Manager's Corner - Unhappy Employees Often Mean You Failed To Act

A client recently told me she believes one of her key employees may be looking for a different job. My client was nervous and a bit "defeated." Her employee is smart, efficient, organized, and articulate. She gets along with everyone, works on any project you ask her to, and is willing to try new things. However, she's apparently not happy. When my client and I talked a bit more, I discovered, Sarah (not her real name), was the only full-time employee left in her department besides the department manager. All other staff had resigned over the previous year and their positions had not yet been filled. After a bit more probing, I learned that the department manager is very nice, but disorganized, not able to think strategically, and not a strong manager. Needless to say, it was becoming obvious why Sarah wasn't happy. She was carrying the workload for an entire department and was being "managed" by a weak manager. Would you be happy if you were Sarah?

When you have unhappy employees, it may be an indication there are other problems facing your organization. When your "key" employees are unhappy, there are usually some serious issues facing the company that have been around for some time. Often their unhappiness is a result of your failure to address "known" issues. Your job is to determine what's causing your employees' unhappiness, so they don't leave and leave you unhappy. Sometimes the cause of their unhappiness is rather obvious; sometimes not.

After some strategy and reorganization meetings, my client restructured Sarah's department to ensure "busy" work was eliminated and only mission-critical tasks were still on the departmental To Do list. Sarah's manager is receiving coaching to help her become more organized and a stronger manager. Sarah has also been asked to become a key player on an company-wide project. She'll be operating within an aggressive team structure with specific project deliverables and deadlines. Sarah's excited, energized, and looking forward to the challenge. It sounds crazy but she was just handed more work -- and she's happy.

In reviewing the situation and talking with Sarah, we quickly learned she was frustrated with her manager and her current "mind-numbing" work. Sarah likes to challenge herself mentally as well as to "get things done." Her new work on the special project will help accomplish that, while the reduction in non-essential busy work will help her "get things done" quickly. In the meantime, her manager is now more productive and is reorganizing her department and aggressively seeking staff. My client has two employees who are now happier and more productive, in large part because my client finally took action.

If you have unhappy employees, what action do you need to take?

Copyright 2006, 2008 - Liz Weber, CMC - Weber Business Services, LLC.
WBS is a team of Strategic Planning and Leadership Development Consultants, Trainers, and Speakers. Liz can be reached at liz@wbsllc.com or (717)597-8890.
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