3 Types of Employees and How to Manage Them in Your Small Business

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Guest Article

Things can be stressful when you’re running your own business. But when you grow to the point where you start bringing on employees, that’s when things get really interesting. Even managers at larger companies grapple with the concept of employee archetypes, personality clashes and varying work styles. It’s only magnified if you only have three employees. So, it might be helpful to understand different employee types and some ways to approach them. Here are 3 types of employees and how to manage them in your small business.

The Motivated

This type of employee might seem like a dream come true. They get all their projects done on time, they don’t require a lot of hand-holding and they probably seek out new projects once their workload is finished. These qualities are great, because these are probably a lot of the same traits that got you started on your own entrepreneurial path. Even so, there still lies a potential for issues.

If this person is just like you, you might find that they lack the ability to follow your directions. There might be a clash of egos, or worse, they might continue working on projects that aren’t part of your ideal business plan. So how do you work with them? Well, it’s best to play to their strength, which is that they like to feel in control of their work, and to be constantly challenged.

So put them in charge of something more global than you might have originally planned. Maybe give them full range on the partnerships and business development goals for your company. That way, you’re left to hone the company itself, and they’re tasked with gaining new opportunities you might not have thought were possible. This is just one example, and every business is different. However, what’s important is that your motivated workers are busy and focused as much as possible.

The Spoon-Fed

This type of employee might seem like a bit of a curse. This person is happy to do the work you give them, but is constantly coming to you with every minor issue, seeking new things to do and need of constant acknowledgement. They are not as proactive, but they probably won’t clash with your company vision.

So how can you make this person succeed? Well, in this case, you need to give them a lot of work as well, but it needs to be repeatable, pattern-driven and most of all, it should be very clear what the end result is. No open-ended assignments for these folks. If you run a mail-order clothing business, these employees would probably be happier to process orders, run quality assurance, or any of the like. These needs are constant within your company, and it’s likely they won’t run out of tasks very soon. Their job is still hugely important for the business, but it’s repeatable enough that once they’re trained, they can do the job but not count on them for many innovative suggestions.

The Meek, but Talented

These folks are all-too-common in the workplace. In a nutshell, these employees are very good at their job, and have a ton of great ideas. However, their personalities are such that they probably think it’s more valuable to just agree with everyone’s feedback and “fall in line,” instead of speaking up about their ideas.

But here’s where the problem comes in. Let’s say you have a creative team at your company. You have a designer (our “meek, but talented” worker) who has to run all designs by a brand manager or creative director (who, for the sake of this discussion, is someone more crass and assertive). They might not know how to field feedback on their work in a way that keeps the integrity of their original idea—instead of blindly accepting all changes and moving on.

In this case, you’re missing out on what could very well be some awesome designs or concept brainstorms. But you’d never know, simply because the person is too timid to speak up. The best way to get around these situations is create a culture of valuing everyone’s suggestions. Try using larger group brainstorms or ask employees to send ideas directly to you. Give employees a forum to speak up where they won’t feel “cornered.” Your business will benefit from making sure everyone feels safe to share ideas.

Keep Checking in

The best advice you can take away is to make sure you evaluate your employees regularly. See what types of people they are, where they’re shining and where they’re faltering. This is about giving them the work you know they’ll succeed at. Then, your business will ultimately succeed as well.

About the author: Courtney Gordner is a passionate, career driven blogger with a love for marketing. Read more from her at her blog, www.talkviral.com