Manager's Corner - Unhappy Employees Often Mean You Failed To Act
by Liz Weber

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A client recently told me she believes one of her key employees may be looking for a different job. My client was nervous and a bit "defeated." Her employee is smart, efficient, organized, and articulate. She gets along with everyone, works on any project you ask her to, and is willing to try new things. However, she's apparently not happy. When my client and I talked a bit more, I discovered, Sarah (not her real name), was the only full-time employee left in her department besides the department manager. All other staff had resigned over the previous year and their positions had not yet been filled. After a bit more probing, I learned that the department manager is very nice, but disorganized, not able to think strategically, and not a strong manager. Needless to say, it was becoming obvious why Sarah wasn't happy. She was carrying the workload for an entire department and was being "managed" by a weak manager. Would you be happy if you were Sarah?

When you have unhappy employees, it may be an indication there are other problems facing your organization. When your "key" employees are unhappy, there are usually some serious issues facing the company that have been around for some time. Often their unhappiness is a result of your failure to address "known" issues. Your job is to determine what's causing your employees' unhappiness, so they don't leave and leave you unhappy. Sometimes the cause of their unhappiness is rather obvious; sometimes not.

After some strategy and reorganization meetings, my client restructured Sarah's department to ensure "busy" work was eliminated and only mission-critical tasks were still on the departmental To Do list. Sarah's manager is receiving coaching to help her become more organized and a stronger manager. Sarah has also been asked to become a key player on an company-wide project. She'll be operating within an aggressive team structure with specific project deliverables and deadlines. Sarah's excited, energized, and looking forward to the challenge. It sounds crazy but she was just handed more work -- and she's happy.

In reviewing the situation and talking with Sarah, we quickly learned she was frustrated with her manager and her current "mind-numbing" work. Sarah likes to challenge herself mentally as well as to "get things done." Her new work on the special project will help accomplish that, while the reduction in non-essential busy work will help her "get things done" quickly. In the meantime, her manager is now more productive and is reorganizing her department and aggressively seeking staff. My client has two employees who are now happier and more productive, in large part because my client finally took action.

If you have unhappy employees, what action do you need to take?

Copyright 2006, 2008 - Liz Weber, CMC - Weber Business Services, LLC.
WBS is a team of Strategic Planning and Leadership Development Consultants, Trainers, and Speakers. Liz can be reached at liz@wbsllc.com or (717)597-8890.
Additional FREE articles can be found at http://www.wbsllc.com/leadership.shtml
Liz can be reached at mailto:liz@liz-weber.com

Permission to reprint this article is granted as long as you use the complete attribution above - including live website link and e-mail address - and you send me an email at liz@wbsllc.com to let me know where the article will be published.

Author's Bio
In the words of one client, "Liz Weber will help you see opportunities you never knew existed."

A sought-after consultant, speaker, and seminar/workshop presenter, Liz is known for her candor, insights, and her ability to make the complex "easy." She creates clarity for her audiences during her results-oriented presentations and training sessions.

Participants walk away from her sessions knowing how to implement the ideas she's shared not just once, but over and over to ensure continuous improvement and management growth and development.

This former Dragon Lady has been there, done it, and learned from it. Whether speaking to corporate executives or government agency personnel, Liz's comments and insights ring true.

As the President of Weber Business Services, LLC, a management consulting, training, and speaking firm headquartered near Harrisburg, PA, Liz and her team of consultants provide strategic and succession planning, management policy & systems development, employee training, as well as marketing and media outreach services.

Liz has supervised business activities in 139 countries and has consulted with organizations in over 20 countries. She has designed and facilitated conferences from Bangkok to Bonn and Tokyo to Tunis. Liz has taught for the Johns Hopkins University's Graduate School of Continuing Studies and currently teaches with the Georgetown University's Senior Executive Leadership Program.

Liz is the author of 'Leading From the Manager's Corner', and 'Don't Let 'Em Treat You Like a Girl - A Woman's Guide to Leadership Success (Tips from the Guys)'. Her 'Manager's Corner' column appears monthly in several trade publications and association newsletters.