Moving Words – Micromanaging

Timothy Brady

“Invariably, micromanaging results in four problems: deceit, disloyalty, conflict, and communication problems.” – John Rosemond

Micromanaging people (and their time) is extremely detrimental to the success of a business. However, it is far easier to micromanage than to delegate. And the smaller the business, the more difficult it becomes to not micromanage.

The higher up the chain of command micromanagement happens in a company, the more destructive it is to the entire business. In the moving business, if upper management is micromanaging dispatch, you can be certain dispatchers are micromanaging the van operators, and then the van operators will be micromanaging their laborers.

Let’s take a look at why micromanagement is a formula for failure.

First and foremost, especially in this era of the ‘great resignation’, the vast majority of people object to being micromanaged. This is certainly true in the moving industry. Some very important attributes for movers are thinking on their feet to solve problems; creative thinking to deal with the challenges of a move, and self-motivation, since a van operator can be miles from an immediate manager. Having a manager stand over them directing their every move is a quick way to have a top flight mover leave for a more caring culture where they’re respected for their talents.

So what’s a ‘caring culture’? One in which organizational support is provided for employees’ social, physical, occupational, and emotional well-being.

How is this achieved?

Flexibility. Van operators, just by their nature, are remote workers. While they aren’t working from home, they’re working at a great distance from the moving company’s home office.  Providing them with the flexibility to react to the environment where they’re doing their work is imperative to the success of the task at hand. Whether it’s dealing with the weather, determining the best means to load a difficult piece of furniture, or handling a difficult shipper, it’s important to delegate to the mover the choice of the best way to resolve a situation. That doesn’t mean the moving company hasn’t provided guidelines on the do’s and don’ts in handling those different situations. But those guidelines must include flexibility for the van operator to make the best decision based on the current circumstances.

Listening. By listening to the movers and van operators and using their feedback to make meaningful change that supports their well-being, you can keep employees motivated, engaged, and in the fold. But it’s not just the willingness to listen. Management needs to look at the recommendations and suggestions and check on the possibilities of implementing them. Burnout is more likely to occur when employees and contractors feel they aren’t being listened to and their ideas or suggestions are ignored.

Training. It’s crucial in creating an atmosphere where micromanagement isn’t needed. The better van operators and their crews are trained in the basics of moving, and understand the moving company policies on how to handle different situations, the easier it is for management to delegate tasks without having to supervise them. It’s about having faith in your company’s training, so you trust those completing the tasks will do it correctly.

As an example, if we took 10 AMSA Super Van Operator Award for HHG winners and provided them with identically furnished houses to load in a 53′ trailer, there’s one thing guaranteed: not one of the trailers would be loaded the same. It would be highly unusual for any of the furniture tiers to look similar to the tiers in any of the other trailers. However, they would all be loaded correctly and ready for their trip to the destination homes. What would be similar, is that each van operator and their crew would have followed the basics in loading household goods.

By giving your movers latitude you’ll avoid an attitude.

“In general, looking forward is great management; looking backward is micromanagement.” – Verne Harnish