By Michael W. Hill, Mobius Vendor Partners Executive Consultant

Author of Measuring to Manage

It may seem that every day your company is hit with a new challenge. Yes, some companies are, but some of these challenges are shared by a number of companies and some might be unique to yours.

Last month’s article I addressed 3 common challenges and some recommended solutions. This month and next month I’ll address another 3. These are not in any particular order. Just be open-minded about what might be affecting your business.

These challenges are not unique to just full-time office employees or the remote workers. These are problems that your company needs to address to be successful.

Challenge #1 Work Schedules

It seems after the pandemic everyone’s lives got more and more complicated and busier than ever before. Some businesses do need to work with fixed schedules but others maybe not. Work schedules most also address the whole work-life balance issue. Just because some employees might be spending more time at work doesn’t mean that those individuals are more productive, or that they are doing quality work. In most cases there is a balance and you and the employee(s) need to work on finding out what balance works best in your company.

So, what do you do? Talk to your employees and ask them: what do they think is the “best” schedule for them to get their maximum performance? Being inflexible can lead to employee stress levels going up which then affects their ability to get the work done. Being too flexible can also have its downside. Some may lack the discipline needed to be productive. One idea that is working well for a number of organizations is to give employees permission to switch off when they leave the office. An idea like “no retuning emails after a set time.” Employees will work hard for employers that look out for their “needs.”

Challenge #2 Communication or Lack-of

In my consulting work, I’m continually surprised by the number of times I hear from an employee “my manager is not communicating with me.” How am I to know what is expected of me if there’s no communication? Lack of communication will always lead to problems in the workplace. What I find is that most employees want to do what is asked of them, but management must be clear as to what the expected level of performance is. This needs to be communicated both verbally and in written form to the employee. Research shows that a message must be repeated at least seven times before it will “stick” with employees. When good communication is missing, trust between management and employees can suffer.

Communication is so important – make sure you involve your employees in the process: ask them what areas of the business are not clear to you and how is the best way to communicate with you? Some want things written, some like to hear things verbally – my suggestion, do both!

Challenge #3. Lack of Employee Recognition

It’s hard for many managers to recognize their employees’ contribution(s) to the organization. Many say it’s their job – why do I need to recognize what they were hired to do? It’s attitudes like this that make employees look for work elsewhere! Managers need to realize that we all need recognition in some way or another and at some level or another. 

Recognition is easily a win-win. The “recognized” employees are always grateful and the recognition helps boost morale, and not just to the employee being recognized! Most managers like to focus solely on performance; however, birthdays and work anniversaries are also nice opportunities to recognize your employees. Employee recognition does need to be thought out and planned. Not all employees want the same recognition, some would rather not be recognized in public, some in private. Some may want a tangible item, maybe a gift card, some may want a meal with the boss. You need to reach out to your employees and ask!

You probably noticed that I point out with each Challenge that you need to ask your employees for their input. Some of what you “need” to know can only be answered by the employees themselves. Maybe a survey would help? You might be making some assumptions that are just not correct! Get your employees involved! Some of these challenges may be affecting your employees more than you think and  they may currently be looking for employment elsewhere because they don’t feel that the challenges are being addressed. 

You may want our help. 

At Mobius’ Employee Experience – EX Consulting Employee Experience – Mobius Vendor Partners (mobiusvp.com) – we have the software to survey your employees so you can make the best decisions for your company and respond to your employees’ needs. Contact us to get started.

Mike’s book: Measuring to Manage is available on Amazon.