Your employees are your partners in progress and not just common individuals that you are doing a favor to earn a “better livelihood.” Many entrepreneurs have unknowingly failed or retrogressed in business due to their relationship with those that work for them. We will be teaching you here, how to improve your relationship with your employees and make them want to continue working for you even when they establish their own businesses. The points below should be considered by those entrepreneur that really want to utilize their employees for the maximum growth of their businesses.
Treat your employees as those helping you to fulfill your dream: Your employees are actually helping you fulfill your business idea, though some of them may be unaware of this. So consciously in whatever means you can, encourage them to help you take your business to whatever level you want to see it.
Pay your employees well: As you plan for your business, have it at the back of mind to pay your employees reasonably. If it’s possible for the least paid employee in your company to earn a million dollars, do not hesitate to pay it. Be only concerned about a bottom-line not what you are paying in taxes or wages and salaries. If you are still making reasonable profits after all your expenses, go ahead and make everyone happy.
Share your profit with them: Paying your employees well is not enough if you want see your business grow in a geometric progression. After all the stakeholders have taken what belong to them from your earnings and good amount reserved for the growth of the business, the remaining profit should be shared by your management and all the employees. Profit-sharing motivate employees to seeing that good profits are made in each of the periods as well as put in all their best towards the growth of the business in general.
Know each an everyone one of your employees personally: Your business will tend to do better if you know each an every member of your employees personally. In life generally, people loved being known personally and you know business is just part of life. So, try as much as possible to know the people that work with you personally. Even when your business has become big, try to know those that work closely with your personally and encourage them to do so to their subordinates; and with this arrangement, you can really know everyone personally.
Genuinely care for your employees: Train yourself to be genuinely concerned about the welfare of your employees as well as those of their families. Put up a structure and system that will help monitor the progress of each of your employee family. The system of knowing the progress of each employee’s family maybe on unit, departmental, branch or company basis depending on the growth of your business. No matter how it’s done, let knowing the progress of each employee’s family part of your policy.
Always be concerned about their personal development: Let each member of your employees be trained as often as possible depending on the changes in the industry you are operating in or that in the global economy. Do not think it will be costly to embark on such trainings because it will cost you more in the long run if they are not trained.
Also, give them the freedom of developing themselves. Encourage them to join professional bodies in their different fields of endeavor, if possible pay for their annual dues in those professional organizations.
Teach them how to manage their income: People that are disgruntled will never ever be productive no matter the motivation. The major cause of disgruntlement is the inability of someone to make do with ones income. Organize seminars for your employees at least once every year on personal finance. If you cannot handle it consult those that are experts in personal finance. This will go a long way in ensuring that majority of your employees take charge of their financial lives and this will in turn give a positive boost to your business.
Make them see future in your business: Generally, more people will put in their very best in any project they can visualize their future in than project that presents a bleak future. Make sure you put up structures and systems that will that will ensure continuity in your business. Let your business be a pace where people will happily want to come and work, not a place where those that are there are looking for the slightest opportunity to move away from.
Do not have “sheep and goats” employees in your organization: Do not discriminate between your employees. Let all that work for you be valued for the kind of jobs the perform. Do not for example contract your junior staffs while you employ your senior staffs yourself. Let every member of your staff be treated with respect because they are all human beings and loved to be appreciated no matter their levels. For instance, when a security guard is appreciated; he or she will do his work with enthusiasm. But, when regarded as a nobody; he or she will directly or indirectly undermine the team work of your business. Let everyone count in in your business, for it’s one of the easiest way of excelling in business.
Show them all you expect from them: Let them see a mentor and a motivator in you. Do those things you will always expect them to do. Do not boss yourself around them, but always be as humble as you can afford to be.
They already understand you are the owner of the business, so let not your attitude negatively suggest to them you are the boss. There is nothing that kills business faster than “internal competition”. That is when the majority of the employees in an organization are not happy with the owner or the management of the business and are always expecting the worst to happen to the business not minding they will be equally affected.