Four Unexpected Tips for Keeping Great Employees

You make your way from the parking lot to your office believing it’s nothing more than an average day. Then you see the resignation letter on your desk. It’s not average anymore. She was your best employee. Before you can even process it, you notice an email from someone else who needs to take off for a few hours in the middle of the day. You know what that’s about, right?
Yeah, me too.

It’s time to learn how to keep the rock stars on the payroll. Here are four things you can do.

1. Slow the burn: Don’t let your stars wear themselves out. Get them out of the office once in a while. Things like happy hours, volunteer days, and team lunches are all a great way to get people to stop thinking about work and recharge, even if it’s for just a couple of hours. It’s also a great way to fit in some team-building when you might otherwise be inclined to keep your head stuck to your computer.

2. Intervene: We know the signs when someone is interviewing elsewhere. They update their LinkedIn profiles, they’re out of the office at weird hours, they’re taking calls from their cars during the work day. Do something about it! Ask how they’re feeling about their jobs, responsibilities, career progression. Get to the bottom of the problem. Listen, and act.

3. Stop micro-managing PTO: Get rid of set vacation and sick time and give your staff members the autonomy to manage their own time. Trust your employees to get their work done. Let them take vacation when they need to recharge, and grab a day off when they feel under the weather. The good ones will know how to balance this and appreciate your trust in them. If they can’t manage their own time, you don’t want them on your team. Think I’m crazy?  It’s a growing trend.

4. Ask: Don’t be afraid to ask your employees what they’re thinking, and how they’re feeling. Send out employee surveys so they can do this anonymously. My favorite tool for this is TINYpulse. Besides making the entire process short, simple, and engaging, the surveys are automated so you never have to remember to send it out. Even better, it has peer recognition built in for virtual high-fives.

The only thing making today special should be the great work your best staffers are doing because you’ve learned to keep them happy. Be proactive and your team will be all the better for it. Don’t let yourself lose the best your company has to offer.

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