I’m Bob Wendover. People don’t burnout from working hard. They burnout from working hard on things that don’t seem to matter. Oh! How true this is! Even more so now in an age of asynchronous communication and artificial intelligence. If, as a leader, you are not showing people how their work makes a difference in the bigger picture, you’re failing to leverage their investment in the job. Even 30 minutes a week applied to this effort makes a difference.
A client of mine, named Jeff, takes 15 minutes at every monthly meeting to explain a bit about how the business operates. He starts his meetings at 6AM and everyone shows up promptly. What’s his secret? Simple. He pays out the commissions on the products his guys have sold over the past 30 days. What kind of business is Jeff in? . . . . sewer cleaning.
But for Jeff, these meetings are not just about the money. He learned a long time ago that people work because they are invested. He explains the economics of a service call. He discusses customer psychology. He explains how the company’s marketing efforts turn into customer calls.
Do these guys really care? They must. He’s got the best employee retention rate of anyone in the business. And they offer ideas on how the business can work even better. They work long hours, nights and weekends. After, if your toilet backs up, you don’t want to wait until Monday. Jeff’s not in a glamorous business. But chances are, neither are you. So, how much of an effort do you make to help your hard-working people what a difference they make?
I can tell you story after story like this. The leaders who practice these strategies keep their people and benefit from a wealth of front-line ideas. You can work people harder than you might have thought, but only if you keep them engaged. Money’s important. But I’ve seen plenty of good people leave because they couldn’t see the contribution they were making.
How about those working for you? They’re probably not cleaning sewers, but they are doing something valuable for your firm. Do they know it? I’m Bob Wendover.