People Over Profit – Fact or Fallacy

By Gry Tomte

Why is there such a gap currently between what employees and employers want and need in the beauty and aesthetic industry? Or is it actually that we really deep down want the same things?

It’s becoming increasingly clear that in the post covid world, things have changed. It seems like the gap between what employees and employers want from each other and from life is like an unsurmountable iceberg at the moment. With employers screaming that there’s no employees to find - and those who do come along aren’t willing to do “what it takes”.

And employees shouting equally loud that employers have unrealistic expectations, apply unrealistic pressure on them to perform, and not providing a space for them to thrive and feel supported. So to get an understanding of what the real issues were I posted an anonymous question box on my instagram - and boy did it get flooded!

There’s no doubt both employers and employees in our industry feel some major pain points. Personally I think almost every industry is feeling similar pain points to be honest. It’s not isolated to us. There’s a bit of a much needed correction happening in the market. Maybe a bit of over correction at the moment - but with some reflection and reason I’m hopeful we’ll find our way back to homeostasis soon.

People over Profit - fact or fallacy?

Times have changed. And I personally think it is for the better. I remember back in the days when I started out as a therapist. I worked 4 late nights till 9pm, every Saturday and got paid minimum wage for 3 years, never had a lunch break, never got a “thank you”. Super? Nah….That seemed to be an “optional extra”. Pee breaks? Ummmm…that wasn’t necessary….?

When I left I gave 3 months notice and all I got was “you’ll never make it on your own, you’ll be back in a month asking for your job back! Is this really what we want for the next generations? There is an overwhelming amount of evidence out there that shows that when people are happy and engaged and connected to the purpose of their workplace they produce better outcomes. I mean, it’s not really hard to believe is it? But what is it that needs to be in place for people to be happy, engaged and connected to the purpose of their workplace?

I’ve for a long time been saying “HÜD is a People over Profit business”. And often I’ve been met with chuckles and/or eye rolling.

It’s the definition! The definition leaves so much to creative interpretation! Many assume a People over Profit business means we just give people free reigns and it’s all about making the team happy - and screw the balance sheet…

“Profit is a dirty word”… A “just put good vibes out to the universe and everything will work out fine” kind of thinking. Eeeek! No wonder I’ve been met with some eye rolls… Because my definition of being a people over profit business doesn’t mean “give your team everything they want at the expense of the business running at a profit”. Because that’s not valuing people at all! Neither the people on your team - or the people you serve; your clients. Or you.

You need to know your profit margin and be in control of your numbers - and no, being people over profit does NOT mean paying your people more than you can afford. Because sooner or later, taking this kind of approach means potentially shutting the doors due to a lack of cash flow. OR, it means you, the business owner, is overwhelmed, over worked and under paid because you think it’s on you to work double time for less money to be able to keep things going.

Which again is not a good recipe for leadership - and definitely not putting people first. And a third thing to consider is that by simply “giving people everything they want” creates less opportunities for the team to overcome adversity and challenge themselves to achieve things on their own and celebrate those achievements.

I remember I used to be so generous with presents, bonuses and perks that it created an Oprah “everybody gets a car” kind of environment. No one actually had to work much for it. Big cash Christmas bonuses were a given - and I barely ever got a thank you.

What I realise now is that what people value more than a bonus they never had to work for, is the fulfilment and pride of achieving something on their own. So. Valuing people over profit to me means simply that the decisions you make must serve the people in your business first and foremost. You. Your team. Your customers. And that means making sure you drive profit and performance in a way that doesn’t diminish people but rather uplifts people.

When I opened my business I had a big dream of creating this magical space where people loved coming to work and where I could make a decent living from owning my own business.

I definitely didn’t want to repeat the experience I had myself in my job! What I found instead was that running a business is NOTHING like treating skin and just having people magically be invested in coming onboard. It was learning how to balance my books, manage conflict, motivate people, dealing with difficult personalities - and just a HUGE mountain of things I didn’t know how to do.

And so I found myself exactly that - overwhelmed, overworked and under paid. I caved under all the pressure and passed all of that pressure onto my team. Disaster. And I can see there’s a lot of people sitting in the same boat out there right now - especially after the past 2 years. With rising mortgages and costs and volatile client behaviours and a lot of employees and employers being a bit lost.

The pressures are heavier than ever - and it’s making some inadvertently show up in ways that further increases the divide between our teams and employers. I believe our industry needs us to change our thinking and come together to avoid losing our way. After all, we serve an INCREDIBLY important purpose. And if we didn’t exist, millions of people would lose out. So what’s the real problems?

In my question box, the biggest issues from an employee perspective were;

• Increased unmet needs for work/ life balance

• Increased performance pressures, unrealistic targets and not enough support

• Unmet wage expectation

• Unhealthy workplace culture, misaligned values and feeling unfulfilled

For employers the biggest pain points were;

• Increased unmet needs for work/life balance

• Increased pressures due to rising cost and inflation

• Silent quitting (going through the motions and not caring), employees not staying (and subsequent difficulty hiring)

• unrealistic wage expectations from employees

• Unhealthy workplace culture, misaligned values and feeling unfulfilled

Can we just take a moment and look at just HOW similar the pain points are??

I relate it all back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Although I’d love to dive into it and make this a 10 page spread, I’m going to need to take a simplified approach! Interestingly to me, most of the business owners’ needs will be met by fulfilling the needs of employees as a natural consequence. More about that at the end! So let’s look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs from the most basic that must be in place before a person can even think of being motivated to achieve the other, higher needs;

Basic needs:

1. Physiological (food, shelter, rest, water etc) is the first needs that must be met, then;

2. Security and safety (health, emotional, personal and financial security)

Here are some common occurrences that stop people from having their basic needs met;

• A comfortable working environment where rest breaks are not an optional

• A roster that allows for sufficient rest between shifts

• Access to holidays without feeling guilt

• Stability in the workplace

• Psychological safety to make mistakes without being judged or scolded

• Support when going through trauma or difficult things both inside or outside of work

• Financial security (a stable pay check - not having to guess how many hours you’ll have week to week)

• Job security (not having to always be on edge, wondering if you have a job or not if performance is low)

Psychological needs:

1. Belongingness and love needs (close relationships, friends) 2. Esteem needs (feeling of accomplishment, prestige)

Here are some common occurrences that stop people from having their psychological needs met;

• An unhealthy culture where it’s everyone for themselves

• Lack of acceptance (expected to “fit in” rather than belong)

• Lack of trust and respect

• Lack of connected relationships with the team or with management

• Not enough time spent with family, partners or friends

• Shaming or imposing guilt if targets are missed or expectations aren’t met (hello performance whiteboard)

• The only measure of worthiness and contribution is reaching a target - no recognition of effort

• Unclear expectations of performance and/or acceptable behaviours

• Lack of acknowledgement, praise and feedback

• Lack of autonomy

• Lack of opportunities to overcome challenges and feeling a sense of mastery and achievement as a result

• Lack of tools to increase competence and therefore confidence

Self fulfilment needs:

I interpret this as what you need to become the best version of you. Here are some common occurrences that stop people from having their self fulfilment needs met;

• Lack of growth opportunities both personal and professional

• Feeling “stuck” and not being able to pursue goals for success

• Lack of understanding why what they do on a daily basis matters and their contribution to the greater good

• Lack of leadership understanding what the individual actually wants to achieve and what truly matters to them to become the best version of them (at home, in life and within themselves)

So where to from here??

As you can see, these needs are common to all of us. As business owners I’m sure you can feel that you’re not the best version of you when you’re not getting your needs met. And the same is true for our people. The way to start thinking of this is “do I actually know what I need?” And “do I actually know what my people need?”

. Clarity is the first step. From there, let’s start thinking on a macro level instead of micro level. One of the things I see out there - especially this time of year, is that we create this false “need” to fit more clients in, to work extra hours, to not have a break, to open longer, to make more money. To hustle extra hard - all because it’s the “silly season”.

From a micro level that seems like what we must do. But the problem with that is that all our needs (the business owner and the employees) go further down the priority list. And we end up burnt out, stressed out, hyper focused on mistakes and perceived lack of productivity, short tempered, micro managing, feeling resentful - and adapting a “poor me” attitude.

All of which further depletes the “bank of fulfilment” and as a result increases unhappiness, decreases productivity and further perpetuates the pain points we had in the first place. To some, spending time with family on the weekends is the utmost importance. For others, working weekends means making extra money - and they don’t really do anything on the weekends anyway - so it’s ideal to work them. Find out what matters to your team. And don’t forget to do the same for you.

To end:

So earlier on I mentioned that most of the business owners’ needs will be met by ensuring the needs of employees are fulfilled, as a natural consequence. I’m sure it felt a bit icky for some! After all, it’s not on you to cater to their every whim right? Hopefully by now you have picked up on the things I am referring to…

So what I mean by that statement is this: The key to a business owner being able to increase their own work/life balance, increase the profitability of their business, retain and attract staff, being able to pay above market wage for employees and have a great business culture - is by creating a culture and a business where their people can thrive and have their fundamental needs met so they can be or become high performers. Which means your employees will fulfil their needs of mastery, accomplishment and feel valued. I can’t think of any better win/win.

About Gry:

After opening Melbourne’s first Scandinavian-inspired skin clinic 8 years ago and turning it into a multi 7 figure success, Gry has now shifted her focus to coaching and mentoring other business leaders in the beauty and aesthetic industry via her initiative, the Profit + Purpose Concept.

Gry is a certified IECL Executive Coach and a Certified High-Performance Coach through world renown coaching institute, HPI. Her mission is inspiring business owners and managers to lead with purpose and help them achieve more profit and joy in the process. Gry’s approach is tailored to each individual, as no two businesses are the same.

For more info or to enquire about Gry’s limited coaching availabilities: https://www.instagram.com/grytomte/ https://linktr.ee/grytomte