I am not sure about you, but I am petrified of Aldi and it’s not my first choice for a spot of relaxed shopping. I hesitate to go there because there are just too many issues that confront me. I have to know the process to start with, I never remember to bring my Aldi coin for a trolley and I can never find anything.
Once I finally feel like I have got it all together and I am comfortable with my purchases, I have to face the checkout challenge where my groceries speed up without me and I rarely remember to bring enough bags. Pressure all the way.
I liken the workplace to Aldi. At Aldi, you can purchase motorcycle jackets next to beauty products and canned goods. Your team members within your business are a bit like that. They all are required to just “fit” with each other however they all have different personality styles, different skill levels and areas of expertise and they are all motivated by different things.
Some team members are motivated by the all mighty dollar and what they earn of course but many are motivated by other valuable things such as flexibility or the ability to work from home in order to support a young family.
Advice for New Managers
So here is my advice for new managers. When looking at staffing within your business, keep the Aldi principle in mind and consider that before you seek that new team member to join your business if it’s for the first time, or you need to expand your team, you need to think about what unique skill and expertise they need to bring to the workplace, and in turn, how then are you are going to engage and motivate them toward achieving the business goals and outcomes.
If there is one thing that resonates it’s that business owners are smart and resilient. It’s not a walk in the park being in business and I applaud every person who has the courage to give it a go.
The daily grind of keeping everything going, addressing situations as they arise, being aware of the competition and having to innovate to stay ahead of the pack, can be exhausting. In addition, business owners are responsible for the team members in their business on top of everything else, and have to engage them in order to maximise their productivity and effectiveness.
The Employees Perspective
We all have a fundamental need to be engaged in our roles within the business we work in and want to enjoy what we are doing.
We spend so much time at work in this day and age. Long gone is the old language we used to use of work/life balance. Now it’s known as balance and we are all looking to work less (although still earn as much – maybe even more), enjoy more family and social time and truly find passion in what we do.
The ROI for Leaders who Embrace the Life Balance Philosophy
An investment return for the business owner and manager who embraces a life balance philosophy in their workplace is a team of people who are engaged, happy, productive and above all – results driven, which is an essential ingredient to running a successful, profitable business.
Strategies and systems are needed to achieve this goal. It will not happen by osmosis and if it does, then the business is unique and very lucky. The systems I advocate within The People Investment provide guidance and boundaries. The challenge is how to integrate the systems into the business so that staff engagement and participation is natural and not forced.
