Want to be an employer of choice?

So the question here is how do we whip our staff into a frenzy (as opposed to just whipping them)!

Having been a small business owner with a growing number of staff, the focus on keeping them engaged, encouraging them to grow but still stay with us, and finding time to run my business, often felt overwhelming.

To follow are the simple, and yet at the same time not too simple, top 10 tactics that worked for me.

• Communication – find ways to get your team to come to you when there’s an issue, not to whinge behind your back.
• Create problem solvers – encourage your team to bring any problem to you, but to always bring a solution at the same time.
• Reward fairly – based on performance, not time in the job.
• Develop champions – who can grow into their roles and champion and action new ideas and techniques.
• Trust – regardless of how you’ve been burnt in the past, treat your team first with trust.
• Reward creatively – consider education rewards, family based rewards (such as dinner vouchers) and tiny rewards (such as their favourite chocolate bar) instead of just standard pay rises or bonuses.
• Involve your team – get their opinions, seek their feedback, hunt out criticism before it infects your organisation.
• Show the path – foster career drive by showing your team the career paths open to them within your organisation.
• Listen – instead of always talking.
• Lead by example – live in a manner consistent with what you say. It’s managing, not parenting, so “do as I say, not as I do” ain’t gonna cut it.

Kirsty Dunphey is the youngest ever Australian Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year, author of two books (her latest release is Retired at 27, If I can do it anyone can) and a passionate entrepreneur who started at age 15 and opened her own real estate agency at 21. Currently Kirsty heads up www.reallysold.com the premium online copywriting site for real estate agents and is a co-director of Elephant Property www.elephantproperty.com.au Launceston, Tasmania’s only boutique real estate agency purely for investment property owners. Kirsty’s other ventures are outlined at her website www.kirstydunphey.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter.

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