Being a Business Owner Can be Challenging
You balance your time between being in the business and running the operation, and out of the business and thinking about how you want your business to grow and how you can make your business as efficient as possible. The one key question that is vitally important and will make the difference between whether you achieve your goals or not is what a model employee would look like to you.
In a sales environment, do they need to be able to think on their feet, be targets orientated, dynamic?
In an accountancy environment, do they need to have an attention to detail, be proactive?
In a manufacturing environment, do they need to have a logical approach to troubleshooting and problem-solving?
In the charities sector, do they need to be empathetic and creative?
It is therefore critical to not only understand what the key skill set requirements are of your model employee but also what personal/behavioural skills they need to have.
A number of books have been written about the importance of cultural fit. In a book by David Logan, John King and Halee Fischer-Wright which is entitled Tribal Leadership, they talk about the importance of workplace culture and how it can contribute to a more successful workplace. According to the book, people's overall health, injury rates and sick days go down; and employees report feeling happier.
As an employer, there are a number of factors that you could introduce into your organisation, which will enable you to embed these behaviours:
1) Job description - make sure that you have a robust job description in place which clearly defines what a model employee would look like.
2) Recruitment - when recruiting new employees, introduce selection methods which 'tease out' the key personality traits that are a good fit for your organisation.
3) Performance Management - introduce tools/methods which enable you to assess your team's performance against your goals based on not just 'the what' but 'the how' they achieve your goals.
By following these key principles, it could be the make or break of how you move forward as a business.
We hope that you've found this information useful. To find out more, why not check out our fantastic software HR Pulse - 'At the heart of your business'.
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