23 Feb 2008 03:21:11 | Lorraine Pirihi
Following on from the last edition of The Organised Times where
we spoke about developing the people in your business, this week
we're focussing on the importance of the continual development
of your managers.
Leadership comes from the top down. Poor management skills is
the cause of most employee dissatisfaction and results in their
poor performance.
The following article by Nathan Chanesman from My Profile is
worthwhile reading:
Poor management skills lead to poor employee performance It's
disheartening to read that poor management skills is the cause
of most business dissatisfaction. You'd think that with all the
training and investment that has gone into this topic that we'd
learnt by now to get it right.
Employees have lost trust in the companies they work for Kelly
Services Survey published in October last year indicated that
47% of Australian employees believe "that companies do not have
their best interests at heart".
Dissatisfaction seems to be the order of the day. 50% of
Australia's workforce want to quit it's job and nearly 40%
reported that they often "woke up in the morning not willing to
face the day".
SEEK, the online job board survey of October 2003 reported that
75% of employees questioned are not happy with their current
job.
Asked what they liked most about their job 51% said "the people
I work with". And what did they hate most? 60% said "the quality
of management". Not surprising, dissatisfaction with management
increased as people got older.
The Solutions
Get Profiled Visit www.myprofile.com.au They'll help you find
the right person for the job, and help you understand yourself
and your employees and how you can work together as a cohesive
team to achieve your business vision and goals.
360 degree Pirihi Productivity Profile Discover how effective a
leader you believe yourself to be and receive feedback from your
people stating how they see you. This can be a real eye-opener
and extremely beneficial.
You'll be able to utilise that feedback and in areas requiring
attention, we can help you become the best you can be. Email
lorraine@office-organiser.com.au for more details or see our
special offer below.
Ask for direct feedback from your people. This can work however
it may also be very confronting and you may not get the real
truth. Often people will not voice how they really feel for fear
of repercussions or because they know that whatever they say
will fall on deaf ears!
Get coached A good coach will help you enhance your skills to be
the best you can be. Ensure whoever you use is external to the
business. We can also help you in that area. Just send us an
email lorraine@office-organiser.com.au for more details.
Be Aware
Take a look around you. Are your people happy? Do they enjoy
coming to work? When you speak to them are they generally
positive or negative in their responses? Is there a high
turnover of staff or is your team stable? Consider the
absenteeism rate. Are your people often away from work? These
are a few questions to ask yourself.
Encourage regular feedback from your people. Ask them
individually and as a group what they think & how can you be a
better manager? What can be improved? What do they like about
their work, the people, the industry, the management etc.
You can also choose to do nothing, which is not a good option.
Don't wait until a crisis occurs.
A business owner I know said everything was fine. He said his
staff were happy although he never did anything to pro-actively
ensure they were. His perception was that he believed all was
well because no-one complained. He only acted if a problem was
brought to his attention. One week, three of his key people
resigned. They had enough of the owner's poor leadership skills.
The loss of those people nearly brought the business down.
So stay on top of things, be proactive, ask questions and take
nothing for granted.
The success of any business is a reflection of its leadership.
Lead from the top.
About Author :
Lorraine Pirihi, principal of The Office Organiser is
Australia's Personal Productivity Specialist. She is also a
Business and Life Coach.
