Good Employees: How to Keep ‘em Once You Get ‘em

It’s hard enough for a company to hire and/or train an employee who achieves “most valuable player” status. So, what can you do, short of opening the bank vault, to keep them in your employ?

It’s a question on the mind of many of today’s small business owners. So, no wonder it’s been a topic on the agenda at several Hunter Preferred Contractor Business Conference breakout sessions, where irrigation contractors from across the country come together to share their problems and their solutions.

Profit sharing is perhaps a company’s greatest incentive to retain a quality individual. By including full-time employees in a company’s financial rewards, you can achieve a true spirit of “teamwork” in helping the company achieve its goals and maximize its success. And, when incentives for attendance, safety and commitment are tied into the profit sharing formula, you can also be sure that you are rewarding the most deserving to the greatest extent possible.

However, according to Hunter Employment Manager Jean Fortin, who helped prepare Hunter Product Managers to moderate these breakout sessions, it isn’t always money that makes the difference.

“While money is important to employees, what tends to motivate people to perform – and to perform at higher levels – is recognition,” said Fortin. “The thoughtful, personal kind of recognition that signifies true appreciation for a job well done.”

Fortin noted that some of the most effective forms of recognition cost nothing at all. “A sincere word of thanks from the right person at the right time can mean more to an employee than a raise, a formal award or a whole wall of certificates or plaques. Part of the power of such rewards comes from the knowledge that someone took the time to notice the achievement, seek out the employee responsible and personally deliver praise in a timely manner.”

Irrigation contractors have expressed that there are numerous ways they reward employees that incur little or no expense. Fortin cited such actions as a day or a half-day off, certificates for dinner, bringing in catered lunches, or small cash awards placed in a paycheck to recognize exceptional work.

Advancement and increased responsibility are also popular ways to recognize good work. Short of a promotion, the visibility of high achievers can easily be increased with special assignments or a more active role in training or supervising others.

“Many effective forms of recognition are one-time events that celebrate a significant achievement or a milestone,” said Fortin. “But acknowledging the ongoing-day-to-day accomplishments of a good employee are just as important. Tell people what they did good and how it helped the company, and deliver that praise immediately.”