To grow and protect your business, you need the right people in the right seats in your business. The right people can bring explosive growth if they are given the right tools and atmosphere. They bring a “Can-Do” mindset, and look for ways to innovate, imagine, create, and then implement. They are your secret ingredient to make the recipe of your business come together.
The problem is that you have not been able to keep the right people in your business for very long. They each have grown frustrated for various reasons and decided to go somewhere else. The fact is that they have outgrown your business. This has KILLED your company’s growth and your confidence as a leader. It may have caused you to doubt your abilities to lead the business you love. And you are not alone! Thousands of business owners are experiencing the same thing you are.
Gallup reports that 75% of employees leave their positions because of poor manager/owner relationships. This is by far the number one reason why people leave businesses. Employees are unhappy with how they are being treated unfairly, not appreciated, underdeveloped, or not heard. These employees want to have a good relationship with their direct supervisor. They want their job to align with their dreams. They want their loyalty to be rewarded.
What if your employees felt heard and appreciated by their managers? What if they knew you were genuinely interested in understanding who they are and what their goals are? What if your business worked to empower your people? How would that affect your ability to keep the right people at your business?
As a business owner, you need your employees to connect with their managers. The best way to do this is by implementing One-on-Ones. One-on-Ones are weekly, half-hour meetings with your employees to get to know them. Relationships require time and effort for both sides to find value. Here are 3 reasons why you should use One-on-Ones to create these relationships:
1. Your employees want to be known
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” – Stephen Covey. One-on-Ones give confidence to your employees that all their questions and concerns can and will be answered during this time. Your people feel like they can begin to belong to your business since they are invested in the problems and results through your One-on-Ones.
2. Your employees want to be heard
Your employees need a set amount of time from you to make sure you hear their problems. When they have that time to be heard, they feel like the problems legitimize that they are valuable to you as an employee.
3. Your employees want to be trained
Your employees want to know what you think about certain topics so that they can grow. When you share about your experience, it gives them a new perspective. They feel like they are being invested in by you.
Your next steps are simple: Schedule your first One-on-One, do not miss it, and listen more than you speak. They speak first each time. You are here to listen, not to speak. Your people will slowly build back the level of trust that has been missing from the relationships within your business. The right people are going to stop leaving your business and you will find yourself solving less and less problems and questions, with employees saving them for your One-on-Ones. Invest in your people now by implementing this new practice of One-on-Ones. Your future self will thank you for how you protected and grew your business.
