Originally posted October 2012

In my last blog, I looked at 5 key things to take into account when deciding to take on your first employee.

Having put all the effort into recruiting the right person for your business, you may think that you’ve done all the hard work. In fact, to make sure that you get the best from your new team member requires you to spend just as much time on their first few weeks in the job.

Here are 3 key things to remember:

• Set out what standards you expect from the first day. It’s a lot easier to get things right from the off than try and change people’s behaviour later.
• You and your staff member need time to get used to each other’s way of working. If you’ve been working on your own you need to understand how to delegate and also to take constructive criticism. Don’t be precious!
• Everyone makes mistakes – even you!  If your new team member makes a mess of something, don’t automatically treat it as an opportunity to get rid of them. You’ve invested a lot of time and money recruiting them; unless the mistake threatens the business’s survival or reputation, review what you both can learn from it.

If you want to know more about the most effective way you can manage the people in your business, click here