I was lucky to have had Vicki Bargy as our first employee in the business.
Vicki was about 20 years older than I was at the time and at first that age difference was a bit awkward for me. Who was I to be giving direction to someone who was obviously more senior, more experienced and a lot more mature than I was?
But Vicki took it well, she groomed me in being a supervisor, laughed at me when I was too serious and tried to play practical jokes on me when I was too stressed. We made a great team and as the business grew and we hired more staff, I made sure that I hired people just like Vicki - intelligent, responsive to customers needs and better in areas that I was weak in.
Staff turnover can be a problem for many small businesses. As retailers we need people in our stores who are good with customers and have an aptitude for getting the right products into the hands of our customers. But how do we find these people? How do we get great staff that will last for years and not leave us when it seems that we need them the most?
Having great staff starts by knowing what you want. As business owners, we need to have certain positions filled in our organization so that we don't' have to do all the work. Finding the right person starts with you. Write down all the tasks associated with the position that you want to fill. Is this strictly going to be someone running the till or are they going to be helping with inventory? Are they going to open the store or close it? Are they going to be doing janitorial?
Next you need to think about what type of person you need. Do you need them to be smart enough to order and price products? Do they need to be detail-oriented to be able to do your bookkeeping? Are they a people person or should they be task-orientated? Are they going to be supportive and caring? Do you want them to have aptitude or attitude?
Keeping staff starts with training them well. Do you have a training program? Do you have a review process and a probationary period? Do you have regular staff meetings so your staff has a sense of community and purpose? Do they know what you expect of them? Do you have regular semi-annual reviews where you sit down with them? Do you ensure that your wages are competitive and your compensation packages fair?
All these things contribute to keeping and holding staff. Doing them right and having a system for onboarding your new staff members and keeping them engaged is important. As the owner of your business its up to you to ensure you provide a safe environment for your employees where they want to come and spend time and feel invigorated. Having a workplace and culture where people want to be, will serve you well in the long run and you will have less turnover and more stability with your employees.
Hopefully you can choose employees like Vicki who will make your job easier and enrich your life.
Dave Fuller, MBA is the author of Profit Yourself Healthy and can be reached at [email protected] or 250-617-7467
