As a business owner or manager, there is no doubt some of your employees have work-habits that could use improvement. As their manager, what are you doing about it? If your answer leans in the direction of 'not much I can do', here is a simple solution that you can implement immediately that can result in your business being more profitable, your managers more effective, your employees more efficient and customer retention. It is called MBWA, or "Management By Walking Around".

MBWA is exactly what the name implies. It is the act of visiting your employees and inspecting their work and habits - good and bad. Doing so enables you to reinforce the good and eliminate the bad through spotlighting their bad habits and re-training them by being in the right place at the right time to give them clear direction, positive encouragement and, if necessary, just telling them directly that you do not want to see aparticular act anymore.

MBWA is wonderful for managers who are actively engaged in the day-to-day activities of the business. It works best when you or your managers have made
a commitment to spend a dedicated amount of time with the employees or in various areas of the business each day. When walking around, look for
opportunities to polish your employees' work habits and methods. Look for opportunities to share your knowledge with a less experienced co-worker. If you are accessible and there to help them, you will receive input and feedback from them that you probably would not have received otherwise. The MBWA approach allows you to see everything going on and it allows you to listen directly to the employees.

When I was a service manager, the first area I assessed was whether the technician surveyed a job properly. An efficient technician was forward thinking and prepared; had the proper tools, materials and equipment to do the job at hand, and were mentally prepared for potential issues. Ill-prepared, he/she spent much of the time running back and forth to the truck for materials. If the technician demonstrated a lack of planning, I addressed the situation by asking thoughtful questions such as,"What are you trying to accomplish and what will you need to accomplish that?"

By asking the questions, it allows the technician to experience the thought process associated with planning and performing with maximum efficiency.
Helping him/her with the answers, especially if it is a matter of experience, allows the employee to learn to organize his/her thoughts and develop good
working habits. Once this practice is put into place, I revisited the process with him/her the very next day to discuss this new systemized approach to working. At the end of the day I made time to see or call him/her and asked specific questions like, "How did the new system make your job easier? What did it save for the company, for the customer?"