Small Businesses Can Get the Best Talent!

I was reading a recent article on Business on Main entitled 7 Employee Warning Signs that got me thinking about challenges for small business owners when it comes to their employees.

The article provided 7 warning signs for employees that may become, or are now, problem employees within the business. For some of the warning signs noted in the article, especially where harassment, substance abuse and the potential for workplace violence exists, it is absolutely essential for the company to have in place, and to follow, company policies and procedures.

What I particularly liked about this article was that it focused on the employee – and in particular – reaching out to help the employee improve the situation and/or correct the issue/get back on track. Too often I have seen business owners who “wipe their hands” of the problem employee. In one situation, a friend who owned a small business asked me why I thought she was having trouble hiring good employees. I asked her what happened to the ones she had. Her response, “The last two employees were so needy – one of them asked to juggle her work schedule for a few weeks while her husband was out of town so she could take care of their daughter – and the one before that was always asking to work on other projects, so she could ‘learn more’.” “So you fired them,” I asked her. “No,” she responded, “They left.” Hmmm…sounds like a problem business owner to me! And, yes, I told her so!

In today’s busy, hectic workplace when we are all trying to do more with less – time, resources, budget monies, etc. – home life bumps into work life regularly. The best business owners are those who spend some time establishing relationships with their employees. There’s a fine line, no doubt, and you don’t want to cross it; but there is nothing wrong with getting to know your employees. By doing so, you’ll have a much easier time recognizing the warning signs that Goldfield discussed in his article and narrowing down what exactly that warning signs means in relation to a particular employee so that you can help them. Employees who feel cared about – truly cared about, not just that someone is putting on an act – are more engaged in the business which is good for business! Things come up regularly that we must deal with and yes, while you have to watch the employee who takes advantage, business owners shouldn’t assume every employee will take advantage. I’m thinking back to my friend who lost a number of employees – simple conversations to get to know the employees and appreciate their challenges would have helped.

Your thoughts? What are some warning signs you have seen in your own business (or maybe just now recognize the warning sign was there for you based on the article!) and how did you handle it? Managing employees is never easy, but it’s part of the job description if you are running your own business!

I was reading a recent article on Business on Main entitled, When it Comes to Hiring, Can Small Biz Complete with the Big Boys?, by Toddi Gutner. The focus was on how small businesses can manage to compete for top resources against the likes of Google, Apple, Walt Disney Company and other such organizations with lots of resources at their fingertips.

The article got me thinking about a recent project with a small business (only 20 employees) that was trying to grow – adding 8 more employees by the end of 2011.The project had two parts:

• Developing a recruiting, interviewing and hiring plan.
• Developing an onboarding program.

Part of the concern of the client, which made me think of them when I read the article on Business on Main’s site, was that over the last couple of years, they had lost a few candidates to larger organizations. And salary wasn’t the only issue (though it was in one particular situation). The article provided many options for how small businesses might complete in hiring talent that larger organizations may be focused on hiring themselves. Of key importance on the list, from my perspective, is the ability of an employee in a smaller organization to play an important part in developing the strategy for the business and developing the organizational structure as the business grows. The other key element is the ability to be able to more easily be innovative and creative within a smaller business. The best small businesses not only encourage that creativity and innovation within their employees – but provide them time to actually work on their idea and leading a team to reach their objectives.

Even if a small business may not grow – thereby not providing opportunities to move to a higher level role in the organization – don’t discount the growth potential. Employees may be able to grow personally and professionally within the organization by:

• Taking on challenging, strategic projects to manage
• Learning about and working with another group/business unit within the company
• Attending conferences, workshops and participating in Chamber of Commerce and other such events

My sister left a larger organization to go and work for a smaller one that provided her much more flexibility in focusing on what was truly important to her – raising her son. Does this mean she is not interested in her job – certainly not! But it was important to her to work for a company that helped her balance family and work. Too often larger organizations are not flexible in this regard; which is a shame for them but great news for smaller businesses trying to get top talent!

Check out the article.  No doubt you can think of a few benefits to working with a smaller business yourself.

Happy reading!

Disclaimer: This post is a part of an online influencer network for Business on Main. I receive incentives to share my views on a monthly basis.