kush

I'd like to hear from some of the other people that have managed/hired employees, particularly those who have in-house people to do grunt-type work.

I've learned a lot over the years. I've learned that a little bit of recognition can go a long way to keeping people happy. Feedback is important. I think as a boss it is sometimes important to admit when you are wrong, but also to keep the boss image that you're the boss, what you say goes. Sometimes when I pass an assignment onto people, I like to encourage them to speak up if they see a better way of doing something. Who better to come up with better efficiencies than those doing the work?

One of my biggest worries is an employee taking the knowledge that I've given them, and going behind my back and running affiliate promotions on their own, using my methods and techniques. Or what happens if they quit or get fired, and they start doing the type of work I'm doing? This happened once and pissed me off. How do you prevent that? You don't want ex-employees becoming your competitors further down the line. There has to be such a thing as a non-competitive legal agreement. Any standards on this issue?

How do you keep people happy and loyal and working? What incentives do you give? How often do you give raises, and by how much? What about bonuses? At which point do you offer benefits? I learned one year that by giving a Christmas bonus, it was sort of expected the next year, and I don't like it when people expect something extra.

Let's open this for discussion...