Employees are a massive expense in a business. Some calculations indicate that an employee needs to be making at least three times their own wage every hour to be profitable to the average company … and if your employees have any motivational or productivity issues, there is little likelihood that they'll be able to perform to that standard. Today we check out common cash-sucking employee problems, and how a range of techniques and technology like telephone time clocks can help.
1. I had to fire an employee that was popular with other staff, and now my productivity has plummeted
Even a telephone time clock won’t save you from the plummeting productivity that de-motivated employees create. Don't try to stop other employees communicating with the fired employee - this will create doubt about your correctness in their minds. If the situation was so bad that you needed to fire the employee, there is every chance that the employees knew all about the problems too, and will eventually come round.
2. Some employees don't always hold themselves to the highest moral standards, and this affects the ones that do
Seeing people get away with unethical behaviour is a major demotivator for many employees. If you know about the behavior, all you do is make sure that it has consequences - a disciplinary hearing, a warning, or at worst, firing.
3. My employees keep alienating customers!
This is one of the most insidious cash-sucking problems. Timecard padding might cost you a few dollars a day or fifty dollars a week, but losing a customer could cost the business thousands over its lifetime. And whereas time card padding can be easily dealt with through telephone time clocks, bad customer service is harder to identify and correct. First, make sure employees know how to handle customers - teach them the basic customer service principles. You could also consider implementing a bonus system, whereby keeping customers happy or getting a good testimonial is worth a bonus.
It is always worth instituting a probationary period, and being extra-careful on hiring also, to make sure these problems don't develop in the first place!
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