Keeping
Your Good People
Makes You Look Better
We
can all see signs that the economy is improving. Business
activity is picking up and most of the economic indicators
are positive. The questions in the business news is “Where
are the jobs?” A recent poll by the Society for Human
Resource Management reveals that 50% of the 362 organizations
surveyed will be adding new employees in 2004. The survey
also found that 61% of the organizations will be focusing
efforts on retaining the employees they have.
How many of your good employees will be tempted to leave?
What have you done to ensure your higher performers stay?
Have you taken your employees for granted the past couple
of years? Other questions to ask are - With the downturn in
the economy, are the raises lower than they were in the past?
How about bonuses? Are rewards for top performers significantly
higher than for mediocre employees? Is the work challenging
or has it become mundane? Is the morale of the employees lower
than it was last year? Have you been using such trite statements
as, “You know that business has been tough this past
year and I am glad that you are sticking it out with us.”
or “You should be grateful you still have a job.”
Sticking it out and being grateful only go so far and do not
help pay the rent or put food on the table.
Take
the time to talk with your people. Know what makes them tick
and how they are feeling about their future with the company.
What are their career aspirations?
The
salary increase budgets are at the lowest point they have
been in many years. Look at your reward system to ensure that
your good performers get a bigger piece of the salary increase
pie. With so little to give away, your mediocre employees
should get nothing or next to nothing while a larger portion
of the increase pot should go to those employees who are the
best and brightest.
The higher performers are the people who make you look good
every day. They are the people you can turn to when you need
something done quickly and done well. They go to bat for you
every day – it is now time to go to bat for them.
Keeping
those high performers with you and your company after the
job market opens up will make you look even better. Set the
stage now for retaining your good employees before someone
else takes the opportunity away from you.
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