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How to Retain Great Employees?
By Laurie L. O'Neil

With a competitive work environment and changes in the economy, how do you keep the employees you have? You spend so much time and effort on educating your employees, replacing them can be quite costly. Your management style as a business owner can have every effect on your staff. Are you a manager that supports learning, growth, inspires loyalty and creates a work environment that people love? Or are you a Micro-manager who is so hung up on every detail that you are stifling your employees’ growth and inspiring your employees to shop the want ads instead? These are important factors for employees when they accept a position with your company.

Some key factors that inspire employees to stay at a job are:

1. How Supervisors Act: Are they a micro-manager who stifles employee’s growth capabilities or do they inspire hard working loyal employees?

2. Communication: Control your tone and pitch. Body language, expressions and pace of movement can tell it all. Look out!

3. Control Level of Stress: If you are stressed you will convey this to your employees. Stress can bring out the worst in you. Find better ways to deal with it. You may not even notice that you are stressed but your employees will. Do you think they will tell you? Mine do. This was an area I needed help in. I am very crisis oriented, but my staff is not. Be open to learning lessons from your employees. If you don’t you may have mutiny.

4. Motivation: This area is key. Employees want to
1. Have their talents on the job be utilized
2. Do meaningful work
3. Be recognized for a great job done
4. Enjoy the work environment
5. Have good pay and benefits
6. Agree with the values of the organization
7. Have supportive management

This is what makes the world go round. Employees spend the majority of their lives working. Make coming to work fun!

As you grow your company, management styles will have key effects on your growth. Constant turnover can reflect badly to the clients and clients will loose their confidence in your ability to hire right people.

Copyright © 2008 Linda Hunt and Laurie O’Neil, The Bookkeeper’s Referral Network, Inc.

If you would like to use this article on your website or in your own e-newsletter, please reprint in its entirety and include the following information:  Copyright © 2008 Linda Hunt and Laurie O’Neil, The Bookkeeper’s Referral Network, Inc.  Linda Hunt and Lauire O’Neil are the co-founder of The Bookkeeper’s Referral Network Inc., the place where business meets great bookkeepers. To sign up for free articles and insider tips to grow your practice, add value to your clients while making more money working less, visit www.bkpr-network.com