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I’m The Manager… But What’s My Job? By Kym Krey
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When you’re the owner or manager of a business, it’s a fair call that whatever happens within those four walls is your responsibility, but …. that’s a pretty broad job description that often also leads to a sickening sense of overwhelm.
If I’m responsible for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g and there’s always so much to do, then where on earth do I start? When I never seem to have enough time, there’s always some kind of crisis and I never see the end of my To Do list, how can I manage my time?
The trick here is to make sure you’re getting the right things done. The things that will have the most impact on your business and move you closer to where you want to be… and that’s likely going to mean saying ‘No’ or ‘not now’ to things that others want you to do if they’re not also high on your priority list.
So what are your key areas of responsibility?
For anyone managing a team, your 3 most important areas of focus are the 3 P’s: • People • Processes • Performance
Let’s have a closer look at each one:
PEOPLE
This is about making sure you have the right people on your team which means that they share your values, respect and adopt your expectations and are committed to working with you to achieve your business goals.
Basically they know where your business ‘bus’ is going and they’re happy to be on board. • They arrive at work on time, appropriately dressed and in a great frame of mind, ready to deliver excellence to each of your guests today • They’re excellent ambassadors for your business, embodying the attitudes, behaviours, and standards that you want to be known for. • They have the knowledge and skills needed to perform each of their required services to a high standard and within your expected time frames.
What does it take from YOU to get this part right?
For your staff to know exactly what you expect from them behaviourally, then you need to have explained this to them.. no ‘It’s just common sense, isn’t it?’ or ‘Shouldn’t they just know?’
People come from very different backgrounds and family upbringings and what you think is ‘normal’ may be very different to them. If you’re going to be successful as a Manager, you’ll need to get very good at managing people who are quite different to you. through our own perceptions and experiences too. Just because you explained it, doesn’t mean you’re instantly on the same page!) and finally…. gain their commitment to your expectations. Are you going to be able to rely on them to live and breathe these values, every client, every day?
And in order to explain it to them clearly, you’re going to need to take a moment to get clear on what it is that you expect, yourself! How do you want them to conduct themselves in your business? What are your non-negotiables? What are your red flags or ‘not OK here’?
Imagine that you are lucky enough to have 5 of your dream staff members land on your front door, resume in hand. Now that you’ve got the right people, what exactly is it that you want them to do?
Careful: This is where we often fall into a monumental pothole!
If your answer was something like ‘deliver great service’, ‘have a good work ethic’ or ‘do the right thing’… you’ve just fallen in. You see, these are very vague statements that are guaranteed to have you tearing your hair out and thinking ‘What’s WRONG with staff these days?’
Why? You and I are likely to have different views on what ‘great service’, a ‘good work ethic’ or ‘the right thing’ actually looks like, depending on what we’ve done in the past.
You say, ‘I want you to deliver an outstanding customer experience’ and I think ‘I AM delivering an outstanding customer experience! What is she on about?”
But if you say to me, “Here’s what an outstanding experience looks like to us. o We greet our clients like this o We seat them like this, not like that o We offer refreshments like this o We answer our telephone like this o We conduct our consultations like this, covering these 5 essential areas because this is what our client needs from us now, and this is what we need our consultation to achieve o We are 100% committed to ensuring every guest gets to feel great every day, not just salon days, so we teach every guest exactly how to manage their hair at home like this, this and this.
Get the idea?
No assuming they should ‘just know’ because they’ve come from a great salon.
Whatever you’re going to EXPECT from them down the track, you must explain CLEARLY at the start, CHECK for their understanding (‘Tell me what you’ve understood that I’ve said’) and gain their COMMITMENT to (‘Will I be able to rely on you to do this with each guest, every day?)
Being the highly capable and experienced person that you are, it’s likely that you have the equivalent of an encyclopaedia in your head on all things client service or salon operations. Most of the people you will manage/employ will not, and they can’t read your mind, so your systems and processes need to be clear enough that someone with a far lower level of experience can follow them to achieve a very high standard consistently.
What does it take from YOU to get this part right?
GET-IT-OUT-OF-YOUR-HEAD! (and into a format they can learn from- written, video etc) can almost run a multimillion dollar business.
Then, not only will you have something clear to refer back to if processes are not followed accurately in the future, you’ll also have a supervaluable resource ready to go when you need to hire and train a new team member in the future. (Or have someone ELSE do part of their induction using your fab new training tools!)
So, you’ve now got the right people doing the right things, but our job is not yet done. How do we know they’re following your processes to the right STANDARD? By the results they’re producing!
If you do the right things consistently, you’ll get the right results.
So if your processes are being followed accurately, this will be evident in the outcomes of those processes, or their performance. So, we’re talking: o Average client $ spend o Retail % of total income o Rebooking % o Retention % etc
PERFORMANCE
These numbers are your scoreboard and they’re telling you the story of exactly what is happening in your business… and what is not.
Each of these KPIs is linked to a specific service behaviour… a step along your Client Journey process, so it’s as simple as this number measure that action. If this number is well below where it needs to be, then you know exactly which step to address with that team member. Your numbers are literally saying to you: “Hey! Over here! This is where the problem is!” or “How awesome is THIS result? She’s doing a great job of THAT step!”
What does it take from YOU to get this part right?
If performance is important to you, then it needs to be part of your every day routine and part of your daily conversations with your team.
If you never TALK about performance, then you probably won’t have any!
Do this in a positive way, link each KPI to your exciting and inspiring team vision and your team’s sense of identity- who they want to be for their clients and how they want to be known as a professional- and you’ll be on your way to creating a culture of performance! o Keep an eye on your scoreboard every day.
Know your progress to target, your retail %, average $, rebooking %. Know what you need these numbers to be and catch it quickly when they drop below expected levels. Have the chat, bring it to your employee’s attention and get them back on track asap! o Commit to investing small amounts of time regularly in Your Continual Caching Routine- these are the toolkit of conversations you use to coach your team to success. - Morning huddles & end of day check-ins - Weekly ‘PowerChats’ – how did we go last week? - Monthly review - 3-6 monthly Full Reviews
These are literally the price of performance. This is what it takes from you to get the results you need. They are what I call the ‘Big Rocks’- which means they go into the appointment schedule well in advance, before clients, before reps, before anything else can get in the way…. and don’t take them out!
Tough love alert: If you’re telling yourself you don’t have time, then you’re also making a conscious choice not to do what it takes. Great staff performance is not going to fall magically in your lap, but it absolutely CAN be your reality if you’re willing to get outside your comfort zone, make a real commitment and become the leader you need to be to get the results you need.
As the leader of your business, you are responsible for the behaviour and performance of each person on your team and your results will be a direct reflection of what you’re currently prioritising and what you’re allowing to fall through the cracks.
You can completely change the profitability and performance of your business with your focused attention on the 3 key management priorities: PEOPLE PROCESSES PERFORMANCE
