How to retain your best employees

The rules of employee retention have changed. No longer can loyalty be bought with big salaries, hefty bonuses, and rich benefits packages. Today it takes intangible, non-monetary rewards to create an atmosphere that makes your people feel valued, respected, and involved. It take a whole new way of thinking. This is the fourth edition of a 22-week special on ideas you could implement to keep those best employees:

4) Manage With Your Heart, Not Your Head

Employee retention is not a textbook, by-th-numbers exercise. There is no recipe to follow, no formula to guarantee your success. An employee’s decision to stay or leave often boils down to an emotional attachment that is forged, not with the cool logic of your head, but your heart.

Managing with your heart means treating people like investments, not expenses. It means acting less like a superior and more like an equal. And, when it comes to recognizing and motivating your employees, it means the difference between:

• Giving a pat on the back vs. a kick in the rump
• Offering a spontaneous show of appreciation vs. a plaque
• Taking an employee to lunch vs. buying a lunch gift certificate
• Writing a sincere, heartfelt thank-you note vs. a standard form letter

You know how you like to be treated. You know what makes you feel good and what doesn’t. Be sure to treat your staff with all of the concern, respect, and dignity you would like for yourself. Sounds a little like the Golden Rule, doesn’t it?