Page 44 - Payout Magazine Online Volume 8.8

an even worse situation on your hands. On
44 PayOutMagazine
3. Do you have employee buy-in?
the other hand, sometimes the issue is not an
inability to meet expectations, but simply an Employee buy-in is not always going to
unwillingness to. be possible, but it can significantly ease the
conflict of bringing in outsiders if you can get
Production levels in any business or it. Problems within a company generally spring
company are dependent on any number of from one of two sources, or some combination
factors. In some cases, you may have one of both. In some cases, the issue is purely
employee that actually holds sway over the logistical, such as improper equipment or
rest of the employees and actually sets the training or poor organization. In those cases,
pace for your entire staff. In other cases, your employees often want to do better and be
employees may actually work together to better, they just lack the resources to do so.
keep production levels at a minimum to keep In that case, you may get significant employee
expectations low. If your employees have all buy-in if you can convince them that you are
the training, equipment and tools they need on their side and just want to try and get them
to meet or exceed your expectations and are the help they need to be better at their jobs.
simply not doing so, then calling in outside
help is most likely a good idea. Keep in mind, however, you may also need
to accept that at least some part of the issue
2. Have you communicated your might actually be improper management. If
expectations to your employees and you can’t accept that, you will be unable to
be a part of the solution either. The likelihood
worked with them to help meet them?
is, if you bring in outside help, they will most
likely want to work with both employees and
In some cases, your employees
may actually be totally unaware of your management to make healthy changes on
both sides.
expectations. Sometimes, employers
may even call in outside help as a means In other cases, the employees themselves
of avoiding unpleasantness with their may be the issue. Perhaps there is actually
employees by attempting to address certain
an ingrained culture of laziness that you may
issues themselves. This will most often be have either inherited from a predecessor
a mistake. Trying to get someone else to or simply inadvertently created on your
address unpleasant issues before trying to own. In some cases, there can be employee
address those issues on your own will simply unrest or dissatisfaction of some kind that
undermine employee confidence in you. leads them to purposefully sabotage efforts
While employers are human beings and can at increased production. If employees
therefore be hesitant to make waves in their themselves are purposefully sabotaging
own company, calling in outside help before efforts at improvement, you may be unlikely to
attempting to address issues on your own can get employee buy-in, but most definitely may
be costly. need outside help to correct the problem.
In other cases, employers can actually feel There are no 100% right or wrong answers
significantly outnumbered by their employees when it comes to bringing in an outside firm for
and may call in outside help simply as a help. What is important, however, is managing
means to balance the scales. While this is the situation well. Perhaps one of the most
certainly an option, a better option might be to critical elements is setting a good example by
hire an assistant manager or promote some taking suggestions yourself, which will make
employees to create a better management employees more likely to accept them as well.
structure. While managers will almost always If you call in an outside firm for help, be ready
be outnumbered by employees, they should to make changes everywhere, including in
not be so outnumbered that employees have your own methods and procedures.
all the power and hold all the cards. Making
this transition, however, is something an
outside firm can help with.