Why many advisors increase staff morale through flexible approaches to time

Brian Nicholas Byars, a one-year MDRT member from Covington, Georgia, said when he focuses on what’s important for staff, staff will focus on what’s important for his seven-advisor practice in return.

That means staff members are free to attend school events for their children or take a vacation to recharge their batteries. There is no strict allotment for flex or sick time because Byars knows his staff has earned this form of trust.

“People who are professionals work better when they’re allowed to be professionals. If their job’s getting done, I couldn’t care less,” he said. “But if work starts to slack a little, that’s when we start to reel it in.”

That does require, however, ensuring everyone is completing their work. One employee took advantage of Byars’ leniency, arriving late, leaving early and spending so much time out of the office that he was not only neglecting his own work but polluting the work ethic of others in the office. Rather than overhaul the entire system that was otherwise thriving, Byars sat down with the relevant employees to address the issue, and ultimately let the biggest offender go.

“One person taking advantage of a relaxed business can function as a cancer, and you have to get rid of it immediately,” he said. “To keep that one person, you’re going to lose the others that enjoyed the freedom.”

Read more about non-monetary ways to compensate employees in the upcoming issue of Round the Table.

Written by Matt Pais, MDRT Content Specialist