MANAGING YOUR TEAM

Monitoring Your Team Remotely

�  Save Receiving Forms and Shipping Labels that record who handled what inventory

� Monitor the computer with ActivTrak (www.activtrak.com)

� Make a habit of going to your office at unpredictable times so they know you could show up at any time

� When possible, have multiple people working at the same time

Managing Remotely (cont.) � Use Team Viewer or Remote Utilities to

allow remote desktop access to the team computer(s)

� Most issues your team may encounter can be resolved remotely by logging in to your inventory software or Seller Central

� Use Google Drive or Dropbox to share files

�  Send instructions to the team via the shared email address and/or text

When Problems Happen

� Consider if this is a true problem or just a different way of doing something

� Realize that almost any error can be corrected or recovered from

� Don’t get angry � Look for how your training failed � Look for how your process can be

improved to prevent this error

When Problems Happen (cont.)

� Consider the problem as a learning experience

� Let the person know (nicely) about the problem ◦ They can’t fix a problem they don’t know

about ◦ Your entire team and business is affected if

you fail to educate and correct problems promptly

When Problems Happen (cont.) � People may leave your organization for

lots of reasons: ◦ Don’t panic ◦ No matter what happened, be kind ◦  Look at it as an opportunity to fix a problem

or find a more compatible team member �  If you need to let someone go: ◦ Take action soon ◦  Be honest and direct ◦  Be as kind as possible

Tips for Managing a Team (cont.)

� Call your employees your “team members” (and treat them as such!)

� Empower your team to contribute their ideas and process improvements

� Make it about your team: recognition, bonuses, consideration of their needs They don’t get excited about making YOU money

Tip from Brett

“The little things have a big impact. Pizza days are a big deal. Their own desks. Nice chairs. Personalized water bottles. Personalized shout-outs. The small things are not always first priority to me but I always need to remember the impact it will have on my team. ”

Tips for Managing a Team (cont.)

�  It’s a lot easier for everyone to correct problems early on

� Be the kind of boss you always wanted ◦  Be kind and fair ◦  Expect every team member to do their job

well for the benefit of the whole team

� Encourage a “low-drama” atmosphere

More Advice

� Consider hiring two people rather than one to start out ◦  2 at 15 hours/week rather than 1 at 30 hours/

week ◦ Allows for easier training and they can remind

each other about how to do things ◦ Minimizes impact to your business if one

leaves or you need to let one go ◦ Minimizes temptation for dishonesty

More Advice

� Plan ahead to have a steady stream of inventory

� When things start to pile up, avoid jumping in and doing the work for your team

� Wait to hire more help until you consistently need additional help

�  For seasonal volume, consider hiring temporary workers to do basic tasks

More Advice

� Continue to train new additions to the team yourself until you have someone in a manager-type role to take over ◦ This prevents misconceptions or shortcuts

from being passed on ◦  Prevents gaps in the training ◦  Provides a good opportunity to offer some

re-training to other team members, even if they are only overhearing the things you say