Business Q&A with Mark Wardell

Q: How can I motivate my employees to take an active interest in the success of my business? I’m noticing they seem to waste a lot of time on personal calls and emails during the day.

A:

When it comes to motivation, rules and regulations will only take you so far. If you really want your employees to feel motivated to do an excellent job, you need to consider ways to get them excited about what you are doing at your business and how they can contribute. Here are a few ideas that I’ve seen work well.

Involve your employees in decision making. Remember, your employees don’t just want a job; they want to be part of something more. When you involve them in decisions, their work becomes fulfilling. By fostering a culture where people are involved, your company will benefit from the contributions of more than just those at the top of the organizational chart. On an ongoing basis, take the time to share your business plans and give people the opportunity to be involved in the direction your business is growing. Keeping your employees in the dark about your long-term corporate goals is a sure-fire way to kill your company’s potential.

Teach and learn together. Implement systems that will foster creativity and ingenuity in your employees. For example, I hold a weekly Wardell team meeting to discuss our progress as a company. Everyone is expected to participate and contribute. One of our agenda items asks each consultant to teach something of value to the rest of the group. Not every idea is going to be as helpful as the next one, but by encouraging this type of “teaching environment”, we keep everyone growing in the right direction and, more importantly, invested in the process.

Reward your employees. Bonuses are an effective tool for rewarding employees for a job well done. Whether you offer company shares, options, a bonus based on clearly defined goals, a percentage of your margin, or a percentage of your profit, bonuses are a good way to support your employees’ feeling of ownership for their work. However, bonuses are effective only when an employee can see the relationship between their work and the bonus. If this connection is lost, the value of the bonus is also lost.

Say thank you. And finally (and most importantly), thank your employees for a job well done. For a hard working, dedicated employee little is more important than genuine appreciation.


Q: I’m an established entrepreneur looking at new business opportunities and I’ve decided to go green with my next venture. How can I launch a business that is both sustainable and profitable?

A:

There are many steps any business can take to have a positive social and environmental impact, while at the same time becoming a profitable enterprise. But it’s important to remember that sustainability should be an addition to your overall business objective to create top quality products or services, not an end in itself. Done right, social capitalism can be a winning strategy for all of us. Consider the following steps to get you started:

Define yourself and your market: This starts when you develop your vision. What need in the marketplace will your new “green” business fulfill? Where are your potential customers currently shopping or looking, to meet this need you plan to fulfill? It’s also important to ask yourself if your prospects would still choose your product if it wasn’t “green”. In other words, is your product or service just a green alternative, or is it also a better alternative?

Part of the process of defining yourself needs to consider whether people will actually be willing to spend more to make that eco-friendly purchase or decision. And if so, how much more? For example, Industrial Artifacts, a Vancouver based sustainable furniture manufacturer, has found that people will pay on average 15-20% extra for their environmentally sensitive products, and that their customers are willing to spend more on a piece of furniture if they know it’s made responsibly and locally.

By understanding yourself and your market, you’ll be able to clearly and specifically articulate to your target market why they should feel good about buying from you in particular.

Develop a strategic plan: As a business owner, you need to remind yourself that not taking the time to create a long-term strategic plan for your business is a luxury you can’t afford. Research your potential market, identify niche marketing groups, plan for a longer sales cycle (sometime sustainable products take longer to be reused) and develop a plan that considers all the factors related to developing your business.

Be consistent: As you get started, you need to ensure that all aspects of your operations, such as your packaging and production methods are consistent with your mission statement. For example, if you’re selling organic frozen food, don’t make it microwaveable. This will conflict with the “natural” image you’re trying to project.

Let people know about you: If you’re making a difference, it’s important you let the eco-friendly community and everyone else know about it. There are a growing number of consumers using the internet to find ways to make more environmentally friendly choices, so make sure they know where to find you.

Mark Wardell is President of Wardell Professional Development Inc. an advisory group specializing in growth management for owner-managed companies.