Even the most successful organization runs the risk of falling into a comfortable rut. And if you allow your company to become too complacent, this will stunt growth. Another issue faced by businesses that have come out of a rut and/or risked going under is how to keep the momentum going once it is built again.
3C Contact Services, the leading provider of outsourced call center solutions, tells their partners that there are a variety of ways they can avoid settling into a rut and keep the forward momentum going, even after achieving their goals.
Ask for Input
Hand out a survey to your workers that asks them what areas they feel could use further improvement or what some of their objectives or ideas are. Inquire about what they think the organization’s goals should be going forward and how to keep the momentum going. This can also help you to find out which of your workers have the most potential.
Implement the Goals
Once your workers have provided their input, look at the ideas you feel will be the most feasible. From there, assign implementing them to the employees you feel will be the most capable. Be sure to put the employee who came up with the idea in charge or place them on the team so they will feel that they are being included. This will also give you an indication of who is on the ball and which employees need improvement.
And remember, keep the momentum going! If even one team member starts to slow down, it can affect the entire organization.
Create Weekly and Monthly Goals
Now that you’ve implemented projects to keep the momentum going and handed it over to your employees, supervise them and make sure that they are keeping to their goals on a weekly and/or monthly basis. If they start to fall behind, discuss why it is happening and work on ways to get back on track again. The goals can include everything from making a certain number of sales to signing up a specific number of clients.
Staff may not realize that they are starting to fall into a rut again, but letting them know can be all the prompting they need. Or if there is another reason, such as a lack of ideas, a brainstorming session might be all that’s required to get employees back on course.
Also, let them know that the organization’s profitability depends on meeting these goals. And offer your employees incentives to make these goals, such as a pay bonus or, if that isn’t feasible, other prizes, such as a monthly lunch or an afternoon off work with regular pay.
Even if your organization is doing well, don’t get too complacent. At 3C Contact Services, we tell our partners that they must implement strategies to keep the momentum going once it is started. Creating goals for your team is just one of the strategies to keep the ball rolling!
Source:
Blickenstaff, G., “How to Keep the Momentum Going,” Inc. web site, January 5, 2012; http://www.inc.com/glen-blickenstaff/how-to-keep-the-momentum-going.html.
