| People
Don't Leave Bad Organizations. People Leave
Bad Managers!
René
Jones
- April 28, 2006
Introduction
Have
you noticed that everybody and her mother is
talking about how to be a good leader? Books
such as Leadership Styles and Strategies,
The 21 Century Supervisor, and 9 Natural
Laws of Leadership are just the three of
3,048,203 search results that MSN returned when
I searched leadership books. But when I searched
for “how to be a good follower”
the search engine returned 3,219 of which many
were martial arts and religious sites! Sound
leadership involves nurturing employees to excel
in their abilities and create a functionally,
competitive, and profitable work environment.
Often, companies nurture employee skills by
continuing education and training. Encouraging
employees to take courses to improve project
management skills or to learn the latest version
of office software is great and companies will
certainly benefit from a technologically savvy
workforce, but this type of training isn’t
applicable to every area of the company.
One
of the most neglected areas of an enterprise
is its warehouse. This is where the greatest
waste—and where the greatest savings can
occur (see the series Warehouse
Management Systems: Pie in the Sky or Floating
Bakery?). Warehouse employees benefit
when their skills are nurtured, but how to do
this isn’t always clear. Ultimately, when
companies invest in continuous learning and
training, they are encouraging employees to
become good employees.
Now
before you classify me as a crackpot and while
you ask yourself who would want to learn how
to be a good employee, hear me out. I spent
several years in the military and I learned
a lot about life in general. But what I learned
about business will amaze you. Every branch
of the military teaches you how to be a good
leader by first being an excellent follower.
You learn how to take orders, when to ask the
right questions, and how to execute.
By
now, I know many of you are thinking about all
of the books you have read on management and
leadership, and you are probably saying to yourself,
"What good is it to know how to lead people,
when the people you are leading do not want
to go where you are taking them?" I know the
books tell us that a good leader is supposed
to have the ability to take people where they
ought to be instead of where they want to be.
However, regardless of where they are in the
company, today’s followers want to know
several things before they follow you—and
this is especially true in the warehouse where
employees don’t always see the impact
of their role in the company. Followers want
to know
-
where you are taking them;
-
why should they be there;
-
what will happen when they get there; and
my favorite
-
how long will it take to get there.
In
other words, today’s followers want the
problem and not just the solution.
Some
would say these are generational differences
and I agree, but those differences have been
around for a long time. I believe it was Henry
Ford who lamented, “Why, when I hire a
pair of hands, does it have to come with a brain
attached?” Today’s leaders are having
problems with generational differences, and
instead of leveraging their employees desire
to see the big picture, leaders ignore it. In
fact, many leaders don’t even realize
the key to good leadership is adaptability.
In the military we had to adapt to our surroundings
immediately and the same is true in business,
but most leaders want the followers to adapt
to their leadership style instead of adapting
their leadership style to the individuals following
them. What leaders need to realize is that today’s
followers are different. One size does not fit
all.
So
this, perhaps, is a key point. No one wants
to be classified as a “follower”—they
are employees. To a leader, these might
mean the same thing, but to your staff, they
are entirely different. Employees need reason
and incentive. The psychology of leadership
will have you taking notice of the behavior
of different individuals, and understanding
that there are and will be differences.
For
employees of a large multinational corporation
or an employee of a mom-and-pop shop, their
roles are all the same. From a warehouse standpoint,
orders must be received, putaway, picked, packed,
and shipped. Seems simple, but less than 30
percent of all warehouses are efficient and
they average somewhere between 45 to 60 percent
in annual turnover rates. Labor accounts for
65 percent of the costs associated with distribution,
and this means that your employees are the most
important part of the process. You need to start
encouraging them to act like it.
We
have known for years about the 80:20 rule. Twenty
percent of your customers generate 80 percent
of your revenue; 20 percent of your product
is shipped on 80 percent of your orders …
and 20 percent of your employees process 80
percent of your work. Losing one of these individuals
forces you to hire two more people as a replacement.
Workers will leave quickly if they feel their
skills are underutilized or they feel under
valued.
However,
all is not lost. You do not have to fire 80
percent of your workforce. You can nurture better
employees by helping employees understand what
they are working for, so they will appreciate
their effort. Guide them by encouraging them
to
Write
down goals. Your organization puts
its sales goals up ever month so the entire
organization will subconsciously focus on
the outcome and not the obstacles. Individuals
are like organizations. They need to state
their goals and determine what needs to be
done to achieve those goals. Wanting a better
job, a lot of money, or a better house is
not enough. A goal is stating what type
of job and when, how much money and
by when, and how much to put down
on that better house, and when it will be
purchased. Goals will help your employees
see past the orders they are picking, the
product they are receiving, and the packages
they are shipping, because by they are acting
with their goals in mind.
As
a leader you need to inspire confidence by
making your employees confident in their skills.
Once they understand the purpose of the company
and the roles they play, then hopefully they
will see the purpose in their work—and
the opportunities that lie ahead.
Write down strengths and weaknesses.
Your employees need to determine what they
need to know about their corporation, what
they do well, and what they need to improve.
This way when positions become available within
the organization, they can determine whether
they are truly qualified and if they are capable.
They will also know what they need to work
on to be considered a possible candidate.
Invest
in themselves to achieve their goals. I
remember watching a news story about people
who had been laid off. When the news anchor
asked one man what he was going to do, the
man replied, “Nothing! I have been working
here for twenty years. This is all I know.”
That was the saddest thing I had ever heard.
The fact that this company did not invest
in this person was amazing—and the fact
that he shutdown after a certain time everyday
was even more amazing. My mother told me when
I was very young “You earn a living
from 9-5! But you earn a fortune from 5-9!”
Markets
will change in twenty years and so will the
jobs they offer. Jobs don’t have futures.
People do. Encourage your employees to spend
some time outside of the company towards self
investment. Point them to resources related
to their field, their job, and the position
they aspire to have. The ambitious ones will
seize this opportunity. It took 1,800 years
from the birth of Christ for man to double
our knowledge. Now that happens in less than
eighteen months.
Exceed
goals. Most of us need reminding
more than we need teaching. We need to be
reminded that an increase in pay is based
on the contribution being made to the department
and more importantly to the organization.
Managers do a horrible job at explaining this
concept. Simply giving employees a goal and
not tracking who is reaching it is a waste
of time. Managers need to provide employees
with stretch goals and then periodically expand
those goals. All goals must be given a target
date and once that goal and date are met,
a new goal must be set immediately. Remember,
in the future companies will have to do more
with less in order to remain competitive.
By expecting more from what you have, and
you may never have to do to decrease your
staff.
As
a manager, you also have a notable role to play.
You should
Promote
professionalism. A disorganized area
means mistakes happen. A disorganized packing
area tells me that shipping errors occur here,
and that impacts the whole company—from
customer service to finance. The appearance
of the warehouse should be as professional
as the rest of the company. It will help warehouse
employees feel a part of the company and strive
toward the common goal.
Encourage
responsibility outside of job descriptions.
Most people are quick to tell you when something
is not their responsibility, and even if they
don’t vocalize it, they still think
it. This is a symptom of a greater problem:
your employees don’t see the incentive
of doing something that is beneficial to the
company, even though they know it should be
done. Why? They think no one cares whether
they do it. Your employees must realize that
their responsibility begins when they walk
through the warehouse doors and punch in and
as a manager, you must be ready to recognize
and reward.
Support dialogue with management.
Most mid level managers do not take the time
to adequately evaluate their employees. Therefore
when review and raise time comes around, employees
are often surprised that their increase was
so low. This is demoralizing and destructive
to the leadership process, because employees
feel their efforts were for naught. You need
to build incentive, promote dialogue, and
monitor results. Employees should know how
they are doing on a monthly basis. This doesn’t
mean doing twelve reviews a year, but it does
mean supervisors and employees should feel
free to talk about job progress informally
and at appropriate times. Employees should
feel any criticism they receive is constructive
and any improvement they make will be recognized.
Remember, this is to realize goals. When raise
time comes around there should be no surprises
one way or another.
Keep
employees informed about initiatives.
Employees need to feel there are opportunities
for progress and advancement. They should
know what is important to the supervisor and
where they can showcase their ability and
willingness. For example, if employees know
that the company plans to implement a new
warehouse management system (WMS)
at the end of the year, they have an opportunity
to show their interest and dedication to the
company, and it will make the transition to
the new system will be easier. As a manager,
you should let them into the process. As a
result, everyone benefits.
Conclusion
If
you’ve spent all this energy nurturing
good workers, then last thing you want to do
is lose them to a competitor. Distribution is
a cash intensive business and labor accounts
for 65 percent of the cost associated with distributing
your product. Most warehouses average somewhere
between 45 percent and 60 percent annual turnover
rates and most warehouse personnel will leave
your organization for a 25 cent increase in
pay. Your goal should be to provide an environment
where your employees look forward to coming
to work and not dread coming to work. If you
are currently experiencing “normal”
turnover rates it is definitely time to evaluate
your leadership style. Always remember, “People
don’t leave bad organizations. People
leave bad managers!”
About the Author
René
Jones
is widely known in the industry as the founder
of Total Logistics Solutions, Inc. (www.logisticsociety.com)
a warehouse efficiency company. With over eighteen
of industry experience, Jones was recently recognized
for his achievements in the industry by Supply
& Demand Chain Executive and was named one
of the top twenty-five “Pros to Know”
in the industry for 2005. Published and quoted
in industry magazines throughout the United
State, Central America, Canada, and Australia,
he is also the author of the acclaimed book,
This Place Sucks: What Your warehouse Employees
Think About Your Company and How to Change Their
Perceptions! and WMS 101: A Complete Guide to
Selecting, Implementing and Maintaining a Warehouse
Management System. He can be reached by phone
at (818) 353-2962 or by e-mail at rene.jones@logisticsociety.com
|