Keeping and Motivating the Best Employees
Every company, no matter how big or small wants to have the very best employees on staff. Finding the right person is the first step in this formula for success. Following that can be even harder than finding them in most cases. If you want your business to be successful with keeping and motivating great employees, here are some helpful hints to guide you along the way.
One of the biggest challenges in today’s businesses is filling positions quickly enough when they become open. The best people don’t stay unemployed for long when they know what they want out of a job; therefore, any delay in hiring could mean losing top talent forever. A lot of managers pride themselves on being able to recruit good people in short order; however, it’s even harder to find that right person and then let them know you’re interested. It begins with building a regular network of contacts and referrals through networking and word-of-mouth references. This will give your company the best chance of finding those candidates who are looking for their next opportunity, but also those people who might not be actively seeking a career change.
Anytime someone tells you about someone they know personally who would be great for a position within your company, introduce yourself as quickly as possible and see if that individual is available. It’s amazing how many opportunities disappear because they aren’t pursued immediately. With the help of this technique alone, you’ll likely double or triple your number of potential hires at any given time.
Once you’ve determined who might be the best person for the open position, it’s important to contact them immediately and follow up with a phone call no later than 24 hours later. Keeping your name fresh in their mind will ensure that they’ll remember your company when the time comes to make a career move. The more proactive you are in this situation, the better chance you’ll have at getting in front of much larger companies that may also covet the same talent.
If someone contacts you about interviewing for your open position, ask yourself whether or not it is worth your time to see if the person even qualifies based on what they say about their current position and responsibilities. It’s amazing how many people interview purely because they think it’s the next step in their career path. You need to determine if they are actually looking for a promotion or just an interview.
Set clear guidelines during the initial phone screening about what your expectations are both short-term and long-term, as well as what you’re seeing them accomplish within that first 90 days of employment at your company. If they can see themselves achieving those goals along with learning new skills which will help them climb even further up the corporate ladder, then you’ll likely find yourself with better candidates who are already excited about working for your business.
Finally, make sure that you give incentives to employees who do things right on a daily basis. Ignoring good behaviour is like telling them not to continue doing it. For example, if someone is working on a tough project which needs to be completed by Friday for an upcoming presentation, sending that team member flowers or even lunch will go a long way towards making them feel appreciated and ensuring that they work just as hard the next time you ask them to complete something similar. Successful businesses are built through word-of-mouth referrals, but only if your customers know why they should tell others about your company in the first place. Following these tips will make sure that every employee knows exactly what’s expected of them and how important their job is to the success of your business.
Every company, no matter how big or small wants to have the very best employees on staff. Finding the right person is the first step in this formula for success. Following that can be even harder than finding them in most cases. If you want your business to be successful with keeping and motivating great…