Here’s a paradox that drives small-business owners crazy: The harder it is to fill certain jobs, the higher the rate of turnover.
Why? Simple economics. If you’ve had to work like mad to find just the right person for that techno-whiz-bang management slot – a slot that only very few people have the special knowledge to fill – chances are that others like you already have their eyes on the very folks you’ve just recruited, bonused, and promised more money than you ever thought you could promise anyone.
So how do you keep the most precious workers on board for the long haul?
Conversations with in-demand workers point to a clear answer: loyalty.
“I like money, and I want a healthy paycheck,” says a database-marketing director in Georgia, “But I don’t want to work in a cubicle, I don’t want to be forgotten when I go home at night, and I refuse to be a mere cog in the wheels of some giant corporate machine. Keeping my identity, and knowing that the people I work for care about me, is worth whatever percentage of my salary that I could boost if I went to work for a big bank or corporation.
“My boss is a decent person. That’s why I stay here. He knows me and I know him.
“Do you know the two things he did that I remember, and think about all the time?
“First, when my Mother was sick, he gave me two days off with pay, and then, at the hospital, I saw that he had sent her flowers.
“And then, when it snowed two feet overnight this winter, he called at six a.m. to tell me the office was closed and I should just enjoy an extra day of paid vacation.”
That smart business owner, by spending about $900 on three days of this talented woman’s salary and $15 on flowers, saves untold thousands of recruiting and training costs every year his vital employee chooses to stay on board.
Content copyright Enterprise Interactive
