Businesses that have employees require an additional dimension of skills to get their employees to be more productive. In this section, specifically, we look at the things that business owners can do to maximize the output of their workforce.
Here is what you need to know about the difference between an employee and a subcontractor.
Competing for talent can be difficult, especially when there is low unemployment. As a business, you want to be an employer of choice.
Being an employer of choice is vital to avoid the high cost of employee turnover.
Hiring & Firing Employees
This quiz was designed to test your knowledge of hiring employees. Are you ready to put your knowledge to the test?
What you need to know before you hire or fire an employee
You can download a sample of an employee agreement by following the link below.
To avoid wrongful termination or other legal action from employees, you will need to have the proper documents in place.
Once a business finds the right employee, it is important to understand what motivates them. Did you know that money does not equal job satisfaction?
Depending on an employee’s income situation, their motivations change.
Many businesses employ freelancers who are remote. Here are some ways to hire and manage them at a distance.
Sometimes, all you need is fractional staff members to augment your back office.
When it comes to hiring employees, many business owners simply repeat what they did when working in corporate America or mimic what they have seen others do. There is a better way to hire today.
Lie Detection in Interviews
When it comes to business employees, they are very prone to lying. Here is why.
As a business owner, you will want to know how to spot lying and deceptive behavior.
Be aware that the interview process is one place where prospective candidates are very prone to lying and exaggeration. As you question the prospective candidate, here are a few techniques to spot when someone is lying.
However, if turnover after training a labor force is ongoing, businesses can take a page out of the Ford playbook.
Management Practices
And small business owner’s management practices can also make or break their business.
Building upon management practices, the culture that a company embraces can tell a lot about its eventual success. Here are five primary cultures embraced by most startups.
The environment in which employees work can either be supportive or non-supportive of how we have adapted as humans in our evolution.
Recognition
Once on board, it is important to recognize employees for their contributions.
Failure to recognize an employee’s contributions can come back to bite the business in the long run.
Many employee recognition programs are poorly designed and do more harm than good. Discover how to design an employee recognition program that works.
While it is good practice to reward good behavior, it is also a good idea to reward employees who avoid bad outcomes.
The Culture
Even though a small business might hire adequately, build a good culture, and reward employees based on their behavior, it is important to recognize that employees have different motivations from the owner.
Effective managers can instill a sense of ownership in their employees by communicating the big picture and the “Why” behind desirable behaviors.
Too many business owners rank employees by performance alone when it comes to compensation. However, business owners should be ranking employees on two axes, Performance and Trust.
When it comes to giving an employee a pay increase, it is important that they know their contribution to the business.
Would you rather have an overqualified person who may leave or one who is just average and could stay forever? Here is why being overqualified is not a problem.
However, as an employee, it is also important that they know their role in relation to the customers they will be dealing with on a regular basis.
Discipline
Business owners must deal with many employee behavior issues, but can you really change employee behavior long-term, and is it worth it?
At one point in every business, there will be a time when it is forced to lay off employees.
Leadership
When starting out, every business owner needs to be a leader. However, as the business grows, it may need to hire a manager, or the owner will have to adopt some managerial traits. Here is what a small business owner needs to know about leadership vs. management when it comes to employees.
As a leader or manager of others, you will need to change your influencing style based on the situation. Here are four influencing and leadership styles that can be applied depending on the circumstances.
Employees need to understand the boundaries of their jobs and how they interact with the rest of the staff. A RASCI chart is one way to map out tasks and responsibilities.
You can download a RASCI template by following the link below.
A new era of highly connected and interactive technologies is changing how business employees interact with customers, with each other, and with their company.
Employee Ownership
A Real-World Confession Outlining the Emotional Journey of Offering Ownership Incentives to Employees. Why Ownership Without Cash Will Produces Bad Outcomes
Offering employee ownership without capital contributions creates fairness issues, financial risks, operational challenges, and ending employment complexities.
