K+BB - September 2008 - (Page 72)

Practice Hire for Success Grow your business by ﬁnding the best The National Federation of Independent Business’ May 2008 survey paints a picture of some very stressed-out small business owners. With earnings at their lowest point since 1992, nine out of 10 owners surveyed expect the economy to continue to decline over the next six months. In an economy where many families have less disposable income, it’s even more crucial that you provide exceptional service and an outstanding product so your business will be proﬁtable. What do your customers desire? Prospective clients generally choose to deal with a ﬁrm that provides a competitive estimate in a reasonable amount of time. They expect the organization to be ﬂexible and to complete projects in a timely manner. Clients want to deal with a company that communicates frequently, avoids surprises and provides a final product of high quality. • Hire someone with different strengths and weaknesses from your existing team. A diverse team with varied talents is much more valuable. An ideal team has employees who excel in the technical aspects of the business and some who are exceptional at sales and business management. • Invest in a new employee’s education. Haphazard on-the-job training does not provide a consistent product to your customers. Make sure that systems and guidelines are clearly deﬁned in writing and that new employees are trained on them. The odds of a new person becoming a quality employee are increased tremendously if one person on your staff trains all new employees. • Help your employees put their families ﬁrst. Allow time off for children and parents when needed. Putting family ﬁrst does not necessarily As a business owner, you should be constantly on the lookout for someone who could potentially add value to your team. FINDING THE RIGHT HELP Take a look at your employees. Are they making the delivery of these promises easier or more difﬁcult? Are they energizing your organization or draining the life from it? Are they attracting customers or repelling them? Obtaining and retaining the best help is not difﬁcult, but remember that exemplary employees are seldom unemployed. As a business owner, you should be constantly on the lookout for someone who could potentially add value to your team. Here are some tips for hiring the right people who will help you make promises that attract customers: • Before the interview begins, design the job. Be very clear about what characteristics are needed for your opening. Make sure you have an employee handbook that includes written job descriptions. This will clarify your expectations. • Get to know prospective team members rather than hiring on gut reaction. It is easy to hire emotionally and be attracted to a less than ideal employee. Take time to actually interview potential employees and allow existing employees to meet a prospect and weigh in on your hiring decision. • Be willing to hire an inexperienced person and train them in your field. Personnel with experience often come with old habits and preconceived notions. Training someone from scratch allows you to mold a person. A new person that you have mentored will typically be more loyal than someone you would have hired with experience. detract from the job. It creates a well-balanced work environment and shows you genuinely care about your employees. Also understand there is a power shift in hiring. Although you may hold all of the cards at the beginning of the interview process, this will change as your prospective employee becomes aware that they are one of the ﬁnal candidates and that you want to work with them. If you’ve done a great job of selling the position prior to this point, the employee will be excited about the opportunity. If not, you now have to start extolling the job’s virtues or your candidate may get cocky. RESPONSIBLE ROLE A good employer hires the right people and empowers them without abdicating responsibility. Your employees often emulate the work ethic they see in you. You are a role model whether you like it or not. Make sure the employees see that you hold yourself accountable for delivering the promises made to clients. Owning a small business can be less stressful and more successful with the right team members and clients. Be willing to take time in the hiring process and invest in the education of employees. Be loyal to your employees and your employees will go the extra mile for you. s —Laura Harris is a small business expert, speaker and author of Surrender to Win—Regain Sanity by Strategically Relinquishing Control. 72 + K BB September 2008 / www.kbbonline.com / The Ofﬁcial Sponsor of K/BIS www.kbis.com http://www.kbbonline.com http://www.kbis.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of K+BB - September 2008

KBB - September 2008
Contents
Online Contents
Online News
Editorial
Feedback
Dates
Digits
Focus
Consumer
Trends
Products
Options
Profile
Design
Hospitality Suite
Guest Appearance
Green
Access
Additions
Practice
Education
Editorial Index
Ad Index
Favorites

K+BB - September 2008