Build this now

I recently sent out an email with the subject line "You Need To Build This Now To Grow Your Business…(HINT: No Money Needed)"

In that email, we talked about how to be a great leader by communicating your trust, competence, and commitment so that you will be trusted by your people, customers, and suppliers. We also shared 2 of the many ways to build trust with our people.

When trust hurts

"I don’t think "trusting" is the best way to succeed and grow in business. There are some story in our company where our own staff takes money from it." - Gemma (not her real name)

Right after I got Gemma’s email, I saw Vice Ganda on TV  while I was having my nails done by my favorite manicurista.

"Bakit ganun yung mga bangko? Tayo, pinagkakatiwala natin yung mga pera natin sa kanila pero yung mga ballpens nila may tali!! Ano, nanakawin ba namin yun? Tayo nagtitiwala pero sila hindi?"

"Oo nga, ano?" I muttered under my breath.  In our businesses, our ballpens are also tied.

Why? Because if they are not secured, customers "run away" with them.  Not that they are dishonest, but either they were tempted or they just put it in their pockets automatically, without thinking.  

They just did not know what they were doing.

And, by not securing our ballpens, we provided them the chance to run away with them.

At that moment, I felt Gemma’s hurt, and also, anger.  

I have been in that dark place, many times in my 40 years in business.  I trusted too much and was betrayed. It hurts when the dog you are feeding bites you, what more if it was someone close to your heart?

I had to learn the lessons of trust the hard way.

When to trust your employees

This is what I learned:

After hiring a new employee whom I expect to do certain tasks and assume responsibilities, I should not trust her on her first day at work.  Not even after her first week.

Let’s say she is the cashier.

We wouldn’t expect her to report and just do the work, right? We won’t assume she already knows what to do, right?

• She needs at least two days of orientation first.  
• She needs to be trained to deliver the quality of work and service, especially in using the software and hardware.
• She needs to be able to do every single task from the time she gets into her cubicle until she leaves it during breaks or when the day ends.
• She needs to know whom she should go to when she has questions.
• She needs to know how and when she will be promoted and what her career path in the company is.
• She needs to know what benefits she can expect now and at the other stages of her stay with us.
• She needs to know what are the rules and regulations of our company to avoid getting into trouble.
• Most especially, she needs to know that being dishonest will cause her to be terminated and sent to jail.  
• She needs to know that stealing is a criminal offense and that it is our policy to spare no expense to prosecute so that others will not be tempted to follow her example.
• Finally, she needs to know that there are checks and balances in place so that any criminal act will surely be found out.

When the benefits and the consequences are clear and in place, the chances of stealing is minimized.

Yes, minimized.  Not totally gone.

When money is involved, we have to remember that no matter how holy a person is, no matter how good we are to her and her family, we can never predict that she will not be tempted.

Here are a few of the circumstances we have experienced when people were tempted to steal:

An employee could not say "no" to the friend who was selling him the latest model of a cellphone installment.  He also could not say "no" when another friend sold him his dream headphones. He was not able to keep track of his other utangs like canteen, clothes, shoes, etc. that he went into last month.  With so many creditors to pay, his take-home pay was not enough. What will he send to his parents and siblings in the province who are expecting his pera padala? His only thought was, what can I get from the office that I can sell? He was found bringing Disk Drives home!  

My own inaanak who was also my employee loved his boyfriend to the moon and back.  His motorcycle was in the pawnshop and it was the last day that he could still redeem it before it will be foreclosed.  If he couldn’t come up with the money, he would lose the motorcycle forever. She could not bear it when he came to her, crying. So she stole five gold bangles and gave it to her boyfriend. She confessed when she learned that the police will be brought in to investigate.

A saleslady whose father was hospitalized did not have money to buy medicine. Payday was a few days away.  So, she "borrowed" a jewelry item from her estante and pawned it, with the intention to get it back when payday comes.  The auditor made her rounds a day before the payday and she was discovered.

The whole amount of a janitor’s salary was given to his wife and he would only be given a fare allowance per day.  But he was smitten by the waitress in the carenderia across us. She was a single parent and her salary was not enough to support her kids.  So, to be the knight in shining armor, he padded the price of the generator fuel everytime he would be asked to buy so he can help her and get some favors in return.

What we learned that worked

Every single centavo should be accounted for. Everything should be recorded. And, there is someone who audits it periodically and sporadically.

Without controls in place, we are actually inviting and tempting our employees to steal from us.

Let us remember always that as leaders,  it is our duty to take care of our employees.  We not only treat them well and pay them well, we should also protect them from temptation at all times.  When we protect them, we are also protecting ourselves.

Share how you did it

Do you have stories to share about dishonest staff?  Or do you have ideas on how to protect your employees from temptation that you want to share? Please join the Grow Your Business, Pinoy Movement and share them with us. Give and get support, advice, and recommendations from fellow Pinoy business owners. We are waiting for you here.

Talk soon!

Your Negosyo Mom,

Myrna "Mommy N" Tam-Natividad