Is A Crackdown on Staff the Answer to Low Sales?

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Copyright 2018                                       Aleasa Word

​oar too often I hear stories of leaders who cracked under pressure begin to act harshly with staff due to low productivity or sales numbers. The rationale behind it is usually that if the staff worked harder the sales wouldn't be down so they need to "get them back in line." Though there may be instances when staff has taken advantage of lax controls in a company, the "crackdown" approach isn't always the best approach.
Let's look at a company who relies on sales to keep them afloat. If an employee is disengaged, it is usually easy to spot THAT employee. If all the sales numbers are down, there is a bigger issue at play. Is your product stale? Is there a new competitor that is in the way? Have regulations, technology or protocols in your industry changed in such a way that it is hindering your employees' ability to do their jobs the same way they used to? There could be a number of reasons that your goals are not being met depending on what your company actually does. As such, there are a number of better ways to deal with this other than treating staff like they are like inmates in a prison . Doing so may cost you all of your staff and then you'd be asking yourself how do I keep this company afloat all by myself with no staff left? People who leave companies do so for a host of reasons and often they leave when companies need them most because they aren't treated as though they have value when the chips are down.
Leaders who have taken the time to really study how to manage people have a good grasp on the answer to this issue. Sadly, when under pressure many forget that answer and go back to their style of origin which is the proverbial crackdown. When thinking this through, it would behoove us all to think about what we do with our customers as a way to think of how to deal with staff to get more customers. Just as you may work to give incentives to new clients, unhappy clients or existing clients, one can not forget that your employees are your customers too! People, in general, more often respond better to a reward system than to a punishment system.
Wait...before you post opposition to that last statement hear me out. **Based on a 2011 report from Pew Research the average rate of recidivism in the United States was listed at 43%. Subsequently, a report by the DOJ (department of justice) noted that 68% of over 400,000 prisoners from 30 states who were released in 2005 were re-arrested for new crimes within 3 years and another 77% within 5 years. Whoa!!!!! This is to say you're running a prison (unless you are); however, that speaks to this issue a bit more. The real lesson here is this. You can catch more bees with honey (I know it's a cliche'). Creating a hostile environment for your staff will not make them work harder. It will make them hostile, bitter towards each other, poor performers with customers and eventually your staff will begin to leave. Though you may think their leaving in favor of fresh talent might be the answer, certainly, all of them leaving within a short period of time will cause you more issues.
Help your employees see why they can do better and give them the incentive to do so.
Originaly Published on LInkedIn
**Info obtained: http://www.atlascorps.org/blog/recidivism-united-states-overview/

​Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

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