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Shelter Chieza Change Management
It’s very common these days to meet employees that work according to what they believe is commensurate with their salary. Some employees may be present at work from 8-5pm but only work for four hours and dedicate the other four hours to personal issues that “give them money”. What most employees don’t realise are the repercussions of such behaviour on their careers. Many budding careers have been destroyed by this. These are the type of employees that get to work later than everyone else and have enclosed their circle of influence.

They do not care about ensuring that the business grows. It is this type of behaviour that resultantly shuts any doors and opportunities for career development in a normal and functioning environment.

I recently came across a phrase that I believe was a warning to such employees – “Think like a customer and act like an owner”.

Most people who observe this are those that have matured in their careers. They are no longer worried about the petty little fights over allowances and vehicle allocations that engage other employees’ minds. All businesses go through transitions and phases, some take longer than others.

Go the extra mile when it comes to things that relate to your work. This might earn you some reprieve when it comes to things like retrenchments.

Many have aspirations of running their own businesses one day and there is no better way to prepare than to start on a different work ethic.

If you think like a customer, you are more concerned about what you will get. Thinking like a customer sets you in a better position to be critical about service, products.

If you put yourselves into someone’s shoes, you are in a position to appreciate what they go through, the struggles they face and the satisfaction they derive from it. You now can refine your idea appropriately.

Acting like an owner is not easy but is achievable. The bottom line is that you are acting in a role that may not be yours but look forward to a future.

An owner looks forward to rewards that are tied more directly to the future of the business. This futuristic outlook makes the owner look forward to making more money for the business.

It also gets them to think about how they can win more customers or be able to retain more loyal customers, and how to grow the business faster.

Your focus is no longer inclined on self, it’s now working towards taking some of the pressures off your boss to make the business run more smoothly and efficiently.

Many times employees underestimate their role and distance themselves from the risk and ownership of the business.

You don’t see the closeness that you can develop with customers, and how much you can benefit from them as they benefit from your service.

It’s you the front line manager that receives the latest and updated information on their preferences.

You can act spontaneously in some instances and gain customers that can easily supply you with knowledge that can build your career.

If, for instance, you come up with the best solution to clearing the long queues in your banking hall, you will be given the accolade of being the most enterprising business development manager.

But that solution could have been suggested by an irate customer in the queue, and guess who takes the credit for it – YOU.

Unleash the art of tuning the negative into positive within you. You can be more innovative than your boss is, his strategy may be from text book ideas that fade over seasons, while yours are brand new and current.

I have often attended debates on how much internet-based platforms dissociate the customer service experience.

It’s good to be offering convenience to pay for goods and services in the comfort of your home.

But that has effectively detached a sizeable number of customers that we can benefit from their suggestions and complaints.

The fact is that as business owners we are losing a lot because we are treating employees like tools.

The challenge is that we are owner managing our businesses and working in the business and not working on the business.

As business owners we are strategists, visionaries that give direction and guidance and steer the ship forward.

I love what the famous Russian director Constantin Stanislavski once said: “Theatre begins at the cloakroom.”

Theatre directors take their art so seriously that the moment someone steps into the building, the ticket attendant and the usher that attend to these people must reflect the art. In so doing you make everyone part of the act. Those dresses and hats that you see the waiters wearing are not just for show.

Engage your employees if you want them to take ownership, they must be kept in the loop. A business that makes an effort to engage its employees gains at the end.

Till next week, may God richly bless you!

Shelter Chieza is a Management Consultant. She can be contacted at [email protected]