EIGHT EMPLOYEE

RETENTION STRATEGIES

      It�s much more cost-effective and better for business continuity to keep good employees on your payroll than to hire new ones.  Preventing turnover is especially vital in tight labor markets.  But, with competitors courting the most talented employees, how do you keep yours from migrating?

      Hiring smart is the basis of staffing your company with dependable, productive people.  Beyond that, it takes more than good salaries to keep employees loyal to your company.  Money is about the fifth or six item on the list.

1.   Don�t promise the moon.  Be positively realistic about what you can offer your employees. 

2.   Be a good leader It takes a lot of listening to be a good leader and inspire your employees to work toward your company�s vision.  Don�t just spit our orders when things get crazy.

3.   Keep the work interesting The best employees will not be happy unless they are challenged learning and growing.  It is best to delegate authority but keep responsibility for the task.

4.   Keep the job safe   A good jobsite safety program communicates to employees that you�re looking out for their health and well-being.

5.   Offer flex time Today time is at a premium for everyone. Permitting little things like picking up the dry cleaning or  meeting day care requirements, means a lot.  Instead of setting exact working hours, try expecting people to complete their work on time.     

6.   Help them learn There is only one thing worse than not training your employees and that is retaining untrained employees. With ever increase new technologies, continuous training is needed in our field. Try encouraging your employees to attend trade shows and even an HBAA general membership meeting.

6. Praise them in public When an employee exceeds expectations, make sure everyone else knows. Tell your staff about the achievement. Pier pressure is a very influential force on human behavior. Also, a voucher for dinner-for-two or a movie-for-two can help a spouse become more acceptable to overtime.
7. Ask for employee' input Ask an employee to suggest ideas on how to do tasks efficiently and run projects more smoothly. When they feel involved, and see their ideas implemented, employees realize that they are integral to the company's success. That's extremely motivating. For example: If you really want to know how to improve a job, ask the expert, the person that does it 8 hours a day and 7 days a week. No one knows it better.

HBAA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP

MEETING TABLETOP

To increase meeting attendance and to encourage education about new and existing products in our industry the HBAA board of directors has decided to try on a trial basis a tabletop discussion at the general membership meetings. We are hoping vendors and salesmen will come and set up a table on their product or service. They would be available to address questions or problems our members may have about your product. Our members would benefit by having vendors available for questions on new and existing products and services. With ever increasing new building materials and technologies we need to keep up-to-date. Construction codes and standards are ever changing and contractors need to know when new technologies can be used and how to properly use them. Continuous training is essential to success in the construction industry. The cost is $50 per table per meeting. If you are interested, please contact the HBAA EO's office at 269-9268.