Essential Checklist for Small Business Owners Taking on New Staff


So you have launched your small business some time ago now and it has been going from strength to strength which has pushed you into the next chapter of your business. Hiring staff and growing a team. Building and managing teams can certainly be a new challenge for business owners that have never managed people before. If are finding yourself in this stage of your business read on for our essential checklist for the list of things that you need to do in order to build a solid and powerful team set for success and growth. 

Corporate & Office Culture
One of the most important places for you to start with your new company is to begin channeling your corporate culture- the attitudes and beliefs of your company- and also to be focused on your office culture- which is the working environment you are creating for your staff. Setting down a strong foundation in both these areas is really important from the get-go so you will want to focus in on these things right from the beginning.  Regarding your corporate culture you are going to need to establish what your company culture is in order to transmit those values, attitudes and beliefs onto your staff. As you will want your staff all on the same page, working towards the same goals and communicating about your business in a cohesive and consistent way, this is where you need to start. From there, think about the type of office environment and culture you want to create for your team and how you will go about that. Happy staff are motivated and productive staff so think and research the ways that you can create an office environment that your team can feel proud to be a part of. 

Planning and Managing Staff Resources
This is the next step. Making sure that you have everything planned and ready for your team to hit the ground running. Everything from the necessary software and digital programmes all the way through business phones, business cars and laptops for staff that will be on the road a lot for meetings. Think ahead for all the resources that your staff are going to need in order to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. 

Reward and Encouragement
When we first start managing teams it can be very common to become frustrated with any initial teething problems. Whilst any negative issues need to be recognised and smoothed out in the first few months, it is equally, if not more important, to be focusing on the achievements of your staff in order to encourage and motivate your staff. All new staff are going to make mistakes and get a few things wrong along the way, so it is very important to not focus on these mistakes or make new staff feel bad about any small errors. Happy staff are those that feel appreciated and respected, so make sure you are focusing on their positive contributions and successes and praising. This will go a long way in helping them feel that they are in a supportive and positive environment that they feel invested in.