Who’s ready for some football? Tomorrow, the NFL regular season kicks off, with the Steelers taking on the Patriots. It’s a matchup of two storied teams and two Super Bowl winning head coaches in Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin.
Those coaches are successful because they put their teams in position to win week in and week out. How can you do that in your field service business? Here are five tips to help get you started:
Understand What Makes Them Tick
Randy Moss was an enigma. He took plays off. He famously left the field in disgust before the end of a game. He sprayed water at a referee. And when Bill Belichick traded for him in 2007, most people thought he was washed up. But under Belichick he flourished, catching an NFL record 23 touchdown passes and leading the Patriots to a 16-0 regular season.
One of the first things you need to do to help your team flourish is understand what makes them tick. Understand what motivates them. Understand their work habits. Understand how they react to conflict. Understand how to give them feedback. Understand their decision-making skills.
By grasping all of things, you’ll better be able to relate to your employees and help them do their jobs better. One of the tools we use at HIndSite to assess these attributes is a DiSC assessment. This is a simple survey that your employee completes and then you typically receive a roughly 50 page report that indicates how to deal with that employee.
Not only will this help you understand your employees, but it can also help you hire. For example, you can assess your best employees and then assess your job candidates and try to find similar employees in your hiring process.
Show Them How They Contribute to Success
In the NFL, perhaps no one is more unnoticeable than the long snapper. Typically, he only play a couple snaps a game, hiking the ball during field goals and punts. But it’s an important position, as highlighted during the playoff game in 2002 between the Giants and 49ers. The Giants had blown a 24 point lead, but were in position to kick the winning field goal with 6 seconds remaining. Recently signed long snapper Trey Junkin - who had come out of retirement for the game - snapped the ball low and to the left, and the Giants lost the game. Every single person on the 53-man NFL roster contributes to winning and losing.
Make sure your team understands the importance of their role and how they contribute to the success of the team. Most managers make the mistake of thinking that everyone is motivated by their own self interest and that money and pay is king. But most people aren’t. They want to make a difference. If they feel their work isn’t contributing to your business success, they won’t enjoy their job. And if they don’t enjoy the job, they won’t be successful.
Ensure They Understand the Importance of Their Job
LIttle-known Malcolm Butler clinched the Patriots Super Bowl victory last year by intercepting a pass at the goal line in the final seconds. He earned all the praise - rightfully so - but overlooked on the play was the contribution made by Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner. He strong-armed Seahawks wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, who was trying to setup a pick play on Butler, enabling Butler to have a wide open lane to intercept the ball. Browner did his job, helping another teammate make a play that earned them the Super Bowl victory.
Make sure your team understands the importance of their job. For example, if you own a lawn maintenance business, make sure your team understands the importance of doing the job right every time. Show them how their work leads to contract renewals and business growth. As Brandon Browner showed, it’s the little things that are often overlooked that lead to success.
Reward Innovation
In last year’s playoffs, the Patriots confused the Ravens by lining up Shane Vereen in the slot as an ineligible receiver. The Ravens didn’t know how to defense the play and it led to a key first down. It was something the NFL had never seen before (and was soon outlawed by the league). That innovation helped lead the Patriots to the Super Bowl.
You need to innovate in your business to survive. So reward your employees for their innovative ideas. Maybe an employee creates a new assessment in your field service software that captures information that helps you better understand your customers. Maybe a field worker creates a new way to organize their truck to save time and make finding parts easier. Whatever the it is, push your employees to innovate, and reward them when they do.
Encourage Growth in All Areas of Their Life
Each year the NFL hands out the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award to an NFL player honoring not only their work on the field, but their charity work off it. It’s a great way to honor off-the-field activities that often go largely unseen by NFL fans.
Encourage your employees to grow outside of work, too. Some companies give employees a rolling day off that they can use for a charitable endeavor of their choice. Others take a day to volunteer as a tea in their community. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you offer employees an opportunity to learn and grow outside of work. It will give them a sense of purpose that will help them perform better at work, too.
Want some more tips on how to improve your business? Then check out our free eBook, 33 Stupid Things Contractors Do (And How to Fix Them).
