People and Performance

The next section in our improving results series looks at people and performance. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say, how people are managed and the performance of that team of people.

As a business owner, you may have felt that some employees just don’t give it their all. They are not fully committed. They just turn up and do the minimum. Many owners share similar frustrations. However, it would be wrong to conclude that the employees are always at fault.

Research findings have shown time and time again that most employees are disengaged, but the underlying root cause may surprise, or even shock, most owners, executives, and managers. Various research studies have arrived at the same conclusion, namely that it is the way employees are managed, or mismanaged, that determines their level of engagement or disengagement. In other words, if the employees are disengaged then the manager should look to the way the team is being managed, and not complain about the level of commitment of the team. Equally important factor has been found to be the quality of the work, and the quality of the team. Once again, these are factors that are largely under the control of management.

Employee engagement directly affects business results, and so is of interest to ad+ and our clients. Although it does not fit neatly within our normal bookkeeping and accounting advice, we strongly encourage you to find a way to measure a couple of key numbers which are related directly to employee engagement. Employee turnover and typical length of service are common measures, but two other numbers directly link to employee engagement.

1. The number of new customers that have been introduced to your business by long-serving employees. This measure will confirm whether your employees genuinely believe in the product or service.
2. The number of new employees that have been introduced to your business by long-serving employees. This measure confirms whether they genuinely feel empowered by the way in which they are managed.

Forget employee opinion surveys, these numbers give you hard evidence.

Because these factors have a direct impact on the performance, there is no point discussing strategy or financial results unless employee management is also included on the business plan agenda.

People & Performance is such an important issue that we will be addressing it once again at a forthcoming ad+ seminar. I look forward to meeting you at the event when we can discuss this matter and how you could improve your business results. In the meantime, get in touch with David Charles to arrange your initial discussion with one of our Chartered Accountants to learn how we could help you transform your business.

• E: dcharles@adplus.co.uk
• T: 0141 643 9200