5 Steps to Getting the Most from Your Employees

Out of all the challenges a business owner must take, managing employees for maximum performance can be the most stressful because of the human factor. Many small business owners are great at what they do, but to scale their business, they must become great at managing employees.

Here’s 5 management hacks that small business owner can do to alleviate stress and ensure that company goals and objectives are aligned with their employee’s activity and performance.

When hiring or promoting employees, go beyond just skills
Hiring employees that have the right attitude and understand how to adapt to your company’s culture is just as important as skills and abilities. Spend the extra time with any new prospects, in multiple interviews, with multiple people before you make a final decision. Ask pointed questions to ensure their personal goals align with the business goals. Allow your team to meet and engage any prospective employees to be sure they can add their input.

Create systems whereby employees can operate according to a plan
Set clear operating systems and methods of practice that clearly define how each process in your business should work so employees know how to perform their jobs. Micromanaging is rarely a good idea, much better to create the system, leave some room for individual innovation and creativity, and let the employees do their job according to your overall plan.

Be sure employees understand where the business is going
Employees need a roadmap and will better perform when they know how their fortunes and future are related to the success or failure of the business. When they understand the business goals and objectives, and how their day-to-day performance affects the business…they will either work intensely to help grow the business successfully or stand out as a low-end performer, thereby making it easy to make a necessary employment decision.

Define clear performance expectations and monitor progress and achievements
Employees must have a process, but also have performance and project targets to achieve so you can measure their ability to get the job done. Hold your employees and your team accountable for specific goals and periodically measure how they are doing. When targets aren’t hit, identify the weak link…it’s either a system, or an employee issue. Make adjustments as necessary and reward top performers.

Don’t be afraid to eliminate mediocre employees
Some of the worst problems have come from employees that were obviously struggling to keep up, or just not capable of performing according to company standards. Mediocre performance can drag a team or a business down and prevent growth and innovation from occurring. When you manage for performance, and practice good HR, you can be confident when making a necessary employment decision, or can establish rapid performance plans for low performers

These 5 management practices won’t in and of themselves solve your business problems, but on the purely human side, it will improve your business’s ability to grow and relieve some of your stress so you can focus on what you do best.

For more help, contact Infinium HR at info@infiniumhr.com we’re always here to help you manage your employees eliminate time killing administration.