Most business owners think strategy is just about making projections and forecasts. While these concepts are very important, some leaders may be missing out on an important productivity rule. It’s all about not losing valuable time and money due to the unexpected affecting your staff.
While it sounds strange to say that you can prepare for the unexpected, you can when it comes to your team. Odds are that there are unexpected things that you can plan on happening.
This usually surrounds people having to leave work suddenly. Sometimes it’s a short term issue due to a death in the family. Others may leave because a spouse got a new job in another part of the country. These things happen when you least expect them.
In all instances, you lose a valuable member of your team and probably someone who knows how to do certain things very well. Others may have an idea of how to perform the tasks but are you going to hope that things won’t miss a beat?
Usually what happens is the work that the person, who had to leave, won’t get done or won’t get done very well. The person who’s trying to fill in will see his or her productivity suffer as well.
A business without this kind of strategy is like demonstrating an air freshener from behind a garbage truck. You can give a great demonstration but you probably won’t sell too many air fresheners. The unexpected variable of the garbage truck changes everything.
This analogy highlights a major mindset shift for business. There’s no guarantee that doing the same things every day is going to produce your desired results during a crisis.
Invest in some cross-training in your business. Have the important processes captured in a document. Don’t rely on people’s memories.
This can extend to things like system passwords. If the universal password changes, then it needs to be immediately changed in the document.
Some firms require staff to do a refresher on cross-training every six months. They figure the investment of time will pay off when the unexpected happens.
Your team is a valuable resource. Makes sure you’ve prepared them to perform at a high level when life throws a curveball.
Maybe it’s time to bring Ken Okel to your next meeting…
Read any good books lately?
