Photo courtesy of Joey Zanotti, Flickr
In theory, we all know what the ideal employee is like. This is a person who arrives 15 minutes early everyday, tackles large projects quickly and effectively, and always finds some work to be done even during slow periods. This person is often running around to help other people in addition to their own work. When they see a problem, they don't just walk by. Instead, they feel empowered to find a solution. This is an employee with great work ethic.
As a small business owner, you need to build your employees into a team of all top performers. Great workers are a sign of a great boss. Once you establish a standard of work great ethic, your job will become much easier, and your workers will pass on this standard to new hires.
Here are 5 steps to accomplish this goal:
1. Be Specific
When you give an employee a certain responsibility, give them a specific set of instructions and a time limit. Be very detailed and encourage your team to come to you with questions. This will help your employees know exactly what quality of work you expect and how long that should take. This leaves as little room as possible for excuses and miscommunication.
Giving specific instructions and goals will also help you know who is capable of meeting these expectations and who is not. Perhaps you will notice employees who go above and beyond the call of duty. These are the employees that will deserve promotions.
2. Time Your Promotions
Do not give a promotion to someone who is not ready for it. That will not do you or him any favors in the long run. It is important for you to identify the proper time for you to promote someone.
It is the right time to promote an employee if...
- The employee has learned and mastered as much as possible in the current position.
- The employee has shown the ability and desire to take initiative in many situations.
- The employee is respected and supported by the members of his team and already acts as a leader for them.
It is NOT the right time to promote an employee if...
- You are super short staffed in management, and you need to promote the best person you have even if they are not necessarily ready.
A pre-mature promotion will likely cause trouble in the rest of your staff who recognizes the person's incompetence in addition with many other problems for you down the rode. Just try to stay on top of your staffing so that you do not have to put someone in a situation that they are not ready for.
3. Don't Micromanage
It does not ensure great work ethic to hover over a person's shoulders. I once had a boss who seemed to pop up behind me every time I stopped to catch my breath and snap his fingers for me to keep busy. That is a stressful environment to work in and most employees would prefer to be trusted than hovered over.
Micromanagement mostly results in nervous and frustrated workers and does nothing for the quality or efficiency of the work. Understand that there is a line between checking up on employees and micromanaging. You want to survey the work making sure it's efficient and good quality, but you do not want to put your crew on edge.
(Related: How to Lead By Example in your Service Business)
4. Hire Slowly and Fire Quickly
When you are short staffed, it is tempting to try to hire the first person who can start right away. The problem with this is that you end up settling for a worker that might not have the work ethic you need. This leaves you stuck with a team that will always be mediocre. My solution is simple. Don't wait until you are short staffed to hire. Instead, always accept applications even when you have a full staff. This way, you will have a lot of time to look for the perfect person when a spot opens up.
As for firing, don't give out third and fourth chances to workers who just don't deserve it. If people aren't committed to your team and your standards, you need to let them go sooner rather than later. This will remind your team that you are serious about your goals, and you want to reward the people who help your reach those goals.
5. Be Transparent
Communication is one step towards empowerment.
Every employee should know what, when, where, why, how. If they don't know how you want things done, they will make up their own way to do it. If they don't know why you want it done your special way, they will assume their way is just as good. But, that's not the way of your company.
Be an open book, if you will, by sharing all your knowledge and reasoning behind your decisions. By sharing your plans and long-term goals for your company with your team, you make your team feel like it's their company too, which makes them want to work harder for it.
Here are 15 more awesome tips to develop a great team for your business!
