Involve employees
If you want employees to stop thinking conservatively, you need to put into context how the company is doing financially. Matco Tools has seen continuous improvement since mid-2009. But if employees only heard the doom and gloom about the state of the economy, why would they think the company is headed in the right direction?
“You have to talk about it because it’s so minuscule in some instances or they don’t have the data in front of them to see it,” Willis says.
Every quarter, Willis and his staff meet with each team to talk about highlights: How the company did on top line and bottom line, how it compared to the previous quarter and the same quarter last year, and what still needs improvement.
People can relate to numbers if you share with them financials and the basic metrics you always use to monitor company progress. Employees will be more willing to help if they know where it’s needed.
If you’re serious about asking employees for ideas for growth or company improvement, you need to blatantly state what you’re looking for and create forums for feedback.
Matco Tools does employee surveys every year. When the HR staff members followed up on the 2009 survey, they found an underpinning concern about the company’s budget cuts and layoffs. Willis realized that in order to convey a positive message and ask employees for ideas, he needed to be more involved in the process. Twice a month, he conducts employee round tables. His goal is to reach each department in each location.
“I started to do these meetings to really help them understand how we had to think about the business, why we had to do some of the things we had to do,” Willis says. “In a lot of instances, I’ve found they’re not being as productive as they should be in their job because of tools we have not given them, maybe some things we have taken away from them.”
In order to effectively use a president’s round table, you have to make employees comfortable talking to you and you have to be specific about the desired outcome.
Willis doesn’t allow managers in the meeting, and he uses examples of how the company has listened to other people’s ideas.
For example, in a growth session, someone suggested selling food off of company trucks, like beef jerky, so a team was formed to look into sourcing and pricing. Now, the distributors sell more than $500,000 a year in consumables.
To break the ice, he gives a business update, then asks for suggestions, questions and concerns.
“Our team always wants to do a good job, but in some cases, we’ve handicapped them, and we have to find ways to let them be successful,” Willis says. “In some cases, that means we have to listen to them when they say, ‘If you want me to do this better, I need this.’ Then we have to really vet that out with them, and if that’s the case, we need to go and support them with that.”
Willis can’t think of an instance where he has yet to say no. You have to talk through the problems with employees. If you can’t offer a solution in the meeting, make sure they are directed to the right person.
The key, Willis says, is making sure you give the idea proper support as you walk through the process of deciding whether to implement it or not.
Also, make sure your direct reports understand the discussions coming out of your employee meetings so they, too, can work to create an atmosphere of ideas and growth.
“It’s important that they understand we need to be out there, not just worrying about our distribution,” Willis says. “We also need to be worried about the mindset that we’ve also created down in the lowest levels of the organization. To let people know we want to be in a position to win, we want to be in a position to get back to growth.”
How to reach: Matco Tools, (866) 289-8665 or www.matcotools.com
