Three Tips for Keeping Your Best Employees Loyal

WITH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVOLVING AROUND OUR BUSINESS, IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR BUSINESSES TO HANG ON TO THEIR PRODUCERS. 

Because of the recession’s making jobs scarce and employees afraid of losing their jobs, employers have been in the driver’s seat for the past several years. So, when hiring folks, employers had a huge selection from which to choose. Even the lowest-paying jobs were attracting hundreds of applicants. Many job seekers were overqualified for the jobs they sought. They were willing to make concessions on salary and benefit requirements.

To be considered an employer of choice was as simple as not having a layoff or not cutting salaries. But those days will soon come to an end.

We’re approaching a reversal that every business leader needs to prepare for. Believe it or not, we’re about to bang our heads on a huge employee shortage by the end of this decade.  So, why should you focus attention on employee retention?

• Happy employees are one of your best sources of word-of-mouth advertising.
• Good employees keep your customers coming back.
• Being short-staffed impacts your ability to serve your customers and to keep your promises to them.
• If you have to pay a premium to get employees, that cost will get passed onto your customers, which makes it harder to stay competitive.
• Having a stable workforce increases productivity and profitability. (The longer employees stay, the better they work.)
• Happy employees attract new employees of a higher caliber.
• The big one is technology, and the training involved to run your business.

So, how can we earn our employees’ respect, appreciation, and loyalty, so that, by 2015, we are a first-rate employer?

Give employees the inside scoop. Employees are often the last to know what’s happening in the company. They don’t see the new ad campaign until it appears in the paper or online. They might not know your company has a Facebook fan page or an upcoming product launch.  Employees must understand the company’s vision and how to contribute to it. Share the company’s vision with them, and share it often. Recognize employees who are helping move you towards that vision. Make contributions to the company’s vision part of everyone’s review.

Trust your employees. If you don’t trust them with your customers or with your company secrets, fire those employees. Stop blocking websites like they’re 12-year-olds whose Internet access you have to monitor. If people want to waste time, they have options besides Facebook and Twitter.  No one wants to be in a relationship with someone who treats them like a child. Give employees responsibilities and privileges. If they prove they’re not worthy then let them go. Stop punishing 95% of your employees for the 5% who shouldn’t be there in the first place.

Give employees a piece of the pie. Giving raises just because people have worked for you for another year are a thing of the past. If your employees are doing the same caliber of work in the same job at the same level, why would you pay them more? Reward employees who add new skills, new ideas, or new customers.  Better yet, share your financial goals with every single employee. Make it worth their while to help you get there. Tie financial rewards to your company goals to get everyone pulling in the same direction.

This isn’t new stuff. Unfortunately, however, many employers have been afraid to try those tips. Other employers haven’t had to try them because they found it easier to get staff members and keep them. Those times are changing. We better change right along with them if we rely on employees to help us serve our customers.

Simple 'old school' saying - a positive workplace will produce positive results.  And trust me on this one, a negative environment will hit your P&L like a slap in the face. 

More to read if interested.  In the event you have one or more employees disgruntled with life or working at your company, here is a good 5 step article to help repair your team.  Click Here!