15 May 2007

Great Employees: Your Most Valuable Asset

Think of a few recent business transactions you have had as a customer and notice what comes to mind. Not Starbucks, but Beth, the barista who always gets your complicated coffee order just right…and always with a smile. Not FedEx, but Hadi, the courier who delivered your Christmas packages by hiking down your long muddy driveway which was blocked by a fallen tree. You remember outstanding service. You remember outstanding people.

As a customer, stellar performance by stellar employees is often what captures your utter loyalty. As a business owner, you know that serving repeat customers is far more profitable than finding new ones and you hone your customer service to bring people back. But it’s not only the response to great customer service that is important here; your employees are the ones who bring your vision and mission statement to life.

According to Startupnation, "the single most important factor in the success of a company is its people. It all starts with you as the entrepreneur and flows from there to everyone on your team. Great people can take a mediocre idea and turn it into success.” Now, if you allow those great people to actively participate in reworking and creating new ideas and solutions, mediocre ideas turn into great ones. Great ideas created and carried out by great people, this is a winning combination!

One company that takes this approach very seriously is Google. Their corporate website states: “Our strategy is simple: we hire great people and encourage them to make their dreams a reality. We believe in hard work, a fun atmosphere, and the sort of creativity that only comes about when talented people from diverse backgrounds approach problems from varying perspectives. Our most valuable resource is our people: energetic, innovative thinkers who care equally about doing great work and developing a culture that's great for all our employees.” The company recognizes the value in tapping into individuals’ strengths and creativity so much so that the company has each employee devote 20% of every work week to a self designed project of their own choosing.

Success can come from smart employees putting excellent ideas into action, but being smart may not always be enough. Mo Siegel, Celestial Seasonings Founder advised business owners to hire only “winners from winning teams”. He explained that hiring “losers” from either winning or losing teams never works out well. Startupnation agrees: “no matter how great the idea is, if you have mediocre people on the team it will not succeed.” But Siegel warned that hiring “winners from losing teams” also has its pitfalls. “Their losing experience has taught them how to make excuses for their failures”.

Finding and hiring exceptional employees is a significant challenge for any business owner and there are many resources to assist in this process. Cultivating a company culture which places high value on employee excellence and superior customer service is an effort that will be noticed, remembered, and rewarded.