Your Business is People

A business is more than just the signpost outside and the logo on your stationery. Business is about the people that drive it, and sometimes between the intense focus on lead conversion and the profit and loss sheet, we forget to put that emphasis in. We ask a lot from our employees to ensure we keep ahead of the competition and keep in business. But humans are not robots, and we need to keep that in mind. How do we ensure that people are given the best opportunity and environment to not only do their absolute best for your company but also feel good while doing it? Here are some useful pointers.

Respect that every employee sees the world slightly differently. A common mistake is to design the world from your own perspective. An employee initiative that you think is the best thing next to sliced bread might be seen as less than stellar by someone else. The only way to get around this is by asking questions and to be open for suggestions. Assume there is a sender-receiver challenge you need to overcome, i.e., the way someone intends to say something is not how it will come across. By asking the right questions, you can unlock true opinions which will prove themselves invaluable going forward.

Job descriptions grow over time and what you expect from someone might not be what they wanted to do long term. As your business grows over the years and your employees with it, or new hires that join over time, the initial job spec you hired a person on will have changed. It’s good to check in once a while to check if what people do on a daily basis is still the direction they want to go. For example, especially with smaller startups, you will always assign someone who will take care of office management tasks, someone who takes the lead on pitches, someone who is a computer whizz and now your makeshift IT support person. Usually, these tasks naturally fall into a person lap due to their strengths in each area. Don’t just assume that this is what they want to be doing! Perhaps it’s time to outsource some work, for example, your IT help desk to companies such as eSudo Technologies. If you get your people focused on what the want to do, you will see a better return.

Reward and celebrate successes. What makes us human as opposed to robots and machines is that we crave recognition. Sure, some will need that more than others, but at a very human level, we all need to feel valued. And it’s easy to celebrate those employees that bring in new business and close the big contracts, but there is a whole cast of supporting people making that possible. If you can fail as collective, you also need to celebrate as a one. And it doesn’t always need to be champagne bottle and cake. A celebration can be a quick email and allowing people to leave early. It can be bringing in a round of coffee in the morning just to show your appreciation.

And that is the key in succeeding as a business, keeping your focus on the people. Sure, bills need to be paid and delivering for clients is a core component. Take care of your people, and the score will take care of itself.