Seriously! Ask ten business leaders what each of their organization’s most valuable asset is, and I bet that nine out of ten will answer: people.

And it’s true – your staff play a critical role in the success or otherwise of your business. So, it’s imperative that you take the time to know them.

What exactly do you need to find out about people? Their past, present and future. Let’s dig into each one of these.

Past. This one is for your prospective employees. Consider how their qualifications and past work experience are relevant to the position you seek to fill. How can you utilize skills they possess to expand your business?

In addition, avoid costly hiring mistakes by doing reference checks. Don’t just rely on written recommendations that prospective staff present to you. Ring up not only the referees they give you, but also other contacts you have in the companies where they previously worked.

Present. Your employees represent your organization to customers, suppliers and competitors, and can provide pertinent feedback to help improve your products and services. They can also make you aware of opportunities that the company could take advantage of in the market.

Listen to your employees. If they find you approachable and non-judgmental, they will share confidential information about fraud or flouting of policies and procedures, thus enable you take corrective action before things get out of hand.

And of course, regular performance reviews – both formal and informal – will tell you what’s going right with staff and what’s not. It will also help you determine employees’ training and development needs so you can plan for them accordingly.

At a personal level, find out about employees’ interests and families. This will make them feel valued as individuals, not just as business resources. As a result, they’ll be more loyal.

Future. Find out about your employees’ dreams and aspirations. Why is this important? You’ll be able to check for individual staff alignment to business needs. As you grow your business, you might be factoring in certain employees in medium to long-term succession plans. Without your knowledge, the same people may be planning to exit in the very near future. Granted, employees will not normally tell you their exit plans until the last minute, but in regular chats with them you might be able to pick out clues which inform you that they may be planning to leave soon. The other side of this is that if they are people you would really want to keep, you’ll get to know what’s important for them. If the organization can afford it, you could improve their working terms and conditions to persuade them to stay around longer.

Bottom line, if you want to succeed, you must know people!

What steps are you currently taking to know them?

Article contributed by Joyce Kaduki an astute leadership coach/trainer and a John Maxwell Certified Coach, Trainer and Speaker.

View her profile here: http://directory.biznakenya.com/listing/john-maxwell-certified-coach-trainer-speaker/