I believe one of the key drawbacks from getting staff to really perform is we make things way too complex. From day one, with induction of staff, we take them through our policies and procedures, then onto the job and they learn how things work with more rules and procedures to follow.
No wonder a lot of staff struggle, learn to cut corners and therefore quality of products and service starts to decline. We live in an even more complicated world where we have access to so much data we’d think it would be easier.
Managing and motivating staff is another area that seems to be getting harder and harder, yet there are so many courses and books available to help – perhaps that’s the problem.
In this TED talk by Yves Morieux, he dismisses the old ways of business structure and the complexities this has developed, by focusing on 6 simple rules to get better productivity from staff.
Two of these rules that stood out for me are – “Understand what your people do”. I am in stores a lot and so many times I hear complaints from staff and owners about merchandising and promotions that just don’t work – these are designed by people who sit in an office too far removed from the front line. If they had to try and sell some of these offers they’d struggle and they’d get a much better understanding of what works and what doesn’t if they visited stores and asked the people who have to sell.
Second rule is “Reward those who co-operate”. And help the ones who aren’t doing the job you want them to do. You can’t blame the ones who aren’t succeeding if they haven’t been helped, or if they haven’t asked for help. People need to know where they stand and what success looks like and we need to help them get there.
Enjoy the video and reflect on how you can simplify your workplace.
Roger Simpson – CEO, The Retail Solution and Author of “The Retail Solution” With over 35 years’ industry experience, Roger Simpson is recognized as Australia’s #1 Authority on customer ROI in the retail industry and as a global expert on staff coaching, customer service and selling skills.
