We’ve all had that boss over the years that had no clue what really went on in their business. They spent so much time locked behind their office door that they became extremely removed from the day-to-day happenings of the business they worked so hard to build. It’s an unfortunate situation and one that can usually get way out of control resulting in lost customers, lowered revenue, service failures and disgruntled employees. The sad part is that these bosses usually “open the door” a little too late and spend tons of their time in defensive mode trying to clean up the messes that landed on their plate from “out of nowhere”.
There is an easy way to fix things like this and even prevent them from happening in the future. The simple fix is to open the door, roll up your sleeves and jump in with the crew. As a boss of a wonderful group of very talented people, it’s extremely easy and enjoyable for me to do this. These great people are a part of my family and I don’t want them to do anything that I can’t do or have not done myself.
To be honest, it’s quite a bit of fun to get back to the basics of your company and deal directly with the front line situations. Recently, I spent the day with the customer service group at my Houston Courier Service, Hot Shot Delivery. I answered calls, tracked packages, took orders, communicated with drivers and talked with tons of customers. It was a great day and I vowed to myself to experience this process more often. In just one day on the front line, I learned about a recurring service request that could turn in to a new service offering. I also learned some quick short cuts when working through our system as well as great insight about what motivates my employees.
I did not stop there – I jumped in with one of our drivers and spent the day making deliveries. That gave me the chance to see a day in the life of our delivery drivers. The traffic problems, their interaction with our customers, the challenges they experience and, again, what motivates them as independent contractors were all witnessed during my delivery day adventure.
As it seems to be in many areas, communication is the key. Opening the lines of communication with your employees can make things so much better for everyone and the way to do that is to walk in their shoes. See what they are going through each day and they are more likely to talk to you about their ideas for improvement and feel like an important part of the team.
Now don’t get me wrong, it is still extremely important for you, as the boss, to work on strategy, marketing and the “big picture” of your company. These are areas that can facilitate long term growth and additional revenue streams. Just find a balance between the two and you will see that your company will benefit greatly.
So, be sure to take some time and figure out how you can get more involved with the team. Your entire organization will notice, appreciate and communicate with you – which is a win-win for everyone!
Until Next Time,
Eric
Today, I’m going to chat about Low Profit Margins. I see this so often in my industry. Perhaps it is because we are service-based vs. product-based or perhaps its because we are all competing for the same business. Either way, by taking a good look at my customers, I was able to see that not only was I not profitable on some customers, but I was actually LOSING MONEY! When you consider the costs associated with deliveries which includes the delivery drivers, the taxes (don’t get me started on the taxes), the gas prices, the customer service group, the technology costs for order placement-tracking and reporting, the costs associated with the building, etc… – things start to add up.