How do I make my business more profitable with the staff I already have?
As a business owner you want to earn a living, make some profit and have the lifestyle of your dreams, but to do this you need your staff to be efficient and effective. You want them to perform at their best so they deliver a great service to customers and sell the optimum amount of product.
But how can you increase turnover without also increasing costs by taking on extra staff? And how do you get a consistently great performance from your staff without using the carrot and stick method? It’s about challenging them.
Staff don’t come to work to be bad at their job. What they need is to be challenged effectively, and we all respond to the “right” challenge. There are three simple steps you can undertake to make this happen:
• Set clear expectations and objectives for staff
• Measure their performance effectively
• Follow-up with them and encourage excellent performance.
Simple steps require preparation, which requires time. Understanding how to prepare to challenge, measure and follow-up staff performance will save you time and improve profits, but it starts with having a crystal clear vision for your business. The fastest route to a profitable business is always through motivated and engaged staff.
The time invested in your current staff will give you back more time in the future and increase the bottom line quickly and sustainably. You can then focus on growing your business instead of fixing it.
Adrian Brown runs mentoring and consultancy business The Hospitality Expert. Hear more from him on how to build a motivated, inspired and engaged team as part of the Business Skills seminar programme at Professional Beauty London on Sunday, February 28.
