Good people are hard to find

More than 10 years ago I left employment to start my own business, primarily because of my own long held desire to work for myself. This was justified by the behavior and standards I observed in the managers and senior people I worked for. Almost exclusively, they were promoted to their levels of inadequacy.

With my internal drive and the external validation of the desire to be my own boss, I took the leap into business ownership. In doing so, I decided that I was going to be a better boss / employer than I had witnessed. I tried everything from bonus up front, bonus for target, nights at the pub, complementary lunch, vouchers…. through to paid-for therapy and shopping days off for Christmas. The most interesting thing is that none - not one! - of these ideas resulted in more effective, productive, loyal or successful employees.

I didn’t and don’t want to believe this, but I think I’ve almost accepted it: good people are motivated and driven by internal drivers and external incentives make little difference. Ouch! That hurts.

The reality is that there just aren’t that many good people out there for the role you are recruiting. Recruitment is nearly always expensive and frustrating.

So, what is the solution to this challenge of finding the right employees?

1. First of all remove the human interaction element from tasks that have high degrees of error and try to automate as much as you possibly can
2. Secondly, give specific tasks and instant commands. I promise you that the more specific and task orientated and the more instant the command, the more likely it is to be completed. Also, the more your employee will enjoy the success of delivery and feel rewarded by it
3. Lastly, don’t expect too much!! That old saying of ‘If you want a job done properly, do it yourself” has definitely stood the test of time!

Employing good people is one of the most important and toughest parts of running a business…and I haven’t entirely cracked it yet.