Step 4: Engage Good People

Get good people around you. Good employees, good advisors and good mentors. Where do you get them? You make it your business to hire well, and track down people who will add value to your business. Empower them, and let them help you bring your business to full potential.

Employees

You never know how good someone will be until they work for you. How good they are will depend on several things. One of them… is how good YOU are! If you want good employees, then you have to be willing to be a good employer. That means making sure they know what you want, and that you’ve provided the resources they need, the authority and training if necessary to allow them to do what you’ve hired them to do!

And remember. You can train skills. You can’t train attitude. So select people with the right attitude for the business, and the right temperament for the job you want them to do.

For example, you want someone in a role where they are working alone and doing repetitive detail work? Don’t put someone in that role who is a high extrovert who likes to see the ‘big picture’ for things to make sense. They will wither and become despondent when they are not around people, or involved doing interesting work. Find someone who likes to know what they have to do and just wants to do that happily, day in day out.

Also, beware the trap into which many small businesses fall – of letting staff set up procedures and conditions about how the business will operate, to suit them and not you. Never put others in a position where they can run the business in ways that suit them, to the detriment of the business. You never want your business in the position where it can be held hostage by your hired help (or your hired relatives!).

Have clearly stated (but flexible) position descriptions, and reporting hierarchy.

Have a clear chain-of-command and make sure it is documented so that everyone knows what they are expected to do, to the standard you want the role carried out, and to whom they report. This makes managing the performance throughout the year easy and lets you train as needed and identify any missing resources that your employees need to carry out their role effectively.

Your role is to run your business. That means taking responsibility for what happens and understanding clearly what your roles and responsibilities are – and are not. And making sure everyone else does too. If managing is not your strength, then hiring a manager could be the solution. Even then, they should be accountable – and report in a transparent way – to you.

If you don’t have the skills to do part of what needs doing, then find out how to acquire those skills. If you need to improve your skills – learn the skills only you can use in your role. For tasks that others can readily do – find the right person to help bring these skills into the business, and delegate or find another way around to achieve what needs to happen.

Train and empower your employees to perform effectively and to be clear, and make sure they are clear, on their purpose and what’s expected of them too. Ensure that they have the tools they need to provide to level of service that meets the standards intentionally set in the business.

While you want to engage good people – you yourself must be a great owner, and role model, for the sake of the business.