How Do You Know You Have Manipulative, Lazy Management and Workers?

Sometimes it is hard to tell when workers are slacking when middle managers and supervisors act as barriers to keep information away from you such as: crucial details about customer service, disciplinary practices, customer complaints, wasteful company spending, poor sales performance and more.    If you aren't tracking, rarely look at data, and ignore warning signs, it isn't any wonder that you will find yourself either on the hopping block or chopping someone else's block! 

When you are distracted by other less relevant meeting topics, slow in getting requested data, or blatantly denied access to front line workers, these are sure signs that there is something they don't want you to know!  The outspoken, disgruntled and top performing employees typically have experiences they would. love to share, but if there isn't anything put in place to encourage them to open up their mouths without gatekeepers blocking them, you might as well continue to be deceived and/or possibly ripped off.  

For those who are sincerely concerned about their businesses, keep reading, this blog entry will stimulate some thoughts on what you have been overlooking and what you as a manager, investor, and owner need to improve upon. Too many executives are either too busy or slacking themselves because of that, it is quite easy to shield them from business challenges that should have been long addressed years ago, but were swept under the rug!

1) How much money is truly being allocated to: pay employees, purchase company supplies, marketing, customer appreciation activities, etc. or NOT? Very easy to move money from one place to the next.

2) How much time is really being spent by managers to train, research, or improve on existing systems/operations?  Kind of hard to do that when they are either pulled in all sorts of directions or running from pertinent responsibilities.

3) Who is consistently opening early and closing late?  So what is happening during the day that the same people are being paid overtime or not?  Do you really have a staff working or just a couple of people?

4) Who is working more weekends than most? Is that really by choice? Maybe but then again maybe not.

5) Who is often taking breaks and who isn't? Burnout will surely make someone freak out!

6) Are deadlines often being missed? A little too much talking by the water cooler, personal tasks during company hours, or phone conferences with the favorites?

7) Who continues to come late to meetings or not show up at all? Why is this person in leadership again?

8) What does the data say about profits and where are you gaining or losing money?  Why such a significant difference in the numbers?  What or who is causing such a significant rise and fall?

9) Why is there a high turnover and are you speaking to those employees who are still left and checking in with Human Resources on reasons why employees recently left?  Maybe the job board review sites will help you with that.

10) What does the data reveal about those on leave and when exactly are they coming back?  Is someone not following up?  Lots of money going out for zero work.

When leadership doesn't closely look at the data while checking for patterns and inconsistencies, conduct one-on-one interviews, research, and hold workers accountable, you will surely have employee challenges that not only reveal laziness or incompetence, but also poor, excuse-making leaders with many secrets hired to supposedly navigate the team.  What is of bigger concern is how they use various manipulative strategies to protect their paychecks while robbing companies blind.

Nicholl McGuire is the blog owner, inspirational speaker and author.