How to Build a Team

Special Report: How to Build a Team

This special report is about how to build your team. When you can no longer survive as an “army of one,” it is time to bring reinforcements, aka employees. Hiring and working with employees will be an adjustment, but you will thank yourself for it later, particularly if you choose well. One of the first skills you must learn is to delegate. Figure out what tasks you can afford to have someone else take care of for you. Think of it as if your time is more valuable than doing basic follow-ups and mailings anymore. 

As a small business, resources are always tight, so it’s important to get the most out of your employees. The same is true of your employees. If you do not utilize your employee’s full potential, you are wasting money. Pay as high a wage as you can and communicate with them upfront about your long-term goals. Nothing is worse than hiring an employee who leaves two months later because they really didn’t see themselves in the long-term with your company.

What Kind of Employee Do You Want? – The obvious answer is the hardest working, most conscientious individual you can find at the lowest possible cost who is willing to work when you need them. But first, you need to really understand the staffing needs of your business. Whether it be sales coverage for the hours you have the doors open, a delivery person, a helper, technical support staff, or someone to answer phones, having a clear idea of how many hours you need them, the skills required, and the duration of the position, are keys to making the right hiring decision.

Build Job Descriptions – One of the first things you must do, once you have considered what kind of help you need, is to write a detailed job description. Writing a good job description is key to helping an employee do their job effectively. It will also clearly communicate your expectations of job performance. As an additional benefit, you can also use this document as the basis for their annual job review. Here are some tips for creating a solid job description:

• Create an exhaustive list of job tasks, then prioritize them. Try not to be overwhelming, just accurate.


• Divide the list into three categories: critical tasks, routine tasks, and occasional tasks.


• Keep your job description to a page. (You do not want to scare away the person you are trying to hire.)

There are different types of employees that might meet your requirements:

• Full-Time—A full-time employee generally works 40 hours a week and is paid overtime for hours worked over 40. While you must pay Social Security, disability, and federal and state taxes, you have options on whether to provide health insurance, paid vacation, or retirement benefits. If the skill set you require of an employee is scarce, be prepared to offer competitive salary and benefit packages to attract the best talent.


• Part-time — A part-time employee or virtual assistant. They generally work 10 - 20 hours per week and can be a solid asset in admin tasks, like scheduling, sales research, marketing outreach, and appointment confirmations. Your business might need to provide customer service or tech support, and a part-timer can assist with that too. Utilizing part-time help can provide great flexibility and help you control overhead costs.


• Temporary — A temporary worker or temp agency hire can generally be on the job within a few hours and quickly help you meet an increase in business needs. The time and expense of recruiting, screening, interviewing, and checking on prospective employees are eliminated, and unsatisfactory candidates can be easily replaced with a phone call to the temporary agency.


• Contractors — This type of worker, also known as freelancers or 1099 employees, can be very valuable in meeting your business needs, especially short-term, complex tasks, without adding to payroll. They work for a straight hourly rate and are responsible for their own payroll taxes. If you pay a contractor over $600.00, you are required to send a 1099 tax form to them and the IRS to report their income. You define the scope and timing of the project that you want done, negotiate the price, and specify the benchmarks.


• Interns — College students working toward their degrees are often encouraged or required to participate in internship and co-op programs that relate to their field of study. This can be a low- or no-cost source of labor for your company. In return for their labor, you give them college credits and experience in your business. Ideally, you can assign them projects that will test their skills, teach them new skills, and bring value to your business.

Now that you have some ideas of what kinds of workers are available, please go and get some help for your small business. For more advice on this topic, check out my book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months. 

10 Things Your Employees Need From You As An Employee

Your business can only grow as far as your hand can reach, which means you need employees. But your employees need to have a win/win relationship with you. Your employees are the engine that drives your business, but how well are you taking care of your most valuable asset? How will you focus on making sure that everyone on your team is driving in the right direction? If you want your employees to work hard and be dedicated to you, you must do the same. Here are 10 things your employees need from you as a small business owner. 

1. Leadership -- As the business owner, you set the tone for your small business. Your employees will always look to you for advice, or for the example of how to handle situations. Do you pay vendors chronically late? Do you work 14 hours a day and weekends, too? Do you go off when a customer complains? Do you come in late every day? Do you openly favor certain employees? Everyone is watching you, and they will treat your business just like you do – or worse.

2. Appreciation -- You need to learn your employees’ love languages, and they might all be different. Is it time off, bonus money, public praise, or more responsibility they crave? You need to make sure that you are giving them what they need to feel valued. Your employees are the most valuable thing in your business, so you’d better be good to them, or your business will suffer.

3. Engagement —Do not hide in your office, struggling to come up with all the answers. Engage your staff in brainstorming sessions to solve business issues. I have had many interns save the day.

4. Communication—Schedule regular staff meetings to ensure everyone knows what is going on. Be sure to hold yourself accountable, too. Don’t demand updates from everyone around the table without offering the status of your own projects. This will help you keep the lines of communication open with your team.

5. Mentorship—As a business owner, you must be a coaching leader. It’s best to be invested in your employees and try to grow their skills. Explain why you do certain things, and when they are ready, expose them to clients. Invite them to attend certain conferences and meetings with you. If you get them fully engaged in your business, they will work harder for you.

6. Patience—New and young employees need time to grow into their roles. As small business owners, we often want people to hit the ground running. But do you have processes documented enough so that you can tell them what to do and how you like it done? Have a plan in place before you make a hire so that you can give them a set of goals and manage your own expectations.


7. Payment—You need to ensure that people are paid on time. Set a payment schedule for every two weeks, not when they need a check. Use a payroll service to make it easy for you to deal with paychecks.

8. Protection – Make sure your employees have a safe work environment. Are female employees walking alone to their car at night? Also, do not tolerate clients or other employees who mistreat your staff. No amount of money is worth having people feel like it’s all right with you that they are abused. I use a two-chance rule. I will speak with a client who is inappropriate first. You do need to give them a chance to change their behavior. If it happens a second time, I will end the relationship.

9. Understanding – There will come a day when one of your best employees will come to tell you that they are moving on. Hoping they will not go into business for themselves and try to take your top customers, (that’s what confidentiality and non-compete agreements are for in employment contracts), but you also need to be understanding and supportive. Never blame someone for doing what’s in his or her own best interest.

10. Celebrations Find Reasons to Celebrate. You can throw a party with your team for any reason: big contracts, birthdays, baby showers, and holidays. As hard as you ask them to work, the party is just as hard when there is something to celebrate.

If you do these things, after 25 years in business, you will have some of your original employees still with you.

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