How Important is a 121 with your staff? What is a 121 all about?
- Nicola Hickinbotham
- Nov 16, 2020
- 2 min read
Practical advice of running a successful business. One of the most important parts of running a successful business is ensuring your staff are happy, I feel in my experience this often gets overlooked and if on the surface everything is alright a lot of business do not take the time to invest in their staff.
Some of the below questions/statements may sound familiar to you:
Are your staff happy?
Are your staffed fulfilled?
Are your staff in the right roles?
Do your staff have training needs?
Do you staff feel the same about your business as you do? If not do you ask yourself why?
What is a 121?
What questions do I ask?
Will the staff feel I am telling them off?
Is a 121 a positive or a negative?
I have not got time to do a 121!
What do I do if there is conflict?
How can my staff be open and honest to me?
Will they worry if they have an idea for my business and they feel they can not share it with me?
There are so many questions about this topic.
I would say having regular 121’s with your staff is vital for the success of your business and their wellbeing . This really shows you care for them as people and of course ensures they are committed and driven to the success of your business.
A lot of business will outsource this task to someone who is more detached from the everyday workings of the business. However, just like a coach, you do not need to know the ins and outs of a business to know where resources may be required.
I have recently worked with an Estate Agent which has involved, coaching, business development, better procedures and a great deal of staff training. It has also included 121’s with all staff every six months. This has been really successful as the staff have felt they can be more open and honest with me than their ‘boss’ to whom they have to be on their best behaviour with. They have also come up with some fabulous ideas about the business as the 121’s have allowed them to speak freely about the positive and negative issues that affect them in their job role and the company . The general content of the 121 is fed back to the business owner to then ensure changes are set in place.
The outcome of a successful 121 is:
Happier staff
Increased Performance
Brilliant ideas shared that may not be usually
Business Growth
Increase in income
Dedicated team.
If your staff are happy, the business will thrive.
I would be delighted to help you and your business. With my excellent communication skills, motivation and experience with staff and business, this will add value to you, your business and the team spirit which is so important for great morale and work ethos.
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