Looking to increase sales? A pair of business organization consultants said that one of the best places to turn to get ideas is your employees.
When it comes to problem-solving, declare Pamela Bilbrey and Brian Jones, your employees are the ones who are closest to the work and thus are the most likely to see opportunities for innovative solutions regarding improving customer service, reducing costs and increasing efficiency.
The pair brings up a concept many others have raised in looking to get the best out of your employees. That is making the employee feel like they have an ownership interest in the company.
By doing this, they said you'd be able to tap into that important source of solutions and innovative ideas right when you need it most.
It simply means taking the time to ask your employees what they would do if they were in your shoes. Ask them what they would change to help ensure that the organization runs more efficiently and less expensively.
"Would your employees act differently if they actually owned your company, and if it was their money being spent? I'm thinking they probably would. One of the most valuable things that you can do as a business owner and leader is to make your employees feel like they have a stake in what's going on at your company. When you get them to commit to viewing the organization as if they own it, your employees are more likely to voice their ideas for improvement, and they'll be more passionate about putting them into action," Ms. Bilbrey said.
The pair have a series of questions business owners can ask their staff to brainstorm for good ideas and get them feeling like owners.
These questions include: What would make this a better place to work? How can we enhance customer service? What would you do away with? What would you do if you were footing the bill? And what is working well, and how can we make it even better?
"Ask your employees what they think is working well in your company," said Mr. Jones. "Have them make a list of the things that make their job easier or help make them more successful, and why they think that is. Then be sure to ask if there are ways that you can improve upon those things. How could they be even better? What will help systems to continue to be successful? By focusing on the positive, you will find that even more solutions can be born than when you simply concentrate on what doesn't work."
