How To Keep Good Employees In Your Small
Business
By Tom Egelhoff
 This has to be one of the oldest quandaries
in the history of business. But, I think it's the wrong question
to ask. The question I would ask is, "How can I create a
work environment that employees will never want to leave?"
The reason employees are hard to keep is because they have
their own personal goals and I'm sorry to say that those goals
are not to make you, the business owner, rich.
And, I'm also sorry to say, that as long as you put your business
goals ahead of your employees personal goals you are going to
have turnover and lots of it. How can a business create a work
environment that helps the business owner and the employee both
reach their goals?
Consider
the hour's employees aren't working.
Employees work 40 hours or less per week. There are 168 hours
in each week and that means 128 hours each week your employees
are somewhere else. What are they telling others about where
they work during that time?
Would an unhappy employee talk to their spouse or partner?
What would the spouse or partner tell others? Each time the story
of your business is related to someone else there is a very good
chance it will be embellished until it reaches a point where
a large part of it is no longer true.
Are you beginning to see how easily negative word-of-mouth
cannot only spread but do major public relations damage as well?
Create
a Win-Win Environment
In order for a business to be successful there must be a total
team effort between employees and management. Each employee depends
on other employees to perform his or her specific function.
Management then has a choice. It can establish or even demand
certain levels of performance as a condition of employment, or
it can create a work environment where employees not only take
pride in the work they do but take personal ownership of their
specific responsibilities within the company.
"But" is the great eraser
Let's face it. Employee evaluations are primarily to correct
what the employee is doing wrong and rarely to praise what they
are doing right and that is their major downfall and the main
reason most managers' dislike doing them.
My good friend and fellow speaker Patrick H. McGaughey introduced me to this
concept. A typical conversation would go something like, "You
do A, B, and C great BUT, D needs a lot of work." Do you
think the employee hears what happens before the "but"
or after it? "But" erased the good part of the employee
performance because it was just glossed over as a transition
to the corrective part of the evaluation.
Years ago I worked with a very smart man who told me that
you always give "two warm fuzzies" for "every
cold prickly." In other words praise should be given twice
as often as criticism.
He knew that his employees were doing more right than wrong
and they were also doing good things within the company that
he would never know or hear about. So he made a point of making
sure they heard from him whenever he heard or saw them doing
something positive.
I worked with another company that had a practice of sending
handwritten thank you cards to the employees home in the mail.
This was a definite hit with the spouses who now had a definite
indication of the appreciation the company had for the employee
and actually improved the employees home life in some cases.
Placing
Blame vs. Training
Most employees welcome training that will make them better
at their job. Companies spend millions each year to train people
in everything from customer service to equipment operation. Accessing
and placing blame is not training.
When something goes wrong stress happens. Management wants
someone to be accountable for the problem. Finger pointing, accusations
and placing blame are often used as the most common methods to
deal with the problem.
The correct action should be to determine what the cause of
the problem was and to design a training procedure to prevent
its reoccurrence in the future by all employees.
I don't mean to imply that you never discipline an employee
but there is a time and place and a right way to do it. If problems
persist and it is determined that an employee is simply un-trainable
that should be the point where disciplinary action and documentation
should begin.
Tomorrow, before you leave for work, take a look in the mirror.
Ask yourself, "Would you want to work for you?" If
you have a hard time with the answer you have some work to do.
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This article may be reproduced for your non-profit
group or organization provided it is not altered in any way and
the following is attached:
©2005 Eagle Marketing PO Box 271 Bozeman, MT 59771-0271
http://www.smalltownmarketing.com - (406) 585-0219 - Toll FREE
(888) 550-6100
email: tommail@smalltownmarketing.com
Based in Bozeman, MT, Tom Egelhoff is the author of How To Market, Advertise & Promote Your
Business Or Service In A Small Town, and The
Small Town Advertising Handbook: How To Say More And Spend Less.
He is also a seminar and workshop presenter
and trainer. He may be reached at 888-550-6100 or PO Box
271 Bozeman, MT 59771-0271
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