Todd Haines – Sticks & Stones

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Finding and retaining good employees

We all know that finding and keeping good employees can be challenging. Jobs are easy to find right now and anyone that wants to work most likely already is working. I wish that I had a magic solution for you; but I don’t.

Recruiters, trade magazines, internet services, craigslist and word of mouth seem to be the standard methods of reaching out to find new employees. The people I have spoken with, that have the most success staffing their business, are using all of these methods; consistently and constantly.

“But isn’t it expensive hiring through a head hunter?” I’ve asked them. The answer is; what is the best use of your time? And how much is that worth? Good recruiters provide services to the process that streamline it for you: searching, qualifying, background checks, and others that all add value. I don’t believe this is always the best way to go, but for a certain level of employee that needs a specific skill set, it can be a great option.

Running "help wanted" ads in magazines, on internet job sites, and craigslist can generate activity, but not always produce results. Candidates call and schedule interviews but never show up. You wish the candidates that do show up hadn’t. The candidate that you do hire is not what you expected at all, and not in a good way. This is where patience comes in; you will need to sift through many candidates, but eventually the right person will come along.

Much easier than all of that is retaining your good employees.

Yes, I said easier. I have heard the stories of key people leaving suddenly, even whole crews leaving at one time. I know that other companies are offering more for your people to come work for them. It’s almost the end of the season and layoffs are coming; how do you know your people will come back in the spring?

I have found that retaining good people comes down to a few important factors; treat them fairly and honestly, allow them to earn a living wage, and offer opportunity for advancement. Not one of these is any more important than the other.

Honesty and fairness allows a person to feel good about who they work for and where they work. No one wants to feel poorly about the way they or others are treated, or the way that their employer conducts business. People in these types of situations usually dread going to work each day and eventually will seek out change.

The ability to earn a living wage is not all about money. Employees need to be able to meet the basic needs of themselves and their families. Expecting them to stay at a job that doesn’t support them is foolish. I have been surprised to hear from a contractor “My crew left me for less than $1/hour; I would have paid them that!” Well... why weren’t you? If your people are worth more to you than you are paying them, you should increase their pay or risk losing them, because they will be worth more to someone else that is willing to pay them.

Game day is a lot of fun around here!

The opportunity for advancement does not necessarily mean a promotion. In any growing business, there is expansion and new opportunities within to learn and grow; even at a personal level. Staying at a job that offers nothing but doing the same thing with no opportunity to grow and achieve more is not very attractive to most people. Keeping your business growing and challenging your employees to keep up and grow with it will keep them engaged and excited to work.

It’s difficult to find good people and demanding to hold on to the people you have; the labor market is tight and it doesn’t look like it will get better any time soon. It’s a challenge we all face and is compounded by how busy we all are these days. So, if you know any good people looking for a job, please send them my way! No, really, we’re hiring; good pay, benefits, and great people!

Tips for keeping quality employees

Keeping an employee is much easier than finding, hiring, and training new team members. I hear stories regularly from green industry companies about problems retaining good employees. The most popular story is probably, “I had three guys quit this week and go to a competitor for $2 per hour more than I was paying them. I offered them raises but they left anyway.”

People leave jobs for many reasons, however unless the amount is significant, it is rarely for money alone.

Employees
need to feel:

· Informed

· Appreciated

· Necessary

· Challenged

Let’s look at it from the point of view of the employee; what is important to them? Fair pay and competitive benefits? Of course - it is a given that they are working to get paid and make a living. However, the way your team feels about their position can be even more important than compensation.

That’s right, I said “feel”. I know feelings aren’t always the easiest for us to deal with, but they are integral to employee retention.

Informed, appreciated, necessary, and challenged are things that team members want and need to feel from us. The key to this is clear and concise communication starting from the first day if possible.

Information is vital for people to feel good in today’s world. We all have more information at our fingertips than ever before and have grown accustomed to feeling well informed. We tend to fill in the gaps with our own “information” and, as humans, rarely is it positive. We start in the hiring process with a checklist of items that we want to both give to and get from the new team member. Giving your team the information they need is vital to keeping them engaged and positive.

Let’s consider appreciation; compensation is not appreciation. These two things get linked somehow and are truly two different subjects. Compensation is agreed to and earned. Appreciation is beyond that and not necessarily financial. Most times a thank you is sufficient, just letting them know you noticed and appreciate their efforts. Small perks and rewards can also be very effective; we have done things like popsicles on a hot day, $10 cash rewards, paid time off (even an hour), bought lunches, and prepared lunches. There are so many things we can do to show appreciation and the ones that take a little effort are much more effective than those that cost money.

We all want to feel needed. Keeping our team informed and appreciating them will go far in making them feel essential. Also, delegating responsibilities and communicating expectations gives team members a connection to the successes and shortcomings of the company. It’s not all about reward, there is also an element of accountability and solid team members are ready to accept both. This leads to challenging our team.

Challenge leads to opportunity. No one wants to feel stuck, at a dead end, nowhere else to go. People want to be challenged with more responsibility, harder and larger tasks, and to be able to expand and grow their abilities. Raise expectations, increase responsibilities, and provide the resources and conditions to succeed and you will create a challenging environment for any team member. As these increased expectations and responsibilities are achieved, compensation should be adjusted to reflect the increased workload of the team member.

Retaining quality team members is not easy. Consider things from their perspective and keep them engaged and positive through the communication of information, appreciation, and expectations.