4 Things Your Employees Need To Hear From You…
What do your employees need to hear from you? Let’s talk about that today. Happy Friday friends, Thomas Joyner with Business on Purpose.
Everyone’s got that first boss you work for. You remember them? Can you picture them? If so, what does that picture look like? Are they yelling at you? Are they coaching you up? Coming alongside you? What are they doing?
Well, my first boss, thankfully, was a huge gift to me personally and professionally. I remember day 2 on the job him sitting our team down and doing 3 things that set the tone for my almost decade on Young Life staff. I’ll get to it here in just a second, but I think every employee needs to hear these things from their boss. They need to be told and reminded constantly.
So often we, as business owners, cover this stuff once and think that our bases are covered for the next year or two, but no these conversations need to happen monthly, if not weekly or daily. They need to be a part of the fabric of the business in a way that you can feel and taste!
So, these are the 4 things your employees need to hear from you…
Where do we want to be in a year, 3 years, 5 years? It’s a simple thing, but do your employees know what the long-term goals for the business are in tangible, broken down steps that they can begin to tackle on a daily basis? Day 2 on staff with Young Life we talked all about the scale and scope of ministry in the town we were placed. We dreamed about the new schools we wanted to reach and the new leaders we needed to get there. We spoke of the funds we needed to raise to make that happen.
And at the end of that meeting, we knew exactly what was going to have to happen to end up where we wanted to be. We had a clear vision of all of that, now we just had to put in the work!
As we sat there with this tall task of things to accomplish we were struck with no clue of how to actually get there! So, one by one my boss asked us what are the hills we’re willing to die on when it comes to ministry. And we listed them out. As we stepped back, we were struck that these were filters through which every decision could make. A set of core values and principles that we could stand on that would keep us on track towards our vision.
So do your employees know how to make decisions? Do they have something grounding them and filtering every decision? Do they know that these are the keys to getting them to where you want to be?
If not, they need to know how you’re going to get to your vision. It’s what helps build momentum and build credibility in your community. A shared value system to accomplish the vision.
We spent a ton of time last week at our 12-week plan talking about work. That our work needs to be more than just a job! More than just clocking in and clocking out. We saw a plumber setting a toilet at a new park. Is he just setting a toilet? No! He’s creating a space to help out a young mom who’s overwhelmed and needs a clean place to take her child to the restroom. He’s facilitating people being outdoors, knowing that they can go to the park and not have to worry about a restroom emergency.
That’s what changes your attitude about work. Are you just driving in nails and framing a house? Or are you building a shelter for generations of families that will live under that roof? Knowing you’re providing quality work for one of our core needs.
That “why” is what should get you out of bed in the morning! It’s what makes a job what we call, “a work worth doing.” Your team needs to know the why behind what you’re doing so that it becomes a part of your story!
So often we get this complaint from clients. “Well, we hired this person and they just aren’t working out.” Here’s what I’d say to that. Most times, employee failures are more on the owner than they are on the employee.
Why? Because we rushed the hiring process. When we rush the hiring process, we miss something and end up rushing the firing process.
It’s why we have such a thorough vetting process for hiring and 6 mos of onboarding for every hire. Because we value people enough to not want a constant in and out in our business. That doesn’t accomplish the vision and that doesn’t value our employees.
However, when you take the hiring process slowly, you can look at your employees and say, “No, you’re the right person for this job. I believe in you and I need you to help us get where we’re going!”
That’s empowering leadership. Taking ownership of your hires and equipping or training them to chase after the vision. Your employees need YOU to believe in them sometimes before they can believe in themselves.
I hope you know that.
So, if these have never been communicated in your business take time to plan it out. They need to know where you’re going, how you’re getting there, why you’re going there, and that you need them to get there.
Have a great weekend Friends!!!