Very disappointed by the lack of commitment of my employees!

[khan]

Hey!

I am in textile manufacturing and have a small spinning unit. My father and brother had been running the business for the past 5-6 years and I have joined recently.

One thing which has disappointed me greatly is that I havn't yet come across any employee who is totally sincere to me. My brother tells me the same thing, he hasnt found anyone who is completely loyal to him.It seems that the work only gets done if we are around. None of them have the vision of seeing the business grow.

I am just wondering if I am expecting too much out of them or employees in smaller firms, like our, are like that? or am I doing something wrong here?

Thanks

[jasaunders]

This is a topic I could write a book on, and I suggest if you are truly interested in this, you read some good organizational behavior books. In its most primitive sense you have to figure out what the needs of your employees are and what motivates them. There are more than a dozen prominent motivational and needs theories, some which are more supported by evidence than others. Of course you have Maslow's hierarchy, but also take a look at Herzberg's two-factor theory, Alderfer's ERG theory and cognitive theories such as goal-setting. Once you have a good understanding of these and other theories I think you'll be in a better position to determine what really motivates your employees and how you can get more work out of them when you aren't around.

[Encrypted]

Yeh what he said ^^...

You could give some type of compensation to workers when they are working hard, whether it be free lunches etc... (Just my idea.)

[RLorenzen]

One thing which has disappointed me greatly is that I havn't yet come across any employee who is totally sincere to me. My brother tells me the same thing, he hasnt found anyone who is completely loyal to him.

That's business. In the end, everyone's out for their own gain.

There are ways to better control your employees' behaviors and attitude towards their work. Do some research on psychology and organizational behavior, that should give you some ideas.

[Ahern & Brucker]

Well, you can become a psychologist and try to understand them, motivate them, pamper them, bring them coffee and doughnuts but... to immediately solve the problem, sick a camera and speaker stsyem into the work place and everytime they screw off, either yell at them or ring a bell or send an electrical shock to their lazy butts..

What "should" motivate them is that they "have" a job and screwing off isn't a part of it.

Eventually, the ones that "will" work will stay and you can bring them doughnuts and bring them home for thanksgiving dinner... the ones who are just screw off's will probably quit.

problem solved... cost maybe a couple hundred bucks...

results? priceless

I don't know if the problem is "sincerity" or why you even care if they are sincere or not, you just want them to work right?? x job for x pay. who cares if they are "sincere or love their work"? your primary concern is that they "do" the job and stay on top of it.

Your family partners and you and whoever else is vested into the business is where you want sincerity... on the factory floor, you need production.

[jasaunders]

I'm pretty sure the cost of turnover is significantly more than a couple hundreds dollars. If you want to treat your employees like slaves, you are going to get nothing but shoddy work out of them. If you use one of the methods above and do get them to work out of fear they are being watched, I can assure you the quality will suffer. When people don't care about their jobs, you won't get good results out of them, whether through utilization, quality or other means.

[Ahern & Brucker]

If you use one of the methods above and do get them to work out of fear they are being watched, I can assure you the quality will suffer

haha perhaps but not everyone want's to be invested in their "production worker job"... they might not even care any more than to just show up, do the assigned work and leave... nothing more...doesn't mean they or their work is inferior, it's just means they don't care to "love their job"

You don't give enough hcredit to the worker and surely have a wrong opinion of the work of slaves... slavery built a lot of things that have lasted throughout history! not all "shoddy work" by any means....

and, i don't know if you ever worked a blue collar job or not but certainly a video camera and bell or some means to communicate to the work force that their production is being monitored is not slavery. if you have production workers, than surely they must be monitored either electroniclly or through human supervision or some accountability...

High turn over doesn't have to cost a lot if he uses proper hiring crriteria.. hire the right people, he doesn't need to replace them.



Your case might hold up in some instances but i don't think it can be stated as an absolute.

[teenbizcoach]

Hi Khan,

Sounds like you are taking things a little personally. Your employees are not your family. While perhaps it is your wish that they acted more like it, the culture in your organization has probably existed that way for a long time and being that you are 'new' there the only side of the story you know is that which comes from your family. When I managed employees in a small company of about 25 people I managed people and another person managed paper. What I found is there is often a disconnect because we too often forget that while we might enjoy a good quality of life, our employees don't even know how they will survive one day to the next if they miss a day of work for a sick child or bc they don't feel well etc. They feel it is best you not trouble your boss with such things otherwise you risk being 'profiled' and that is somewhat embarrassing for people...it is a pride thing. So it is easiest not to show emotion. Reality is that regardless of employee or employer there are some things that are common among us.

One of the things you can do is start making small changes in your organization. I read alot but when it comes to people I just work hands on with them. How is an analyst and business models going to show you most effective way? There are entirely too many variables from where you are based, level of education, type of business, political culture, access to resources, type of management etc. You have to work with the people, be human and show your own weakness and shortcomings today. People are too proud these days. C'mon we are not untouchable or immune. Get in there and if you can become approachable and people trust you and become comfortable with you then you are more empowered not less powerful. Since your company is only 5 or 6 people it should be easier to put in small incentive based programs that are applicable to everyone. But don't present the program in such a way as it is a contest bc you don't want them to be competitive you want them to be communal. Focus more on quality of life and the things they accomplish as a team. Treat them as if they were your most valued client. Praise them individually and collectively and be grateful for them. They need to sincerely understand they are important to your co and are very much appreciated. Right now you are operating from an entrepreneurial mindset and one sided view of your family who probably have similar mindset. But what about your employees? What are their thoughts, hopes and beliefs? Right now the management is 'untouchable'. You can serve as an integral catalyst for change and growth of the company since you are new (sorry I keep saying that ). So maybe you can try to be a little independent of your dad and your brother and be a little more communal with your team, show up every now and again unexpectedly not to see what they are doing but to bring them lunch or wish them a good day or ask them how can you help them. I think once you start focusing more on your and finding common ground with them instead of the reverse, they may reciprocate and your brother and dad will grow into it as well. Relationship building takes time so be patient. Good luck with everything.