Articles

Power Follow-Ups

Categories: Business Management

For team leaders, supervisors, or managers, observation coaching involves something I call “power follow-ups.” This strategy is extremely important as we look to the future of our industry and your successful place in it.

To do this, if you see or hear something that is not the standard set by your organization, try taking the following steps.

Observe

You go out to observe an employee, Joe, cleaning an office he has been assigned for a month. Since Joe was hired, you have heard from your customer that things are being overlooked. You contact Joe in advance to inform him you will stop by to do a quick inspection. This should be familiar to all of your staff if this is a part of your standard operating procedures.

During your time inspecting Joe’s work, you notice a couple of things:

• The employee breakroom is sparkling clean—even the top of the refrigerators have been wiped down, and the floors look spotless.
• In the restroom nearest the lead manager’s office, you notice that the paper towel dispenser is almost out of towels. You know that Joe has cleaned this restroom. The top of the dispenser is dusty, too. This sub-standard work has been the main focus of the customer’s complaints.

What do you focus on as a team leader/supervisor/manager? The temptation is to focus only on what needs to be corrected. The tendency is to drill down on the deficiencies to eliminate the complaints. After all, ongoing complaints can turn a loyal customer into a “shopper”—looking for another cleaning company to take your place.

Follow-up with feedback

I suggest focusing on both the great and the substandard work. Give your employee specific feedback.

1. Substandard work. Review what Joe needs to work on—refilling paper towel dispensers, filling the soap dispensers, dusting flat surfaces throughout the restroom, etc. Remind him that overlooking “little” things can add to something significantly bad over time. Always remind him that quality matters. Get his verbal commitment to step up this part of his work.
2. Great work. Always end with praise. Be specific in your praise from what you observed. Tell Joe that when the work is done this way, he is helping to define the company’s brand. This leads to more referrals for business. And this kind of work defends against reputation losses.
3. Connect the dots. Tell Joe that you know he can be consistent in his quality. He has already demonstrated this. Thank him for his commitment to quality.

Do you think Joe will make the changes? You bet! He knows that you know how he is working. You just witnessed it. He also knows that you are intentionally watching him and that he now has his marching orders. Soon, stop by again to inspect. I bet you’ll see consistency. I bet you won’t get many negative reports from that customer.

After the follow-up inspection, be sure to be specific in your praise of Joe’s work. And thank him. Write him a note to say thanks. Be sure to document all of these interactions.

You have just provided specific feedback on your employee’s performance.

He performed + you observed + you coached/praised = a power follow-up.

Observing coupled with a power follow-up also works with negative behavior. The secret here is to give your power follow-up in a more private environment, such as your office or a side room away from other employees. You never want to embarrass a team member in front of others on the team. It will only demotivate or anger that person.

Someone once said, “You have to inspect what you expect.” That means getting out and observing. Coaches get involved in their player’s performance.

About the Author.

Jim Johnson is the business development manager at Ciocca Cleaning & Restoration in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Ciocca has been in business since 1997, serving the greater Fort Wayne area.