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Lack of leadership in Family Dollar Stores

Family Dollar Stores

According a research conducted by Wall Street for fifth consecutive times in 2016, Family Dollar Stores was rated among the worst companies to work for. This was attributed to the fact that the company lacked good leadership. According to the research, many employee that were interviewed that work and have worked at the company cited lack of long-term employee satisfaction; which includes culture and values, career opportunities and trust in senior leadership, as the main reason why the company was ranked amongst the worst companies to work for. Many complains of employees through interviews and online reviews of Family Dollar Stores were of the opinion that upper management for many employees was out of reach for many of them, this is because the company offers little room for professional growth. Additionally, many employees of the company said that the company has low pay, but poor leadership was major reason for their discontent.

How to solve the problem.

Avoiding complains by employees about long-term satisfaction is very important since it significantly impacts to the productivity, sales and the image of the company. To fix this problem the management of family dollar needs to find ways to increase employee satisfaction so that their business stays competitive. Employee discontent often arises from leaders who act more as strict robots than caring individuals. Majority of employees become dissatisfied with their job and look for other opportunities, as a result of poor treatment from management. The role of leaders requires adherence to company policy and the appearance of an authority figure, but that does not mean leaders need to rule with an iron fist to gain respect and maintain order in the workplace. To deal with unhappy employees effectively, leaders of family dollar must treat workers in an amicable manner and serve more as a friendly authoritative figure rather than a feared one. For example, rather than yelling at and writing employees up, leaders should engage employees of the company on a personal level and with respect.

In addition, Employees who aren’t rewarded typically lose the motivation to continue on at a high level. By offering rewards, the management of the company reignites an employee’s fire and determination and maintains high morale in the workplace. Entrepreneur explains that every company needs a reward system; one that is thorough and encompasses numerous types of rewards including both monetary and non-monetary. For example, management can prevent employees from feeling that there is no room to advance by suggesting that the employee be promoted for excellent and consistent performance. Even verbal recognition, such as saying "good job" or "You've been handing in some great work recently" is a reward in the sense of employee appreciation.

Suggestions

Many complains about employee satisfaction mostly concern about motivation. Hence I suggest that, for Family Dollars Stores to leaders to improve their reputation they need to make room for professional growth and also engage employee by listening to them and addressing them in a timely manner. In the same way as employee satisfaction impact profits, a company’s financial should impact employee satisfaction. However when leaders ignore the importance of recognition and appreciation as in components of improving productivity in their company, it reduces employee's morale. Hence in my view I think leaders of family dollar should show appreciation and express gratitude’s to the employee's efforts and their actions and also provide and environment where they can advance in their jobs.

Reference

Comen, E, Stebbins, S & Frohlich, T (2016). The Worst Companies to Work For. 24/7 Wall Street. Web. Retrieved 19 March 2017.

Entrepreneur (2017) The Best Ways to Reward Employees. Web. Retrieved 19 March 2017.