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Keeping good employees
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July 31, 1998: 5:59 a.m. ET
In a tight labor market, it takes more than a good salary to lure workers
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - When Tulsa billionaire Bill Bartmann wanted to boost company morale, he chartered 24 planes and took his staff of 3,200 to Disney World.
The previous year, he sent his employees on a cruise to the Bahamas.
Bartmann's tactics may seem extravagant, but in a tight labor market, competitive salaries and benefits no longer seem to be enough to retain good workers -- especially at smaller companies.
The labor market "is horrendous," said Robert Morgan, president of the Council of Growing Companies. "Finding and keeping good people is consistently listed as one of the main concerns among our members in nationwide surveys."
Creating a favorable work culture
Although a trip to the Magic Kingdom may not be an option for most small companies, there are less costly ways to bolster loyalty among your employees.
"Creating a culture that is fun and interactive is what makes working for an organization attractive," said Mark Lange, director of programs at the Edward Lowe Foundation.
Company picnics, volleyball games, even potluck dinners all "send a terrific signal" and promote "a sense of oneness," Morgan added. And they don't necessarily cost a lot of money.
Just as important is stressing to employees the integral role they play in the success of your company.
For many employees, work satisfaction "has a lot to do with knowing where you fit into the company and being involved," Lange said.
Career development and recognition programs also may do a lot to keep workers around.
Benefits that benefit everyone
But benefits that create a better lifestyle for your workers could be the key to higher retention rates.
"It's important to recognize people's demands from the private side of life," said Morgan.
Focusing on the kind of benefits that are important to the lifestyle of each individual can make all the difference, as one Delaware company found.
Delaware Valley Financial Services Inc., many of whose employees work on flextime schedules, lets some of its 260 employees take the summer months off without docking their benefits.
Although only a few of the company's employees work under this system, the firm has used the approach to reach an alternative labor pool -- mostly mothers and those married to school teachers -- at a time when finding qualified help is extremely difficult.
"It's a win-win situation," said Lois Haber, the company's president and chief executive. The workers "get the advantages of long-term employment and we get well-educated employees that can jump right in."
Other small businesses have used flextime to attract university students. By providing them with hands-on training, small companies are able to instill loyalty in these workers at a young age.
Environmental company Separation Systems Consultants has had some success with this approach in a program that recruits local students from the University of Houston.
"We bring in students who want something on their resumes," said company president Helen Hodges. "Then they can judge if they want to stay on or not."
Hodges estimated about 50 percent of the students she hires do stay on after graduation.
"Low unemployment makes it hard to keep people," Hodges said. "This provides us with technical talent that's affordable."
Where the workers are
With unemployment at its lowest level in years, actually finding qualified workers may be more challenging than taking the steps to retain them.
"Small businesses are having a really tough time hiring, given the low unemployment figures," said Bennie Thayer, president and chief executive of the National Association for the Self-Employed. "Especially since larger corporations are going after college grads aggressively."
But you can do more than place a classified ad in the newspaper to find the right people.
"If you have a great employee, they probably know other great potential employees. You can pay them a bonus for bringing you a person you can hire," said Thayer.
One technique that is growing in popularity is to seek out employees at a temp agency. If you like the worker an agency sends you, you can buy out the temp's contract and bring him or her on permanently.
Finally, you can utilize your networking skills. Let your associates -- especially ones you know well -- know you are looking.
Wherever you find your employees, make sure you take concrete steps to keep them. Show them your company can offer something others cannot.
"There's a lot to be said for creating a favorable work culture when you're competing against the security of a larger corporation," Morgan said.
-- by staff writer Nicole Jacoby
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