Choosing and managing staff within your business can be one of the most difficult tasks business owners are faced with today. If you are contemplating employing staff or have staff in your business you need the Five Stage People Management Model.

1. Select the Right Applicant
   
   Choosing the right person is about getting clear on the role and function they will play in your business. If you want someone for a sales role for example, make a list of the duties you expect him or her to perform and write them down.
   
   Next make a list of the desirable characteristics the person should have. Do they need to relate well to people, or perhaps need to be a good team worker? Dot points are fine as the purpose of the list is to jog your memory. Compare applicants against these points when you interview them for the vacancy.
   
   
2. Establish Performance Expectations
   
   Once you have appointed someone to the position talk with them about what it is that you expect from them in their new role. Develop a performance plan that clearly sets out the targets that you have agreed upon during your conversation. These targets should underpin the objectives of your business plan.
   
   Establish a regular review process to check progress against the targets.
   
   
3. Invest in Employee Development
   
   To make sure your employees perform at their optimum it is important that they have high-level training and support.
   
   Identify individual training needs and develop a plan that enables them to obtain their identified training needs. Perhaps you could employ a coach to work with them one on one. Employers that invest in their staff reap the rewards many times over.
   
   
4. Provide Appropriate Feedback
   
   Feedback is rarely done well in Australia. If you see your staff doing a good job, tell them so, on the spot. Practice one-minute feedback made famous by Kenneth Blanchard. If you identify someone doing something less than desirable, stop him or her in their tracks and tell them. Make sure you follow this up with emphasising how you would like it to be done in the future; again this will only take a minute. It is important to reinforce with positive feedback when they do it right.
   
   
5. Choose the Right Pathway
   
   Who is the most important employee in your business? Actually they should all be if they are contributing to achieving the objectives in your business plan. Look within your business to identify staff that are showing potential for promotion and provide training and support so you can move these people up through the ranks. Provide an incentive for people to stay with you.
   
   Find out what motivates your people and give them a reason to work hard and stay loyal to you for the long term.
   
   Beware - money is not the only motivator.
   
   Finally, never be afraid to part company with undesirable employees, but a word of warning - make sure you do it lawfully.