Your Most Valuable Asset as a Small Business Owner

We are all striving to figure out the most efficient ways to operate our businesses during this economic recession. President Obama's speech attempted to give us some hope, some light at the end of the tunnel while still communicating the cold reality of what we are dealing with economically in the country and world today. Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve also spoke to Congress and relayed his assessment of our economic future. (For a complete review of his report to Congress, view this article from the New York Times).

The theme I've presented in my various blogs over the last few weeks is for us, as small business owners, to be as educated as possible on business management technology so that we can be proactive in our approach and handling of our businesses. Yes, the economy is rough and therefore, in order to do well, it will take all businesses being smarter, more educated and more adept in how they apply management systems and actions to their activities.

This made me think - what is our most valuable asset as a small business owner? If you are a doctor, which most of our clients are, what, besides your professional training, keeps your office productive, viable, and a pleasant place to work? I think that a primary answer to that question is: YOUR STAFF. If you have well trained and happy staff, your office/business should do well. That has been proven over and over through the training we have done with over 4000 offices. In the next few blogs I'll discuss some of the things you can do with your staff to accomplish this.

Recognize Your Staff

A recent Gallup Poll found that almost two out of three people receive no workplace
recognition in a given year. This underscores a recent finding from the U.S. Department of Labor that the number one reason people leave their jobs has nothing to do with pay or promotions: they leave because they "don't feel appreciated."

Deserved

A large amount of our delivery to practice owners has to do with staff training and staff correction, both of which are vital. However, acknowledging a job well done is just as important. Recognizing a staff member's great work is motivation for the person to continue doing great work. The survey findings mentioned above demonstrate that some praise can go a long way. The recognition, of course, should always be well deserved. Simply having an "Employee of the Month" award in order to keep people motivated won't work if the awards are not deserved. It's up to the managers to execute the awards programs based on real production and contribution.

Individualized

It's a good idea to survey staff to find out what sort of recognition and/or awards they want. And whenever possible, individualize these: not everyone wants to be acknowledged in front of the group. Some will be happy with a written "thank you" or certificate that they can display in their work area. Others may want something tangible, like maybe a gift certificate to a restaurant or clothing store. When you individualize the recognition, you make a staff member feel even more appreciated.

Specific

Also, be specific. Don't just say. "Good Job!" Telling the staff member what they did that was a great job will not only mean a lot more, but it's information the person can use when doing work in the future. And finally, make sure that the information concerning an employee's awards or recognition goes into his or her personnel file.

These tips will go a long way in making your staff happy, productive and wanting to stay with you. Staff turnover can be very costly. The additional costs of finding and training staff are not what anyone needs at this time. Apply the above ideas and you'll have less staff turnover and save valuable time and money.

If you have any ideas you would like to share regarding this, we'd love to hear from you. Our discussion forum can be found at the Silkin Facebook Page.

Larry Silver
President, Silkin

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