Take good care of your people first!

I love those days when I was responsible for a large team. There was a guy in my team who complained he had so many calls to handle. In the same team, there was another person who was hardly having any work to do. I told the first guy that the second guy would be happy if he also had so many calls to handle. The second guy nodded his head in agreement. If someone does not have enough work, you know what happens next. The inevitable would happen. It is important to ensure that your team gets enough work to do.

We had a team that was handling Siebel support work at a clients place. It was tightly managed. No one had any free time. Suddenly, one member was down with some illness. He had to be sent back to his homeland. This happened when I was working in Singapore & my team member who was unwell was from Indonesia. The medical reimbursement covered his expenses to some extent. I spoke to him over phone one day after he reached Indonesia. And I understood that he needs financial support.

I went to my CFO. Asked her if she could help my guy. She promised she will do whatever she can. I wasn’t sure if that would meet his expenses. So, I decided to raise funds for him.

I decided to start the collection from my boss. So, I went to him. He was the Founder & CEO. I didn’t have to speak much or try hard to convince him. The moment I spoke about how Dennis badly needs our help & my initiative of raising funds outside of what the company can do, he smiled & took out his wallet immediately & gave me a generous amount. That moment, remains etched in my memory.

I then went on to all the heads & everyone at office. We collected a respectable sum. We handed the cash & the list to our Accounts. They sent it to my guy back home. I felt really happy.

My boss, who set the ball rolling with my fund raising, was none other than Mr.Harish Nim. He walks the extra mile in keeping his people happy. The company he founded [Emerio] grew leaps & bounds. Two things stood out, in my view: 1. Strong customer relationship 2. People management.

Take Away:

1. Care for your people as much as you would care for your customers, if not more.
2. Let your customers know they can reach anyone in your company anytime.
3. Be generous.
4. Don’t always follow the processes & policies. They are fine but that doesn’t mean you can’t break them to do something good.
5. Trust your people. Your people expect more trust not more pay.
6. Ensure your team has enough work & you stand out of the way.
7. Let your people take breaks from work.
8. Enjoy your work.
9. Take risks.
10. Be a role model.

Happy Selling!!