Underperforming suppliers – or employees... What’s going wrong?
I watched several separate situations unfold over the past year, each reminding me of the 80’s digital handheld game, “Mickey & Donald”. Not mentioned in its title – perhaps underlining his contribution level – was the character Goofy.
The three were tasked with putting out a building fire. As the gamer, you told Donald where to point the water hose, and directed Mickey to spend his time either (a) plugging up leaks in the hose, or (b) watching over and ordering Goofy to run the pump. If Goofy was not being watched, he would get lazy and pump slower causing less water to flow and creating a higher risk of the building burning and Donald dying.
They all had their part to play in the team, but Mickey’s role was tricky because he was responsible for the performance of a non-performing team member.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t Goofy who suffered the consequences of his weakness to their team. His performance – or lack of – added pressure on Mickey’s already critical role; but moreover, it was other members of the team who bore the fatal consequences of this teammate’s lethargy and lack of passion.
But here’s the twist. While it’s easy to lay the blame on Goofy, the problem actually lies with Mickey: the person in charge. His lack of action is putting the whole team’s goal at risk. Mickey must take action if he expects anything to change!At some stage or another we’ve all had a Goofy in our midst. A an employee, a team member, a supplier. The problem is the same as Mickey’s: the longer we avoid changing the behaviours or ending the relationship, the more unmanageable our role becomes and the more likely we are to lose our best people.
Of course, this is an easy analogy in the workplace and one that has clear paths to resolution.
But what if your Goofy is a supplier?
What if you made the wise and considered decision to outsource a part of your business that wasn’t your main game, but suddenly find that supplier isn’t delivering?
What if you’re finding you need to handhold this supplier and order them to keep pumping at that pump to achieve the results you agreed on?
What if you’re losing great opportunities because of your supplier’s lack of passion? What if they’re preventing other areas of your business from reaching goals also?
Let's stop wasting time managing the things we outsourced in the now ironic hope that it would save us time!
- Identify. Review performance against service agreements and uncover the problem areas.
- Discuss. Have an honest conversation with your supplier. Find out where the roadblocks or issues lie. Like in the workplace, the problems may be more easily fixed than you think!
- Restore. Define “SMART” resolutions – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely. Be prepared to make changes inhouse if needed.
- Exit. If the above fails, review alternative suppliers! Draw that line in the sand, consider it a learning experience, and move on. Let’s not waste any more time, money or energy here!
One of a leader's goals is to create a team – internal and external – that performs without them having to consistently watch over them.
How does yours stack up?
