Tom Feltenstein

No matter what business you’re in, your employees are a vital part of your organization and it is important to recognize and reward them for their hard work – but it has to be done right. You may have seen or even been a part of marketing programs in the past that were little more than popularity contests. Not only does this type of program not work, it can be very divisive and counterproductive.  It is important to recognize employees based on those criteria that are the underlying backbone of your business. This might include attitude, exceptional customer service or even teamwork. The whole idea is improve employee retention and at the same time encourage them to increase their skill set.

I recommend that you do something monthly so the idea is ever present and something employees want to strive for and achieve. The prizes you offer might be movie or sporting event tickets. Or perhaps you give them a specific management perk like an executive parking spot. This may not sound like much, but not having to hike across the frozen tundra of a huge parking lot to get to work lets your valuable employees how much you appreciate them.

The bottom line is that you are thanking your employees for their commitment to the success of the business. It is not really about the prize, but more about the fact that you recognize their contribution and want them to keep striving to improve. It is amazing, but true, that employees will work longer hours for much less pay at a job where they know they are appreciated and recognized. When you look at how much turnover costs when you have an employee quit, then you realize how much profit a good employee recognition program will bring.

What do you do to retain your best employees?

You can unleash THE SECRET POWER of your internal customers – your employees – with proper recruiting, training, and motivation. Do this, and you’ll turn them into an amazing sales force that will work for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, virtually FREE.

The importance of the internal customer is not new. In fact, Henry Ford struggled with the issue of high turnover resulting in delivering poor quality and service to Ford’s customers as long ago as 1914. Ford found it necessary to hire at least 60,000 workers each year just to keep 10,000 people on the line. He paid them 80 cents per day.

Ford decided to gamble—he raised the pay from 80 cents per day to 5 dollars per day. Was he crazy? Maybe just a maverick and an innovator.

Here’s what happened. No longer did the plant have to recruit and train 50,000 replacement workers.

Henry had a waiting list of eager applicants, service and quality improved and profits quickly doubled.