Did you know that 8 out of 10 entrepreneurs will fail in their first year in business? For many people, feeling good about their work is all the motivation people need to work their hardest. The biggest thing you can do as a leader is to ensure your employees know how their work contributes to the company’s success and mission. The manager didn’t tell you what specific mistakes you made while dealing with the customer. Like giving feedback, you need to give specific direction to your employees for tasks you’re delegating to them. Let your employee know how the task fits into your overall company goals. It’s given out to new hires to inform them about company benefits and need-to-know items. Since many top performers are motivated by career growth, make sure you provide plenty of opportunities for the leaders of tomorrow to learn and grow into roles with more responsibility. Learning how to keep your top performers will rely on avoiding mistake #1 on this list: Make sure you get to know all your employees as individuals and learn what motivates them to be their best. The truth is it takes a lot more than money to motivate your best people.
Did you know that 8 out of 10 entrepreneurs will fail in their first year in business?
Still with me here?
If you read that statistic and felt more determined than ever to achieve your goals, you have the tenacity needed to become a successful entrepreneur.
Whether you’re just starting out or already have an established business, successful entrepreneurs eventually get to the point where they can’t manage things on their own anymore.
I remember when I hired my first employee.
It felt surreal.
“I finally made it!” I thought to myself. I was successful!
But growing your business to the level that you need to hire one or more employees presents a whole new set of challenges.
You’re now in charge of other people —not just yourself.
You’re responsible for their livelihoods, their development, and their work.
It’s a lot to deal with.
And like starting a business, hiring employees is risky, too.
One bad hire could cost your company 30% of your annual revenue. The negative effects go beyond just the bottom line.
Having to deal with the aftermath of a bad hiring decision can cost you valuable time and the trust of your customers.
You need to choose your team members very carefully without being paralyzed by fear.
It almost feels like starting an entirely new business when you invite someone new into your organization.
But it doesn’t have to be that hard.
I’ve definitely made a few of the mistakes on this list! You probably will, too.
The key is to always be learning and growing as a leader. Once your company expands beyond just you, it’s your responsibility to keep it afloat.
Here are the top 8 mistakes to watch out for when creating your team.
1. Not treating each team member as an individual
When you’re hiring someone, it’s easy to look at candidates’ skills on paper or how they fit into the role you’re offering. But you need to go beyond that.
Get to know them as people.
Find out what they love to do. Maybe one of their hobbies could have a real impact on your business.
For example, if your new hire loves to write, maybe they could take on some marketing tasks for you.
Even if you don’t use the information you learn, employees are happier when they’re treated as real human beings instead of just cogs in a machine.
I know — this is really groundbreaking information here.
Employers often lump together their employees using generational stereotypes.
For instance, you might have read all those articles that claim that millennials are lazy and entitled.
Just like any group of people, I’m sure some are lazy and entitled. But the millennials I know are extremely hardworking, able to research well, and devoted to their jobs.
The key is to forget about the stereotypes when you’re talking with or about your team.
Focus on their personalities, skills, and goals. Your attention will pay off when you can align everyone’s passions and skills to develop a highly engaged team.
2. Using only financial motivation
Let’s face it: We’re all at least a little bit financially motivated.
There’s nothing wrong with that.
You need to pay rent and bills at a basic minimum, and it’s nice to have a new iPhone once in a while. I get it.
But when you treat your employees like all they want is a paycheck, you’re doing them a disservice.
There are many other factors that contribute to your employees’ motivation.
Over 80% of respondents to a recent survey said they’d consider a job with lower pay if it had better health benefits or the ability to work flexible hours.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying money isn’t important.
You should absolutely pay people proper wages that allow them to live comfortably.
Just don’t forget about all the other benefits people crave from their jobs.
Some people look for tangible benefits like vacation days. Others seek a sense of purpose in their jobs.
Motivated employees are 40% more productive than those who aren’t, and they can multiply their employers’ revenue by 4.5 times!
An experiment at Intel conducted by author Dan Ariely found that giving employees a cash bonus incentive was the worst way to motivate them.
The experiment was to measure the productivity of factory workers assembling computer chips. Employees were divided into four categories, with each given a different incentive:
- Free pizza
- A compliment from the manager
- A cash bonus
- No incentive
When the results of computer chip output were measured at the end of the week, the group that received the cash bonus had actually performed 6.5% worse than their peers.
The cash bonus ended up costing the company more money in lost productivity, and it didn’t serve to motivate people at all.
Surprisingly, the group with the highest output was the group who were given compliments.
For many people, feeling good about their work is all the motivation people need to work their hardest.
A little appreciation goes a long way. Remember that when you have your own team.
3. Not sharing your long-term vision
It’s critical for your entire team to be on the same page when it comes to your company mission, vision, and values.
A recent Gallup poll showed that only about 40% of millennial employees feel connected to their company’s vision.
The biggest thing you can do as a leader is to ensure your employees know how their work contributes to the company’s success and mission.
Starbucks does a great job of this, especially for such a huge company.
As of 2017, Starbucks has over 24,000 global store locations.
Its mission is to be the “third place” for its customers.
Howard Shultz, the company’s founder, wants his coffee shops to feel like the next best thing to work and home — in other words, the third place.
That’s communicated to employees all the time.
But to get them really engaged, Starbucks launched a website called My Starbucks Idea.
It allowed employees and customers to submit their ideas to make the Starbucks experience better for customers.
Since its launch, it’s generated over 150,000 new ideas, ranging from mobile drive-thru payments to cake pops.
By inviting others to share ideas that align with your mission and vision, you can create a positive culture of engaged employees and customers.
But none of this can happen without first communicating your mission statement.
Your mission is your “why.” It’s why you started your business and what kind of change you hope to make in the world.
61% of employees don’t know their employer’s mission statements. That’s a lot!
You can’t assume everyone can read your mind and knows your mission.
It helps to work the mission into all your communications, from company-wide meetings to individual sit-downs.
If you’re announcing a new feature for your software product, you could say, “We’re adding the ability for users to print their statements because our goal is to make accounting easier for them, and we realize a lot of people still like having paper copies.”
By constantly talking…
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