The Value of Good Employees
The Value of Good Employees
When it comes to business, there is one rule that has always been true for both ends of the spectrum. Rather it is the business owner, or the customer buying from them, the fact remains, you get what you pay for. For a customer, the more you pay, the better the quality of the product. On the other hand, a business owner is spending money on a slightly different product. They are spending money on someone’s time and skills. Many see a business interview as just that, an interview, when really it is what could be the most important sales pitch of a person’s life. What is an interview if not a trading of products? The potential employee tries to convince the other that their time and skill set are worth paying them for, while the employer side tries to convince them that their company is worth the cost of their time and effort.
When it comes to hiring an employee, it is usually a simple ordeal. If they are at your business trying to get a job, while not always true, chances still are that they are wanting to say yes to your sales pitch regardless of the details. Keeping a good employee that has already been hired on the other hand, requires a bit more effort. Not just financially, but it also takes some time and motivation. Pay an employee minimum wage and you will get plenty of work out of them at first, eventually though if you don’t promote opportunity and appreciation, you are going to end up getting paid back with minimum work.
Of course, not every employee is going to perform the same. Some employees are going to be more adept at a job than others. While these employees are going to do more for a business, it is important to remember that every employee is vital to the inner workings of a company. The steps you would take to keep your best employees, should be spread to the rest of your company’s employees to some degree.. It may take a little extra time, but compared to the productivity lost when a team member leaves, and the time spent looking for a replacement, in the long run it becomes worth the effort. So what can you do to show appreciation and promote growth among your employees?
Stay Interviews
What is a stay interview? Much like any other interview, it is a meeting between an employee and an employer, or member of management. The objective of a stay interview is finding out what it is about a job that makes an employee stay there, along with show some things they may dislike about a company. Picture it as a performance review for the company. You get to learn the strengths and weakness of the company’s employment, while finding target areas to focus on. For example, if an employee says that they enjoy the sense of teamwork that the business promotes, encouraging projects that require employees working together could help boaster that asset. There are some things to consider when analyzing the data from these stay interviews.
Too Much of a Good Thing: While you focus on strengthening the areas most employees reacted positively to is a good idea, don’t push it too far. Bringing too much attention to it can cause employees to get worn out on it. Going back to the coffee example, if everyone agrees, having coffee in the break room is great, and you react by putting a K-Cup coffee maker in the break room, employees will appreciate the notion. If you decide to redo the break room with coffee themed wallpaper and decor, employees may start asking questions about your recent caffeine addiction.
Comfort and Understanding: It’s typical for an employee to get nervous during an interview. For some, it’s a borderline heart attack simply getting called to the boss’s office. Before conducting a stay interview, make sure employees understand what a stay interview is. Explain to them it doesn’t affect their overall job, and nor will what they say impact their employment. Some employees may have a complaint that they are afraid to share, fearing it may put their job at risk.
Work with Available Time: While it is best to interview all employees when performing stay interviews, that may just not be possible. You may have too many employees, or too many responsibilities to dedicate enough time for it. This is when you have to use selective interviews instead. When selecting certain employees for a stay interview, remember to include ones from each department, and choose employees that tend to get along with their coworkers. They can help inform you of the thoughts shared by other employees. This task can also be performed by your management team. It can be included in their management training.
All in all, stay interviews are simple things that don’t take up too much of your time, and show that you are interested in the opinions of your employees. It promotes a sense of unity in the company instead of having a wall between management and employees. They also give you a new perspective about how your company is operating. It can be difficult to see the same image from two angles with one set of eyes, by using stay interviews, you can see it from multiple angles. If you don’t feel you have enough time to do these kinds of interviews, maybe it’s time to outsource some of your most time consuming responsibilities.
By contacting Vision H.R. you can place some of these work areas in their hands, freeing up your time to interact more with your employees. Vision H.R. is the trusted source of payroll services and human resources that places like Melbourne depends on, along with management training, employee hiring and recruiting, human resource management, and business insurance.
