An Online Publication by Generational Equity
Family businesses account for 90 percent of all businesses in the U.S., both large and small in size, according the Small Business Administration. Needless to say, many Americans work in an environment with family dynamics.
If you are the owner of a family business, then you know that a special set of challenges can accompany running it. We discuss a few problems today and provide suggestions to resolve them.
One key to growing your business and motivating employees is understanding what truly motivates your staff. If you are like most managers, the first thing you’ll say that people want is money. This is undeniably true—that’s the whole point of working. People need money to live. But in the long term, does money truly motivate all employees (other than 100% commissioned sales people)?
Before one of your employees can take home money, they first have to do their job. As their manager, you’d like them to do the best job they can, being as efficient and innovative as possible (and avoiding procrastination as well).
In order to make sure your employees are properly motivated, you first have to take a look in the mirror because that’s where it starts.
“I’ll do that later.”
Those words might be harmless. Or they might indicate a huge problem—procrastination.
Last week Derick offered a framework for you, the private business owner, about how to get things done. Today we’re going to discuss one reason why your employees don’t get things done.
I’ll walk you through why people procrastinate, signs of procrastination in the workplace, its impact, and what to do about it.
Many of you operate highly successful, growing companies—places where the work environment is energized and your teams work hard, have fun, and enjoy their jobs. Unfortunately, this type of workplace is too often in the minority.
In survey after survey, many Americans report that they simply do not like their jobs. In fact, according to the Conference Board’s latest survey, only 45% reported that they were satisfied with their jobs, a big decline from the 61% who were satisfied 20 years earlier. This is sad because if you are going to spend the majority of your life doing something, you should enjoy it.
So I got to thinking about the places where I enjoyed my job the most. As I considered them, I realized that the jobs I have enjoyed were ones where the environment was positive and the workplace was collaborative. In general, these were places where employees actually enjoyed working together to achieve common goals.
How do successful leaders create environments where collaboration is the norm and encouraged? Is that even possible in today’s workplace given the pace of work, quantity of the work, and productivity demands placed on today’s workers?
I would say yes it is possible and, in fact, probably what our businesses need now more than ever before. Chances are good if you can create a collaborative work environment for your company, you will see a dramatic increase in productivity and, in turn, job satisfaction (which we all know leads to employees staying with you longer).
As private business owners or managers, there is a laundry list of things that employees do that frustrate you and seem counterproductive. But what about the things you do that irritate workers? I’ve listed three common frustrating things managers do that decrease productivity in the office.
Balance is one of those things in life that always seems to be out of reach. Just when you think you have everything under control, something happens and throws your life out of whack again.
Two competing forces that always seem to be present are work and our personal lives. With the rise of mobile devices, high-speed Internet, and home offices, finding the right work-life balance is even harder.
As a private business owner or a manager in a middle-market company, you should take some responsibility for helping your workers achieve and sustain their balance between work and home life. Why? Productivity and efficiency will improve because employees will be healthier and happier.
Every company has them. They are the employees that literally carry your company. Many of them are simply born with traits that make them great employees: dedication, work ethic, drive, determination, and true grit as they used to say. But that alone doesn’t make them superstars. They’ve developed skills that make them efficient and effective. Unfortunately, not all employees have skill sets that are as mature. The rest have to develop them.
That is where the secret behind developing superstar employees comes in: good coaching. Unfortunately, all too often, managers sit down with their employees only once a year during the official annual review to discuss performance. These annual reviews are usually rushed, don’t provide good feedback or goals, and, most of the time, are based solely on the “recency effect” (i.e. only the recent performance of the employee is reviewed).
Coaching employees is much different than reviewing employees. Coaching allows you to actually interact with your team, giving them the opportunity to grow, develop, stretch, and achieve greater performance. It requires more work than reviewing; however, the results can pay for your additional efforts multiple times over.
Employees working from home is a common practice these days with small and large businesses. I work from home often and know several people that do; they work for small and large companies alike. There are several managerial benefits from allowing employees to work from home, especially if you follow a few tips.
When a business owner works with employees in order to grow their soft skills, one area of focus is often communication. A business owner wants an employee to ask the right questions, provide concise answers, and even diffuse an upset customer or vendor when the situation demands it. Moreover, good communication training focuses heavily on listening skills.
Still, one communication skill that is often overlooked is the use of silence.
Empower is defined by Merriam-Webster as “to give official authority or legal power; to enable.” The word has such a powerful impact when implemented in the workplace.
Empowered employees are crucial to running a successful business. They have the authority to make decisions, are able to take responsibility for their work, and are generally happier and more productive; they feel like a critical member of the team.
There’s one important reason why managers should strive to empower employees: it leads to more ethical decision-making.
