We have a lack of organization structure. Not everyone can be a manager. We might not recognize the candidate who can be a lead – and I’m not sure what a lead is, anyway. On the other hand, I can’t leave unless I give a list of things to do to people. They don’t take initiative to look around at what needs to be done. And when I come back half of stuff isn’t done and gets pushed back to me, and I get bombarded. What should I do?
Thoughts of the Day: Building organizational structure is one of the hallmarks of a stage 2 company. Figure out what you have to work with, and how best to organize that group of employees into more efficient units. Learn to delegate tasks and projects to teams. It’s important to make sure employees know where the company is headed, and the role they play in helping the business get there. Conduct regular meetings, and work with the teams to build a Next Action Steps List and review and discuss progress and hold ups.
Been having a lot of discussion lately about what the next generation of the business will look like. Who will run it, who will work in it, what kind of work we’ll be doing, and how we’re going to adapt to stay current. Wondering if you have any recommendations on what to consider, and how to go about planning for the future.
Thoughts of the Day: Thinking about the future is critical to ensuring success. Do a critical needs analysis. Make a plan that describes where the business goes next, and how it gets there. What problems are people trying to solve and how can you make things easier? Deal with the reality of limited workforce availability. Consider ESOP as a model for future ownership, if your company is strong enough.
My state is under 3% unemployment. It seems like few in that remaining 3% are trying to work. Hiring has been an obstacle. Without additional qualified employees who are committed to working hard and getting ahead, as a business we’re going to get stalled. We don’t need a lot of employees, but we need good ones. Where should we go to find them?
Thoughts of the Day: Low unemployment is one of today’s big challenges for most business owners. Make sure your company is offering competitive wages and other opportunities that make it an attractive option. Widely publicize the fact that the company is looking for talented personnel. Learn about applying for visas to bring in talent from other countries. Build training programs to grow talent internally. Consider doing acquisitions to pick up the talent you need.
“We don’t have an interview process. We’re haphazard and I think that leads to some of the hiring problems we’ve had. Would like to get a lot better at interviewing and hiring the right people for my company. Can you help?”
Thoughts of the Day: Lay out a process that you can use every time. Consider testing to gain some insight. Decide who should be involved in the interviews, and in what order. Keep evaluating your process to compare results and see how to improve.
Recruiting results are not good enough. We’re growing, and because we can’t get enough of the right people fast enough, we struggled during our busy season. Nothing that our clients saw, but we lived with the stress. And…
I interviewed an "A" player but the team passed on her. In retrospect I should have brought her in. How do I get my team to recognize and embrace bringing on high quality talent? Thoughts of the day:…
If someone on the management team were to get sick, we'd need a replacement plan. What would that look like? Thoughts of the Day: Having people ready to step into another job reduces personnel crises. Cross training makes…
We are having trouble getting some of our employees to pay attention when they make mistakes. It's almost like they get in a groove and can't get themselves out of it. When there's a mistake, we discuss it.…
We're finding it hard to take in more work at the moment. With the labor shortages, and unemployment so low, we are short on staff needed to produce the work. We're finding it hard to find enough people…