Keeping Teams Engaged (and Productive)

One of the most common refrains one hears from all businesses as we all navigate through the pandemic, is the lament that “I am losing staff and can’t find any competent replacements.”

The challenges of the past two years have been monumental for society as a whole, and certainly for many entrepreneurial businesses. Independent operators of almost every market segment were faced with supply chain disruptions, local governmental directives about daily operations, personal and personnel safety and this issue of safety creating a new dynamic within the workspace as many associates/employees opted out of work when alternative sources of income and support were available.

The loss of team members can have a serious deleterious effect on the daily operations of any business, especially those that have worked hard to build an efficient business model, tailoring the necessary resources to the daily demands. As was reported regularly over the past two years, whether positive tests for COVID infection or merely the concerns of those in the workplace, many businesses were suddenly faced with multiple call outs, and in some cases this resulted in the necessity of shutting the business down or in the better scenario, operating with a scaled back functionality. Either situation however, had negative implications to the bottom line (in most anecdotal accounts).

But the COVID pandemic is not the only reason many businesses have been facing an epidemic of personnel attrition. Every strong entrepreneur should regularly assess the morale of their workforce to determine if there may be underlying issues, that once the associates found themselves working from home, or taking on alternative "gigs" in the interim of shut downs and remote work scheduling, presented these associates with more viable alternatives to returning to their original position.

It starts with communication, as almost everything in a successful business does. But that should be the foundation, not the sole arrow in your quiver. There should be a structured practice of recognizing, validating and rewarding those associates that are providing your business with the excellence you've established as the standard. 

Silver Fox Consulting can help your business develop a framework for making your team accountable, but also presenting incentives to maintain the expectation of exceptionalism in their everyday work product. The reality is that when you've assembled a roster that works well as a team, that understands their roles and independently seeks to excel in their functions, it is much less disruptive and much more productive than recruiting, hiring, training and getting replacements up to speed. Your associates can be your most valuable asset; maintaining their top level performance is an investment that will easily pay for itself, and most often will be responsible for promoting higher revenue and earnings!