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Employees can be the entrepreneur's biggest challenge - and greatest asset.
Valued employees will be there for you when you need them. They can perform in
your presence and cover for you in your absence. Sure, you may be taken advantage of on occasion. But my
experience suggests that will be the exception rather than the rule. Which is why the wise entrepreneur will
learn quickly to take care of his or her people.
Treat employees well, and most of the time they will treat you well by coming through
for you. They will help you accomplish things you couldn't accomplish without them. Whereas owners are like the tip
of the iceberg that rises above the water line to brave the cold wind or bask in the warm sunshine, employees represent
the unseen masses that keep their heads above water.
Similarly, employers can be important in the lives of their employees. Just as we all
remember outstanding teachers in our lives who gave us the tools, skills and opportunities to excel and then pushed us
to do our best, most of us can also remember employers who played the same role in our lives. In a very real way, the
employer-employee relationship is symbiotic and can be vitally important to the happiness and success of both parties.
Which is why I would suggest to entrepreneurs that employee service should come ahead of
customer service. Indeed, employees are our most valuable customers. Good employers cultivate and develop employees just
as they cultivate and develop valued contributors. It should be viewed as a compliment if employees go on to bigger
and better things.
Employee turnover can be fatal and is one of the biggest costs in doing business. Some companies
with high turnover seem to have an attitude of "turn and burn." They burn through employees, who finally get fed up
with mistreatment - real or perceived - and go elsewhere. Other successful companies lower employee turnover and its
commensurate costs by providing fair salaries, benefits and training.
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