The Best Way To Replace A Good Employee

Replacing a good employee can be miserable.
 
Finding great employees is hard enough in the first place, but when you lose a good one, you wonder how in the world you can replace them.
 
But for the small business, there is one option that you may not have thought of:  ask the leaving, great employee to recommend someone they know to take their place.  While not always possible in a large business, in the small business setting, this may very well work.  Let me give you an example:
 
I was working with a company not long ago, and they had a fantastic employee squaring away one of their areas.  She showed up on time, worked hard, had great ideas, and was amazingly efficient…and she found a new job with better benefits.  Good for her.  Hard for the business.
 
Obviously, the company was concerned with replacing her.  Employees like her don’t come along often.  So, guess what?  She replaced herself.  She had worked at a similar company prior, so she reached out to a former co-worker.  Before you know it, interviews happened, and the new hire was perfect.  She even got training time with the out-going employee.  The transition was as seamless as possible.
 
This approach doesn’t solve every problem. Not every employee leaves well.  Not every employee knows their replacement.  But quality employees often know potentially good hires.  With the challenge of finding good employees these days, this approach is worth a shot, so don’t miss out on this window of opportunity. 
 
Either way, just make sure you start the hiring process the day you find out that your outgoing employee is leaving.
 
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Gordon Duncan is the CEO/Consultant of ProSight Success and has trained employees for nearly 20 years.  ProSight offers a host of resources for the optometric and small business field.  You can find front desk training at our Front Desk Academy.  Additional resources can be found below:
 
Digital ProSight Success System
Paperback ProSight Success System
 
And our best value:  the ProSight Success Workbook that includes a digital copy and a free hour of consulting.
 

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