Keeping The Keepers

As we all struggle with the recent downturn in our economy and upturn in the price of fuel (and cost of living overall), many employers are faced with an unfortunate residual effect. Because of the tremendous increase in the cost of driving back and forth to work, many good employees who otherwise are quite satisfied with their jobs are now considering the possibility of finding work closer to their homes.

So what's an employer to do? Giving everyone a raise is not feasible. However, there are some other things that may help to keep your employees in the mindset that your company is a great place to work, even if it is a little far from the home.

When I ask people to tell me what makes their company a great place to work, they typically speak in terms of the overall package, not just the pay and benefits. They usually talk about things like the atmosphere, how they enjoy being with their co-workers, the relationship they have with the manager or supervisor, how the company makes them feel more like family than an employee, how the company has stepped in to assist them or one of their co-workers in a time of great personal need, etc.

Now would be a good time to re-evaluate the benefit of things like an annual family day event, a flexible work schedule, a time-bank program (where employees earn personal time off with pay for perfect attendance), a company sponsored shuttle van service from the outskirts of the city to the office, the promotion of a car pool group, etc. Some of these things cost more than others, but most should be fairly insignificant in comparison to the cost of replacing good employees.

It's times like these, when the potential of losing good employees due to purely economic circumstances exists, that provide the greatest opportunity for employers to beef up their employee relations efforts and solidify that desired perception of being a great place to work, regardless of the distance.

Mike Purcell - Speaker, Trainer, Author
President, Compass Performance Group, LLC
http://www.high-impacttraining.com/
http://www.getsaddlesense.com/