An Interview with Mr. Old Fashioned.
I interviewed Mr Old Fashioned last week for our Smart Leadership Blog and began by asking him why he had not adopted any smart working options in his business yet.
Mr Old-Fashioned: I can’t trust my people to work away from the office.
Me: Why did you hire them?
Smart Working is a real challenge for Mr Old Fashioned – especially if he can’t physically see his people – so we’re working on it with him.
Fixed Mindset
I tell him that I’ve noticed that smart workers will work smart anywhere. Shirkers will shirk anywhere. The answer is not to recruit shirkers.
I share our toolkit on recruiting smart workers with him but it’s probably more about his ability to build 2 way trust.
I explain to him that Smart Leaders recruit the right aptitudes for the role ……..and for the unique range of smart working options that their individual business offers.
Smart Leaders then carefully build trust between themselves and the new employee.
Mr Old Fashioned takes a little more notice when I tell him that if his mindset, and therefore his business, was a tad more flexible, it would be seeing the following improvements:
- Increased productivity (generally circa 13%!)
- Improved engagement and retention
- Broader pools of talent to recruit from
Dinosaur Mindset
But, then he goes back to his old self.
‘How can I trust them, if I cant see them. They’ll be watching that Lorraine Show or Homes under Hammer – that’s what I used to do when I worked from Home. Coming into the Office is a discipline and it’s good for collaboration.’
That was last week. He’s not long rung me to see if I will help him with some recruitment. He told me that his best salesman resigned on Friday – he is going to work for the competition – they offer hub and remote options.
Don’t be like Mr. Old Fashioned.
Contact us at ideas@smartworkingrevolution.com and we’ll arrange a catch up. Or you can join us on our World Class Smart Leadership Masterclass. The next one is on September 27th in Cornwall. Book your place here
