After decades of managing employees, I finally had the epiphany that there are three types of employees. Problem Creators, Problem Preventers, and Problem Solvers. Here are their definitions:
- Problem Creators: First, these folks are not bad people, full of malice trying to undermine our businesses. It seems that they’re just the ones who, more times than not, create a problem and maybe created the same one two weeks ago. On a regular basis, they’re going to others for answers. A white flag is kept at arm’s reach and is used often.
- Problem Preventers: These folks are the ones who need very little help and are forward-thinking to understand that if we don’t do “X” (preventive measure), then “Y” (a problem) will arise. They’re very good at self-managing and need very little help. Now, if a Problem Creator comes to them with a problem, they’re rarely any help, as they’re busy preventing their own problems. Besides that, they have little patience for the Problem Creator.
- Problem Solvers: These folks are the go-to for the Problem Creators and visit them often. Problem Solvers have a sixth sense of studying a problem and discovering a solution quickly. They could be the smartest person in the shop, but it’s not necessarily a prerequisite. Most times, it’s a combination of responsibility of caring about the business, common sense, and of course, a certain level of intelligence.
Now that we have determined the three types of employees, what can we as owners and managers do to make our business better? Well, we must do our best to move the folks in the Problem Creator category into at least the Problem Preventer category.
One of my great mentors from years back taught me as a shop owner that we are responsible for raising the problem-solving ability of all our employees. First, with the complexity of vehicles today, dealing with insurance companies, OEM procedures, parts procurement, etc., we are going to have problems. So, if you think about it, we really don’t have time for the Problem Creators in our shops. Granted, sometimes it’s easier to just fire a Problem Creator, but let’s at least work with them before we do that.
To start with, I am not one to candy-coat things anymore inside my shop. I have made it public in our shop meetings about how the Problem Solvers are going to be the highest paid folks, and the Problem Creators are going to be at the bottom of the totem pole. I pay the Problem Solvers very well, and their job is not to fix problems the Problem Creators have created, but to fix new problems. I have encouraged the Problem Solvers to challenge the Problem Creators when a problem is brought to them with these questions:
- What is the problem?
- How could it have been prevented?
- If I were not here today — or imagine you were the only person in this shop — what might be a good solution you could come up with? We can’t just easily give them the solution.
When they are forced to think on their own, they will raise their level of problem-solving ability. Otherwise, the brain is no different than a muscle in our bodies. The more weights and the more reps, the stronger we become. The more we force them to use their own brain power and not ours, the more problem-solving ability they create for themselves. Secondly, if someone else finds a problem in our shop that a Problem Creator created, we MUST make the originator fix it. This is crucial! It’s no different than what it takes to raise good and responsible children.
In my shop, we have a public problem board. It has three columns: Admin, Parts, Tech. Whenever a problem is discovered by any employee, it's written down under the correct column where it originated (Admin, Parts, Tech) and discussed as a shop. We review the board every couple of days and erase and start over. It’s not a finger-pointing board but rather a way to prevent the problem from ever happening again. It’s based on the standardized work we have created for every department. Basically, we are trying to determine if we have a problem with our process or if the process was not followed. It can be one or the other or even a combination of both.
Next month, we will be discussing the importance of, as owners/managers, the more we can move everyone on our team into the Problem-Solving category, the higher the average income for each will be. Hopefully, it's soaking in that this comes down to how much we truly respect our employees, our caring for them and their families, that the more our businesses will thrive and expand.
