The 4 Things a Service Provider Must Get Right: Part Four Build the Team to Help You Scale
Episode 664: Show Notes
Let’s dive into our fourth and final part of the epic series that is absolutely going to transform your life and your business! Today, we fill you in on a few critical insights into building the perfect team to help you scale. We’ve saved this one for last because, without creating structure, you can’t start building a team. But once you’re ready, you’ll find it to be an incredibly powerful tool to take you to the next level (if you get it right!) If you’ve skipped a few steps and already have a team of employees, never fear, it’s never too late to improve upon your current systems. Not every piece has to be perfect but when it comes to hiring; the more you know, the more equipped you’ll be to face whatever comes your way.
And that’s what we’re here for! In this episode, you'll learn all about hiring for attitude, designing a well-integrated employee system, defining your priorities and hiring accordingly, refining your team, productizing your offer, and so much more! You won’t want to miss this one.
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Hiring for Attitude
Prioritizing service excellence informs how you hire because, if your company's values and priorities are set, it guides your decision in the hiring process, and informs how you delegate and train. Many small businesses make the mistake of hiring primarily for skill. While there will always be positions that require skill above all else, there are so many other positions in your company where skills can be learned on the job. If a candidate has the right attitude, they are going to thrive.
However, hiring for attitude is by no means a window of opportunity for discrimination. We are likely to be drawn to people who are most like us, but keep in mind that this will not add value to your business. The trick, ultimately, when hiring, is to hire according to your company’s values, paired with skill. What we look for, in candidates, is their attitude around flexibility and adapting to change, as companies tend to grow and evolve over time and we need employees that can keep up at all stages of our business!
Designing a Well-Integrated Employee System
When hiring for service excellence, you need to ask yourself two critical questions: what makes employees reasonably able to achieve the excellence you've defined, and what makes them reasonably motivated to achieve that excellence? Identifying these two factors will enable you to design a well-integrated employee system and define your company values, policies, and programs. In fact, if this isn’t incorporated into your employee system, you’ll struggle to deliver service excellence.
Another important piece is to reflect on any unnecessary urgency you’re placing on your team. By creating a structure that eliminates, or at least diminishes the number of “emergency clients,” you’re actively preventing burnout on your team because no one is required to be the hero. Remember that it is possible to be both service-minded and lighthearted!
Hiring According to Your Priorities
Once you’ve identified your priorities, hire for them. We want you to be empowered by what your team can ultimately bring to the table. Having a team allows you to be more intentional about your company’s specific goals and, although it’s normal for company values to reflect personal values, you can get really clear on your business’ priorities and personality with a team.
Refining Your Team
If you have a team you need to ask yourself if there is a loss in capacity due to confusion over who is doing what. It sounds like a no-brainer but when you’re new to managing a team, it’s so easy to have multiple people in overlapping roles. Don’t get us wrong, we’re all for hybridization, but it’s essential to be clear on each employee’s tasks and ensure there aren't any unnecessary overlaps. To put it plainly: get clear on who is doing what!
Productizing Your Offer
If you are the only one who can fulfill-deliver every aspect of your service, it’s time to productize your offer. As much as everyone likes to feel indispensable, it’s not sustainable, and you need to make sure someone can back you up in every area. Productizing your offer will allow you to delegate and deliver amazing results every single time through structure and systemization, even in your absence! If eventually, you want to move into a different part of the business, retire, or even sell, you can plan for that. It won’t happen overnight, but if you find you can take a vacation for a month and your business is still thriving, you’ve successfully productized your offer.
Quote This
Hiring is one of those areas where the more you know, the more you will be equipped to face all of the different things that happen, both good, bad, and indifferent.
Highlights
Hiring for Attitude. [0:12:22]
Designing a Well-Integrated Employee System. [0:19:36]
Hiring According to Your Priorities. [0:26:30]
Refining Your Team. [0:33:09]
Productizing Your Offer. [0:35:12]
Today’s Guest:
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:
Hiring, Delegating, Defining company values, Building a team
