Things to Do In Our Tough Hiring Environment

The simple answer is double everyone’s pay. So what if you go out of business in six months, you will still have all the employees you need. Oops, that really isn’t a great idea after all. Let’s look at some other ways that might work for your company.

• Treat your employees like you want to be treated—respectfully. I read one study that said this is the single biggest reason employees give for leaving a current job. What does respectfully mean? No yelling, no blaming and no threatening. Yes, you can teach when mistakes happen; you can advise an employee that they are not up to the standards of the rest of your team; and, where necessary, you can place an employee on probation, or terminate when needed. But do these things in your office with the door closed. Don’t humiliate an employee in front of others—ever.
• Recognize employees who have done a fine job and do this in public. Have an employee of the month award and give the employee a $50 gift card. Can an employee win this more than once? Yes. Give the employee a special parking place, with a sign saying reserved for a special employee. What constitutes a monthly winner? It depends on your company and your goals. A fabricator with a production line may be interested in the quality and thru-put of the line. An installer may look at how neat a job looks when finished and on-time and under budget. It may be an office person who always has a smile and you can hear this through the phone as well!
• An employee who trains a rookie successfully is always a candidate. How about an employee who recruits one or two people to join your company when needed? Maybe your safety instructor who makes sure everyone, at all times, wears the proper clothing and works safely.
• How about your salesperson who brings in a whopper of an order? Or the person in your office who sells the most shower doors? What about your accounts receivable person who keeps your accounts current, always? Life doesn’t get better when you have a positive cash flow.

OK, you get it. Yes, you do have to pay a fair wage for your area, and maybe just a little bit more. You need to offer a good benefits package and not scrimp on the health insurance package, which is the second-most reason that people change jobs. Throw a summer picnic party inviting everyone’s family and you stand over the grill and do the cooking. I can tell a hundred little things like this and they all add up to a good employee relationship. The most important ones, though, are already mentioned here.