To answer your question directly, and speaking from personal as well as client experience…..NO!

If fact, I think most employers are happy if their employees show up for work on time, or close to it.

Yes, anyone who has integrity and thankful to be employed…

Yes, employees do care. Assuming the right cultural elements are in place and the Team is functioning as a Team, employees can be trusted to do the right things

As a consultant I find that I often care, work harder than the owner. As to employees, of course there are ways to tie them in, but it is not a simple set of programed answers

My thought would be the reverse— how many employers care about their employees as they do themselves? My career experience is that many employees do care about the company they work for. They willingly give of their time, their families’s time by pulling OT, going to networking functions with no compensation for them, but the expectation is there, just not in written format written. The only way employers will ever find out is to care enough to ask, care enough to share with them why policies changed, why salaries are being cut, why they are being asked to do more because of company cut backs…they may find that business results will improve, because the morale of their employees will be boosted. I speak from experience in this type of management style and my success and my companies’ successes were written by those folks who did care about the company as if they owned the business…it will be found in the management style of the Leaders—-Everyone wants to go to work with purpose, and feel appreciated. Simply my opinion!

No one really cares about the company as much as the owner, especially if the owner has his/her own equity invested in the company. However there is a way to ensure that the owner hires the type of talent that would care of the company more than others – hire people who are obsessive about their work, and then give them ownership. There is one risk to this strategy: this type of talent might turn hostile (disgruntled) if they are stripped of their ownership

I’d like to make a few key points -

The owner has the power to hire those that care if they choose to do so. They cannot however force anyone to care.

I have met few owners that would share enough information with their team so that they might care. If the business is very successful or doing poorly, the owner doesn’t want anyone to know and thus, how would you know if employees care or not.

I also find that many employees care deeply about their jobs but in a different way than the owner.

Hire the right people, share your goals for the business, hold everyone accountable (including yourself) and reward the super stars and I think you’ll see very clearly that lots of people care as much or more than the owner.

Thanks!

It is about getting things done not because you want them to do it, but because, they, themselves, want to do it.

I deal with management consulting and business transactions (M&A, valuations etc.) and speaking from experience, there is a huge difference between an owner and a manager, and yes – definitely between the perceptions of the owner and employees.
Noone cares as much as the owner. The owner lives with the thought of his company. He does not have a strictly scheduled working hours. He profits when the company grows.
Even the manager has different perspective. He may be managing the processes, leading the people, and still has limited responsibility. In most clients companies we’ve had, managers’ remuneration is performance based, but it doesn’t mean he cares as much as the owner.
And last, employees may be very committed to the work, to the team and the environment. But it also does not mean they care as much as the owner, Their responsibility is way below the ones taken by the owner. This goes to the risk as well.
And it is the way it should be. Creating a growing business and effective working environment does not mean that employees should care as much as the owner.

I agree with Nikki and Eric. The employer employee relationship is exactly that: a relationship. It takes a great deal of giving and taking on both sides to succeed. I partly agree with Ren on the subject, except for one key item that hasn’t been stated. In addition to holding the employee accountable, there must be an additional reward for improving the budget, i.e. cutting costs, etc. A compensation model based upon base salary plus quarterly performance targets has, in my opinion, been the greatest motivator for not only my employees, but my clients’ as well.

Hi Ren….I have always cared like the owner and I think that is why I have progressed in my career to be a CFO. And I mentor my people to also think along those lines, to care about each situation and to question whether or not something is good for the organization. Take care. Jane Briggs

The first thing that comes to mind is providing a profit sharing or equity stake track to the employees. There are several business models that have been very successful by adding this type of feature.
The next thing I know, as an employee that truly gives a @#%& about my employer, is that it may not be something that is learned or can be forced. It is a behavioral trait that not everyone possesses. It is probably borne from a giving and nuturing character trait, that compels someone to take ownership and try as hard as they can, to bolster the bottom line and also contribute to the efficient functioning of the company/department/work group.
My thought has always been, the more I help, the more that will come back to me. It might not be monetary. It comes from being excited about a job well done.
Besides, if I help as much as I can and a vast of majority of the employees do the same, it will probably help ensure that the doors stay open and I’ll have a place to go give to. It’s a little selfish from that point of view. I’m giving so that I’ll have a job tomorrow and the next day.
Just like on a sports team ya gotta earn your spot every day.

All the best,
Ben McGrath

Personally as a business owner ,The employees have no clue as to what it takes to run a business.And as the owner they all feel that we make just tons of money because we do own the business.And we wont even discuss the hours it takes to run a succesful bus.When you are not on the job site with them they just assume i am out having fun.They are clueless.That is the reason i let go my last 2 employees 8 yrs. ago.Now i make more money with less hours.And definetly less pressure.

Very interesting question, I believe it all comes down to the individual themselves, and indirectly influenced by their direct line manager (re management and motivation). As Ren Carlton mentioned business owners can motivate employees to care a little – but can never convince them to care as much as the business owner.

Anyway, speaking from experience, I’ve worked and cared for all my employers business as my own (hence, heaps of dedication, time and effort is put into my employers business). I’m a person, who cannot start a business of my own, but can bring my employers business to success – also bringing with it a touch of professionalism too! Strange but extremely true!

I see this flowing through to employees under my guidance, although I don’t expect them to work smarter / harder than any normal employee would, but somehow they do – maybe cause I always believe to “teach them how to fish instead of fishing for them” – yea, we risk them leaving the employment to look for a better job, but I believe if we sincerely care enough about them as individuals, they will in return care about us, as employers.

Hence, to answer your question, and speaking from experience, I believe it all relates to the individual themselves, and how we manage and motivate them – they will either enjoy their job, or find it a chore – also, respect is earned and not bought. Therefore, I believe if employees respect their bosses enough, they will care as much.

I stand to be corrected, but I speak from experience.

Cheers
Lilian

The best way to make an employee care like an owner is to make them feel like an owner. It doesn’t require real equity, just a stake in the value that they help to create.

I do appreciate and agree partially with Jim’s comments. The employees’ compensation should be directly linked to value creation, however in case of lower performance from a certain benchmark, he should feel the heat.

Just one thing to keep in mind that the employee’s mind set is totally different from an entrepreneur, therefore need to keep balance and retain/hire the competent hands to help in improving the business

It seems to me that there are two ways.
1. Give them a share of the business, and/or
2. Help them understand that they already own their own business –
total control of their skills and personal development
If the owned their own business as you describe – they would probably act in the same way they manage their lives

The ownership is a relative issue.
as long as ownership is under a one man show-or a small group then definitely-the owner /or owners carries all the risk, employee carry a parallel attitude to ownership and risk taking issues.

But when it comes to a ‘upward mobile/fast moving corporate’-then the ownership issue is not confined to a one man or a small group-it depends on a
‘collective spirit’-and the risk taking phenomena, is disperesed among many key decison makers.

So, in my thinking:i can say ‘it’s a state of mind’.

Thought for the day “Why should they care?”.

We treat them like children and are surprised when they behave like children.

Trouble is, it is very difficult to treat anyone who is not in daily contact with you in any other way, since it involves trust; and trust involves a degree of intimacy that is impossible to maintain with more than a smallish number of people.

So even if you trust your close colleagues and subordinates to behave like adults, you depend on them to do the same to their subordinates, while treating them (i.e. not your close colleagues but their subordinates) like children.

If the boss can’t trust people at more than one remove from him to behave like adults, then why should they behave any different?

Yes – as long as you are in frequent direct contact with your employees. (and that’s easier when you are a smaller company). I find leading by example (and hiring caring people) to be highly effective.

Our consultant bonuses are tied directly to their billable hours. That helps.

Hi,

Considering twenty years of managerial experience, I have noticed certain regularity, regardless of a company. There is no need for every employee to think and care like an owner, “God loves variety”, I like that. Some people come to work and do very good job, They find the magic among their families and it is just fine.
There is certain number of employees who care, I assume less then 10%. There is also about double of Those who act like They care.
The issue is how to allocate those positive and disable bad actors.
There are some people, who may have a right feeling of spoting those positive individuals. I have spent years in corporate and factory controlling, had contacts with top and bottom line workers. This is difficult part to work with bad actors simultanously observing best guys careers going down or being out of notice.

An owner should be aware of the situation and shall practice the issue to become a master selector like a coach. There are certain methods to spot right people.

This is why, I started my business first of March, I just could not stand it anymore.

If there is a way please let me know.

No one should care like the owner because no one has as much to lose, or gain. There are, however, many ways owners can engage employees to care proportionally as much, at least.

1.) Profit sharing – a basic, transparent, simple profit sharing plan tied to fair, measurable performance. I have a small client who was having problems with production errors on short-run, high-margin machine parts orders. It could turn a $15,000 profit into a $5,000 loss. He set up a 401k plan contribution strategy tied to production accuracy adjusted monthly. Production errors were reduced by 95% within 3 months. He has since expanded the program to include quartely cash (now-money) incentives. For his small, 20-employee company it costs about $15,000/year, but increased his gross margin by over %60,000. (That’s additional money in his, the owner’s pocket.)

2.) Invest in employee training. Educate employees that they are business owners, and that their businesses are themselves. The value of their business is their individual skills set. If the owner invests in the employee’s business, the employee will want to delivery a return on investment and deserve the extra compensation. Many employers are reluctant to train employees outside their core competencies for fear they will take that investment to a competitor-employer. Nothing makes an employee feel more valued and loyal than knowing that the owner is investing in his or her own personal value through training and personal growth. This gives employees vicarious ownership.

3.) Appreciate the basics. Don’t be an ingrate. Employees that “just show up” should be acknowledged AND valued, and FEEL that they ARE. Many people don’t and never will have an entrepreneurial spirit, but they will show up on time and put in their time. Rewarding even the most basic level of acceptable time, attendance, performance through a comprehensive communication strategy will keep the basic employee showing up on time and putting in his or her time at the basic level. Not everyone can be an All Star.

4.) Drop the dead weight, fire the ingrate. When it comes to employer/employee relationships and ingrates, “drop it like it’s hot.” Believe me, unappreciated employees will hop to another job, sometimes for less money. Employers should drop the unappreciative employee. Ingrates are never satisfied, and owners will never be satisfied by their work.

Employees can care collectively as much or more than the owner. Their caring is proportional to their interest in financial loss or gain in relation to that of the owner(ship).

These are universal concepts that work for any size employer, Subway franchise, or Fortune 100 publicly traded company, or anything in between.

No; and they can’t be expected to. At best, they have to believe in what the business does, and plans to do, and become a contributing “partner” in that success and achievement.

If the owner cannot communicate a compelling vision, then why should an employee care? Hire someone for a job and that’s what you get. Recruit someone for an adventure and you’ll see a different attitude.

That being said simply turning employees into independent contractors can create a dangerous situation for the company bottom line (especially if you run afoul of the IRS guidelines).

It’s important to consider that a large % of the population don’t want to care like the owner! The ones that do generally rise to the top in their current organisation (or move on if that doesn’t happen) and the rest are convinced that they are content with where they are.

Tie the performance of the company to some part of their compensation.

Is it any surprise that employee Travel and Meal expenses consistently fall so very close to the maximum allowed by company policy? I would not want our traveling employees to eat a can of beans for dinner, but would ask that they select a restaurant comparable to where they would go if paying for their own meal. Sadly, it was scoffed at, particularly by senior leaders. The company has since been acquired.

In fact I discovered quite early that most people do not want to be too involved. They prefer you to tell them what to do and how to do it. They need guidance. In a nutshell they want their job to be easy, the path to be cleared. To me only 1% acts like the owner and enjoy their work. 29% act as if, only caring about their career. They are easy to reveal: They would accept a challenge, only if direct reward is expected. Their vision is short term. With pressure, they act like mercenaries… cheap way to eliminate them.

We’re open book, open strategy, open management. Everyone’s bonus is tied to profits & everyone is bonused the same way…it’s unlimited upside for team members for driving greater profits. Therefore I feel like I have 22 owners around me all the time!

There will always a difference between an owner and employee in terms of involvement, commitment etc. However the gap can surely be reduced by making the employee an important stakeholder in the organisation by showing him the growth path and how he or she is critical to the Company meeting its business objectives. One of the other ways of achieving this is through an ESOP program.

No… they do not and no way to train them.
Have them call in three to five years when they are on their own..

Ren:
It might surprise you to know that several times in my career I was pretty sure I cared more about the boss’ business than the boss did.

Bosses: when you hire creative, smart problem-solvers, let them solve problems.