The time to sharpen your axe is now, for employees and employers!

The fable – Sharpen your axe

Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant. The pay was really good and so were the working conditions. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.

His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he would work.

The first day, the woodcutter felled 18 trees.

“Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!”

Motivated by the boss words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring down 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he could only manage 10 trees. Day after day, he finished with fewer trees.

“I must be losing my strength,” the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.

“When was the last time you sharpened your axe?,” the boss asked.

“Sharpen? I’ve had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been so busy trying to cut trees….”

Time to sharpen your axe is now

2020 has been a very tough year for many people for various reasons. The economy has taken a big hit, people have had to take pay cuts if they didn’t lose their livelihoods, businesses closed and the road to recovery is not well lit and full of potholes.

But times are changing, we have come a long way and it is getting better. Our currency that shot to over R19 to the Dollar has been hovering under R15 for some time now. Companies have adapted and despite the recent spike in infections I believe it’s going to be all guns blazing in January from all businesses.

Shareholders needed to take the wait-and-see approach, which was the safe, respectable, and acceptable thing to do. But shareholders don’t want to play it safe. If they did they would sell their businesses and put their money in lower risk investments. No, they are looking to get back to their wealth creating ways and that means getting back to business as normal and investing!

When there is chaos there are opportunities, something that Bruce Whitfield writes about in his book, The upside of down and it is amazing to see just how many opportunities there are if you look in the right place.

Why employees need to sharpen their axe

With so many companies closing their doors leading to a rush of new talent to an already overpopulated unemployment pool, if you survived this long you do not want to be the next to get your feet wet. The company that you are working for may not be out of the deep end either so if they are looking to cut resources how are you going to be sure your name will not be on that list?

As per the psychiatrists changing the lightbulb joke, you need to want to change. If you have decided that a change is needed it’s the biggest first step. Now for some action.

A great place to start is with feedback from your boss and your peers. Surely there have been some indication that there is something you can improve upon, if not in a formal performance review maybe even a snarky comment in passing by a co-worker. Whether it be something as small as your time management or larger like working on your soft skills or furthering your studies, you need to identify what you will work on.

Then it’s a good idea to discuss your intention with the right people. Maybe start off in a safe space such as with your family or your partner, even if they will be biased and side with whatever you say it at least opens the dialog to take to the next level. It is always a good idea to discuss these ideas with your mentor and get more concrete feedback or open yourself up to a different way of thinking.

Lastly discuss your intention with your boss and get their input. They may agree or guide you onto a different path entirely but your intention to become a better employee will be known. You can request coaching from your boss or from someone else in the organization. Alternatively, this may be a good opportunity to discuss further learning options and if there is a bursary available if it is in the interest of the company

Why employers need to sharpen their axe

The supply of talent far exceeds the demand which is a great situation for employers and often exploited. Companies don’t need to pay the right salaries and if staff get demanding they can leave, ‘we can always find others’.

What companies often miss is that other companies hold onto the talent they find valuable. If the employee is good, they are treated well, they are paid more and they tend to stay. The talent pool is full of the people that are let go first and, at least in the eyes of the previous employer, are less valuable than the ones that were kept. In some cases, companies used COVID 19 as an excuse to cut all the dead wood. So how much valuable talent is really out there? Can a company find all the right employees to excel the business or will they just to limp on because the competition has all the real talent?

Companies also need to reflect on how they treated people in the tough times. Some companies excelled in 2020 but still cut salaries under the guise of the pandemic. Employees, especially the good ones, are not blind to the fact that they were exploited. If sales were stable or even up and salaries were cut unjustifiably these companies may see a mass exodus of their talent unless it is addressed and corrected.

When all the positions are freed up in the new year and the vacancies are advertised companies should be worried that all their staff’s resumes are updated, ready and waiting to be sent.

Now more than ever bosses need to engage with their teams on a different level, especially if they are still working remotely. Listen to their staff and understand their concerns and their expectations for the new year. If the company did well are shareholders going to pocket all the extra revenue or will the staff be remunerated? Employees understand that 2020 was a survival year and the extra revue from salary cuts was kept in the rainy-day fund. They will not be so understanding if that is no longer the case. If the company did not do well and employees are concerned, they will also look to jump ship and the plan for the future must be shared to keep all the talent the company needs to execute that plan.

What employers and employees all must remember

A good employee will stay if they are happy and can become unhappy very quickly under the wrong circumstances and will be picked up by another company quickly. If not their efforts and productivity will be diminished and will even negatively affect the culture of the organization.

A bad employee will most likely not find another opportunity soon and the company will be stuck with them. They tend to stick around when all the good ones leave and soon the company is full of deadwood.

Employees need to ensure they are good and employers need to ensure their good employees stay happy!

Credits:

Sharpen your axe: A leadership lesson by Bret Anderson.

Photos by Christian Kielberg, Sven Brandsma, Emma Matthews Digital Content Production and Pablo Varela on Unsplash