I'm an avid movie buff. I'm the guy in my circle of friends that they all turn to during movie trivia games and random questions about actors and quotes. Recently, as a present to my wife, I purchased a year's subscription to the Starz network so she can watch her favorite book-turned-TV series, “Outlander.” I wasn't expecting anything out of it and began surfing through their various channel options. As an added bonus, I found that they were running a continuous marathon of my favorite anti-Christmas movie, “Bad Santa,” starring Billy Bob Thornton. If you haven't seen it, and you consider yourself a cynic when it comes to the mass consumerism aspect of the holiday, check it out.
The film follows an alcoholic safe cracker and his dwarf associate who work as a mall Santa and elf so they can rob holiday shoppers blind. The film reminded me of an important lesson: bad employees will sometimes do whatever it takes to keep their bosses from knowing how unhappy they are in their job. Let me explain.
Thornton's character, Willie, hates his job, himself and, therefore, his life. But he keeps going, dragging himself evermore reluctantly to the next city and the next mall, thanks to his diminutive associate. Although Willie is vastly unhappy with his life, he goes on, getting worse every year, to the point where his partner becomes fed up.
To find a solution to his misery, Willie befriends a troubled 10-year-old who teaches him the true meaning of Christmas. This leads to his epiphany that family and doing what you love are the keys to happiness, not money.
As the busiest season of the year has just passed and the New Year knocks, knowing the types of people you work with is critically important, both for the business owner and employees. It's easy to overlook an unhappy staff member who pretends to enjoy their work. This facade takes shape mainly due to one steady influence: fear. Some people have a fear of success, which includes the anxiety of too much work, or a fear of failure and having to start over at a new job. The mindset of many people is to look at a job as just work rather than as an integral part of their life.
A study on employee health published by Gallup Press in the book, “Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements,” showed that worker discontentment takes a huge toll on quality of life both inside and outside the workplace. Employees who said they like their jobs are twice as likely to be thriving in their lives overall. They reported strong relationships, effective money management, good health and engagement in their communities.
As business owners, who wouldn’t want workers like that? It’s understandable, however, that finding such workers can prove difficult. Simply put, your passion is not necessarily that of your employees. At the very least, it’s important to help employees understand the purpose of the business, their contributions to it and that you are business partners, but not necessarily friends. As many industry veterans have said over the years, the goal is not just to sell car audio and services but to sell yourselves. Nobody wants to buy from someone they don’t like. Be the kind of person you’d want to buy from. Promote a positive workplace environment where negative comments are not tolerated and the only goal is self-improvement.
No matter the employee, business owner, installer, or sales clerk, quality of life should be the goal. If the employee isn’t happy, perhaps it’s time to have a talk and learn what they really want to do. If there’s a personal matter involved, talk it over and see if you can help. What you don’t want to do is ignore it until it gets out of hand.
Like Willie, many employees will try to hide the fact that they are unhappy because they don’t want to face the reality of their own misery. The best way for people to get happy is by confronting their demons and finding what kind of work does make them happy. By doing so, like Bad Santa, happiness becomes infectious and can only result in a happy ending.
March Issue Feature: Retail Acid Test - Improving Store Efficiency
3/16/2016 -- How does a business become more efficient? The first step is organization. Benjamin Franklin once said, “A place for everything, everything in its place.” Retailers can take this advice to heart and remember that disorganization in the workplace leads to time and money lost. Carlos Ramirez of NVS Audio in Linden, N.J. noted that this kind of problem is something he will not abide by. “If a tech spends half an hour looking for something, I just lost 50 dollars,” he said. Efficiency and organization is important in any business. Retailers who work to increase efficiency in their shops will begin to see benefits and positive change, resulting in higher sales and improved success. So how can 12-volt retailers become more efficient, thereby avoiding unfortunate mishaps?
“It’s all trial and error,” Ramirez said. “It takes a long time to find out what works. Whatever doesn’t work, you have to change it. So then the other problem is once you get a system that works really well, as you make more money and start changing lines, you change customers, and then your efficiency changes again.” Ramirez admitted that NVS Audio has had a problem with this issue in the past. “You have to be able to pay attention to how the shop’s moving, what you’re making money with, and how you can make your clients happy. As times change, you have to change.”
Creating New Systems
For much of her life, Tammy Rowland has worked in direct sales and has been involved in recruiting, leadership and training. She has created the Work Smart Earn More™ system, and coaches business owners and entrepreneurs. Rowland points out that, “Efficiency is not just finding a simpler way to do something, but creating a system so it can be done over and over again in the same way. This saves time and takes the guesswork out of any task.” While systems change, the important thing is to ensure efficiency is a priority. Very often, business owners must also learn to roll with the punches as systems and approaches change, and efficiency continues to be an essential part of success.
Ramirez of NVS Audio stated the key aspect of increasing efficiency in his shop: ensuring all departments are well organized. “We spend a ton of money on tool storage, bins and everything is labeled. Everything has a spot,” he said. “We are constantly cleaning and throwing away anything that doesn’t make money. Anybody should be able to walk in, and know where everything is … and where you need to grab something from.” Constantly keeping an eye on how things can be improved is part of ensuring that nothing slips to the wayside; efficiency is always top-of-mind.
Any products kept in-stock for the customers should also be organized and well cared for. The showroom should be immaculate. “This is the first thing I notice when purchasing an item,” Rowland said. “Dusty means old, not cared for … each task has a process. Work out what it is, then tweak it. You may have too many or not enough steps in your process. Training becomes simpler as well … this adds more success and higher sales.”
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