What makes a business stable and profitable?

In my years in this business, I have seen all ends of the spectrum regarding how people run their business. There’s the hands-on type that is actively involved and calling all the shots. There’s the owner who is basically incognito- he is rarely there or never there, but he has quality people throughout the organization. I’ve seen sloppy work areas as well as back-room floors so clean you could eat on.

Well run companies that are growing and/or prospering don’t all look the same. In addition, poorly run businesses that are either losing market share quickly and/or profits as well aren’t cut out of the same cloth. One of the great strengths about our country is that if you own a business, you can choose to run it any way you want, as long as it is within the boundaries of being legal. Good managers come in all shapes and sizes.

There are, however, a few common threads that I have witnessed among those businesses that I have come across that are stable and profitable over the long haul. In every instance, the management team, including the owner or leader, exhibits the following traits:

1) The key management people in the organization, including the owner, show that they genuinely care about the employees throughout the business. They understand that their people are the reason they have been successful.

2) As a part of that concern for their employees, the management team creates a discipline within the organization of making sure their employees know how important safety is for everyone. When an employee is injured, they do everything they can to take care of that employee. Because of this great working environment, the employees in turn pay attention to safety, and when they are injured, they do everything they can to get back to work as soon as possible. They help to police the safety throughout the organization.

3) Because the employees feel that their employer cares about them individually, there is very little turnover, which creates a much better and more profitable working environment.

In short, I have found that caring about your employees and making sure they are safe and taken care of is directly linked to your long-term profitability. The effort and resources you spend making sure your employees know that you appreciate and care for them will come back to you in the long run.

You don’t necessarily need a huge safety manual or a “safety committee” to have a safely run business. The most important thing you can do for safety is to show you care about it. Many of you business owners that are reading this blog are the very people I am talking about. Your safety program and your business is a success because you have shown you care about your employees!