,,,The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It doesn’t make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps. – Mary Kay Ash

So just curious, how do you treat your employees?   Are they a valued part of your company?  Do you treat them like you don’t want to lose them?  Or do your really not think about them at all?    I watch many business owners and boards interact with their employees, many on a daily basis.  I’ve seen great examples of how to treat an employee and some great examples of how not to treat an employee.  So here is the good, the bad and the ugly. 

The good:  I’ve seen employees treated with respect and valued for their contributions.  I’ve seen employees be given a lot of leeway in their jobs to perform those jobs.  I’ve seen employees be taken on an individual basis and then given tasks to reflect their skill set.  I’ve seen some great reward systems put into place for employees.  I’ve seen great leave packages put together so that employees feel valued. 

The bad:  I’ve seen bosses who blame every failure of the company on their employees instead of taking the responsibility themselves.  I’ve seen bosses who want to do the employees jobs instead of giving up control and allowing the employee to do what they were hired to do.  I’ve seen bosses continually be poor communicators, but always blame their employees for the miscommunication. I’ve seen bosses take credit for the hard work an employee did instead of allowing that employee to shine.  

The ugly:  I’ve seen bosses sexually harass employees.  I’ve seen bosses who very rarely show up for work, but still get paid.  I’ve seen a boss show up to work in cut off shorts and flip flops in the summer (when he actually did show up for work).  I’ve seen boards cover for bad bosses time and time again.  I’ve seen board members try to take employees jobs.  I’ve heard of bosses who are robbing companies blind and their board refuses to discuss it with any of the employees and the employees are so afraid of losing their jobs that they keep their mouths shut. 

This is just a short list of the things I’ve seen. So, what have you seen? What kind of boss are you?  

Suzanne Cormier

Executive Director

BizWorks (Small Business Incubator)

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