Successful businesses thrive on the hard work of dedicated employees, excellent communication, continuous innovation and a desire to provide more to customers. All of these depend on how well managed a business is – how effective the management is in steering the business in the right direction.
Whether you are the business owner, a customer or a prospective investor, you want to be a part of a business that’s being run smoothly and efficiently.
If you are the owner or the manager, regular self-evaluation can help you to assess whether things are going the way you want them to.
Let’s explore eight of the most important signs that indicate that a business is poorly managed.
Indifferent Managers
If a manager shows up late to an important meeting, he may have genuine reasons. But if the manager is a habitual late-comer, it reflects poorly on how the business is being managed. Companies that take their work seriously never encourage such indifference while a badly managed company hardly takes the steps required to nip such problems in the bud.
If a meeting with customers is being continuously postponed or if you see somebody missing regularly during such meetings, it clearly indicates that the company does not take itself seriously.
Stifling Work Atmosphere
Employees at the bottom of the corporate hierarchy are really the people who create the first impression on clients or customers. It is, therefore, of utmost importance that these employees remain happy, satisfied with their job profile and get due recognition for their diligence.
In organizations that are poorly managed, these are the employees (such as receptionists or those in customer service) who are most neglected or overlooked. It is only the top management that gets all the credit and takes all the decisions.
This creates a stifling work atmosphere where the employees at the lower rung hardly get any autonomy or are scared to decide on their own even for the tiniest of issues. Gradually, this fosters a feeling of discontent and grudge among these employees, which reflects through their poor interaction with visitors or customers.
High Attrition Rate
A direct fallout of the above point is high employee attrition rate. If you have to replace your customer service people every three months or so, there is definitely something wrong with the way the business is being managed.
A high attrition rate, especially among employees who are the ‘face’ of your organization has an impact on how customers or prospective investors view your company. When customers see a new receptionist every six months or have to interact with a new service personnel every time they come for business, they too feel that there is something wrong within your organization.
Lack of Communication
Your company has a certain vision and a work culture that every employee should be aware of. If your employees don’t know what is expected of them or are confused about their job profile, you are certainly running a dysfunctional organization.
When the leadership fails to pass on important decisions, information or policy change down to the lowest level, it certainly affects the overall performance of your business.
Understandably, such lack of communication creates a different impression on different employees. As a result, each employee starts to develop his/her own opinion or style of functioning.
Ultimately, this can lead to utter chaos and a significant loss of business.
Overconfidence
While you definitely need managers who are confident in their abilities, over-confidence can be the bane of your business. When individuals become too obsessed with their own success and fail to synchronize with others or share inputs or refuse to listen to others or are disrespectful towards fellow employees, it’s definitely a red flag for your business.
If the sole purpose of a manager is to feed her own ego or work towards climbing the corporate ladder as fast as she can, you can be sure of plummeting profits at the end of the day. Such egoist managers confuse random success with their brilliant strategizing and start putting themselves before the organization.
Ultimately, it’s your employees down the hierarchy and the customers they deal with that suffer most from such insouciance.
Negative Input from Customers
Your business expands by retaining loyal customers and expanding the client base further.
Irrespective of the nature of your business i.e. primary sector, secondary sector or the tertiary sector; customer input or feedback is a critical component of a successful establishment.
When negative feedback starts pouring in, it is time for you to sit up and take notice. Negative inputs often reflect poor quality control or customer service and you are sure to lose business over time.
Mismanaged Inventory
If customers order something and don’t get it on time or walk into your stores and stare at half-empty shelves, it is a definite indication that your business is being very poorly managed indeed.
When you are supplying products or running a large-format retail store, it is vital that your inventory is always under control and up-to-date. Most businesses grow through word-of-mouth references and customers won’t recommend you if you have poorly managed inventory or logistical network.
You are Not Innovating
Another important indication that your business is being poorly managed is if you are stuck in a rut. Innovation is the name of the game if you want to survive, sustain and be successful in today’s competitive market.
The world is changing and so are peoples’ perceptions. Customers are no longer satisfied with the same old products or same style of functioning. You need to give them something more, something new that will be appealing enough to draw more customers.
A business that is poorly managed hardly takes any initiative to implement new technologies or products or services.
In Conclusion
If you see any or all of these signs, you need to take immediate measures to fix these problems before they become irreversible. A well-managed business keeps everyone happy. Need help transforming your management? Preftrain can help. Get in touch with us today to know more about our management training programmes.