Happy Employees
Operational efficiency: an essential to grow your business
Business growth is what we’re talking about, but to achieve growth, you must scale your business. Growing your business means adding parts. More clients, more employees, more desks, more anything. Scaling your business means that your revenue increases, but your resources stay about the same. For more on that see my post Why scaling is…
Read MoreYour org chart shouldn’t look like an octopus
“Make an organizational chart?” He asked me. “But that’s so 20th century, do businesses still do that?” Only the good ones. The problem was never organizational charts: the problem was always bad organizational charts. And in small businesses, org charts are even harder, because so many people fill multiple roles. Pretty soon they look like…
Read MoreDoes everybody know your mission statement?
If I ask ten of your employees what your mission statement is, how many different answers will I receive? And how different will they be from your answer? Use your mission statement Your mission statement is a tool. Use it. I am aware that many people see it as a form of PR, a “nice…
Read MoreAre you living by your guiding principles?
Leading by example is one of the main points of leadership. You may have noticed: it’s in the word. To get the behavior you want from your employees is to be the person you want them to be. They can see you We don’t live in an episode of Big Brother, but we are being…
Read MoreWhy you should stop having performance reviews
The annual performance review. Every employee’s favorite moment of their favorite day. They prepare for it, they celebrate it, they wait all year or all quarter for this fun, exciting, stimulating moment— Clearly: I am joking. Nobody likes performance reviews, neither employees nor employers. So let’s stop doing them. Let’s have Stay Interviews instead. What…
Read MoreThe most important line in your job descriptions
There’s one sentence in your job description that matters the most. If you were only allowed to share one line from your job description, this would be the line to share. It’s the line that tells people what to do. And it goes like this: “The purpose of this role is…” A job adds value…
Read MoreThe 4 stages of a new hire (but only use 3)
Congratulations: you hired someone new! And of course, they are the right person. Probably. Almost definitely. But, still, we need to have a conversation. New hire journey First of all: of course you do. It will take everyone time to learn the job, the business, the culture, and even what to do when the coffee…
Read MoreHow to give the people what they want: hr edition
“Organizations… are nothing more than the collective goodwill and aspirations of the people involved”. – Sergio Marchionne As a business owner, you are responsible for the collective goodwill, you are the vehicle for people to achieve those aspirations. You are, in short, responsible for a positive working environment. The workforce solutions company ManpowerGroup did the…
Read MoreStop punishing your best employees (😕yes you are)
Much like children or grandchildren: of course, you don’t have a favorite employee. You support them all equally and appreciate each one for their individual skills and talents. Now that we have established that, let’s look at how you are punishing your favorite employees. Who is your best employee There is somebody who is always…
Read MoreHire the right person the first time
Hiring is difficult. It’s complicated, and confusing, and will take a long time. Here’s one way to simplify your hiring: start with essential skills. What are essential skills? Essential skills are the skills you need for the job but don’t have time to teach. You can teach somebody how to use a hammer to hang…
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