Your Team Is Keeping You Broke: Tighten Your Team, Bolster Your Bottom Line
You’ve put your heart into your business, and it only makes sense that as a purpose-driven entrepreneur, you put your heart into your team, too. Loyalty and enthusiasm are hard to find, and it can be difficult to recognize when you need to let go of an employee or if the people on your team are coachable. Unfortunately, underperforming team members can force other staff to pick up the slack, and if the entire team is ineffective, that leaves you to bear the burden. To prevent your team from keeping you broke, it’s important to understand how you can optimize your workforce.
4 Team Member Archetypes Keeping You Broke
If you’ve assessed your cash flow and determined that you, as a business owner, are not taking too much from the honey jar, it may be time to look to your team. Although your team members likely aren’t blatantly stealing from you, they could be keeping your business from thriving. By identifying potential points of weakness, you can either help these employees improve their work ethic or ultimately cut them loose. Keep an eye out for these signs of team members who need some extra guidance or correction:
The Chaotic or Distracted Team Member
If an employee serves as a source of distraction to the entire team, they are likely negatively affecting your bottom line. Distractors may sing out loud with their headphones on or hit reply-all with unnecessary memes. This chaotic teammate may not realize that what they’re doing is intrusive, but others have noticed. And it’s making them cranky. It is your responsibility to approach the distractor for the sake of your team’s sanity and your revenue.
The Lazy and Nonchalant Employee
The service that an employee provides is of financial value to the business. If a team member is producing mediocre or subpar services, it costs you money. This employee may fail to meet deadlines, call in sick too frequently, or have a poor attitude toward customers. Quickly address these behaviors to ensure other team members don’t follow suit.
The Financially Ambiguous Teammate
A financially ambiguous team member isn’t outwardly stealing from the company, but they are vague regarding business funds. They may not return unused funds left over from a trip or order the most expensive wine when using the company card for a lunch meeting. Financial ambiguity is challenging to catch. Be sure to keep an eye out for your team’s spending habits if they are on the company’s dime.
The Bad Manager
Unfortunately, this category is likely directed toward you, the entrepreneur. You are still a member of the team, and your business decisions significantly impact the business. Be sure to differentiate between personal finances and business-related funds, as this is a problem that most entrepreneurs face. Although you may need to take a salary cut during a slow month, try to avoid giving yourself unnecessary bonuses. This can quickly lead to you and your business going broke.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Although you may care for your team members as if they were family, you must still protect yourself and your business. By identifying these potential weak points in your workforce, you can provide your employees with the coaching they need. If you need support in developing your team, work with me. Reach out to learn how I can optimize your team’s productivity. Interested in reading more about why your team could be keeping you broke? Download the e-book here.
