It’s OK to move people on

Change can be challenging, and I have known many business owners to lay awake at night worrying, ‘What would happen if certain people in my business were to leave? How would this impact my business?’ Stop worrying and start managing.

If you have staff members whom you believe are holding your business back and creating issues, then you need to make a decision and move them on. If you get the feeling that people don’t want to be part of your business anymore – then it is time to say ‘good-bye’.

If you have staff that are unhappy in your business, or they may feel that they have come to the end of the road working for your business, then it’s OK if they want to leave. Staff culture is everything in a business, and if you have people in your workplace that just don’t want to be there anymore, then, you need to work out ways to create change to have them either re-engage or leave. When you have had staff work for you for a long period of time it can be really challenging to have the conversation that is going to lead to the best outcomes for all.

Forcing people to stay is in the best interests of no-one. If they have made the decision to leave, then it’s time for you to put a positive spin on it – especially with a view of improving your business. This is a time to create some positive changes that are more than likely long overdue. Inject energy into your business and think about what you can do to make a positive difference in your business for better income streams.

In the case of under-performing staff, your approach would be different. You just follow the performance management process to manage that underperforming staff member, and should they not improve, the solution is simple – you make the change. It becomes a little more complex however, when you are close to an employee, like family or a close friend, which can happen quite a bit in small businesses – now your emotions are running high and things become more difficult.

One of the key issues I see working with many business owners is how they deal with these emotions. They want to implement change in their business, put in new systems and better processes for positive outcomes. On top of that, business owners want to build a better culture that will embrace this change. To keep up with today’s competitive world your business may require some restructure, different reporting lines, and even new products introduced to your existing lines.

What creates frustration and sometimes anger in a business, is when some staff members just don’t want to see the positive side of the change, they believe that it is no value to them. You will hear comments like, “I just don’t see what this change is going to do, because we have always done it this way.” Unfortunately, this attitude tends to come from the long-term staff. They have been comfortable in their role and are now perhaps feeling threatened by this change, because they see that their job may become redundant in the future or taken over by someone else who demonstrates more efficiency and knowledge of the new ways?

Business owners are always faced with this challenge of, ‘What do I do now, when my long-term employees don’t see the positives? How do I make this work, to help my business move forward in a positive direction for long-term growth?’

Some tips that might help

• Bring your company together and conduct a workshop. A brainstorming session with your staff can get them to see why the company needs to create change. Have them come up with recommended solutions.
• Let your staff know: if we keep doing the same thing, then we will always get the same result and our company may not survive.
• Refer to companies that did not create change or made wrong decisions such as Nokia, or Kodak. Look at the taxi industry and how it was affected when Uber popped up and dominated.
• Staff need to understand that a business has to keep evolving by trying different things, creating innovation and diversity.
• Companies of today need to become more efficient in the way that they operate and do things, because digitalisation of new emerging technologies are now challenging all businesses.
• Competitors will come and disrupt our company, if we don’t change and try new things then as a business we are at risk of losing clientele to our competitors.

If your staff don’t see these benefits above, then it’s time you called in some assistance to help you conduct these interviews and conversations with your staff. An outside company, an advisory business or a business coach can help you deal with the emotions of change. If you need change management to happen in your company quickly, then this is well worth the investment, because the longer you leave it, the harder it will be.

You need to look at the positives. Recruiting fresh blood in your business will create a different atmosphere, it will inject motivation right from the start. You cannot change unless your team are 100% behind the new pathway. What you need to think about is, finding new talent that embrace new systems and processes in your business. This will happen because they don’t know the old ways and are not regimented by them. This new mindset is encouraging and in today’s world, those we employee from the younger generation, fully understand and live by emerging technologies. They will adapt so much quicker for better outcomes.

One thing I know is that you cannot expand or grow if all team members are not on board. Having the best people around you who embrace changes for the positive will bring a whole new world of dynamics and improved culture to your business.

Our market is rapidly changing and we all need to keep up with the times. We all need to become more efficient for better and quicker outcomes, because business is so much faster paced now, than ever before. I find that many business owners struggle in getting their business to the next level, as some of their staff who say they are on board, really aren’t, and this makes life difficult, not only for you, but for your entire team in your company. Get your business moving in the right direction with some positive input and the right people to move you forward.

KBA has two popular workshops coming up that maybe of interest to you, your leaders or your sales team?

• Thursday 14th June – B2B Sales Master Class
• Tuesday 7th August – Learn how to get the best out of your staff through Performance Appraisals 

If you need help in building your business, then contact us at Key Business Advisors on 1300 4 ADVICE