Don't Let the Good Ones Go
 By Judy Haegele of Harmony Gift Baskets

One of your best employees just left you for a “better job”.  Better job?  “What could be better than this?” you ask yourself.  She had been working for you for 10 years and after all, you paid her a nice salary, gave her 3 weeks vacation, and provided medical insurance.  What more did she expect?  
 
Well there’s no time to whine over spilled milk.  You need a replacement - now!  So you get moving by placing want ads in a few papers.  Wow!  In today’s economy, it’s amazing how many responses you get for a decent job.  How are you going to pick someone out of this crowd?  There’s only one way - start interviewing.  The interview process took a lot longer than you expected and while you were doing it, your business was suffering a bit.  You had to put in a lot of extra hours to make up for the lost time, plus pick up the slack from the lost employee.  But it was all worth it.  You think you have found the perfect fit for the job.
 
Uh oh.  It’s not over yet.  Your perfect fit needs some training.  More time.  More money.  Some of your clients are asking about when you will have someone ready to serve them and you are getting concerned that you might lose a few customers over this. You hope you can get things back to normal ASAP.
 
Was all of this an exaggeration?  Possibly … but maybe not.  The point is that losing a good employee may be a lot more expensive than you think.  By the time you pay for the cost of hiring, interviewing, training, and make up for lost business and relationships, it turns out to be a much more costly endeavor than just a salary. 
 
But what can you do?  People move on, right?  Yes, they do.  But usually there is a reason.  Sometimes those reasons are out of your control, but many times they aren’t and you just don’t realize that there was something you could have done.  Most employees will say that pay and benefits are the most important thing you can offer them, but that’s not all.  Many a person has left a job for another that pays the same amount and has similar benefits.  Why?  One reason is because they did not feel appreciated.  Recognition of their contribution and appreciation for a job well done ranks right up there in reasons to stay at a job. 
 
What can you do that won’t cost a lot of money?  Here are a few ideas: 

• Simply make a point of saying “Thank you” to your employees.  This is free!
• Institute an “employee of the month” program.  Give the selected employee something special, whether it’s a certificate, a plaque, lunch, or just public recognition.
• Give a small gift to an employee who has done something special.  An occasional investment of as little as $25-$30 could save you the expense and headache of finding someone new.

Regardless of what you choose to do, remember that your employees are your most important asset.  Without them, you can’t run your business.  Don’t wait until you lose a good one to learn your lesson.  

Go to Harmony Gift Baskets