11:41 AM
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"I cannot believe he would say such a thing to my customer. He has to go!" The tension radiated from my client as he was telling me of his recent employee debacle. As he was talking, I could see the color of his face turn an intense red and he was tapping his foot on the floor.
My response to this client was to ask if he spoke to his employee regarding the encounter with the customer. I already knew the answer to this question, but I had to ask it regardless.
"Well, there just hasn't been the right time yet. Besides, he had some issues from the beginning. I want to build a business not serve as an adult babysitter. I will simply give him fewer hours. If I'm lucky, he will find a job somewhere else."
This is not the first client to bring employee relations problems to my attention. Once they move past their anger and frustration to give me the full details of the problem, I realize that they have never coached their employees. In fact, most clients do not even talk directly to their employees about things that frustrate them. It is amazing how many business owners and managers believe coaching is limited to disciplinary measures. I have found that it often comes down to inefficient time management. Business owners have to deal with customers and keep up with obligations of a business owner. They have little time left at the end of the day to deal with employees. To add to the problem, many business owners do not know how to train and coach their employees. If they have not even coached a little league team, how are they supposed to lead a team of employees?
Here are seven Little League coaching tips that can be applied to employee management.
1. You must take the time to thoroughly explain each employee's job description. You should make sure every employee knows what their role is within the company and why they are important to your company. They are an important piece to the overall puzzle, and they should know exactly what they do and why.
2. Go over the process with them in detail. Don't just assume that they have any understanding of what is expected of them.
3. Show your employees how to do tasks by performing those tasks as a demonstration. Coaches always show how a new skill is to be performed before expecting athletes to perform the skill. Your job as a boss is to do these demonstrations while giving tips on how to do it properly.
4. At this point, stand back and watch employees demonstrate what they have learned.
5. Tell employees immediately if they make mistakes or complete a task perfectly. If you have to repeat your demonstration and point out ways they can do the task better, do it immediately. If they are perfect on a particular task, let them know so they can feel proud. The goal is to respectfully correct mistakes and reward perfection right after you see the employee perform a task.
6. Express in an open way that you are confident that the employee has the ability to succeed while showing empathy if they struggle getting it correct. This is often hard for employers to do, but it will help if you can think back to a time when we struggled to master something.
7. Do not abandon an employee after a single coaching session. You have to be a consistent coach by following up with employees and giving them ongoing support to reach their goals. Your employees should know that they can come to you when needed, but they should also know that they are responsible for learning and reaching their goals within the company.
The same skills required to coach aspiring Little League players is needed to successfully coach employees. You need to be patient, observant, encouraging, and intermingle that with the right approach to applying corrective activities. You will be surprised at the improvement you can make when you apply these principles to training your employees.
My response to this client was to ask if he spoke to his employee regarding the encounter with the customer. I already knew the answer to this question, but I had to ask it regardless.
"Well, there just hasn't been the right time yet. Besides, he had some issues from the beginning. I want to build a business not serve as an adult babysitter. I will simply give him fewer hours. If I'm lucky, he will find a job somewhere else."
This is not the first client to bring employee relations problems to my attention. Once they move past their anger and frustration to give me the full details of the problem, I realize that they have never coached their employees. In fact, most clients do not even talk directly to their employees about things that frustrate them. It is amazing how many business owners and managers believe coaching is limited to disciplinary measures. I have found that it often comes down to inefficient time management. Business owners have to deal with customers and keep up with obligations of a business owner. They have little time left at the end of the day to deal with employees. To add to the problem, many business owners do not know how to train and coach their employees. If they have not even coached a little league team, how are they supposed to lead a team of employees?
Here are seven Little League coaching tips that can be applied to employee management.
1. You must take the time to thoroughly explain each employee's job description. You should make sure every employee knows what their role is within the company and why they are important to your company. They are an important piece to the overall puzzle, and they should know exactly what they do and why.
2. Go over the process with them in detail. Don't just assume that they have any understanding of what is expected of them.
3. Show your employees how to do tasks by performing those tasks as a demonstration. Coaches always show how a new skill is to be performed before expecting athletes to perform the skill. Your job as a boss is to do these demonstrations while giving tips on how to do it properly.
4. At this point, stand back and watch employees demonstrate what they have learned.
5. Tell employees immediately if they make mistakes or complete a task perfectly. If you have to repeat your demonstration and point out ways they can do the task better, do it immediately. If they are perfect on a particular task, let them know so they can feel proud. The goal is to respectfully correct mistakes and reward perfection right after you see the employee perform a task.
6. Express in an open way that you are confident that the employee has the ability to succeed while showing empathy if they struggle getting it correct. This is often hard for employers to do, but it will help if you can think back to a time when we struggled to master something.
7. Do not abandon an employee after a single coaching session. You have to be a consistent coach by following up with employees and giving them ongoing support to reach their goals. Your employees should know that they can come to you when needed, but they should also know that they are responsible for learning and reaching their goals within the company.
The same skills required to coach aspiring Little League players is needed to successfully coach employees. You need to be patient, observant, encouraging, and intermingle that with the right approach to applying corrective activities. You will be surprised at the improvement you can make when you apply these principles to training your employees.
About the Author:
Lean Frog contributed to this article. Read more guest blog posts by Lean Frog. A blog post on how coaching employees is similar to coaching aspiring Little League players.
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