How to Hire a Replacement for a Key Role in Your Small Business

A recent Harvard Business Review study found that nearly forty percent (39%) of employees report their coworkers don’t collaborate enough. There are several reasons for this, but whatever the causes, it’s very important to address this issue when it arises in order to get the most out of any team. If poor collaboration continues to persist, it will do real damage to a company – no matter how big or small. So, it’s critical to take action right away. Otherwise, it could very well unleash deleterious effects that just may be irreversible. The Consequences of Poor Employee Collaboration When employees are not collaborating effectively, it can lead to duplication of efforts, miscommunications, and confusion. This can result in employees spending more time trying to figure out what their coworkers are doing, rather than focusing on their own tasks. As a result, overall productivity can suffer. Employees who are not able to work well with others may become frustrated, leading to lower morale among the team. This can also create a toxic work environment, leading to high levels of absenteeism and turnover. It goes without saying that when your employees work together, they’ll be more effective. Not only can people accomplish more as a group, a collaborative atmosphere could motivate employees to do more. But if you feel like employees aren’t cooperating as well as they should, there could be a hidden problem brewing under the surface. —American Express Effective collaboration is crucial for innovation. When employees are not able to work well together, it can stifle creativity and prevent the development of new ideas. This can make it difficult for businesses to stay competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace. Poor collaboration can lead to mistakes, delays, and other issues that can impact the quality of the product or service that a business provides. This can lead to dissatisfaction among customers, who may take their business elsewhere. How to Encourage Better Workplace Collaboration among Employees Collaboration is crucial for success in today’s business world. When employees are able to work well together, it can lead to higher productivity, improved morale, and greater innovation. However, fostering collaboration among employees is not always easy. Here are a few tips for encouraging better workplace collaboration: Provide the right tools. In order for employees to collaborate effectively, they need the right tools. This may include project management software, group messaging platforms, and online collaboration tools. By providing the right tools, you can make it easier for employees to communicate and share ideas. Encourage open communication. Open communication is key for effective collaboration. Encourage employees to speak up and share their ideas, even if they are not sure if they are “right”. By creating an environment where it is okay to ask questions and share ideas, you can foster collaboration. Create a collaborative culture. Collaboration should be a core value of your business. Make sure that this value is reflected in your company culture, and encourage employees to work together to achieve common goals. Provide training and support. Collaboration is a skill that can be learned and developed. Consider providing training and support to help employees improve their collaboration skills. This may include workshops, mentoring programs, and other resources. Recognize and reward collaboration. Finally, don’t forget to recognize and reward collaboration. When employees work together to achieve a common goal, make sure to recognize their efforts. This can be as simple as a shout-out in a team meeting, or something more formal like a team-building event or award. By following these tips, you can encourage better workplace collaboration among your employees. This will help to improve productivity, morale, and innovation at your business. What else can businesses do to foster and improve employee collaboration? Please take a few minutes to share your own thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your input! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

A substantial percentage of established business owners and fledgling entrepreneurs have experienced significant change over the course of the past year. Some had to make very difficult decisions and enact hard changes in order to survive. Conversely, some have been in the fortuitous position to thrive. Regardless of their circumstances, too many entrepreneurs and business owners struggle to find free time. Fortunately, there are some effective strategies to find more free time and enjoy it. The Dreaded Free Time Paradox The most common problems business owners have when it comes to free time is either not recognizing it, or failing to indulge it. In other words, when there’s free time available, business owners and entrepreneurs most often either prefer to spend it working, simply defaulting to a workaholic mindset. So, it’s often the case that they don’t have any free time, as much as it is they won’t take time to actually enjoy it. Time freedom is about spending your time doing what you really love doing with the clients and people who mean the most to you. Having more freedom of time is about having the ability to live a full life and have the time to pursue other interests outside of work. But finding time freedom for entrepreneurs can be tough. — Thrive Global This creates a cyclical scenario where any ostensible free time is put either toward their work or, is spent on distractions. That’s often more advice given about business owners seeking free time. That is to say, to identify and eliminate distractions, because they divert away from the task or relaxation at hand. Because entrepreneurs are action-minded people, they mistake any type of work as being valuable. Of course, that’s just not true. 3 Ways Business Owners and Entrepreneurs can Find more Free Time The advice usually given to free up time is to rely on technology, innovative tools of the trade, and eliminate redundancies. Those are all great ways to help streamline your operation, but these mostly work around the margins, and don’t address the core problems. Here are three ways business owners and entrepreneurs can find more free time: Stick to a schedule. It’s very difficult, if not impossible, to find free time in an unstructured environment. The old Friedrich Nietzsche philosophy of “out of chaos comes order” simply doesn’t apply to this situation. So, get yourself on a schedule and follow a routine. It can be flexible and should not be rigid, but should provide you with structure. This will greatly cut down on distractions, and force you to focus on the highest priorities, and work your way down to the lowest. Put your business on a budget. Before you scoff, remember this — a budget doesn’t always mean spending less, it means always spending smartly. Too many business owners either spend their time worrying about their finances. Others know their general financial situation, but dwell on every possible contingency. In either case, they waste a great deal of time worrying, because they really don’t have a plan for their company finances. Money just comes in and goes out, but with very little accountability. Creating a realistic budget allows you to operate your business with a lot more certainty, and that in turn, will create more free time. Hire (back) help. You might have responded to the pandemic and ensuing chaos in a number of ways. Perhaps, it was necessary to reduce your payroll and take on more responsibilities yourself. Or, you’ve been taking on more work personally, because you haven’t found the time to hire people to help. The longer this unnecessary stress goes on, the more you risk burning out. It not only steals away valuable downtime, it is also counterproductive. So, get yourself on a schedule, lay out a budget, and hire on some help when and where needed. What other suggestions do you have for creating more free time? Please take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your unique perspective! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.