CLAREMORE, Okla. — In my last column, I wrote about some key points related to the training of your new team members, particularly those brought on in key management or staff roles.
You’ve now brought them onto your management and leadership teams, perhaps as a supervisor, engineer, service manager or other key player. You’re counting on them to make a difference and help grow your sales and profitability.
But what can you do to increase the chances they’ll still be around five years from now?
Many of us came from a generation and background that stressed the benefits of getting with one company and staying there for your entire career. Although I did change jobs (due to my job being outsourced to China), I was able to stick with my new job for just shy of 30 years, carrying on the tradition of longevity.
That’s just not the case anymore with the job market.
People change jobs regularly, usually moving up in responsibility and compensation faster than they see possible with their current employer. I must credit my daughter for helping me to understand this and to learn why this is how it is these days.
There’s not always a solid trade-off between long-term job security (as I found) and the opportunities to increase responsibility and compensation. As leaders, we must focus on ways to stem the tide in leadership turnover and continue to nurture our teams, providing opportunities in the hopes they’ll stay.
The following are a few key points that will hopefully engage your newer team members and endear them not only to the company but to you as their leader and mentor.
REGULAR DEBRIEFS
Hold scheduled, formal, structured debriefs. Delve into the work, the tasks, and activities, as well as wins. Celebrate and recognize the wins and progress made by each new employee.
Providing coaching to address areas that require improvement is also a crucial aspect of these debriefing sessions.
FUN EVENTS
Engage all your new team members in managing fun events for the entire location.
This can be fun and teach valuable people skills as they work together and learn more about others within the organization.
FAIR COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Be sure your compensation and benefits packages are not only competitive but maybe even just a bit better than the market.
And don’t look at this only versus other laundry companies—look at the entire market and all businesses within the market.
TRANSPARENCY
When addressing sensitive business topics, explain the reasons behind your decisions.
Be transparent about how you reach conclusions, whether related to pricing, delivery, capital and expense budgeting, or staffing levels. It’s important they understand the thought process and what is going into the decision.
‘JUNGLE GYM’
Provide a “jungle gym” of employment opportunities for your team.
Perhaps that plant manager might be a great plant manager, but you sense some burnout is happening. Those same skill sets that make that person a great plant manager can be transferred over to service management, office management, engineering, or maybe even into sales.
We all need a fresh breath occasionally in our jobs—so by providing multiple in-house job opportunities, you can help keep your great team members on board.
DON’T HOLD BACK ON PROMOTIONS AND COMPENSATION
All too often, we’ve seen people promoted from within, but the appropriate compensation level is held back when compared to what it would be if that job were filled with an outside hire.
Don’t let this happen—you will alienate your good people and likely lose them. Treat everyone fairly in this area.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Always be in touch with your team members, especially your new ones. Help them to grow, see the vision for your company and understand how they fit in. Make them key players on your team, providing opportunities to learn, grow, and excel in their roles, properly compensated and with a load of options for future job enhancement.
You won’t be able to keep everyone around forever, but working hard to build your team will pay off in spades for your long-term business success.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].
