People often make sizable life changes when they want to reach a goal. Although dedication is crucial to achieving anything, minor changes can also lead to significant results. Sometimes, they’re helpful, and other times, they’re not. Learn more about the snowball effect and how to stop it from hurting your business. You’ll prevent harmful things from escalating into major problems for your brand and team.
What Is the Snowball Effect?
The snowball effect is a psychological term that describes how a minuscule change can result in substantial effects later on. Think of a snowball rolling down a hill. It might resemble a baseball when it starts moving, but it picks up snow along the way. By the time it reaches the bottom of the hill, the snowball is the size of a boulder.
Psychologists study this effect in numerous ways. It helps researchers understand how to make group-wide improvements within social settings and track long-term metrics. This phenomenon can occur nearly anywhere, especially in the business world.
How the Snowball Effect Harms Businesses
Businesses can suffer from the snowball effect in multiple ways. An accidental delay or oversight can be devastating as time progresses.
Imagine the manager of a shipping company, whose busy schedule and tight expenses might cause them to slack on upkeep for the fleet they oversee. The delay in maintenance means those drivers are out on the highways with vehicles that aren’t at peak performance. Something as simple as underinflated tires can result in over $2,400 per unit wasted from increased fuel economy. Something that could’ve been cheap and easy to prevent suddenly cascades into a potentially devastating expense.
The snowball effect can cause employees to resent their managers. If someone holds their team members to impossibly high standards on the clock, those people will eventually feel frustrated. They’ll only ever hear how they’re making mistakes. This leads to greater turnover rates, which gives the employer a negative reputation in their community.
Losing staff due to minor management style preferences also costs money. Replacing someone costs nearly two times their annual salary in recruiting and training expenses. Your words and decisions can have negative consequences down the road if you don’t know how to harness the snowball effect in your enterprise.
Ways to Stop It
Although it takes time for the snowball effect to make itself known, you can stop it in its tracks. Discover how to keep things from spiraling out of control while making your business a better place for everyone.
Listen to Your Team Members
You’ll never know what’s making your employees unhappy if you don’t talk with them. Encourage everyone to speak their minds and let you know when they’re facing challenges. They should feel safe discussing management styles or communication issues that aren’t working for them. Talking about problems helps everyone pinpoint solutions before they have widespread negative effects.
Listening also requires apologizing sometimes. Managers or business owners who don’t apologize only make their problems worse by not forming an empathetic connection with their work force. Create a positive snowball effect by demonstrating empathy through word choice when apologizing. You’ll regain your team member’s trust and foster a better work environment just through that minor effort.
Turn Better Choices Into New Routines
Making a singular change is good, but long-term positive change is what really keeps the snowball effect from returning. Instead of having one conversation where a team member feels free to tell you what’s frustrating them on the job, schedule recurring one-on-one meetings with them. You’ll always keep that line of communication open, which allows everyone to address challenges as they arise.
Some positive changes could mean a worker’s responsibilities look different, too. Imagine that one of their responsibilities is refilling the printer paper. If they’re always forgetting to check the paper tray, it could mean someone else isn’t able to print essential documents before a deadline that makes or breaks the company.
Encouraging your employees to save 10 minutes every other day to check the printer paper would prevent that from happening. Consider how everyone can shift their schedule to make better long-term choices to stop any snowballs before they start rolling
Empower Team Members to Take Care of Themselves
A person’s mental health can also snowball. If a management team makes everyone work overtime and never tries to help, those people will have stress building in their minds until they reach burnout. The resulting low energy, lack of focus and irritability would turn the workplace into a terrible environment.
Prioritize self-care by encouraging everyone to take care of themselves at home and work. They might start taking mandatory breaks throughout the workday. When your team members give their brains a chance to rest, they’ll return with greater focus and improve their productivity long-term.
Taking paid time off, enjoying healthy foods in the office kitchen and having healthy drinks in the shared fridge are just a few ways to support your team’s mental health. When they feel their best, they’ll make better choices that support the workplace and your business’ success.
Make Long-Term Improvements in Your Business
Understanding the snowball effect is an integral part of making your business a better place to work. It can also lead to greater success. Utilize strategies to stop negativity from harming your employees and your brand. You’ll create a healthier work environment while ensuring you stays on track with your long-term goals.
Jack Shaw, editor of Modded and author of numerous articles on business success and self-improvement, seeks to inspire readers with his practical tips and strategies for growth. His writings can be found on HellaWealth, USCCG and more.
Snowball effect stock image by Gianluca Piccin/Shutterstock
