10. Promote from Within Create a culture that encourages employees to grow and exceed their potential. Design a system,
process, or program that demonstrates levels of mastery, dedication, or other benchmark that, once achieved, opens up another level
of challenge and pay to employees. Create skill and eligibility benchmarks that show how employees can bridge the gaps to take them
from unskilled to skilled, skilled to technical, technical to supervisory, supervisory to management, etc. Offer levels of assistance
based upon interest, performance, tenure, and meeting requirements.
9. Measure Your Expectations Offer incentives for exceeding goals, such as leaving early for a set number of days. Let
employees rate themselves and compare their ratings to yours. This helps to create competitive spirit and pride and teaches people
how to internalize your company’s expectations. Employees who make previously set goals but cannot attain new measures should
still be encouraged as they may already be working at capacity in that area.
8. Offer a Tech Track Build promotion ladders for employees who shine in their performance, but don’t want to manage others
or who may work better independently. Areas where this strategy may be particularly effective are your Engineering, IT, and
Equipment Maintenance departments.
7. Knowledge is Power Use employee surveys to find out what’s important to them and what you can do to improve their
workplace satisfaction. Implement at least one visible change to demonstrate that you listen. Surveys can help you assess management
and leadership styles, workplace culture, and effectiveness of operations and administration of your company. By surveying both new
and existing employees you can also measure changes in attitude and perception from the time an employee starts with your company
to the time they retire, allowing you to benchmark your company’s performance as a workplace leader over time.
6. Breakfast with the BossPlan to meet with different employees from different areas of the company in a round table format on
a weekly basis. Breakfast and lunch work well as does the last hour of the workday. Use the time for informal conversation and
opportunity to hear what is on employee’s minds. Plan rotations with key management and set up informal meetings for relationship
building.
5. Be Exciting and Generate Anticipation Use incentives and bonuses generously and be sure that ALL employees enjoy at
least one opportunity by mixing planned and scheduled incentives for performance with random, surprise, and planned activities and
events that all employees can receive or participate in “just because”. Treat employees to an annual event such as a casino night or
bingo night with the management team serving as dealers or callers. Routinely give away restaurant gift certificates, tickets to sporting
events, and other tokens of appreciation. Offer gifts and prizes randomly for no reason. Celebrate sales and profitability increases.
Make them a surprise.
4. Promote Your Values Build your cultural brand by posting your mission and vision statements and your core values
throughout your facility. Reward employees who exemplify your culture (see #5). Have employees nominate co-workers who best
reflect those core values each month and reward the nominees and recognize the nominators.
3. Implement a Buddy System Assign a knowledgeable employee who models your work ethic to each new employee to
‘show them the ropes’ around your workplace. Pick up the tab for lunch or other informal off-site networking experience. Give them
extra down time to make a connection – perhaps a mid-afternoon ‘power walk’ or a second cup of coffee on break. Rotate the new
employee each week to another ‘seasoned vet’ throughout their probation to expose them to multiple viewpoints and experiences. If
you have a large workforce, offer a special vest, shirt, hat, or other identifier that lets everyone know that a person is new and
encourage everyone to go out of their way to welcome and assist the new people.
2. Consider Flexibility While not all positions or businesses can offer flexibility, even smaller options or gestures send a
powerful message that you care about people needs. If possible, allow employees to work some of their hours off-site or allow
schedule shifting (such as earlier or later start/end times, different hours on different days, more hours/less days or less hours/more
days), create a comp time program, or institute job-sharing. Encourage creative employee solutions (see #7) that increase their
flexibility AND increase productivity and morale.
1. “Be the One The one company where everyone wants to workThe one company with sky-high productivityThe one
company with fully motivated and engaged employees
Be engaged in your workforce. Take the time to tour your business, stop and talk with employees, smile, shake hands, make eye
contact, avoid using gadgets, ask questions that show your interest. Feeling appreciated and respected is the best motivator each of us
can receive.
