The great big world we live in is full of job opportunities. And as a small business owner, it can be a full-time job to simply keep staff around – let alone happy and motivated. In my 13 years as an Allstate agency owner, I’ve developed a formula that does both. The following insights are not the only things that work, but they’re the only things that have worked for me. I’ll count on you to tell me what I missed.
1. Hire the right people. I hire people whose strengths complement my weaknesses or the weaknesses of my team. If I’m an aggressive, goal-oriented salesperson, I look for a compassionate, service-oriented person. Hiring on motivation, inspiration or purpose has never steered me wrong; you can teach skills but not will.
You often have to look in unexpected places to find the right people. I’m in the insurance business but I seek out exemplary employees in restaurants, movie theatres and grocery stores. I can train and develop the people who are career-driven, not paycheck-driven. You’re only as good as your team, and my team is a family.
2. Culture means everything. If you take care of your team, then you’ll take care of your culture. You can have the right people, marketing, customer service, but if you don’t have the culture, then you are building your house on sand, and you can expect high turnover. We operate as a highly-functioning family with clearly defined roles and goals.
Every decision I make is a family decision. The team has the opportunity to interview potential hires and decide on the best fit together. Before making any changes, I follow the “20 foot rule” by asking input from the people closest to the work. We decide how to best reach our business goals as a team, and we even hold each other accountable for personal goals. When everyone feels part of a team, everybody wins together or loses together. We’re a family, and no one wants to let their family down.
3. The best incentives are free. We often assume everybody is motivated by money, but you’ll find a lot of people are more motivated by vacation days, quality time with their family, and internal contests geared toward our shared goals.
Everybody in my office has the opportunity to earn trips to places like Aruba or Maui based on their results, but the little things like their favorite candy or a birthday lunch can go just as far. Taking the time to get to know your employees and what drives them will pay dividends in the long run.
4. Leaders create other leaders. When you develop people with the intent to make them better than you, everyone wins. Most of my new hires don’t know how to lead, so I teach them through experience. They start out leading our morning meetings and eventually they lead for a week. Creating employees who you can count on means less people have to count on you, giving you more time to work on your business rather than be in your business. I left for an entire summer and the business hummed along without skipping a beat. That’s the way every business should run.
We all know what we have to do. I inspect what I expect, but I don’t give orders or micromanage. If that feels necessary, then it means you didn’t hire right.
The bottom line: Take care of your employees if you expect them to take care of your business.