Employee
Planning
Business Needs Assessment
An effective employee plan
is based on an assessment of the tasks, activities and responsibilities
which must be performed to achieve your business goals. Tasks and
responsibilities will change and grow as the business grows. Expect
your employee plan to change as well.
When you first start your
business you can expect tasks and responsibilities to be in the following
categories:
- production
- marketing and sales
- operations
- financial management
Production
Production is the process
of creating and building your product or developing and delivering
your service. In some businesses this process - called the production
cycle - is very complex and requires many steps. A complex production
cycle may need many types of skills to actually create and build the
product. Other businesses may have short production cycles, requiring
only certain specific skills.
Service businesses also
have a production cycle. It takes time and talent to develop services
which customers will buy.
Analyze your production
cycle. Document the various steps and stages of production. Determine
the type of skill and abilities you need at each stage to produce
your product or service. Consider:
- What tasks and responsibilities
must be carried out to complete the production cycle?
- Do the various steps
require specialized knowledge, education or experience to produce?
- Can some of the tasks
be taught to others?
- Based on your current
production and marketing projections, how many employee hours will
you need to meet your goals?
- Can you, or other owners
in the business, help in the production of your product or service
until you can afford to hire good help?
- Does it make sense to
hire another business to produce a product or service which you
can, in turn, sell at a profit? Can another business be contracted
to do part of the production cycle? If so, employees may not be
needed for some or all of the production cycle. This is a very common
practice in the business world.
Marketing and Sales
The old saying in business,
"Nothing happens until something is sold" still holds true. Since
business don't come with customers, you will need to continually cultivate
new customers, service your current ones, and, all the while, keeping
an eye on the dynamics of your particular market and on new opportunities
for growth. A good business or marketing plan (as we have discussed
in earlier chapters) will help you think through the specifics on
how to accomplish this. For now, be aware of what you need from employees,
in terms of time and skills, to carry out this plan.
These skills includes salesmanship,
customer service, market planning, communication and promotion. It
is important to realize that these skills represent the bottom line:
revenues of your business are going to depend on sales. It is easy
to spend too much time looking at your product or service. Yet the
most efficient production cycle means nothing if no one is buying
your products.
You should consider whether
you have skills in this area. Many entrepreneurs are skilled sales
people, particularly about their product or service. You may decide
that you, or other owners, are the best employees to be selling and
marketing. Some people are willing to contract with you to sell your
product or service. These people would not become employees of your
business, but rather serve as outside sales people.
Some businesses produce
products while others sell them. Some businesses contract with other
businesses or with marketing consultants to provide the needed marketing
strategies and research for the business.
Some people are very knowledgeable
and skilled in the marketing process for businesses. Others may be
excellent sales people. Be careful. They rarely are the same people.
Some of the best marketing and sales efforts come out of a creative
tension between the numbers-base marketing folks and the people-oriented
sales team. That's a good balance to strive for.
If you believe that you
will need to hire employees to sell your product or service, assess
the type of employee who will make an effective sales employee representing
your business. Ask yourself questions like:
- How long does it take
to make a sale of your product or service?
- Will sales people have
to travel extensively?
- Will sales be "telemarketed"
over the phone?
- Will it be necessary
for sales people to have experience in the industry?
Because sales people are
representing your business to the outside world on a daily basis,
whether on the phone or face-to-face, it will be important to hire
sales people who will exhibit the kind of values you want your business
to stand for.
- Do you want sales people
to be open and honest with customers even if it might mean losing
a sale?
- Do you want people who
can build long-term trusting relationships with customers, or is
your product or service a quick one-time sales process?
Operations
Operations are the daily
functioning of a business. Answering phone calls, taking orders, processing
mail, producing documents, are all part of a business's operations.
Assess which tasks of this sort need to be done to operate your business
on a daily basis. Can you or other owners handle these tasks effectively,
or will you need additional assistance to take care of the details?
If you are the "key production"
employee, or if you are the primary "marketer" or "sales person,"
be sure the bases are covered in the day-to-day operation of the business.
Operations of businesses
vary. Some businesses have a large number of details to attend to
each and every day. Others have very few. The operations of some businesses
can be handled simply with a good answering service and mailing service.
Assess the importance of
operations in your business. Create jobs only when necessary to deliver
quality service to the customer or manage the business profitably.
Determine the amount of time and the experience level needed to complete
the tasks and responsibilities which need to be accomplished. Sometimes
an experienced person can do the job of two people with less experience.
Financial Management
Money and financial resources
are important to any business. The daily documentation and monitoring
of financial resources, and the accounting procedures this requires,
are critical responsibilities of your business. Tracking expenses
and income, determining profits and losses, are important tasks for
your business regardless of its size. This data is essential if you
are to make the right decisions regarding your business.
If you or other owners,
do not have the experience or the time to keep the books of the business
in order, or generate accurate financial statements in a timely way,
then it is important to hire someone.
Many new businesses contract
with other entrepreneurs or outside businesses to operate payroll
and do the bookkeeping. Accountants can generate financial statements
if your business does not require an employee to handle such matters.
Once again, explore your
options before hiring an employee. Some people can be contracted to
fulfill the tasks and responsibilities of financial management and
bookkeeping on a part-time basis.
Determine what hiring or
contracting will be most effective for the current size and stage
of your business.
Documenting The Job
To Be Done
Once you have completed
the assessments essential for determining the employees you need for
your business, it is important to categorize and document the responsibilities
and tasks that will be carried out by each position you intend to
fill with an employee.
The document which explains
the position is called a job description. A job description should
include:
- The objectives of the
job. Why does the job exist?Example:
- Job title: "Customer
Delivery Coordinator" Objective of the position: To deliver
products to customers in a timely manner with high quality customer
service.
- The essential functions
of the job. What capabilities are essential to fulfilling the job,
including physical and mental capabilities? Example:
- Physical and mental
capability to drive safely a delivery van. Ability to schedule
deliveries with the warehouse and the customers. Must have a
current driver's license and a good driving record.
- The responsibilities
of the job. What tasks, activities and processes will the employee
be expected to perform. Example:
- Primary responsibilities:
- Schedule daily
deliveries to customers in coordination with the warehouse
supervisor.
- Ensure that
the customer has satisfactorily received their order in
good condition, within the set time standards.
- Ensure that
the delivery van is in excellent condition.
Primary tasks:
- Gather customer
orders from the customer order clerk on a daily basis.
- Contact the
customers to schedule deliveries.
- Update the warehouse
delivery log at the close of each day.
- Report damaged
product to the warehouse supervisor immediately.
- Schedule the
delivery van for monthly preventative maintenance, as well
as maintenance as warranted.
- The skills and knowledge
required. What skills will be needed to perform the responsibilities
and tasks of the job? Example:
- Skills and knowledge
needed:
- Superior driving
skills
- Knowledge of
the geography of the market area where deliveries will take
place.
- Good verbal
communication skills needed to develop team cooperation
and superior customer relations.
- Basic mathematical
skills to complete delivery log.
- Education and experience
required. What education or experience is necessary to do the job?
Example:
- Education and experience
required:
- High school
diploma
- Successful completion
of the company's "Safe Driving School" within the first
3 months of employment
- You may also state what
type of education or experience is preferred but not required. Example:
- Three years experience
in professional transportation or customer deliveries preferred.
- The reporting relationship:
To whom will the person hired for this position report? Example:
- Reporting relationship:
The Customer Delivery Coordinator will report directly to the
Warehouse Supervisor.
Developing a job description
before you hire an employee helps you to be clear about your expectations
of the position. As the business changes and grows, as the needs of
the customers change and as the employee is capable of taking on new
responsibilities, you will need to revise the job description. Job
descriptions should be reviewed when performance appraisals are conducted
to determine if changes should be made.
The American Disabilities
Act requires that you document the essential functions of the job,
including the physical and mental capabilities needed to perform essential
functions.
Make your job descriptions
as concise as possible. They need not spell out every single detail
of a job. Stick to details about the key and essential tasks. A job
description which is too long and wordy becomes cumbersome and useless
as a guide for both the employee and the employer.
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