Make Your Business Hum!

Make your Business Hum – How To Get Better Employee Engagement

We all strive for the ideal working place, the right people and systems.     Why is it so difficult to get an order right sometimes? Why don’t people answer the phone after the 3rd ring? Why isn’t our stock always right?

Often we try to fix the process because it is the easier thing to do. After-all things are easier to fix than changing people - right?

Trying to co-ordinate activities in our businesses still remains a great challenge and in our experience with companies most of the issues are not with the systems and processes - but with people.

So why do people generally tend to closet themselves in their roles and not contribute as much as you would like?

We people are complex things. One day we are on fire and the next day we are distracted and less effective.    We are largely inconsistent, spontaneous and tend to do the things that we comfortable doing. No-one likes to be outside their comfort zone unless there is a compelling reason.

It takes me months to get around to doing the annual accounts. It is the most unpleasant task. For me, it is worse than sitting in the dentist’s chair. It’s not that I don’t understand numbers or finances – it’s just that my brain does not get excited with that activity.

You can see when people love their jobs.    They show high levels of enthusiasm and energy almost all the time. Those that work in the creative sector love their work and tend to remain longer in their fields because they are fulfilling an inherent need.

Get inside their heads

Which takes me to the point that if an organisation is not attending to the individuals’ core values and passions then how on earth can we expect them to pay full attention, be effective and show any real care about their work?

It is like asking an artist to clean the toilets or asking a cleaner to do some graphic design work. Both would leave immediately following a trail of unseemly gestures.

Our brains are wired for certain preferences. That is something we can not control. It is an inherent design feature from birth. Even in management we see the strong preference of managers to do the technical stuff ( generate and evaluate reports, have meetings etc) and not to manage people - there is something very wrong here. The reality is that some people are not cut out for management and while training helps it will never satisfy any inherent need or desire.

Hum and Harmony!

Happy people co-ordinate to solve problems better because they are not under stress or operating from a position of dissatisfaction or fear. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

We all know that once we have better engagement then we will be able to develop better processes – they will be better because they will give greater satisfaction to those using them and because they are theirs.

So in order to get the best out of people, to get the best chance of working in harmony and making your business hum - start by doing one simple thing, have a talk to your people (yes everyone of them!) and:

Ask them what their passions are
Ask them what type of tasks and jobs they really enjoy
Ask them how those tasks can be modified so they get better enjoyment
Ask them how they see their needs being fulfilled the best

This way you will build a better relationship, a better rapport and they are more likely to better engage with each other and ultimately help you develop a better business.