Note: Running Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, is a continuing series of tips brought to you by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show on KPRC 950AM. Audio files can be found on the PKF Texas – Entrepreneur’s Playbook® page of the PKF Texas website.
Every day an organization’s most important asset is it’s Human Capital. But how well do you manage it? In visiting with Bill Peery the other day from the Sovereign Institute he shared some sense ideas about employees.
Talk to them: Share your vision for the company. Tell them what’s going on in the market. Tell them what’s going on in the company. Tell them how their efforts contribute to the success of the company. Tell them the truth. Develop a process to keep them informed on a regular basis When employees are kept in the dark, they will create their own truth.
Listen to them: A wise man once said, “Being listened to feels so much like being loved that sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference." There is a wealth of information in your work force, but if you don’t encourage and reward their ideas, you won’t hear them. Develop an ongoing process for employees to express themselves and share their thoughts and feelings about the company whether good or bad.
Pay them fairly: Don’t underpay them, but don’t overpay them either. There is a range of compensation for every job. Check with the labor department website to determine the range. Share the salary range with the employees for their particular job and encourage them to make their own comparison. —-And, never mess with a person’s pay check. A paycheck is sacred!
Recognize them: There have been many employee surveys about what they want from their employers, and surprisingly; compensation is rarely number one. What most employees want most is recognition. Few things are more important to a worker than being recognized for a job well done. Number two is usually compensation or job security. Every company needs a process to recognize and reward employees for a job well done.
Hold them accountable: The opportunities for personal and professional growth are few in an unaccountable environment. Accountability brings out the best in all of us. Every job should have metrics. What gets measured gets done! If an employee is not willing to be accountable; make them available to industry, and let them be unaccountable somewhere else.