Small businesses are subject to local standard time (LST). Local standard time is how the people around you, the manager, tell time. When nobody comes to work until 9:15 that means starting time according to LST is 9:15. You can get your blood pressure up 20 points trying to make your people arrive at 9 am but they will find ways not to start working until 9:15.
LST is more forceful in proportion as the business is small. The smallest of businesses, office at home, is the most influenced. That is because households always run on LST. There is a correct time for meals, a right time for shopping, a right time for everything. The correct hours for working in your office according to LST are easily determined: they are those hours during which no one else in your home interrupts you with matters they have decided need taking care of right now.
Small businesses outside the home but local in nature also feel strong impact from LST because those who work for you and with you are very close to home. They might have children, in which case the start and close of the school day is sacred and everything else gets scheduled around those times. Your workers and your customers might have certain routines in their households that dictate getting home for lunch to have lunch with their spouse or to look in on an elderly parent. The closer to home, the stronger the pull and the more likely it is that employees integrate work into the rest of their schedule. This is in very sharp contrast to large corporations that set the work schedule and are able to expect their workers, suppliers, financial associates and customers to conform to the company's work hours.
As the manager, your chnoice is to fight LST or go with the flow. Those who fight it battle in vain and create stress for themselves. Those who honor it find loyalty and appreciation and far less stress!
Avoid local sales calls the day before holidays. Give your people time off when the whole town is cleaning up after a storm or having a parade. Do not schedule overtime on Wednesday nights if your people have Church on Wednesdays. Do your own overtime work very early in the morning or very late at night when there is peace and quiet across the world. Thursdays are better than Fridays to ask your people to work late because Fridays are the start of weekend madness. Perhaps your people could come in early and work late on Thursdays in return for having the work week end at noon on Fridays.
Managing time is a different concept than controlling time. Nobody controls time, although many a stressed-out burned-out small business manager suffers from that illusion.
Recognize that there are only four kinds of time over which you have control. These are
Startin' time
Quittin' time
Overtime
Halftime.
When you set these times in accordance with LST your employees and helpers will show up on time! They will go home on time! They will let you know when overtime will work well for them. And they will use the time they have for working with you to maximum efficiency.
Productivity goes up when everyone involved knows how to tell time. And you will sleep much better.
del.icio.us · digg this · spurl · reddit · furl this
