Think HBR

Are your beliefs about your staff holding them back?

Scott Douglas
SiDCOR Chartered Accountants
 
There is a famous Richard Branson quote that I love; “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients”.
 
At SiDCOR, we have a clear focus on staff engagement, providing alignment to our team member’s purpose with our own, having clear career paths, creating the best environment we can and a set of values that we live by.
 
I also have the unique opportunity though to not only lead an amazing professional services firm, but also a significant retail business in Yogurtland Australia.
 
It’s certainly one thing to engage the up and coming professional on their journey in their chosen field, but how do you engage the 16 -year-old doing a few shifts a week after school.
 
Answer is, in a similar way, with the key being to provide context to their day to day tasks. By micro-managing tasks you will certainly get compliance, but not engagement, and whilst you’re not looking, probably not even that.
 
In Yogurtland, we ask team members to greet a customer when they enter a store. This is a ‘task’, however the context is to provide a fun and engaging experience for the customer. Why they ask? They are not here to buy a hammer, they are here to buy a frozen yogurt, a dessert, a fun treat that can make their ‘bad day good or their good day great’. Our overall goal is to create happiness for the customer.
 
Through this communication we have just given our team member purpose to what we have asked them to do. By providing this context, the way they perform their tasks will follow suit.
 
I hear the nay sayers, good in theory Scott, but I can’t even get my 16-year-old to say ‘hello’ to me in the morning! Fair point. So other than making sure you give them night shifts, not trusting your team and micro managing tasks because you don’t think they’ll buy into your messaging is your fear, not theirs.
 
Give it a try, if you have a block, shift your beliefs about your team first, and the rest will follow.
 
For further information contact SiDCOR on 1300 743 267, email scott@sidcor.com.au or visit www.sidcor.com.au
Scott Douglas4 Scott Douglas
The CEO at SiDCOR Chartered Accountants, has over 20 years’ experience in accounting and taxation, having begun his career with international accounting firm KPMG. With extensive experience in a variety of industries and with all types of businesses from local entrepreneurs to national organisations, Scott is perfectly suited to provide solutions needed to minimise tax and maximise wealth. Scott has a Bachelor of Commerce from Newcastle University and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

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