You don’t need us to remind you that running a business can be incredibly stressful. This stress comes from all kinds of factors, whether it concerns your staff, your management, or even your customers. However, if left unchecked, friction between your various internal forces can have negative consequences on your operations.
Why Management Devaluing Employees is a Problem
Sometimes, no matter the intentions, management may lash out at employees who perform the various important elements that keep a business afloat. Regardless of how intense, these actions can impact operations and affect how well they can run both now and into the future. Whether it’s from a lack of productivity, problems with communication, or another issue entirely, there are ways to address it without taking it out on employees.
It’s important to do all you can to avoid these issues, starting with hiring the right people for the job. Generally speaking, the people who frustrate management will likely join the team thinking they are already familiar with what needs to be done in the office. They might waste time and resources trying to do a job their way without considering that they could have done it more efficiently while listening to management. There also might be individuals on your staff who are not the team players they claimed to be in their interviews; this is equally catastrophic, and their actions will speak louder than their words.
Naturally, as a manager yourself, you might be frustrated when someone you hire simply isn’t up to stuff, so to speak. However, it’s a problem that doesn’t just disrupt one person; it can impact your entire team, too. Annual reviews are one way you can help employees understand how they fit into their roles and the organization as a whole. It can give employees more of an idea of what you expect of them and can often be enough to ground them in their position.
As a manager, it’s also important that you understand that the employees you hire are not only your employees. They are also people who are trying to feed their families and make their way through life happily and functionally. People have varying levels of productivity and commitment, though, so one person’s best will vary based on innumerable factors and variables throughout the workweek. You must be consistent with how you interact with your team, but it’s important that your consistency does not stem from negativity. If you are too hard on your employees, they might choose to act out even more, as they can assume how you will react in both positive and negative scenarios.
Finally, it might be tempting to imagine that the customer is always right, but this is just not true. You might want to give your customers what they want when they want it, but you cannot give in to every little grievance at the expense of your workers. If you’re providing a service, you must maintain your temper. If you look down on your employees, especially in front of others, you might as well be begging them to look for employment elsewhere.
One thing to remember is that everyone is a customer who wants to get the best deal or service possible by any means necessary. If a customer is unhappy with your services, it’s not necessarily due to your employee’s mistake or their inability to perform work to your standards. It could just be a greedy customer trying to milk your business for what it’s worth.
Of course, there are times when employees should be addressed, but they should be addressed appropriately and professionally. No one should be screamed at, ever. Any manager must note these issues and bring them up in a calm and actionable way, as failing to do so will not yield results.
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