Anna Turner shines a light on the essence of good management and being a good boss, a big part of which is to look after your people.
All good bosses have a few things in common. One, they run a profitable business – nobody wants to work for a failing company; two, they know how to manage clients; and three, they know how to look after their staff.
Keep the cash flowing
We can’t cover everything on how to run a profitable business in this article, however, I will take a minute to bang on about a few key points. Managing cashflow is at the top of the list, along with pricing profitable jobs. There’s no point winning a project unless there’s profit in it. Understand your overheads and profit margin, and make sure you price jobs that have a healthy profit margin. Once you’ve won the job, ensure you manage your cashflow by invoicing regularly, chasing invoices, and keep an eye on your bills. Cashflow is king.
Staff
There can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach to managing staff.
Like kids, they’re all individuals with complex needs, and whether you like it or not, you are just as responsible for them as you are for your kids. However, if you keep the following in mind you will go a long way to fulfilling their needs.
* Clear communication: like kids, staff thrive when they know what’s expected of them. It doesn’t matter if they’re a new recruit or part of the furniture, make sure they understand what is expected of them this week, this month and into the future. When they know what’s expected of them, they can strive to meet those expectations instead of trying to guess what your expectations are.
Staff also need to know what they can expect from you. They need to know you’re there to support them, and that they can come to you with personal and professional issues. They need to know you’re not going to fly off the handle when they approach. They need to know you are going to pay them on time, every time. That you have their mental health, health and safety, and career progression front of mind. You need to cultivate these expectations by doing what you say you will do every time. You can’t let them down. Staff will put up with a lot if they feel loyalty toward you, and loyalty is gained by showing it to them first.
* Support their needs: you must support their needs professionally and personally. This is hard for some of us Gen Xs. We were lucky to get one ‘thank you’ in a whole year. But times have changed and, as much as it grates us, we must too. It goes back to clear communication. Staff need consistent, constructive and supportive feedback. No, you don’t have to praise them constantly, but you do need to tell them when they’re doing a good job, and you do need to find a constructive way to educate and improve their performance. Gone are the days you can blow the sh*t out of them in the middle of a site. That form of communication is not good on any front, especially not morale.
Everybody, the apprentice, the foreman, the manager and everyone in between, has a personal life. All have stuff going on that’s not easy. Nobody has an easy life, and a good boss understands this. Mental health is a huge issue with our young men at the moment, so showing empathy and support to each and every employee is a must.
Empower your staff to be better, not only at work but in their personal life. Support and encourage them to level up their skills by identifying skills gaps and offering training. Show them a pathway up through your business and support them when they make positive changes in their personal life. If possible, allow them the time off work to pursue activities that will improve their physical and mental health.
* Feedback and recognition: as mentioned, it’s essential to provide regular feedback to all staff. Informal feedback can come at any time, however it should be backed up by formal feedback. Setting each staff member KPIs (key performance indicators), clearly outlines what’s expected of them and what they need to do to improve. The same goes for recognition, you can and should dish that out informally on a regular basis.
And when they meet or exceed their KPIs they can be formally recognised for their hard work, too.
Main focus
All the tactics that apply to staff apply to clients.
Well…you can’t set them KPIs (wouldn’t that be nice!), but it’s very important to build trust with them through open communication, feedback and recognition. It’s obvious that it’s worth nurturing a relationship with repeat clients, like a builder or architect, but it’s also worth doing the same with one-off clients. When you have a good relationship with a client and things go wrong, they are far more understanding. The trust built with them is what you lean on to get them through the problem. Not to mention, a loyal client is worth their weight in referrals.
A good boss works for their staff and their clients. First and foremost, they’re a good communicator who knows how to listen and empathise with the people around them. They make their staff and clients feel heard. Managing every other aspect of the business is second to managing the people connected to it.