You should think of everyone – friends and family – as ‘staff’, members of the team you’ve got supporting your business.
It’s hard enough keeping your customers happy isn’t? But there’s another group of people some small business owners can neglect. Forgetting about your support team can cause easily preventable problems.
Arrangements for working in a small business can be formal. You hire people who get paid for the regular hours they work, holidays and when they’re sick. Or maybe ‘having someone in the shop’ means a group of family and friends ‘keep an eye on things’, sometimes getting paid, sometimes not.
Whatever your arrangements are, if you’ve got people working for you – you need to think about what they need to do the best possible job.
4 reasons why you should keep your team happy
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They represent you and your brand
When you’re not around, you need to know that everyone who works for you is doing what they’re supposed to. Word-of-mouth matters and anyone who works for you will talk about you!
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They'll be nicer to your customers
In the UK, the NHS – one of the largest employers in the world – changed its approach to staff policies once it was shown that nurses and doctors give better care to their patients when they are treated well at work.
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They'll stick with you
If your team are happy working for you, they won’t leave. Finding good staff is hard work. It takes time that you probably don’t have, and it costs money. You want to keep good people who are honest and hardworking.
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They'll help make your business a success
You already know how much hard work it is to run your own business. The more things you have working *for your* the better. This includes your staff. Some of the best ideas to improve how businesses work come from staff. Try and put aside some time to ask them for their ideas. Don’t forget to acknowledge any ideas that save time or money, or make money.
Many small business owners worry about what happens when they’re not around and if they can really trust the person they’ve left in charge.
This worry doesn’t disappear if your support team are members of the family or friends. There are enough stories ‘out there’ to show that employing them doesn’t mean an easy ride!
Whoever they are, you need to see them as part of your team. Your staff team. They’re part of your business when they’re working for you, and they need to understand what your brand is all about.
I don’t know if I can trust my staff?
You’ll probably have to rely on others at some point if you run a small business. And, you’ll worry whether you can trust them to run things the way you do.
Hire the right people
There’s no problem if someone wants to work for you because they need a job. Needing work is powerful motivator! What you want to know is ‘Why you?’ Why do they want to work for your business?
There’s no right or wrong answer here.
How do you who’s right for your business?
If someone says the location or hours suit them, that’s fine. If they know about your product or service and have know something about sales, that’s even better.
But, the chances are they’ll have practical reasons for choosing you. You should make a quick note of their reasons when you meet them.
When you’re deciding who to choose, look back at the reasons they gave for choosing you. Then decide if how you run your business will suit the things that are most important to them. If keeping your customers happy matters to you, make sure they’re the right fit!
Someone may say the hours you expect them to work are great as they fit with their other responsibilities. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But, if there are times when you need your team to be flexible, then this could be a problem if you choose this person.
Make sure the person you choose understands that working in a small business means doings lots of different things. Think about all of the things you could need help with. If you need someone with good maths skills – test them.
What about family and friends?
Working with family and friends can be great. Hopefully, they support you whether or not they work for you. You’ll need it!
The good news is lots of shoppers, including tourists, love family-run businesses and want to support them. Your job is to make them feel special when they buy from you.
Here are a few things to consider when you working with family.