How To Keep Your Employees Long Term

quality management

How To Keep Your Employees Long Term

By David Saxby

Are your employees excited about working for your company? With companies competing fortalented people and employees shopping the job market for higher pay, the strategies youuse to create a work environment that gives them recognition for their efforts and rewardsthem for their contribution to the company's growth are critical. Making each employeefeel like they are a valuable part of the team is crucial to reducing turnover andimproving the employee's commitment to the company.

When I ask companies why employees stay with a company I get responses like benefits,pay and the ability to be promoted. According to a number of studies, the top two reasonspeople stay with a company is because they feel that the company cares about them and theycan add value to the company. Here are a few ideas to assist you in developing long termemployees.

Open the Books--A recent survey of employees concluded that 57 percent of hourlyworkers didn't even know the company's annual sales. Teach your employees how to read aprofit and loss statement. Educate them on the cost of running your business and ask themfor their ideas on how to decrease cost and increase sales. Meet with them monthly andupdate them on how the company is doing

Feedback--You cannot tell people to do their best and then just hope their best is goodenough. You (and they) have to know what they are doing well and where they can improve.Invest five to 10 minutes a day letting employees know how they are doing. That smallinvestment of your time will pay big rewards to your business.

Show Appreciation Often--When was the last time you gave a thank you note or offered aheartfelt thank you for a job well done. The words "thank you" are seldom spokenwith meaning anymore. Send thank you notes and incentive gifts to your employees to tellthem how much you value them. People work for companies where they are appreciated.

Ask Your Employees--Ask your employees why they like working for your company and whatsuggestions they have for improving their work environment. Ask them what other productsthey would like to see you carry in your business. It will send a clear message to youremployees that you value their feedback. In a national survey only 36 percent of theemployees felt their company actively sought their opinion.

Remember Special Dates--Keep a profile on each of your employees. Remember birthdays,anniversaries with the company and other special dates and events. Remembering andrecognizing those special dates will communicate a clear message to your employees thatyou care about them.

Invest in Your Employees--Provide your employees with the skills necessary tocommunicate clearly and effectively with your customers. Teach them how to handle unhappycustomers, how to sell more effectively and how to handle stress in the workplace. Mostpeople want to improve their ability to do their job better. Your desire and commitment toimproving the skills of your employees will put you head and shoulders above most of yourcompetitors

Make Your Employees Owners In The Company--People work harder and care more aboutcustomers when they feel like they have ownership in the business. Create an incentiveplan that lets them share in the profits. Set sales goals and a plan to achieve them. Getyour employees involved in setting the sales goals for the company.

Recognition--In the fast-paced, high-stress environment that most companies face incompeting for their share of the market, owners forget to recognize the efforts of theiremployees. A couple of tips on recognition: Put it in writing, a simple personal note letsthem know what they are doing well. Share their success with the company or put them inthe newsletter. Send a note to their spouse, family, mother, brother or sister. MCI set upa sales contest that if they broke a certain sales volume, the manger would personallycall every one of their mothers. There were a group of proud mothers when their childrenmade the sales goal. Pick up Bob Nelson's book, 1,001 Ways to Reward Your Employees, formore tips.

Support Their Personal Growth--Provide the opportunity for your employees to increasetheir life skills. Have professionals from your community educate them on how to make useof technology, how to live a healthy lifestyle and how to plan for their future.

Be Open To Ideas--In one year, Toyota employees submitted 860,000 suggestions forimprovement. Sixty-six percent of employees in Japan regularly generate ideas. Only 8percent of American employees do. One reason may be that an average Japanese manager usesfour out of five suggestions.

Make It Fun--Companies like Southwest Airlines practice the philosophy of making workfun for employees and customers alike. Create celebrations for achieving company goals,decreasing costs or make up a reason to celebrate if you run out of ideas. People havebetter attitudes, perform better, and take better care of customers when they really enjoytheir job. Create a work environment that your employees look forward to everyday and yourturnover will decrease while your productivity and customer retention increases.

The American Compensation Association in a recent survey revealed "that itgenerally takes 5 percent to 8 percent of an employee's salary to change behavior if thereward is cash and approximately 4 percent of their salary if the reward is noncash." It's the small things a company does that tells those employees that they arespecial and valuable to that company. Pick one idea and put it into action at yourbusiness

David Saxby, president of The Saxby Group, a Phoenix-based consulting company, hasspoken to companies, nationally and internationally, on the strategies for providingextraordinary service to their customers and strengthening their relationships with theircustomers. He served as vice-president of marketing and training for a national researchcompany that specialized in mystery shopping as a means to improve customer satisfaction.Saxby will conduct a Hands On Educational Workshop at NNFA's MarketPlace '98 in SanAntonio, July 14, 1998. Saxby can be reached at 1-888-644-5499 or email [email protected].