I have been self-employed for close to 30 years. I have had multiple businesses, some I stayed in for too long and some I may have quit earlier than I should. I am looking to spread some knowledge, but need specific questions so that I can answer them truthfully and show you what could have been done differently. Basically I want to use the knowledge I have gained to show you how not to do it.
How much you really need to manage employees
My experience of employees has not been good, but I live in a country where firing useless employees is almost impossible. There are basically three types of employees IMO, the ones that cause more work, the ones that do just enough and the good ones who will be leaving to improve their lot.
The ones that cause more work need micro-managing to prevent them from killing your business, The ones that do just enough can be encouraged to do better, The good ones need very little supervision.
How many interviews does it take to find out which one they are?
Some people are good at interviews and make terrible employees, and some are terrible at interviews and make fantastic employees. I have my doubts that you can find out much from an interview other than are they on time and do they have the requisite knowledge.
How has your luck been finding part time employees? I am currently working on opening a business with relatively tough hours so I am banking having a hand full of part time.
i use part-time employees on occasion but mostly for unskilled jobs. It’s easy to find the unskilled in my area, They hang around street corners here.
As for part-time skilled workers, I live by the dictum, that if you want it done properly do it yourself. My experience with employees, part-time and full time has been from mildly annoying to absolute disaster.
Okay good to know thanks for the explanation. Would you say offering incentives to full time employees or just raising pay has done you more justice in having a reliable employee?
I have always paid the good ones more, because those that add value, deserve more. I tried various incentives like if this job is finished by, there’s a bonus in it, The good workers would deliver, the others not so much.
Makes sense to me. Thanks guy