There is a nasty thing that you might be doing with your team that could be costing you big time.
A couple of times recently, I’ve heard of owners of businesses whinging about their team, unhappy about the results they’re getting, having staff churn, and not getting their vision implemented. And when we trace it back, what it comes back to, is they’re running screen capture or recording software on their employees’ computers.
Just think about that for a minute. That Orwellian technique, whilst it might be fine for you to do on your own computer for figuring out where you spend your time so that you can make your own analysis, is not something that’s exciting for someone to have when they’re working for you. Your team may very well dislike working in your business because you’re tracking their every move.
What do you think they’re doing on their computer? I can tell you. They’re probably doing some work, they might also be checking their internet banking, getting a message from a loved one, from a social media platform, maybe they’re playing a game or whatever. They more than likely do this because that’s what people do.
A good, effective manager will be able to transcend the need for this crutch. They will be able to discuss with the team the vision of the business, talk about what we’re trying to do here and how their input is important and give them or allocate them a specific area of responsibility and then get some kind of mechanism like a daily report or a check-in where they can get some visibility on the progress of that.
You might have team leaders or someone else doing that for you. But you do not need screen capture software to check in on your team. If your staff are leaving all the time, if you’re not getting the results you want, and you’re doing that, then that would be the first thing I recommend. You take it away and hire people who you trust and set up a system where you can check results. If you get that right, you don’t need the software.
It’s just that often when I find someone who’s using that software, it’s because they’re not happy with their team member, they’re not getting the results they want. But the team member’s not happy with you. That’s the funny thing about this! They’re not happy with that situation. If you attract someone who’s going to accept that in the first place, then you’ve already got someone who’s too much in the box, probably.
So unleash your team. Let them out there. Show them that you trust them. Give them a challenge, set up a nice reporting system and see what can be done with the right people and a good attitude about leading your team.
Do you feel as strongly about this as I do? I’d love to get your feedback. Give me your comments, convince me why it’s absolutely essential, why you should have this tool. Convince me why you think that you also agree with me, that you don’t think this is a good idea. What do I miss? What am I missing here? I don’t do it in my business.
My team love working in my business. We’re all very happy. I don’t mind what they do on their computer, but I do mind that I get fair value for the amount I pay and I can do that as a good leader without the software.
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