This article is part of a larger collection titled
The MDRT Hiring Guide.
Section 1: Hiring and retaining talent
- When is it time to hire a new employee?
- How hiring employees can save you money
- Commit to strategic hiring and avoid these four landmines
- Hiring the right staff to fit your needs is essential
- Pre-employment assessments deepend insight into job candidates
- Categorizing employees: Should you hire a lion, beaver, otter or golden retriever?
Section 2: Employee compensation and motivation
- Training and compensating junior advisors
- Developing, compensating and retaining a protege
- Design a simple bonus plan
- Knowing what employees want encourages long-term commitment
- Reduce turnover and encourage your staff with authentic appreciation
- Get employees with performance issues back on track?
- Non-monetary approaches to engaging staff
Section 3: Employee processes/managing employees
- The three components every employee handbook should have
- Evaluating employee performance
- Coaching vs. micromanaging to bring out the best in staff
- How effective leaders respond when employees make mistakes
- Build an environment of trust by following three steps
- Be a better listener to engage your employees
- Encouraging employee input can boost your bottom line
There are a few crucial times when you should be thinking about adding to your staff. Consider the following scenarios:
When you’re expanding your business. As your business expands, your staff must expand with it to ensure the work is completed efficiently. Otherwise, you might have to pitch in where your time is not well-spent. A rule of thumb that has worked for me is to have one employee with every $250,000 my business earns in commissions. Each year, when you are mapping out your annual business plan, take expansion into consideration.
Fill the gaps. When someone leaves or retires, there is an obvious gap to fill with a new hire. Sometimes, gaps are present for less-obvious reasons. If you notice tasks or areas of responsibility that aren’t well-covered, consider hiring another person to handle them.
Quality of service. To keep your clients happy and generate new clients, you must provide excellent service. If the quality of service within your business is deteriorating, consider whether it’s because your current employees have too much on their plate. Hiring additional help can cause everyone’s quality of work to improve.
