Five Easy Pieces of Change

Not every change that transforms your business must take weeks of planning, effort, and energy. In fact, some of the best-bang-for-your-buck changes are ones you could make in a day. Or less.

Sometimes even a small but noticeable change is all you need to spark a renewed vigor in your employees' work. Sometimes, the best changes you can make cost next to nothing. And when you can make a change that takes very little time, and costs very little, the potential for return on your investment is simply huge.

Here are five steps you might take to improve the likelihood that your employees will work harder, smarter, faster, more efficiently, and with more passion for doing a great job.

Recruiting Reward - If you already have several employees who do good work, wouldn't you want a few more just like them? Then why not ask them to help you look for your next great employee? A sure way of getting new employees who will be talented and easily fit into your current team is to ask current employees to recruit for you. Offer a reward to any employee who recruits a new employee. But be sure that the reward is contingent on the new employee working some minimum period of time, say six months. You could pay half the reward right after the new hire starts and then pay the balance after he or she has been a successful employee for the full six months.

Time needed: about a half hour to draft, type, and print a memo announcing the plan.

Cost: no matter what you offer as a reward, it will be paid back many times over in reduced recruitment costs, time saved from interviewing unqualified candidates, and lost productivity from new hires who were slow to learn the job.


Orientation Checklist - If you don't have one already, then taking the time to write down everything your new hires should do to get acquainted with their new position will save you a great deal of time later on. And it will save the aggravation of re-inventing the wheel every time you hire someone new. 

Time needed: This could take as much as a couple hours to review all the tasks a new hire should complete in the first days on the job, draft them into a checklist, and type it up.

Cost: just a few cents worth of paper and printer ink.

Training Progress Chart - Here is a tool that accomplishes two things: it tracks employees' progress as they master their jobs, and it provides public recognition of their accomplishments. Post this in a break room or someplace else where every employee will see it every day. A good office supply store will have several products you could use, but you could accomplish all you need with a piece of poster board carefully lettered and laid out with a grid. Use stickers to mark off progress because they're neater than check marks made with a felt marker.

Time needed: maybe a couple hours to purchase materials and lay out the chart.

Cost: less than $10, maybe a little more if you choose a fancier material for the chart.

A Good Book on Leadership - At least once a year it's a good idea to give your managers something new to think about so they can develop into more complete managers. A good manager knows that his or her own professional growth is a crucial part of being able to develop employees. And since developing employees is one of the most important duties of a manager, it only makes sense to help your managers develop themselves. Oh, and by the way, the effort of scouring the bookstore for a good book, and reading the same book you give your managers will help you too.

Time needed: a few hours to locate a good book and to read it yourself.

Cost: perhaps $20 per book.

Praise 5 Employees Today - Nothing gives you a greater return on your investment that praise and recognition. Your employees value your recognition more than money, so spend your recognition liberally.

Time needed: five minutes per employee at the most.

Cost: nothing.

It's possible you're already doing some of these things, but even if you're already doing all of these, maybe seeing them here will remind you of another small change you've been thinking of making. And inspire you to get it done. Now. Today. This week.

Why wait?

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