect to these negative outcomes:

  • Last-minute rushes, confusion, and unnecessary company expenses.

  • Diminished customer trust.

  • Lost new revenue opportunities.

For a quick win, company leaders should have an honest discussion with the problem employee that focuses on the connection between their behavior and specific negative results. Don’t qualify what you say or make the discussion about personality differences; maintain focus on the connection and also address how the employee’s behavior can change so that it is instead connected to positive outcomes. If the employee’s behavior does not change in a reasonable amount of time, then you will need to have a “Sorry, but you are not a good match for our company needs” conversation.

Ready to strengthen your workforce with these and other quick wins? Call us at 505-377-0015