Welcome to the world of business startups. Being a small business owner or an entrepreneur as they call it has many roles and responsibilities associated with it. You have to make sure that you live true to all of the responsibilities so that you are able to achieve the end goal that you have in mind.
Once you start your own business you have to take the role of the finance, marketing, operations and HR manager. Not only are you expected to make sure that the business rolls out in a manner that you expected, but you have to keep an eye on all of the employees working for you.
Slacking at the start of your business is often one of the many reasons why entrepreneurs end up seeing their dream of a startup going to waste. Since you don’t want your startup dream to go to waste, you must adapt to the challenges and take up whatever role that comes your way.
Managing employees is an essential part of running a successful startup. Here we look at all that you should do for optimal employee management.
Begin Onboarding Early
The onboarding process is necessary for introducing your employees to the organization. Since you’re no Apple or Google (yet), you have to make the onboarding process fast and simple. You’re a growing organization and all of your employees or new hiring would realize that the onboarding process is simple.
Make the onboarding process less about glamour and more about introducing your employees to the culture within your organization. We understand that you might not have an established culture as of yet, but this is the time to think about setting your culture the right way. If you have been thinking about a possible culture for your brand, then now is the time to talk about actualizing it and hitting the ball out of the park.
Create a Schedule
You have to create a schedule that your new hires can conveniently follow when they are working for you. From the onboarding process to their timings when they are working for you, everything should be discussed as part of this schedule, so that your employees know what they have signed up for.
Giving a schedule of daily tasks to employees also helps improve the urgency with which they do their work. You don’t want a situation where your employees have to go through undue hassle, because the schedule hasn’t been clarified to them.
Also, as part of the schedule, you should clarify the seating arrangements that you would like for them. Make sure that you follow a hierarchical setup when it comes to seating arrangements. If you have space inside your office, you should ensure separate rooms for managers, while employees can be given separate cubicles. What matters most here is that your staff should be able to work in synergy without worrying about the small details.
Handle Introductions
Introductions are necessary when it comes to hiring. Within introductions, you can either go for casual details or formal occasions, but the choice is always yours. An introduction allows your candidates to break the ice and get comfortable with the team.
The best way to introduce your employees to each other is to have formal activities during the onboarding week or period. You should have your employees get to know each other and talk to each other, so that they don’t only know the likes and dislikes of everyone around, but can also work together when it is time for them to work together for achieving the goals that are required of them.
You can handle the onboarding process based on your requirements from the staff you have just hired. If you want them to start work immediately, then a thorough and extensive onboarding process won’t be right for you, but if you have some time on your hands, you can follow the right tactics to motivate your staff from the word go. Also, make sure that your employees know who the right guy is for handling different jobs. If you have a formal meet and greet, let all new employees know who they should go to in the event of different problems they face in the workplace.
Empower Your Team
While you might be tempted into micromanaging your team and having an eye on everything they do at work, we believe that you should empower them to achieve the desired results without you intermingling in the work they are doing.
Your team should be allowed to reach solutions and conclusions based on their own understanding of problems concerning the organization. If you keep meddling in the work they are doing, there will come a time when they will not be motivated enough anymore. If you want to keep your team motivated, you should give them the space they need to be creative and do their work in the best manner possible. Do not underestimate the needs of your team. If you keep meddling in the work that your employees are doing, there will come a time when they will be disgruntled at the level of supervision.
The best way is to make your employees realize the responsibilities they have from the word go. Do not stand over them to prove your point, but give them a certain amount of freedom and empower them to work for the cumulative good of the company within that freedom. No organization was able to achieve success in a constrained environment, where employees aren’t happy with the work they are doing.
Keep Employees Motivated
Motivation is perhaps one of the most important factors in the workplace. You can compromise on all other factors, but you cannot compromise when it comes to motivating your staff.
There are numerous tactics proven to be successful when it comes to what you should do to motivate your staff. For starters, you should make sure that your staff members are given the freedom they need and are made to work within their own space. Following what we have already mentioned above, employees should be made to feel motivated and empowered in the workplace.
You can also provide benefits and good competitive pay rates for your employees. More than the condition of the space they work in, employees are motivated by the pay and the benefits they get. You should give them market-competitive pay and good benefits, so that they feel proud while discussing the benefits provided by their organization in front of their friends.
With all the tips above, you can surely manage your staff in a better manner to extract the best from them.
by Bobby J Davidson
I love our companies and we love what we do. For more information on the Davidson Family of Companies, visit www.bobbydavidson.com/about. Sign up for my Newsletter at the bottom of this page.