23 Feb 2008 03:21:20 | Megan Tough
A major problem for business owners and employers today is
getting the best employees and then keeping them. Sounds easy,
but any employer will tell you that these activities take up the
most time and have the biggest impact on business results. So
how do you go about retaining the good people once you’ve found
them?
Understanding what your employees want from a workplace sounds
like a logical place to start. After all, if you know what your
employees are after, you simply need to provide it and all will
be well. This is a great theory, but research shows that
employers are not that successful at identifying what their
employees actually want. In fact there is a significant
disconnect between the things that employees say are important
to them, and how highly employers rank those same things.
This survey first came out in 1946 in Foreman Facts, from the
Labor Relations Institute of NY and was produced again by
Lawrence Lindahl in Personnel magazine, in 1949. This study has
since been replicated with similar results by Ken Kovach (1980);
Valerie Wilson, Achievers International (1988); Bob Nelson,
Blanchard Training & Development (1991); and Sheryl & Don
Grimme, GHR Training Solutions (1997-2001).
When asked to rank a list of ten criteria, the employees and
managers/owners ranked them very differently:
WHAT EMPLOYEES SAY THEY WANT (in order) 1.Full appreciation for
work done 2.Feeling ‘part’ of things 3.Sympathetic help on
personal issues 4.Job security 5.Good wages 6.Interesting work
7.Promotion/growth opportunities 8.Personal loyalty to workers
9.Good working conditions 10.Tactful discipline
WHAT MANAGERS THINK EMPLOYEES WANT (in order) 1.Good wages 2.Job
security 3.Promotion/growth opportunities 4.Good working
conditions 5.Interesting work 6.Personal loyalty to workers
7.Tactful discipline 8.Full appreciation for work done
9.Sympathetic help on personal issues 10.Feeling ‘part’ of things
What does this mean if you are an employer or a manager in
business today?
Frequent pats on the back will go a long way towards making your
employees more satisfied at work. Happily, it’s not always about
the money.
About Author :
Megan Tough, director of Action Plus, works with small business
professionals who are ready to do more than ‘just get by’.
Increase your income - decrease your stress! To learn more and
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www.megantough.com
