If that occurs, some people will immediately approach you and express their dissatisfaction. Others are more reticent. They feel that if you truly appreciated them, they wouldn’t have to approach you—you would approach them. If you don’t, they interpret your inaction as indifference. Treat employee relationships as you would any other personal relationship. If you fail to tell your spouse that you appreciate her, will she interpret that to mean that things are going along swimmingly, or will it mean that you seem to have lost interest?
Most often employee neglect is inadvertent. After all, you’re busy, and things seem to be going along smoothly. But the fact that you are unaware of what the going rate is for quality personnel won’t stop some other company from taking advantage of your blissful ignorance.
Salaries aren’t the only form of compensation that matters. Psychic compensation, the feeling of wellbeing that comes from knowing that you’ve done a good job and that your efforts are recognized, can be equally important. Don’t assume that because you occasionally acknowledge their results that employees feel special.
Frequently the issue isn’t money, it’s opportunity and growth. People are often willing to accept less compensation in the present if they have a reasonable expectation for greater compensation in the future. Rewarding your people through promotion and recognizing team and individual effort with bonuses and profit sharing will cement their loyalty to you and motivate them to greater performance.
No matter how good you are at maintaining employee loyalty, however, team members will leave. People move on, spouses are transferred, and individuals change career directions. When that happens, you need to have a ready path to move someone into the open position. The best solution, of course, is to promote from within, taking an assistant superintendent, for example, and promoting him to superintendent. Moving someone from within the company is always less disruptive than bringing in someone from the outside, since they are already known and understand the corporate procedures and culture.
Hiring assistants for your best people performs two functions at the same time. First, it enables you to multiply the effectiveness of key individuals, and second, it acts as an excellent method of on-the-job training. It provides greater flexibility in your staffing assignments and offers a built-in backup when people are sick, on vacation, or quit.
Since David has neglected his employee-building efforts, he must now scramble to find a replacement. He will have to expend extra effort on his part and those of his other superintendents as the new person becomes experienced in the way things are done in his company. Mistakes will inevitably be made and unnecessary costs incurred. But by the next time David loses another key employee, let’s hope he will have put in place a better program to promote and retain key personnel.
