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The employee complaints department...

Written by: Michiel Jonker

Article Overview: Your employees need clear direction, policies and reporting channels from you as business owner to tell you the truth about your business... and maybe they just tell you where the black hole in your business is, sucking up your profits!

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The employee complaints department...

Although your customers need clear direction from your company to ask questions, provide feedback or lodge a complaint, it is also true that your employees need clear direction. For example clear:

1) Reporting channels; and

2) Grievance procedures

I know a business owner who didn’t establish and enforce, and still refuses to do so, clear reporting channels and grievance procedures in her business.

While she loves to identify people to "supervise" and be "responsible" for certain employees, she does NOT empower these employees to supervise in an effective way.

She literally throws a tantrum when her “supervisors” try to solve work-related problems or employee grievances. Further, no one in her company is 100% sure who are the supervisors; making it extremely difficult for them to function and to perform their duties. On Monday John is Craig’s supervisor… BUT on Tuesday it is Mary’s turn to report to John and not Craig (and Craig has to be careful not to ask John anything...).

As a result these employees are awfully stressed out; they don’t know who their supervisors are, they don’t know how to lodge a complaint and are ready to pack their bags in a moment’s notice and to give another employer a chance… even at lower salaries.

Stressed out employees do NOT add any value to our businesses. And definitely they do not help us to be profitable!

It is heartbreaking; these employees are aware of many areas in this lady’s business where things really go bad... BUT are too afraid to tell her and, as a result, stay silent. This results in, for this specific lady’s company, unsatisfied customers, eventually a loss of customers, and finally a decline in sales and profits.

This could have been prevented if she hasn’t refused to acknowledge this problem, to listen to her employees and to employ adequate solutions like appropriate reporting channels and grievance procedures.

Though small businesses are typically “entrepreneurial companies” (i.e. flat companies with not so many management levels, supervisors etc.), we still need to implement effective business systems – including the necessary policies, procedures, standards and structures.

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Home > Business-Coach > Michiel Jonker > The employee complaints department
Article Tags: Business Policies

About the Author: Michiel Jonker
RSS for Michiel's articles - Visit Michiel's website

As a Certified Information Systems Auditor, Michiel assists businesses in a professional capacity by evaluating the threats to their businesses. He acquired the necessary knowledge, skills, and techniques to minimize a business owner’s risk of business failure and to maximize his chances of high growth and success. He strongly believes that you CAN maximize your chances of business success, by implementing the business solution he has advocated for more than 12 years in your business plan and planning. Michiel has decided to share his experience with business owners by putting almost everything he knows in a business plan and survival guide (compiled in an e-book format) and written as a high growth SMB coaching course for SMB business owners, directors and managers - titled as the “Survival Kit for Small and Medium Businesses - Profit from your Business Risks!” According to Michiel, his goal was to add new techniques to a business owner’s business planning survival kit and instruct him or her in using these in the future - without any help from a consultant! For more information about the benefits of implementing profit protection planning in your business, please visit: http://www.business-around-the-globe.com

Click here to visit Michiel's website
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What the Better Business Bureau does What the Better Business Bureau does - [quote:1urk8etq]There is such a diversity of businesses out there, how effetive are they in protecting the consumers or entrepreneurs[/quote:1urk8etq] The way I understad it, at least here in the US, every BBB chapterhas a website, and on that website is a list of companies who have had complaints about them. People trying to decide if they want to use a company check that list...and if there's no complaints.... That's why it's imperative for people who have been ripped off to complain to their BBB. It might not help them, but it will help other people down the line. On the other hand, people do sometimes maliciously make complaints about businesses - so I tink the BBB does talk to both sides to see what's what... In addition to the BBB, each state has its own Consumer Protection Agency, and they also inspect claims of wrongdoing.
Document Your Processes Document Your Processes - Make sure that when you do plan on hiring an employee that you document your processes for that employee to follow, even the common sense ones. I recently interviewed a Starbucks employee and was advised that everything including menial tasks were all documented by thier Manager in thier training manual. They very seldom have to ask for clarification. This is important if you plan on having an employee inhouse or even outsourcing. When outsourcing it is more advising about your minimal acceptable standards.
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Re: What the Better Business Bureau does Re: What the Better Business Bureau does - [quote="OmnivoreInk":25i6g5su][quote:25i6g5su]There is such a diversity of businesses out there, how effetive are they in protecting the consumers or entrepreneurs[/quote:25i6g5su] The way I understad it, at least here in the US, every BBB chapterhas a website, and on that website is a list of companies who have had complaints about them. People trying to decide if they want to use a company check that list...and if there's no complaints.... That's why it's imperative for people who have been ripped off to complain to their BBB. It might not help them, but it will help other people down the line. On the other hand, people do sometimes maliciously make complaints about businesses - so I tink the BBB does talk to both sides to see what's what... In addition to the BBB, each state has its own Consumer Protection Agency, and they also inspect claims of wrongdoing.[/quote:25i6g5su] While I was managing a home improvement business, we joined the BBB. They got our file entered in the computer wrong and ended up posting 3 major complaints against us. They were actually for a different company that wasn't related and that wasn't even similar in any way. That caused me a mountain of problems and cost us several big dollar jobs. Eventually they bothered to speak with us - it took about 4 months to fix the problem. That was 4 months after I found out about it. They didn't offer a refund for the months that we had a negative rating, only fixed the problem after I spent many hours pushing them to fix it and they had the nerve to push me to renew my membership. Needless to say, I haven't joined the BBB again. And, they charged me decent money to be a member. Shri
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