Scott kickstarts the podcast by asking everyone to consider their “readiness” and “preparedness” to operate their business. We’ve all come across businesses which seem to be doing very well, which ought to be flourishing and successful from the looks of it, but go under in a few months, almost unexpectedly? Scott explains that this is because oftentimes the business owners do not understand how to interpret their cash flows, margins, profits and losses etc, and attribute the same to a department.
Being involved in all aspects of your business, and especially sales and cash flows, is crucial for all business owners. But even when you’re a business owner who understand these aspects, you need to ensure that your team members are at the top of their game and 100% committed to excel at your business goals, as well.
How do you ensure that your team members have got your back as a leader and perform at their best? Here are some of Scott’s tips for organizational excellence:
- Enroll your team members in the company’s culture and vision
Train your team members and employees – every single one of them – in your company culture and ensure that they have conviction in the same. You want people who resonate with the company culture and vision.
Next, show them that you believe in them, consistently give them opportunities to excel at, educate them, and train them.
- Inspire loyalty through empowerment
The result is LOYALTY by choice, not by force. Empower them and truly have them see the merits to being loyal to your organization, rather than ever having to ponder about approaching your competitor regarding a job.
- Cross-training to create a more flexible workforce
Scott emphasizes on the importance of cross-training and broadening the skill set of all the team members. When your employees go through different departments, which is to say, they can be a desk manager, but they could also do F&I;they understand the market for used cars, can also appraise…these are the people that are skilled in various roles and responsibilities because they’ve worked their way up through the company and didn’t jump any steps.
- Cut unnecessary costs
So when they’re cross-trained and someone’s off or on vacation, they could do each other’s job, which means that you don’t need to employ too many people, and that productivity is never hampered in the workplace. This enables you to cut unnecessary costs.
Rethink your expenditures: are the traditional methods of marketing – print, TV, banners – working for your product? Do you want to rethink your advertising and make it more targeted toward your customers?
- Invest in continuous learning and training
Last of all, invest in training yourself and your employees – equip yourself and others with the knowledge about how each department works, and how you can scale this further to advance the goals of your company and personal goals as well.
#NeverStopLearning #CrosstrainingAtWorkplaces #WorkplaceCulture #TeamBuilding #BusinessVision
