No matter how good a product or service your small business offers to your customers, at the end of the day you simply will not achieve sustained success unless you get the people management side of things right. So what exactly does this mean, you may ask.
Well, let's revisit some of the essentials. For a start, it means taking the time to carefully select who you recruit into your business. People who like working with others, take pride in their work and are willing to learn. The right peson for the right job is what it's all about at this point. Making sure the person's skills and interests match the requirements of the job that you're seeking to fill. Avoid rushing recruitment decisions, even though you might be desperate to fill the job. It's worth interviewing more applicants or re-advertising the vacancy, if you're not sure. Take a look at
Hiring Tips for Small BusinessThen, it's about ensuring that the new employee receives a proper induction into the business, and adequate training in your systems and procedures. Be careful not to dump heaps of information too quickly at a time, in the desire to get them up to speed. Like it or not, you've got to do this training gradually. Slow and steady will allow them the opportunity to digest it all. If you overwhelm them, they'll get confused, make mistakes and lose confidence.
Setting out clear expectations. The daily or weekly allocation of work and tasks to be completed. Some monitoring along the way, checking that everything is on track - but without being a "micro-manager" who controls every minute detail. If you've chosen the right people, and provided them with the right training and tools, then you've got to learn to trust them. And then make sure that you fairly recognise and reward good performance by your staff, if you want to retain them.
How you go about managing your people will determine whether your workplace is an engaging one and whether you succeed in building a motivated team. If you're looking for some more specific tips and great advice on this, have a look at
Management Skills Development - offering guidance in how to conduct the job interview, how to delegate, how to motivate staff and how to manage change.
The following short video clip also offers some good simple reminders on people management......
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No matter how good a product or service your small business offers to your customers, at the end of the day you simply will not achieve sustained success unless you get the people management side of things right. So what exactly does this mean, you may ask. 