The People Factor

 

One of the most challenging parts of running a business for me is also the most rewarding. Being responsible for the families of numerous employees is very humbling. I can equally make the lives of the people that work for me either wonderfully fulfilling or eight hours of misery daily. My most important job is not to my clients but to the people that deal directly with my clients. I absolutely cannot run any of my businesses alone. Entrepreneurship is a team sport. With all of this said I have developed some rules over the years for dealing with my team. You may notice that many are about my realization that I am usually the problem. Self-awareness is very important if you want to work people.  You should develop your own but here are mine.

1. Be clear about what you expect. So many times I have seen my own employees fail at a task to only later realize that I had not been very clear what the task was. Equally speaking perhaps I had been vague about the rules. This is why SOP or Standard Operating Procedures are so important. You cannot chastise someone for not knowing what you want when you never told them what you want. I have been very guilty of this and I see it all the time in other businesses. It is not fair to your customer or your team or to you. Do your due diligence and make some clear guidelines even for menial tasks.
2.  Understand your team’s abilities. Many years ago I remember getting really upset with an employee in front of customers. I embarrassed myself. I learned a valuable lesson. The mistake I made wasn’t just because I lost my cool in front of a client. I was asking a team member to do a job they just were not capable of. That expectation that I had only set this person up for failure. I have had many people that were terrible for the jobs I hired them for but flourished in a different position. Keeping a person around who doesn’t have an ability that your organization needs is not hurting you it is really hurting them. I have fired people who did so well after they left because they found a job they LOVED. I have found that most people do not want to admit they made a bad hire. I bet you have someone on your team right now that needs to be moved to a different position or simply moved out the door.
3. Be the hero. You do everything you can for your customer. You bend over backward for them in every way. You should be doing the same thing for your team. Treat them like they are family and the good ones will want to do well for you. I know what you are thinking and yes some average people will take advantage of you. The great ones, however, will go above and beyond the call of duty. We have relegated this idea of “human resources” to some title we give to someone in the accounting department to make sure our employees get the correct insurance or someone to call with paycheck questions. If you are the brain of your business your team is the heart. In real life, we take great care of our heart. We keep the pressure down. We eat healthy, we exercise, we do all of this to live longer. Your business is no different. It cannot live a long and fruitful life without some real attention. Be the hero your team deserves.

Show me a dying business and I will show you a team that is unhappy. That is totally the fault of the name on the door. The thing about being in business for yourself is there is no one to blame but you.

Stafford is a small business expert in Drew, MS. He owns Shurden Farms and Main Street Deli LLC. You can email Stafford at staffordshurden@gmail.com for speaking events.