Happy employees = Increased profit
CEOs and managers who put the greatest focus on results and fail to take care of their employees, shoot themselves in the foot and lead their company downhill. True or False?
Let me tell you my own story that illustrates where I stand on this issue:
I got a job as a store manager at a newly opened MQ store in Västerås when I was 24. I would be responsible for a high multi-million dollar budget, for the safety of employees, for the well-being, climate and cohesion of the group. It was overwhelming, clearly, and especially since I had been on sick leave and burned out two years earlier. Without pure leadership training, or any real lesson on how to lead a group, I did the two things I believed in and it turned out to be the beginning of a real success story:
- Spread joy.
All I wanted was for the people who worked on my team to be happy, motivated, enjoy going to work, feeling my genuine concern for them, and they would never feel compelled to do anything (I wanted them to genuinely want to do things because they liked and wanted the best interests of the store). So in the mornings I sat down with the person who opened the store with me and had a coffee, talked about life.
We had team breakfasts where I had shopped all sorts of good at least once a month. There we walked the lap around and everyone had space to talk about how motivated it was at work among other things. Friday coffee was a must, and everyone who worked Saturdays had to buy something good for the money of the well-being budget, and breaks were never a problem.
- Presented the goals with enthusiasm
Every morning I made it clear to everyone who worked that day exactly what day's budget we had. It sounded something like this; "Guys, today we're definitely going to take our budget! What a fun challenge, it's a little higher than last Saturday but of course we can handle this. There is coffee in the kitchen, take a break when you need to. Let's go!"
Do you think it would have been different if I had said; "Okay, tough budget today. Really hard. We're going to have to fight hard to make it. Drive into the tile and we'll rest when the day is over!"
Answer; Yes. Pretty big difference. It goes without saying when you put it like this, doesn't it? But it's not that obvious, not too many managers out there who only use the employees as pawns in the game to expand the results, turning a blind eye to how it makes them feel and what it does to their motivation.
What about the results, after a year with me as store manager?
- Smashed the budget.
- 4.3 out of 5 possible points in an anonymous employee survey (second best in the region).
- No redundancies and very few sick days among the employees.
I am absolutely convinced that all this was because of the two, in my view, simple ways I chose to lead my colleagues.
It is very difficult to understand how it cannot be obvious to everyone. That if the employee is well, feels seen and cared for, he will be incredibly loyal and will the company's absolute best. This in turn means that they will make customers happy, even more than satisfied. As a result, the customer buys more. They also spread the word about fantastic service, which also leads to more new customers. Isn't that amazing?
Employees are the foundation of the entire pyramid. If they feel good, you have a really solid foundation to start from, because positivity and motivation can move mountains. If, on the other hand, employees are frustrated, feel overlooked and just feel increased pressure, then the pyramid suddenly becomes a house of cards, which with the slightest headwind will collapse.
The reality is like this; sick leave is on the rise, mental illness is on the rise, suicides as a result of bullying and abuse in the workplace are increasing.
So, read my statement in the introduction again. True or False?
About Malena Kirs:
Malena is the Västerås girl who went from the infamous wall at the age of 22 to becoming a self-development madman. She began to challenge herself, left her hometown for California at 26, stayed for four years, and moved home to Sweden and then Stockholm at the end of 2015. Today she has worked as An Account Manager at Mynewsdesk for two years.
Writing has been close to her heart since childhood and her first novell was published in a collection in spring 2018. She speaks openly and happily about her experiences of anxiety and mental illness, as well as her own tools for dealing with these. Her goal is to always continue to develop and inspire others to do the same.