How do you deal with "burnt out" employees?

Being a sales professional can be a constant burn-out job but most individuals who have made it a career are very self-motivated. Motivation or lack there of is an internal thing and burn-out can happen to anyone, even those not in sales.

When it is evident that there is burn out in the ranks we need to consider if it is just one or more than one employee. If just one employee is experiencing burn-out on the job there may be hidden causes. It is every supervisors job to have a close relationship with their employees and to know what is going on with them but it is not always that easy to read the writing on the wall.

Once we have determined it is an individual employee we must get to the root cause of the issue. You can't just get an employee to open up without having built a relationship over a period of time. Good supervisory skills entail keeping a conversation going with the subordinates even if it is just checking up with them each day to see how they are doing and asking if there is anything they need.

We have to make sure, first of all, if there is a personal problem that exists either at work or home. Without prying into the employee's personal life we must determine if there is something going on that we are not aware of and if there is anything we can do to help. We can refer the employee to our Employee Assistance program if we suspect such a problem.

If we are seeing more than one employee with burn out perhaps there is something at the workplace that is happening that is out of the ordinary. Is there something in our work process that has changed? Is there a new employee that may be ruffling some feathers or has something in the work environment that has changed?

You may want to start asking others that are not part of the burn out if they are aware of anything out of the ordinary that has been going on. Get some 360 degree feedback.

Lastly, we need to start addressing engagement in the workforce. If this is not being done already it may be just the answer. If it is already being done perhaps we need to re-analyze what we are doing and how we are measuring our efforts. Employee engagement, fitting the job to the worker, often times keeps people passionate about their work. It is about providing a challenge for each and every individual in their job. It is about having people in the right position with all the right team members surrounding them. If one person doesn't fit in with the team not only will that individual not feel comfortable, the whole team will start to question the team effort. A supervisor who is educated in teambuilding, coaching and leadership and who has a great relationship with each individual is not always enough. They have to be involved from the beginning with Human Resources to get the right team members who fit in.

The supervisor also needs to know how to give positive input and feedback constantly and how to turn the negatives into positives. Unfortunately, not every supervisor is capable or has the resources to accomplish the task In other words, perhaps the root cause of the problem is the supervisor. It could be a personality conflict with one individual or poor management practices affecting some or all of the team.

Your job as the supervisor is to educate yourself as much as possible to know how to figure out the burn-out issue. Top management's job is to know when the problem is the supervisor. Human resources job is to help with the training and education of both the workforce and the supervisors. Then there is the issue of the top management not providing the proper resources. This is where the whole process fails. If you find yourself in this situation the burn-out may become rampant and you might need to be very resourceful or better yet you may need to search for a team you fit into better.

This is a lengthy response but it's an excerpt from a white paper we recently published that addresses your timely question, especially given the market conditions employees currently have to endure.

People are the last weapon of competitive advantage in the global market today. No matter your industry, company or nationality, there is a battle-ready competitor somewhere who is busy thinking how to beat you. If your employees are "burnt out", your organization is particularly vulnerable.

No downturn is forever and no boom is permanent. It requires understanding of the external market uncertainty and internally managing a talent pool that is anxious and perhaps distracted because of uncertainty. It demands better anticipation and execution at all levels just like, for example, from a pilot who hits a bad turbulence. If you have been a passenger in one of those turbulences a few times, your palms may be sweaty, but you know it will pass. For the first timer, it may appear like the end.
STEPS TO BE TAKEN
GETTING TO THE ROOT OF THE ISSUE
If one takes a look under the lid of “Talent Management,” one can find everything from recruiting to training, compensation to succession planning. There are so many strategies you can pursue that it can become hard to figure out where to focus and how to strike the right balance among all the moving parts. Thus, it becomes easy to get caught up in the latest talent management solutions, trends and buzzwords.
Leading companies have found that in order to make meaningful improvements in talent management, they need to start with the business problem they are trying to solve.
COMMUNICATING AND BOOSTING MORALE
Slowdown demands improved productivity to maintain growth with lower costs. Managing morale becomes critical during these times. Even if your company is not looking at a significant slowdown in hiring or planning layoffs, perhaps because of better planning, your employees are hearing the L word (layoffs) and are anxious. Communication needs to be realistic and honest, based on adequate planning about the business outlook. Companies need to share their approach to whether the downturn reaffirm their commitment to the best performers and seek their support and commitment. This will provide confidence to your employees. HR needs to focus on the front-line managers.
Many managers, especially those managing front line employees have not seen a tough economic cycle and need coaching to help them effectively communicate, manage and garner productivity from an anxious and distracted workforce. Honesty is the key because too many changes and knee-jerk reaction is the best way to lose the confidence of your team and organization. Passengers want to believe the captain knows what he/she is doing; else they will panic. Poorly run companies “binge” hire people when the going is good and layoff when times are bad. How you treat your employees through a tough time will not only shape your talent brand but will send a message to your current—whether you treat them as true assets and people you are willing to share the pain with, or as dispensable fodder in the war for talent. You will lose your best talent as they will seek more secure companies and you will struggle to hire when the economic cycle takes off again.
MAKING EMPLOYEES FEEL CONNECTED
Another challenge for the talent management and the HR team is helping employees see the connection between their work and the company’s overall goals. Each company could have a different method to go about this task. Say for example, each quarter, a company’s CEO could highlight certain goals, which tie into the long-term strategy of the company. This short-list of goals could be cascaded through each level at the company. The mangers could then create their own list of goals to support the CEO’s goals and finally the employees could do the same to support the goals of the manager.
Another idea could be designing measurement systems that clearly illustrate an employee’s impact on the business. By bringing such measurement systems, the employees can get a more comprehensive look at the impact they are having on the company results. In addition, when employees have access to meaningful performance data, they can determine where they need to improve. But this can bring another pitfall. Ideally, training and development should give employees the skills they need to achieve their goals. Often, however, employees will attend a training course, learn valuable new skills and then revert to “business as usual,” once they are back on the job. Hence, accountability plays a very crucial role here. Managers need to follow up with employees to find out what they have learned and how they will apply their knowledge. It is not about creating extra work for managers, but it should be a part of the ongoing conversation about performance.

If you would like a copy of the entire white paper, please visit http://www.alignmark.com/talent-management-strategies

The burn out is coming from within the sales person. It is usually caused by an internal emotional blockage. Whether or not they are able to overcome this state of mind is totally up to them. They need to ask their heart what the reason is that they are feeling dejected, tired and unappreciated. In doing so they need to listen carefully to what they hear and feel. Next steps should be based on what they have learned about themselves. Each one of us is motivated in a different way. Your top performers should be treated as individuals and not in a cookie cutter fashion.

Hi Steven,

Speaking from an Inside Sales/TeleSales perspective - burnout is a constant. The goal is to minimize your levels of Burnout & Turnover. Today’s Inside Sales/TeleSales Agent is increasingly experienced, professional, and required to be highly-productive. That being said - since 2007 and the onset of this recession - Sales Cycles have lengthened– and in 2009, 47% of Inside Sales/TeleSales Agents did not meet their Quota.

Inside Sales/TeleSales employees tend to hunker down during economic downturns - and just hold on to their jobs – even if they are unhappy or a poor job fit. And don’t kid yourself - many of them are. After freezes, reductions, cutbacks and the like - job satisfaction in many Inside Sales/TeleSales Departments is nothing to brag about. Is it any wonder that eventually most Inside Sales/TeleSales Agents burnout?

Economic recovery always brings a return to higher levels of Turnover – and recruiting replacement Inside Sales/TeleSales Call Center Agents of the same caliber is always more challenging during times of growth.

Study after study during this recession confirms that many employees would have left their employers months ago had the option to do so been viable. This recession has forced many frustrated, disappointed and unmotivated Inside Sales/TeleSales Agents to stay put. This trend in Call Center Turnover is not a new one and is consistent with past recessions.

Just as in past recessions - when job opportunities become more prevalent - employees will go running for greener pastures - and employers could be left with a lot of empty cubes. It also tends to be your Top Performing Agents that jump ship first – leaving you with the “loyal” workers – who tend to be your Average or Below-Average performers.

Hiring the wrong Agent to begin with is the Root Cause of most Inside Sales/TeleSales Department Performance Issues – and has a direct impact on Retention, Turnover, Burnout – and Sales.

Employers need Call Center specific HR tools that are easy-to-deploy, very cost-effective and highly-predictive of an individual's suitability for a particular type of Call Center Agent job. Call Center employers need to be able to weed out the Job Candidates who will burn out fast because they aren't suited for the work - and identify the people with the Personality/Job-Fit, Soft Skills, Motivation, and Work Ethic to be Top Inside Sales/TeleSales Call Center Agents.

Tools such as SPAS Call Center Agent Pre-Employment Screening Software http://www.telesoftsystems.ca/64201.html allow you to assess a Job Candidate's Fit for your specific Call Center job. All Versions of the SPAS Software are validated with at least a 90% Predictive Ability for identifying those Job Candidates who will meet or exceed your Inside Sales/TeleSales Call Center Performance Standards. There is a specific Version of the SPAS Software that has been designed & optimized for the hiring of Inside Sales/TeleSales Agents.

After all - it is the ‘HumanWare’ that is the most important component for long-term Inside Sales/TeleSales Department success. Top performing Inside Sales/TeleSales Departments drive their Revenue & Performance through superior hiring tactics. Deploying tools that give you better insight and more accurate predictions as to which applicants from a pool of Job Candidates would perform up to, or beyond your established standards contributes most significantly to increased Inside Sales/TeleSales Departments productivity – to Retention and minimizing “Burnout” – and to Sales.

SPAS Call Center Agent Pre-Employment Screening Software is a Proven Technology that meets and exceeds all Government Employment Standards Requirements as a Hiring Tool in the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia/New Zealand and anywhere else in the world where the ‘Language of Work’ is English.

SPAS Software is sold on an Unlimited Usage License basis - there are No "per Test" Fees - "Annual Renewal" Fees – or any other User Fees whatsoever. Technical Support for the SPAS Software is free & unlimited as well. SPAS Licenses are also sold with a 6 Month, 100% Money-Back Guarantee of Satisfaction.

To find out about a Free Trial of SPAS Call Center Agent Pre-Employment Screening Software: http://www.telesoftsystems.ca/64201.html

Hi Kellie,

That wasn't a criticism aimed specifically at any one. But it always amazes me that in the fields of Management and HR, that people don't ask the important questions - they just run off looking for a solution.

If your car is broken, you take it to a garage and the mechanic performs a diagnostic (which is essentially a series of "is this working?" questions), before starting to fix it. So why do we act like we can fix people without doing a basic check first?

And I completely agree with you, time off is not a solution, unless the problem is too many hours in work - in which case it might be a long-term solution... :-)

I believe that you should let them take a day or two off. I don't believe in trying to "mitigate" their tasks at this point because if they truly are burnt out, they aren't able to function properly. They'll be more prone to making mistakes and under performing. In addition, consider the legal aspect of it. A good employer should be reasonable in what they expect from employees. There are times when the bottom line shouldn't matter.

Well, unfortunately; I don't believe that you can re-ignite their passion. This is something they need to do for themselves. Possibly you can engage them in conversation about what they might like to see managed differently to help them through the difficult phase they are currently in. I know that in many instances burn out is as a result of not feeling appreicated and not having a lot of control in managing the work load. Is it possible to help them in terms of how they are managing? Maybe giving them permission to do their work in a different way that fits their vision of how the work should be done. For example, learning the difference between urgent and important tasks. Just because someone else sees an issue being urgent; is it really? I don't really like to use the term time management because we all have a certain number of hours in a day - no more - no less - but managing how the work is controlled within the work day may make a difference. What are some of the signs of burnout that you are witnessing?

Solutions, solutions, solutions... my kingdom for a question instead.

Step 1 - Find out what is causing the burnout. Really, there are many reasons for people to burn out. Find out what's going on in this persons head, not the heads of people contributing here. So ask the question, don't start with a solution.

Is it monotony of the job? Is it organisational? Is it something outside of work - personal issues can be dragged in with someone? And so on...

Step 2 - Find out if you can address the issue or not. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't. I left the one job I loved the most simply because my manager was not up to the task, which was recognised by the Sales Director but he was sadly powerless to remove the guy who had been forced on him by the CEO. I would have stayed as long as I didn't have to deal with my manager on a daily basis, his glowering incompetence was too much for me to handle.

Step 3 - If you can fix the issue(s) - do so.

Step 4 - If you can't, seek a compromise - something that may re-energise the individual for a brief period of time, but recognise that ultimately they will still be unhappy and will eventually leave. It's important during this phase to start seeking a replacement.

Hello Nik
I agree with what you are saying about asking the questions and perhaps I should have rephrased my response to make it clear that this was my intent as well. Get them engaged in conversation to see what the real issues are behind the burn out. Taking time off is not the solutoin because it doesn't change anything - it gives a short reprieve and nothing more.

I will again say though, that the only way the issue can be fixed is through the people experiencing the burn out. As leaders, we can only point them in a direction they may need to take to alleviate the problems.

There are is the distinct possiblity that the people are not the right fit and hence; burn out.

Not to worry - I didn't take it as a criticism at all - you are quite right in what you say...I guess my main point is that we think we can fix other people';s problems - and I think they have to fix their own - what we can do is help them to discover how they might accomplish that. I think we agree...and I love good disucssion and the great value in hearing another's perspective is that it helps all of us to communicate more effectively.

It think it's 50/50, sometimes we can fix someone's problem when they can't. Let's say that in this example the problem turns out to be... "I'm not getting enough administrative support, so my sales are suffering."

Then it's the manager who has the power to fix that, and not the individual.

However if the problem is; "This is boring me to death now."

You're right only the individual can fix it.

Cheers.

Yes, you are correct...there are situations in which the 'fix' can be provided by an external party. Quite true. I guess I was thinking of the 'burn out' itself from an emotional and psychological perspective but again, you are correct. I guess that's where the benefit is again in sitting down and openly asking questions in terms of what is needed to correct the situation. I worked at one time in a very high stress environment and burn out was always a factor. We had the opportunity to have facilitators brought in to give us ideas on things we could do to alleviate some of the stresses in our jobs (I worked in emergency services and at times we dealt with life and death situations, had shift work to contend with and a constant change in the work flow). Realistically, some people just couldn't deal with the stress and quite literally fell apart. While I know it's not sales and it's not the same type of motivation situation that this question initially asks, I am adding it as information to illustrate that I do understand what burn out can do...and for the health of the individual and the organizaiton...can't be ignored.

With Sales employees, who are by their very description usually self motivated I have found that giving them a new perspective. I have had them complete a day out in the field with a technical employee - to get a perspective on the behind the scenes functions that drive their efforts. They gain more techical expertise which makes them better sales professionals, it costs nothing but a days pay and is paid back two fold in renewed energy.

Invite them in to attend roundtable discussions - find out what is going on. Ask them! It might be a simple fix - that their laptop is giving them fits and they need a loaner while theirs is repaired. Maybe they are finding that with the economy it takes more visits to make the sale - help them analyze the time input vs. results and how they can either streamline the process or learn that for now, it is part of doing business.

Taking them out for lunch and listening is also a great way to give them a personal boost. Do not discuss their sales or performance - talk about what is going right and what he/she wants advice on. Let the sales professional do the talking.

Hopefully you are holding regular team meetings - instead of using the time to disseminate information, ask each to come to the meeting to present one technique/process/approach they are using that is working in their region.

I agree Kellie, all jobs not just sales are susceptible to burn out and the reasons are always different, it's the way an employer approaches the issue that makes the difference.

Hi Melanie
I like what you have added here and it falls in line with the work that I do around orienations and on-boarding. Part of what I encourage employers to do is exactly what you just commented on - allow employees to have a view of how what they do fits in with the whole organization. For instance, sales people could even spend a day with the retailer (depending on the sales they do) and get a sense of their needs as well. Spend time with marketing because there is often conflict between those two areas due to a lack of understanding in which each one contributes. The better we understand the big picture - outside of our own little worlds - the better we function.

There are many causes of burnout. Thus, there is no easy solution. Here are some options to consider:
- There is a mismatch between the type of work the individual is doing and his/her natural strengths. If required to do work over time that is not supported by our natural talents, we will burnout -- deplete our energy. The 5 Dynamics Assessment helps individuals and mangers understand 'fit' and determine how best to delegate or how teams can work together effectively to support individual strengths.
- Burnout may occur because an individual is working long hours or does not have control of his/her schedule. Flexible schedules may be the appropriate solution here.
- Burnout can occur because a person is not balancing his/her life with exercise, a balanced diet, 8 hours of sleep and time with friends and family. All of these help to re-energize us.

If you are interested in exploring the 5 Dynamics Assessment or ways to implement flexible schedules in the workplace, please contact me at: BMiller@ArtemisManagement.com. Check out our web site at: www.ArtemisManagement.com
Barb