By Dan Miller
Hiring decisions are among the hardest business owners have to make. A company is only as good as the people working for it and a business needs to keep improving its human resources efforts if it wants to stay ahead of the competitors.
This isn’t only about finding the personnel that is best suited to the needs of the company, but also about trying to keep the employees satisfied and loyal to the company for years to come. Money plays a big role in this, but it’s hardly the only or even the most important thing an employee is expecting from their job.
Clear job descriptions
The only way to find the employees you’re looking for is for the employees to know what is expected of them. This can be accomplished by having clear job descriptions that state what the employee would actually do.
There are two ways to go wrong with this. One is to have too broad a job description that would attract too many potential employees with inadequate skills and the other is to set a limited amount of tasks which would prevent employees from growing on the job. The perfect description is somewhere in between.
Provide a career path
Most employees dread having to work the same job for years without the chance to move up and expand on their skill sets. Sometimes even a good pay and perks aren’t enough to keep an employee on a job without a possibility of advancement.
Let the employees know how fast they can advance, who’s making that decision and what it takes to move up. This way, you cut down on conflict within the office and the employees stay motivated.
Education
Many companies are afraid to provide their people with the education programs that will help them develop new skill sets. This is because it costs quite a lot and there’s always a chance the employees will be able to find better-paid jobs based on the skills they’ve learned. Sometimes even with your competitors.
However, it’s for the best if you do it anyway. The whole company benefits from having skillful employees and from seeing the employees grow and meet their potential. You’ll lose some, but most would be able to contribute more and develop a sense of loyalty.
Perks
Employees often say that money isn’t the most important reward they could get for a job well done. Little perks could do much more to make the employees feel welcome and appreciated. This is also much less expensive, which makes it available to small businesses as well.
A better parking space, more days off or complementary Christmas gift cards could mean more than any pay bonus because they show the company cares about the employees. It’s also useful to publicly praise the employees that have done especially great work lately.
Check up on your competitors
Even in large and competitive industries, the word gets around pretty fast. It’s important to try to figure out how things are done next door and how employees are treated there. This way, you could match their offer when some of their people come your way.
It also keeps you on your toes by reminding you that the workers need to feel secure and appreciated. If it’s obvious that there are better corners of the market out there, you’ll lose the best of your workforce. It doesn’t have to be about money, but you always need to offer something that the others don’t.
Performance reviews
In the end, it’s hard to determine which employees actually provide the best performance. It changes and depends on a lot of factors, most of which couldn’t be predicted when you were hiring. That’s why you need to set up performance reviews and change your reward system based on the results.
The reviews should be scheduled in advance and everyone should know how they are graded. It’s also useful to use peer evaluations as well to get the most accurate description of how the employee is fitting into the corporate culture. This will allow you to reward your best and try finding ways to replace those who aren’t pulling their weight.
There’s no resource more valuable than a good employee. Create a system that helps you find, track and reward the best employees and it will pay off.
Dan Miller is a Payments officer with nearly ten years of experience in banking and international payments in the Australian banking sector. He has a masters degree in finance and banking. He is married and also a father of a beautiful little girl.
