Introduction
The good news is that almost every business has those staff performance stoppers: irritating issues that lead us to say, “If only …”, “We gotta ….” And “Oughta fix …” issues that are thorns in our side. Little hassles that we’ve “learned to live with” or that we “never get a chance to fix”. It’s time to pull out the thorn and stop the aggravation.
Characteristics Of Thorny Stoppers
Such stoppers are similar.
- They’re usually not big issues
- They’ve usually been around for some time
- They cause aggravation and conflict
- They never make the top of the “to do” list
- We know that they’re hurting us
- They’re “swallowed” by other priorities
- Fixing them will be boring and tedious work
Why They Exist
These stoppers are “tolerable”. That’s why nobody’s ever really done anything to fix them. And we’re always too busy to solve a problem we’ve simply learned to put up with.
What To Do
Give one employee the responsibility to “sort them out”. That sounds simple enough. You may have already tried that method without success. And you’ve probably given the responsibility to the wrong person. You’ve probably asked a senior or experienced employee to “sort it out”.
Who Does It?
But the senior or experienced person probably has their hands full with normal responsibilities. And it’s a boring job for a major contributor. The ideal person for the job is your “up and comer”: the relatively inexperienced employee whom you see as having “management potential”. The truth is, sorting out these “thorns” is a wonderful development opportunity. But the “sort out” needs careful management.
The Virtue Of Inexperience
Ken Burns is the acclaimed TV documentary maker responsible for programs including “The Civil War”, “Jazz”, and “Baseball”. He only works on topics he’s unfamiliar with. He believes that he comes to his subjects without preconceived ideas. Your inexperienced “solver” has the same advantage.
Managing The “Sort Out”
Choose your “up and comer” carefully. You want some investigative and analytical skills. That’s not enough. He or she will be working with other employees who probably know a lot more about the issue than the “up and comer”. Working with them will require tact, patience and diplomacy. Little will be achieved if your “solver” simply “throws his or her weight around”.
Specific Issues
- Ensure that the project has very specific, clearly expressed goals. It’s not enough to say, “Ensure that the system enhances the 24 hour delivery commitment”. You must say, “Review and recommend an ordering and on time delivery system so that all goods ordered before 10.30 am each day are delivered to the client in good order and condition before 10.30 the next day.
- Prepare all staff involved carefully. Make sure that operating staff understand that the exercise is not a “witch hunt”, and that you expect them to contribute fully to help solve the problem. Explain that they’ll be major beneficiaries of a new system.
- Brief your “solver” carefully. You expect him or her to do the tedious and boring work involved very thoroughly. Promote the project as a development exercise. Explain how their lack of familiarity with the issue will be a benefit: how they’ll see the problem “through new eyes”.
- Arrange, in advance, for regular debriefing sessions with the “solver”. Make sure that you help sort out “hassles” only. Allow the “solver” to learn as much as possible by their own efforts.
- Explain to the “solver” that the operators probably have at least a part solution in mind. It’s their job to discover that information and incorporate it into a final recommendation.
- Accept no less than a detailed and measurably effective response to the performance based goal set at the start of the project.
Who Wins?
Everybody! The operators win because complaints about their work should reduce dramatically and their job should be made generally easier.
The “solver” wins because he or she develops a greater understanding of a part of the business that they may not be familiar with. There’s also the benefit of working collaboratively with other staff to achieve a jointly beneficial result.
You win because a major and irritating thorn is removed. And you’ll discover how your “best and brightest” handles a range of pressures.
Your business wins because you have a more effective system and more competent and productive employees. You may save money too, depending on outcomes.
Conclusion
We often hesitate about giving tedious or boring work to our “up and comers” because we feel we may need them for other major issues. But they’ll learn more from the “slog” of the boring than they will from the stimulus and excitement of the big projects.
What To Do Now
Make a list of you “if onlys, we gottas and oughta fixes”. Prioritize them. Choose your project and your “solver”. Follow the steps outlined in this post. And leave your comments below.
