|
|
|
Retaining Good Team Members in a Small Company
Good team
members are hard to find and hard to keep. Although the economic
downturn has led to some downsizing, talented people still have their
pick of good jobs.
There are likely to be increased talent shortages
over the coming years, as baby boomers retire and are replaced by a much
smaller Generation X workforce.
Small companies face special
problems in retaining team members - they can’t always provide a
complete career path or the full range of benefits that larger
organizations may offer. They have to compensate for this with
intangibles. Fortunately, it is often the intangibles that matter most.
Surveys consistently find money is not the top priority for team
members. Money is certainly important during the hiring phase. Good
people will generally not consider applying for a job if the
compensation is not competitive. But they won’t stay in a job for the
money.
An ABC News poll found that eight percent of employees put a bigger
paycheck as their top priority. Forty-one percent said that their top
priority was being treated fairly.
Fair treatment means showing respect and concern for team members as
people as well as workers. Showing respect implies listening to team
members’ opinions and taking them into account when making business
decisions.
It’s also important to give team members jobs that will challenge them.
Boredom is a real killer in
terms of job satisfaction. Companies are more attractive when they offer
team members the chance to do training or increase their skills in other
ways.
Positive feedback will also build employee satisfaction. Public and
private praise makes people feel they have a valued place in the
company. People tend to gravitate to places where they feel appreciated.
Performance guidelines and expectations should be clear. Where team
members fail to perform, it’s important to offer negative feedback in
private. Most people have a very low tolerance for public criticism.
It’s also important to challenge and reward people according to their
individual needs. One person may want a more flexible working week,
while another might prefer perks such as company tickets to a sports
event.
The better companies know their team members, the better they can judge
where their policies need changing. For example, it’s important to
conduct exit interviews when team members leave a company. They can help
determine where policies could be improved.
Another key to keeping good team members is not to demand too much. Many
employers are tempted to depend on their good team members, expecting
long hours and good results. But high flyers can burn out if pushed too
hard. Long hours and high pressure over a sustained period can turn a
top employee into an average one, or one that has just quit and gone in
search of a more balanced lifestyle.
Employers should be on the lookout for warning signs that team members
are overstressed. These include increased sick leave or working through
illness, consistent working through lunch or late into the evening,
rushing when deadlines approach, a reluctance to take holidays and
growing moodiness and frustration.
Good management will not only help retain good people, it should
increase productivity. Prometheon reports a Gallup survey on employee
attitudes and business outcomes. It assessed organizations that had
above average employee satisfaction. It found that they rated 38 percent
higher on customer satisfaction, 22 percent higher on productivity and
27 percent higher on profits.
|
|
