Happy Employees
Seeds of Talent
TO KEEP GOOD EMPLOYEES, MAKE SURE THE GRASS ON YOUR COMPANY’S SIDE OF THE FENCE IS THE GREENEST. BY SAM POLCER
AS job life spans shorten, keeping employees happy has become more important than ever, and perhaps more difficult as well.
With so many “green pastures” just over the fence, how are today’s employers supposed to make their organizations worth sticking around for?
“[Certain] factors take priority,” says Joanne G. Sujansky, PhD, CSP, founder and CEO of KEYGroup. “Good people stay where they are challenged, where they have the opportunity to develop and contribute, and where their employers take care of those meaningful little things that make their lives easier.”
And if you think one employee is as good as the next, think again. Consider the cost of rehiring and training a replacement—which studies have shown could range from 70% to 200% of that employee’s annual salary. And what if your customers follow them over the fence? What about company morale? Whether you’re a large or small corporation, breaking up is hard to do. When employees start searching for greener pastures, it’s time to start planting a few seeds. And, according to Sujansky, “It isn’t always cash that makes green pastures green.” Here are 10 tips from Sujansky for keeping your best and brightest:
1) Don’t misrepresent your culture.
“You’ve got one really disappointed person if things don’t turn out the way that they were described at the interview. For instance, if they’re told that it’s a place that promotes from within and promotes quickly, and that doesn’t happen, it’s very disappointing. If you’re not at the point where your culture is a culture that is very attractive, then talk about what you’re working on to get it there.”
2) Cross-pollinate your culture by embracing diversity.
“A workplace is the most interesting, the most creative and the most apt to be cutting edge when it’s diverse. And you need to make sure that you’re not only planning for diversity and getting it, but you’re engaging in diversity once you have it.”
3) Be a good corporate citizen.
“People not only want to know that they’re working with people who have integrity and ethics, but that the business itself is behaving responsibly… not only because they think the company will be around longer, but because they want to be proud of the place in which they’re working.”
4) Get creative with benefits.
“I am sometimes shocked at employers thinking so traditionally about benefits. Put some money aside for everybody to do a health club. Arrange for a dry cleaning company to come on site. The best place to find out what would be helpful for employees is to ask the employees. It’s the little things like that that can make you an employer of choice.”
5) Realize that great employees thrive under great leaders.
“Pay attention to who it is that you’re giving leadership, management and supervisory jobs to. They can build a richness in your work environment or they can kill off talent. It’s about who you’re promoting, and how you continue to nourish them.”
6) Create the kind of environment where people can do their best work.
“People need particular resources to do their job—make sure they have them. If you’re asking people to surprise you and to do things beyond the level of expectation, to be promoted or to be recognized, give them the tools to do it.”
7) Insist that your employees take vacations.
“Vacation time is very important. It renews us; it’s a time that creativity just sort of creeps back in. You’re relaxed, you’re having a good time, and all of a sudden you get this great idea. Long weekends are not enough. Most people take three or four days just to unwind.”
8) Create a trusting environment between employer and employee.
“We all expect our bosses to keep us filled in. And the expectation is high that confidentialities will be kept. Trust, respect, integrity—those kinds of things are critical. We spend a lot of time at work, and it has to be a place where we’re with people that we can trust. Or we need to be somewhere else.”
9) Rid your pasture of weeds.
“If I’m not surrounded by people who are as smart or smarter than I am, maybe I’m going to think that this isn’t the best place for me to be working. Employees will like the job better if everybody is doing their job.”
10) Use internship and mentoring programs to grow and nurture new talent.
“Interns bring fresh ideas and talent into the business, and are sometimes the best person you hire. You get to see his or her skills and approach to the workplace. I’m also a firm believer in mentoring and continuing that process once that person is on the job.”
In the end, it doesn’t take anything extreme to keep a keeper. Common sense qualities like respect, trust and understanding go a long way. Eventually, you may have to build a higher fence to keep others from jumping into your pasture.