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Real Issues. Real Answers: Creating Great Employees

“The secret to creating great employees is finding, hiring and keeping great employees. To do this in today’s market takes a unified company culture where a mission statement, an initiative to create and retain happy employees, is truly supported throughout all ownership and management levels of the company. This, even in smaller companies who claim to maintain a horizontal management structure, is hard to achieve.

“Take my company for example; we have a vibrant initiative to recruit new hires, a cash incentive for existing employees to bring on new hires, yet pay structure for existing employees is not highly competitive, and quality of life initiatives such as four 10-hour days are quickly rejected by management, not because they do not work, but because of a secretly entrenched conservative backbone that would answer simply, “that’s just not the way we do things.” My comment would be, well, you might want to consider doing things that way. As an industry, if we are going to recruit viable long term employees in to our industry instead of the tech or medical fields, to name a few, we are going to have to pay well, and more importantly, value free time and quality of life as the most important benefit available.

“I live in a northwest town with a vibrant outdoor community. Young people from all over the world are flocking here to ski, snowboard, kayak, rock climb, etc. Once they’re here, they need houses. The job positions that these people are filling do not necessarily pay more than a competitive position in our industry, but if it snows, they can take turns on powder days skiing in the morning. They can work four 10-hour days, resulting in no overtime and higher productivity from happy, fit employees.

“The secret to hiring and keeping new employees and existing employees for that matter, is to be the best place to work, regardless of what industry we are, and that has not been the way that we have looked at ourselves historically. Lets have the lumber industry be a great place to work with competitive wages and flexible schedules the rule and not the exception and market that and watch the applicants flock in. When you present this to the board and the CFO looks down his nose at you and asks, “how do you purpose we pay for this?”, look back at him and ask, “how do you propose we remain viable, with no young people entering our industry”?

“Treat them fairly and do not expect them to do anything you would not do.”

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“We have found that hiring someone at a far higher-than-normal hourly rate, due to experience, immediate need to fill a position and so forth, does not work out in the long term. Our small company ends up paying a high premium for results that are less than we expect (being in a new environment, learning new equipment, etc.). Employees hired under these circumstances often feel entitled, knowing that they are being paid more than their peers, and they never produce to the level our company feels we are paying for. I have also seen attendance as one of the major issues. Bringing an employee up through the ranks in pay and responsibility, by way of their own hard work, gives them a feeling of accomplishment. Most of our top employees started at an entry level position and worked hard, showed up on time and learned to do more and more as time passed. Being small as we are, we value the versatility of our employees in a market that has had its ups and downs in the past 10 years. The workforce of today has more turnover than in past years at our company, and we try to reward and retain the good ones.”

“The secret to creating great employees is to empower them to do the tasks that need to be accomplished, and then hold them accountable. Check in with them and be responsive to their needs and concerns. Look for ways to give them ownership of their job with the company and help them feel important and plugged in. Not everyone needs to go to college today, but everyone that works needs to feel wanted, needed and accepted, and they will do a great job when these conditions are met.”

“Treat them more like your best customer and less like the hired help.”

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“Cash and love.”

“Hiring the right people based on talent, experience, personality, etc., and then providing them the proper management to excel.”

“Certainly, reasonable compensation will get their interest, but loyalty and long-term commitment is all about making them feel fulfilled. Allowing them to share their thoughts and opinions and recognizing their successes are extremely important. If they feel that they are playing a meaningful role, you will have them hooked!”

“Finding people who have a good attitude, desire to grow, and then providing training and mentoring to help them achieve their goals.”

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“Treat them like family, invest in their lives and their family, get to know them and let them know you. When your employees feel connected to each other and the company, they are far more interested in creating a positive company image. The company feels like it is a part of them, and they want it to succeed.”

“I have three great employees. They each came with all the tools they needed—common sense, ethics, morals, work ethic, intelligence, etc. I didn’t do anything to create them. They did it themselves. I consider myself very lucky to have them, but they are a thing of the past.”

“Finding people with common sense and a willingness to work outside the box.”

“It is of the utmost importance to pair a candidate with a job at which they can be successful. After which you must provide the tools/training to accomplish the tasks of that job. Set your expectations and give feedback on the progression. My number one word of advice to any employee, is if they are worried about what the other associates are doing, they will never be successful and grow.”

Have a Real Issue? Contact me at Rick@LBMJournal.com.

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