Employee Relations (Doing Virtual Business Part III)

As a small business owner, you probably do everything yourself. While creating is what got you going, management and operating a business tend to take you away. There are many functions involved in operating a business and a lot of it can be handed off to employees to free up your time to devote more to creating while still being involved in management.

Finding and keeping good employees is always a tough thing to do and I think it is magnified in Second Life ®. While real life employees depend on their job to sustain their existence, here it is more about having some money to play with and not to support you. I’ve always been very serious about what I do here and I expect someone I’m paying to be at least half as serious. It rarely happens. So finding people who take their Second Life ® job serious is a huge task.

We seldom find out what someone is really like until after we’ve hired them. That’s not a problem. The same rules apply here as in real life. When you hire someone, don’t pay them the top salary as it leaves no room for them to be increased. As well, probationary periods give you the opportunity to evaluate and to end employment if it is not satisfactory.

During a probationary period, give your employees clear and concise tasks to perform. Don’t overload them initially. Have them report back to you on what they have and haven’t accomplished and take the time to sit and review their performance frequently. This may seem time consuming, but it will pay off in the long run as their supervision should diminish.

Make sure you meet after the probationary period has expired. Be constructive in criticism and make sure you praise work they have done well. If they have proven they can handle the job, then increase their salary appropriately and set another time line for a further review and possible increase. If you are not happy with their performance and doubt that it will get better, don’t prolong it, and let them go. It’s your business and you need to feel confident about your staff.

Happy employees will stay and if you can keep them happy and enjoying what they do, you will have a pleasant situation with your business.

Periodically give your employees more responsibility. Not only does it make them feel more worth while in your organization but it will ease the load on you. A little at a time though. Don’t overload them all at once. Prepare or even better, have them prepare a job description on what they do. Review it with them and make suggestions or changes to it as necessary. Use it as a tool for both of you to monitor progress.

Invite suggestions and advice from you employees. Sure it’s your business and you make the final decisions, but never be afraid to let your employees be involved in that process. There’s an old saying "two heads are better than one" and in this case it’s so true. More thoughts and ideas come through and if you encourage your employees to speak up with suggestions, it will help your business in the long run. And make sure you give them credit for their ideas.

Always give your employees clear instructions on what they have to do. Don’t assume they know and will ask if they don’t. Often people are afraid to admit they don’t’ know something. Therefore make sure you give them precise directions on what they will be doing. It’s nice to provide a written set of instructions for them to follow. Do go into detail when necessary. If they are to deal with customers, provide them with a way of dealing with customers and ready made responses to common problems. Having a customer frustrated by dealing with an uncooperative or uninformed employee is disastrous.

Be available. While you may try to provide all the possible outcomes for your employees to deal with, not everything can be. If they need assistance or advice, make sure they know how to contact you and that you are available. Don’t respond negatively if you are busy as you will just make them less likely to contact you next time.

Always be constructive. Whether its criticism or praise, offer reasons for each and say so without yelling or getting mad. Treat an employee the way you would like to be treated and they will appreciate it. Feedback is important as everyone wants to know how they are doing.

Rewards. Always reward employees for what you appreciate them doing. Remember if they are freeing up your time or taking stress away from you, they’ve accomplished a great deal. Rewards do not always have to be monetary, although money is always nice. Often praise or complements mean as much or more. A change in title is also very rewarding. In my dealings with employees, I’ve implemented tip splitting where all employees share in my venue’s tips in addition to keeping their own. As well, periodic bonuses are given out to employees based on their performance.

While it’s important to praise and recognize your employees’ efforts, don’t try and be their best friend. That never works. I’m not saying you can’t be friendly, quite the contrary. But keep your distance. The worst decisions are made by not wanted to offend someone or not being able to deal with someone because they are a friend. You treat friends differently and so it should be. Keep your friends as friends and employees as employees.

Which leads me to hiring friends and family. While it’s nice on the surface to keep things in the family, in business it seldom works out. Dealing with friends and family is different and as an employer more difficult. Friends and family gain certain exemptions and when it comes right down to it, can you fire a friend? If it’s necessary, it must be done, but often times it ruins the friendship as well.

For a business to be successful, all the parts must run smoothly and effectively. This is equally so for employees. Having happy and appreciative employees will contribute to your success.

Caio for now.