Who Watches You Work

From the business perspective there are a few things that represent major problems with employees.  And, as you might suspect those problems can be very expensive.  In turn, those who are aware of the problems, and keep their performance at non-problem levels are the ones that get promoted.

One of the major factors can relate as far back as preschool or kindergarten.   I am talking about attendance.  The problem has grown to a point where some companies use attendance management software to track their employees.  A very close look at a business plan will reveal a component taken for attendance costs.  Attendance has become part of employee reviews and has also been used as a foundation for disciplinary actions.

The reason is very simple.  Every employee serves a function within the activities of a company.  When that employee is not there then the normal process of those functions tend to suffer.  Just as a 30 minute interruption to your cable television frustrates you, attendance results impact the company as well.  If the loss of cable happened during the closing minutes of a very close super bowl game you probably would be demanding an adjustment on your bill.  The figure you are demanding can also relate to the financial impact of poor attendance to a company.  But in company terms of production the costs are a lot higher.

Granted people do get sick.  And, personal situations in the family such as a sick child are justified.  But in every company there are those who have perfect attendance, those who are average and then a group that seem to be sick a lot more than usual.  The same holds true to start times.  If you are scheduled for work at 8:00 and earn a reputation of being 15 to 20 minutes late most of the time it will show up.  How will it show?  Lost promotions, lost increase in wages and probably loss of priority in other company considerations.

The second area that is of major importance is attitude.  Some of the best employees in terms of skills, experience and knowledge are often overlooked because they have attitude problems.  No one wants to work with someone who complains all the time.  Negative comments and attitude are a complete “turn off” in terms of production.  Coworkers prefer working in harmony.  That does not mean you have to love the person you work with.  It does mean that you have to extend respect and partner in the job to get the work done. 

Bad attitudes are the reason the catch phrase “hostile work environment” is used.  Negative comments and other non-productive displays in attitude usually fall into that disciplinary action category.  The other side of an attitude problem is removing it.  People with bad attitudes tend to be reassigned more.  The primary reason is the managing supervisor pushes the problem elsewhere.  Often that is the final result when all other corrective attempts fail. 

Shrinkage is a problem with every company.  For this article I will define shrinkage as loss of service or production.  This may come as wasted resources.  It can relate to excess expense.  It can also relate to lost income opportunities.  Every employee should be aware of shrinkage.  What is more important is the efforts made to help reduce it.  Actions may be as simple as using recycled paper.  Cutting used paper into scratch paper sheets.  It could be as complex as identifying wasted time in production or duplicated steps in processes. 

Employees who take steps to reduce shrinkage, make recommendations that might save time or materials and continue to look for ways of improving efficiency get noticed.  Many employee reviews have included positive comments in this area.  In turn, those are the employees that tend to receive promotions.

Customer service is the last area I will discuss.  And, it can have the highest immediate level of impact.  When I went into my bank to renew my auto license the new teller tried to push my service onto another employee.  That other employee was busy and told her to go ahead and do it.  She made some off the wall comment like this will take a while.  The other teller looked at me and said she just doesn’t like to do those.

I waited a week or so before I went back in.  This time I spoke with the manager and mentioned the situation.  My intent was not to get the employee fired but the manager needed to know that the attitude that was being displayed.  In turn she mentioned that a few other people had mentioned other attitude areas that were noticed.  One customer came right out and asked for another teller to work with her.  

Customer impact carries the highest level of priority.  Companies know how tough it is to bring in new customers let along to hold the customers they have.  If an employee is opening the door, by poor attitude, for customers to consider going elsewhere that is a direct profit threat.  Customer service is something that employees have to develop and practice.  It is not a natural taught skill.  Each employee must take actions necessary to maintain the highest levels of service they extend to customers.

Everyone is watching you work.  Customers, coworkers, supervisors, individuals in other departments and people you coordinate with every day are watching.  Any one you come in contact with is watching.  In the eyes of the company there are usually three types of employee.  The first is the one that is ahead of everyone.  That employee is anxiously trying to earn promotion through demonstrated work and production.  The second type is the average employee.  This one hits all the average categories not standing out as a leader or dropping far enough down to be considered a problem. 

The last type of employee is the one who has attendance and attitude problems.  This one is not concerned with shrinkage or trying to save the company money.  Customer service is not their best asset.  These are usually the ones who question why they never get picked, offered promotion or special attention.  The only attention they receive is disciplinary action plans and write ups.  And they are the same ones who have absolutely no idea who is watching them.