"Why would he think it is okay to speak to a customer in that manner? I have to fire him!" A frustrated client recently spoke these words to me while nervously beating his foot against the floor. His face was purple with anger.
My response to this client was to ask if he spoke to his employee regarding the encounter with the customer. I already knew the answer to this question, but I had to ask it regardless.
"I haven't had the chance to talk to him. I should have known, since there were some problems with him right after I hired him. I cannot spend my time looking after him, so I will just drop his hours. He will give up and move on to a new job if he isn't getting hours."
It is not unusual that I meet with small business owners who are frustrated with their employees. As we get deeper into the details of the situation, they often tell me that they have not even addressed these issues with the offending employee. When I discuss employee coaching with them, it amazes me that most of them believe this action to be disciplinary in nature. There are a number of reasons for this occurrence. The primary reason is that the majority of small business owners spend the greatest portion of their time running their business. They are actually involved with customer service with little time left to coach and train new employees. They often lack the training themselves on how to effectively train and develop employees. In truth, most small business owners have never even coached a Little League Baseball team.
Coaching a team of little league athletes is very similar to guiding employees in the workplace. Here are seven leadership strategies that any coach could teach a small business owner:
1. You must take the time to thoroughly explain each employee's job description. You should make sure every employee knows what their role is within the company and why they are important to your company. They are an important piece to the overall puzzle, and they should know exactly what they do and why.
2. Never assume that your employees naturally know what they should be doing while in the workplace. Break it down for them and make sure they know.
3. Show your employees how to do tasks by performing those tasks as a demonstration. Coaches always show how a new skill is to be performed before expecting athletes to perform the skill. Your job as a boss is to do these demonstrations while giving tips on how to do it properly.
4. Allow your employees to demonstrate their mastery of tasks to you. This is their chance to show what they have learned and what they can do for you.
5. Feedback must be specific and immediate. If they have performed everything perfectly, reinforce it by letting them know. If they had trouble with the process, do some coaching again telling them specifics of how they can improve while demonstrating the proper technique. Remember, you should be helping them learn in a manner which will enhance their self-esteem.
6. Try to have empathy rather than feeling frustrated with employees who do not get some tasks right away. Remember that you have also struggled to learn some tasks over the course of your lifetime. Boost up the employee's confidence that they can succeed at the task rather than tearing them down or belittling them.
7. Do not abandon an employee after a single coaching session. You have to be a consistent coach by following up with employees and giving them ongoing support to reach their goals. Your employees should know that they can come to you when needed, but they should also know that they are responsible for learning and reaching their goals within the company.
If you want great employees, you have to be a great coach. This means being patient, observant, respectful, and encouraging. Just as a coach would push his little league athletes to perform their best, you should encourage your employees to be their best. Start doing this and see how even your worst employees turn around.
My response to this client was to ask if he spoke to his employee regarding the encounter with the customer. I already knew the answer to this question, but I had to ask it regardless.
"I haven't had the chance to talk to him. I should have known, since there were some problems with him right after I hired him. I cannot spend my time looking after him, so I will just drop his hours. He will give up and move on to a new job if he isn't getting hours."
It is not unusual that I meet with small business owners who are frustrated with their employees. As we get deeper into the details of the situation, they often tell me that they have not even addressed these issues with the offending employee. When I discuss employee coaching with them, it amazes me that most of them believe this action to be disciplinary in nature. There are a number of reasons for this occurrence. The primary reason is that the majority of small business owners spend the greatest portion of their time running their business. They are actually involved with customer service with little time left to coach and train new employees. They often lack the training themselves on how to effectively train and develop employees. In truth, most small business owners have never even coached a Little League Baseball team.
Coaching a team of little league athletes is very similar to guiding employees in the workplace. Here are seven leadership strategies that any coach could teach a small business owner:
1. You must take the time to thoroughly explain each employee's job description. You should make sure every employee knows what their role is within the company and why they are important to your company. They are an important piece to the overall puzzle, and they should know exactly what they do and why.
2. Never assume that your employees naturally know what they should be doing while in the workplace. Break it down for them and make sure they know.
3. Show your employees how to do tasks by performing those tasks as a demonstration. Coaches always show how a new skill is to be performed before expecting athletes to perform the skill. Your job as a boss is to do these demonstrations while giving tips on how to do it properly.
4. Allow your employees to demonstrate their mastery of tasks to you. This is their chance to show what they have learned and what they can do for you.
5. Feedback must be specific and immediate. If they have performed everything perfectly, reinforce it by letting them know. If they had trouble with the process, do some coaching again telling them specifics of how they can improve while demonstrating the proper technique. Remember, you should be helping them learn in a manner which will enhance their self-esteem.
6. Try to have empathy rather than feeling frustrated with employees who do not get some tasks right away. Remember that you have also struggled to learn some tasks over the course of your lifetime. Boost up the employee's confidence that they can succeed at the task rather than tearing them down or belittling them.
7. Do not abandon an employee after a single coaching session. You have to be a consistent coach by following up with employees and giving them ongoing support to reach their goals. Your employees should know that they can come to you when needed, but they should also know that they are responsible for learning and reaching their goals within the company.
If you want great employees, you have to be a great coach. This means being patient, observant, respectful, and encouraging. Just as a coach would push his little league athletes to perform their best, you should encourage your employees to be their best. Start doing this and see how even your worst employees turn around.
About the Author:
Research conducted on Lean Frog blogs. Learn more about Lean Frog here. Find out more about LEAN by contacting Lean Frog of Huntsville Alabama.
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