What To Do With The Runner-Up?

Sometimes we have a difficult decision when making a choice between two good people on who gets promoted. If you have two people who expect the promotion, the one who doesn't get it is going to end up with hurt feelings, be de-motivated, and possibly quit. What do you do? You must sit down face to face with the employee not chosen and given them the reason for not being picked. Assure them that there are chances for advancement in the future. Suggest the types of training that will give them the knowledge and skills to move up the ladder. Create a career plan, setting some goals, so they can get to the next levels. Let them know of other future opportunities that will come up. If you show that you are genuinely interested in their future, the chances of them leaving are greatly diminished.

Fear of Empowerment

In my seminars, people often mix-up delegation and empowerment. Delegation is giving your people tasks, projects to do that you don't have the time, interest, or know-how to do. Empowerment, on the other hand, is giving people the authority and responsibility to make suggestions, but also to take action on their own when no supervisor or manager is there. For both, you need training and communication. If your people are truly empowered to make a decision, they should not have to find someone above them to get permission for that decision. Many managers who are control freaks are afraid to empower people. They feel they must be in on every decision. Stop controlling and start empowering.

If you want to empower people, then take away fear, especially the fear of making mistakes. If you come down hard on people for making mistakes, they won't want to make any decisions on their own again. They will wait for you to make them all. That does not mean we accept mistakes. We make mistakes a teachable moment, a time for training and retraining. Bad judgment is discussed in detail, so the employee can handle the situation in a better manner the next time. If you treat your people right and with respect, they will bounce back and do it right the next time.

Mentoring Squared

Here is a great idea for getting new employees up and running. Give every new employee two mentors. One should be a person who has been on board a long time and really knows the ropes. This person gives them the overall view of the company, company mission, service philosophy, management philosophy, etc. The other mentor is someone who has been with the company no more than three years, and can take the person under their wing and give them the lowdown on everyday stuff. The important thing is to get new people to understand quickly how things get done, so they can rapidly fit into the culture. Companies that we have implemented this technique with say that they saw turnover drop by at least 30%, and found that new employees were more productive and happier.