Spotong Issue 26

Page 27

MANAGEMENT

H IT W S IP H S N IO T A L E R CREATING LOYAL

S R E K E E S K R O W FIRST-TIME Loyalty is key!

tor Alex Hadfield, SME sec

lead at the Harambee

elerator Youth Employment Acc

I

n the last edition we looked at how, as an entrepreneur, a key moment in your first business is hiring your first employee. You often choose to hire young, first-time workers because that’s what you can afford. For their part, first-timers are thrilled to be in work. Sounds ideal, right? Sadly, it’s often a formula for employment failure as both you and your employee bring high expectations and a lack of experience to the process. You don’t discuss this with each other so neither party understands the others’ position. As the business owner, it falls to you to take the lead in creating an atmosphere in which you can grow into a team. Your goal is to create a sense of loyalty in your staff. Doing this requires a level of transparency that may be outside your comfort zone. Here are our top tips on how to create loyalty. Put yourself in your employee’s shoes. Yes, this is a difficult enough task at the best of times and even more so when you’re in survival mode as you establish your new business. Taking the time to recognise what your new employee is going through will pay dividends. With the best will in the world, a first-timer who has never worked before is going to come into your business feeling a lot more excited about their salary than about their job. They won’t know what’s expected of them, and they’ll be nervous. You need to recognise this. You are the role model for an employee who has never worked before. They will mirror your behaviour. It’s up to you to understand this and provide clear and consistent direction. Recognise that you’re dealing with a clean slate and that every little thing you write on it will be visible. Think of your employees as if they were your customers. You need to communicate your vision clearly, which means not just outlining it but making sure it is really understood. Getting their buy-in has to begin from your first meeting. Get it wrong and they will communicate the wrong thing to outsiders. Get it right and they will become your greatest ambassadors.

together, and how and when you will make it up to them. Cash flow is easy enough to explain and it helps them to know that you don’t want them to leave. If you can get through a moment like this and keep the loyalty and trust of your employee, you want to hang onto this person forever! It helps employees to understand your challenges and to tell the difference between the internal and external factors that impact a business. These are essential learning and growth moments for a first-time employee and will help them grow into an even more valued role in your company and view their job through your entrepreneurial eyes. Recognise that you may have a bad moment when you’re not paying yourself but having to pay your employee. This is your business, your dream, and you will ultimately reap the greater reward, so whatever sacrifices you’re making are going to be worth it. It can be easy for first-time work-seekers to see your business as a stepping stone to something they perceive as better. Building loyalty and trust will ensure that you work together to grow your business into something better as you develop your first employee into your greatest asset. Harambee has been placing entry-level employees in the SME sector for three years now. From the beginning we recognised the recruitment challenges small companies face; we know it’s a delicate balance between what either party needs. This is why we provide a great deal of guidance, including a free HR Toolkit for SME employers. Our aim is to power economic growth by helping SMEs to unlock the potential of small business to absorb young talent. Contact us on smeinfo@harambee.co.za or 011 593 0505 for more information.

Feedback is essential. You need to talk to each other as often as necessary, and at least at the beginning or the end of every day. Unhappiness on either side can spiral out of control very quickly but if you’re talking to each other regularly you’ll be building trust and need never get to a negative place. Reviews shouldn’t be one-sided. Think about what review your staff would give you, think about the review you want, and act accordingly. Ask them to do the same! Cash flow is often a problem in new businesses and if you’re having difficulty paying a salary, you need to have a courageous conversation with your employee. There is a delicate balance to be struck here. You want to be transparent but don’t want to scare them off. You may have to ask them to take a part-payment for a month or two. This conversation needs to be about how you can help them manage their finances through this patch and how you’re going to work through it www.spotongmag.co.za

25


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook

Articles inside

Cocktails: A toast to spring

1min
page 57

Modernising stokvels is lucrative

4min
pages 62-63

Stokvels: Stokvels are evolving, so should returns

2min
page 61

Club 10 Taverns

5min
pages 48-49

Safety Matters: Gumboots 101

3min
pages 52-53

Recipes to celebrate Heritage Day

4min
pages 54-56

Tavern Reviews: At your Service

8min
pages 44-47

New on the shelf

3min
pages 36-37

Brands on a winning streak

3min
pages 42-43

Essential retail stocks

2min
pages 38-39

Brand new beverages

3min
pages 40-41

New tobacco bill is deeply flawed

4min
pages 34-35

Hot Off the Press

5min
pages 28-29

The Tavern Tatler

4min
pages 30-31

Creating loyal relationships

4min
page 27

Eight quick fixes to improve your small business

5min
pages 22-25

Six key questions

3min
pages 18-19

Defending the Shebeen legacy

2min
pages 12-13

Proud graduates

3min
pages 20-21

Liquor Trader Associations unite against injustices

3min
pages 10-11

The foundation that gives 100

3min
page 26

Update on NTHA General Meeting and GLF Leadership Workshop

3min
pages 8-9

Town planning must keep up with the changing needs of our population

6min
pages 14-17
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.