Resolving Needs - What Your Employees Wish For!

For your people, they want to do a great job - no, really, despite your experiences, they do. And what might seem to 'the management' the important things, just don't stack in the day-to-day reality of the workplace.

Here's why.

Your people want to focus on looking after their customers, yet there are many things, often just little things, that get in their way. Removing these little things they are having to tolerate, allows them to deliver the very best service to their customers. Yet they are reluctant to get this clear. For some reason.

You need to find out.

So. Ask them!

Yet why is this so difficult for some managers? Partly to do with not wishing to open challenging dialogue; not even thinking there might be issues or to dismissing needs of their people as irrelevant, amongst others. These issues, so vital to the well-being of their people and therefore their relationships with their customers, get missed.

So, how do managers get around this.

Easy

They just ASK. They ask in ways that work, but basically, they just ASK.

There are a many ways to do this. Ongoing dialogue; focus groups; feedback; 360's. But a really simple way to get to the bottom of what is bothering your people is, one-on-one to simply ask them this simple question:-
"If you had three wishes in your job, what would they be?"
So why do we ask for three wishes? Because often there are one or two issues that are 'givens'. Like more staff, more pay etc. Three wishes gives a bit of scope in the replies. If you can, allow your people to personalise the returns, but only if they want to. Once you've got your people being constructive around changes - and you let them tell you, you can respond, often very quickly and make things a lot better.

Understanding the little things, makes a big difference to the people who are vital to your success - who create the business for you. Don't miss the chance.

Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com (Note to editors. This article may be edited for use in your publication or newsletter as long as a live link to the website is included)

...helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow...

In The News:

---

Got A Meeting Planned? Ask This Question

Meetings ? they are a fact of our business lives.... Read More

Management Coaching to Improve Relationships with Work Associates

As a recent employee to your job, you are becoming... Read More

Innovation Management ? IBM Opens Lid On Its Treasure Chest

IBM, which registered 3248 patents last year, has decided that... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management - Core Competencies and Competitive Advantage

Following is a brief definition of core competencies and competitive... Read More

Organizational Structure, Creativity, Innovation

Organizational structure can inhibit or foster creativity and innovation. The... Read More

Keep The Faith - Transform The Fear

FEAR! To what extent does fear rule your life? How... Read More

Feedback - Make it Descriptive

Have you ever heard yourself say to a team member... Read More

A Leadership Lesson: Two Guys With Guns

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters... Read More

Project Management - Are You Done Yet

What happens when a Project Manager asks one of his... Read More

Are You in AWE of Your Employees?

Employers have become so concerned about seeming "unfair" or worse... Read More

Innovation Management ? Measuring Failure!

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Improvements In A Large Public Electric Utility In South America

The company decided to develop and implement an improvement program.... Read More

Punctuality in Business: What it Says About You

"Nothing inspires confidence in a business man sooner than punctuality,... Read More

Business Relationship Germs

In management seminars I often compare debt to an infection.... Read More

Invite Self-Managed Staff

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to... Read More

Communicating with Offsite Workers

How do you, or would you, communicate with employees who... Read More

More Problem-Solving Success Tips

The ability to solve complicated problems quickly is more important... Read More

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Use Your Project Management Skills

Solving a big problem is a project: you're far more... Read More

Innovation Management ? Diversity Can Make All The Difference

Companies are welcoming a diverse range of employees (The Sunday... Read More

Key Control ? Who Has the Keys to Your Kingdom?

Key control, or more accurately the lack of key control... Read More

Factoring Financing: How to Grow Your Business Without Debt or Loans

What is factoring?Accounts receivable financing, also known as factoring, is... Read More

Getting the Most from Appraisals

Does your organisation have one of those annual 'occasions' that... Read More

Work Environment Tidbits

Color is a big factor effecting all indoor... Read More

Work Priorities: Where Can You Spend Your Time Most Effectively?

Understanding where you can spend time most effectively requires concentration... Read More

Basic Management Skills

Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at... Read More

Mantra for Managers

What do organizations look for in a prospective employee with... Read More

Creating A Vision ? Bringing Your Dreams Into Reality

Do you have some goals you want to achieve or... Read More

6 Ways to Keep Things Simple

Six Ways to Keep Things Simple We can have greater... Read More

Problem Solving - Think Cleopatras Ass

Picture the scene. Anthony pops down to the guardhouse, partly... Read More

Managing Meetings

Plan/prepare - lack of purpose causes aimless meetings. Know why... Read More

Is Your Employee Newsletter Management Propaganda?

It should not be. If it is an effective newsletter,... Read More

Truth or Consequences: How to Give Employee Feedback

In the bestseller, Good to Great, Jim Collins discovered that,... Read More

Strategic Outsourcing: Testing the Outsourcing Waters and Staying Afloat

Before Gertrude Ederle began her historic swim off of Cape... Read More