Handling Resignations

Today's episode is all about handling the resignation of a key team member. It's something that can happen to any business owner, and Pete Mohr is here to guide you through it. He shares insights on the importance of process management, cross-training, and viewing this transition as an opportunity for growth. And remember, as Pete says, "every challenge is an opportunity in disguise."

Here are a few things Pete covers:

• Process Management: Using robust processes as a roadmap for your business.
• Cross-Training: Building a safety net through teaching multiple team members essential tasks.
• Hiring and Elevating Team Members: Seeing a key person's departure as a chance for growth and innovation.
• Embracing Change: Turning potential crises into opportunities by being prepared.
• Tools for Documentation: How tools like Loom and Otter.ai can assist in process documentation.

It's time to take action:
You don't have to navigate this alone. Reach out to Pete at www.speaktopete.com and take advantage of the tools and techniques that will help you turn this situation into a win for your business. Stay positive, invest in your processes, and embrace the opportunities that lie ahead.

Are you looking to make some changes in your business and your life in 2024?  Head over to speaktopete.com and book a chat with me to see if we're the right fit!

Transcript

Pete Mohr: 0:35

Are you ready to move from operator to owner? Well, decisions in your organization should be made at the lowest possible level of your business. Every day, there is a framework that can help and it's called the five P's. Understanding your promise, aligning your product process and people to it will generate the most amount of profit. And that's when the freedom comes. Freedom from the day to day management and freedom to start doing the things that you want and deserve to do, inside and outside of your business. No one ever said it was easy, but it's time to start the process on the business owner breakthrough. If you'd like to chat with me about helping you breakthrough in your business, simply go to speak to pete.com that speak to pete.com, to book an appointment and to see if we're a right fit. Today we're diving into a topic that's close to home for many of us. What happens when a key person on your team ends in their resignation. Well, just last week, one of my top three people that utopia, and it in his notice, he's leaving on great terms, but it's left us with the task of figuring out how to replace them. It's a situation that send many businesses into a tailspin. But I'm here to tell you that with good process management, and a strong team, the transition can be smooth, and even an opportunity for growth for your team members and for your business. And these things are never easy. Quite frankly, it sucks to lose a good person, especially one that's been with you for such a long time. But it does happen. And if you want to set yourself up for as little pain as possible when it does, then that's what this episode is all about. So let's start a little bit with process we talk a lot about process management. Remember, it's one of the five P's of running a successful business. Having robust processes in place is like having a roadmap for your business. It guides you through the twists and turns. When a key person leaves, it ensures that you don't lose your way. In our case, we've worked hard to create clear and effective processes for his position. He's created robust documentation himself of his duties in several different formats over the last couple of years. He has many things written down and several explainer videos to guide the next person who takes over these accountabilities to success. When he announced his departure, it certainly wasn't a happy day for the team. But together we feel as though we're in a pretty good position to move ahead. If we didn't have these processes simplified in an understandable format so that they can be repeated and executed in the future. Well, it would have felt like the world was falling in. And believe me, I know this because it's happened to me. Many times in my almost 30 years of being a business owner, will there be issues and certain things that have fallen through the cracks as he leaves? Of course there will. But we feel as though there'll be more manageable than ever before when somebody in this type of key position has left. Now, I know you might be thinking, Pete, that sounds great. But what if I don't have any of these processes nailed down yet? Well, don't worry. It's never too late to start, begin by documenting essential tasks and responsibilities within your business, break them down into manageable parts, and make sure that everyone in your team understands their role. as I record this podcast and in realizing that some of you will be listening to this a year or two down the road on the podcast reruns. But here are a few tools that I like to use for process documentation currently, first, I like to record if it's going to be a video of you talking through the process show your screen if it's on the computer based process. But for this I like to use a tool called loom that's L O M, it records your picture along with your screen does a great job and then a transcribe that video into text with otter.ai. That's ott er.ai. For this, I popped the transcription from otter into Chad GBT and prompt it to take the transcript and rewrite it so that it'll be good for your process manual to accompany the video. So now we've got it captured in video in a good document form. And we store these processes on a shareable Google Drive at our business. But you could use Dropbox or any other cloud storage just as long as it's accessible by anybody who needs to get a hold of that process. Watch it, read it, whatever they listen to it, whatever it is they need so they can take on that chore if that person is no longer able to write. So next let's talk a little bit about cross training. And this is where the real magic happens. Cross training ensures that essential tasks are covered even when a key person leaves even if it's just for haul have a right, that person doesn't want to come back to having everything on their plate and having to do everything that they've missed in the last week or two weeks. It's like having a safety net for your business. In our situation, we had crossed green parts of his job, other team members were ready to step in and take over those responsibilities. And it made the transition more manageable, less stressful for everyone involved. Of course, not everything he's accountable for was cross trained. But even having some of it was a great start. After being here for almost seven years, there's a lot of shoe topia wisdom that will be lost with his departure. But cross training doesn't have to be complicated. Start by identifying the critical tasks that only one person knows how to do in your team, then train another team member to handle those tasks in their absence. It's simple step that can make a world of difference for you in complication, confusion, and frustration forever. Crosstraining just isn't about preparing for someone leaving. It's about building a stronger, more resilient team that fosters collaboration and understanding. And it ensures that your business can keep moving forward. Now let's move on to hiring and elevating the team members. Right in the five P's framework. We're talking about your people here, right, it's the fourth of the five P's your people, when a key person leaves, it's natural to feel a sense of loss. But I want you to see this as a potential opportunity and opportunity for growth for change and for elevating your existing team members. Remember, if you've hired properly along the way your team wants to make decisions for you. They want to feel empowered, they want to grow within your business. And in our case, we're planning on splitting and separating as accountabilities amongst a few different people. And some of our existing team members will take on new responsibilities, and will hire new people to fill their previous roles as well. And give them a hand so they can be moved up as we delegate and elevate those people that are going to be taking a bits and pieces of this job that we're going to be splitting up. It's a strategic move that allows us to grow and adapt, right? We're always juggling as small business owners. Think about your own team, who's ready to step up on your team who's showing potential, this could be their chance to shine, and ask for hiring new team members always look for people who align with your business's promise and values. It's not just about filling a gap. It's about adding value to your team. So what can we learn from all this? Well, first and foremost, P prepared key team members leaving is just a part of the business journey. It's not a matter of if, but when. And having strong processes, cross training and a plan for hiring and elevating team members can turn a potential crisis into an opportunity. And let's not forget the positive outlook side of things. It's easy to see a key person leaving as a setback. But I want you to see it as a chance to grow to innovate and to strengthen your team and to change changes, sometimes scary. But this is a forced change. So what can you take as a benefit of it, it's all about perspective. And with the right strategies, you can turn challenges and opportunities for growth. I know it's not always easy, but that's why I'm here to help. And that's why we have the business owner breakthrough podcast. So as a fellow business owner, I'm going through these struggles along the way too. So whether it's just setting goals, aligning your business or navigating the challenges of team dynamics, like I'm doing here, right now, if you're ready to take the next step, I invite you to reach out to me, let's work together to set your goals, align your business and create a roadmap for success. Just head over to speak to pete.com and book an appointment that's speak to pets.com and book an appointment, I'm looking forward to helping you build a business that's not only thriving, but gives you the freedom and fulfillment that you deserve as a business owner. So before we wrap up, I want to leave you with a few final thoughts. Remember, every challenge is an opportunity in disguise. The departure of a key team member might seem daunting, in fact, often does. But with the right approach. It can be a catalyst for growth, and potentially innovation, focused on your processes, invest in cross training, and be strategic in hiring and elevating team members along the way. Embrace the challenge. And don't be afraid to seek help when you need it. You've got the tools, the determination and the support to turn the situation into a win for your business when this happens. So thanks for joining me on this edition of the business owner breakthrough. Keep working hard, work smart and always strive to align your product process and people to your promise. Together we can build better businesses that not only succeed but make a positive impact on our communities. Until next time, I'm just a click away at speak to pete.com take care keep moving forward and make it a great day and ironic media production, visit us at our ONICK media.com