Eight out of 10 businesses that open this year will fail within 18 months. Many of these business leaders will never truly realize what went wrong. What causes this lack of success? There’s no simple answer, and it’s easy to pin this failure on lack of financing or other economic factors, but cracks in the foundation often appear well before the day a company is forced to shut its doors.

HIRE THE BEST EMPLOYEES

What can you do to create a culture in the workplace that helps ensure company success? It all starts with your employees.

When my business partner and I started our company, the first few years were tough. Simply put, we struggled. We weren’t making much money, had no rhyme or reason to the processes we were using, and had no time for our families. We worked constantly and wore ourselves thin just to get by. We knew we had to make a change, so, after some deep thought, we altered the company’s structure. Instead of doing what everyone else in the industry had already done, we modeled and implemented proven systems and formulas based on companies that had the cultures and service levels we strived to provide. In just a few short years, our company made a drastic turn for the better, and we were soon setting new milestones.

We were fortunate. We realized our downfalls in time to shift the company’s structure into one that breeds success, but many business owners don’t recognize the warning signs until they’re faced with the difficult decision to close up shop for good.

STAFF EXPECTATIONS

By implementing a proven hiring strategy, companies can lower employee turnover and maximize results. Don’t hire simply to fill a role. Ask yourself, ‘Am I hiring the best person for the job or just the best person that responded to the job listing?’

For successful business owners, the hiring process never ends. They’re always looking for the next superstar hire, not just when they have an open position. Without great employees on board, the business will fail to grow.

With the best employees in place, customize a workplace culture that not only keeps them there, but motivates them to achieve at the highest level. A culture that demands the best from every employee and establishes clear guidelines and goals — both individually and collectively — will generate a workforce that knows exactly what is expected of them and motivates them to take that extra step for the advancement of themselves and the business. But, how do you create this culture? It all starts from the top.

Develop a 52-week blueprint for where you’d like the business to go. Include company-wide events that employees want to participate in. Not only does this keep employee morale up, but it builds relationships and stronger comradery among your employees that will translate into the work they do.

Learn how to delegate. Delegating important tasks to employees not only empowers them and makes them feel like valuable team members, but it also frees up your time, which, as a business owner, is everything.

Create an accountability chart that lists every position in your company and the tasks they are responsible for. By providing employees with this list of positional expectations, you can better pinpoint how effective each employee is, and, when they fall short, you can make adjustments to help them improve. By keeping employees accountable, they are more likely to rise to the occasion.

But, remember, accountability goes both ways. Just like you have expectations for every employee, they, too, have expectations for their leaders. Facilitate opportunities
for employees to voice their opinions and provide feedback about company processes and direction. Encourage them to make recommendations and suggest changes.

Having this information at your disposal will allow you to know when adjustments are needed and exactly what changes should be made. While you will not be able to accommodate every employee’s request, their feedback provides valuable insight into the overall employee attitude.

Making sure the right employees are in place, hiring based on quality rather than need, adding value for employees by implementing merit-based programs and systems that reward them for doing great work, delegating, and clearly communicating company goals are essential parts of a successful culture. Implementing these ideas will help you create a cohesive workplace that motivates and propels your company into market domination.

Publication date: 6/15/2015

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