May 10

Common Mistakes with KPIs

By James Short Blogpost, challenges, Goals, Leadership, management, opportunities, purpose, Success

One common problem that business owners encounter is determining if their company’s current performance is on track with their long term business goals. They need to have some sort of data to show them if they are on the right track. This is where Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) become essential when running a business. This data will give you an idea how your company is doing in the areas that matter and if it is line with your future plans and goals for the business. Think of it as a measuring and planning tool for your business.

Just like everything in business, there are challenges and this includes setting up your business’ KPI. The challenge is finding right and meaningful measures. Without a well thought out KPI, it can become vague and useless – wasting time, effort and resources.

Generic KPIs

You might be tempted to use KPIs that are used by other companies with the idea that if it worked for them then it should work for you. This type of thinking is okay if it involves best business practices or brilliant business ideas but not with KPIs. Even if two companies are engaged in the same line of business, they are still different in some way. You might also adopt “off the shelf” KPIs that other companies use that worked for them. You are basically measuring something that may not have an impact in your own business. The problem with this is that they are generic and may not be a good fit for your strategy and goals. Come up with your own KPI that is in line with your current plans and you will see better results.

Linking KPIs to Incentives

Linking KPIs to bonuses or incentives has its advantages and disadvantages. On the positive side, it does make your employees work harder to achieve their targets and receive that sweet bonus. On the down side, it prevents the true purpose of the KPI. That is to let the team members know where they are in the company in relation to their goals. It stops being a compass and can be manipulated for personal monetary gains. Be careful when linking these two. Provide a good enough incentive but not too much that will encourage manipulation. Striking a good balance is the key.

Not Using Your KPIs

KPIs are valuable as they can provide facts that you can use when making business decisions. The biggest mistake that you can do with KPIs is not using them. You might have come up with the best designed KPI that fits in perfectly with your company’s plans and goals but if you are not acting based on the actual data then you just wasted a lot of time and effort. If you have the information, use them to your advantage.

May 07

Love0

Building a Winning Team Culture

By James Short Attitude, Blogpost, inspirations, Leadership, management, mindset

Each organisation or company is different from each other. They may engage in the same line of business but they differ in the way they operate the business. Another thing that would be different is the culture. To be more specific, their team culture. Team culture is the sum of the beliefs, values and attitudes shared by the team members. It is how the team members cooperate and work with one other in reaching a common goal. Teams within a company may have different team cultures but are generally influenced by the company’s culture as a whole. Building a winning team culture contributes greatly to the success of the company.

Your company’s team culture can make or break your company. According to most companies, a large percentage believes that a company lacking a good team culture is unlikely to succeed. It does make sense since a good or a winning team culture revolves around the team members efficiently working with each other. To put it simply, excellent teamwork leads to success.

Culture based on your core values

You are the leader. This is your business. You are in the driver’s seat. You need to infuse a bit of your personality, attitude and core values in your team culture. Do you expect the best but still encourage a relaxed atmosphere? Create a culture of balance between work and play. Do you value customer service above everything else? Work with people who have great personality and are accommodating. Is innovation your thing? Nurture and promote innovators within your company. Take the time to think about what type of culture that will fit you, your company and your brand.

Communication

Communication has always been one of the most important aspects in our personal lives. This is no different in business. When developing a team culture, talk with your team. We all want to be heard. People want to be able to voice out their concerns without fear of repercussions. People want to be able to share their ideas. An open communication culture can build trust between the company and its employees.

Just have fun

We all know that saying about all work and no play. This is especially true in the competitive business and corporate world. A burnt out team member is no good to the team. Building a winning team culture includes ensuring that members of the team are happy with their job. A happy team member is more productive and tends to be more engaging to fellow team members. Come up with fun activities or events from time to time. Foster the idea that you take both work and fun seriously.

Let them know that you expect the best, and in turn you are also giving your best to the team.

Apr 26

Love0

Challenges to New Team Members

By James Short Attitude, Blogpost, challenges, Entrepreneurship, excellence, Food for thought, Goals, Human resources, Leadership, management, stress, Success

You have now successfully hired new team members to your organisation. The team is ready to take the journey with you to achieve your business goals. Everyone is onboard and have a clear understanding of your company’s mission and vision. Morale is high and everyone is pumped up. Everything looks perfect and good to go.

But is it really? Even with a tried and tested onboarding process, new staff members can experience problems in the first few weeks of working in your company. As time goes on, it is very unlikely that they will speak up about the challenges and issues that they are facing. This can lead to further problems that might affect their productivity and the business as a whole. As a leader and business owner, you can watch out of for these things and hopefully resolve them as soon as possible.

Adjustment to Relocation

Some of your new hires might have relocated from another city or even from another country to work for your company. They might have brought their families with them. This can cause issues especially if they are unfamiliar with the new location. Despite this being a personal issue, it might negatively affect their work. They might even start to rethink if they made the right decision.

One way of handling this is simply through communication. Your HR can schedule a meeting with the employee and come up with suggestions to resolve the issue or at least lessen the burden of the problem. They can also have them talk to another employee who had gone through the same issue so they can get advice and share their experiences.

Managerial Issues

It can be common for new employees to not be able to form a good relationship with their managers. This can be due to conflicting ideas, or the managerial style not fitting the employee’s style.

Once signs of this problem come up, it is best to have your HR or your onboarding department to get in touch with the employee. It’s important to get to the root of the problem and smooth things out. They could advise the employee and manager to stay in touch regularly so they can get a feel for each other’s way of doing things. It all comes down to understanding and working as a team.

Expectations and Results

Sometimes, new employees tend to take on too much too quickly. This is done to hopefully impress their supervisors or co-workers without knowing that this can lead to unnecessary overload and eventually burning out.

Regularly remind everyone in your organisation to take on reasonable expectations. Trying to achieve impossible expectations can be stressful and is counterproductive in the long run.

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