Taking Care Of Business – Your Employees

Not every business owner has the opportunity to enjoy success like you. From humble beginnings, you have built your fashion brand. You’ve attracted visitors to your website from all over the globe and started hiring full-time employees. It may not be an empire yet, but you’ve got aspirations and hopes to keep things moving along at a good pace. The trouble is, your success no longer depends on just you. Your workforce has a huge part to play too.

Recruiting

Recruitment costs a lot of time and money so it makes sense to choose the very best candidates you can find as quickly as possible. Attracting the most talented people can be quite challenging for a small up-and-coming designer. Consider what you can offer them. These are the people that are going to help you push your business up to the next level. How much is that investment worth to you?

Start with the salary.

Don’t be tempted to dip below the market rate to save a buck or two. You simply won’t get any interest. Consider the job title as well. Are you trying to attract someone who is already doing a great job? Why would they side-ways move toward you if you’re a smaller brand? You are more likely to attract up-and-comings or ambitious people looking to grab at the next rung on their career ladder. Describe the job to appeal to them.

Next, consider the benefits on offer. If you can’t pay a big salary, then consider some great benefits to attract the very best candidates. Do shop around though. Compare the business dental insurance plans available for a business your size. Check out the options for leisure center discounts. And don’t forget to add a day or two of annual leave to tempt a good employee to your company.

Career

Anyone coming to work for you is looking for a career in fashion. So make sure that is on offer. This shouldn’t be just a job for them, but an opportunity to flex their own creative muscles too. Offer a mentoring program and the odd design competition. Value their input. Why not look at motivation in the workplace as one of your key projects this year?

There is nothing more disheartening than working for years in college to get a good degree only to find yourself just running coffee errands in your first job. While it might be traditional to come in at the bottom, what can be done there is up to you. As recruiting is so expensive and time-consuming, consider carefully how you will retain the loyalty of every employee.

Roles

The jobs you have on offer might be quite specialist and perhaps not very glamorous. However, there are always opportunities to get involved in other areas of the business. By now, you might be looking more at your marketing strategy. How are you taking advantage of changes elsewhere in the industry? If you don’t have time to develop promotional campaigns or write fresh copy for your website, why not add these tasks to a new employee’s job description?

Small businesses thrive on the talents of their workers, but each of them should be able to slot into different roles easily. Simply invite each employee to list some things within the business or the industry that interest them the most. How do these relate to the tasks that are required to drive your business forward? Would they be willing to take these duties on?

The fashion industry has peaks of activity each season that can see you and your team working unsociable hours. You might already have written these needs into your employment contract. It’s worth considering how you might compensate your workers for their overtime.

Sick Leave

Extra stresses during your peak times can lead to illnesses. It’s important to offer your employees adequate breaks and that you promote a healthy lifestyle. Any key member of staff taking a lot of time off can cripple a business. If you’re worried about the health of one of your workers, it’s important to offer support. You are, after all, responsible for them.

Health insurances can cover much of the cost of the extra needs your employee might have. However, it’s always a good idea to consider how you might prevent illness happening in the first place. Can you allow employees to work from home more often? What about flexi-time, or a day a week off work during the quieter times? Healthy snacks in the office, proper lunch breaks out of the office, and exercise classes can all help. How do you take care of your employees as your business grows?

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