When I was in international trade, there were complex processes involved in picking up shipments.   For example,  when a shipment arrived from Thailand or Europe, it meant that someone must to arrive at a port of exit at an appropriate time, board the vessel or airplane that arrived in the United States, clear customs, receive the shipment and deliver it promptly to the customer. Customers didn’t care about how complicated the process was.  They were only interested in that we were committed to service in terms of time and price. 

Frequently, an employer will ask for more work from an employee, more than what the basic job description may have identified.  I have been guilty of this to accomplish an important task but also because I felt some employees were capable of doing more. At times we can push too hard in ways that leave the employee overcommitted.  This requires the staff member to make choices about what work to do and what work to delay.

Experience as taught me that when I had additional work thrust in my direction, I would sit down with my boss and explain my current projects and how my committed time was already scheduled.  Then, I asked my supervisor how to delay or delete some tasks in order to take on the new assignment. Sometimes I just wanted my manager to realize my dilemma and figure out another way to get the task done without me. However, when an employee finds themselves in an untenable position, it may be time to start looking for another job.  

Catey Hill of MarketWatch wrote an article in which she shares habits of the highly successful.  They are habits we can learn from. Here’s a summary:

Prospects and customers seem to have shorter attention spans every year. If a video or website doesn’t catch the user in a few seconds, they’re gone. Likewise, when a customer checks out a product or service; we need to hook them quickly.

I like going to state or county fairs. Part of the experience I enjoy, is to check out sales booths. Those that caught a person’s attention quickly tended to have customers.  However, when it took people several moments to figure out the product or service; it caused folks to pass by.

All of us like to be understood.  A recent study by Businessolver, titled “2019 State of Workplace Empathy” documented that 93% of employees would stay with an empathetic employer. Furthermore, the study indicated 82% of employees would leave their position to work for a more empathetic organization. 

When you drive down the street and see help wanted signs everywhere, you recognize the critical problem that employee retention is.  However, it’s not always about the money.