Small Business Operations: Don’t Manage Employees This Way

Congratulations! Your small business is now so successful that you need to hire employees to keep up with customer demand. Employing the right workers takes time out of your busy workday and money out of your budget. So you want your efforts to prove worthwhile by having employees that are immediately productive and stay with you for a couple of years at least. You want to avoid the mistakes that many first-time employee managers make. Don't manage employees this way:

• Being too friendly. A workplace where everyone gets along is a better deal for everybody and makes the business run more smoothly. But remember that you want employees and not friends. Otherwise, how are you going to remain objective when you need to make the tough decisions? Is it easier to terminate friends or subordinates if their work is substandard? Do you want to give the only raise to your BFF or to the most productive employee? Try to maintain some emotional distance in the relationships with people you hire.
• Criticizing in public. You may think that scolding one employee in front of another (or a customer) imparts a lesson to your entire workplace. But how would you feel if your situation were reversed? Would you be listening intently to the critiques being thrown your way? Or would you be too focused on your embarrassment and anger to pay attention? Critique employees in private. On the side of things, lavish praise on them publicly, so everyone feels good about the process.
• Micromanaging. Of course, nobody can do as good a job as you. Your business has been your baby from the start and you know how to take care of it best. So you tell your employees how to cross their “t's” and dot their “i's.” Then you watch them carefully to make sure they're doing the job correctly. Weren't your hires supposed to make your job easier? Then why are you doing their tasks in addition to your own? Delegate responsibility. Tell them what you need and when you need it and then leave them alone. Intervene only when their work is substandard or beyond the schedule.

Avoiding these mistakes will make you glad you hired extra help. If you want more information on improving your small business operations, please contact me.