Organize Your Staff or Your Business Will Suffer

Organize Your Staff or Your Business Will Suffer

Dr. Linda Hancock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Hancock has written a regular weekly column entitled “All Psyched Up” for newspapers in two Canadian provinces for more than a dozen years. Over the years, her readers and clients have said that they have benefited from her common-sense solutions, wisdom, and sense of humour. Dr. Linda Hancock, the author of “Life is An Adventure…every step of the way” and “Open for Business Success” is a Registered Psychologist who has a private practice in Medicine Hat. She can be reached at 403-529-6877 or through email office@drlindahancock.com

Published

January 10 2011

It is not enough to hire people and then just leave them on their own to do whatever they think is needed in your business. You need to be the leader and that requires several things.

Orientation - Invest some time with the new staff member to share your values and the things that you feel are important. Even if the person you hired has experience and skills, they will need to have enough training to be able to perform tasks in the way that you want them to be performed and at the appropriate standard. 2. Monitor their progress - They won't know that they are doing well or poorly unless you observe and give feedback. You might be able to delegate this to other staff members who have expertise but, remember that this is your business and you therefore will need to have an active role also.
Communicate well - People cannot read your mind and you will therefore have to be very clear about what you expect. This can be done through individual and/or staff meetings that are scheduled regularly and through performance reviews. At times, written procedures or notes are appropriate, as long as everyone is sure to read the memo in time to make adjustments or start the tasks that are required.
Set a good example - People are watching you and whether you like it or not, they are using you as an example. Sometimes they may not understand why you do something and may feel resentful or confused when your behaviours do not match the ones that you expect of them. You will need to consider how much information will be necessary to clear up any possible misunderstandings. For example, if you are late for work every day, the staff may think that it is acceptable for them to be late, not knowing that you have an appointment outside of the office every day or are staying at the office late in the evening.

The key to being a good employer is to remember that this is your business and you therefore have responsibility to clearly communicate, train and set an example for those who you bring into the business. The employee also has responsibilities that include doing the work appropriately in the manner that you trained them. Once you both recognize and commit to doing this, everyone wins, and the business prospers.