How to Build the Best Team for Your Company? No "Yes Sir" People Allowed
Ready to build your IT service company’s team with the best employees possible? Here’s a tip you shouldn't ignore: Never hire “Yes sir” employees. Here’s why.
Do you know someone who just sits back and waits for things to happen to them … but never seems to take the initiative for themselves?
If so, here’s a tip: Whatever you do … don’t hire them.
Why?
Well, that’s the big business (and life) lesson we’ll be discussing in this week’s episode of From The Driver’s Seat. Let’s get started.
From the Driver’s Seat: Why You Should Never Have “Yes Sir” People on Your Team
No matter how far you’ve taken your business so far or what role you play in your company currently, odds are, you’re busy. At any given time, you can probably take a look at your to-do list, and there will be about a million things on it.
In a lot of ways, that's great! It means you’ve got to be motivated, driven toward success, and in action-taking mode. At the same time, you may come to realize at a certain point that you simply can't handle it all yourself. As your business grows, this is natural when you start to consider hiring new employees to be members of your team.
This then begs the question: Who do you want on your team?
Or rather: Who don’t you want on your team?
Let us enlighten you: You shouldn’t want “Yes sir” employees on your team.
What Are “Yes Sir” Employees?
A “Yes sir” employee is any employee who waits to be told what to do. In other words, they’re great employees, and they always say a smart “Yes sir” when you ask them to do something, but the problem is they only say “Yes sir.” They never take it upon themselves to take action when you don’t get the ball running.
This is the kind of worker who won’t take the initiative even when the opportunity is right in front of them. For example, a “Yes sir” employee won’t answer the office phone when it’s five minutes past closing time.
There could be a potential lead on the other side of that phone …
They’re standing right there next to the phone …
But they still won’t answer.
Now, if you ask this person to “please answer the dang phone!” they will most certainly do it, and they’ll probably do it well — after all, these employees can actually be great at what they do. But the kicker is that they won’t do it on their own. They won’t do anything of their own volition.
You and they already know you’re busy. In fact, you’ve got work and must-do tasks up to your ears. Still, even if they see something on your to-do list and they know you want this task completed soon, they simply will not take action on it until you ask them to do it.
How to Take Charge With Your MSP Staffing
The key to finding the best employees is to look for those individuals who are go-getters. You can have an amazing employee who knows information technology backward and front. They may have graduated at the top of their class. They may have decades of experience. But if they're not a go-getter and if they are not going to take the initiative and see opportunities wherever they look, they're almost surely not worth hiring.
In fact, there are many situations in which it might actually be better to hire someone with a strong initiative but little experience than to hire someone who won't ever take initiative and has a great deal of experience.
Lastly, take some advice that is often given to those looking for the right romantic partner: Don’t expect to change anyone.
For the most part, you cannot motivate an employee who doesn’t want to be motivated. Even Harvard Business Review says so: “As it turns out, you can’t motivate these problem people: Only they themselves can.”
The best thing to do, then, is to hire the right people the first time around.
Get More Unbeatable MSP Marketing Advice When You Partner With Ulistic
At Ulistic, we’re definitely not “Yes sir” people. To the contrary, we take actions into our own hands at every opportunity. By partnering with us for your MSP marketing needs, you’ll be setting yourself up for optimal success as you build and grow your IT service company.
If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, give Ulistic a call at 855-964-2608 to schedule your complimentary, 60-minute, no-obligation MSP website review today.
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