Make Decisions, Act Fast

Certain strategy decisions take time, maybe strategy decisions that don’t need to leave the board room or the executive suite. These are long-term strategy discussions can actually hurt the business in the long run if the conversation gets to the wrong audience. It’s okay to hold these discussions over weeks, if not months, to make sure every angle is covered and the strategy is implemented without any glitches.

But when it comes to personnel decisions, move fast. Employees, potential new hires, and even existing employees will leave to go where they feel valued. Not having one-on-one conversations with existing employees or not updating any potential new hires on the interview process could give the wrong message.

Simply put, a lack of action loses talent. You’re existing employees will start to look elsewhere when they don’t feel valued. At the same time, most people actively looking for a job are looking at more than just your company. When you neglect them in the interview process, they’re likely going somewhere else that calls them back. I used to have a recruiter who would put interviews on my calendar, often without asking, but the urgency was there to interview candidates she had already vetted. She would often call me as soon as the interview was over. She’d say, “You have to move fast on him, or he’ll go somewhere else. He has a lot of people interested in him!”

Unfortunately, I did sleep on some potentially great hires who ended up somewhere else. My shop could have benefitted from having them there, but I didn’t make decisions fast enough. I managed to stay in touch with a few of them over the years, and they ended up being very successful where they did end up working.

This doesn’t just apply to the interview process but also to promotions and recognition. It’s important to recognize your employees’ hard work throughout the year. This could be something as informal as catching up with them over coffee and letting them know how much you appreciate the hard work they bring every day or formally recognizing them in front of the team.

I had an opportunity to recognize one hard-working employee with what we called a Star Award. Rel had almost singlehandedly gotten the warehouse ready for our annual inventory. At our Thanksgiving lunch, I presented him with a framed copy of his Star Award and thanked him for all of his hard work. As a manager, giving someone the recognition they deserve brings no great joy or satisfaction. Rel came to me the next day to say thank you. He told me that when he got home from work the night before, he showed his daughters his award. They were so proud of their dad’s accomplishments!

This is why we have to make decisions and move fast. The cascading benefits you’ll see from recognizing employees make your job so much better.

A lot of times, potential new hires are interviewing the company’s culture as well. This is why a lot of managers include office tours along with the interview process. They’ll get to see where they may be working, and you’ll get to see them interact with potential new coworkers. I take it a step further and let supervisors and lead team members get a few minutes to ask questions. I’ve found that it helps weed out the ones who may not be the best fit.

Taking an interest in your employees’ success will not only reap benefits but also help your company grow. Taking an interest helps the right employees succeed and move up with your business. Showing that you care about their success helps them have a greater interest in your business, which will bring everyone success. But you have to make decisions and act fast. You don’t want to lose out on someone who could be great.