Ask Marcia Leadership Q and As:
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Q. My company faces a myriad of problems in 2022, but nothing that we haven’t been challenged with or that other business owners aren’t also dealing with: turnover, engaging employees, recruiting and hiring, training, etc. I’d like to kick off 2022 with more hope of success. What do you recommend?
A. The most successful business owners and managers understand that they own the business (system) that produces all of the solutions. However, they also understand that they don’t have all of the answers to business or customers problems. If they are going to tap in on the knowledge and ideas of their employees and “get their money’s worth,” they use their resources. How does a leader do that? Think of the issue; think of the link to the customer. What does the customer need?
Pose the problem to your team/staff. Ask them for the ideas to make the customer happy. As them how they would implement their ideas. Ask them how they would ensure that the customer is ecstatic with the results. It’s too often that management will assign a solution or manager to fix something or assume a problem has been solved, but the problem only continues to expand. Perhaps the teams focused on a symptom of the problem and not the root cause. Your organization needs to be obsessed with providing great quality and fast responsiveness to customers. You and your staff must understand what the customers really care about. Do you know and discuss what your customers really want and need (likewise have this conversation with employees)?
For example, your customers are the residents in a senior care facility. The staff spends time putting up holiday decorations (that elderly residents can’t even see well), but the slow service and tasteless food in the cold, drafty dining room is poor. The staff is putting in their best efforts decorating, but what the seniors care about (tasty food in a comfortable setting) is not being served. Result: poor quality and facility reviews, decline of the business. Understand the measures of your organization’s success—as it relates to your customers!
