Build a team
The first part of getting back on track was
getting the people part in place, so Fadel
first talked to department heads about why
they thought their performance was down
and whether or not they could improve.
“Sometimes, people will tell you, ‘I don’t
know what to do to make it better,’ or you
have people who have given up who say,
‘Well, I can’t do it,’” he says. “Then I’m going
to find somebody who can. It’s OK to tell
me that you don’t how to because we can
figure out a way, but when you give up, I
need somebody who can try.”
If you have people who don’t want to
try, then replace them with people who
will. While Fadel says he moved at least
30 people in, out or around the company,
one of the bigger moves he made was
bringing founder John Ashworth back to
lead product design and direction. Having
people at the top who can provide that
direction is key.
“If we take from the product point of
view, it’s essential that you have a visionary,” he says. “He’s a catalyst — that
attracts a different quality of people.”
When people see you making personnel
changes, it sends a message that things
will be different, which helps you bring in
better people.
“Once you get the first few pieces in
place, then they know somebody else, who
knows somebody else,” Fadel says. “A lot
of it is word-of-mouth. That’s infectious.”
As you make changes, keep a few keys
in mind.
“You have to have people that have the
energy and passion and they’re doing this
because they love doing it — not because
they have to,” he says.
Get to know people in your organization so
you can gauge who’s passionate and energetic.
“You have to connect with everyone in your
organization,” Fadel says. “You never know
where you’re going to find the next great person. They may be there, but you’re not using
them properly. The way you do that is
through communication.”
Once you have energetic people willing to
try their best, then you need to hold them
accountable.
“You should constantly be evaluating performance and making sure people are suited
to the position they’re in,” Fadel says. “You
shouldn’t just assume that they are.”
You can’t evaluate your people if you don’t
know what you’re measuring.
“You have to set up the proper measurements,” he says. “It’s essential. Performance
is an arbitrary thing. The worst thing that can
happen in an organization is people think
they’re doing well, but they’re not meeting
your expectations, so you’re not working on
the same metrics as far as performance.”
Create metrics based on what’s important
to getting the job done.
“We don’t want to muddle along with mindless bureaucracy and spreadsheets,” Fadel
says. “Sometimes people believe there is a
mathematical equation. The way to set up the
proper metrics is you have to talk about it,
but you have to identify the things that make
it work.”
Sometimes these things may not be as concrete as a sales goal for a salesperson. In
those situations you have to look at other factors, such as timelines for projects and if
those deadlines are met or how well someone stays within their budget. Even if you’re
measuring a salesperson’s performance, look
at other factors beyond just sales goals.
Typically, customer satisfaction is important,
so Fadel says to look at how often salespeople touch the customer with phone calls and
meetings and then look at the results — the
quality of sales and the product mix they sell.
“You set goals, and you work to achieve
those goals, and then you monitor them
along the way,” he says.
