 |
What Do Your Employees Want?
Contrary to popular belief, the number one reason people quit their jobs is not because of money. It is because of poor treatment. Often people tell you the reason is money because they don’t want the conflict of telling you the truth. As with external customers, you need your Internal Customer Marketing Plan. It must include:
Remember that staff will be inclined to imitate your behavior. Employees will be more likely to follow through on your example of marketing if you demonstrate the techniques on them. WORTH THE INVESTMENT!Consider an Employee Benefit Plan as it provides your staff with security and compensation enhancement. It is an excellent way to demonstrate your intent to establish and maintain long-term employment relationships. Plans do vary in cost and complexity. Popular coverage choices include medical insurance, dental and vision plans, term life insurance, short and long-term disability, a matched RRSP savings plan, or any combination thereof. New and creative plans are continually being developed. I recommend most employees should receive business cards. Each employee has a valuable function and contributes to the team’s success. If you want to instill corporate pride in your people, give them a business card. It makes them feel important. A business card in the hands of an enthusiastic employee becomes a powerful marketing tool. Your staff will not only give them out to business prospects, they may be given to recruit employees. It is a good idea to develop an employee referral program for your staff. Rewarding staff for referring quality employees that join the team helps ease the time and cost of recruiting and increases the chance of a new employee being a good fit. Most employees will not recommend questionable people as it risks their own credibility. STAFF INCENTIVE PROGRAMIt is vital that you reward staff for their valuable input. Many employees are on the frontlines, a vantage point that allows them insight that owners and managers may lack. You need to access this knowledge and use it to improve your business practices. Remember, you have two hands, one to take and one to give. Be sure to use both hand equally. There are three main areas of input you should reward:
Your staff should have easily accessible forms on which they can jot down their ideas when inspiration hits them. These ideas would then be forwarded to management for analysis and consideration. Try to reward any reasonable recommendation with a token of thanks, even if you are unable to implement the idea. Implemented ideas should be rewarded relative to their value. Rewards can be given in the form of points. For implementation ease, ten points could equal a one dollar value. Redemption of these points should occur at the employee’s discretion. When setting up this program, the staff should choose the selection of rewards. Money should not be a reward as it is all too soon forgotten; luxury items are remembered much longer. Choices could include: a massage, movie passes, hockey tickets, a CD, house cleaning service, Ticket master gift certificates, or even a day off with pay (must be booked a specified number of days in advance, with approval). Implemented ideas from employees should be announced in-house, in your newsletter, on your website, on your bulletin board, at a staff meeting and, if appropriate, to customers and the public. You could also utilize this program to show recognition to employees that go the extra mile for clients, fellow staff, or the company. You would document this behavior and award the employee appropriate points. PENNY WISE AND VERY FOOLISH!Being militant about such petty things as the exact minute an employee starts the day or returns from breaks, charging for coffee or uniforms, or not paying staff for attending after-hours meetings, can all be a cause for conflict. (Note: There are positions that do not allow time flexibility and, in such cases, other flexibilities can be granted). Although you may think you are saving money, the negative attitude your staff will adopt will ultimately hurt you far more than the savings you will realize. You are generous to your external customers; extend that same generosity to your internal customers. If you find some employees taking advantage of your leniency, deal with them individually; do not penalize the entire team. Written
by Lori Colborne, President - LSL
Marketing Consultants
|
