When you get to the stage of needing to hire in some employees to help you and your business, this is a very big moment, because it means that you’re having a need to expand and grow, which represents some clear success in what you’re doing. You should think of this as a milestone, checking off one of the goals that you have on your list. It’s normal to be a little nervous at first, especially if you’ve never really handled employees of your own before, but you should also be excited and enjoy the process.
When hiring, make sure that you never feel the need to rush, regardless of what your circumstances may be, the last thing you want is to bring in some team members that you soon find out to be incapable and not nice people to be around, let alone work with and represent your business. It isn’t just about what’s on paper either – personality plays such a big part. Sometimes so much so, that it trumps experience and skill, so always allow for this to shine through. And don’t forget to contact the references left on your candidate’s resume. Ask a few questions that may be playing on your mind, like why they left their previous job, and what (if any) unique qualities they brought to the team.
Once you have your selected team, and you’re happy with your final decisions, then it’s time to turn your good employees into great ones, and that all boils down to you as a leader. You’re the person that trains them up to be at a standard that is so high, that they all have their own responsibilities and important roles to play. You need to ensure that you are getting the absolute best out of them, while giving them the tools to find that inside themselves, not only for you and your business, but for their own benefit too.
It’s about teaching them all there is to know about everything, from the style of language you want them to use when speaking to a customer, right down to knowing where all the fire exits are, and understanding the correct labelling of chemicals, as well as the meaning of signs and logos. They may never come to need this information, but if they learn more, they will always be prepared if and when they are stuck in a certain kind of situation that could become dangerous.
So now you get the general idea, here are some areas that are worth talking about.
Put together a social media marketing team.
If you want your marketing to be as effective as possible, then you’re going to need to put together your own personal social media marketing team. This means a selected few who have the right skills to tackle all things social media. This includes direct messages from people, comments, and posting awesome content to get a buzz. It’s all about having an eye for detail, while being creative and current. There are so many things going on on social media, so you need to ensure that you’re doing the right thing to get the right attention from the right people. It may be beneficial to give each individual a specific job, so while one person creates the right visuals and adds to a story regularly, another person replies to any enquiries you may be having. Eventually, you will have put together an army of social media soldiers that are able to give people what they want, while accumulating a substantial amount of followers that gives your page an awful lot of influence, which is the key when it comes to making sales.
Teach them the art of patience.
One of the best lessons you could ever give your employees, is the art of patience. A lot of people confuse patience for settling, or giving up, or backing down, or being submissive. This isn’t the same thing. Patience is knowing when the right time is to wait – waiting isn’t a sign of weakness, so don’t allow anyone to assume that it is. There may be a deal that you’re trying to make that could hold some serious opportunities for your business, but you’re waiting on the final potential partner to make a decision. There are certain things that you can do to try and persuade them that it’s a good idea, but there is only so much until you come off as being desperate, and that’s a big no-no. This is when you are required to be patient. The scenarios will be completely different from one another, and there will always be a various time and a place for when it is needed, but getting to know how, is a very smart move, the earlier on, the better.
Give them a comfort corner.
This is a rather unspoken thing because people don’t like to talk about their struggles or stresses, especially not in the workplace. But the fact of the matter is that everyone has them – even more so when at work because there tends to be an air of pressure surrounding people at times. It’s important that you let your employees know that they’re not alone, and they can always come and talk to you if they’re finding things hard. One great idea, is to create a space for your employees to take themselves off to if and when they feel like they need a five minute time out or breather. Giving them the option, rather than them feeling like they need to go and hide out in the toilets for a while, is a very wonderful thing. This way, if an individual is feeling like they’re about to explode into a flood of tears because they’re overwhelmed or just having a generally bad day, then they can remove themselves from that situation, and go and sit in a nice space, with comfy sofas, beanbags, a tea and coffee machine, a few snacks, and some music. This will also give you a good idea of who may need a little extra support from time to time.