Asking your team, “How does your role directly impact and add value to our business?” can feel uncomfortable. It’s a hard question, but it’s one every business leader needs to ask.
While it may sound harsh, the intent isn’t to criticize or devalue someone’s contribution. Instead, it’s about gaining clarity and creating alignment between what people do and how their work drives the economic growth of the business.
In this blog, we’ll explore why asking this question is crucial, how to approach it constructively, and steps to help your team connect their daily actions to your organization’s goals.
Why This Question Matters
As businesses grow, it’s common for teams to lose focus on the core objectives that make the company successful. Over time, processes, priorities, and even entire roles can drift away from what drives actual economic value.
Here’s why addressing this issue is essential:
- Clarity in Purpose: Many employees are unclear on how their efforts contribute to the company’s goals. By identifying these connections, you empower them with a greater sense of purpose.
- Efficiency: Misaligned actions waste time and resources. Ensuring everyone understands their role’s impact prevents inefficiencies and keeps the business on track.
- Profitability: Ultimately, every role should support the company’s profitability. If employees don’t know how they impact the bottom line, their efforts may unintentionally detract from it.
Shifting the Mindset
To make this question impactful, you need to approach it from a place of understanding, not judgment. The goal is to uncover opportunities for improvement, not to assign blame.
Here’s a framework to keep in mind:
- Seek Clarity and Truth: Assume nothing. Be open to discovering gaps or misalignments.
- Zoom Out: Take a broad view of what your team is doing and how it fits into the bigger picture.
- Zoom Back In: Once you identify gaps, help employees refocus on what’s truly important.
How to Ask the Hard Question
1. Build a Safe Environment
To get honest answers, create a space where employees feel safe to reflect and speak openly. Make it clear that this isn’t about pointing fingers but about understanding how everyone can contribute more effectively.
Example:
“I want to understand how your role connects to the company’s goals, and if there’s anything we can do to make that clearer or more impactful. This isn’t about evaluating performance—it’s about aligning efforts with results.”
2. Avoid Corporate Jargon
Instead of using vague terms like “strategic alignment” or “core competencies,” keep the language straightforward and relatable. Ask:
- “What does your role involve on a daily basis?”
- “How do your actions contribute to the company’s success?”
- “What challenges keep you from focusing on what really matters?”
The simpler the language, the more likely you are to uncover the truth.
3. Collaborate on Solutions
When you identify gaps, collaborate with your team to find solutions. For instance:
- If someone doesn’t see how their role drives value, brainstorm ways to better align their tasks with key business objectives.
- If unnecessary activities are consuming their time, work together to eliminate or delegate them.
Identifying Economic Drivers
At the heart of this exercise is a critical question: “What are the actions that drive economic activity in our business?”
In most organizations, economic value is created through specific drivers such as:
- Revenue Generation: Sales, marketing, and customer acquisition activities.
- Operational Efficiency: Streamlining processes to save time or money.
- Product or Service Delivery: Ensuring customer satisfaction and repeat business.
It’s important to zoom out and examine the big picture:
- What is everyone really focused on?
- Are their efforts aligned with these economic drivers?
Once you identify the drivers, you can zoom back in to align daily tasks with them.
Realigning Roles with Value
Here’s how you can help your team connect their roles to the company’s economic value:
1. Map Out Each Role’s Purpose
Sit down with each team member and clarify their role’s purpose. Ask:
- What are your primary responsibilities?
- How do these responsibilities support our business goals?
- Which tasks feel disconnected from our mission?
2. Define Key Metrics
Every role should have measurable outcomes that tie to the company’s success. For example:
- A customer service rep might be measured by customer retention rates.
- A marketing manager might be measured by leads generated.
When employees have clear metrics, they understand how their work contributes to profitability.
3. Eliminate Low-Value Activities
Some tasks simply don’t add value. These might include redundant reports, unnecessary meetings, or processes that no longer serve the company’s needs.
Work with employees to identify these time-wasters and replace them with higher-value activities.
The Reality Check: Some Employees May Not Add Value
One of the toughest realizations for leaders is that some roles—or even employees—may not be adding meaningful value to the business. This can happen for several reasons:
- Their role has become outdated due to changes in the business.
- They were hired for a need that no longer exists.
- They lack clarity or direction.
In these cases, it’s important to address the issue constructively:
- Can the role be redefined to align with business needs?
- Can the employee be retrained or reassigned to a more impactful position?
If neither is possible, you may need to make the difficult decision to let the employee go.
The Big Picture: Aligning Actions with Growth
Ultimately, the success of your business depends on alignment—ensuring that every team member understands how their role supports the company’s goals.
Here’s a simple process to ensure alignment:
- Communicate the Vision: Regularly remind your team of the company’s mission, goals, and economic drivers.
- Foster Open Dialogue: Make it easy for employees to ask questions or seek clarification about their roles.
- Review and Adjust: Periodically review roles and processes to ensure they’re still aligned with business needs.
Final Thoughts: The Value of Clarity
Asking your team, “How does your role directly impact and add value to our business?” isn’t just an exercise in accountability—it’s a pathway to clarity, efficiency, and growth.
By fostering a culture where employees understand their impact, you empower them to focus on what truly matters. And when everyone is aligned with the business’s goals, the results speak for themselves: improved efficiency, higher profitability, and a stronger team.
Ready to realign your team’s focus? Contact Argento CPA for expert advice on creating a strategy that drives true economic growth. Together, we can ensure that every role in your business contributes to its success.