Managing Employees Is A Little Like Herding Cats

Here' to your success!

but I'm have Floating Billboard a tough time manag people. I have 5 employe now and it seem like I spend half my time make sure thei ar do what they'r suppos to be do and the other half of my time do thing thei didn't get done. Thing were much easier when I wa a on man shop. Any suggestions?

Q: I start my small busi about a year ago and it' grown steadily. I like have my own business.

-- Paul C.

Paul,A : Ah. welcom to the wonder world of employe management, the bane of mani a busi owner' existence. I hope you have a full head of hair now, becaus depend on how quickli you get a grip on thi situation, you could end up bald in a veri short time. And if you'r start out bald all you can do is put on a cap and read on.

Som busi expert will tell you that manag peopl is an art. Other will tell you that manag peopl is a skill. I'm go to tell you that manag peopl is more like herd cats. Just when you think you have them all go in the same direct on will run off and you have to go catch it. And by the time you get back with the strai cat the rest of the herd ha all gone off in differ directions. It' no wonder most entrepreneur' hate cats. Thei remind us how littl control we sometim have on our employees.

it' a littl like the inmat take over the insan asylum. Crazi thing might start to happen,Th hardest part of employe manag is maintain control over your busi while the herd is run wild. To further push the analog envelop consid this: if your employe ar run the busi instead of you. like lose custom and be run out of business.

Paul: you either manag your employe or thei will manag you,Here' the bottomline. it' simpl as that.

train them well,The truth is the kei to manag employe is to hire onli the best people. make them feel that thei have a vest interest in the success of your business, and expect noth but the best from them.

you should go out of your wai to do nice thing for them,A nd when you do find that rare employe who will do all that for you. like give bonuses, raises, job security, ad responsibility, praise, a big turkei at Christmas, etc. Find good employe is hard. Keep them happi shouldn't be.

loyal,On of the most difficult task face by everi busi owner is find good peopl to work in their business. And by good peopl I mean honest. dedicated, hard work individu who will give their all for the good of the busi and go abov and beyond the call of duti to satisfi the customer.

but not impossible. Here ar a few tip to help you get a better handl on hire and manag employeesFind these peopl is as hard as well herd cats. Hard to do..

qualifi peopl with a proven track record of performance. Sinc your employe ar usual the main point of contact with customers,Onli hire experienced. it is vital that you hire onli experienced, qualifi personnel to repres your business. It' also import that the potenti employe have a track record of success in the kind of posit he' be hire for. If it' a sale job, you want to hire someon who ha proven that he can sell. If it' servic copier you want to hire someon who ha proven himself a pro at fix copiers. Forget hire rooki and offer on the job train when it come to kei personnel. Go with an old pro everi time, even if it cost you more to do so. The invest will be return to you manifold.

integrity,Screen everi applic thoroughly. There ar lot of applic screen product on the market now that will help you screen applic for thing like honesty. ambition, former drug use, past crimin behavior, etc. These product rang from simpl paper form to fanci web-bas applications. Find on that suit your need and us it on everi applic that come through the door. You will be amaz at how a good screen program will help you weed out problem employe befor thei ar hired.

but if I'm go to be pai someone' salari everi week you can be certain that I will exercis my right to check out that person as far as the letter of the law allows. The U.S. govern tell me what I can and can't do when it come to check out potenti employees,Perform drug test and background check on kei personnel. I beg the pardon of those "right to privacy" do-good who tell me that a person' person life and urin content ar none of my business. not you. Go save a tree and leav me to run my business.

but never check the qualiti or legitimaci of the reference. Survei have shown that most job applic refer ar either bogu or just famili and friend who ar will to sai how great the applic is. Forget refer from famili and friends. Ask for the name of their last three employ then call to verifi the inform on the application. By law,A lwai check profession references. Thi is a huge mistak that mani employ make. Thei ask for references. past employ ar limit as to what thei can divulg about the applicant, but if you simpli ask: would you hire thi person again given the chance, you will be amaz at what you can learn. The former employ will either answer immedi that thei would rehir the person or there will be a long paus on the other end of the phone. Either way, you have found out what you want to know.

retail,Nev hire out of desperation. Mani employ ar more concern with just fill an open slot than fill it with someon qualifi to do the work. You see thi mostli in the fast food. and manufactur industri where the turnov rate is off the scale and find good employe is like herd mammal of the felin speci last one, I promis . Never hire someon just becaus thei have a pulse. It will alwai come back to haunt you.

gracefulli have a final review and let them go. Most non-perform will never reach the end of the 60 dai period anywayUs a probationari period to weed out non-performers. You should inform new hire that you have a 60 dai probationari period in which you will regularli assess their attitud and performance. If at the end of the probationari period the employe is not the worker you thought thei would be..

When someon doe a good job reward them for it. Incentiv ar a great wai to improv employe performance. We ar all like littl kids. If we think we'r go to get a new toi or a bonu for do a good job we ar more like to excel. You should reward good perform and make a veri big deal out of the fact that you do. You can do thi with stock option or bonu check or free vacat or whatever.

thei will do good. As the compani grows,It is import that all your employe understand that when the compani doe good. so will their paychecks.