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 takes a whole new way of thinking. This is the eleventh edition of a 22-week special on ideas you could implement to keep those best employees:

11) Survey Your Staff
It's hard to imagine a successful company today that isn't close to its customers. We conduct expensive market research to know our buyers better. We ask them to test our products. We mail our satisfaction surveys and wait eagerly for the results.

But what about your employees, your company's most valuable assets? Do you take the time to understand their needs and concerns? A simple, written survey gives employees a forum for sounding off on the issues most important to them. A few rules of thumb to consider:

• Make the surveys anonymous. You're more likely to get honest feedback.
• Share the findings-good and bad-with survey participants. It will help to foster an atmosphere of open dialogue.

• Implement as many employee suggestions as possible. And for those that aren't implemented, explain the reasons.

You may find that what employees want most has nothing to do with money- such as recognition, respect, involvement, and communication- but are key factors in keeping them happy, keeping them challenged, and simply keeping them.

A final tip: Continue to conduct the same survey each year. As time goes by, you'll be able to measure your progress and identify any changes in your employee's attitudes.