Your staff can be unhappy for one of seven reasons:
- Incompetence – Train your staff to do the jobs they’re expected to do. If they can’t be trained, find other staff.
- Doesn’t know what his job is – Everyone needs to know how they’re being measured. Take the time to explain the position and what outcomes are expected.
- Wrong job – She might be talented, but she’s in the wrong position. Find her something that plays to her strengths.
- Bad manager – A great person can be in the perfect job, but he’ll be unhappy if he has a bad manager. There’s only one fix: get rid of the manager.
- Poisonous culture – If people don’t enjoy the vibe at work, they won’t be happy. The vibe is a function of people. If you hire asses, your company will have an ass culture.
- Lack of communication – No one likes working in the dark. There is no such thing as “over-communication.” Keep your people in the loop and they’ll be happy.
- No appreciation – It’s not long hours and time away from family that upsets a person. It’s when the boss doesn’t appreciate the sacrifices that person is making that she becomes unhappy.
If your staff are unhappy, you won’t be able to retain stars, attract stars, or move fast.
If you don’t have stars and you can’t move fast, you’ll fail.
Make sure your staff are happy.