Five Tips to PERC Up Your Business

Five Tips to PERC* Up Your Business 02/11/2008
(*Preferred Employee Recognition Concepts)
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I’m going to call these 5 tips the “Keep’em” tips.
Read on to find out why.
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Keep’em involved. Find out if they have a better idea on how to do things. Let them be a part of the why and the how so they will do the what. The last time you set up office space for employees (front office, shipping and handling, sales offices) who picked the wall colors? Who chose the furniture layout? If it was you and your spouse, you probably enjoyed it immensely at the expense of having your staff feel truly a part of their surroundings and your business.

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Keep’em interested. If they do repetitive jobs, whether on a line or in front of a computer, find a way to refresh them. Obviously, if they have been on the job a while they like the stability of knowing what comes next is what came last. But give them incentives for doing a little more of it. Contests where everyone wins something. The winner gets something bigger, of course, but everyone who meets the goal gets something.

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Keep’em surprised. When was the last time you cleaned the sink in the break room? The last time you printed out the account receivable bills? The last time you answered the phones at the front desk? How can you know what to expect from your employees unless you know exactly what they are doing? And how can they know what to expect from you unless they know what you are willing to do for them? Surprise your staff every once in awhile by being at their station doing their job for an hour or two. This will give them the chance to do their catch-up work.

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Keep’em growing. Find out what your staff really wants to do. Does your Receptionist want to try the sales desk? Does your mail-room attendant want to go out on a delivery? Find ways to let your employees try out the jobs they think they want. Then cross-train them. This way, you will never go too long without the right employee in the right position.

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Keep’em laughing. As you know, that is the one subject I always seem to touch on. Make sure your break room is a place where people can talk and laugh. Encourage them to enjoy their jobs, your clients, each other and YOU! When you see smiles and hear laughter, join in. At staff meetings, bring up something amusing that happened earlier at the office (of course, not at anyone’s expense unless it’s your own). Let your employees know that they are allowed to be happy at what used to be called work.

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You can find out more about these, as well as other ways to Keep Your Staff in the book Coffee and Other PERCs - How to Keep Your Staff, available at www.KeepYourStaff.com.

And also remember:
"Find a job you like and you add five days to every week."
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.