As your small business grows, an increasing proportion of your customers’ interactions with your brand will be through employees. For this reason it is crucial that your employees understand and know how to promote your brand in their day-to-day work. This requires a lot of leadership and proactive management on your part.
It is quite challenging and I have had my fair share of issuing trying to get my employees/designers understand what our brand stands for. Designers can some times be difficult to deal with since all their focus is on creativity and not so much on client interactivity. Every week I try to give pep talks on how it is important for a designer to not only be great at design but also at communicating with clients and responding in a manner that is congenial to the client.
Here are a few tips for being the employer and leader that your business needs in order to be successful.
- Be open about your small business. Your employees cannot be good representatives of your company if they don’t have rudimentary information about it. You don’t have to give them a detailed business plan or profit and loss statements, but they should know what kind of brand you are trying to represent. You should be excited about your brand and talk about it on a regular basis. In addition, it’s okay if your employees know basic financial information about your small business. Be honest about your situation and focus on areas where your business needs to grow.
- Reward good behavior. Let people know what they are doing right; they will then be more likely to repeat it. Recognize employees who contribute positively to your business on a regular basis or go the extra mile. Even a simple ‘thank you’ can be effective if you are specific about the behavior that you appreciate. When you have to give criticism—and you will—frame it with positive observations.
- Ask for suggestions. As your small business grows, your employees will become very familiar with certain aspects that you may have long forgotten. Ask employees for feedback on a regular basis. Don’t shoot down new ideas or interrupt with your own thoughts. Create an open and honest atmosphere in which even negative feedback is appreciated and valued, as long as it is presented in a constructive manner. You don’t have to take every piece of advice, but be sure that people feel heard. This will not only increase morale, it will also give you valuable insight into the day-to-day operations of your business.
- Offer increasing amounts of responsibility. When a new employee is hired, give them small and not-so-important tasks to get them up to speed and to see where their talents lie. Then, give them increasing amounts of responsibility as they prove worthy. This will show your employees that you trust their judgment and abilities, while allowing you to delegate less important tasks. Let your employees grow within their roles as long as they prove capable of handling new tasks.
- Be a good employer. All people have a powerful need to feel appreciated and respected, not just as employees but as human beings. Celebrate milestones, reward good behavior, and generally be pleasant to interact with on a daily basis. You probably have worked for other people at some time and experienced both good and bad supervisors. Use these experiences as lessons on the type of employer you should be. Ultimately, you will set the tone for your business and determine whether it is a positive place for both employees and customers.
