“Your business isn’t your product or service; it’s your people.” - Paul Lipscomb.
This is the final week of Season 2 of the Leadership After Hours podcast. (Don’t worry, the Modern Conscious Leader newsletter will keep coming!) We have had so many amazing guests from a variety of backgrounds. We talked with Processio Strategic Services founder and CEO Paul Lipscomb this week. His company is a full-service HR company that focuses on fast-growing small to midsize businesses. He gives us major insight into what companies do great with Human Resources and where they fall short. Every business is a people business, and the movement away from big corporate HR that only plays compliance, mediator, and payroll officer is happening right now.
Here are a few of my takeaways and highlights from our discussion:
Listen to employees. I know, duh, right? Not so fast. Companies need a consistent system and process to elicit key employee feedback to inform leader decisions. Regular climate surveys are a great starting point, but I would argue that an effective counseling system that focuses on performance, development, and feedback is the real secret to ensuring your company does this right.
Focus more on ROI and less on expenses. Paul mentions that business leaders often focus on the expense (short-term thinking) associated with people and leader development, but they should be focused on the Return on Investment (long-term thinking). Most likely, the annual cost of an effective leadership development program will be covered by NOT losing one middle manager. All the data shows us that people don’t leave bad jobs; they leave bad managers.
Focus as much on your exit Interviews as you do your hiring interviews. You'll soon be a broke organization if you’re not a learning organization. Turnover is expensive. Repeated unnecessary turnover because you didn’t learn your lesson is crushing. Create an open and safe space for exit interviews. This is much easier if your company culture already encourages open and direct dialogue. Now is the time to learn why that person is leaving so you can make an informed decision on how or if you need to address issues inside your company.
Season 3 of the Leadership After Hours podcast will be back in November. I am excited to announce that next season will be an ALL-FEMALE season! We’ve lined up the perfect mix of powerful senior business executives and cutting-edge thought leaders. But I am also excited that next month, you will hear directly from me on mastering your mindset, fulfilling your leadership potential, and building a winning culture.
The world needs more conscious leaders to create the world we all deserve to live in. You are what you consume, and the Leadership After Hours podcast is a great investment in yourself and your future.
Listen Now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2166090/13611911