August 29, 2023 • 11 mins
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!
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Book a no charge Freedom Call with Pete, to see if you’re a good fit for his business coaching or talk to Pete about speaking at your next event head over to http://speaktopete.com to find a time that works for you!
Pete's Websites:
Pete-Mohr.com
The Exit Ready Business
Kolbe Coach
Simplifying Entrepreneurship
LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/petemohr/
Instagram at ...
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Pete Mohr (00:03):
Are you ready to move from operator to owner? Well,
decisions in your organizationshould be made at the lowest
possible level of your business.
Every day, there is a frameworkthat can help and it's called
the five P's. Understanding yourpromise, aligning your product
process and people to it willgenerate the most amount of
(00:24):
profit. And that's when thefreedom comes. Freedom from the
day to day management andfreedom to start doing the
things that you want and deserveto do, inside and outside of
your business. No one ever saidit was easy, but it's time to
start the process on thebusiness owner breakthrough. If
(00:45):
you'd like to chat with me abouthelping you breakthrough in your
business, simply go to speak topete.com that speak to pete.com,
to book an appointment and tosee if we're a right fit. Today
we're diving into a topic that'sclose to home for many of us.
What happens when a key personon your team ends in their
(01:07):
resignation. Well, just lastweek, one of my top three people
that utopia, and it in hisnotice, he's leaving on great
terms, but it's left us with thetask of figuring out how to
replace them. It's a situationthat send many businesses into a
tailspin. But I'm here to tellyou that with good process
management, and a strong team,the transition can be smooth,
(01:29):
and even an opportunity forgrowth for your team members and
for your business. And thesethings are never easy. Quite
frankly, it sucks to lose a goodperson, especially one that's
been with you for such a longtime. But it does happen. And if
you want to set yourself up foras little pain as possible when
it does, then that's what thisepisode is all about. So let's
(01:51):
start a little bit with processwe talk a lot about process
management. Remember, it's oneof the five P's of running a
successful business. Havingrobust processes in place is
like having a roadmap for yourbusiness. It guides you through
the twists and turns. When a keyperson leaves, it ensures that
you don't lose your way. In ourcase, we've worked hard to
(02:11):
create clear and effectiveprocesses for his position. He's
created robust documentationhimself of his duties in several
different formats over the lastcouple of years. He has many
things written down and severalexplainer videos to guide the
next person who takes over theseaccountabilities to success.
When he announced his departure,it certainly wasn't a happy day
(02:34):
for the team. But together wefeel as though we're in a pretty
good position to move ahead. Ifwe didn't have these processes
simplified in an understandableformat so that they can be
repeated and executed in thefuture. Well, it would have felt
like the world was falling in.
And believe me, I know thisbecause it's happened to me.
(02:56):
Many times in my almost 30 yearsof being a business owner, will
there be issues and certainthings that have fallen through
the cracks as he leaves? Ofcourse there will. But we feel
as though there'll be moremanageable than ever before when
somebody in this type of keyposition has left. Now, I know
you might be thinking, Pete,that sounds great. But what if I
(03:17):
don't have any of theseprocesses nailed down yet? Well,
don't worry. It's never too lateto start, begin by documenting
essential tasks andresponsibilities within your
business, break them down intomanageable parts, and make sure
that everyone in your teamunderstands their role. as I
record this podcast and inrealizing that some of you will
be listening to this a year ortwo down the road on the podcast
(03:40):
reruns. But here are a few toolsthat I like to use for process
documentation currently, first,I like to record if it's going
to be a video of you talkingthrough the process show your
screen if it's on the computerbased process. But for this I
like to use a tool called loomthat's L O M, it records your
picture along with your screendoes a great job and then a
(04:03):
transcribe that video into textwith otter.ai. That's ott er.ai.
For this, I popped thetranscription from otter into
Chad GBT and prompt it to takethe transcript and rewrite it so
that it'll be good for yourprocess manual to accompany the
video. So now we've got itcaptured in video in a good
(04:25):
document form. And we storethese processes on a shareable
Google Drive at our business.
But you could use Dropbox or anyother cloud storage just as long
as it's accessible by anybodywho needs to get a hold of that
process. Watch it, read it,whatever they listen to it,
whatever it is they need so theycan take on that chore if that
person is no longer able towrite. So next let's talk a
(04:47):
little bit about cross training.
And this is where the real magichappens. Cross training ensures
that essential tasks are coveredeven when a key person leaves
even if it's just for haulhave a right, that person
doesn't want to come back tohaving everything on their plate
and having to do everything thatthey've missed in the last week
or two weeks. It's like having asafety net for your business. In
(05:08):
our situation, we had crossedgreen parts of his job, other
team members were ready to stepin and take over those
responsibilities. And it madethe transition more manageable,
less stressful for everyoneinvolved. Of course, not
everything he's accountable forwas cross trained. But even
having some of it was a greatstart. After being here for
(05:29):
almost seven years, there's alot of shoe topia wisdom that
will be lost with his departure.
But cross training doesn't haveto be complicated. Start by
identifying the critical tasksthat only one person knows how
to do in your team, then trainanother team member to handle
(05:49):
those tasks in their absence.
It's simple step that can make aworld of difference for you in
complication, confusion, andfrustration forever.
Crosstraining just isn't aboutpreparing for someone leaving.
It's about building a stronger,more resilient team that fosters
collaboration and understanding.
(06:09):
And it ensures that yourbusiness can keep moving
forward. Now let's move on tohiring and elevating the team
members. Right in the five P'sframework. We're talking about
your people here, right, it'sthe fourth of the five P's your
people, when a key personleaves, it's natural to feel a
sense of loss. But I want you tosee this as a potential
(06:30):
opportunity and opportunity forgrowth for change and for
elevating your existing teammembers. Remember, if you've
hired properly along the wayyour team wants to make
decisions for you. They want tofeel empowered, they want to
grow within your business. Andin our case, we're planning on
splitting and separating asaccountabilities amongst a few
different people. And some ofour existing team members will
(06:52):
take on new responsibilities,and will hire new people to fill
their previous roles as well.
And give them a hand so they canbe moved up as we delegate and
elevate those people that aregoing to be taking a bits and
pieces of this job that we'regoing to be splitting up. It's a
strategic move that allows us togrow and adapt, right? We're
always juggling as smallbusiness owners. Think about
your own team, who's ready tostep up on your team who's
(07:16):
showing potential, this could betheir chance to shine, and ask
for hiring new team membersalways look for people who align
with your business's promise andvalues. It's not just about
filling a gap. It's about addingvalue to your team. So what can
we learn from all this? Well,first and foremost, P prepared
key team members leaving is justa part of the business journey.
(07:40):
It's not a matter of if, butwhen. And having strong
processes, cross training and aplan for hiring and elevating
team members can turn apotential crisis into an
opportunity. And let's notforget the positive outlook side
of things. It's easy to see akey person leaving as a setback.
But I want you to see it as achance to grow to innovate and
(08:03):
to strengthen your team and tochange changes, sometimes scary.
But this is a forced change. Sowhat can you take as a benefit
of it, it's all aboutperspective. And with the right
strategies, you can turnchallenges and opportunities for
growth. I know it's not alwayseasy, but that's why I'm here to
help. And that's why we have thebusiness owner breakthrough
(08:26):
podcast. So as a fellow businessowner, I'm going through these
struggles along the way too. Sowhether it's just setting goals,
aligning your business ornavigating the challenges of
team dynamics, like I'm doinghere, right now, if you're ready
to take the next step, I inviteyou to reach out to me, let's
work together to set your goals,align your business and create a
roadmap for success. Just headover to speak to pete.com and
(08:50):
book an appointment that's speakto pets.com and book an
appointment, I'm looking forwardto helping you build a business
that's not only thriving, butgives you the freedom and
fulfillment that you deserve asa business owner. So before we
wrap up, I want to leave youwith a few final thoughts.
Remember, every challenge is anopportunity in disguise. The
(09:12):
departure of a key team membermight seem daunting, in fact,
often does. But with the rightapproach. It can be a catalyst
for growth, and potentiallyinnovation, focused on your
processes, invest in crosstraining, and be strategic in
hiring and elevating teammembers along the way. Embrace
the challenge. And don't beafraid to seek help when you
(09:36):
need it. You've got the tools,the determination and the
support to turn the situationinto a win for your business
when this happens. So thanks forjoining me on this edition of
the business owner breakthrough.
Keep working hard, work smartand always strive to align your
product process and people toyour promise. Together we can
(09:57):
build better businesses that notonly succeed
but make a positive impact onour communities. Until next
time, I'm just a click away atspeak to pete.com take care keep
moving forward and make it agreat day
and ironic media production,visit us at our ONICK media.com
Are you ready to move from operator to owner? Well,
decisions in your organizationshould be made at the lowest
possible level of your business.
Every day, there is a frameworkthat can help and it's called
the five P's. Understanding yourpromise, aligning your product
process and people to it willgenerate the most amount of
(00:24):
profit. And that's when thefreedom comes. Freedom from the
day to day management andfreedom to start doing the
things that you want and deserveto do, inside and outside of
your business. No one ever saidit was easy, but it's time to
start the process on thebusiness owner breakthrough. If
(00:45):
you'd like to chat with me abouthelping you breakthrough in your
business, simply go to speak topete.com that speak to pete.com,
to book an appointment and tosee if we're a right fit. Today
we're diving into a topic that'sclose to home for many of us.
What happens when a key personon your team ends in their
(01:07):
resignation. Well, just lastweek, one of my top three people
that utopia, and it in hisnotice, he's leaving on great
terms, but it's left us with thetask of figuring out how to
replace them. It's a situationthat send many businesses into a
tailspin. But I'm here to tellyou that with good process
management, and a strong team,the transition can be smooth,
(01:29):
and even an opportunity forgrowth for your team members and
for your business. And thesethings are never easy. Quite
frankly, it sucks to lose a goodperson, especially one that's
been with you for such a longtime. But it does happen. And if
you want to set yourself up foras little pain as possible when
it does, then that's what thisepisode is all about. So let's
(01:51):
start a little bit with processwe talk a lot about process
management. Remember, it's oneof the five P's of running a
successful business. Havingrobust processes in place is
like having a roadmap for yourbusiness. It guides you through
the twists and turns. When a keyperson leaves, it ensures that
you don't lose your way. In ourcase, we've worked hard to
(02:11):
create clear and effectiveprocesses for his position. He's
created robust documentationhimself of his duties in several
different formats over the lastcouple of years. He has many
things written down and severalexplainer videos to guide the
next person who takes over theseaccountabilities to success.
When he announced his departure,it certainly wasn't a happy day
(02:34):
for the team. But together wefeel as though we're in a pretty
good position to move ahead. Ifwe didn't have these processes
simplified in an understandableformat so that they can be
repeated and executed in thefuture. Well, it would have felt
like the world was falling in.
And believe me, I know thisbecause it's happened to me.
(02:56):
Many times in my almost 30 yearsof being a business owner, will
there be issues and certainthings that have fallen through
the cracks as he leaves? Ofcourse there will. But we feel
as though there'll be moremanageable than ever before when
somebody in this type of keyposition has left. Now, I know
you might be thinking, Pete,that sounds great. But what if I
(03:17):
don't have any of theseprocesses nailed down yet? Well,
don't worry. It's never too lateto start, begin by documenting
essential tasks andresponsibilities within your
business, break them down intomanageable parts, and make sure
that everyone in your teamunderstands their role. as I
record this podcast and inrealizing that some of you will
be listening to this a year ortwo down the road on the podcast
(03:40):
reruns. But here are a few toolsthat I like to use for process
documentation currently, first,I like to record if it's going
to be a video of you talkingthrough the process show your
screen if it's on the computerbased process. But for this I
like to use a tool called loomthat's L O M, it records your
picture along with your screendoes a great job and then a
(04:03):
transcribe that video into textwith otter.ai. That's ott er.ai.
For this, I popped thetranscription from otter into
Chad GBT and prompt it to takethe transcript and rewrite it so
that it'll be good for yourprocess manual to accompany the
video. So now we've got itcaptured in video in a good
(04:25):
document form. And we storethese processes on a shareable
Google Drive at our business.
But you could use Dropbox or anyother cloud storage just as long
as it's accessible by anybodywho needs to get a hold of that
process. Watch it, read it,whatever they listen to it,
whatever it is they need so theycan take on that chore if that
person is no longer able towrite. So next let's talk a
(04:47):
little bit about cross training.
And this is where the real magichappens. Cross training ensures
that essential tasks are coveredeven when a key person leaves
even if it's just for haulhave a right, that person
doesn't want to come back tohaving everything on their plate
and having to do everything thatthey've missed in the last week
or two weeks. It's like having asafety net for your business. In
(05:08):
our situation, we had crossedgreen parts of his job, other
team members were ready to stepin and take over those
responsibilities. And it madethe transition more manageable,
less stressful for everyoneinvolved. Of course, not
everything he's accountable forwas cross trained. But even
having some of it was a greatstart. After being here for
(05:29):
almost seven years, there's alot of shoe topia wisdom that
will be lost with his departure.
But cross training doesn't haveto be complicated. Start by
identifying the critical tasksthat only one person knows how
to do in your team, then trainanother team member to handle
(05:49):
those tasks in their absence.
It's simple step that can make aworld of difference for you in
complication, confusion, andfrustration forever.
Crosstraining just isn't aboutpreparing for someone leaving.
It's about building a stronger,more resilient team that fosters
collaboration and understanding.
(06:09):
And it ensures that yourbusiness can keep moving
forward. Now let's move on tohiring and elevating the team
members. Right in the five P'sframework. We're talking about
your people here, right, it'sthe fourth of the five P's your
people, when a key personleaves, it's natural to feel a
sense of loss. But I want you tosee this as a potential
(06:30):
opportunity and opportunity forgrowth for change and for
elevating your existing teammembers. Remember, if you've
hired properly along the wayyour team wants to make
decisions for you. They want tofeel empowered, they want to
grow within your business. Andin our case, we're planning on
splitting and separating asaccountabilities amongst a few
different people. And some ofour existing team members will
(06:52):
take on new responsibilities,and will hire new people to fill
their previous roles as well.
And give them a hand so they canbe moved up as we delegate and
elevate those people that aregoing to be taking a bits and
pieces of this job that we'regoing to be splitting up. It's a
strategic move that allows us togrow and adapt, right? We're
always juggling as smallbusiness owners. Think about
your own team, who's ready tostep up on your team who's
(07:16):
showing potential, this could betheir chance to shine, and ask
for hiring new team membersalways look for people who align
with your business's promise andvalues. It's not just about
filling a gap. It's about addingvalue to your team. So what can
we learn from all this? Well,first and foremost, P prepared
key team members leaving is justa part of the business journey.
(07:40):
It's not a matter of if, butwhen. And having strong
processes, cross training and aplan for hiring and elevating
team members can turn apotential crisis into an
opportunity. And let's notforget the positive outlook side
of things. It's easy to see akey person leaving as a setback.
But I want you to see it as achance to grow to innovate and
(08:03):
to strengthen your team and tochange changes, sometimes scary.
But this is a forced change. Sowhat can you take as a benefit
of it, it's all aboutperspective. And with the right
strategies, you can turnchallenges and opportunities for
growth. I know it's not alwayseasy, but that's why I'm here to
help. And that's why we have thebusiness owner breakthrough
(08:26):
podcast. So as a fellow businessowner, I'm going through these
struggles along the way too. Sowhether it's just setting goals,
aligning your business ornavigating the challenges of
team dynamics, like I'm doinghere, right now, if you're ready
to take the next step, I inviteyou to reach out to me, let's
work together to set your goals,align your business and create a
roadmap for success. Just headover to speak to pete.com and
(08:50):
book an appointment that's speakto pets.com and book an
appointment, I'm looking forwardto helping you build a business
that's not only thriving, butgives you the freedom and
fulfillment that you deserve asa business owner. So before we
wrap up, I want to leave youwith a few final thoughts.
Remember, every challenge is anopportunity in disguise. The
(09:12):
departure of a key team membermight seem daunting, in fact,
often does. But with the rightapproach. It can be a catalyst
for growth, and potentiallyinnovation, focused on your
processes, invest in crosstraining, and be strategic in
hiring and elevating teammembers along the way. Embrace
the challenge. And don't beafraid to seek help when you
(09:36):
need it. You've got the tools,the determination and the
support to turn the situationinto a win for your business
when this happens. So thanks forjoining me on this edition of
the business owner breakthrough.
Keep working hard, work smartand always strive to align your
product process and people toyour promise. Together we can
(09:57):
build better businesses that notonly succeed
but make a positive impact onour communities. Until next
time, I'm just a click away atspeak to pete.com take care keep
moving forward and make it agreat day
and ironic media production,visit us at our ONICK media.com
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