Reliable employees are essential
by Kelly Schwedland
If you want to find and keep the right employees, then you need to have a People Development Strategy.
As we looked at management systems last time, we ended with the question, "How do I get my employees to do what I want?" The answer is very simple. You can’t. You have to have people that want to do the work because of who they are and the importance that it has in their life.
You need to have a system to recruit, hire, train and develop employees. It is just as important to treat your employees like you would a customer. You wouldn’t think of running an ad that says "Wanted: customer, must have money to spend. Please send info to box #." Yet, many of you do nearly the same job trying to find employees. Just look at the ads. So, try this again. Engage your employees before you even meet them with "who we are." Position yourself to find the right people.
First, you need to find employees that identify with why your business is there. This means you have to have a story to tell about your business that would make people want to return. It can’t be artificial. It has to be real and consistent with the way you operate. What is your big idea? Why did you get into business? Then use the story to find others who feel the same way. Look at the back of a Cliff Bar, Great story!
Next, you have to know the type of person you are looking for. I’m not talking about skills that they know. I’m talking about their attitude toward life for the functions you want them to fill. You look for someone that is ordinary, because that is all you’re going to find anyway. That’s what the world is full of. So, why not plan for it?
Next, we bring them in and train them "the way we do it here." We do this because we know it works the best, because we have already quantified the best way to do it. By doing this, we can take ordinary people and create extraordinary results.
The next step is to help them develop. This involves understanding who that person really wants to be in life. This is often the most challenging aim. But it is important for us to help them achieve who they want to be or they simply won’t last. I’m sure no one has ever told you they were leaving and you never saw it coming? Well, this is why. You didn’t know what they really wanted to be.
Finding employees that fit
Use that understanding to build your organization while helping them grow. As Zig Zigler used to say, "You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
One business owner who has more than 25 convenience stores suggests it is important to understand your company’s culture and find employees that will fit in that culture. He makes a point to say that his employees’ role is to create an enjoyable experience for the customer and that it requires a certain type of person who will consistently work in that environment.
With these four pieces put together you now have a People Development Strategy. A true strategy to recruit, hire, train and develop employees.
Kelly Schwedland is president of American Business Dynamics, a small business consulting firm focused on issues related to growing companies.