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Working
With Employees
by Dr. Robert Sullivan
Dealing with employees (contracted or yours) is
always challenging and will tax your best
management and leadership skills. The following
listing, based on a good deal of experience, are
items to consider that will help keep you out of
trouble when dealing with your employees:
-
- Be willing to pay for the best. Remember,
you get exactly what you pay for ... no more and
no less.
-
- Everyone has their own way of doing things.
We all seem to forget this and insist it be done
"our way." A better approach is to give
instructions as to what is needed and allow the
individual to provide the method.
-
- Remember to always criticize in private and
to praise in public.
-
- Remember that EVERYONE needs to feel
appreciated. Talk to your employees and make
certain they know they are providing a valuable
service.
-
- Stay visible. Make certain all your
employees see you at least once a day. Your
employees need to know you're involved and
interested.
-
- Keep your promises. If you say you're going
to do something, do it! There are no good
excuses in the eyes of your employees.
-
- Ask your employees for suggestions on a
regular basis. Do this personally ... not just
with a "suggestion box."
-
- Allow your employees to fail! It is well
documented that successes are generally preceded
by one or more failures. The employee who is
afraid to fail will be less likely to be
innovative. It is up to you to see that none of
these failures is fatal to the business.
-
- Every employee must know exactly what their
responsibilities are and what authority they
have for carrying out these responsibilities.
This usually is accomplished by very precisely
written job descriptions.
-
- Manage by objectives. Each of your employees
should be assigned (by mutual agreement)
specific goals to be obtained within a certain
period of time. These goals must be measurable
and you will periodically review them so that
corrective action, if needed, may be taken to
get back on track. Managing by objectives
stresses real results as opposed to a job
description which only lists the individual's
responsibilities.
-
- Constantly motivate your employees to do a
good job. Talk to them about their job and its
importance to the business. Maintain an
"employee-of-the-month" program with an
appropriate certificate and a traveling trophy.
Make the monthly presentation with fanfare.
-
- Implement an effective training program to
encourage promotion. Any employee who thinks
they are in a dead-end job will not perform up
to expectations.
-
- Remember the "Peter Principle"... to
paraphrase: Everyone rises to their level of
incompetence. See that this does not happen in
your organization.
Brought to you by: World Wide
Information Outlet - http://certificate.net/wwio/
Robert Sullivan is the author of
The Small Business Start-Up Guide, and United
States Government - New Customer!. He frequently
lectures on starting small businesses and appears
on CNBC's "Minding Your Business" as a small
business expert. His books may be ordered toll-free
by calling 1 800 375 8439. Robert also developed
and maintains an extensive award-winning Internet
website, "The Small Business Advisor," at
http://www.isquare.com.
Because
The Radical Academy publishes essays and articles
on its website does not imply acceptance or
approval of the comments or opinions expressed by
the author of the material. Nor is the Academy
responsible for any misrepresentation of the facts
included. It is your job to be a critical
reader.
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