I once heard a business owner say that having employees is like herding cats (not sheep)… and you (the business owner) are the sheep dog. As a business owner, you probably run to and fro, trying to fix this, then do that, then make this employee happy, and the list goes on and on. If you are honest, you love what you do, but adding people into the mix just complicates things. You may feel that adding staff has muddied your desire and vision for the future of your organization. You may be asking, “Do I really want more employee headaches?”

 

If I had a nickel for every business owner that has struggled with their employees, I would be sitting on a beach somewhere sipping an adult beverage. Fortunately, you are not alone. Unfortunately, the problem actually starts with you and where you are focusing.

 

As a business coach, I find that employees are the greatest stressor of the business owner. Despite successes that may be coming, the temptation is there to either sell the business, shut it down or take it back to one employee… yourself. This is the level of frustration that can come when employee problems persist.

 

In today’s world, it seems that many business owners can’t find enough employees to serve their clients and it is stunting their business growth. Sometimes, they have enough employees, but those employees can’t get along, have poor attitudes, or low productivity. Businesses may have enough customers but they don’t have the people to do the work for the customer. This affects their ability to output quality and timely delivery of their product or service. Across the board, it seems businesses cannot fill their labor force with the right employees. The market has shifted to an employee market.

 

As consumers, we frequently see signs that show us how deep this problem really is. This era has, sadly, earned the name, “The Great Resignation.” Unfortunately, some companies will not recover.

 

The pandemic accelerated what was already happening. With the boomers retiring more and more rapidly coupled with the millennials forcing change in the workplace, business owners have been largely caught off guard. This phenomenon has created a large hole in the workforce. On top of that, each new hire costs a company on average about $15,000.

 

So, how does a big problem like this get fixed? There are three key places to focus that will help business owners ensure they weather this economic storm. The first step is to make an honest evaluation of your culture. You can do this through actively seeking conversations with your employees and taking surveys with your staff to see how much they like what they do. One popular way to do this is through Gallup Polls. Gallup has a survey called the Q12 which measures employee engagement. Another way is through 360 Employee Reviews. This method gives the business owner the essential honest feedback they need to constantly improve their work environment.

 

The second step to weathering the economic storm is to spend significant effort and time on enhancing your customer experience from start to finish. Ask questions like, “How much does your customer like working with you?” and “ Do my customers walk away feeling like they had a great experience?” Most business owners don’t know the answer to these lurking questions, which doesn’t give them real-time data of how to maximize the customer experience.

 

Finally, business owners need to identify the best age range of employees ideal for their company then focus on hiring that demographic. Each generation has different employment wants and needs. Gen X and Gen Y are much more stable than millennials but will need a higher income to provide for their families. Millennials (Gen Z) are more focused on working for companies that are making a social or philanthropic impact in the world around them. They care much less about the money and tend to be minimalistic in their thought process. They do, however, tend to be entitled, so employers may have to do more hand holding with employees of this generation. On the flip side, Millennials tend to desire to become better at what they do. Approach is key to helping them move towards greatness in their role, in leadership and in communication.

 

The easiest way to budget for acquiring new employees is by shifting your time and redeploying expense dollars from another part of your company. Funds could come from strategically cutting expenses and temporarily cutting into profits. Perhaps one of the best ways to shift dollars, however, is to simply re-allocate your marketing dollars. Many companies only market to their target audience of customers. Intentionally advertising to BOTH customers and prospective employees can provide the budget necessary to gain valuable employees while maintaining new customer acquisition. This shift can happen without any significant budget change in your business which is crucial through these tumultuous times.

 

How do you find new employees? You do this first through your existing staff as they will attract their friends, who they already know, like and trust. This helps minimize the risk of hiring someone that is going to be cancerous to your culture.

 

After checking with your existing staff, you can then increase your efforts of time and money on finding the right employees. You do this through finding the best ways to connect with them based on their generation. Additionally, you HAVE to put in place an employee incentive plan that gives your customers, vendors and team the desire to refer good people to work at your organization.

 

In your employee incentive plan, present WHY working for your organization is the best place to work beyond just the money. Focus on promoting the benefits and perks of working at your organization. If you hire people who are just going to work for a paycheck, they will never be inspired to provide the excellent customer experience that you desire to give. Your employees should have the same hunger and passion for the organization that you do. This will create long-standing customer relationships that ensure consistent growth for your company.

 

To recap your action plan to fix “the great employee resignation” is:

 

1. Improve your workplace culture by helping your employees focus on their future growth and opportunities with you.
2. Ensure you have a customer survey in place to create accountability with your team and enable you to see the holes in your customer experience.
3. Retarget your budget to find employees that are a good fit for your organization long term.
4. Ensure you have an employee acquisition incentive plan in place because your best employees have friends who may become key employees for you.

 

If you would like to accelerate this process or would like to take a deeper dive, Please schedule a quick chat on our website at www.higherImpact.me.