I have a friend who has been employed by a person who consistently devalued her work, massively underpaid her and made her so miserable she cried herself to sleep every night. The boss had the same effect on all her employees and ruled with a ‘devalue and conquer’ approach.

My friend recently quit to set up her own business. Her boss tried to tell her she wouldn’t make it on her own and when that didn’t work offered her shares in the company. My friend said it was too late and is leaving anyway.

The Importance of Valuing Your Employees

For a small business, hiring employees is a very frightening task. Suddenly you are giving away the complete control you had before to people who don’t even own the company. The above is a terribly extreme example, but shows some issues most small businesses have to face when hiring staff:

• Struggling to trust employees
• Being too busy trying to get a ‘good deal’ that they undervalue the people who are working very hard for them

Trust

I think in a small business, trust is the single most vital feeling you can have. When the trust falters the whole business falters. The problem is, to gain trust and to get the Utopian work environment we all strive for, YOU have to be the first to give it. If you trust someone, they are far more likely to work hard to earn that trust, if you don’t trust them, they will dislike you and wont go out of their way for you. Simple stuff on paper, but very hard in reality.

Getting a good deal

This isn’t about money, although money comes into it. Most people who work for a small business are fairly independent people. They are happy to trade off a little income for the freedom working in this kind of environment offers. No strict 9-5 hours, the ability to jump aboard and lead projects and make decisions from day one is important.

Trying to squash your key advantage as a small business and run more like a corporate is a big mistake. So what if your employees takes a long lunch or a day off? That same person will still be there in the middle of the night finishing a project that they have taken full responsibility for, while you rest easy.

Looking after those who look after you

The word ‘team’ is more important in small business than any other type of organisation. In the end, there is no such thing as ‘employer’, ‘employee’… You’re all working to make this business a success. It has been said so many times before, but your team is your greatest asset and you will lose them unless you treat them as such.

My friend’s boss is now facing a tipping point, her entire team is deserting her and she is learning the hard way that her business is literally nothing without them.