Managing people is never easy. I’ve heard a few employers say business would be great if they had no employees and no
clients. There is no management tool box that will supply you with an infinite amount of patience and wisdom and being a business owner does not make you superhuman. Being conscious of what you say and avoiding certain topics will make your life easier. Here are my top five statements to avoid saying to your employees:
1. If you don’t want the job someone else will do it: No one likes to feel undervalued or disposable. You need to either train your employees, enter into a structured performance management programme or vent your frustrations elsewhere. Statements like this are morale killers, they decrease productivity and they lead to distraction on the job which can be deadly. From an employment law perspective, this sort of phrase can also be the basis for claim for constructive dismissal.
2. You have no idea how stressful owning a business is! If you actually own a business, this statement is a truism. Much like being a parent, you don’t know what it is like until you have your own child. Also, as one of the childless people in the world I’m very careful not to comment on other people’s general parenting skills (as long as what they are doing is not illegal).
As an employer, you often don’t know what is going on in your employee’s personal lives. Before you nail yourself to the cross of martyrdom because of your GST returns, or angry clients it is worth considering that your employee may be dealing with a child who has cancer, supporting a parent who is dying or dealing with some other miserable circumstance. Either way, stress is not a competition.
3. It’s just business, honestly it’s nothing personal. When dealing with a fellow human being, a good dose of kindness goes a long way. If you want your employees to give you their discretionary input you need to treat them fairly and acknowledge that they are people not robots. No business operates in isolation. Like any ecosystem, there are an infinite number of stakeholders and feedback loops. In Dunedin, it seems like everywhere I go there is someone who knows someone else, who connected to someone who I do business with – everything is personal!
4. I don’t have time for this! Think like an emergency responder and triage first. What is the issue? Is it about annual leave, an unhappy customer; or a hot water cylinder that is slowly leaking throughout the building? If you really don’t have time, make an appointment to meet up later in the day or leave the office so you can’t be disturbed.
5.I keep hearing people griping about you: Approaching an employee and feeding back unsubstantiated gossip is never constructive. Also, think about the person who is doing the complaining. Maybe they need to be challenged to either act like an adult and talk directly to the individual concerned or stop “stirring the pot”. You don’t want to inadvertently enable dysfunctional behaviour. I heard a great saying the other day which highlights this – “those who stir the poop pot will be made to lick the spoon.”
If you have your own cringe worthy statements to share or want to add anything on the topic of what employers need not to say please email sarah@emplyomenow.co.nz.