|
Edited on Thu Jan-04-07 08:36 PM by Finnfan
One of the most crucial parts of my job is hiring and training new employees. I've been managing retail stores for almost 20 years and in that time I've discovered that my most productive (and happy) employees were the result of the same 4-step process:
1. Hire the right people. Make a list of the job requirements and the qualities that you want in your ideal employee. Then select the candidates that most closely match those qualities, taking into account pay, availability, etc.
2. Make your new employees aware of the expectations for their job, and make sure that they know that they will be held accountable to those expectations.
3. Provide constant, specific feedback as to how well they are meeting those expectations.
4. Follow through on accountability. If they can't do the job, they have to go.
Each one of these steps is equally important.
Without step one, you might hire people totally inappropriate to the job you need done.
Without step two, your new employee doesn't know what to expect, which usually leads to resentment when you attempt to hold them accountable. Resentment can lead to all sorts of negative things such as corruption, counter-productivity, and even outright rebellion.
Without step three, your employee assumes that they are progressing positively, which again leads to resentment when you try to hold them accountable.
And without step four, the whole thing breaks down. Nonperforming employees continue to underperform, wasting resources, money and time. Employees who are doing a good job become discouraged and bitter. They lose trust in you.
We the voters took step #1 in November. Cindy Sheehan is a perfect example of step #2. We must let our elected leaders know what we expect from them. It's even more important to do so now that we have the right employees in place, because we have a real shot at making things better for our "company", the United States.
Cindy Sheehan should be applauded for what she is doing. More importantly, we need to continue to communicate our expectations to our elected Representatives, who we hired, and hold them accountable for their performance. If we are to have a chance at getting our country back, we can't miss a single step.
|