Just ONE Thing
Managing Workplace Issues: A Practical Approach
Episode 193
with Rick White, 180BIZ
Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. My name is Rick White from 180BIZ. We are a Coaching and Training Company for Independent Auto and Truck Repair Shops — and this is my Just ONE Thing for this week.
So what I want to talk to you today about is Issues. Yes, these are the things that are really frustrating. And you know what I'm talking about. Those things that your team members do that just drive you nuts. What do you do with them? So let's step back and think this through. I'm going to give you a really cool process for dealing with these things that's going to make it a lot easier.
What I want you to do is think of something somebody in your team is doing now. I want you to get it so like you can feel it frustrating you as you even think about it. Okay? So I'm going to tell you the first thing you got to do. You got to decide whether you fix it — it needs to be fixed — or is this something you need to accept? In other words, there are going to be some things that your team members do that don't have an impact on the business. They're either a behavioral kind or different styles. Your behavioral Styles Clash, and it's not working out, you know, like that. It feels bad for you. Think about what frustrates you and then ask yourself: “Does it affect the shop?” If it doesn't, I'm going to suggest it's something you need to accept. And a lot of times, what you're going to find is that it's actually something either you do that upsets you or it's just a clash between personality behavioral styles. I was dealing with this last week with the manager, and we talked it through, and it made sense.
So the first thing you got to do is decide, does it affect the shop? Yes or No. If it's a yes, then we're going to go down our path. But if it's a no, I'm going to suggest that it's an opportunity for you to accept the differences in other people. So that's the first thing. So now let's say it is something get a fix. Let's say it's something you have somebody on the front counter that has a body odor issue. Boy, would that be a tough conversation to have.
Let me show you how you're going to do this. Number one, you're going to sit the employee out, you know, down. And if it's a body Issue, odor issue, you might want to do it outside. But anyway, I digress. What you want to do is sit down and you want to name the issue. Okay, you want to name the issue now. The best way to start a conversation that's uncomfortable is to let them know you're about to have an uncomfortable conversation and you are uncomfortable.
It could sound something like this: “Hey, listen, Joe. We need to have a tough conversation right now. And I got to be honest with you, I'm kind of uncomfortable about this, and I'm nervous because I really care about you. You're a great member of our team, and I know this is something we can work on, but I know it's going to be hard, and I just I know that if you and I can work on this together, we can really make a difference.”
So you name the issue and let them know how you feel, label how you feel. Okay, so you're going to name the issue, and it's going to be “Joe, listen, we're getting complaints from both the staff and clients about a body odor issue. It's affecting the business, is affecting the way people are coming, you know, and seeing the shop.”
And so the first thing I'm gonna do is I'm gonna name it, and then I gotta explain why it matters. “Okay, we had someone that you drove home a couple weeks ago that they complained about the odor, and that's a problem, and I know that that must be uncomfortable and really embarrassing sometimes. If you're not aware of it, you know, and that might be the case, I don't know, but this really matters, because we've got to be able to work together, and we've got to be able to not get distracted by things that really it's not there. You know what? I mean? We get we kind of make this better.” So that's what you do. You go through that.
So let me give you the steps. Number one, you got to decide fix or accept. Number two, you name the issue. Number three, you explain why it matters. Why does this make a difference to the shop, to the team, to the client?
Now next step is to get them to commit to correcting with a due date. Don't just say, “Okay, you're going to get better in the future, right?” Make sure there's a due date to this. “Hey, man, we got to get this addressed this week. Okay, and then let's keep it going. All right. So this is super, super important.” So decide name the issue right, explain why it mattered, get them to commit to correcting it with a due date, and then don't stop there.
Give them the resources as well as the gift of follow up and feedback. Okay, so what you want to be able to do is get them to commit. “So listen, can we get this taken care of, like today, and can I make get a commitment from you? Can you help me understand what's going on?” These are all things that you can ask so that you can see it from their perspective. Maybe there's something going on. I'll give you an example. “I can use deodorant, but I can't use antiperspirant. If I use antiperspirant, I break out in a terrible rash, but I can use deodorant.” So maybe talking to a doctor, and finding one that's hypoallergenic or something like that, if that's a health issue, but doing something that makes it better, and then coming up with that resource, and then you want to give follow up and feedback. What do I mean by that? When you're getting somebody to correct an action, you want them to do something differently. You don't just walk away and let them figure it out. You work on it together so that you can come up with a plan together. Tthen you follow up. What I mean by that is, every single time Joe comes in, Mel and Micah rose, figuratively speaking, you want to make sure you say “Thank you. I see you and I notice you. I notice the improvement. Thank you.”
One of the worst things we do as owners is we talk to somebody about a corrective action, they agree, they start to do it, and we ignore it and go on to the next thing that is a problem. We have got to reinforce the new behavior, because if you do not, they are going to start to think to themselves “Why bother? Nobody's noticing.” This is super, super important. You've got to be able to recognize every single time, every single day, at least for a month.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you for caring enough to make a difference.”
“I really appreciate you.”
“You're a great part of our team.”
That's what you want to be able to do. So you want to recognize as your follow up every single time, reinforce the new behavior. Number two, the first time he, Joe, comes in and he's smelling a little, do not make up a story. What you want to be able to do is step back and say, “Hey, Joe, come on, man, come here, Joe. We talked about this, man, you've been doing fantastic. You're slipping. You're back into the right you're going back in the rut. We can't have that.” So what you've got to do is recognize the new behavior and call out any backsliding immediately. Okay, super, super important.
I really hope this helps. Please share this video. I guarantee you there is a shop owner somewhere that is bottling up, just getting angrier and angrier and angrier about something that he's never talked to or she's never talked to somebody about, but you're letting it test her, and when it finally comes out, you're going to feel relief and they're going to feel attacked. Don't do that. Follow the process.
Decide, is it something to fix, or is it something to accept? Number two, name the issue. Number three, explain why it matters. Number four, get them to commit to changing, to correcting with a due date, and then the last thing is to give them resources so that they are not having to figure it out on their own. You're going to do that together, come up with a plan, and then you're going to follow up with positive reinforcement and recognition.
All right, please share this video. Remember our Shop Owners Round Table, second Thursday of every month, 7pm Eastern, as well as our Pocket Business Genius webinar series, which is second Thursday of every month at 1pm.
Okay, thank you, everybody. Everybody have a great week. Have fun and go make some money. I'll talk to you all next Monday. Take care. Bye, bye.
