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 ninth edition of a 22-week special on ideas you could implement to keep those best employees:

9) Accentuate the Positive

How often are these scenes played out each day in corporate America?

• After pouring his heart and soul into a client proposal, Jack eagerly awaits feedback from his boss. When the document is returned to him, though, Jack finds that one typo has been circled in red ink and a few sentences have been rewritten. There's no mention of the 99% of his work that's flawless.
• For the first time in months, Sandy's late for work. As she walks through the lobby, she gets a dirty look from her supervisor, who happens to be standing at the front desk. Sandy wonders to herself, " Where is he on all those days I get here early?"
• During his annual performance review, Dan gets an overall rating of "very good", yet his manager spends most of the evaluation going over areas that need improvement.

It's human nature to dwell on the negative, to focus so much on the cloud that we overlook the silver lining. But the reality is that most people work hard most of the time. As a manager, you have far more opportunities to praise than to punish, and it is these daily opportunities that hold the key to keeping you best employees.

Does this mean you should never discipline an underachiever? Of course not, so long as you criticize the work and not the worker. Just be sure to credit more that you critique.

The Golden Rule has never applied more than when you are dealing with your employees!