Are Your Employees REALLY Working?

An old business owner joke goes like this; a reporter one day asked the CEO of a major company, “So, how many employees are working in your company?”  The CEO replied, “approximately half of them”.

It’s funny, but the problem is, it’s not necessarily a joke!  Today with the ever-expanding network of digital and social capabilities, the problem is getting worse, not better.

A fortune.com article stated that the average worker spends a full day of the work week doing things other than, work!  Paying an employee for 8 hours and getting only 6 hours of quality time is troubling, at the least.

According to an article posted by thebalancecareers.com, the most significant reasons why workers waste time were:

35% were not challenged enough

32% felt that there was no incentive to work harder

30% got no satisfaction from what they do, and

23% were just downright bored.

It’s no surprise that motivated employees with clear expectations get more done than those that simply show up and do what they “think” should be done.  The trick is, how do you keep them motivated?

I have a list of  “10 Leadership Tasks to Inspire Performance”  that suggests it starts with hiring. Hire on attitude and effort, you can train them on the skills required. Task #4  on the list suggests you have “clear expectations”.  Most people appreciate clear direction and boundaries and will “respect only what you inspect”.  Make sure they understand that doing non-work-related tasks are not tolerated, and you can bet the time wasted will be far less.

Now there is a fine line or grey area between wasting time on the job and taking a break.  It really depends on the requirements of the job and clear expectations set at the beginning.  Most employees don’t want to be micro-managed but they may need some help and guidance at first. 

In our company, we strive to use a coaching instead of managing set-up.  Because of the different roles people play, some have more flexibility while others need to follow procedures to the T.  Our on-air staff at the radio stations have to be on time.  As a former radio personality who sometimes worked non-traditional hours, I know how important punctuality is.  Same with meetings.  Time is a valuable resource for everyone.

Yet sometimes brainstorming, research and creativity can’t be easily measured or monitored by a time clock.  The coaching model of employee management takes into consideration the individuals work style along with the requirements of the job and finds a way to make it work. 

You may wonder what does any of this have to do with media, marketing and advertising that I usually write about.

Here’s the answer:

Your staff are a huge part of your marketing.  The customer experience can turn a first time caller or visitor into a life long customer, or it can create such a negative experience that you lose their business forever.

Even if I can bring you enough leads and potential customers through an advertising program to make you a millionaire, unless you treat them right, you will go broke.  And when I say you, I mean your entire team.

If you would like a copy of the “10 Leadership Tactics to Inspire Performance”, click here. 

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