I don’t know about you, but I didn’t have any business training of any kind when first getting started.
I was making it up as I went along as they say. So I had some rough moments as I attempted to grow my business.
This was especially true when it came to hiring and training employees. WOW… I was not prepared for that part of the equation! I thought it would be a pretty simple thing. I hire you and you do a good job. Simple right? Well, it’s not that easy. These tips helped me. I hope they help you!
1 – Dialogue is a “two-way street”. When talking to employees make sure to practice a “give and take” conversation whenever possible. Sometimes people speak non-stop without ever letting the other party get a word in. When people do that they are subconsciously letting that person know they aren’t all that important.
If they had any interest, they would ask questions and listen to what others had to say. Successful people tend to ask questions then listen. That’s the secret to understanding an issue. From there you can correct any potential problems because you now better understand their point of view.
2 – Accept human differences. This is HUGE to say the least. You have to live by this tip as best as humanly possible. This means stop expecting perfection in others. Nobody is close to 100 percent perfect, not even you. So the sooner you accept that fact the better off you will be.
So stop trying to reform others by chastising them over small things that rub you the wrong way. Go by the motto “live and let live” instead. This can be tough to do for some folks (especially me) but we are all unique. Some in more ways than others. Accept it and go from there.
3 – Don’t blame others. Look in the mirror instead. Your staff is only as good as YOU TRAIN THEM. I know it’s so easy to just blame why something went wrong on a bad decision of a staff member. But you hired them! You trained them and you let them go on their own as well.
So take a step back and address how you could have been better before just blindly yelling and screaming at those that look at you for leadership. Suppress the need to vent and instead take a few moments to take a few deep breaths. The buck is supposed to stop with YOU. Don’t ever forget that.
Simple and to the point!
Hey Tom, interesting post. Well timed too as I’m in the process of bringing on new employees. My main issue seems to be knowing when to say something and when to let it go for example when I’m checking an area they’ve cleaned. I can’t help seeing small mistakes but try to point it out while making sure to give praise for things done well.