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Employees are your life blood. Don’t spring a leak.

Written by: Bob Janet

Article Overview: Maximize employee longevity, productivity and loyalty

Employees are your life blood. Don’t spring a leak.

My father once told me, “Business would be very easy if you did not hire employees.”
He paused and then said, “But you would not make very much money.”

From the book: “You’re Not Lost Until You Are Out Of Gas”
Employees are your life blood. Don’t spring a leak.
“Employees are the second most important people in your business”
It’s true, your employees are the second most important people in your business, right after your customers, and you need them more than they need you. When my father put me in charge of hiring new employees he made it a lot easier for me by sitting me down and explaining how our operations would come to a screeching halt if our employees did not perform as we needed them to in their jobs. It has been proven over and over again that training new employees is one of the largest drains on a business’ bottom line of profitability, not to mention your cost of time.*

Twenty plus years (before I figured it out) of hiring and losing good employees taught me, “The only way to maximize employee longevity, productivity and loyalty is by treating them with 100% Employee-Centered respect, fairness and honesty.” Our goal must be to make all employees feel as if they are a very important part of our operation.

My goal is always to treat my employees so good that they would rather be at work making me money than be at home. I do this by aggressively understanding and doing the seven things that are important to them. The things that make people happy on the job.
1. Money
2. Feeling of value
3. Feeling of importance, being needed
4. Feeling of place
5. Feeling of trust
6. Feeling of control
7. Feeling of responsibility

1. MONEY - BENEFITS – We must pay our staff a fair wage. You do not have to be the highest payer when you combine a fare wage with the following six benefits that make people happy with their employer.

2. Techniques to give employees the feeling of VALUE
1. Listen to their views and ideas
2. Discuss their ideas with them
3. Ask for their ideas often
4. Use their ideas
5. Show your appreciation for their ideas
• Use the ideas
• Reward the employee
• Congratulate them in front of their peers
• Acknowledge them in a newsletter

3. Techniques to give employees the feelings of IMPORTANCE, of being needed
1. Asking for their views
2. Asking for their opinions
3. Take time to discuss what they feel is important 4. Show your appreciation for their ideas, opinions and views. Reward your employees for caring about your business. Congratulate them in front of their peers. Acknowledge them in a newsletter.

Personal coach Ryan Setzer tells us, “People are motivated more by praise and recognition, than by money and sex.” Along with praise and recognition there is a place for financial rewards, tickets to a game, dinner out with their spouse, a half or whole paid day off, etc. It does not take much to create an atmosphere of importance that will stop problems from happening and solve many others.


For 40 years I owned and operated a retread tire shop in Pennsylvania. In the cold winter months the shop would hit temperatures of over 130 degrees. You can just imagine how hot it was in the summer time, without air conditioning. Plus, the jobs in the retread shop were hard and dirty, so you know how hard it was to keep a trained staff. Very hard until the day I rewarded the entire crew with a steak, spaghetti and beer dinner, for them and their spouses or significant others for obtaining 100% attendance for the entire month. A few days later some of the staff came to me and asked, “If we continue to maintain 100% attendance will you continue to treat us to an evening out each month? I stumbled into a simple, very low cost way to keep my staff and keep their attendance at 100%.

4. Techniques to give employees the feelings of PLACE
1. Provide private space
• Private locker
• Lunch / break room
2. Welcome them at the business before and after their work hours
3. Give them free use of equipment
4. Proper orientation – Do not just give them a work area, give them detailed instructions of what is expected of them and why.


4. Techniques to give employees the feeling of TRUST
1.Don’t be the time police when you see them talking with each other or not otherwise directly doing their job. Many times you will find that they are actually discussing business and better ways to do their jobs.

2. Give them responsibilities

3. Allow them to make decisions

4. Back them up when needed

4. Techniques to give employees the feeling of CONTROL
1. Let them know where they stand. What they can expect under different circumstances
2. Do not negatively surprise them
3. Let them make decisions
4. Give employees meaningful RESPONSIBILITIES
Responsibilities that are important to the business and important to you, both short and long term

I have found criticizing an employee is the most detrimental act we commit against being 100% Employee-Centered and a successful employer.

RULES OF CRITICISM
1. Never criticize in public. Do not criticize in front of other employees, peers or customers.
2. Never be personal. Attack the problem, not the person.
3. Make clear what behavior or performance is acceptable and what is not acceptable. Explain why.
4. Ask the employee for his/her input on the problem. This will make him/her part of the solution.
5. Together comprise written steps to bring about the change that is needed.
6. Never conclude the conversation until all parties are in agreement and committed to change.
7. Shake the employee’s hand, smile and make a positive statement:
Ex. “Lets make some money.”
“Any problems, come to me.”
“Any ideas, please see me.”

Remember, treat your employees like people before you treat them like employees.

GOOD FEELINGS AND ATTITUDES ARE CONTAGIOUS
We have discussed what to do when the employee has an idea and when he makes a mistake. The most important actions you can make are those throughout the day on a daily basis.
1. Tell your people “Good Morning,” “Good Night,” “Have a Nice Weekend.”
2. Smile and be upbeat. Do not dwell on negatives.
3. Tell them they are doing a good job. Be specific about what they did.
4. When customers make positive comments about them, congratulate them, give them a small bonus, buy them lunch, etc.
5. Send them and their family cards on their birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions.

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Article Tags: business bottom line, drains, fairness, honesty, job, jobs, life blood, longevity, loyalty, much money, productivity, profitability, screeching halt, t spring



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