By Mike Moore, Director of Training, HVAC Learning Solutions
Retention, Recognition, Reward. Known as the three Rs, these three factors help foster employee loyalty. Managers long to have employees stay true to the company, lament the departure of good ones, and wonder why they sought greener pastures. Sigh.
The answer to your turnover woes? Paying more attention to the three Rs. Examining them will give you concrete ways to find, keep, and nurture your best employees.
- Retention: One of the main problems facing our industry is lack of qualified people. To find and develop them:
- Start with a good recruiting process. Bring in people with a positive attitude. Energize them by explaining your company’s overall goal and inspire them to help you reach it: Everyone wants to be part of something big.
- Make sure employees understand how the company will take care of them. Not just with a salary, benefits and a place to work, but by showing that you understand their need to balance their work and personal lives.
- Recognition: Any good manager shares success and acknowledges the contributions of the team. Follow these tips:
- Vary your methods. Ways to offer recognition range from formal recognition with an award at a meeting to informal kudos as you walk past a work station. Just saying thank you for doing a good job goes a long way. Figure out what form of recognition each employee responds to best.
- Praise in public, reprimand in private. While not all employees want public acknowledgement, every single one of them prefers not to get scolded in front of the whole team. Follow a 6:1 ratio for positive recognition to negative feedback.
- Discover the key traits that make your company successful and recognize behaviors that align with them.
- Reward: Sure, recognition is its own reward. But tangible incentives help motivate — whether it’s a team trip to the ballpark or pizza for everyone when they meet a goal. Individual rewards, from concert tickets to spot bonuses, build loyalty, too. Even gag gifts that build camaraderie can help make your company feel like a workplace where employees want to stay.
If you’re able to master the three Rs, you’ll have more loyal employees, which translates to customer loyalty — and ultimately more revenue.
How do you implement the three Rs in your business? Respond on Twitter Google+, or Facebook, and check out our latest HVAC video tutorials on YouTube for more tips and tricks.
The post Are You Practicing the Three Rs of Employee Loyalty? appeared first on HVAC Learning Solutions.
