Out with the Old in with the New

What a year! Most of us in Australia managed to get through the GFC pretty much intact. Maybe the dream boat or holiday in Tuscany has been put on hold for another year, but generally business is tracking along alright.

As the year draws to a close, hopefully most of us have a bit of time off. It’s a great opportunity to think about how we can make 2012 a great year.

The first place to start is to try to work out what you want from your business. Is it primarily about lifestyle, making a great income or creating an asset that you want to sell in a certain timeframe? Knowing exactly what you want from your business can help you put steps in place to make the dream a reality.

No matter what you want to achieve, attracting and retaining great staff is going to be critical. Here’s a few ideas on how you can bring your staff into focus:

1. Set clear goals for your staff and challenge them with simple and easy to measure objectives. It might be as simple as asking them to try to up-sell second coffees, put some latte art on every cup of coffee or sell a drink with every lunch purchase.  Ask the staff to verbally offer an exclusive  coffee and croissant combo, not mentioned on any menu Make it fun and purposeful.
2. Invest in your staff. Look at some training or an industry event.Encourage your staff to enter or attend a barista competition. Even taking them out occasionally to other venues to see what the leaders in the industry are doing can show them in a non-confrontational way that maybe there’s some room for improvement!
3. Show them that you care! It’s human nature to want to feel appreciated. You don’t necessarily need to offer a big pay rise; taking time out for a few sincere words of thanks or an early knock off for a job well done can really help build the relationship and a reciprocal obligation. Some simple measures may reap big dividends when you need your staff to go ‘above and beyond’ to cover for a sick workmate, or to pull a double shift to make sure a big function runs smoothly.
4. Make your new hires count! If you write a run of the mill ad, expect to get a run of the mill employee. Put some effort into the ad and really try to get the message across about the style of person you want and the kind of business you run. They could be with you a long time, make sure you get the right person!

Enjoy your well earned break and let’s make 2012 a great year.