Introduction: Many business owners believe their employees have poor attitudes and weak execution, but the employees they hire must meet the company's "assumed" hiring standards, and those who stay also meet the company's requirements. So, who is at fault, the boss or the employee?

Since 2005, I have been invited to train employees in various companies, and over twelve years, I have gained many experiences and insights. The most common occurrence is that when accepting invitations from business owners, many will repeatedly tell me about the problems their companies have faced in recent years, with the main issues being employee-related. Generally, employee problems manifest in three aspects: first, poor attitude; second, weak execution; third, low professional quality. They hope I can address these three issues in training, aiming for significant improvement afterward.

I understand the urgency of many owners, as I have been a "boss" myself for a few years. But urgency aside, let's calmly analyze whether these problems are the boss's or the employee's.

Regarding Attitude Issues: This is a problem many owners repeatedly emphasize. Many believe their employees have "attitude" problems that need changing. I often ask, "What do you think causes the poor attitude?" Most owners cannot answer, only insisting that employees' "attitudes" are bad.

Many factors determine an employee's "attitude," such as income, the company's distribution mechanism, environmental factors, the smoothness of work, and interpersonal relationships. In reality, employee attitude problems are mostly caused by three main factors: the benefit distribution mechanism, the complexity of interpersonal relationships in the work environment, and the smoothness of work. These factors are primarily "external" rather than "internal," meaning the significant influences on employee "attitude" are external.

If we consider the "external" factors, then the ones who need to change first are not the employees but the owners themselves. The benefit distribution mechanism cannot be changed simply through training; it requires the owner's wisdom and courage. The complexity of interpersonal relationships in the work environment is often more the owner's fault than the employees'. As for the smoothness of work, it largely depends on whether the company's "competitive system" is competitive. In today's society, the "corporate competitive system" plays a crucial role in whether employees can work smoothly. Of course, if employees do not work hard, work will not go smoothly either.

Regarding Execution Issues: Many of my articles and courses analyze execution. In reality, many owners evaluate employee execution based on results—if results are good, execution is strong; if not, execution is weak. Such evaluation is neither scientific nor reliable.

Actually, for most employees, especially frontline staff, true execution should be about following work processes, methods, and standards. As long as they implement these properly, their execution is strong. The problem is that work processes, methods, and standards are not formulated by frontline employees but by the company level. In reality, many companies emphasize execution but have little to show in terms of defining work processes, methods, and standards. Either they are completely inconsistent with actual conditions and cannot be implemented, or they simply do not exist. A typical example is that many companies recruit salespeople, briefly introduce products and prices, set a "probation" standard—such as selling a certain amount or achieving a simple payment collection target—and then give them a market. They provide no guidance on how to proceed, how to survey the market, how the company helps develop customers, or what support is available. They only emphasize the "probation" target, leaving employees to "survive or perish" on their own. Most perish rather than survive. When employees fail to meet the target, the owner blames their execution. Is that fair? This situation is common in the FMCG industry, and it is precisely the owner's problem, not the employee's.

Regarding Professional Quality Issues: Professional quality involves many complex factors, but some basic elements need reasonable analysis.

Any employee who works in a company for several years goes through a series of stages: onboarding, probation, training, development, and meeting work standards. The formation of professional quality is influenced by these stages, ultimately "freezing" the employee's professional quality. The company plays a significant role in each stage, from recruitment to probation, training, development, practice, and skill improvement. The employees hired must meet the company's "assumed" hiring standards, and those who stay basically meet the company's requirements. In this case, if the owner believes employees have low professional quality, we must consider that this is precisely the company's problem, not the employee's. Improving employees' skills, knowledge, and culture is a function of a good company, and the key person influencing these functions is the owner!

Thus, many problems owners attribute to employees are actually manifestations of the owner's own problems within the company. In reality, if the owner does not change, it is difficult for employees to change!

Ge Junzhen, MBA from Guanghua School of Management, Peking University; founder of the technical marketing model in the animal protection industry; practical expert in agricultural and livestock marketing management; chief consultant at Zhenmou Junlue Consulting; vice chairman of Hebei Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Society; chief advisor of China Poultry Health Network; editorial board member of "Today's Animal Husbandry and Veterinary"; chief trainer of Danji Qiaoqiao Hui.

Source: Zhenmou Junlue (ID: gejunzhenygzt)

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