Being a small business owner or entrepreneur is a rewarding and exciting experience, but there is a lot you need to be able to handle. The success or failure of your business solely falls on you, so you need to be on top of your game and know that this is really what you want to do.
But unless you are Superman and capable of doing everything on your own, hiring some employees will eventually be necessary if you want to scale your business. But hiring employees is only the first step. From there, you need to be sure to manage them correctly. This article will look at a few tips to manage your employees successfully.
Be Sure to Communicate Effectively
In any sort of relationship (especially in business), communication is of the utmost importance. Employees want to be kept updated on what is going on at the company and be involved in the goals and vision. In addition to that, you should make sure everyone at the company (no matter what they do) are on the same page.
Also, communication is a two-way street. Just as you communicate ideas and goals to them, they should be able to offer you feedback as well. You should make yourself available to your staff and ensure that they are comfortable bringing up issues and/or concerns with you. Also, be sure to acknowledge good work as employees love to know their work is appreciated.
Set a Good Example for Them
With you being the founder of the company, your staff will often look to you for guidance and leadership. As a result, you need to rise up to the occasion and set a good example for them. If they see you slacking off or doing things wrong, they are likely to follow in your footsteps and do the same.
Behaving professionally yourself will help others to do the same. Ultimately this is your company, and people are going to put in the same effort that you do. So if you are constantly goofing around and not working, there is a good chance your employees aren’t going to be overly productive.
Have Clear Expectations
One thing that can often be a problem at some companies is that employees aren’t really quite sure what they are supposed to do or what’s expected of them. This can lead to dozens of worker hours being wasted and less work getting done than there should be. So instead of wasting time and leaving your employees out of the loop, you need to be sure to not only have clear expectations but also make them known to your employees.
You should be also sure to set weekly and monthly goals so your staff is always aware of what you expect of them. When employees are aware of what is expected of them, it makes them less stressed and more comfortable in the workplace.
Outsource Your Employee Management
Any way you slice it, there is a lot to handle when it comes to managing employees. In addition to managing what they do, you also need to handle their payroll, benefits, HR and more. If you cannot give these areas of your business enough time due to other responsibilities and duties, you should look to outsource to a PEO (Professional Employer Organization) company.
These are third-party companies that can handle all the aforementioned duties for you, and free up a lot of time for you to handle other things. There is a lot of information and reviews online (such as this one by Digital Exits) that go over many of the PEO services and companies, so you can figure out which you should go with.
