We are well into an era determined to make our lives easier. The long and dreaded wait at checkout in a grocery store, has now become a 3 to 5-minute scroll through our favorite grocery app. You want a takeout, just pick your restaurant, there are plenty of food apps you can choose from that will have delicious meals delivered right at your door. Heck, you want a car, a house, and soon maybe a trip into space, just swing out that trusty ol’ smart phone and you got it. Talk about taking immediate gratification to a new level, right?
Like some of you, our new foe COVID-19 has gotten me circling around the house during the weekends deciding what I would like to invest my time on. We know the world is changing, and in the process, it will not stop and wait for us. Life will never be the same once we reach our new normal state, but that does not mean we have to focus on the negative. We can begin using this time to think about our personal growth or progress, and as many of you know, personal development has many layers that will not unravel themselves all at once.
As a passionate learner, I believe knowledge is a vital component for any civilization to progress. In the times we live, in there is an overload of information and we should take the time to educate ourselves and our families on how to process it all. We all know the saying, not everything that shines is gold, less is it true. For those young adults getting prepared to take on the world we have created for them, amid all this chaos, this is an extremely vulnerable time which is highly prescribed with confusion, skewed information, now the correct guidance is very necessary. Today’s young adults will be the new bases of our future workforce and society.
Throughout my life, I have opted to research personal development, strategies, and best practices. I have taken courses on establishing Corporate Universities and have also taken advantage of the modern methods of education via online courses. There are many popular names out there such as LinkedIn learning, Coursera, and Alison, which offer certificates and some pair up with great Universities around the country and the world. Now you can also participate in talent focused courses online where before you had to sit in a cooking, gardening, or painting class. Now you can learn in the comfort of your own bed. In fact, I am enjoying a masterclass subscription I received as a birthday present this year, which offers cooking, gardening, and other classes I highly recommend you to try it out.
In all this thinking, research, and learning, it brings me back to my passion, developing others. Throughout my life I have witnessed the benefits of individual development, and career development programs available to employees. In fact, I have been on both sides, I have been mentored and coached, but have also guided many employees throughout their journey.
Repeatedly we have seen humanity embody the legendary phoenix. From the ashes and turmoil, we can rise and be far better than before. Plenty of evidence is sprinkled throughout the story of our civilizations. Some of these changes date back to way before the industrial revolution and continue to this day through the ongoing demands and improvements in social rights we see today. This means if we did it before, we can do it again, and again.
To take part of, and flourish in this continuous growth, we can start by taking a deep and long look in the mirror, determine what really makes sense, and what needs to change. Only then, can we recognize and develop the necessary competencies we need as individuals, and as whole, to endure the challenges of this new era.
The continued existence of today’s businesses highly depends on their ability to redefine and adapt. Unfortunately, we might hear of those ill-fated companies like JC Penny and other department stores that time has taken a toll on. Who is to blame? Maybe the birth of a new type of commerce, technology, coupled with the volatile changes and challenges faced in the economy today. For these businesses, it may be impossible to get back on their feet.
While small businesses hope for a miracle, others may rely on luck. If miracles and luck are out of the question, they need a highly creative innovation to save them. Sometimes, this epiphany is lying dormant and can be found within the business. Just take one look around, yes right there, your employees.
Unfortunately, long before the current chaos and all its galore, many companies struggle in three fundamental areas related to employees: Engagement, Low Performance, and Lack of Job Satisfaction. Three key areas which can cost a company a small fortune each year in the form of errors, attrition, loss of talent, and people simply not caring about the company’s wellbeing. How can we tap into hidden talent when there is a current struggle so difficult to address?
I recently read an interesting article by Justin Barison on the Inc.. The article was about a company, which like many, was getting closer to letting go of its employees and shutting its doors due to the very real hardships brought on by the nationwide lockdowns. The CEO, Dan Price if I recall correctly, set up meetings with the staff disclosing the critical situation of the company. Many employees opted to take a pay cut to keep things going even if for a few more weeks. My question is. Would that be a demonstration of engagement, survival or maybe both?
These acts of commitment towards a company or a leader can happen under normal circumstances and does not necessarily need encouragement from a world pandemic or highly chaotic state to inspire it. You know very well, we have all known at least one person who gives their best, no matter what the circumstances are. We all have had a leader or two, I hope, whom we’d stand by through thick and thin no matter, and we wouldn’t think twice to work with them if paths crossed once again. All this, just because we know they had our back. If you have not experienced the latter, I have deep compassion for you.
So then, why are so many employees unhappy and uncommitted to the company they work in? So many organizations are investing more and more on their employees, but has it really moved the needle, and if not why?
Here are some of my top reasons for lack of employee engagement and decreased performance.
- Leadership treating employees poorly. Those of us who have ever reported to a poor leader know the real struggle. It can go anywhere from being dishonest to disrespectful. How do we know when a leader has the potential to treat our employees poorly? As per a Forbes post by Brian Tracy, Leadership Weaknesses: How to Spot the Qualities of a Bad Leader, the top five qualities of a bad leader are:
- Poor Integrity
- Lack of adaptability
- Little vision for the future
- Lack of accountability
- Poor communication skills
- Inexperienced or exhausted leaders. Many times, our leaders are pushed into a role because of their extraordinary work ethic and knowledge. Poor management is sometimes due to the lack of developing or having the necessary skills to deal with a team, leading styles, and all the stress that can come with meeting expectations. In fact, even the best of leaders can face challenging times. Sometimes these leaders find themselves struggling with the day to day duties and have little time to invest in themselves or give it little priority. They might not know what to look for or who they can turn to for open and honest guidance.
- Lack of development / career opportunities / support. One of the reasons I have witnessed many top performers leave a workplace, second to leadership, is due to the lack of development opportunities and support from their leaders and employers. Sometimes an employee has what it takes and can make the difference, but constant push back from their leader and not being able to learn new things or even make suggestions to improve can be discouraging. Remember, these are the employees that at one point were engaged and highly motivated. Now, that spark in their eyes has slowly been replaced with boredom and a sense of unfulfillment.
- Too much work. One common pain point in some businesses, is insufficient staffing. In this scenario employees are responsible for massive amounts of workloads where one sole person possesses the knowledge making them the only person in the company who can do the job, right. Unfortunately, there is no succession plan in place for these scenarios and if the employee has the desire to grow in the organization, they may face push back due to the impact losing them in the department may have..
- Insufficient training and necessary tools. When beginning a new job, pay close attention to the training. This can potentially give you information regarding potential future disengagement within the company. Think of it like this, training is the face of the company for all current and new employees. Along with training, many companies have overly complicated and unorganized processes coupled with systems that are not accessible or available for employees. This can be highly frustrating and overwhelming.
- Poor communication (unclear expectations & lack of recognition). When it comes to communication this is an ongoing universal challenge. This also goes back to how we spend a lot of time learning the formulas, strategies, and procedures of how to make a business tick, but we forget the human aspect. The vast majority of us, need direction, along with clear expectations, and a few goals to shoot for and accomplish to feel successful. If you play to win with a team and lose all the time it can be depressing. Not to mention, knowing that all the arduous work is not being noticed, well that on itself would make anyone want to look elsewhere for success and support.
You see, it is not a surprise as to why so many of you out there feel unsatisfied and disengaged in their workplace. I mean, why wouldn’t anyone be. The reality is only a lucky few can land their dream job where a beautiful balance of excellent pay, passion, and success is achieved.
Now, I am sure you have heard about how great it is to work in a company determined to develop its talent, yet there are still many businesses that have not tapped into this gold mine or may be doing it all wrong. In my experience, some businesses do not to invest in talent development because the investment can be too costly (especially for a startup), time consuming, interferes with work “efficiency”, and sometimes they simply just don’t know where to begin. However, one of the most common reasons I have heard is the fear of whether all the effort, investment, and commitment will lead to tangible results?
First things first, you cannot eat a whale in one bite, and you cannot expect change to happen overnight. If you or your company are considering or venturing into the path of employee development. Below I have written a few suggestions that will help you in this new endeavor and they are easy to remember, TLCS.
Trainers / Training. It is rare to find a major company which does not have a training department, however, are we making sure it has all the resources and support from the company? Trainers can help develop a strategy and a change management plan to help set you on the right track. Encourage trainers to team up with business development and continuous improvement to evaluate what the future development needs are as well as urgent gaps which need to be addressed.
If you are a small company, and a training department is out of the question or budget, make sure you are investing in at least one person to obtain the skills necessary to guide and explore development opportunities for your business.
Leaders. Remember, unfortunately our leaders are pushed daily to meet goals and perform, while also guiding their team. Take the time to provide your leaders with proper guidance and a safe place to develop leadership skills and find answers to the more demanding situations. Mentoring is also an effective way to address this. Pairing less experienced leaders with more experienced ones can help them get exposed to new leadership styles and gain valuable knowledge. I have personally had great mentors throughout my career, and I can attest to the priceless knowledge and experience I acquired through them and their incredible determination to see me succeed.
Consulting. There are several amazing and highly qualified consulting firms suited for the smallest to largest companies and their specific needs. They can help guide you through the entire process of setting up an employee development strategy or they can simply be a fresh pair of eyes which can help point out current gaps. You can find some of these by visiting the shrm.org or searching for skilled independent consultants in your area.
Succession Cover the workload gaps and open the possibility for your team to learn and grow. Remember it does not always take a promotion for progress to be tangible. The skills and knowledge we acquired, will help us be better suited for when that next level is available. A succession plan is a perfect place to start. My first boss told me, during of his teaching sessions, “Don’t be afraid to teach someone else how to do your job. Teach them well, so then you can have the freedom to move up.”
With all this in mind, remember when it comes down to obtaining quick gains, steer your focus towards easy wins. High performers or top performers are a terrific way to begin your business’ employee development journey. They are an effective investment, which will pay off in the long run. You can easily recognize them by using the WRAP traits shown in the image above. If they have all four traits, there is little to no possibility for lack of success if guided by the right person. This will allow you to get things in motion and spark the interest from others within your organization.
I truly hope the journey to your individual or career development plan is successful. I would love to hear any accomplishments or failed attempts you might have experienced throughout this journey. This way, we can help each other get closer to the path of success, and help others begin theirs.
Disclosure: I have not received any form of compensation on behalf of the educational platforms and or articles mentioned in this post.