We’ve all been there, and many of us are there right now. It’s tough to find, hire, train, and retain good employees. Especially now, it’s important to shift your focus from just hiring anyone who can scoop poop (and might stay with you for only a few weeks) to someone who can do much more—if and when they are given the opportunity to do so. You’ll want to hire individuals who have skills and a personality that set them up for success in your business, like those who are positive, friendly, eager to learn, coachable, interested in advancement, and fit your team culture.
Meeting with staff individually on a frequent, regular basis also helps them feel more involved and more invested. Doing monthly or quarterly check-ins for 10–15 minutes is a great way to build your team and stay on top of any issues. Most employees want to feel heard, so meeting more often versus once a year helps fulfill that need. These don’t need to be formal meetings—you could call them Monday check-ins and schedule individuals for a 15-minute time slot before or after a normal shift or a check-in day where each person gets pulled aside during their shift to chat with you. You then document these discussions in the employee’s file and use that as a way to track any issues and/or improvements.
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