I am starting a business and hiring few employees and I need advice. I usually talk to people in polite manner and when asking for things I ask it out as a favor. This method can not work in business environment, we have responsibilities and duties to fulfill.
I do not want to sound rude, bossy, and clash with my employees but I also do not want to have a slack environment where employees just do whatever and expect to get paid by the end of the month. I would like to reach an “efficient, professional, and favorable” work environment . I really would like to avoid firing like the plague.
First, you get what you put in. Put yourself in the employee’s position; how would you want to be treated?
Second, establish your expectations from the interview; reaffirm then upon hiring. This requires keen communication skills, in that, you need to tell people what you want/need them to do. And if this is an entry level position, then you should expect to teach your new employees. On average, It generally takes 30 days to teach a new employee their entire job. It takes another 30 days for familiarity; and finally, after another 30 days is what you can expect employees to be autonomous enough that you don’t need to be constantly supervising. This is of course different from person to person and based on previous experience.
Third, never underestimate people. Just because someone doesn’t have a previous job title that’s exactly the same doesn’t mean they don’t have the same skills needed from other kinds of positions in their history/education. I’ve found that in general, people are teachable; when you set firm expectations of what they’ll need to do, and can successfully get them past the 90 threshold, they are likely to be a solid employee.
For more skilled positions (like anything requiring a specialized education, such as engineering or plumbing), they likely won’t need as much hand holding during the first 90 days; but people cannot read your mind, nor should you expect them to. Give them that 90 days to get acquainted with your business operations and expectations.