10 Ways to Keep Employees

Stop the Revolving Door

By Ellen Hughes

 

Is your attribution rate high? Is your company constantly having to replace leaving employees?  Here are 10 ways you can keep good employees longer.

 

1.  Be honest and upfront with new employees.  Let them know exactly what their job will include.  Don’t whitewash their position.  If they are going to spend 4 hours a day filing, tell them that.  If there will be a lot of overtime, let them know.  Remember, the interview process goes both ways - you are interviewing them and they are interviewing you.  You don’t want to hire someone who agrees to perform certain jobs and then quits immediately because the job wasn’t represented truthfully.  One woman accepted a job only to find out that the job description was changed within a few days to include answering the phone.  No one mentioned that during the interview process.  Once she was informed of that, she quit.  Let job candidates know what the job entails and let them decide if they want it.

 

2.  Show the prospective employee duties of the position.  A good way to accomplish this is to have the current employee keep track of their job responsibilities.  A complete list of tasks performed during a one-week or a month-long period would be sufficient.  The best case scenario would be to include step-by-step procedures with the list.  This would cut down significantly on training time.   

 

3.  Include employees in the decision-making process.  In some decisions, staff input can be invaluable.  For example, a company with 50 employees purchased a new accounting program.  This program would be used to bill clients, perform bookkeeping duties and payroll.  The one person who wasn’t consulted was the bookkeeper, the person whose job was to do billing and payroll.  If they had, the bookkeeper would have told them the current program performed all those functions, the new program was not compatible with the old program and it would take dozens of man-hours to input data into the new program.  Similarly, if you buy new equipment, elicit help from those who currently use it (i.e. copier).  Including staff in the decision-making process not only can save money and time, but it will build employee loyalty.

 

4.  Be aware of lop-sided workloads.  There are two situations that can be potentially bad for employees - one where the employee is constantly overwhelmed with work and one where they have very little to do.   The overwhelmed employee has more stress, the potential for mistakes is high, they tend to complain more and their job satisfaction is low.  The employee who has little to do tends to interrupt others working, can stir up trouble (i.e. gossip) and often feels that their work is not valued, resulting in low job satisfaction.  Keep a list of individual duties and divide up the workload more evenly.

 

5.  Cross-train your employees.  There are many benefits to employees being familiar with more than one position:  a) When an employee is absent, another can step in to perform the task without missing a beat, b) Employees will appreciate what others do and get a glimpse of the bigger picture of the company, c) New hires would have several knowledgeable people to assist them instead of just one employee (or none).

 

6. Give staff a voice at meetings.  Set aside time during regular meetings where staff (or designated staff personnel) can address issues important to them.  You could let the staff plan a separate meeting to discuss issues with a member of the management team.  This gives the staff a feeling of value and inclusion in processes that directly affect them.  It can also derail any feelings of dissatisfaction among staff before it can grow to a destructive level. 

 

7.  Don’t give preferential treatment.  While it is easy to show favoritism to relatives or other employees, this can cause dissension among the staff.  There was a situation at a small company where a male officer of the company was fond of a female employee and did not hide this fact.  She took his attention to mean she didn’t have to perform her work and she coerced another staff member do her work.  The situation played itself out where the overworked employee quit and then neither job was getting done.

 

8.  Hold special events that include all employees.  These can be simple, no-expense events such as potlucks for lunch or Halloween costume contests to a company-sponsored bowling league or Christmas party.  Holding events throughout the year shows the company goodwill toward its employees.  Also, this will build a sense of comraderie and family. 

 

9.  Keep ears and eyes open for potential trouble.  It is best to list policies in the company manual.  State that gossip during business hours is frowned upon, divulging one’s pay to another employee is not tolerated, and other types of behavior that can bring company morale crashing down.  If you notice friction between employees, have a talk with them as soon as possible.

 

10.  Create an open-door policy.   When a boss/supervisor makes themselves available to employees, it creates a sense of trust and openness.  You can set certain hours to be available and then keep those hours.  Employees appreciate it.  At one law firm, one of the partners would walk around and greet every employee once a week.  This set the environment as friendly and open.     

 

When you treat employees fairly, give them a true picture of what is expected of them and give them the tools they need, you will find your good employees staying longer and enjoying their work more.