No matter what part of the construction industry you’re in, it is critical to know what your people think and feel about your company and about their jobs.
Have you or do you have a friend whose top person left and started their own company and became your competitor? Don’t make this fatal mistake by ignoring this very real possibility or ignoring your people – keep them happy, engaged and truly a part of your business. Below are the top 6 reasons people choose to stay & how to develop talent from inside of your business – oh and your very top people – the ones that a job would slow down and/or stop if they left…we are sharing some proven ideas to keep them with your business and not competing against it…
1. Exciting work and challenge
This is the opposite of boredom – engage your people in helping solve prob lems, ask for help and ideas Set expectations and let people know when they are doing something right – use the “catch people doing things right and tell them” philosophy. Sounds simple right? Amazingly owners forget to do this in the midst of the busy times when your people need it the most.
Engage people in creating your company’s vision and goals. Above all, practice honest and open communication to help build trust and loyalty. People want to be a part of something bigger than themselves and by engaging them in creating the future – they “own” it too. Loyalty, pride in accomplishments, heart, belief in the business and trust by people are the keys to your businesses’ success from the inside.
2. Career growth, learning, and development
Foster a desire among people to want to stay with your company. One of the key elements in an “employee’s intention to leave” is their level of commitment to the business. Commitment is directly related to opportunities for employee development, so offer training whenever you can – something as simple as you or your key people share their expertise to your team.
When appropriate, ask your top performers to represent you at a training, meeting, events, etc. Gives you a break too…and they can come back and educate you.
Always, seek to promote and develop from within. As well as training options think about coaching too. Coaching helps develop high morale and helps improve both efficiency and productivity. Pair up your people with your best supervisors to show them the “why” – an example is to explain the why maintenance on your machines is so important – the bulldozer cost $150,000 and the excavator cost $250,000…not taking care of them and frequent breakdowns equals lost time, lost dollars, which means lost credibility and smaller bonuses – understanding builds commitment.
3. Working with great people
How do you know you work with great people? Simple. Offer opportunities (both inside and outside of work) for your people to get to know one another. As a business owner you must get to know everyone too. Why? Because, as an employee, one of the worst feelings is invisibility; thinking that no one would notice if you didn’t show up one day. Take lunch to the job site, stop in and ask how their day is going and listen.
Ask people if they have the tools they need to do their job. You will find out important information to your operation by knowing your people and your people will feel valued.
4. Fair pay
Think about what fair pay means in terms of both the job and the area in which your business is based. On top of that, depending on what works for your business, you might want to think about also offering incentive pay, retention bonuses, compensation after long projects, a creative benefits plan and flexible work schedules. (see 5 for more ideas)
Don’t forget that non-monetary rewards can be just as important.Think about what might work for your business. You have a cabin – offer it to your people for a getaway. If you’re unsure, ASK.
Your top person/people? What is their motivation to leave and start their own company? Money, retirement, time off, partial ownership – be aware of the signs, talk to them, capitalize on their drive, develop a non-compete that addresses their desires– be proactive and develop plans together. And if all fails to keep them, let them leave on good terms and remember they helped grow your company, solved problems and made your company look good. Alumni talking about your company positively is so much better than someone out there bad mouthing you and your business.
5. Appropriate (for your company) valued employee retention plans
Here comes the foreign language…RSO’s, NSO’s, SRA’s, Phantom Stock Plans, Minority Stock Plans, Deferred Compensation, Bonuses….Before implementing any structured plans, owners should consult the advice of a proven specialist to make certain that compensation strategies are legally and financially viable as well as a good fit for the owners, business, and employees. Compensation plans will need to be proactively communicated to financial statement users, such as sureties, bankers, and other key users, prior to implementing.
6. Supportive management / good boss
Last but certainly not least, the fifth most important reason. Don’t be the reason people leave. Foster their respect and help develop them as people – contrary to the old model “leave your personal life at home” – it doesn’t work that way – people do and want to be free to bring their whole selves to work & by the way, people are much more productive when they do. Don’t underestimate its importance. In summary, be proactive – just like you would carefully bidding a job, getting ready for a job, executing a job and finalizing a job – know what matters, do it well and create genuine loyalty because – every successful business person knows “action speaks louder than words.”
