There are many reasons why you shouldn’t read this. I’ve never worked 8 hours in an office and my idea of wealth is going to a restaurant and not worring about the bill. I don’t have a fancy life, but I know something you don’t: your employees. I’m the girl coming to your company every week to improve the English skills of your workers; the one with a backpack and jeans you probably haven’t noticed. I’m the one who gets gifts from your people, the one who’s served coffee.
This is the whole section about, things I’ve learnt in your company from your people.
True character cannot be summarized in a CV. Degrees and titles could be misleading and you might miss true potential. Getting to know people takes time and efford but it’s so worthy, and who knows, the future of your company might depend on them. There are talents not easy to see at first sight. This is probably why you put so much money into consultant’s pockets, it’s like hiring someone talk to your children to tell you what they want for Christmas! People come to you with a background, previous experiences and hidden skills and aspirations, and I know you are so busy and the board have no time to fraternize to everybody, but would you agree with me that communication in key factor in business? Well, less than 10% is verbal, the rest is non verbal; that means, if you are not there physically, you missed it.
This is a good reason to invest in middle management. I know when you hire a middle manager you expect efficiency, but that is only going to keep the level. If you want to rise above then hire one with social skills; the one able to chat with the receptionists without missing the target. Hire one (or two) who are both, people and task oriented. It’s not possible to be liked by everybody, but if most of your employees like the middle management, consider yourself blessed.
And how would you know your employees are being taken care of? Maybe it’s time for you to take a coffee with them (and bring sweets!! the element of surprise may be beneficial). Another option is talking to their English teacher. Half of my work is creating a safe space for them to pour out their worries and stress. They don’t care about present perfect if the atmosphere in the work place is tense or gloomy. I think of them as glasses, if they are full I can’t add anything more, so I need to empty them a bit so they might learn new things. Sometimes I feel like a psychologist talking about feelings. I should charge you for that too.
Your workforce is in the end your true treasure. Take them out of the picture and you have nothing. Motivate them with honest and selfless care, and you’ll have a strong business for the years to come.
Yours sincerily
The English teacher
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