So much of people management is really process management…
A short blog about people management is a risky endeavor—how can one write in a few short paragraphs something valuable when there are thousands, if not tens of thousand of books and training on this topic.
My short poke at this saturated topic, particularly when family workers are involved, is valuable, at least in my opinion, because it is short and to the point.
My basic premise is simple: People come to work to do a good job. I believe that with my whole heart. This is true of family members that you may employ as well!
How many individuals, honestly, wake up in the morning, before heading to work, with the thought on their mind, “I am going to work and today…I want my performance to be lousy! I want to suck at everything I do!”
Certainly, we have all endured employees with poor attitudes and poor work ethic.
However, this conversation is for underperforming employees that have good attitudes and reliable work ethic but, for whatever reason, struggle at times to get desired results.
These are employees that go to work hoping and wanting to do a good job.
What is holding them back? Why are they performing poorly?
Obviously, there could be a thousand reasons but lets focus briefly on one—how well do they understand the process behind their specific job tasks?
Process runs the universe. Please, as a very simple example, consider how you brush your teeth. This, believe it or not, is a process that is so ingrained (we hope) into your brain that you barely understand it is a process at all.
Skipping how you apply toothpaste to your brush (all you middle-of-the-tube squishers need help!) and move to actually sticking the toothbrush in your mouth. Where do you start brushing first? Top-left, bottom-left, top-right, bottom-right, front-top, bottom-top? That is six possible starting positions and I haven’t covered them all?
Where to next? How do you work around your mouth with the toothbrush? Stop and think about your…process.
I am willing to bet $100 right now that nearly all of you, in your own respective way, do it exactly the same every single time! You do it without thinking.
Poor brushers often hear from their dentists, “You need to change your brushing habits (process) because you are wearing away your gums.”
Those process habits are hard to overcome but the same applies to your employees.
The first trick is realize that work performance is usually more related to poor process than poor attitude—or even aptitude.
If your management style focuses on process improvement instead of personal ability you can begin to offer improvement suggestions that are specific and non-threatening.
Consider the difference between the two comments from your dentist:
1) “You suck at brushing your teeth…you need to get better at it immediately or your teeth might fall out!”
Or, better…
2) “I am concerned about the wear on your gum line—it doesn’t look good and might lead to tooth decay. Lets talk about the way you are brushing your teeth. I think we can find a better method (process) to do it.”
Before you start the eye-roll on this simple example, I suggest you consider how this might apply at work. Think of any one of a hundred simple tasks at work: packaging, data entry, phone calls, sorting through emails, laying carpet, cutting lumber, the list goes on-and-on.
If you have an employee struggling, I suggest reviewing how they do the job from a strictly process perspective. If that includes drawing lines on a paper and listing each little step, then so be it. Once your employee discovers that you are there—not to attack their ability—but to help understand the process driving their work they will jump on board and the journey of real improvement will start.
I rarely brush my teeth without thinking about process. I rarely approach an employee assigned to do a task without thinking about process because I know he/she is coming to work to do a good job!
That was short as promised—there is way more here but start moving forward on this idea and you will find amazing results and happier people helping you make more money.