Systems Are For Everyone!
How one small business owner's behaviour instantly undid 6 months of hard work
If you follow sport as a fanatic like me or as a casual observer, I'm sure you know that systems and routines are key to successful players or teams.
If a team wins, the coach and players will always say things like 'everyone followed the system' and 'our system held up'.
Conversely if they lose, invariably they'll say something like 'our system broke down today'.
And the same goes for successful small businesses.
As the owner, it's all very well for you to say you know what you want including needing systems in your business for sustainable growth which is great.
But sometimes, your actions can quickly undo your agreed strategy, turning your leadership into rhetoric which will ultimately be ignored by your team.
Which then results in you spending even more time you don't have fixing mistakes, managing your team's negative behaviour and troubleshooting problems.
And when this happens, you have a choice as to what you'll do next so here's one of my cautionary client stories where it all went wrong very quickly.
Many years ago, I worked with a client for nearly six months. In that time, I captured all the knowledge about his business which was mainly his head and that of his nine staff by documenting it into simple systems: step-by-step procedures, flowcharts, checklists and templates.
As part of the change management process which I do with every client because I know that's essential for successful systems implementation, I also helped address unacceptable behaviours and bad habits which, with the best of intentions, had crept in over time.
And things were going really well.
The team's expectations were now very clear, tasks had been simplified, backup plans were in place and everyone was playing their role.
Or so I thought.
About a month into the implementation phase, I arrived at the workplace and felt a negative change in the air.
The place was very quiet and there wasn't as much camaraderie as usual. After a few informal chats with staff who were very guarded in their responses, I pulled the Business Manager aside and asked what had happened.
She told me the owner had gone back to his old ways of skipping processes and changing the order of jobs in the queue. This was his modus operandi to respond to demands from his 'mates rates' clients who wanted speedy service for a substantially reduced rate.
By constantly changing the priority order of work based on which client rang that day, rather than completing the agreed and specific processes, this once again meant:
• Mistakes increased
• Quality of work decreased
• Things were being missed
• Confusion was rampant
• Staff felt disillusioned and disempowered
In one month, the business had gone from one with happy staff who finally knew and agreed on the tasks everyone completed in their specific roles, and how each part fitted into the bigger jigsaw; to a business filled with chaos, discontent and a feeling that nothing had changed after all.
Why?
The owner had decided he was above the systems and processes he had desperately wanted my help to develop so, as he told me, 'staff could toe the line and do things properly'.
Systems work brilliantly when everyone follows them including those at the top.
Unfortunately, as this business owner didn't lead by example by being the coach of his small business, all the good work I had undertaken within the business, with him and his team was undone in an instant.
And it was such a shame because it didn't need to be like this.
I then had a conversation with the owner about why this had happened because I didn't want to assume.
Unfortunately, his response was to blame his staff rather than take responsibility and be accountable for his actions – something which is a not-negotiable for me, to the point it's one of my steps in my book.
So as he wasn't open to feedback and help nor willing to change his leadership style and work habits, it was time for me to thank him for the work we'd done and leave because unfortunately he showed he actually wasn't coachable ... much to the dismay of his team who pleaded with me to stay.
But the right decision for me and my business was to reluctantly leave because you have to know the right time to stop with a client – and that's when it's no longer working for you and/or them.
So what's your attitude and leadership style in relation to following your processes and business systems?
Is it one rule for you and one rule for everyone else?
Or is it one rule for some staff and one rule for everyone else?
Or is it truly one rule for everyone?
And when systems aren't followed, how do you manage this?
Now I've been doing change management including systems implementation for over 20 years.
And that's why I know that IF there's been buy in and ownership from the owner and all staff AND an effective change management process with sufficient time and training as part of the implementation strategy, then people don't follow the new systems for only TWO REASONS:
1. They need more TRAINING – and you can easily solve this OR
2. They CHOOSE not to follow them which is a performance management issue you need to immediately address.
And here's my final thought:
Systems are critical for clarity, consistency and business growth.
But as systems are actually not as much about the procedures and checklists but really all about change, please don't lose sight of the power that leadership, accountability and responsibility play in successful systems implementation – for both the short and long term of your small business.
Remember: Your leadership and actions are one of the reasons why staff choose to stay or leave your small business, and in a time of The Great Resignation, this is more important than probably ever before.
Cheers
Tamara
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