FRUSTRATION #1 Changing Goal Posts
I'm sure you're not surprised that this is number one.
After all, we know if nothing changes, nothing changes right?
We live in a world where the only constant we have is change. Yet despite knowing this, most people actually don't like change – even more so after dealing with everything the pandemic threw at us.
So is it any wonder that staff get frustrated when the goalposts of the business, their role and responsibilities etc continually get changed as their business owner keeps chasing what I call 'shiny objects'?
One day, their customer base is individuals, the next it's suddenly organisations and new products, services and priorities keep appearing or disappearing in some cases.
Staff crave clarity and whilst they love your innovation and wanting to be ahead of competitors; what they want more is to actually finish just one priority before another 10 are thrown at them.
When goalposts change every day and sometimes every hour, rather than staying the course; all this does is frustrate and overwhelm staff who don't know what they should be focusing on.
Result: The 'good' staff will eventually leave and those that aren't the right fit will fly under the radar because you're changing your mind so much that accountability and responsibility have gone out the window so they'll just cruise along, doing what's needed and taking your hard earned money.
FRUSTRATION #2 All Talk and No Action
This frustration goes hand in hand with the first one because what's just as bad as the goalposts constantly changing is for an owner who says they'll do all these things but unfortunately does none.
They keep asking for ideas and feedback which staff happily provide, only to find it goes into a blackhole, never to be heard of again.
Result: Frustrated staff who not only stop providing ideas and feedback to improve the business, but they've lost trust in the owner and therefore don't believe them when they say they'll do something. Staff then just keep soldiering on the best they can until they reach the tipping point and leave, or keep taking a pay check from a workplace they no longer enjoy.
And neither outcome is great for your small business.
FRUSTRATION #3 Role Keeps Getting Bigger
In any business, you'll always have staff who seem to be able to do more tasks quicker and easier than anyone else. Which usually also means you give them more and more work because they fill any crack when it appears.
Maybe you've said this to a staff member: 'Oh could you just please do XYZ by this afternoon?'
And I bet they probably say yes and get on with it. But eventually this takes a toll on them – and they become mentally and physically burnt out under the weight of expectation.
So instead of you having this great staff member who loves coming to work; they've become overwhelmed, exhausted and at a loss as to why you can't see that the workload expectation is unrealistic. And their family are probably saying, 'isn't it time to look for something else?'
Aside from small businesses, I see this a lot in not for profit organisations where someone has joined the organisation because they believe in the cause and want to make a difference. Then under the guise of 'money's tight', staff continue to be asked to work longer and longer hours and they feel guilty if they don't because they believe in the cause. But eventually, people reach a tipping point and say 'enough' and leave quickly which can certainly leave your business stretched to say the least.
Now to be fair, staff like this also have to take some ownership of getting themselves into this because they kept saying YES rather than having the honest conversation with you like 'Well if you want me to do that, I have to stop doing this. Is that OK?'.
But often staff don't feel empowered enough to say that to their boss – something I help staff understand and gain confidence to do because by saying yes, they're not helping you, the business or themselves. If they keep saying yes and delivering the outcomes for you, then how are you to know the workload is unmanageable if they don't tell you?
So rather than lose great staff who'd prefer to leave than have this discussion with you, I encourage you to have an honest conversation with every one of your staff to talk about their current workload to determine if it's realistic, do they have the capacity and capability to undertake it, what tools and support do they need to be given the best chance of success etc.
And please remember: If it's been a while since you've done that role or task, rather than assuming it still takes 1 hour to complete, ask the staff member how long it takes because our memories can trick us into thinking it only takes a short time when maybe your systems, technology and amount of eg data entry means it takes four times as long as you thought.
