Maybe you’ve started to notice it at local businesses you frequent. The cashier at the supermarket looks unkempt. The new receptionist at the salon has no customer service skills. You thank the waiter for bringing the check, but he doesn’t thank you.
This kind of thing isn’t happening at your business, though. Or is it?
Keeping Staff
A shortage of job candidates has created legitimate employee retention concerns. This has resulted in employers doing more to accommodate workers.
Businesses that in the past would counsel or even fire employees admit, at least anecdotally, to sometimes looking the other way. “It’s hard to find people,” one small business owner said.
Impact on Others
Be that as it may, when relaxing standards, companies risk their reputation, which can have dire business consequences.
Workplace morale and job performance may also suffer, and have an adverse effect on business as well. Here’s one example. A common issue that arises from relaxed standards, that often gets ignored until it becomes impossible to ignore, is the “creep” factor. Slowly but surely, lower standards infect other members of the workforce. “Jane gets away with wearing jeans to work. I’ll wear jeans, too.” Or, “Mason is always late. Why should I worry about what time I get to work?”
Before you know it, the standards and guidelines – if not formal policies – you’ve put in place have fallen by the wayside. At the same time, the image you have worked to create and maintain is in jeopardy.
Areas Affected
In order to ensure that you are maintaining standards, take a look at the following areas where problems tend to occur:
- Dress codes and grooming
- Customer service skills
- Customer relationship management
- Time and attendance
- Production quotas, when applicable
If you have formal policies that address these areas, enforce them. If you don’t, consider creating them. At the very least, advise staff members, and new hires, of standards and expectations.
When an employee doesn’t meet standards, he or she should be reminded of the company’s expectations. If he or she still doesn’t meet company standards, the employment arrangement should end.
Back to the Beginning
What about the candidate shortage? Who will do the work?
Hire temporary employees, if you have to, while you go through the recruiting process again, this time with attention to higher standards.
Because, the bottom line is, when you lower your standards, you reduce the value of your business.
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Paula Santonocito, Contributing Editor for Recruiting Daily Advisor, is a business journalist specializing in employment issues. She is the author of more than 1,000 articles on a wide range of human resource and career topics, with an emphasis on recruiting and hiring. Her articles have been featured in many global and domestic publications and information outlets, referenced in academic and legal publications as well as books, and translated into several languages. |