We have previously discussed why Gratitude Marketing must be part
of our relationships with our prospects and customers. We have discussed how
karma plays a major part of our business success. We have also discussed how
asking our customers, both current and former, to discuss how our business
rates with them and discussed how we should listen with an open mind to their
comments. There is another group of people who we must ask about our operation
and our performance as a business. That is our employees.
Every business that has employees must consider them as a
valuable asset to the business, one of the most valuable. These people are not
mindless drones, but can be the portion of our business which makes it a wild
success. Readers of The Costco Connection
magazine have an excellent article in the October, 2019 edition, All
Aboard by Fiona Jamison. In her article Fiona discusses that business
owners must gain the engagement of their employees in order to increase profits
and productivity. A disengaged workforce results in high turnover, absenteeism,
and low morale.
How do we determine that our employees are disengaged? Well,
since we are basically clueless if we do not know that answer, we must ask
them. Asking for this information must be with an open mind with no repercussions
for their honesty. If our employees fear your backlash, they will not be honest
and we have bigger problems. Perhaps they can trust us better if they see
similar information gathering from our customers.
Don’t get upset or take it action against the employee.
After all we asked for honesty. Fix the problems, one at a time, and afterwards
ask for feedback again. Maybe allowing our employees to have a part in the
problem fixing process can result in better relations and more success. Fixing
one problem completely is better than halfway fixing many. The more complicated
problems will require more time and effort, but some progress, with employee
input, will improve morale.
There is one employee we must never ignore, ourselves. If
our morale is bad, nothing good will result. After all, we became business
owners to be happier. If we are not, what happened? We must take stock every
now and then and be honest with ourselves. If you have engaged employees, maybe
they can help fix ourselves.
Of course, spreading some Gratitude Marketing to our
employees, and to ourselves, can result in a great success level in our
business. Celebrating success, even at small accomplishments, can make a big
difference in morale, self-confidence, and spirit. Employees who feel good
about what they accomplish make better business partners, and that is what our
employees should be.
