There’s much more to running an ice cream business than you may imagine. Just like with any business, you have to find just the right team of employees to get your business up and going. Hiring employees is one process to worry about, and training them is another. Thankfully, we’re here to provide a quick guide on finding and teaching employees for your ice cream business.
How to Hire Potential Employees
Look for Personality
Running an ice cream shop or business should be nothing short of fun and wholesome experience. When looking for employees, you want to find someone who is enthusiastic and gives off a vibrant demeanor while on the job. Having a bright and positive attitude and personality cannot be taught, but it is definitely necessary for most of your staff to be able to interact with customers.
Social Skills
This seems like an obvious trait to look for in employees, but employers need to be reminded to look for social skills considering today’s youth are lacking in this area. Children lack social skills due to growing up on social media and text messaging rather than actual conversation and interaction. Having social skills sets an impression for your business. You have to hire potential employees that aren’t afraid to talk and make conversation with customers while serving them!
Don’t Hire Who You Couldn’t Fire
As a business owner, you may have plenty of friends and family that may approach you regarding getting a job, but this may not be the smartest thing to do. When running a business, you cannot let emotions or personal matters get in the way, which can be difficult to do if you have close friends working under you. If you wouldn’t have the heart to release a family member or friend from their duties, then you probably shouldn’t hire them.
Ask all The Right Questions
In order to learn the most about a potential employee, you have to ask not only plenty of questions but all of the right questions. A person’s true personality comes out when you ask them questions regarding characteristics, thought processes, and behaviors, even if it may not be directly related to your ice cream business. Of course, you will want to pay attention to one’s social demeanor when interviewing them, as this can help you better determine if they will be a good fit.
Training Your Employees
Set Adequate Time Aside to Train Them
When hiring new employees, you should set at least two weeks aside to train them before actually moving them to a regular position. If you realize that the employees are a good fit during training, you can move them past this stage and set them to work! Depending on the size of your business, you may not have to worry about training them with the specifics and could train your new employees in an all-around broad sense.
Have them Shadow You
If you ever run errands or take care of business, you will have to leave employees behind to run your shop. In order to be comfortable with leaving employees to run your ice cream business, you should set one week for each of them to learn how to shadow your position. This period should allow them to not learn and gain knowledge from your point of view. During this period, look for any areas of improvement for employees to work on.
Teach them Your Way of Doing Things
From the minute you hire an employee, you should be teaching them your way of running your ice cream business. You have to be teaching them as much as possible at all times. That way, they can become confident with product preparation and customer service. Never be afraid to share your knowledge with your employees because the more they know about how to run a business, the more confident and professional they will become.
Show Interest
To show that your employees are making progress, you have to be genuine and let them know they’re doing a good job. You have to remember that your employees are there to help you succeed. You also have to help them succeed. Look at their jobs as a win-win for both you and your employees. Check-in on your employees continuously to show that you care and are here to guide them.
Get Your Ice Cream Business Started!
You can’t start an ice cream business without just the right products. We’re here to supply all your ice cream needs and more! Contact us today to learn more about getting our products to your business.