Costing you productivity, the economy has propped the door open and is influencing the average associate in two ways:
1) Their friends and families are reporting cracks in the companies they work for (or stories of unemployment) – RATTLING THEM FROM THE OUTSIDE.
2) You have failed to demonstrate an adequate plan to weather this economic downturn. You are failing to communicate – RATTLING THEM FROM THE INSIDE.
What can you do?
Thus, the average associate is accepting that they need to consider having “one foot in, one foot out” in terms of their commitment to the business. Unless they own the business, their position is not assured – and they are increasingly aware of this. Even contracts are suspect. So what can you do about it?
Talk frequently about what you KNOW. Make everyone aware of the battle and the weekly needs and score. Why hide it? Make the challenge public and call for everyone to get behind it. Increase the frequency of group reviews. Get people together to brainstorm on cost cutting, new ideas, new products, ways to wow the customer, etc. INCREASE the involvement of your top talent. Leadership should be allowed to emerge.
If you must shrink the head count, do it as soon as possible, overdo it (with call-back options), and ONLY DO IT ONCE. Tell everyone remaining “That’s it.” Be credible. Do not have people wondering if there is a 2nd round, etc. Productivity will plummet and good people will leave rather than wait for the other shoe to drop.
Most businesses will drop sales at this time. It’s likely the competition and associate’s peers are banging the door open every day. If you want your associate’s two feet IN, you need to slam the door shut with genuine communication that includes sharing real data.
- M
Tags: Confidence, Entrepreneurship, Sales Strategy