This is the second time I've written this. Note to self: If you're writing something and you get interrupted...

PUSH SAVE BEFORE YOU WALK AWAY. 

Now I have to remember all the pearls of wisdom I was imparting. 

How NOT To Treat Your Staff: 7 Lessons From A Former Employer.

While I work for a couple of VA Agencies as a Contractor as part of my work as a Virtual Assistant, I've not had a "boss" in about 11 years. But the bosses I had back then taught me a lot. Sadly, most of it was about what NOT to do as an employer. But hey, it's all learning, right? 

I'm looking to hire my first ever sub contractor in the next 6 months, and while that's not a employer-employee role, there's still plenty I can take from what they taught me. 

I want to say the last boss I had before heading into motherhood was AWESOME. He taught me plenty about what TO do when you have staff. But the following is what one boss taught me over the short time I was working there. I started out in membership sales, and that is NOT my jam, not at all. Once I moved to reception, I was in my element, but it was too little too late. More on that below......

1. Don't bitch about staff members to other staff members. I can't say she TAUGHT me this, because it's kind of obvious. But she did do it, and it was so wrong. 
2. Don't belittle your staff in front of clients. Yep, she did this, too. 
3. If you don't like how your staff look, tell them discreetly, and nicely. Don't tell them in front of staff and clients that they have an image to uphold and they need to wear makeup because they look washed out. That they are the first thing a member sees when they enter the building, and you don't fit the image as you are. 
4. Don't accuse your staff of stealing when you have no proof, and proceed to tell other staff that they are a thief. Then, when the staff member proves it's not her, because she isn't even at work when the theft is happening, admit you were wrong, tell everyone you were wrong, and APOLOGISE. This was one of the many reasons for me leaving this job, and for leaving the industry completely until I went out on my own. I'd had enough. 
5. When your staff member comes to you, obviously terrified to ask for a pay rise from the $12 (maybe it was $13...I don't remember now) an hour you are paying her for 5.30am starts following a 8pm close and being treated like shit constantly - Don't ask her how she possibly thinks she can deserve a pay rise and that there is no way you will give her one. Ask her politely, give her a chance to speak. 
6. When you pull up outside the reception window in your fancy (leased) BMW, don't come inside, take your staff member to the window and tell her that she can be like you one day, if she doesn't have kids. That by not having kids, she could be a successful business woman, just like you. There is SO much wrong with this whole conversation that I could write a whole separate article on it, and as a newly married 25 year old, it was horrible to hear.  I couldn't be successful in business if I chose to be a mother???? These days, I beg to differ.
7. Finally. And this was one of the biggest issues I had about this place (and the industry in general). I started in sales (As I already said, it turned out this was not an area I excelled in at all) I understand a lot of sales roles have a script to follow, and it's all about the pain points and the benefits etc. I get that, and I understand completely, but we had in depth, regular training about how to really push on a prospective members pain points to make them feel so bad and basically hate themselves, they felt like they HAD to join. (ok, that's not how the training was sold to us, but that's how it came across. When I followed the "script", my sales were virtually zero because I didn't believe in what I was saying and I was berated for not selling and made to discuss every little part of what I did wrong. When I followed my gut and my natural personality and treated them with empathy and understanding, my sales went up, but then I was berated for not following the script. I couldn't win. When a position on reception came up, I was able to move there, where I was able to build relationships with members, and be more myself. This was where I thrived, but with everything else above that happened, it was too little too late and I eventually left. 

So there you have it. 7 things my former boss taught be about what you SHOUDLN'T do as an employer. It's safe to say I'm still a little traumatised by this job, and while I have since learnt that NO job should ever make you feel this way, as a 25 year old desperate to work in the that industry, I felt I had to take it and put up with being treated this way if I wanted any chance of making it. 

I know now, about 16 years later, that I didn't need to work for $12 an hour being made to feel worthless - it wasn't necessary and that if you're terrified of your boss, that's really not ok and if you can't fix it, you need to move on. No job is worth that. I have no idea where she is now, but I hope she has learnt to treat staff with more respect. 

Turns out, going out on my own was the best move I ever made, as I followed MY script and worked with my own intuition, and had far better results. 

So, there you have it. 7 things my former employer taught me about how not to treat your staff. We probably all have memories of jobs like this, feel free to share!!

Nikki