The 3 Main Employee Problems

The 3 Main Employee Problems

I’ve worked with hundreds of business owners during my years in HR and the majority of the businesses have what I call ‘People Disease’. I wanted to identify the main problems they were having with their people and find a cure for this disease.

I carried out a survey of business owners and identified the three main employee problems.

1. You struggle to recruit the right people
2. Employees don’t do things the way you want them done
3. Employees don’t have the same passion for the business as you do

Let’s take a look at each problem in more detail and the issues they cause for the business and you.

1. You struggle to recruit the right people

Finding the right people can be a long process. When you need someone in the business right now it’s sometimes easier to employ someone rather than not have anyone. But is it really? No it isn’t. This is the wrong mindset.

Recruiting the wrong people is costly for many reasons. Consider how much time you spend on recruitment and training. Then consider the time it takes to remove them from the business if they don't work out. And what about the time is takes to repair any damage they might have caused with customers? Time is money, it all has a cost. What effect does this have on the team when the wrong person is recruited? What damage does that do?

To make matters worse you need to start the recruitment process all over again.

Without the right people in the business you end up trying to do everything yourself.

2. Employees don’t do things the way you want them done

As the business owner it’s frustrating and takes up your valuable time putting things right. When there are four or five employees it is OK, but when you employ more people this can lead to more mistakes and potentially unhappy customers. You then have to spend a huge amount of your time dealing with an employee’s poor performance, which can be stressful. Or even worse, you don’t deal with the issues and continue to do everything yourself. You are then paying someone and you are still doing the work. Does this sound familiar?

I know as business owners we often think that no one else can do the job as well as us, but do you know there are people who can do the job better than you?

3. Employees don’t have the same passion for the business as you

You get frustrated when employees don’t care about the business like you do. They don’t have the same motivation as you. You’ve got some good people but what you really need is a team of engaged, highly motivated individuals who you can rely on, working as a team; employees who will go that extra mile, without being asked, who share your passion for the business. Employees who want to work in your business and help with the growth.

So put another way, how can you Recruit, Inspire and Retain the right people?

The good news is there is a cure to this ‘People Disease’. It’s called ‘Culture’.

The P.E.O.P.L.E.™ System

Culture is easier to say than to do. Working with my clients I identified the key areas they needed to address to create and define a great workplace culture. I realised very early on that to attract the right people -and to inspire and retain them in the business - there were some key factors that needed to be included. Once I had identified these I developed 'The P.E.O.P.L.E.™ System.'

The P.E.O.P.L.E.™ System begins with the foundations. It ensures you have the right people (HR) foundations in place so employees understand how things are done. It introduces values, people processes and systems which will transform your business.

Once the foundations are laid, it’s time to look at the six steps in The P.E.O.P.L.E.™ System. Each of these steps must be in place to create a culture and a great place to work.

Step 1 –PURPOSE – Your purpose along with your values translates into your culture. What is your company purpose? Is your company purpose clearly defined?

Step 2 – ENVIRONMENT – How does it feel to work in your business? Is it a great place to work?

Step 3 – OWNERSHIP – When staff take ownership motivation and performance increases. How can you make this happen? Does this happen in your business?

Step 4 – PROGRESSION – Most employees are not motivated by money. How can they progress and develop in your business?

Step 5 –LEADERSHIP – As the leader you need to be the role model of the culture you want to create in your business. Do you walk the talk?

Step 6 – ENGAGEMENT – What is engagement and how do you create it? When does your culture become a business asset?

By implementing these steps you will start on a journey of curing your people problems. I hope you can see how each step links back to curing one of the three employee problems.