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7 Signs All Is Not Well In Your Organisation
As a leader in the organisation you are personally accountable for achieving results personally and through others. Sometimes it can feel like things are moving along almost effortlessly while at other times it can feel like a real struggle.
During those times of struggle there are some warning signs to pay attention to as they could be an indicator of longer term problems.
Sign 1: Loss of Customers
What ultimately determines the success or otherwise of your organisation is the ability to meet customer needs. While there is always going to be an element of expected customer loss, when that peaks above the norms it is time to act.
Sign 2: Loss of Your Best Employees
Good people always have a choice irrelevant of market or economic conditions. If you start to see your best employees leaving it could be an indicator of frustration or low morale.
Sign 3: An Increase In Customer Complaints
Customers only tend to complain when things get really bad. They recognise that the odd problem might arise and will give you some leeway. Start making many mistakes and they will shout from the rooftops.
Sign 4: Increased Customer Returns
Generally when a sale is made the customer is invoiced or may even pay at time of purchase if it is an online transaction. If the customer returns the goods they will be due a refund. These returns could be an indicator of a quality or selling issue.
Sign 5: Petty Bickering Between Departments
People sometimes forget that to get the desired result everyone has to make their contribution. If you are noticing that people are becoming too internally focused on their own area it might be an indicator of poor team working.
Sign 6: Passing The Buck
Sometimes things need to be passed further up the hierarchy to get resolved. This should be the exception rather than the rule. If things are just routinely being passed up the line chances are people are not taking responsibility but passing the buck.
Sign 7: All The Focus Is Internal
Every business needs to attract funding or make sales. If people are focusing internally, chances are they are more interested in their personal agenda than the success of the organisation through meeting client or customer needs.
The Bottom Line: It is never pleasant when an organisation gets into a downward spiral. At the same time there are often indicators that things need to tackled before small issues become major problems for the organisation.
Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps leaders and managers in organisations deliver great performance. You can learn more here
About the Author Duncan Brodie
Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.