PEOPLE POWER

People are the most valuable asset not on your balance sheet! So why are people so important to a business?Firstly if you don’t employ people you have a job, not a business.So what defines a business;

“A BUSINESS IS A COLLECTION OF SYSTEMS THAT WORK TOGETHER TO SOLVE ANOTHER PERSON’S PROBLEM OR SATISFY THEIR WANTS OR NEED AT A PROFIT.”

Systems are written and implemented by people, so to have a successful business you have to employ quality people. So what are the secrets to getting this right?

The following are my key tips that can be adopted by any business to harness the power of quality people.

• Structure – people must know who they are responsible to and who they are responsible for
• Position description – are essential for people to understand what they are responsible for
• Person specification- what skills and attributes does the person need to have to make a success of the job
• Procedures – people need to know how the job is to be done the way you want. If they don’t have procedures, people will do the job the way they want to.
• Core values – what are your core values, these are essential to build the culture you are after
• Employ the right person – not just the best person available at that time! Make sure they have the right skills, the right attributes and most importantly the right attitude. This will ensure a good cultural fit. “Hire smart or manage tough.”
• Look after them – make them feel important, train them, reward them, mentor them, have fun, and make your business a place people want to work!

Good people are out there looking for good companies. And keep in mind that these days, good people interview the company, just as much as a company interviews people.

The characteristics of successful companies are listed above. Likewise characteristics of companies not doing well lack of structure, position descriptions and in particular lack of procedures.

The other common trait is that they are not good at employing the right people and continually blame the people for a lack of performance.

In most cases it is not the people, it is the leadership! The success of a business is determined by the quality of the leadership, it all starts from the top.

I love the philosophy of the Disney corporation which in general terms is your people look after your customers, your customers are your source of repeat business and repeat business is what generates profitability.

In short, the quality of your people and how you look after them determines your profitability!

If you would like to know more about how to capitalize on the power of your people and the influence on profitability please contact me on (0419) 834 -678 or send me an email at [email protected].