Talent Development is All Math!
by John Kennedy
As we see the initial signs of the 2023 economy play themselves out in April’s numbers, and forecast for May, June and July are just around the corner, we should never underestimate the investment in your people.
One of the Centers within The Garden Center Group has committed to a “People First” vision for 2023. Another has committed to “Build the Bench!” in 2023, and both are poised to propel themselves into the future of their businesses by focusing on the soft skills just as much as the hard goods of their retail operation.
People are often placed behind profits, processes, and policies in many service-related businesses, and that short-sighted vision of today will become the long list of expenses of tomorrow.
I am not advocating that you actually use addition in your math relating to your labor expenses and wages.
I am actually advocating that you do the very opposite--Subtraction!
Many of you, whom I am grateful to know and work with over the years, are familiar with my math. I would rather have less people who are more committed than more people who are less committed.
The actual math is 10, 20, 40, 20, 10.
Your top 10% of your team are by far the most impactful, influential, and best investment you can make for the success of the team! Retain. Retain. Retain.
Your following 20% are poised to move up and are your emerging leadership team that should be invested in to become the next leadership team of the future—Build the Bench!
The next 40% are your block and tackle performers, whom, with coaching, communication, collaboration can produce a few 20% leaders for the future. They are needed and necessary and with strong leadership can produce appropriate results. Coach. Lead. Mentor.
The lower 20% are the ones that are “on-the-fence” about employment. They require a fair amount of coaching and engagement, often to the chagrin of the top performers, and utilize every sick day afforded them.
They do the very minimum effort, are a weight on the business, offer reduced value to the enterprise, and are at risk of employment if things don’t change quickly (if leadership is invested to hold the line of performance, enhance their willingness, improve their ability and promote accountability).
And finally, the bottom 10%.
These employees are rowing in the wrong direction, are “red-train” thinkers (negative to the Nth degree), and by not addressing their poor performance, you are risking your top 30% leaving because of leadership in-action, in addition to the extra effort the top folks are putting in by picking up the slack of the lower 30%.
Jean Seawright is the HR Specialist in The Garden Center Group, and you should always seek her (and Jean Martin’s) counsel regarding your employment issues, but I am certain they both would agree that out of fairness to the entire team, it is absolutely advisable to consider “Addition by Subtraction” when it comes to tolerating poor performance.
The best way to reward your team for their great work and effort is to remove the obstacles that stand in their way of success. Those obstacles are either People or Processes, and if we are truly looking to build a better team, putting people first would be a great way to approach your math.
Your top 30% folks deserve the very best people to help them drive success. Managing the processes only goes so far. True leadership is holding the bottom 30% more accountable for the efforts of the entire team.
And if they choose to not be compliant to the basic expectations of employment, then releasing them to their next job does everyone a great favor. Often times they will wonder what took so long!
And, I will say this from experience, letting a bottom 10% go has a unique effect on the bottom 20%, who quickly jump to the middle 40% out of fear they may be next.
I’ve asked hundreds of team members over my 25+ years in consulting, “Would you rather have the company release the bottom 10% than to keep them …making their jobs more difficult?”
The answer 100% of the time, is “I’d rather have less people who are more committed than more people who are less committed!”
Hire right (Acquisition)
Engage often (Development)
Lead always (Retention)
I will be covering these three key elements of leadership in the May edition of GroupTalk Live. Bring your emerging leadership team for a lunch and learn, and we will discuss how multiplying your team is equally valuable math for your successful Garden Retail business.
The topic and approach are also covered in great detail in the “Plant Your People” program available within the GroupSpace platform: www.yourgroupspace.com
See you in May!
John Kennedy is Co-Founder of BoomerWrangle, LLC. with his amazing wife, Souny.
BoomerWrangle is the new corporate entity that houses all of their talents & tools to support The Garden Center Group members.
From innovative solutions such as “Your GroupSpace,” customized on-boarding videos, strategic planning and team engagement, BoomerWrangle, LLC has become a single-source digital solution & strategic planning agency to maximize employee engagement, organizational excellence, build sales and service cultures, ease of ordering and operational efficiency!
Visit:
www.YourGroupSpace.com
www.Boomerwrangle.com www.JohnKennedyConsulting.com
for more information and insights into their growing toolbox of IGC solutions!
Contact:
[email protected]
[email protected]
443.605.7095
REMEMBER: Your interaction (by phone and email) with Group Service Providers such as John Kennedy, Tim Quebedeaux, Sid Raisch, Jean Seawright, and of course Danny Summers are included in your retainer!
