Running a successful business is challenging. It’s even more challenging to run a successful expanding business. To compete in today’s market, you need employees with both dedication and experience. That’s why attracting senior-level professionals is among the top HR priorities.
Some employees could, willfully or not, work against the companies’ interests. They do as little as possible, spread negative attitudes, or even create a toxic environment. You could try increasing the wages, yet the performance doesn’t change. Moreover, you can’t reward everybody for complaining.
Every business executive’s task is to identify latent frustrations before they become concrete issues. They also need to acknowledge that the team is genuinely as strong as its weakest link. To illustrate this, let’s use an example.
2017 Equifax Data Breach
Equifax is an American multinational consumer credit giant with more than 12,000 employees. It could be hard to believe that one careless employee could cause tremendous damage, but according to Equifax, that’s precisely what happened.
In July 2017, Equifax noticed suspicious activity on its servers. Apparently, hackers have been stealing their client’s data for 76 days. They obtained 147.9 million American private records, alongside 15.2 million British and 19,000 Canadian citizens. Stolen information contained first and last names, birth dates, addresses, social security numbers, and, in some cases, driver’s license numbers.
What’s worse, the data was not immediately put up for sale on black markets. Operations of such scale require enormous resources, often pointing to nation-state actors. The fingers point at the Chinese People’s Liberation Army operation this time.
A few months earlier, an open-source web application framework, Apache Struts, released a security update. It was notified of a critical vulnerability in its systems and urged for a hasty update. Equifax used Apache Struts software. According to the then Equifax CEO Richard F. Smith, a sole Equifax employee did not “heed security warnings and did not ensure the implementation of software fixes that would have prevented the breach.”
Some people doubted Mr. Smith was downplaying the issue. However, a single mistake could start an unprecedented chain of events regarding cybersecurity. After incident analysis, it was confirmed the updates were not applied on time.
Moreover, Equifax ordered to secure the systems, but the order did not go through. This hints at serious negligence in the IT department. Which could, and most likely was, caused by a single employee’s irresponsibility. Another example of that could be a cyberattack where one employee caused the worst hack of 2021. In this case, even simple measures like a professional password manager could’ve prevented this business disaster.
Nurturing the Strong Links
Extreme examples like Equifax and Colonial Pipeline are a mix of employee negligence and cybercrime. Yet they perfectly illustrate how the weakest link can cause irreversible damage. But what demotivates employees up until they don’t even care about security?
There is no simple answer. People are very different, with unique motivators. Some things that motivate one employee could have the opposite results for the other. Some employees enjoy noisy business parties and prolonged workations. At the same time, others skip the parties and expect a different kind of compensation for their dedication.
It would be best if you spent time getting to know your employees as a business owner. They should share what they love to do and what motivates them the most. Keep in mind that comfortable tasks outweigh other benefits. Employees can do their best to achieve the best results, but if they hate the job they do, sooner or later, the efforts will decrease.
Instead of trying to fix their shortcomings, focus on their strengths. People often mistakenly assume they are good at something just to figure out they want to do something else. It could form lasting relations if you played along. You would need to hire a new person for an open position, but saving a promising employee will bring significant long-term benefits. Of course, if an employee fails to meet expectations in different fields, it might be necessary to say farewells.
Lastly, make sure your employees are involved. It’s a common practice for CEOs to take charge and move the company in a specific direction. However, you will forge stronger bonds by loosening the grips and including more workers in the decision-making. After all, people care the most about things close to them. Employees will genuinely care about their tasks if they feel they have a significant say regarding future business development.
Final Thoughts
Highly motivated employees will form your strongest links. They will generate new ideas, attract more professionals, and go the extra mile when necessary. However, if it’s other way round, discussed cybersecurity examples illustrate how bad employee negligence can go.
But if you put effort into getting to know your employees, focusing on their strengths, and keeping them involved, you may establish a long-lasting partnership even with so-called “weak links.” People won’t forget companies’ effort and understanding during trying times and will answer with top-notch performance after they settle in a comfortable position.
