How to Treat Employees

In your small business, employee relations are essential.Your employees are your direct relationship with your customers. They make thefirst impression, and can keep your customers satisfied. They are also the ones

  that can give yourcustomers a very bad experience, and reduce your business.

The absolute first thing to remember, you are not only thereboss. In addition to being there boss, you own the business. This means beingmore than a manager. If your employees do not offer the best service, it couldrun your business into bankruptcy. You do not want this to happen. Be sure thatall of your employees understand this.

You should always treat your employees with respect. Eventhough you own the business, you still have to earn respect. To earn respectyou have to give respect. Do not talk down to, or disrespect your employees inany way. Speak to them with dignity, and respect. Think back, have you ever hada boss that treated you badly? Did you want to work at 100% for that boss? Didyou speak highly of the company? Most will say no to all of those questions.These employees are the face of your business. Find the line between boss andfriend, this line can be very fine.

Employees enjoy being told when they have done a good job,but not so much when they have done something wrong. It is your place to doboth. You should always let an employees know when the have exceeded yourexpectations, and completed a job well done. This is just as important asinforming them when they have not met your expectations. They need to hear bothsides. Employees tend to get discouraged when they are only told what they aredoing wrong.

Hire positive employees, and be positive yourself. If yourbusiness has a positive atmosphere, your customers will notice. Again, youremployees are the face of your business. If there is a negative atmosphere,your employee will be negative. Your customers will then receive a negativeexperience.

Things to remember dealing with employees:

Treat them with respect.

Reward for behavior.

Be positive.

If an employee is not up to your standards, document it, andinform the employee of the situation. (Use 3 three strike rule to cover yourbusiness)

Your employees can be a great form of advertising. (Bothpositive and negative)

Be a boss, not a friend.

All employees will not like you. It dose not matter, as longas they are not negative in front of customers.

Your employees are the face of your business. Therereactions to the way they are treated will show to the customers. They are alsopromoters of your business. They will tell everyone they know about thereemployment with your company, whether good or bad depends on you. Be positiveabout your business. You are now a business owner. The hardest part was gettingto where you are today. Now keep your employees happy, and keep the customerscoming.

Instructions

1. Respect all employees and treat them fairly. Take a genuine interest in their lives, and always interact with them in a courteous manner. If you treat employees how you desire your boss to treat you, things will go smoothly.

2. Ask for feedback and perform performance reviews. We all want to know where we stand in a work situation. If you perform individual reviews of your employees, you have ample time to sit down and discuss any issues one on one. Allow each employee to voice any concerns relative to the work environment.

3. Create productivity goals for employees that are attainable. Outline the goals with each employee, and give her tips on how to reach the goals. Reaching goals makes any employee feel as though she is accomplishing something at work.

4. Recognize employees for productivity and exemplary customer service. This type of recognition shows all employees what the company appreciates and values.

5. Hold team meetings for all of your employees. Discuss new products, and create an awareness about new products or offerings. Remember that it is all about building teamwork.

6. Empower your people by providing ongoing training for giving great service to customers or clients. Offer product knowledge seminars for your team, so that their knowledge is continually advancing. Doing this will help to cultivate loyalty to the company, as well as fostering a passion for what they are doing.