Outline
Introduction – Teamwork Requires Quality Communication
In the home service world, business success depends on more than just great tools and top-notch workmanship—it hinges on how well your team talks to you and each other. If you want fewer surprises, smoother operations, and better customer service, start by focusing on how to improve employee communication. When team members feel safe bringing up problems, you can fix small issues before they become big headaches—and strengthen your company culture in the process.
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Avoid Ugly Surprises Through Effective Employee Communication
I love surprises.🎆✨🎊🎉 Surprise gifts, surprise parties, and yep, being surprised with a kiss from Sioux!💖 (Even after 47 years I still appreciate her!) HOWEVER, in my Home Services business I had one cast iron employee rule :
NEVER, ever surprise me!
Steve’s Pet Peeve:😣 I hated and despised getting ‘sandbagged’ by a business problem/issue that my employee(s) knew about but hid from me! And yet it kept happening! So I was forced to examine… myself!😥 (I tell all my seminar classes, “The fish rots from the head down”!)
My painful self-examination revealed a serious flaw in my management style. Learn from me when you…
🛑STOP acting out by screaming at your employees like a bratty 5-year old when they share a problem in your company with you!
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3 Steps To Improve Employee Communication
What are some ways to improve employee communication? For now, follow this three-step Proactive Problem Solving procedure when you…
1) Warmly commend your worker. After all, you DO appreciate them sharing the company issue with you… don’t you? So, I’d always remind the employee, “Charlie, there is nothing we can’t solve IF you let me know about it. So thank you!”👍 And then…
2) Calmly ask your employee(s), “Hmmmm… Charlie, what do you think we should do about this current situation?”🤔Here’s three reasons why you should always ask this key question…
A) Your staff loves it when management values their opinions. Plus I love this Core Concept…
B) “They know best who are closest to the action”. (Ummmm, very likely this will be the employee who shares the problem with you!) And my final reason to brainstorm with your workers?
C) Almost 3,000 years ago a man much smarter than me wrote, “…there is success through many advisers.” (Proverbs 11:14) These “advisers” should include your enthusiastic, motivated employees who have ‘bought in’ emotionally to the success of your company. But wait- there’s more!
3) Your final (and most important) step? After jointly solving (hopefully) the existing problem simply ask, “Going forward, Charlie, in your opinion, what should we change or implement to make sure this particular problem never happens again?”
HINT: I kept a running list of business issues (and individual and company triumphs too!) that cropped up each week. Then the following Wednesday morning in our company staff meeting we’d give specific, public recognition to our team members that had exceeded their WEB Goals last week.👌 After the ‘rah-rah cheerleading’ it was time for a Proactive Group Brainstorming session on our recent company challenges!
Best wishes and remember… I’m always ready for a (positive) surprise!
Summary – Open Communication = Strong Company Culture
At the end of the day, open, honest conversations are the lifeblood of every successful home service company. When you reward your team for sharing “bad news,” you’re actually strengthening trust and preventing future problems. Remember—improve employee communication, and you’ll improve everything else: efficiency, morale, and your bottom line.