I recently served on a panel of business observers, writers and consultants. All of us were asked similar questions. I was struck by the sharp differences in the answers. I was more struck, however, by the similar answers to this one, single question, "What problems do organizations call you in to fix most often?"

The answer to the other questions ranged all over the place with the exception of the answer to this single query. The answers were unanimous. It’s people problems! This is particularly true in two very specific areas:

• Sales
• Service

Given that reality, let’s take a look at 5 ways to guarantee that the best people are performing at their very best.

• Be careful in selection. Hire with great caution. Consider multiple interviews or interviewees. Utilize screening assessments and tools. Be recruiting even when you don’t need people!
• Remember the old adage, "When you pay peanuts, you get monkeys." I am constantly astounded by organizations that pay fortunes for facilities, supplies and equipment and then pay the people who make it run virtually nothing.
• Be creative with your pay plan. Find ways to measure and reward the things you want to reward.
• Provide meaningful, ongoing, useful, real-world training. Don’t be afraid to invest significant amounts of money in your second most valuable asset – people. Remember, your single most valuable asset are your customers…but also remember that customers will never be treated any better by employees than management treats its own employees!
• Constantly measure, monitor and correct those things that need to be corrected. Do your best to guarantee that salespeople and customer service people are constantly provided with the right stimulation to be successful.

Good people make good decisions. Properly reinforced, trained and well paid people consistently make the right choices. Salespeople who understand why they do what they do can usually figure out how to do it. Customer service people who understand how important customer retention is will always provide good service.

On the other hand, failure to find, reward and reinforce good people also has its just rewards. My recommendations? They are quite simple. Here they are:

• Understand that it is always people first – systems second.
• Good people will generate more business – systems can be installed to support the added volume of business.

Business has always been, and will always be, about people. Technology aside (by the way, designed and built by people), the future will continue that way. My belief is that organizations will never suffer from a shortage of ideas, products, creativity or processes. They will, however, suffer from a shortage of commitment to take the time, effort and care to find, train and retain the caliber of person required to sell and service the people who choose to be interested in the products or services generated by human ideas, products, creativity and processes.

There is very little doubt that there is still immense confusion about the critical role this issue plays in business success. However, with clear and logical thinking, there is also little doubt that clear answers are possible. For example, is the glass half-empty or half-full? It’s always full – one half with liquid and one half with air! The same is true as you determine that any system needs top quality people to run them. A business is no different!

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Bill Brooks is CEO of The Brooks Group, an international sales training and business growth firm based in Greensboro. For more information or to review previous articles, visit his Web site at www.brooksgroup.com or call 336-282-6303.