Recently, I’ve had a number of conversations with business owners about employee turnover and the difficulty of hiring replacements. It’s no secret that there’s a shortage of qualified people at almost every level of our workforce.
As our economy grows and business continues to expand, that problem will continue to get worse. So, here’s the million dollar question: What can we do about employee retention and how do we hire new people that will stay with us for the long-term?
Three Secrets To Creating A Positive Work Environment
Is it possible to create an environment in our workplaces that encourages people to work hard and be productive yet enjoy and look forward to coming to work every day? Absolutely. But it’s important to have the right ingredients for that ideal environment. So what are these ingredients? Here are three secret ingredients that can help create a positive work:
- Offer competitive compensation. This is a given, and I would suspect that you understand the importance of offering a reasonable and competitive salary to your employees.
- Create an atmosphere where people can grow and develop. Do your employees feel that they can grow and develop themselves at your company … Where they can take responsibility and contribute to the business? Make sure that you offer professional development and educational opportunities where your employees can generate ideas and share them with their supervisors. Their professional development and improvements will only help your company in the end.
- Embrace delegation and trust your leadership team. Too many business owners do not develop an organization that embraces delegation. They are not good delegators and thus people below them are not good delegators. Trust is, many times, the key ingredient that is missing from the equation. Steven M. R. Covey said, “… I contend that the ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust is not only vital to our personal and interpersonal well-being; it is the key leadership competency of the new global economy.” Without trust, organizational development cannot take place. Owners and managers fail to develop and take advantage of talent that exists within the organization. As a result, quality people tend not stay. They’ll look for other opportunities where they can truly add value and be a part of a thriving organization. So learn to delegate and trust your employees.
As an owner/leader ask yourself: Do I trust my leadership team? Do I delegate and encourage others to take responsibility?” If not, then start to work on that today. It will pay big dividends for future retention and recruitment.
This article was originally published in Illuminations: Facts & Figures from people with a brighter way, a Rea & Associates enewsletter, 7/16/2014.
Note: This content is accurate as of the date published above and is subject to change. Please seek professional advice before acting on any matter contained in this article.