"9-Keys" is an insightful series of "How To's" that addresses vital issues that any business owner can benefit from. They are:

• Seek the best people
• Train your staff to be more effective
• Improve your workers' effectiveness
• Effectively manage your time
• Assess the true value of a business
• Selling your business
• Buying a business
• Avoid bankruptcy
• Determine your break-even point, your point of diminishing return and manage for profit

3) IMPROVE YOUR WORKERS EFFECTIVENESS

So many business managers complain that even when they are able to hire all the help needed, they are often unable to get "a good day's work from them."

The question asked is what can be done to find dedicated workers. Most likely the manager has already found people who really wanted to work, but were poorly directed or poorly motivated. Any casual recruiting effort will attract some people who are chronic job changers and who are emotionally unable to function within the economic community, in short: "goof offs."

In like manner that same recruiting effort could also, even by accident, attract dedicated individuals who feel pride in their work. The average employee is neither a totally dedicated worker, nor a perpetual slacker. Most will work well at tasks they enjoy in companies they like, and fail for a boss they hate or in activities they find distasteful.

Managers who want better workers must, therefore, help their workers feel better about their jobs and the company. How do you make a person like a company? The same way you make a person like you ... by showing them that you like them. When companies demonstrate that they like people, people demonstrate that they like the company.

Many years ago an efficiency expert was interviewing an employee to find out what could be done to help him improve production. The employee suggested that they could use more light. The efficiency expert had more fights put in and sure enough the whole planes production went up. The efficiency expert saw that it worked very well and put up even more lights. Production climbed again.

Logic said that if it was good twice there was no reason why it should not work a third time. So the lights went up yet again and so did production. "Hold on," thought the scientifically trained efficiency expert, maybe it is something else.

He lowered the lights to see what would happen and the production kept climbing. Why?

After extensive interviews, the employees admitted that it wasn't the fights that counted as much as it was a demonstration by management for their concern. The raising or lowering of the candlepower showed the workers that the bosses were paying attention to them.

Workers and their needs are more complex today. You may not get results with light bulbs, although it is still worth trying. You may have less resistance to tasks performed in your stock room or basement if there was more lighting. However, modern managers need to look deeper into the individual worker's psychological makeup. They will find that one worker wants a very structured task with no decisions to make.

The effective manager of these people gives them clear and concise orders and makes them aware that their performance is being evaluated. Management also finds that other employees prefer to be on their own, responsible for some of their own decisions. The effective manager gives these people some opportunity for self expression.

Just like the positive effect achieved when people recognize the emotional needs of their mates, children, and friends, your employees will be more dedicated to your interests if they believe you are concerned about them as people and you respect them as such.

By Gerard Major