Teamwork makes for Dreamwork

Managing a team of people takes some skill, patience and a lot of hard work. But the rewards are forthcoming once your employees and systems are set in place.

In my financial planning business, I talk to many companies that are faced with high staff turnover. They sometimes seem surprised when staff leave, yet there are always indicators of dissatisfaction, they seem to just ignore the signs.

I believe one of the main issues is the perspective of the staff. Are they a cost or an asset?
For most businesses, staff are the biggest cost on the P&L, but that is an accounting treatment. Try thinking of your staff as the core of the business value. Without your staff running the core assets like IT, systems and processes, there would be no business.

What you value will only appreciate and your staff will go to the company that values them the most.

This is not a new concept in management teaching, but how do you really feel about staff? If you don’t really appreciate them it will show in your actions. You cannot fake it. I was recently on a business trip in Sri Lanka, working alongside my extended team that assist me to run my financial planning business. I was also hiring and training my new staff who run other financial outsourcing practices.

I am investing my time and energy in these new team members and they appreciate it. If I calculate all the time I spent developing my team and processes it would be more than 400 hours in the last year alone!

That’s a strong signal to the team that I care. It shows in their loyalty, work ethic and care towards my clientele.
In a market where loyalty is scarce, people will stay where they feel valued, so value them. Celebrating special events like birthdays, paying for company social events and recognising staff efforts all help your cause.
Being a business owner is a tough role to undertake. However, a strong team behind you will only enhance your business operations and success. As the old adage states ‘A little kindness can take you a long way.’

Next blog I will be discussing SMSF property investing for medical practitioners.

Regards

Clients want to be lead, guided and pointed to the right direction by their trusted adviser. Together with other financial professionals, I help my clients enjoy their life by providing a safety net and a peace of mind about their financial future.