Every employee can be a superhero! (Almost!)

Your business is doing well. You have a clear vision for the future and know what actions are required to get your there. But somehow your employees seem to live on another planet. You expect (X) from them, they give you (X-10). Or worse, (Y)!

Many businesses are quick to claim that getting good employees is increasingly difficult. And that’s true. With many new opportunities available, attracting talent is difficult. Millennials (employee born between 1981 and 1996) and post-millennials are becoming an increasing proportion of the workforce. And they have different expectations from a job. These are uncontrollable factors. Are there some changes you can make within your business that will make your employees superheroes? As well as make your organization an irresistible magnet for the right professionals? Here is a list of 8 changes you can make to help your employees become superheroes.

Its nice to have a clear vision and strategy in your head. It’s even better to have it well articulated and shared with employees. It gives employees a common goal to aspire to and provides purpose to the work they do. Don’t forget to keep reminding employees how their work fits into the overall goals of your business. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer and pioneering aviator said “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”

While developing a vision and a strategy, make sure that its not something generic. For example, a vision which says- ‘Empowered employees working towards a common plan’- doesn’t say too much. And it does not explain how the employee fits into your grand plan. Your vision and strategy need to be achievable, understandable and relatable to your employees. 

Maybe Messi or Ronaldo don’t need to be given specific instructions on their role in a game. For the rest of us, being sure of what’s expected of us is important. You need to have clear roles and responsibilities for each employee. And make people truly own those responsibilities. Performance Goals and associated Appraisals should have a significant linkage to employee responsibilities. 

Documented business processes also play a key role in letting employees know their responsibilities. This means that there is a defined way to perform key activities. This helps employees know exactly what’s expected of them and what they can expect from their colleagues. The other advantage of documented business processes is that it prevents issues when an employee leaves the organisation. New employees can learn their role in key processes through following the process maps. This reduces the time needed for training as well as the time needed for them to become productive. The activities become process dependent and not person dependent.

Talk to your employees.Anytime you get the opportunity. Understand what drives them. Explore issues and challenges they face. Give them appreciation. Studies show that face-to-face interactions with business leaders are highly valued by employees. Power distances need to be lowered. This is especially true in Family Businesses where the power distance between the patriarch and the rest is high. Keep engaging (that includes listening!) with your employees and try to remove hierarchies. Even consider making everyone call you by your first name. That can make a big difference. By encouraging subordinates to call you by your first name, you highlight your accessibility without reducing your authority or status. 

While it’s great to communicate don’t take it too far. Remember that there is a fine line between a friend and a boss. 

Keep celebrating small successes. Recognition is important to employees. It shows that their effort is being noticed and appreciated. Rewards need not be monetary. Even a certificate of appreciation or something similar works well. This doesn’t mean that you recognize or reward everyone to keep them happy. That would diminish the value of the recognition. It does mean that you identify specific successes of employees and recognize their contribution. 

We all have our favourite employees. And it’s fitting that performing employees get amply recognized. What’s not nice is assuming that everything a ‘great employee’ does is great. That’s a demotivator for the rest of the team. “Nothing I do will give me the recognition that the great employee gets”. So, go beyond face value and be objective while measuring performance. Another example of the halo effect is you interviewing a candidate that comes highly recommended by a peer you trust. This could cause you to rate him higher compared to a similarly qualified candidate. But there is a chance the other candidate is a better fit for your business. Be self-aware and try to see past the Halo effect. 

As much as we would like, employees might not have all the skill sets required. They need training in specific skillsets to enable them to do their job. Equally important, they need the right tools to do their job. You can’t, for example, expect an employee to make a detailed project plan without Microsoft Project or equivalent installed on their computer. 

Using technology can make an employee’s job much easier and make them much more efficient. Employees expect efficiency increasing technologies to be available to them. You obviously can’t give them every piece of technology. But a leader should keep abreast of technologies available and their cost-benefit to yourbusiness. Be open to suggestions on technology use from your employees. The right technology can benefit a business in a significant way.

Promised to discuss something with your employee? Keep your promise. Told an employee you will take a decision about something? Either make the decision or tell the employee that there will be a delay. Don’t keep them wondering if you still remember what you had committed. Plus, an employee might feel awkward to remind you of your commitments. And if it goes on for too long might build up resentment within your organisation. When you keep your commitments to your employees, they feel valued. And know that you are there to support and guide them in their work.

Though last, this one is possibly the most important. Be fair in all your dealing with employees. Whether it’s fairness in compensation, leave, timings or anything else. If an employer is fair with an employee, its more than likely that the employee will give their best to the organization.

Closing note

What happens when an employee doesn’t add value despite all your best efforts? Option 1 is to redeploy them into a role more in line with their skill sets. Option 2 is to part ways. While Option 2 is distasteful, it’s sometimes the best option for the employee. Inertia keeps many employees stuck in jobs misaligned with their skills. Being pushed to search for new opportunities gives them a much greater chance of finding something they are passionate about.