4 Unexpected Ways How Chaos in Staffing Can Inspire you to Create your Ultimate Dream Team
If you have ever gotten to the point in business where you are more owner than operator its unique. Your friends and family think you sit around all day sipping cocktails and watching soap operas or the better scenario (and my personal favorite) is sitting on the beach all day, sipping cocktails and counting money. Oh how I wish!
The truth is many business owners still may have sleepless nights even when things are humming along.
For me, it doesn’t matter how long my businesses are fully staffed I am always poised in the corner waiting to be put back in. I try and preemptively know when things are going south but these things are tricky and employees not always fair, honest and sometimes volatile. When the phone rings, and an unexpected staffing crisis has emerged just know that when handled properly it can be one of the best things for your business.
1) Every Organization Needs an Enema Every Now and Then
I love this phrase! It doesn’t matter how many times I hear it, say it or now write it, it makes me giggle.
Sometimes people in one place for too long creates drama. I think humans naturally crave variety and the office gossip, alliances, clicks, and rumor mongering are ways you know your staff maybe getting too comfortable. Plus let’s face it, some people are too much work and drama from the start. (Beware of the crazy eyes!)
Or the opposite is true and apathy sets in. This is the harder of the two scenarios to figure out. It’s quieter and much more insidious. I know because this is what happened to one of my business in the last month. Slow withdrawal and lack of caring from a manager can become a cancer and if it’s not excised early enough can metastasized to the rest of the staff and even to the clientele.
2) You have too
For me this was a no brainer. I had to go back to work in this particular situation. Not only was there not enough man power but I had to assess the situation at hand. I needed a feel of how the business was running during normal operational hours and testing the waters of the current team in place, the clientele and scoping the place out for some new talent.
Sometimes when push comes to shove and you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, having no other options except to go back to work can be the best thing possible. Plus, you can sleep again once the crisis has been adverted and everything returns back to normal.
3) Who’s ever left either rises to the occasion or falls to the side
It’s amazing to watch the rest of a team rise up once a bad manager leaves. (I have seen this more than once). A bad manager, keeps everyone below him or her operating at substandard levels and employees you thought weren’t very good actually didn’t have the proper guidance, help, training and support. It may shock the hell out of you to find how much better a business can run when a bad higher up is no longer in the picture.
John C Maxwell would call this “The Law of the Lid” Principle.
4) You can clean up the details of your operation, re-inspire your team and take your business to the next level with people who want to
If your name is on the lease and your signature is on the paychecks, than it’s up to you to rally the troops. You may be facing some bad publicly because who knows what’s been said about you while you were sipping cocktails on the proverbial beach and counting the money. You have to go in, clean up the systems get whoever’s remaining fired up and immediately set out to find some new talent.
This whole process is certainly not easy or straightforward. It may take weeks or months. I’m estimating my latest upheaval will be about 6-8 weeks before things truly settle down.
You know what’s happened in the process? I remembered how much I enjoy the business and interestingly enough all my businesses performed at significant higher levels in October than in September. I believe a good majority of that is cleaning house and allowing those who are good at their jobs to do their jobs and not be distracted by their co-workers BS.
If you need some fresh faces check out chirorecruit.com for more information.
Kassandra Schultz D.C