Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Don't Get Sequestered: A Business Survival Guide Part 3 – Retain Employees by LOUIS FERACA success. The plan may be for a bowling night or a picnic. Or, one There are retention problems all over the place now. In this case, of my favorites, forming teams among the staff and having them retention is keeping good employees. Retaining good employees is a compete for best production, service or cost cutting. It can be particular challenge if you are forced to cut payroll, bonuses and even anything that gets them working at a goal together. benefits as many companies are in this tough economy. So just as you A 1994 Baylor University study of 1,500 participants found that are trying to give good service (and hopefully gifts) to your customers employee awards and incentives are very effective — particularly to keep them loyal, and spend a little on marketing to get new ones, when the employees are involved in the design. So combining you are caught between a rock and a hard place. You have the problem awards and incentives with team-building events, makes a powerful of retaining staff with little money to spend on doing it, while your positive boost to morale. competition is courting your key employees. What is a boss to do? Employee awards can be inexpensive, like perpetual plaques with Luckily, there are three steps you can take to keep employee morale multiple brass name plates for monthly or weekly winners. They can and loyalty high while still cutting payroll costs. First, you have to be more expensive, like jackets for the entire winning team. What if communicate clearly to your staff the financial pressures that make you gave every winner a $50 jacket? Sounds extravagant doesn't it? payroll/staff cuts necessary. Second, plan regular team/morale buildYet, if you just cut payroll and bonuses, the jackets are a fraction in ing events. Third, begin an employee awards program. comparison yet can restore a disproportionately large share of the Communication in troubled times is absolutely vital. The worst morale lost during the cuts. A tangible item that is associated with feeling for any employee in a time of crisis is being left in the dark. Keeping employee morale high in "elite" status can be more powerful than a boost in paycheck since Insecurity is made much worse by the unknown. So take the time to tough economic times doesn't have those are kept mostly secret anyway. let the staff know exactly what the conditions are and what the plan to be complicated. Awards can be used to promote safety as well. One of my manuis going forward. Once they know and that there is a plan in place, facturing customers gave a beautiful steel thermos to all 1,000 they'll feel more confident and happier as they go about their tasks. If employees when they met the safety goal. That sounds expensive until you look at your presentation is a good one, the staff will even put in the extra effort to help make the cost of just a few accidents per year. Awards, when part of a coherent plan, are it a success. Your crew is not one more problem to be kept at arm's length — they are an investment not an expense. part of the answer to the problem! Don't hide from your retention problems. Embrace them! Make a plan and go A great way to keep the momentum going after presenting your plan, is stagat it with your staff at your back. Tough times can make a leaner, ing team-building events. This time, instead of you coming up with the plan, meaner and better company. The select key employees and have them come up with it. Team-building exercises LOUIS FERACA, Contributing difference is leadership and maybe a that come from "on high" are often viewed as cheesy or worse. You all who have Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ thermos or two. been on the receiving end of these concoctions know what I mean. But events upandcomingweekly.com planned by the troops have the air of authenticity and a much better chance of Good Morning Fayetteville with Goldy & Jim W Weekday Mornings 6-10 a.m. Saturday, May 18th vs. York Capitals and Saturday, May 25th vs. Harrisburg Stampede 7:30 p.m. Game time Tailgating starts at 4:30 p.m. Tickets $5.00 - $25.00 Purchase at Crown Box Office or Ticketmaster.com 20 UCW MAY 15-21, 2013 Talk Line: 910-864-6400 Local News, Weather, Traffic & Sports WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM