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Chartered Accountants &
Business Advisors

Working with you to design a business you love so you can reach your definition of success.

Chartered Accountants &
Business Advisors

PHONEICONS-02+ 04 910 3340
WELLINGTON

PHONEICONS-02+ 04 910 3340
WELLINGTON

Do You Have a Reciprocal Relationship with Your Staff?

24 Feb 2022 | Relationships

The best relationships in life are reciprocal – and that counts for the workplace as well. When you help your employees to achieve their dreams, they in turn help you to achieve yours.

In the last few years, businesses have been put through the wringer, and on top of that, we’ve seen a worldwide trend of employees quitting their jobs in droves. Last year, the HR software company, Employment Hero, conducted a survey in which 48% of employees in New Zealand indicated that they’re planning to change jobs in the next year. It is crucial, more than ever, to make sure you retain your best employees.

 

How Can You Support Your Employees?

There are many ways you can support your employees, but here are a few tips to get you going:

  • A comfortable workspace: Whether it’s a comfortable chair, the right tools to do the job, a clean break room, or support when they need to work from home, a comfortable workspace will make your employees feel supported and increase their productivity.
  • Acknowledgements and rewards: It’s certainly not coming as a shock – everybody loves being recognised for their hard work and achievements. People need to feel that they have a purpose, and when they’re being acknowledged for their good work, your staff will feel like they’re living up to that purpose.
  • Open and honest communication: Your employees want to know where they stand with you. They want to know what is expected of them, and whether they’re meeting those requirements. They also want to feel comfortable being able to say what they think and share their ideas.
  • Growth opportunities: Whether it is getting better at their jobs, or having the opportunity to climb the ladder, your staff wants to be able to develop and grow their skills. Without the possibility of growth, they’ll soon become disconnected and bored with their work.

And thanks to Covid…

  • Support when sick or having to self-isolate: With Omicron in the community, we’re going to see a lot more self-isolation needed in the next couple of months. For staff that can work from home while they’re isolating, helping them to set up their remote workspace and calling every so often to check in with them would go a long way in solidifying their commitment to their work.

Of course, as an employer, the financial burden on you can be quite significant if a bunch of your employees need to self-isolate, especially if they can’t work from home. To help with that, the government has introduced a leave support scheme. Additionally, they’ve introduced another financial support scheme for businesses struggling because of Omicron. Check out this article for more details.

How Strong Is Your Relationship with Your Team?

It can be a challenge to stay competitive in today’s job market. Maybe your star employees are quitting in search of greener pastures, and you don’t know what to do about it. Well, that may be a sign that your organisation is lacking one of these supporting elements. It may be a good time to give these ideas a chance, and chat to your employees to hear what other ideas they have. Together, you can build a stronger, open, and more reciprocal relationship with each other.

Rockstars vs. Superstars: Get the Right Bums in the Right Seats

4 Dec 2020 | Team

We’ve learned a few things this past year:

  • No matter how well thought out your plans are, you can never account for everything life throws at you – who would have thought at the start of 2020 that the world would be turned upside-down by covid-craziness?
  • We’re more resilient than what we thought we were. Despite the craziness, we’ve survived – some even thrived – and we’re stronger than ever before.
  • It’s vital to have the right bums in the right seats in your business. With the right team, you can adjust and come up with new ideas quickly when things don’t go according to plan, while still maintaining quality.

But how do you choose the right bums?

 

Rockstars vs. Superstars

There are two types of employees you want on your team: Rockstars, and Superstars.

Your superstars are the ambitious, growth-seekers. They’re the ones that want to be in leadership positions, who will push the envelope, and come up with innovative ideas.

On the other hand, your rockstars want to pretty much stay where they are, but become better at it. They want to perfect their craft and be the best they could possibly be in their role. They love stability.

We often try to turn rockstars into superstars, but that’s a recipe for failure. How many times have you promoted someone just because they’re dependable and excellent at what they do, without considering whether the promotion is actually what they want?

In Radical Candor, author Kim Scott describes these two types of employees as follows:

“Rockstars are solid as a rock. Think the Rock of Gibraltar, not Bruce Springsteen. The rockstars love their work. They have found their groove. They don’t want the next job if it will take them away from their craft. Not all artists want to own a gallery; in fact, most don’t. If you honour and reward the rockstars, they’ll become the people you most rely on. If you promote them into roles they don’t want or aren’t suited for, however, you’ll lose them — or, even worse, wind up firing them.

Superstars, on the other hand, need to be challenged and given new opportunities to grow constantly.”

Putting the Right Bums in the Right Seats

Being the one or the other isn’t good or bad. It just is. We need to respect what others want out of their lives. Most importantly, we need both in our businesses and we need to learn how to use their strengths and ambitions to the betterment of the firm. You need the people who would go deep, who’d produce the same quality over and over again, and who you know you can count on. You also need the people who would lead and inspire and innovate.

So, when you do your planning for next year, do a deep dive into your team:

  1. Identify your rockstars and your superstars. And yes, they may not all be stars yet, but that brings us to the next point.
  2. Determine what you need to do to help each person to develop into their chosen stardom. Maybe you need to restructure your team, send people on training, or assign mentors to juniors.

Your team doesn’t always have to be full-time employees. For smaller or unique functions, consider hiring a contractor or professional to help. For instance, if you have a small business,  instead of hiring an expensive CFO, think about hiring us to fulfil that function for you. It’s always good to have someone from the outside to listen to your challenges and give you unbiased advice.