Employee Transformation
for Small Business Owners

Ever wish you could transform your staff into the eager, hard-working, creative group that you thought you hired? There is a way!

First, you have to admit that no one really cares about your business the way you do. No one really is going to worry about making the payroll next week the way you do. No one is going to check all the doors before leaving tonight and try to anticipate every problem the way you do. Well, maybe there are one or two special people in the company that really care, but the majority just doesn’t get it.

Have you ever felt this way? If you own a business, you have. What can you do about it? You can train your people to understand the business and take pride and emotional ownership in the operation of the business. Yes, it won’t work with everyone, but making a majority of the people feel a part of the business will influence the results.

Nothing is more powerful than a group of dedicated individuals working towards a common goal. Unfortunately, most companies can’t communicate that common goal and can’t motivate the individuals to work together to accomplish that goal.

The Owner or President is the person responsible for communicating this vital piece of information. If you can sit down and write out your vision, your expectations, and your immediate and long term goals, you are half-way there. Knowing your vision and communicating it are two different skills, though. Make sure that your goals have been sold to the employees. Don’t lay them on the team without preparing them and hopefully getting some buy-in.

Your employees don’t have to agree, but they need to understand where you are coming from and how serious you are about reaching your goals. Don’t think telling them once will be enough. If you have raised children, you know about the value of repetition. Remember that most companies succeed by accomplishing the “unreasonable” expectations of the owner. Your employees will think that some of your goals are unreasonable. We can’t complete the prototype before the trade show. We can’t get the presentation ready in time. We can’t, etc., etc... Your drive and commitment will pull people to your goal. Your emotional investment will make things happen.

Have planning meetings at least quarterly. Have them off-site if possible, but have them somewhere. If you are uncomfortable with the give-and-take required, get a facilitator. Sunrise consultants have done many planning meetings and can help plan the message and develop the dialog that will result in a motivated team. Planning meetings are an excellent investment.

By the way, about those one or two special people who really do care about your business, please take care of them. They are special, and they need special attention and rewards if you intend to keep them. Have you ever asked them to review your performance as the Owner or President to see what improvements you should be working on? It will really motivate them knowing you care about their opinions.