It's Important For Companies To Hire Good Employees

If you are an employer, it is likely that you haven't paid enough attention to the importance of hiring good employees. Good employees are the cornerstone of any successful business, and one should never underestimate the importance of hiring, supervising, training and monitoring them.

One of the biggest reasons for failed businesses is that employers either hire the wrong people or fail manage them properly. The person who answers the phone or greets customers is a company's first line of defense. Customers view these employees in the same way they view the company. They are the first, and sometimes only, contact many people have with a business, so if they behave inappropriately, they damage the company's reputation.

Equally important is that if a front line employee does a bad job, people don’t complain: they simply take their business and their money elsewhere. The business goes under, and the owner rarely knows why it happened.

It doesn’t take much to upset a customer. The following behaviors are guaranteed to drive customers away and destroy business. Employers shouldn't tolerate employees who

• leave customers waiting while they finish their personal conversations
• see a customer waiting but ignores him
• answer the phone instead of taking care of the customer who is already physically present
• allow a customer to cut in line to get ahead of other people
• force customers to enter a place of business by passing through them as they gather at the front door of a smoke free building to take a cigarette break
• lie to customers
• put a customer on hold and never come back to the phone
• misdirect a call to the wrong extension or lose the call completely
• are dirty or smell
• exhibit rude behavior
• refuse to give an irate customer his name or that of his supervisor
• chew gum, eat or drink anything on the job
• tell a client they arrived on the wrong day for their appointment, even after the client tells them they wrote the information down when it was given
• park in spots meant for the convenience of clients
• get too personal with clients
• are loud when discussing the private information of customers
• argue with customers
• refuse to provide a supervisor when a client asks for one
• try to make customers feel stupid
• dress inappropriately
• bring their children or pets to work
• lose or cannot find paperwork or information
• tell customers they will receive a credit but do not follow through with that promise
• use customers as sounding boards for their problems

While this list is long, there undoubtedly are more items that could be added to it. The point here is that if a businessman wants to succeed, he needs to be cautious when hiring. He also needs to be willing to train, supervise and monitor his employees.

Hidden cameras and devices that record phone conversations can be extremely helpful, especially when employees are aware that they are being monitored by them. Many companies also monitor and limit the internet activities of employees. Some even check their posts on social networking sites, especially prior to hiring them.

Since supervisors sometimes can cause more harm than those they oversee, it is wise to avoid giving them too much authority or just taking their word about issues that arise. Anonymous suggestion boxes and open door policies are great tools for controlling supervisory misconduct.

Doing these things may be uncomfortable for some, but employers must decide whether their personal discomfort is worth the loss of their business.

Without customers, businesses cannot exist. They will not spend their dollars with companies if they feel employees have mistreated them.

Companies also cannot exist without employees, so it's a balancing act. It is extremely important to choose employees carefully and then train and monitor their activities rigorously. These good management techniques help companies to avoid customer problems and workplace conflicts alike.

A company's reputation is everything. Smart employers know this and always try to do what is right for all concerned. They know that practicing good hiring and employee management are important and can make a huge difference regarding the ability of a company to succeed.

If your company is not doing well, perhaps it’s time to ask yourself if your lack of attention to employee issues might be the problem.