When it comes to staff, Traci knows what she’s talking about! From running a cleaning company with over fifty members of staff to overseeing teams of hundreds, managing and understanding people is something Traci has had to not only embrace but excel at. 

One of the main lessons Traci has learned along the way is that a body of staff is made up of many different types of people, some of whom can add immense value to your business through their specific set of skills.  

In this special episode, Traci talks you through staff; the pitfalls to look out for, the benefits to chase, and a remarkable number of strategies to ensure that you get the best out of your workforce.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

 

One of the scariest prospects when taking on staff is that you’re allowing someone new into the business you’ve built. And how could anyone care about your company as much as you do? But you need to remember that even if someone only works at 50-75% of their potential, that still relieves you of an enormous burden. 

One of the first areas in your business that can benefit from outsourcing or staff is the admin side. Admin can make up a significant percentage of your workload and is a skill that many already have. 

Social media can be very time consuming, but it’s an area that businesses need to focus on. There are many different platforms and many different ways of using each. Having a clear strategy for each platform, and ensuring that your company message is clear, can mean that outsourcing your social media presence to staff, and especially to specialists in the area, sharpens its effectiveness, and frees up more of your time. 

Scaling up your business can involve taking on mass employees, which raises a whole new set of challenges. A human resources division may need to be established to deal with staff, as well as management tiers. 

Traci advises that an important factor in growing your business is to make sure you keep your ear to the ground. Often when a business scales up, management can muddy or misunderstand a company owner’s goals. Managers are people. People are diverse. Motivations among different people can vary wildly. Understanding people, meeting them where they are and understanding how to get the best out of them is a far greater skill than numerous qualifications. 

It’s important to make your values clear, but also vital to encourage creativity and inspire happiness among your staff. People work to their best potential when they’re invested in a pursuit. Imbuing your staff with a sense of pride in their job is a magic ingredient in making your staff work wonders for your business. 

For some of you, a staff of people in your workplace can provide a creative, thriving environment built on ideas and community. For others, their strategy may not necessitate a workplace, and so outsourcing will suffice. 

It’s very important to make sure you have enough profitability in your company to allow you to reliably pay your staff. But it’s equally important to remember that you need to pay yourself a healthy wage. If you haven’t got enough to do these things, then grow slowly and leverage outsourcing. 

Offering an apprenticeship can take time, but also leads to a staff member with transferrable skills and a wealth of experience, who can then become a full-time member of staff for you. This is time-consuming but extremely rewarding. 

Every person you take on is a potential risk. It used to be a lot easier to fire problem staff, those who turn out to create nothing but problems for your business. Remember that a person’s motivations can rapidly decrease if the job cannot dynamically suit their personal needs. Often these problems can be identified early on by making sure you are involved with a staff member’s training. Also, a trial period can act as an effective get-out clause for not just you, but also for your employee.

 

BEST MOMENTS

‘You don’t know what you don’t know’

‘Treat your Facebook page as a shop window. Is it attractive enough to invite people inside?’ 

‘The more hands-off you become, the more imperative it is for you to spend time on the shop floor’ 

‘If people don’t know what the goal is, then they won’t be as invested in making that goal come to fruition’ 

‘People want to feel as though they’re being helpful’ 

‘A trial period is basically a get-out clause for you, and for your prospective employee’ 

‘If you have good employees then reward them’

 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Women Rockin Business Podcast

Traci’s Website

 

ABOUT THE HOST

 

Traci Cornelius is a Speaker, Business Coach, Mindset Coach and mum to five Girls.

Like many, Traci’s story is not really a succinct one. It is long with many twists and turns (which is like business and life itself!). 

"Many of the twists and turns have helped me to learn, to grow and to become a successful entrepreneur."

On a professional level, she runs many businesses. On a personal level, she is a Mum to five wonderful, adorable, courageous, independent and challenging girls.

“I discovered exactly where I had gone wrong in my previous businesses. Everything I had been through, the good the bad and the ugly started to come together into the best discovery of all the “5 Power Principles. I implemented them, first in my business and then in others and so they then became the “5 Power Principles” that other people wanted to know about!”

–Traci Cornelius

When it comes to starting and scaling your business, whilst juggling family responsibilities and taming your mind monkeys, Traci is your go-to-gal!

 

CONTACT METHOD  

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Official website: https://tracicornelius.com

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