Any business owner knows that their employees are one of the most important assets that a business can have. Once the company reaches a point where more people are needed to keep things running smoothly, those employees become essential.
As with other essential assets and tools, you can only hope the get the most out of your employees by managing them correctly. The first thing to remember is that employees are people, and should be treated as such. They aren’t just another cog in the machine.
This means that employee management can be more tricky, as it involves navigating different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. Here are some tips to help you to manage employees more effectively.
- When to Hire
One of the first tricks to successfully managing your employees is deciding when and where they’re needed. Depending on the type of business you run, you may be able to do the lion’s share of the work yourself, especially when you first start.
Growing your workforce allows you to grow your business and allow it to develop. Eventually, as you take on more work, you will find that it’s difficult to keep on top of things. This can lead to slipping in customer service, product quality, or administrative duties in your business. At this point, you need to hire extra help.
Before you hire, you need to determine what role you want your employees to take on. This means that you can hire the right people for the job. You should also decide whether a task should be handled by you, an employee, or outsourced to a freelancer or another company. Outsourcing is often more affordable, especially if you don’t need a full-time employee to handle a job that requires certain skills or qualifications.
- The Hiring Process
Once you know what role you need to fill in your company, you can find an employee to take it on. Come up with a detailed job description, outlining what you expect from a potential employee and what qualifications, skills, or experience is necessary.
For some roles, it’s beneficial to hire someone with less experience and train them up to the task. If you need someone to take on relatively unskilled tasks that don’t need qualifications, then this can be a good opportunity to find relatively cheap workers, at least until they become more experienced.
However, ideally your employee should be able to start working productively as soon as possible. This is where prior experience comes into play, as they can quickly pick up the task.
Depending on which route you take, you should come up with a reasonable payment package and post the job opening where potential candidates can find it. Make sure that you screen the job applications before taking on interviews, as each interview takes up valuable time.
The hiring process should never be rushed. You want to make sure that someone is a good fit for your company and the job. One adage is to “hire slow, fire fast”. Simply put, take your time when hiring and, if it doesn’t work out, cut your losses to avoid wasting your time and that of the employees. A probationary period is generally ideal for this. By the end of the probation, you should know that the employee will work out.
- Keep Employees Happy
As mentioned before, employees are people. This means that they are individuals, with lives outside of work, as well as different personalities and preferences. All of this impacts on their work, as well as what the general morale is in the office.
If your office has good morale, then your employees are likely to be happier. Happy employees are productive employees. A good morale also means that your employees will work better together. Finally, happy employees are less more likely to be satisfied with their job. High morale means that employees are less likely to leave for greener pastures.
Replacing employees is far more expensive than retaining employees, and comes with higher risks. Once you have a team that works well together, someone leaving because they’re unhappy can be highly disruptive. If morale is a problem, then more employees could leave, Even those that stay behind will be less motivated.
Pay attention to the morale in the office and work to improve it. If your employees have suggestions or requests, find ways to say yes, especially if it can benefit the company. People appreciate being listened to and respected. If you want loyal employees, then you need to make the first step.
- Employee Training
One way to constantly improve your workforce is to put an emphasis on employee training. This is something that is helpful for both employees and the company. The company can train skilled workers to take on specific tasks, without having to look for outside hires.
On the other hand, employees can improve their career prospects and potentially advance in the business. Subsidized training gives them opportunities to progress their education, where it might have otherwise been difficult.
An employee training program is a great way to improve employee morale and to find motivated, loyal, skilled workers. Companies can work alongside universities or hire guest trainers for certain skills and qualifications. Online training is a convenient way to open things up for employees and your company.
- Administrative Matters
Finally, every part of a business comes with its own administrative issues. This is especially true when it comes to employees. While a small business doesn’t need a dedicated HR department, you do need to consider the legal side of dealing with your employees and making sure that everyone is comfortable at work.
Another important part of employee administration is dealing with the payroll. If the payroll gets disrupted, your employees will be the first to notice and they will be very quick to let you know. To make sure there are no issues, check out these 7 expert tips for choosing the best payroll schedule for your business.
Once you can manage your employees smoothly, the rest of your business will follow suit.