‘How can I grow my business and establish a solid brand if I can’t even get my employees to show up for work?’
What is the secret to staff loyalty and reliability? I believe it’s different for every company. We employ a unique mix of people and build our own culture. We’re trying to establish a solid brand and live out our values…but not everyone shares those same values.
Our staff wanted to be loyal and yet lifestyle choices got in the way. It was a big problem for us and yet not uncommon for the trades industry.
Payday on Friday, followed by a weekend of partying, meant a skeleton crew showing up for work Monday morning. This is a huge problem for a concrete company that has to maintain a schedule, having multiple concrete trucks arriving onsite for 7:30am and no finishers!
No amount of threats or written warnings would help in the long run. We had to do something creative. We had to turn the tables.
What if we made it a competition. What would be the prize? What would everyone want?
Bingo! We knew it was the answer when one of us said it out loud. A brand new Suzuki dirt bike purchased from the showroom floor.
We rolled it into the office parking lot on a Monday morning (when only half the staff was there) and made the announcement. Game on!
Building a brand takes some risk. We didn’t know if it would work and we didn’t have the budget for a new dirt bike, only to give with away at the end of the year for the best attendance record.
It was a game changer. Staff started showing up early! We gave them a goal and they responded.
As the Christmas party drew near and the winner would be chosen, two guys were neck and neck for the prize, one of them losing by being only 30 seconds late.
Another positive outcome happened that we didn’t account for. When your staff are early, they are more organized for the days work.
It made our company function more efficiently with less stress on everyone. Efficiency equals money saved; saved for next years’ big giveaway!
As an entrepreneur, you understand risk however maybe you need some fresh thinking around strategy and problem solving. When was the last time you brainstormed? Who is around that table?
Let’s talk about how I can help.
