What It Takes to Be a Boss Every Employee Loves 06-26

What It Takes to Be a Boss Every Employee Loves

BY MARK SANBORN

Being a successful leader means being good at what you do and possessing integrity. But more than anything, it's about your ability to build healthy relationships with others -- particularly those who work for you.

As an entrepreneur, you're viewed differently than you were when you were a manager or colleague in a traditional job. You stand to gain the most from the company's success, and it is easier for your employees to think you're more interested in the business than them and their lives. Your success is paramount, but it shouldn't be achieved at the expense of healthy relationships with those you depend on.

1. Don't treat people as transactions.

Years ago in my first real job out of college, I was delighted to have my very own assistant. She was a very capable and competent woman who I really liked.

One day while a client was visiting the office, I made the naïve mistake of introducing my assistant by saying, "This is Teri. She works for me."

Teri's response would have served me better in private, but her point was valid none-the-less: "I work with you, Mark, not for you."

I meant no ill respect with my choice of words, but it suggested to Teri that she was a means to an end, that I was "above" her. And while technically she did report to me, the difference between working for and with someone is critical. The former can make a person feel conquered, while the latter signals collaboration.

Think through how you title and refer to your employees. Focus on reciprocity: look for ways you can help them achieve their work-life goals while they help you achieve yours. And guard against letting tasks trump a true regard and appreciation for the relationship you have with those who have voluntarily chosen to work with you.

2. Invest in those you value.

The ultimate test of value in a relationship is how much time, interest and support you are willing to invest. Rather than ask, "What have you done for me lately?" turn the tables and ask yourself what you've done lately for those you truly value.

Here's one way to invest for great dividends: identify the potential in an employee that he or she doesn't recognize in him- or herself. Often people are blind to their own abilities or potential, and good leaders not only recognize these latent strengths, they help develop them.

Several years ago, my office manager was spending more time on our website and technology platforms. A colleague was presenting a multi-day event in Las Vegas that I knew would give my team member information and skills to help her in these areas. Going to Las Vegas for the event was an added perk, so I gladly paid for the seminar and trip. She came back better equipped for her work, knowing I was willing to invest in her success.

3. Be involved, but know your limits.

You can work in the same office space with people every day and still be absent because you are preoccupied with your own worries. An open door policy means nothing if you don't stop what you're doing long enough to give your attention to those who walk through it.

How can you do this? Make it a point to "check in" with every employee each day. That means a simple but sincere question: "How are things going?" Listen and if necessary, probe for information you can use to support your employees. Identify frustrations they are facing, opportunities they've recognized and gauge their emotional energy and commitment to their work.

You'll know you're micromanaging when you're spending more time telling someone how to do something than you are in clarifying what needs to be done. A thorough explanation with a chance to ask questions is vastly different than a droning presentation about how you'd do it. Give people the freedom to achieve the best results in their own way.

4. Show your gratitude.

I've heard a lot of complaints from employees who feel underappreciated by their manager, but I've never heard anyone complain they were recognized, rewarded or appreciated too much. I'm puzzled at why so many entrepreneurs and leaders are reticent to voice appreciation. Don't be afraid of over-doing it. You connect with people more deeply when you recognize the best in them and let them know.

Here's a powerful way to show appreciation: When you get feedback from a customer about someone on your team who has done a great job, get their permission to record it. Then play the recording at the next team meeting. There is even more power in a customer's expression of a job well done than simply acknowledging it yourself.

Growing your business successfully means doing all that you can to make your team want to work their hardest for your cause. That means connecting with employees in a meaningful way.

What do you do to deepen your connections with employees?
 

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3 Reasons to Treat Employees Like Family 05-26

3 Reasons to Treat Employees Like Family

Applying some basic family principles to your employees can go a long way to improving loyalty and retention--especially during tough times.

shutterstock images

 

When starting a business, your main objective usually involves turning a profit. As the business grows, your focus often expands to another key issue: your people.

Deciding to expand beyond your core start-up team reflects good times for the business, but don't underestimate the pressure that comes with a larger workforce. Much like a parent who provides for her children, a founder of a growing business often feels the pressure to provide for her employees, overseeing internal disputes, ensuring promised benefits and providing advice (both professionally and personally).

Here are three basic family principles that you can use to lead your team through the inevitable peaks and valleys of business:

1. Open Communication

Employees who believe they are "in the know" are more likely to believe they are a valued member of the team. Therefore, it's important to host a regular cadence of staff meetings or other communication forums to share both the good and the bad news. During tough times, make sure there are plenty of opportunities to answer questions and alleviate concerns. During good times, openly share new client wins, or pop the bubbly when revenue targets are reached. Find reasons to celebrate as a team and ensure all members are included in the festivities.

2. "Family Time"

Every now and then it's smart to take breaks, recharge, and reconnect as a team. Spending some quality R&R can boost moral or even mend some fractured relationships. There are many ways to provide "family time" to your staff, including occasional happy hours, off-site meetings, or other team-building events. For example, we volunteered over the holidays with a local non-profit organization to assist with weatherizing elderly homes. We all felt good about it afterwards, and had fun in the process.

3. Care

This seems like a no-brainer, but showing that you genuinely care about your people can boost performance when everyone is running at full speed. Empathy can go a long way with employees. Managers who take time to listen to their employees, understand their career objectives, and show that they care enough to help are likely to see better employee engagement and retention rates. And engaged employees can increase the chances of success and innovation for the organization.

We value our people above all else and find a family-based approach to recruiting, grooming, and maintaining a loyal team to be very successful.

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How much does it cost companies to lose employees? 12-05

How much does it cost companies to lose employees?

An average performing employee comes to you with evidence that he is underpaid by 5 percent. Your company's budgets are already tight. He makes $50,000 a year. Should you: 

A. Offer a 1-2 percent raise; B. Offer nothing. In this economy he's lucky to have a job; C. Offer a 5 percent raise; D. Give him $50 gift card to the local mall.

With job applicants lining up around the block, it might seem like good business sense to let employees quit rather than raising their salaries to be competitive. But a recent study from the Center for American Progress drives home why that isn't so: 

Employee turnover is expensive  .

Turnover costs include productivity losses during training, recruiting and lost work while a position is vacant. For all jobs earning less than $50,000 per year, or more than 40 percent of U.S. jobs, the average cost of replacing an employee amounts to fully 20 percent of the person's annual salary, the liberal-leaning think-tank found in a study that looks at 31 corporate case studies.

So in the above example, choosing to not give even a middling performer a raise may net a temporary cost savings, but if he quits you'll be out 20 percent of his salary. The best option? Bump his pay up 5 percent. Although employee replacement costs are a one-time expense and a salary increase is ongoing, it would take four years of at higher salary to equal the cost of replacing him one time.

High turnover, lower-paying jobs (those under $30,000 a year) are slightly less expensive to replace, at only 16 percent of annual salary, but that still adds up quickly. For instance, 37 percent of hotel/motel and food services employees voluntarily quit a job in 2011. That represents a major expense to businesses already running at the margin.

MIT Sloan business professor Zeynep Ton found that such businesses could reduce their turnover by changing their internal policies. For instance, Wegmans Food Markets  , which consistently ranks in Fortune's Top 100 companies to work for (this year it's number No. 4), has a full-time turnover rate of only 4 percent for it's hourly workforce [disclosure: I used to work for Wegmans.] In other words, those same policies that make it a great place to work also lowers turnover costs.

While the costs of losing a "normal" employee are high enough, CAP found that the cost of losing an executive is astronomical -- up to 213 percent of the employee's salary.

CAP also says that offering workers low-cost benefits, such as sick days and a little flexibility, can significantly lower turnover. The upshot is clear: While there is no perfect package of salary and benefits that will stop employees from jumping ship, companies should take turnover costs into account.

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Technology | Infosys, Wipro lag in retention, too 11-10

Technology | Infosys, Wipro lag in retention, too

Software engineers employed in the IT sector seem to be reading quarterly earnings closer than before

Pankaj Mishra 

First Published: Mon, Oct 22 2012. 11 14 AM IST

Employee surveys conducted by online networking site Glassdoor.com indicate the companies growing faster are rated ahead of the laggards. Photo: HT

Updated: Tue, Oct 23 2012. 12 14 AM IST

Bangalore: A clear separation between the leaders and laggards is becoming apparent in India’s $100-billion information technology (IT) sector, and this time it’s not about which company is growing revenues faster.

Scrambling to regain their lost momentum in revenue growth, Infosys Ltd and Wipro Ltd are beginning to lose out on retaining their staff—an indication that software engineers employed in the technology sector are reading quarterly earnings closer than before.

In a clear shift that’s been taking shape since the December quarter of 2010, India’s largest software exporter, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and the fastest-growing Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. broke away from the pack and formed the new top order in staff retention.

For the three months ended September, TCS reported its lowest quarterly staff attrition in 10 quarters at 13.1%; that’s nearly 7 percentage points lower than what it reported for the same quarter two years ago. Infosys’s attrition in the latest September quarter was 20.5%.

At Cognizant, the attrition rate dropped from 21.8% in the quarter ended September 2010 to 12.1% in the June quarter, the latest period for which numbers are available.

The highest attrition rate was reported by HCL Technologies Ltd, a company that boasts of an “employees first” motto. HCL’s attrition in the September quarter was higher than that of its peers at 25.3%, but much reduced from the 36.4% it reported for the same period in 2010.

Last year, Infosys deferred annual salary hikes citing lower demand for services, but was forced to announce wage increases of up to 8% in the latest September quarter.

Employee surveys conducted by online networking site Glassdoor.com also indicate the companies growing faster are rated ahead of the laggards. According to the latest Glassdoor ratings, only 38% and 20% of Infosys and Wipro staffers, respectively, approve of their chief executives.

The ratings are based on feedback from select staff and not the total employee base. For TCS, the Glassdoor rating for its CEO is 100%, and nearly 82% of those polled by Glassdoor at Cognizant approve of the firm’s CEO Francisco D’Souza.

First Published: Mon, Oct 22 2012. 11 14 AM IST