What do I do when my staff won’t follow instructions?
My buddy, let's call him George, was talking with me on zoom the other day. He runs a mid 6-figure service business and I was asking him about his SOPs.
"I've got a lot of SOPs!" he said.
"Are they clear and easy to understand?," I replied.
"I think so…they have a lot of video recordings," George said.
"Dude, do you have anything written down? With bullet points?", I asked
"No." he said
"You need both, you need clear bullet points that are readable AND short videos that are around 2-5 minutes, but not longer."
Then he unleashed the real issue.
"But even after I make them, they don't get followed!" he lamented.
I've been through this before and have a 6-step way to fix it .
Quick Intro: I'm Eric Horwitz and I scaled my service business from $1.3M to $10.2M in 19 months and it takes me half day a week to manage. Now, I help service companies grow fast while working less. Just visit winwinwitheric.com to book a call.
- Ownership: This is your fault, not their's.
This might be controversial, but it's true.
The fact that they aren't following instructions, is not their fault. It's yours! The reason your clients or the delivery of your services aren't going well is all your fault.
Do you know why?
Because YOU hired them. (No one forced you to)
You chose to keep this person around and you probably didn't do the steps below.
So first, take ownership of this issue.
And this is the FIRST step to fixing the problem… is admitting it's your own fault…because everything in your business, the good and the bad, are (mostly) under your control. And that's a good thing!
- Ensure the SOP is clear and simple
Writing an SOP needs a few things:
- Clear bullet points on what to do
- Short screen shares with voiceover (loom.com does this well)
- It should be about 2-4 pages (break it down into smaller SOPs if needed)
- Save them all in an easy-to-find google sheet with a clear title
- It should cover 80% of what needs to get done, to get the desired result. Don't try to be 100% perfect.
- Demonstrate EXACTLY how to do it.
I know it's easy to just "write stuff down" and "make a video" and say "go do it!"
But I honestly feel it's important to take that very human step of sitting down with someone in-person (or mostly likely on zoom) and doing the task live from start to end.
Go through it, just one time.
It shouldn't take more than 10-30 minutes. It'll also help you fill in any holes in the SOP and fix them.
- Have your staff DO the exact SOP, right then and there.
Now delete what you just did and have your staff redo it. It might take another 10-30 minutes, but it can be done with you next to them, or with you checking in at the end to ensure it's done. It depends on the complexity of the task.
Recently, I showed my assistant how to reset our weekly meeting just the way I like it. It's complex as you need to update what vendors I have to pay, KPIs on a scorecard, updates on key projects, update on to-do items, and organize the issues to go over.
I did it, then handed it to her. Then I deleted my work and she redid it perfectly.
- Hand The Task Over
Great! Now it's in their realm to get it done well. Be sure to check-in the first few times and fix any SOPs issues, but you the task should get done smoothly.
- Send a Conversation Recap if it's not done correctly
I've made whole videos on how to do a Conversation Recap on my youtube channel, so go there to see how to do it.
Quickly, a "Conversation Recap" is a 1-on-1 conversation about what mistakes were made followed by an email recap of everything discussed. The goal it to ensure the staff member knows that they have to follow the instructions correctly, or there are consequences.
You're setting the exact framework, and it's their job to follow it or not.
And if they don't follow it…what do you think happens?
They're gone, and you find someone who will run your business in a successful way.
Trust me, there are plenty of people who will work for you and make your life easier.
Just follow these steps.
Are you ready to scale your service company? I’ve helped clinics, staffing companies, and others get past operational roadblocks, overworked CEOs, and revenue thresholds through 1-on-1 customized consulting. Book a call and I'll diagnose your exact issue with solutions at www.winwinwitheric.com.