In today's blog I will demonstrate how controlling your environment changes your home care company for the better.
At the end of this short read you will understand why -
How controlling your environment will benefit you
Why it's important to implement strategies to control your environment
How to implement Healthy strategies into your business.
When I started my Home Care business I was so excited to have what I considered a ‘Proper Business’. Before home care I was self employed and looked after myself, entering home care saw me employ others to work with. This was great as I knew I could scale my business by leveraging other people's time. The reality was, I wasn't equipped to manage people. I still had a ‘Self employed’ mentality. I wanted to do what I wanted, when I wanted without having my business systemized and being in control.
My attitude to business was poor at best. I had great ideas but didn't know how to communicate them effectively. The environment I worked in was a mess. People were left to make things up as they went along and I let them as it was convenient.
If you don't manage your environment it will control you.
When you let staff do what they want they will do what THEY want. They have no idea where you want the business to go so they come up with their own ideas. The problem is, every member of staff will have a different idea and way of working. The office becomes chaotic and a very unhappy place to work. The system for growth gets watered down and fails. If you truly want a successful Care business everyone has to work towards a common goal. When everyone knows where they are going they get there quicker. This is a massive benefit to you as the owner because your business becomes easier to scale & Grow. Staff are happier and you make more money.
Being out of control is hard to manage - Being in control is easy to manage. It's your choice but by implementing the following strategies will definitely change your business for the better.
Why you should take the time to manage your environment
Trust me, I learned the hard way. I thought I was a success because my company was growing. I won a tender and the work flowed in. In my mind I had ‘made it’ Staff did the work for me and I had an easy life. What I couldn't see was the volcano in my business that was about to erupt. As more work flowed in and staff did what they wanted the pressure on them grew. I wasn't leading them and cracks appeared.
Problems started and I would be called to the office to sort things out. What happened was, I started to be summoned to the office all the time. Every day was another problem I had to fix. I was constantly fighting fires and patching up cracks.
It became exhausting and my energy levels dropped. I was no longer enjoying my business and my mental health started to suffer. Everything was out of control, staff and myself were very unhappy.
I would hold meetings in the office and ‘Tell’ the staff what to do, they would nod, agree and forget everything I said as soon as I'd left. They weren't bad people, they were tired as well, they never felt included so they paid. lip service to my requirements and did what they were used to - managing the business on their own and letting me sort the mess out.
At this stage if I had taken time to manage my environment effectively, I would have had a happier healthier business, my health wouldn't have declined and I would have made more money. Looking back and knowing what I know now I wish I had asked for help.
I thought asking for help was a weakness so I made things up as I went along. This caused me to make many mistakes that the help would have avoided. I lost good staff because they found better employers and my business declined due to my mistakes,
How to implement Healthy strategies into your business.
The first thing you need to do is understand exactly where you want your business to go. When you have clarity on your future it's easier to plan to get there.
Secondly, you must involve your staff to help create the company vision and plan. Staff are pivotal in Scaling your business. Without them you will never achieve success. When they are involved and plans are ‘their ideas’ they take ownership. In the past I would hold meetings, and dictate what would happen. As mentioned, as soon as I'd left the office staff continued to do what they were used to.
When I involved staff in decision making, creating visions and plans they took ownership. Staff became excited about ideas and they worked harder to make their ideas work.
I could give staff my idea and it would be ignored, Staff would think of the same idea and they wouldn't want it to fail. After all who wants to see their own idea fail!!!
Another great way to take control of your environment is to only reward staff when they go over and beyond their pay structure. In the past I rewarded staff for every little achievement. I forgot I was already paying them to make these achievements. I was so desperate for a happy workforce I gave bonuses and rewards all the time. This resulted in staff expecting rewards all the time. They were not prepared to go over and beyond what was expected so they did the minimum and got rewarded.
To take control, I stopped doing this and made sure everyone knew what was expected by holding regular supervisors and going through job descriptions. I put targets in place and rewarded staff when targets were met.
Now I had staff who pushed for success as my success was also theirs. Staff knew where they and the company were going. They had input into plans and visions and took ownership. They were happy and motivated. The environment we all worked in was healthy and happy. We worked as a team and helped each other when we failed.
I got more time with my family and my health returned. I felt good and successful. I finally had a business to be proud of and fell in love with care again.
And you can do exactly the same, It takes time but is very worthwhile. Having a company where you are in control is a wonderful thing, great things will only ever happen when you are in control, So take that brave pill, speak to staff, involve them, let them come up with ideas, trust them and reward when they exceed expectations. This will make your Home care company a pleasure to run.