Ancient wisdom in modern times

Looking out now the dust seems to be settling. I’m not brave enough to say that we have entered a post-COVID19 era – we are only one cough away from another dust storm. Who knows what that storm will bring and when it will end, but for now we are breathing a little bit easier – all be it through our n95 masks. Looking at the companies that survived and even thrived during the pandemic there is a common theme. Those that did well cared about their people.

There is a Māori saying that goes, “Māku e kī atu, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata” – what is the most important thing in this world? It is people, it is people, it is people. When it comes to building a better tree care business, he tangata (it is people). I could stop there, nothing more needs to be said. But three words does not make an article.

Based on the pages and pages of how to care for your staff on the internet, clearly looking after staff is something people find hard to do; it needn’t be. You don’t need to be everybody’s friend and you don’t need to burden yourself with other people’s woe. Just treat others how you want to be treated – with respect and dignity.

As an employer you need to care, as a manager you need to care, as a crew leader you need to care. The most complex thing about caring is that care must be genuine. But how do you demonstrate genuine care? Here are some simple ways:

• Take time to say hello. Once or twice a week invest in recognising your people. Say hi, and listen to their stories. Let them tell you who they are and what’s going on. As a manager, you might not be in the loop, but there is no excuse for not staying pretty close to it.

• When your people have done well, let them know. Acknowledge the extra, and consider the good when managing the bad. If they have stuffed up, choose the moment. If you need to correct someone, do it with an outcome in mind – and no, venting your displeasure isn’t an outcome. Discipline should be about them, what they did and what they need to do – it is not about you.

• Discuss the future. Employees want to know what the future holds for their careers. They want to know that there is a plan for them, but be wary of the timeline. I’m not exactly sure which generation I am let alone what others are (Millennials, Gen Z, Alpha’s…), whatever the case their expectations of the future are probably different from yours. Apparently, Millennials change jobs every 2.8 years and arborists tend to be a transient bunch, so there is a good chance that you will lose some of your staff, but if you are good to them you might get them back. Play the long game.

• There is a comfort in consistency, unpredictability creates disharmony. Have and use company procedures to manage staff and create consistency. Procedures are the rulebook for everyone to play by. If it says there will be annual reviews, then have annual reviews, if it says that there will be random drug testing, then undertake random drug testing – company procedures are as much for you as they are for your people.

• Remember all the bad employers and bad managers that you have ever had, and don’t be them (note: for some reason good people management sites don’t actually list that as an item). On occasions I have been called into the manager’s office and had the riot act read out to me, sometimes I left the room accepting my actions and respecting the manager, but on other occasions, I left the room angry and scornful of the manager and indeed the company that I was working for. I know what sort of manager I don’t want to be.

And why should you care? According to the internet, poor pay is not the main reason for leaving an employer (and on the flipside – moving for more money isn’t the key driver for change). Pay rates come in at about 5 or 6 as the reason why people stay or move on. Lack of recognition or appreciation is the main reason that people go. It pays to care.

There is of course a flipside to this, as an employee you should also care. Being a decent human being isn’t only confined to the realm of employers and/or managers. One can’t expect to receive respect if one doesn’t give respect. Yes, you can leave, but think about what you’ve got before it’s gone as Joni Mitchell almost once said. Good people make for good workplaces, and that’s all the people, not them. When it comes to building a better tree care business, he tangata (it is people). Ancient wisdom is sometimes just common sense.

Written for Ontario Arborist Magazine