Developing the Business-Owner Mindset in Your Team

Do your account managers strive to hit quotas … or solve business problems?

Are your recruiters trained to fill orders … or to connect people with opportunities in ways that benefit all parties in the employment equation?

Do your employees merely do their work … or do they work to achieve your staffing firm’s strategic business objectives?

Guess what? It’s up to you.

Left to their own devices, your team members may perform their respective jobs very well. But tactical, reactionary thinking is not enough to ensure your firm’s success. To run a more profitable agency in today’s volatile, uncertain and rapidly changing business environment, proactively cultivate a business-owner mindset in your team.

Fostering the right mentality helps you:

  • Think competitively and plan for the long-term.
  • Work toward shared organizational goals.
  • React quickly to change.
  • Fuel growth and innovation.
  • Ultimately position your organization for long-term success.

At PrideStaff, the business-owner mindset is part of our organizational DNA. Here are a few of the ways we develop this mentality in team members – and strengthen our business from the inside out:

Teach R-E=P. Frequently referred to as the “Three-Minute MBA,” grasping how the Revenue – Expense = Profits formula applies to your staffing firm is essential knowledge for every member of your team. Make sure everyone understands:

  • How your firm makes money (Don’t assume your people know this!).
  • What goes into your bill rate.
  • “Time-thieves:” low-value activities that drive up expenses.
  • What types of clients, projects and roles are most profitable.
  • Things employees can do in their own job to create more revenue and lower expenses.

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Tie individuals’ roles to your firm’s big picture. Regularly communicate your philosophy, mission and goals. Then, take it a step further by explaining how the various roles in your firm impact other departments as well as your bottom line. When people understand where they fit into your company’s ecosystem, they think beyond their jobs, make decisions differently, and are more likely to act in the best interest of the entire agency – not just themselves.

Develop their strategic thinking skills. Instead of merely telling your team what to do, foster their ability to engage in high-level, critical thinking by asking the right questions and encouraging discussion. Then fan the flame by encouraging practice and recognizing employees who develop creative solutions and propose well-thought-out ideas. And don’t merely reward results. If you want to nurture strategic thinking in your team, create a safe environment that rewards efforts as well as outcomes.

Cultivate the right environment. Surrounding yourself with people who do their jobs and agree with your opinions may be comfortable, but it’s also dangerous. Foster a culture that:

  • values differences of opinion
  • evaluates the merit of ideas fairly – regardless of who offers them
  • effectively manages constructive conflict
  • makes acceptable risk-taking okay
  • doesn’t punish failure

Growing your staffing business?

Developing the business-owner mindset in your team is a huge step in the right direction. But if you’re looking for a better business model to support your growth and profitability, consider the resources and support available to PrideStaff’s Strategic-Partners. Our unique franchise model system leverages your personal strengths and provides everything you need to build long-term, mutually successful client relationships – and a healthy bottom line.

 

Tammi Heaton

Tammi Heaton
Tammi Heaton is COO of PrideStaff. She can be reached at theaton (at) pridestaff (dot) com.

Tammi Heaton

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