By Laurence Harrould
Believe it or not, the key to retaining good staff has nothing to do with salary. Laurence Harrould finds six ways to increase loyalty that won't cost you a thing.
1.Certainty
How much stress would it create for you if you had to decide each day where your office would be? While this may be an absurd example, it illustrates our need for certainty.
The same applies to your staff. Are they sure there will be a job for them when they turn up to work? Do they know what it is? This latter point is critical. Many small businesses use a hub-and-spoke model with the owner at the centre. This leads to a situation where the owner must make or approve all decisions. He or she suffers from a case of ‘only-I-can-do-it-itis'.
But this means when staff come to work, they don't know what their jobs are until they walk in the door.
In a business, this is best avoided by having clear roles and responsibilities. Also, staff must have the authority to make the decisions that enable them to meet their responsibilities.
2. Variety
On the other hand, if everything was the same every day, boredom would kick in very quickly.
Working with different clients and having a range of tasks are ways to provide variety in the workplace. Variety can even be introduced on an assembly line.
Toyota has a quality-control person working at the end of each production line. When this person gives the OK to a car coming off the line, everyone on the factory floor does a Toyota star jump. This happens every eight minutes and contributes to a high level of enthusiasm among employees. I worked in a telesales organisation where a bell was sounded whenever an operator made an appointment. Some recruitment agencies do something similar when a placement is made.
3. Connection
In today's society we have become more and more isolated but at the same time we are creating new ways of connecting.
How does this work at work? Primarily, by establishing a team mindset.
A good example is a workshop we ran for an IT company. The staff had little understanding of how their roles related to other parts of the business. The technicians, in particular, had the view, ‘I turn up onsite, do my job and go on to the next one'.
The workshop highlighted how the various elements of the business needed to work in harmony. Once the technicians understood they were the main interface between the business and its clients, their attitude shifted significantly.
So, establishing a strong team culture changed the way everyone worked together.
4. Contribution
Contribution is a sense of working with others to fulfil an objective. It's about being a valuable member of a team.
I've had employers say to me, "If only my staff would do what I tell them, everything would be fine." This robs the staff of any sense of control or purpose. People need to know how their efforts fit into the overall effectiveness of the business. They also need to know they can make suggestions or give feedback in order to contribute to the business's growth and success either in a formal or informal way. Acknowledge these ideas, even if you don't end up implementing them.
5. Significance
This is about meaning and importance. A question that often comes up when people are dissatisfied is, "Why am I doing this?"
Acknowledgement is one of the most powerful tools to meet the needs of contribution and significance. Use of public recognition, certificates or simply telling someone you appreciate what they're doing can make a huge difference.
6. Growth
People need to grow. They want to expand their knowledge and have new experiences that extend their skills.
Also, people need recognisable career growth. If they can't see there's an opportunity to increase their income, take on more responsibility and learn new things, they'll go elsewhere. Don't be frightened by the phrase ‘increase their income' - it doesn't mean you have to pay them more to do the same job. If possible, offer profit sharing. If they bring in more business, offer a bonus. Good reward schemes provide great incentives for people to stay where they are.
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